Alpha's Regretful Mate

The rescue

I dragged my suitcase through the woods, heavy, long trees by my sides, the wheels of the suitcase kept catching on roots and rocks. Her face had streaks of dried tears, the ache in her chest pained her too much. She had no direction, no purpose. The palace she had called home was now somewhere that she could never go back to. Everything that she had, her life there was now just a memory, and with it, everything she loved.

The cold air bit at my skin. I was too tired to keep on moving, but the castle was still too close and looking at it just made my chest hurt.

I finally stopped near a cluster of trees. I set my suitcase down, sank to the ground, held my knees to my chest. Tears didn't stop falling from my eyes as I was curled into a ball.

"How did it come to this?" I whispered to no one in particular. My mind was filled with images of Matthew’s anger, Karen’s lies, and Cuddy’s lifeless body.

I wiped my face, but the tears still wouldn’t stop. “I loved her.” I murmured, my voice broke as I started to question herself. “I would never hurt her…”

The sound of the animals in the forest were the only things that sounded like reply to me. I knew I couldn’t stay here, in the forest forever. I needed food, rest, and most importantly, a plan.

I hunted that night, my skills were much duller than I remembered them to be. A rabbit darted past, and with quick movements, I tried to catch it but it escaped me. I tried severally, aiming for bigger animals but failed miserably each time. I sat down, tired and hungry until a hare ran towards me, it was being chased by a bigger animal and I protected it.

The hare was safe and comfortable around me. I was too hungry to think of keeping a pet, my mind wasn’t in the right place, so I killed it. I lit a small fire and prepared my meal, the silence in the woods started to grow on me. I ate the hare in silence, my thoughts at that moment were only on what I was eating.

"This isn’t the end." I said to myself. "I need to move forward. Somewhere far away... somewhere they’ll find me, somewhere no one would know who I am, somewhere I can start over."

I curled up under a thick tree after I finished eating, using my suitcase as a makeshift pillow. The stars above shined and it reminded me of when I used to do things like this with Matthew. I kept remembering things like that till I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of birds chirping and several small animals around me, some sleeping by my side and the others just playing around me. For a moment, I forgot where she was, what had happened. Then reality hit me. I wasn't as sad as I was yesterday.

I had made a very vital decision. I wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity any longer. Matthew had thrown me out, but I was still alive. And as long as I was breathing, I could fight for a new beginning. I thought of killing another animal but I couldn’t bring herself to do that, no when they have all cozied up to me.

So, I just packed her things, played with some of the animals and caught fruits for them and for myself.

I began her journey again. My steps were quicker than yesterday's, I had made a resolution. By mid-afternoon, I spotted a small town in the distance. It wasn’t much, a few modest houses, a market square, and a tavern, but it was exactly what I needed.

"A fresh start," I whispered, gripping the handle of my suitcase. As I got close to the outskirts of the town, my wolf senses tingled. Something wasn’t right. It felt like I was being watched, maybe the animals followed me?

A rustle in the bushes made me stop moving immediately. My eyes looked around, scanning the area. Suddenly, five men stepped out from the shadows, they had this evil look on their faces.

“Well, well,” one of them said, he sounded like a menace. “What’s a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?”

My grip on the suitcase tightened. “Leave me alone. There doesn't have to be trouble here.” I said firmly, trying to make my voice sound deeper and scary.

The man laughed, it sounded cruel and it made me shiver. “Oh, we’ll leave you alone… after we have a little fun.”

My heart pounded. I knew what they wanted, and I wasn’t going to let it happen.

"Now, I would assume that you lot are responsible men and you wouldn't want to cause harm to an innocent person." I tried to stall, hoping that I would think of a plan or a way out of there.

"Oh, come on. You already know what is going to happen, you can just let us do it peacefully and you might even enjoy it." One of the men said.

I took a defensive position.

"I guess we are going to have to this the hard way. Let it be know to all that we gave you an option."

The first man lunged at me, but I saw him coming and I was quicker. Dropping my suitcase, I spun around and delivered a strong and hard kick to his stomach, it sent him flying into a tree and he instantly passed out.

“b***h!” another one yelled, before charging at me. I ducked under his swing and elbowed him in the face. Blood spurted from his nose as he stumbled back.

The others hesitated for a while, they were extremely surprised by my strength.

"So, you've got strength, huh?"

All of a sudden, they rushed her all at once. I fought back with everything I had, My fists and feet flying, but the men were strong and outnumbered me.

One of them managed to grab my arm, twisting it painfully behind my back. Another slapped me across the face, the force of it sent me to the ground with a crazy migraine.

I screamed, thrashing and kicking as they pinned me down. I thought of things to do. Think, Lily! Don’t give up! But they were too strong. One of them ripped at my clothes, and I felt the cold air against my skin. That's when I started to panic

“No! Let me go!” I screamed. I fought harder, clawing and biting, refusing to give up and let them have it easy. “Get off me!”

The men only laughed, they knew that they would get what they wanted.

One of them leaned in close, his foul breath making me gag. “Stop struggling, sweetheart. It’ll be easier if you just— let me in”

My body trembled uncontrollably as the men continued.

I had fought with everything I had, but they were too strong, too many. My strength had quickly diminished, and I had started to panic. I struggled to breathe, my chest was heaving as tears streamed down her face as they grabbed my body, breasts and every part of me.

“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”

The man closest to me sneered, leaning in so close that I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Oh, we’re just getting started.” he said with a cruel laugh.

I cried harder, the tears blurring h vision. “I’m begging you.” I pleaded with a cracking voice. “Please, let me go. I’ll do anything!”

One of them grabbed my wrists, pinning them above my head, while another ripped at the remains of my clothing.

I closed my eyes for what was about to happen to me. Just when I thought things were going to take a turn for me, I was just about to get r***d.

Suddenly, a loud thud broke my train of thought. I opened my eyes just in time to see one of the attackers go flying into a tree. His head struck the trunk with a sickening crack, blood splattering everywhere.

“What the hell—?!” one of the men shouted, spinning around.

A tall figure emerged from the shadows, his face obscured by the light, his figure was big and frightening. He moved with terrifying speed, his fists slamming into another man’s jaw with enough force to send him sprawling to the ground, and to break his jaw.

My captors quickly let go of me, switching their focus now on the stranger. “Who the hell are you?” one of them demanded, transforming into his wolf form.

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed the attacker’s wrist, twisting it so effortlessly. With one swift motion, he drove his fist into the man’s stomach, doubling him over before slamming him into the dirt.

The remaining three attackers hesitated, they started to get scared. But their hesitation was short-lived. They charged at the man together, shouting, hoping that it would work again.

Lily was still lying on the ground, could only watch as the fight happened. The man was like a force of nature, dodging their blows and retaliating with brutal efficiency.

A sickening crunch filled the air as he broke another attacker’s neck. The last two men tried to run, but he caught them easily, dispatching one with a punch that caved in his skull.

The final attacker fell to his knees, begging for mercy. “Please! Don’t kill me! I didn’t—”

The man didn’t let him finish. With one final, devastating blow, he silenced him. "I don't like criminal. Your kind is worse."

My vision got blurry, my body too weak to hold on to consciousness any longer. i tried to speak, to thank the man who had saved her, but the words wouldn’t come. my head hit the ground, and I passed out immediately.