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๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
There was a rotten smell in the air, as if someone had let the garbage bin open for far too long. Mina quickly recognized the smell, she had sensed a similar one a few years ago when she found her mother dead, alone in the forest - โthose damned stray dogs all smell the sameโ she thought, while opening the door slowly and sliding inside. The entrance was dark, but she could see a dim light at the end of the hall, probably coming from her bedroom. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as she dived further into the apartment - as a pure-blooded werewolf, it posed no problem.
The bedroom door was slightly open, she noticed, โWilhelminaโ, Goddess, how she hated the name her parents gave her. She turned around, silencing Aiden with a hand gesture, as she pushed the bedroom door fully open and finally turned on the light. They were gone, her things trashed on the ground, some drawers hanging while others were smashed on the floor.
โYou need to switch locations, itโs not safe anymore.โ He sounded serious, discontented even. The warrior had been against her decision to leave pack grounds for so long after all. Her wolf disregarded him as soon as he spokeโWhat a puss, I like it here Mina, let them come, Iโll rip their hearts out.โ
She took him in as she leaned against the door, getting a cigarette from the case in the pocket. He frowned - didnโt like her smoking, one of the reasons she started in the first place, out of spite. As a pack warrior, Aiden was a big guy, taller and larger than most men she knew. One of the most attractive ones she had ever met as well, and at that moment, his electric blue eyes burned through her skull, urging her to move, probably out of there - before the strays came back, the rogue smell still lingering in the room. Mina took a drag, closing the gap between them and blowing the smoke into his face. She stretched until she could easily move her fingers through his ashen brown hair and pull his face to hers, โStop itโ, he said. He didnโt really mean it, and she knew. She knew his urges better than him at that point.
โI want to fuck.โ The growl that followed was more her wolf than hers. Aspen enjoyed being around his wolf even though they werenโt mates. And she enjoyed the whiff of danger even more. It excited her, and he could feel, and smell... their arousal.
โItโs not safe -โ he insisted, trying to resist, while his fingers closed around her waist. Such a contradiction.
She licked her lips, looking him in the eye โSays who? They didnโt find us, they wonโt be back for a few hours... we have time.โ
โWe need to leave, the Alpha will kill me if I let you get into danger.โ
โHe wonโt careโ. Not after her mom died 8 years back and her little sister managed to mate a strong Alpha from a nearby pack before she did - Mina could still picture her fatherโs disappointment when her mate rejected her in front of the whole werewolf committee at the annual meeting, two years before.
Sebastian Walker, Beta of the Red River Pack - she could never forget his face, even if she wanted to. Those haunting green eyes and messy blackhair - the bastard didnโt deserve to be that good-looking.
Aiden noticed her spacing and sighed. She could feel his fingers moving below the blouse she was wearing, swiftly finding her without a bra and with hardened nipples. โFuckโ he cursed, before tilting his head to meet her. His lips were warm, moving fast, urgent. Mina gasped for air, removing his clothes and tearing his t-shirt in the process. It was always like that between them - fast, hard, savage. She dug her nails onto his back, drawing blood as he lifted her up like a feather, her back pressing against the cold wall with a bang. He entered without any warning, making her scream while he growled against her neck. His lips brushed the marking spot - she knew he longed to mark her, to claim her, but Mina would let no man, no wolf, claim her as his. She was her own.
๐บ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
โWHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WASNโT THERE?!โ the smaller man cowered in the corner, watching the table flip. The man in front of him was one of the scariest wolfs he had ever met - not an Alpha, as rogues didnโt believe in ranks, but a former one, that Tyler was sure of. The aura he emitted made the others around him shrink and bare their necks.
Xavier Williams was known as an underground king - a ruthless rogue that had killed his own father out of rage and was thrown out of the pack. Recently, he had become obsessed with a female he had seen at a supernatural club and was making them run little errands, tracking her. The chase was consuming him, and it seemed to entice him even more, as she kept running around, slipping through his fingers. He wanted her and he would have her, whatever the cost. Tyler pitied the poor woman.
๐น๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
Sebastian cursed under his breath, finding his twin brother wallowing in self-pity by the river, once more. He and Zain were turning thirty next month and the pack elders were urging the Alpha to find a mate - if not his true one, then a chosen one. They needed a strong Luna, who could bear strong pups. Zain wasnโt having any of that, he wanted to wait.
โHey man, Eva was looking for youโ. Eva was the eldest daughter of their fatherโs Beta, and had loved his brother since they were little kids. Everyone thought she would make the perfect Luna, and he knew that Zain had considered it once, when they turned twenty-two, and four years had passed by without him finding his mate.
โFuck her.โ
โRude.โ
โSheโs clingy, Iโm tired, I canโt even stand to smell her nearby anymore.โ
Sebastian sat down, smacking his brother on the head and ignoring the glare he had thrown afterwards. โShe likes you, and if you keep sleeping with her every now and then, it wonโt help your case... The pack keeps saying sheโs the next Lunaโ.
