The ride was long, and I was surviving on very little sleep despite the comfort provided to me by my best friends pack. I tried to stay awake but the rocking motion of the car combined with the silence from my mate allowed me to fall asleep I easily.
By the time I woke up, I was surrounded by humongous trees and little comfortable looking houses that had a wood cabin charm to it. Being an avid explorer and I was excited that I would have the opportunity to roam around this gorgeous setting that was kept far away from the prying eyes of everyone but the Sangre Leikos Pack.
I turned my head to my left to see my mate looking at me with a beautiful smile on his face.
"Welcome to the Leikos territory, Little Rogue." I could hear the immense pride that he had for his pack in his voice. It was always warming to see an Alpha who loved his people and territory, and I was glad that my mate was one of them.
This proved about fifty percent of the rumours about this pack wrong. People said that the Αlpha of the Sangre Leikos pack was cruel beyond limits, that he kept his pack members tied to the dungeons like dogs, and also that after a raid he tied his victims to the trees leading to his home, so that he could see the faces of all those who he murdered and enjoy while their corpses looked at him with dead eyes. All this might have sounded gory to untrained ears, but with what I had seen in a few packs I wouldn't have been surprised if it was true.
I continued to observe everything through the window, taking in the beauty of the leafy green trees and the bushes of colourful flowers that grew along the road. I could feel Arden's eyes on my back all this while, but I refused to turn as I feared that I would lose my speech in my nervousness and sound like a bumbling idiot.
A short while later the car came to a stop in front of a gorgeous white pack house. It looked more stylish than strong, which was different. The house was a combination of white walls, glass walls and light brown wooden panels that ran along the sides. I could clearly see the women working in the kitchen from the place our car had stopped, but my attention was fixated on the large crowd that had gathered in front of the main door.
Arden opened the car door and so did I. With my sunglasses perched on my head, I murmured a few words of encouragement under my breath which didn't go unnoticed by Arden. He gave me a reassuring smile and moved his hand toward mine, but then stopped midway and dropped it, probably realising that it wasn't the tight time to hold my hand even if I was his mate.
I was about to take a step towards Arden, just because I felt safer but before I could do so, a girl ran towards Arden and wrapped her arms and legs around my mate.
My wolf was growling inside my head and a tiny one almost escaped from my lips but I held it in. I saw Arden look a little uncomfortable, there was an infinitesimal change in the way his body was positioned, towards me.
Growling meant caring, which is equal to a no-no.
It was also possible that she was his best friend or his sister, though they didn't look similar. My eyes narrowed suspiciously on the gold ring around her finger. I would have been happy or at least satisfied with those possibilities had she not placed her filthy lips on his. His lack of response or disgust made my blood boil as I readied myself for an attack.
A threatening growl escaped my lips and I saw the guards who knew I was the assholes mate take a step away from me.
Everyone's eyes shifted from their alpha and his lover to me and some of them widened in realization.
Faster than the speed of light I caught the bitch's neck in my hand and I raised her delicate looking body in the air. The power and energy coursing through my blood was a delight as it proved that my wolf and I had the same idea. It did strike me that if someone was to be blamed and hurt it was that darling mate of mine, but my wolf worked actively to harm the girl who made the first move.
Arden caught my hand tightly.
"Leave her." He growled. My wolf was begging me to kill the disrespectful pup. I felt my eyes turn completely black. Arden's hand was digging into my back and I was sure I had a few deep wounds that were going to be formed.
Not deeper than the one in my little rogue heart.
"Keep her down Rosemarie." He growled, no Little Rogue.
I threw her body on the ground, but made sure that I didn't use my full strength. I was angry, but I was also ashamed that I used my power on a girl who was so weak. Her resistance had been half-hearted and futile, which made my human mind tingle in curiosity. How had an Alpha chosen someone so pitiful to be his partner?
I turned around and ran full speed into the woods that were calling to me. I needed to cool off and I was also not going to shed tears over a mate that I didn't really want but had follow back anyways.
I had followed him back. It was my fault, I was the one who didn't want him. But my heart hurt so much, I felt rejected.
I turned around to see Arden cradling the girl gently, trying to wake her up. My heart clenched once more before I started to run.
Idiot. Cruel. I'll kill him. No, I'll kill her. I'll chop his little dick off in his sleep.
I could sense that someone was following me, even though I couldn't be sure who it was. Only a few scents from this pack were familiar to me and I was sure that it wasn't Arden. He didn't even bother to follow me.
A huge wolf tackled me but I felt no sparks that came in a package with the mate bond.
The wolf shifted back to his human form, that stood tall in all his naked glory.
"Shift back and don't even think of running."
I had no doubts that I could easily outrun him, but he seemed alright. Plus I needed my bag of possessions that I had stupidly left in Arden's car and I refused to go from this pack without it.
I shifted back and leaned against the tree beside me, my legs crossed and eyes averted from his family jewels. I was naked and so was he.
Not awkward at all.
I recognized him as Arden's beta by to his strong, sweet scent. He was quite hot. He, like Arden had dark lashes and black hair, but his eyes were a stunning hazel colour. On one cheek he had a dimple that was very deep and his nose was perfectly straight. He had a slight scar next to his lip that made him look slightly rebellious.
I tried to remember his name but I drew a blank.
"What's your name?" I asked him curiously, looking him straight in the eye. He was visibly struggling to not check me out. Nudity wasn't the problem, but the fact that I was not his but his Αlpha's mate would surely be making the wolf inside him agitated.
"You don't know your mates beta's name?" He asked me amused.
"He is not my mate!" I said hurriedly. But then after a second of thinking I didn't continue further, instead I frowned like a petulant child that didn't get her bidding done. "Plus it's not like your beloved Alpha talks a lot."
He raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay! Come on, I will take you to the pack house." He threw me a large t-shirt that seemed as though it appeared from thin air. Couldn't he have given me the t-shirt before?
"To be disrespected again? What? Am I meant to be second to his girlfriend? A mistress when they are married?" I snarled and wore it.
"Its complicated. You're jealous and angry, I get it, he is your mate." The beta said.
"Oh! You haven't seen my real anger."
"And I don't even want to." He mumbled. "Let's just go back to the pack house for tonight, please." He begged.
I nodded my head stiffly.
"Oh and by the way, my name is Castile." He smiled.
-----*------
Trouble before the relationship even started?
Do you think Castile should be a possible love interest?
Do you think there can be more than what meets the eye?
Please share your views in the comment section!