MATE BY CHANCE

~FIGHT OR DIE TRYING~

~June ~

Breakfast was over in a flash and I couldn't be more thankful that I was at a table with wolves. The thought of leaving the pack made me so giddy I was finding it hard to contain my happiness. I tried not to dwell on the fact that the last time I was this thrilled, things took a different turn. Today would have been a good day to go for a run in the woods with the hopes of seeing my silver-eyed man for the last time before I embarked on whatever it was lay ahead. Pushing the bad vibes as far as I could, I spent the morning in pure bliss as I tended to Pete and his pack mates. Nothing was going to burst my bubble, not even when they decided to make me their errand girl. I did it all with a smile on my face knowing it was my last day, thank Celeste.

The afternoon rolled by smoothly and for once, I was ‘excused’ so that Pete and his mate could have their time without me crowding their space. I could tell Freya was trying to get on my nerves and failing which in turn got on her nerves. I had yet to meet the Luna or the other pack members but I was sure word had already spread that I would soon be an outcast. Having been the butt of all their jokes and insults for years, nothing they could say would hurt me, at least not physically. I made my way to my cabin so I could begin packing the stuff I would need for my exodus. I did not plan to carry anything other than my duffel bag and so packing would be done in a second and hopefully I could go for my much-needed run.

“It’s about time you left, why didn’t nobody think about this sooner?” I was feet away from my cabin when I heard Caitlyn speak. She really had it out for me, for reasons only she knew.

“Hello Caitlyn, what can I do for you?” I asked in the fakest polite voice I could muster, just to see her reaction.

“I find it rather suspicious that you are not even sad about you broken bond, or leaving the Pack. You really are trash, what a waste of beauty. ” she spat out, looking at me with so much contempt I could cry if I wasn’t used to her verbal attacks.

“What did I ever do to you? We used to be friends, what happened. ” I asked her, genuinely wanting to know her reasons for her deep hate. We were inseparable when we were young, but everything changed when my mate did not show up after my 16th birthday. One morning we were running together, the next, she barely looked at me.

“Nobody wants to be associated with bad luck, isn't that obvious?” She answered as if it was something I should have known.

“The sooner you leave the better… you are not the mighty wolf you think you are,” she added and rushed off. It always baffled me how invested she was in her hate for me while all I did was exist. Ignoring the bitterness from her, I headed up to my cabin so I could begin packing and eventually sneak out for my run, Leenah had been acting all skittish and stuff. I got to packing and was very thankful I wasn’t a hoarder. I had no worries about surviving out there, my father had left me enough money to last a decade, and all I had to do was contact his lawyer. I put all my precious trinkets in the bag as well. Whatever I would leave behind would probably be burnt but I did not care, not anymore. I was done packing in a minute and decided it was time to let Leenah Free and go through the back window as we always did but we were interrupted by a knock on my door, much to my dislike.

I left my room and only then could I place the scent at my door, and it was Pete” I tied my bathrobe around me as I had already undressed for the transformation. I went to the door and opened it just wide enough for me to see his face. Why was he on my doorstep after requesting private time with his mate?

“You, must be surprised, were you getting ready for a bath?” Pete dared to ask after running his gaze over my body, I may have shuddered in disgust.

“What do you want? Speak fast I have things to do. ” I spat out, not able to withhold my disgust any longer.

“No need to be hostile, I just hoped to change your mind about coming to my Pack, we may not be mates but you could still find ways to serve in my pack. ” Pete said suggestively and I almost threw up at his insinuation.

“Thanks, but no thanks, you rejected me first, even without knowing me and suddenly you want me to serve your Pack? ” I answered back, wanting to punch him in the face just once.

“I chose Freya because she is the Alpha’s daughter, you know what that means for me right?” Pete dared to try and explain his reason for rejection.

“Good for you, but do not sit on your tail hoping that I would join the Crawford Pack , I would rather be a rogue. Can you leave now?” I said without batting an eye.

“You should take my offer, you will not be beautiful forever you know? Even rogue wolves have taste.” He said, once again running his gaze all over me, eww.

“Thank you for your input, you may now leave. ” I said turning to get back in my cabin but was suddenly pushed against the door, his face inches away from my neck.

“What the heck! Are you mad! ” I yelled, trying to push him off of me. I looked up to his eyes and noticed they had changed color.

“Mmmh! You smell so intoxicating, just like the first time we met, it all I had in me not to jump on you. ” Pete’s voice suddenly drooped a few octaves as he practically growled in my ear. My body chose that time to react to his assault. The flash of arousal was snuffed out immediately as Leenah also surfaced, using my claws I dug into his midsection as he ran his nose all over my neck. I raised my knee and drove it right into his crotch, sending him to the ground immediately.