โSheโs not. My Luna is out there, I know it.โ
โZi, you may never find her.โ
โYou found your mateโ he said, looking him hard in the eye. โHell, you even found your second chance, why canโt I even find mine?โ Sebastian looked away, unable to look his twin in the eye. He was right. He had found Lily when they were both eighteen. She was a few months younger, and came from an omega family of their pack. They spent 8 years together before she passed away giving birth to their pup. Cain was both a blessing and a curse to him at that time, and it was a little bit after that he met her. His second chance - Mina Reed, of the Bright Moon pack.
He remembered the smell first - a strong hint of cinnamon mixed with coffee. His eyes had wandered the room until he found her. She was petite, with a curvaceous body and a small waist. Her lips were full, of a rich pink color and her eyes shined in a mysterious dark brown. Her hair, of a deep auburn color, fell around her face in waves. White, unmarked skin, like snow. Stunning. Freki had growled in his mind โMATE!โ - but before he could think about it, he was in front of her and the words were out of his mouth, something in the back of his mind saying it was for the best. She was young, twenty at the time, and he was already twenty-eight, with a two-year-old son to worry about. He could feel he wasnโt the right one for her - hell, he wasnโt even supposed to be there, just filling in for his brother, as Zain was solving an issue on their borders. They should never have met and he wouldnโt have made her pass through the pain that followed the rejection. Her screams forever printed on his mind.
โIโm sorry.โ
โMaybe sheโs not born yetโ. It wouldnโt be the first case, but for his twinโs sake, he really hoped it wasnโt his.
โWe have the annual meeting soon, and the ball... Maybe if you go this year, youโll find herโ.
โHell no, not happening. You know I hate those kinds of gatheringsโ.
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Mina dug her nails further onto his skin, as she felt his teeth grazing her neck, tempting her. Aiden kept pounding harder and faster onto her, taking away her breath each time he got inside her. She flipped him on the side, taking the lead, marveling at the sight below her.
โI canโt get enough of youโ. His lips were parted, red from the kisses, and his eyes shined with desire. His hands moved to her waist, helping her up and down at the pace he chose. She could feel he was coming close.โI love youโ he whispered, closing his eyes and growling. This gorgeous man, who wanted no more than to please her every time and kept surrendering to her whims. She would have to end things soon, before she damaged him beyond repair.
โYouโll meet your mate soonโ she said, getting up from the ground and picking up the cigarette case. Aiden kept lying, his eyes following her around the broken room.
โIโll reject herโ.
โNo, you wonโt. Sheโll be a very lucky womanโ she paused, trying to find a lighter and giving up on smoking when she couldnโt. โdonโt make anyone pass by the pain I went throughโ.
โI will reject her Mina, I mean it, I can only love youโ.
She sighed, starting to dress herself โYou need someone that loves you back, Aiden... Iโm sorry, Iโm too broken at this pointโ.
They had left the apartment not long after. The silence between them ripped her to pieces, maybe she shouldnโt have said anything and just kept going to see where it would lead them. She was starting to regret the whole thing altogether. โItโs for the bestโ said Aspen, after being so long without making a remark โI like Ulrich, but he isnโt our mateโ โWe have no mate, remember? He rejected us, neither Sebastian nor his wolf wanted usโ โFreki wanted me, he was mateโ โWAS, as in the past. Weโve no one now, letโs drop thisโ.
By the time it was dark, they were reaching the outskirts of the county. Mina had been visiting various packs, establishing connections for her father. It was the best she could do after all, and it was the only way she could find to get out of the pack, and the disappointment and pity looks everyone threw her way. The rumors said she was unfit, and that was why Sebastian rejected her. Not Luna material like her sister: the perfect little she-wolf, the perfect little wife - quiet, elegant, pure. Mina was nothing like her. Behind her back, when they thought she wasnโt listening, they said she had thrown out the perfect Alpha they needed because of her slutty behavior - Sebastian was strong, of Alpha blood himself, and well-known in the werewolf community. Well, she had no need for him anyway and after that embarrassing moment she never saw him again. Thank the Goddess for that small mercy.
โWeโll have to keep going on foot, itโll be fasterโ.
She looked at Aiden, surprised to hear him after five long and dreadful hours. He glanced her way, slightly, and opened his mouth to say something before changing his mind and turning his head to the other side. The pained look in his eyes made her uncomfortable. They parked the car as soon as they reached one of her fatherโs safehouses at the border and proceeded to shift.
Ulrich was an imposing dark brown wolf with golden eyes. He sniffed the air, checking if it was safe for them to go down that path - he was still her warrior, responsible for her safety after all, even if he probably wanted nothing with her at the moment. Aspen followed right behind him, jumping and running through the forest with ease. She was bigger than the average female wolf, with silver glistening fur and icy blue eyes. Mina had loved her the moment she first saw her mirrored on the lake.
It was time they both headed home.
