The Mafia Alpha Runaway Mate

Elena Pov I couldn't marry him. The thought stayed with me as I ran deeper into the forest, my wedding dress dragging through the dirt and catching on roots and branches. I gathered the heavy skirt in one hand and pushed forward, ignoring the ache spreading through my legs. I only needed to reach the territory beyond the pack's borders. Once I crossed them, my father would no longer have the authority to force me back, or at least that was what I kept telling myself as the guards' voices echoed through the trees behind me. "Search everywhere!" "She couldn't have gone far!" "Check the eastern trail!" They were getting closer. I forced myself to run faster, but my body had never been strong enough to keep up with the other wolves in my pack. I tired easily, and unlike everyone else, I had never awakened my wolf. My family had spent years treating that weakness as a shame, and tonight it was making my escape almost impossible. A branch caught the back of my dress, and I yanked myself free without slowing down. I took another step, only for my foot to land on a hidden root and twist beneath me. Pain shot through my ankle as I fell hard against the ground. I clenched my teeth and pushed myself up, but the voices behind me were already louder. I steadied myself against a tree, tested my injured foot, and forced myself forward despite the pain. Mateo Blackthorn was waiting for me. Even thinking about his name made my stomach tighten. I knew little about the man himself, but I knew enough about the family he belonged to. The Blackthorns were one of the most powerful families in the supernatural world, and even those who disliked them were careful not to make themselves enemies of them. Mateo was their heir, and his reputation had reached our pack long before the marriage arrangement did. There were stories about the women who had married him before me, but whenever anyone mentioned them, the conversation quickly ended. None of those women had remained by his side, and no one seemed willing to explain why. I had no intention of becoming another woman people whispered about. I took another step, but my ankle gave way beneath me. I caught myself against the tree just as footsteps approached from both sides. "There she is!" I turned and found three guards moving toward me. "Elena, stop running," one of them called. "Come back with us." I backed away. "I'm not going back." "You don't have a choice." One of them reached for me. I tried to pull away, but my injured ankle failed me again, and before I could regain my balance, he caught my arm while another guard grabbed my other side. "Let me go!" "Your father is waiting for you." I stopped fighting. Of course he was. They dragged me back toward the pack house, and by the time we reached the entrance, my wedding dress was covered in dirt, the hem was torn, and blood had soaked through the fabric around my ankle. Conversations died as I entered, and dozens of eyes followed me across the hall. Some looked at me with pity, others with disappointment, but I refused to lower my head. My father was waiting at the other end of the hall. His gaze moved over my ruined dress before settling on my face. "Where did you think you were going?" "Anywhere but here." His expression hardened. "You embarrassed this family tonight." "I refused to marry a man I don't want." "This marriage is necessary." "For who?" "For the pack." I stared at him. "So I'm being traded for an alliance?" "You know how important the Blackthorn family is." "I know exactly who they are." "Then you should understand why this marriage cannot be cancelled." "I understand perfectly. You made a decision about my life without asking me." His jaw tightened. "You don't need to love Mateo." "I don't." "You don't need to like him either." "I don't." "But you will marry him." The certainty in his voice made my chest tighten. I shook my head. "I won't." My father stared at me for a moment before his expression hardened further. "You have always made things difficult." "Because I don't have a wolf?" "Because you refuse to understand your position." "My position?" I gave a bitter laugh. "You mean the daughter you have spent years treating like she's worth less because she never awakened?" "Watch your words." "Why? You're already sending me to a man whose previous wives disappeared. What exactly am I supposed to be grateful for?" His expression darkened. "Those are rumors." "Then tell me what happened to them." He didn't answer. That was all the answer I needed. "If you refuse this marriage," he said, "you will leave the pack." I went still. "You would exile me?" "You will leave before sunrise. You will no longer have a place here, and you will no longer be recognized as a member of this family." For a moment, I couldn't speak. Losing my home hurt, but what hurt more was realizing that he had already chosen. The pack came first, and I was simply the price he was willing to pay to protect it. "So that's it?" I asked quietly. "Marry Mateo or leave?" "Those are your choices." I looked toward the doors. Leaving meant losing my home, my family, and everything I had ever known. Staying meant giving up the rest of my life before it had even begun. "If leaving is the price of choosing my own life, then I'll pay it." My father said nothing. I turned toward the door. "Elena." I stopped but didn't look back. "You'll regret this." I tightened my hand around the torn fabric of my dress. "Maybe I will, but at least the regret will be mine." I reached for the door. "I think you stopped being my father a long time ago." Then I walked out. Five Years Later Five years had passed since I left my pack, and somewhere along the way, that night had stopped feeling like the end of my life. I never went back. Instead, I built a life where no one cared that I had never awakened a wolf and where I was judged by what I could do rather than what I lacked. That life had led me to emergency medicine. I had barely finished the last page of my book during my break when the emergency bell rang through the station. I closed the book, slipped it into my bag, and stood as Adrian grabbed his jacket. "Another call?" I nodded and followed him outside. The emergency vehicle was already waiting. Marcus took the driver's seat while Adrian and I climbed into the back. As soon as we pulled away, Adrian glanced at the book in my hand. "Do you ever get tired of reading?" "Do you ever get tired of asking?" He laughed. "Fair enough." I put the book away and opened the tablet, scanning the dispatch report. "Multiple vehicles involved. Possible casualties." "Any details?" "Not yet." I closed the tablet and checked my medical bag instead, making sure everything I might need was within reach. The accident had happened on one of the busiest roads outside the city. By the time we arrived, several vehicles had been damaged across the road, and traffic had backed up in both directions. A police car pulled up behind us, and the officers immediately began clearing a path. Marcus drove through. An overturned car lay near the center of the wreckage, while another had slammed into the barrier. An SUV had suffered heavy damage to its front end. I grabbed my medical bag. "Stop here." Marcus brought the vehicle to a halt, and Adrian and I jumped out. "There are two people inside the SUV!" a firefighter shouted as we approached. "A man and a child. The driver is trapped." "Are they alive?" "The man is. The child stopped breathing a few minutes ago." "Is the vehicle stable?" "Yes." "Get me an opening." The firefighters had already stabilized the SUV and cut through part of the wreckage. I crouched beside the driver and checked him quickly. His pulse was weak but present, his forehead was badly cut, and his chest was crushed against the steering wheel. His breathing was shallow, but his eyes moved when I spoke. "Stay with me. We're getting you out." I turned toward the firefighters. "Prepare for extraction. Keep his neck stabilized." They moved into position while I shifted toward the back seat. A little boy was strapped into his seat, blood covering the side of his face as he lay completely still. I checked his airway and breathing before feeling for a pulse. There was none. I checked again, but nothing changed. His injuries were catastrophic, and there was no response to stimulation or any sign of spontaneous breathing. I turned toward Adrian. "Stay with the father." His eyes moved to the child. "What about him?" "The child has no signs of life." Adrian crouched beside me. "We should still try CPR." I shook my head. "His injuries are unsurvivable. We need to get the father out before we lose him too." "He's a child, Elena." "I know." "We can't just leave him." "We're not leaving him. We're treating the patient who still has a chance." Adrian looked toward the father, then back at the boy. For a moment, he hesitated, but eventually he moved toward the firefighters. I turned to them. "Get a cervical collar. Start an IV and prepare him for extraction. Move him carefully; his chest injury could worsen if we handle him roughly." They immediately got to work. I stayed beside the child for another moment before pulling the blanket over him and standing. "On my count," I said. The firefighters positioned themselves around the injured father. "One, two, three." Together, we pulled him free from the wreckage.