Rejected: Found By Another

Chapter 4

LYANNA’S

As the river's strong currents swept me away from the pack's territory, my body weakened with each passing moment. The cold water numbed my senses, making it hard to keep my head above the surface. I struggled to stay afloat as the river pulled me further from safety.

I could see Lucian and Zarina standing on the edge of the cliff, staring at me just so they could witness my end before leaving.

“What if she gets away?!” I heard Zarina’s voice as she shouted to Lucian, who was just behind her, his hands wrapped around her waist. She needed to raise her voice to be heard as the water currents moved violently and created noise.

“She won’t survive! She won’t be able to stay long enough in the ocean without dying from cold or excess water intake,” Lucian said to Zarina as they both kept watching me.

Lucian turned around after his statement and then grabbed Zarina’s hand and pulled her along as she seemed too hesitant to follow him. It was as though she believed I would somehow survive this. Deep down, I knew that this was death.

With my vision blurring and the sounds of rushing water overwhelming me, I felt myself losing consciousness. The pain from my injuries faded, replaced by a numbness that spread through me from the exposure to cold. Darkness crept in, and I drifted into sleep, letting the river carry me wherever it pleased.

Suddenly, I gasped for air, jolting back to awareness as water filled my lungs. I struggled to cough up the water that I had taken in; it was suffocating me, swallowing me whole.

Panic surged as I realized I was still caught in the river's grip, getting closer to the edge where it dropped into the ocean, the ocean Lucian spoke of. I screamed for help even though I knew that no one was there, but my cries were drowned out by the roar of the water.

Just as I felt myself slipping away, a strong hand gripped my arm from nowhere, pulling me back from the brink. Startled, I looked up to see a figure standing on a rock in the middle of the raging river. He held onto me as if I were the last piece of life in the world, and he wasn’t ready to let go.

“Hang on!” the stranger said, holding tightly to my second arm. He was dangling over the edge of the rock he stood on, which was also risky for him, but he didn’t mind.

“Hey, hold on tighter, I’ll get you out of here,” he called to me again as he kept trying to pull me out of the water. My heartbeat was fading from the pain, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt like I was dying, and all my organs were freezing.

I could see only a little through my blurry vision, but still, I could make out his striking eyes glowing green, and despite the chaos, he exuded a sense of calm. Seeing his eyes, I couldn’t help but ask a question...

“What are you?” I muttered as I stared into his eyes, which were still glowing. I knew werewolves either had red, blue, or yellow eyes depending on whether the individual was an alpha, beta, or an omega, but green was a whole different color.

“I got you, I got you...” He whispered in my ear after he got a good grip on my body and took me into his arms. He held me with his strong hands and squeezed me tightly to provide warmth. My head rested on his chest as he took me in his hand and hopped from one rock to another towards the shore of the water.

Just as he hopped on three to four different rocks, I saw there was still a long way, and I had no idea how I suddenly began to slip into nothingness. I clung to him tightly, and soon... my visions became blank.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...

I gasped all of a sudden, and then I started coughing intensely, jolting up from the bed that I woke up on, and then I coughed even more. Suddenly, a glass of water met my face, and even without looking at the person who was holding it, I took the glass and gulped it all down at once. Taking the last drop into my mouth, I gulped when I looked up...

Right in front of me, I saw him... the man who saved me from being washed into the ocean. My God, his features and physique were not of this world. His long hair was tied in a bun, and a few strands hung on the left side of his face.

He was...

He was muscular, unlike Lucian, and looked like he should be 6’4”. The shirt he wore fitted tightly, and since it became wet from the incident at the river, I could see how chiseled his abs were as the fabric hugged his abdomen.

“Ar- Are you okay now?” he asked as he drew closer to me, coming to take a squat in front of me. He looked really strong and powerful, so I didn’t quite expect him to be that humble.

Just then, memories of how Lucian hurt me both physically and emotionally flooded my head, and then I knew I couldn’t stand the presence of another man ever again. I just wished to be alone.

“What is your name, and what were you doing right there in the middle of the river?” he asked, trying to slowly take my hand in his as he remained in front of me.

The thought of a man touching my hands sent shivers down my spine, and I trembled visibly as I withdrew my hand. I glanced down at my shirt and saw that I was really wet to the point the shirt revealed the print of my mounds, and I became conscious, folding my hands around my chest.

“Stay away from me, please... I need to go. Thank you for your help,” I said roughly as I stood up and quickly walked past him towards the door.

Just as I crossed the threshold, I screamed in fear as I almost stepped down from the height of a mountain. I looked around and realized that the room was on the peak of a mountain. My heart throbbed harder when I saw that we were in the middle of the wilderness.

“I live on the mountaintop; for you to get down, you have to be strong enough to hop down. I can see your wolf hasn’t healed; you may suffer a fracture,” he said, and I froze.