BONDED TO THE ROYAL LYCAN KING

2

Ellie's Point Of View

I pulled away from the tree, my gaze colder than the evening breeze as I stared at the stupid bastard and mate before me.

"What are you doing here?" I counted my words, carefully, noticing the sly smile that played across his lips.

"It's a Council meeting," He said, taking a few more steps to me. "I am expected to be here, mate," he answered, slowly enunciating the last word intentionally, to rile me up.

"Are you?" I shot back. "Considering you are neither the Alpha of your pack nor the Beta,"

His sinister smile deepened, disgusting me all the more. He took more steps closer until he was right in front of me with no distance between us.

"I am the future Alpha of the Iron Claw Pack, and seeing as I am to be crowned Alpha in a few days, it's mandatory I'm present to greet our King" He retorted with a smug look, causing me to roll my eyes.

I hated him. I hated the smug look on his face and the scent he carried around. I never thought I would ever get sick of the scent that I once craved.

"Good for you then. Now, get the hell out of my way," I said through gritted teeth, pushing him away but as soon as I passed, his hand gripped me, pushing me against the tree.

"Not too fast, mate. Let's not kid ourselves, I know you've been dying to see me again," Daniel pressed his body against mine, with his sick breath fanning against my ears.

I felt the subtle sparks that erupted as a result of the mate bond. This was the part I hated too. I hated it so much. If only the stupid bastard had accepted the rejection, I would be free of this stupid bond, but no. He claimed I was a worthless w***e who betrayed him, the lowlife she-wolf who didn't deserve him, but he wouldn't accept my rejection to sever the bond between us, instead subjecting me to a life of insufferable pain from the bond whenever he was with his Karen.

I hated him so much.

Using every ounce of my strength, I pushed him off me, kicking my leg in the air, and slamming it against his face. I heard the sound of bones snapping as he fell on the piled-up dried leaves covering the ground.

Before he could get up on his feet, I hit him hard against his cheek.

"Bloody bastard! Do you have a death wish? Alpha or not, touch me again and I'll kill you, Cohen," I voiced angrily, walking away from him.

I had barely taken a few steps when I heard the sound of his deafening laughter that I once considered beautiful. It didn't stop, it only increased, causing me to stop in my tracks.

I turned around to find him dusting himself off the ground. He spat off the blood in his mouth, continuing his deranged laughter. I wondered what he found amusing?

"You have no idea how turned on I am right now, mate," He muttered, his words making my skin crawl. "I know you love me. I still see the sparks in your eyes,"

"In case you have forgotten, Cohen. I was the one who rejected you," I directed my raging glare at him.

"Yeah, after you gave yourself to me and I broke your heart," He smiled.

“Stop this madness, Daniel. Accept my rejection and let's put an end to this mess,”

His eyes darkened. "That’s never going to happen, mate. And you know why. I had no choice but to cast you aside. I am an Alpha for the goddess's sake, I needed a Luna who was stronger, and more deserving of my status. That's why I chose Karen and marked her,"

"I'm glad you did. You spared me a lifetime of dealing with a f*****g scumbag like you, Daniel Cohen," I meant every word I said, even though my wolf kept howling in pain.

Nina was a strong wolf, fierce and brave physically, but not emotionally. I learned that recently from Daniel's betrayal. She was broken. And I didn’t blame her, but I refused to be as weak as she was.

"Why don't I believe you? I know you still want me, and frankly, I do too. I want you Ellie,"

"As your mistress?" I chuckled at the absurdity of his words. "Never in my life, Cohen. I do not care about you. The littlest shred of affection I had once harbored for you died that night and right now, I feel nothing but spite and disgust for you. Get that into your rotten brain," As I counted each word I said, his gaze hardened, and the playful sneer on his lips turned into a frown.

He didn't utter a word, even as I walked away. I kept on walking into the woods and only stopped when I reached the lake that was on the east side of the pack.

I was fuming with rage. My body was burning with so many emotions, and I felt the brutal pain from that night pierce my bones, crippling me to the ground. I hated that bastard, and I meant every word I said back then. I didn't care a bit about him, but somehow the pain in my chest just couldn't go away.

Damn, the mate bond.

Having been given an idiotic bloody mate from the goddess, and him hurting me most cruelly had created a deep cavity in my chest. A place full of pain and hurt where my wolf now resides.

