ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ 3
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"ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪʟʟɪᴏɴ ᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏꜱᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ."
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...Melanie
"What the hell do you want?" I ask the man behind me. He had surely come for me or had been sent to find me by my brother. "I'm not coming back. He'll hurt you all. I don't want people getting hurt again, all because of me." I need to lead Lucas away from my Pack. Tears sting the back of my eyes. A traitor tear slips down, which I swiftly brush away before the man can see. A sad whimper escapes my trembling lips and I tug the shirt further down, hoping to cover more. I don't like any of this. And to think, that just about thirty hours ago, my life had been normal.
"I want to help you." The guy, the soon-to-be Beta, of my Pack mutters, placing his hand on my shoulder. "I won't leave my best friend's sister all alone." His thumb continues to caress my shoulder, rubbing soft circles with his familiar hands. He's not only Jackson's friend, but mine too. I almost forgot about how I'd left them all back there. But I guess I can't run away from it all. I take a step back, away from the male.
Lucas.
Reality comes crashing back down on me. I pull further away from Michael and cross my arms over my chest as a sob escapes. Flashbacks of our childhood together with Jackson flood my mind and my sadness only increases. Goddess, this was all such a big, irritating mess. Michael just stares down at me with a frown, not understanding my turmoil.
Lucas.
I wipe away the rest of my tears and stand tall. "Did you bring clothes by any chance?" I question softly, a while later. I look around and see a pile sitting beside him, my lips curling up, I glance at his smiling face, his grey eyes boring into my green ones. "You know me too well."
I grab the underwear curled inside a pair of shorts and tank top, slipping them on behind a tree. I remember going around and hiding a bunch of my clothing around the Pack because I'd always forget to remove it before shifting. I hid half of my closet out here when I first turned, around fourteen. Hearing a loud and dangerous growl not far from where we were, I return to Mike and snatch his hand, urgently tugging him into the city with me.
It wasn't safe in these woods.
'Mate. I want him. Go back.' Celeste begs but I keep control and continue to hold her back despite the building migraine. She would only ruin my progress in escaping if I let her out. Despite her being a small, female wolf, she was usually able to overpower Michael's wolf when him, my brother, and I would train together. Without someone to hold her back from turning tail and running back to Lucas, I couldn't trust to let her out even though it'd be quicker to get around.
I don't think a wolf running around in the city would be all too pleasing either, I muse, as we near the center of downtown Chicago. We continue to silently walk together, contemplating our next moves. It had been three hours since I ran from my pack and I still hadn't been able to figure anything out. Even with Michael's help, I was incapable.
...Lucas :)
I shift back into a human and sniff the air. My smartass of a mate had shifted back not too long ago and I had felt it. I sniff the air again and catch a male wolf's scent mingling with Melanie's delicious scent. My wolf surfaces with a newfound anger and growls loudly. I hate the Mate Bond and the curse it's placed on me and my wolf. It's the last thing I needed when I had been so close to vengeance.
'Mate. Find her.' Jake demands snottily. I refrain from rolling my eyes only to later growl loudly at Jake's curses and I shift again, my warriors following closely. Howling once more, I pound towards where her mouthwatering scent leads me. She had to be found. I had to see whether she was like her disgusting parents or not. I had to see whether she was capable of being my mate.
Her scent gets stronger and... stops. I can't smell her anymore. Odd. Jake, who had taken full control, walks to the edge of the trees and finds an awfully large human city staring right back at us. Chicago.
How long had we been running for? A few hours, I bet. I catch her scent for a fraction of a second, mixed with the other males'. Hiding behind the trees, once more, I shift back and slide into the clothes given to me.
Time to end this chase and claim what's mine.
...Melanie
We have probably been on the move for a good five hours now cause the sun shone brightly above us. To humans, we might look like a normal friend duo out for a morning stroll. To other werewolves, we probably look like we were running from something.
Which we were. We were headed to Michael's cousins house and we were now almost there. Michael claimed his cousin could protect us since he'd survived out here as a Rogue for so long. But we were running from Lucas and his pack.
Successfully almost. "Finally!" I sigh in relief as we reach our destination. We near a large blue house and Mike gently yanks my hand, pulling me protectively closer to him. A guy who seems to be only a year or two older than us exits the home and smiles warmly at us. Or just Michael, I should say.
"Yo, Mike! Long time no see!" He greets slapping Michael on the back. "And whose this pretty lady right here?" He exclaims, his eyes finally landing on me. "I'm Markus."
Michael lets out a dramatic sigh of relief and I roll my eyes beside him. "My friend, Melanie, Alpha Colton's daughter. Ya know, Jackson's sister?" He grins goofily and I can't help but smile. But that smile doesn't last long when I see whose behind Markus.
Mike's cousin catches to the pair of people I'm staring at and introduces us. "That is Jeremy, my friend." I don't pay attention. I only pay attention to the unwelcome guy with a surprised expression.
