Protecting His Rejected Mate

Chapter Three

The shoot was over, and it was late at night.

The place is nearly desolate, with a few janitors working the night shift arriving to take their spot. She was on her way back to her trailer when a message entered, leaving her flustered and a tad mad.

Her phone had been buzzing throughout the shoot, and even after switching it off, it kept turning back on with more messages from the unknown number.

She had attempted to call the police but the stranger warned her against it. She took a step out of the building and stared at the night sky with such a feeling. For a second, her troubles were gone. No Sophia to undermine and roll her eyes every opportunity she got, and no worry about a message that probably meant nothing.

The presence of the half-moon brought her mind to the nights she spent with Tyler, at the werewolf academy, counting the days left until the full moon. Acting was her desire, but she would give anything to go back to the good old days.

She walked through the parking space, feeling the quietness and cold air but that changed with a rustle and a thick smell. Her nose flared, and so did her eyes at the presence of something else, peering through the leaves to look at her movements.

She stared into the void, reducing her movements but then, her phone buzzed, causing her to drop it in jitter. She picked it up, and on the screen was Ryan, her friend.

“Hey, Ryan,” she answered. “What’s up?”

“I am calling to see if I’ll ever get to see you tonight.”

She frowned. “Um, why?”

“I have dinner reservations for Alexandria.”

“Are you serious,” she said with excitement. “Really?”

Alexandria was a popular place to meet celebrities, and have fun while at it. Fame is required for the invitation, and neither of them had enough to get invited.

Ryan muttered. “Yeah, yeah.”

“How, how did you get one?”

“I know people,” he replied. “Are you coming?”

“I don’t know, I have an early shoot tomorrow.”

“I can call, maybe reschedule—”

The voice stopped abruptly, and a vibration rocked her ears, sending her into a tiny frenzy, with her fingernails shifting into sharp claws, and her fangs bared with a hiss. She took a deep breath, returning to her human state before staring at the phone screen.

She expected a message, but this time, it was a call from an unknown number, presumably the one that had been trying to tell her something. She was reluctant, deciding against picking it and letting the vibration dissipate.

Another rustle, but behind her this time, causing her to turn swiftly. There was no one around the parking space, and she could see her trailer just a couple of feet away. The phone vibrated again, but rather than let it die out, she picked up the call.

She said. “Hello?”

“Run,” a thick voice rushed into her ear. “Run now!”

She watched as the shadow formed into a humanoid form and raised her first in defence. Her confusion had not dissipated, but whoever was in front of her was related to the odd calls she had been getting.

“Don’t come any closer,” she warned. “I am warning you.”

The humanoid shadow formed in front of her, growing bigger and bigger into a tall beast. Its claws were as big as her hand, and its eyes were large, golden rings that stared into her soul.

It was no ordinary werewolf, but a rogue one. It was stronger, bigger and faster and only one rogue werewolf fit the description of such animalistic features — Grey.

The popular beast that had been running around, rocking Ripper County, and Hinny Hills for the past few weeks, taking down any werewolf and hunter that dared to cross him and his goals. He was standing right in front of her, breathing hot, visible breaths into the cold weather.

“Rose, run,” the voice on the phone roared. “Rose, you have to run. Now!”

She dropped the phone, and even with all her primal feeling of attack was overwhelmed by the aura of fear the large beast exuded. A swift turn back to the building was met with claws wrapped around her waist, tossing her to the side against a pole, leaving claw marks and bruises on her body.

Her life flashed right before her eyes, and all she could see was Tyler, and the life they had together. She wanted him to hold her, even if it was for the last time, his touch was all she wanted at the moment. She wanted to kiss him goodbye because she knew he was never going to see another sunrise. She wanted to tell him that he mattered to someone, she didn’t want to leave him alone, but she couldn’t. She had to protect herself, especially since she wouldn’t live long enough to get the words out.

She coughed hard, her vision coming back as her legs struggled to get a hold of the ground. She turned and ran, but was stopped short by the deafening roar of the werewolf, which shattered the nearby car windows and triggered their alarms.

The cacophony was enough to cause a disorientation, a space for the attack but she was too weak to fight back, and her only choice was to listen to the voice on the phone, telling her to run. She ran, and before she realized it, she was back in the building.

She had blood smeared on her fingers, and clothes and slowing down, she could hear the sound of feet violently sprinting away. It did not take long for her to get back to the set, where the janitors stood with their respective cleaning pieces of equipment, staring at the bloodied woman with tears coming from her eyes.

One of them asked. “Are you okay? What happened?”

She was trembling, but hid it well and flashed a short smile. “I am fine.”

She lied to the people but not to herself. The message was clear, and for all she knew, the werewolf could be waiting for her by the trailer. There was no way she was returning to it, not after what had happened. Her breath slowed, and so did her mind.