Mated In The Shadows

Chapter One

Ana Pov

"I, Freeman, heir to Alpha Damien Freeman, of the Blue-Crescent park, reject you, Anastasia Greenwood of the Snow Moon park, as my rightful mate." His blue eyes burned with hatred and my nerves succumbed to the heaviness of the rejection. My knees dropped to the floor and a blood-curdling scream escaped my lips.

But that wasn't all because tears blurred my vision, streaming down my face.

"Why?" I stuttered.

My teary eyes shot up to see him cross his arms on his chest. Those blue eyes, those charming blue eyes that swept me off my feet five years ago became the most disgusting thing I ever saw in my seventeen years of being a slave.

But hold on. Did I just say a slave?

Yes. No other word would best describe my miserable life.

Yes. A slave. Not that I was a slave. But it would not be inappropriate to call me one because in spite of being the Alpha's daughter, I was seen as cursed because I killed my mother the very day I stepped into this world.

And Alpha Greenwood, my father, could not only hate me for killing his mate, but also for the moon goddess to have seen nobody but a wofless Omega who would not only put a stain on the family name but for the disgrace he had to put up with for the past seventeen years.

"You dare to ask me why. Huh. You really want to make a scene right now. You want to know why?" His words did no better harm than the contemptuous look he bore. He strolled a few steps forward and bent his upper body a few inches down.

My sight blurred as the tears continued to soak the part of the blue gown that spread wide open, the blue gown I desperately saved for the happiest, but now the saddest day of my life.

But I couldn't look at him when he whispered,"You are wolfless. And I have nothing to do with a wofless girl." The tip of his lips brushed my ear as he rounded up the words that made every bit of me want to explode.

And I wished I would explode, for I couldn't bear it, least of all the eyes that now stared at the kneeling lady in blue. My eyes couldn't dare to look, for they were drenched in embarrassment; indeed, so embarrassed that I never thought a day like this could turn out to be the saddest day of my life.

How did I not see it coming? Was the question screaming for answers in my head. But how could I have known when I was deeply and madly and inexplicably in love with him?

Yes. I was the naive girl who fell in love with probably the most handsome guy I ever laid eyes upon. But I could not help but be naive at the blue eyes that gave an aura befitting the son of an Alpha.

Actually, those blue eyes of his were the most beautiful I've seen. When I met him five years ago, I just couldn't look away and in two weeks we became close.

Everyone couldn't help but wonder what the most handsome man set to become the Alpha of the Crescent pack was doing with someone so lowly as me, but I never cared. But now, I wish I had.

The huge double glass door swung open.

Marylynne.

She strolled on like she owned the place. Her blond hair dangling behind her back as her hips swayed left and right. Her heels screeched to a halt, and she locked arms with the very man that had shattered my heart into a thousand pieces. She hissed, and they both turned on their heels to mount the stage. My father could not be bothered by his disgraceful daughter as he walked past me to take the stage.

Marylynne wasn't just any girl. She was my enemy; but it would have been better if she had been just an enemy, because the very girl who betrayed me was also my sister.

The long-awaited ceremony soon commenced. Except that my sister, the very lady who had assisted me to get dressed up, now took my spot. They exchanged vows and soon, they kissed as per the wedding rituals, leaving my heart heavy and wounded.

I couldn't help but travel in time to my first meeting with Louis.

Five years ago, when I first set eyes on him, Alpha Damien, his father, had come to put an end to some unending park troubles and I immediately knew he was the one.

Not as a mate, but as the man I would spend the rest of my life with. For mates were hard to come by. Most girls ended up with the guy they fell in love with; and I wasn't yet a wolf to detect my mate, for I had not shifted even at seventeen.

I wasn't a wolf yet, unlike the other girls who turned seventeen. No. I was wolfless, but it was love at first sight. And he marked me, and we swore to never let go of each other.

But that was five years ago. And enough of the backstory before I bore you.

I rubbed the marks he had made on my neck that very day. His fangs had sunk deep into my neck the day he claimed me. A burning sensation flowed down my body each time I remember the passionate nights we shared. He had declared his undying love for me, and my body could not but ache at the thought.

And when they strolled down the platform, caressing each other like some lost puppies who had found themselves, I could not but hate myself; for I never saw it coming. And every bit of nerve wanted to lurch at him, to at least demand more explanation; to know if it was all a lie. But then, I slightly warmly braced the exposed portion of my shoulders.

"I'm sorry Ana, I never knew they had it all planned out. Else, I would have informed you."

I turned and Diana registered before my sight. And my eyes, for some inexplicable reason, ceased to shed tears. Her warm hug quickly cheered me up because Diana was the closest thing I had to a family.

Unlike me, she had shifted on her seventeenth birthday, although she had yet to meet her mate. The truth is, she may never have found him, for werewolves hardly find their mates and often end up with the person they fell in love with.

But I had found the one I love, except that he didn't see me as worthwhile enough.

My dad. No. He didn't deserve to be called dad.

The man who fathered me was fortunate to have found his mate after waiting for twenty-five years. And then I took her from him.

I understood why he hated me, but that didn't give him the right to treat me the way he did.

Diana took time comforting her best friend and the flashing light from the photographers continued to glare at the eyes of a grieving lady. My sister and her husband could but smile each time they posed in styles, sharing some passionate kisses that aimed to make me jealous.

Jealous?

No.

Sad would be the word.

"Thanks Diana." I brushed my face with a palm. Diana had tried her best. But her best could not repair the damage that had been done. I shuffled my feet forward, nearly bumping into a waitress. No other place was in mind but home.

But wait. Did I just say home?

Wrong word. And excuse me for using this, because I was only going to get my things. I could not live in hell anymore.

I pushed the door open, but my impatience almost got the best of me by almost kicking it open after a few attempts that seemed like a thousand times. And soon, I was in the little cage I called room.

My dad had considered it a disgrace to live under the same roof with a wolfless lady, so I was assigned a room that was no better than a dungeon.

I scrambled the clean but torn and worn-out clothes into a backpack and headed for the door.

"What the hell are you doing here!" I barked. He was the last person I expected to see. And not just that, I hated him the most and I wanted nothing to do with him.