“ Try that again and see what happens… stay the hell away from me!” I yelled at him as I shut my door.

I went straight to my bathroom, threw the robe on the floor and proceeded to scrub myself raw. The thought of him up in my personal space and my reaction to him irked me so much. I wondered why his closeness affected me so much, hadn’t the mate bond completely disappeared? The lack of pain in my chest was evident that we were no longer connected, but why? Why did I react to him like a wolf on heat? I made up my mind to not leave the cabin, should he attempt it again.

I left the bathroom and got dressed again, canceling my plans to go for a run. It would only be minutes before I would be summoned to serve Pete and his pack mates dinner, the mere thought of seeing him again made me shudder in disgust. I thought of telling the Alpha what happened but I wanted to leave the Pack with a less damaged reputation. I packed up all my clothes and unnecessary items in boxes.

I sat on my bed and stared at the clock on the opposite wall, shocked that it was close to midnight. It would be hours until could be free from the shackles of a pack that wanted nothing to do with me, and a mate that had ruthless rejected me. I started tearing up at the thought of my father, it was nights like this that made me wish he was here with me, to protect me and comfort me. I turned my gaze towards the window and was jealous at how the night was calm while my heart was in a frenzy.

‘Tomorrow, we start again …’ I heard Leenah say, deep in my sub-conscience and I believed her. Tomorrow we would begin again. The notification on my phone brought me back to reality as a message flashed on my phone.

‘COME OUT ’ the text from the Alpha said I headed to the door without further thought.

“Yes Alpha,” I said as soon as I stepped out to meet him.

“I have thought about it and decided it's best for you to leave the Pack tonight. There is no need for me to oust you in front of the pack and your ex-mate. ” The Alpha said and I was left speechless. I did not know he cared for me that way, if he did, he never showed it.

“Anything is fine by me Alpha, I will follow your lead, as always. ” I answered him, bowing my head in submission, but also to hide the smile on my face.

“Then let's get to it, Luna has no idea I am here, nobody knows.

By the power vested in me, through Celeste, goddess of the Moon, I Alpha Michael, hereby, break your bond with the Gray Moon Pack. May the gods watch over you. ” Alpha Michael said the ritual as we both faced the moon.

“Thank you, Alpha Michael, I shall never forget this. ” I said as he turned to leave without a word. I had a few hours left, as soon as the moon disappeared, I would be a lone wolf and it would be best if I was far from the Pack territory. I rushed back to my cabin and grabbed my duffel, there was no time to waste.

I left through the back window as I always did whenever I went for my runs, I gave my cabin one last look before rushing into the woods. Now that I was no longer a part of the pack, I felt off-balance. My vision and hearing seemed to have gotten weak. The air was too thick around the pack territory that I struggled to cross. An hour later, I had managed to find the river that separated the pack lands and the forest. Maybe if I appeared as a lost girl, the man in the cabin would take me in, even for a night as I figured my next step.

Crossing the river, the murky feeling in my head dissipated, it was as if I had crossed a threshold into a new world. I knelt by the riverside and washed my face ready for a night of running. I quickly got back up and headed deeper into the forest that I knew would welcome me at any time.

I hadn't gotten far when I heard footsteps a few meters behind me. I sniffed the cold air in an attempt to identify the person or animal following me but instead got a whiff of nothing. Every living thing had a scent so it was weird that this creature had none. I picked up my pace, changing directions every now and then trying to derail whatever was following me but the steps soon became too loud.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Pete’s reject of a wolf. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to wander in the dark alone? What is big bad wolves attack you. ” said a voice from somewhere behind me, followed by a series of manic laughers from two others.

“What do you want? And what makes you think I am not the ‘Big bad wolf’ ?” I asked, even though everything in my core was telling me to run.

“Why don’t we find that out?” another colder voice said and I immediately knew who it was. I was outnumbered, this was an ambush.

I had no time to get answers as I dropped my bag and ran as fast as I could, shedding my clothes as I did and shifting faster than I ever did letting Leenah take the lead. Behind us, I could hear my attackers also transform in their run, damn! I was a fast wolf but they ran like they were charged.

Without warning, a ball of fur smashed into my side, sending me flying into a massive tree, denting it. The impact drove all the air out of my lungs. The pain soon followed as Leenah tried to get up. She healed in a minute, but it was a minute too late as I was now facing the three, big wolves.

From behind the snarling wolves, came a figure I had never thought would be behind this ambush.

‘We fight, or die trying. ’ I told Leenah in our mind link as she positioned herself for an attack.