I blew out some air, still feeling my body burn hot. I needed to cool down. I began to strip off from my clothes and dived into the lake. It was refreshing. The cool waters did wonders for my body, soothing my rage. After swimming for a while, I was out of the water and began to dress up. It was only then I felt it. The presence.

I froze for a second as I was about to grab my jacket and scarf from the pile of stones I had tossed them on. I couldn't be mistaken. I was being watched. For a second, I thought it might have been Daniel, but I knew it wasn't.

I pulled up my jacket and wore it, wrapping my scarf around my head, allowing it to cover my face. I started walking into the woods, in the opposite direction I had left Daniel.

The more I moved, it was obvious I was being followed. Whoever it was, was pretty good. If it wasn't for the weird manner the hairs on my skin seem to stand, attentively, I wouldn't have noticed the presence that lurked in the darkness. Well, regardless, it only made my anger resurface.

I stopped walking, turning around. I used my wolf's sight to scan through the darkness and I found no one. My rage only intensified. I took to my heels and began running through the woods, not from fright, but to catch the bloody bastard that had been stalking me.

I ran fast. Very fast. Even without being in my wolf's form, I was faster than most wolves in their forms, and the only wolves that had ever beaten me in a race without being in their wolf forms were Leo and his mate, Kira. And now, it seemed my f*****g stalker had topped the list as well.

Whoever it was, they were fast. Hell, faster. With my glowing eyes, I couldn't even catch a glimpse, not even a shadow. Only the heavy presence, racing past the trees could I feel.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't notice the huge figure that had come out from nowhere blocking my view. I almost crashed into it, but I was quick to pull the brakes on my legs, coming to a halt, right before the figure. It was a male. I couldn't see his face well due to the tall canopy of trees that were selfish enough to impede the moon's glowing rays.

The second he took another step closer, my defense mode kicked in, and I attacked him. He was incredulously fast, and swift in dodging all my attacks, and never once did he hit back.

Soon, I felt my body against the trunk of an oak tree in the forest. But I didn't stop fighting, even though I could admit his strength was something I had never come across, even with Alpha Leo. He wasn't one from a ranking status, otherwise, I could have felt it. It wouldn't be easy to hide that kind of power.

He evaded all my attacks and didn't stop until he had me pinned against the tree trunk. His large, towering figure was pressed against mine, and his hands confined my fists.

I was breathing hard. My chest rose up and down in a rapid motion as I tried to get enough air into my lungs, but he seemed just fine.

"Let's go off me," I ordered in rage, as I struggled for freedom but it was all useless. "Who sent you?" I growled out, and for a second my thoughts again wandered to that asshole, Daniel, but this stranger didn't smell from the Iron Claw Pack.

Instead, my question was met by his silence. And strangely, I felt something within me stir. And I became curious. I had to know exactly who the stranger was.

It was almost like the moon was as curious as I was. And from the canopy trees that covered the woods, the moon's glowing rays floated in, settling on him.

The first thing my blue gaze caught was the bright golden hair that danced against the evening breeze. It was as golden as the sun and he had high cheekbones on the sharpest jawline. And his skin looked so smooth and perfect. He was beautiful.

That was odd. It surprised me where that thought came from. I was never one to take in so much detail about someone, especially of the opposite s*x.

I shook my head, regaining my sanity, and then my blue eyes lifted, and as they fell into the darkest pairs of eyes, I froze under his hold.

“Mate,” He whispered.

My whole body turned numb for a second as we locked gaze with one another. I felt Nina pull up to the surface in disbelief to see through my eyes and she was left frozen as well.

No. This couldn't be happening again. Did he just call me his mate? This was impossible. Daniel was my mate and we hadn't completely severed our bond so how was this possible?

My heartbeat accelerated, and I couldn't hide the rage that suddenly flashed through my eyes as I began to struggle against his stronghold to set myself free. It didn't matter if we were mates or not. I was done with the likes of them and the last thing I needed was another f*****g, self-conceited mate.

Even in the darkness, I could see the shock and confusion that clouded his gaze, but his hold on me remained the same.

"Let go of me!" I yelled, as one of his hands left my hand, and began to reach slowly for my face to pull off the scarf I had previously used to cover my face.

Before he could take it off, I mustered enough strength to push him only a step back and as I felt the scarf from my head slowly pulling away, I gave Nina full control and she shifted right away into my wolf form and dashed off. Not glancing back.