Lucas's Beta. ;)
"What are you doing here?" I growl fiercely, my furious wolf surfacing. I guess Celeste forgot about that idiot for a moment and was now currently focusing on the offensive man in front of us. And I guess she finally remembered how Jeremy here had my brother in his teeth.
'Our brother! ' Celeste corrects. I grin from the back of my mind, giving her some control to show that we weren't accepting this threat.
I am whipped to my side and I come face to face Michael, his grey eyes glazed over with concern as he listens to what I have to say. "He's his Beta. He hurt my brother and nearly killed him. " I whimper as the terrible memory surges back. I heave as my chest constricts at a familiar, painful scent. He's here. I can feel him. I can also hear Celeste's constant jabbering, now, at the back of my mind. The damned Beta flashes me a toothy grin. I fight back the urge to stomp over and wring his neck.
"Why, hello Melanie. I must say, I didn't expect to see you here." A deep voice, glazed with amusement, says from right behind me. I gasp despite already having the feeling that told me he was near.
My escape was short-lived.
...Lucas
'Alpha, I found her.' My trustworthy Beta informs me and I practically jump with joy. In my worst nightmares, anyway. She's starting to become even more of a problem than she already was, with her parents and whatnot. Jeremy gives me the address and I rush rapidly to there. Moments later, I find my mate cuddled into another male, his hands planted on her waist, their faces inches apart as they converse quietly.
I fight the urge to kill the guy. Call me possessive or annoying, I don't care, but the girl clearly has a mate who she just led on a chase. This guy must know that since they're from the same stupid Pack.
"Why, hello Melanie. I must say, I didn't expect to see you here." My voice is husky, laced with amusement. She gasps and slowly turns around, stumbling back when she sees me.
My Beta leaves the other guy's side and comes to join me at mine. I am glad he brought his mate to be treated properly at her brother's house when she got a deep wound from the Luna of Melanie's Pack. I would have never found my own clever mate today if he didn't. Who knew where she'd be at this moment if my Beta wasn't conveniently here.
"You can't run away anymore, little mate." I smirk and stride over to her, roughly pushing the other guy away and grabbing her between my arms. Placing my face in the crook of her neck, I inhale her mouthwatering scent that's been driving me crazy since the kiss, ignoring her little pounding fists on my chest. When I finally move away, her green eyes widen when she looks around, only to find my men surrounding us. And then to the guy she was with, thrashing in Jeremy's tight hold.
"Don't go with him, Mel!" He screams at my mate who looks stressed as she glances between me and the guy. I stride over to the guy and grab his face forcefully between my hand, making him look me in the eyes.
"Who are you to her?" I ask, venom dripping off of my words. I was enraged when I heard the nickname he had for her and still peeved by his previous proximity.
"Her friend." He spits bitterly, his bloodied spit landing directly on my shoe. Ignoring the growling of my men, I stare the guy down. Not finding the lie in the irises of his eyes, I choose to react differently instead. He kind of had it coming with the odd, needy eyes he gave my mate.
I punch him once, bruising his eye.
...Melanie
"NO!" I yelp and run to them, trying to hold Lucas back. Someone tries to yank me back but I slip out of their grip and hurtle myself at Lucas only to bounce back and fall on the ground. My mate merely glances down at me before focusing his attention on my friend again. I shouldn't have let Michael get involved.
"Fuck off! She's under my protection." Michael all but roars, his expression hardening. It was as if they didn't know I was there. I get up and repeatedly punch Lucas' back to get his attention. But it's like it doesn't affect him. Could this Mate Bond be one-sided?
Another resounding crack sounds through the air, stopping me. Lucas had punched poor Michael. Again. Despite my efforts to steal his attention. Mike slumps, unconscious. Then the beast turns to me with pitch black eyes. "Grab him. Take him to the cells. Let's go back to my territory." He orders and two men lift Michael up and begin to move south.
Lucas grabs my arms and starts to drag me along but I don't budge. Fudge you, Lucas. "I hate you." I mutter softly. I swear I see something along the lines of sadness in his eyes but he's quick to mask it. It's probably because of the Mate Bond anyway. Maybe it's not one-sided. He pulls me closer, his breath fanning my face once more. I ignore the sparks that erupt and the desire to move closer and touch him.
"Don't try me, tiger." He mumbles, eyes glazing over. He's mind-linking someone.
I take his momentary distraction as a chance to escape again but before I can even move, I am picked up. And thrown carelessly over his shoulder.
Sorry for the short chapter and I know I haven't updated in a long time! I will try to update again as soon as possible. I unpublished my whole story and now I'm slowly republishing it. Why? I found too many errors and a closer friend made sure to point them out. *cue the eye roll* Please vote, comment, and share!
Oh yeah! I have a proposition! But that's for the next chapter... ;) Keep on reading to find out. I also just wanted to say that I love the support and the direct messages I get from you guys!
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