Artemis' Gift Book 3

CIARA

A YEAR AGO

I woke up this morning in my empty bed, and I sighed. My birthday was today, so I knew that I could find out who my mate was. Finally!

My wolf was doing the happy dance too. We couldn’t wait to have a mate and finally have a family of our own. That was all I’d ever wanted, since I was an orphan.

I got out of bed and put on my cutest dress.

Since I had no parents, I had to work to pay my rent. I’d graduated from high school, but I was now working as an intern. It was actually easy for me because I was a healer.

Healers were rare in packs because it was a gift that tended to get lost, but it meant that I could use my power to cure visible wounds.

I wasn’t good enough with mental ones, but my mentor had said that I still had room to grow since I was so young.

I’d left my room to go to the hospital for my shift when I was hit by a powerful smell. Where is it coming from?

I followed it and found my alpha’s son, the heir to the pack who’d turned eighteen a month ago, in the hall of our pack house.

He turned around and locked his light-brown eyes on my darker ones.

“Mate,” my wolf howled in my mind.

No way! I was mated to the future alpha? I couldn’t believe it!

He was a looker too, muscled for an eighteen-year-old, even if he did have room to grow. He had short dark-brown hair and a symmetrical face. Beautiful. Mine.

I had a big smile on as I went closer to him. He was smiling, but somehow…

I didn’t like that smile; it was creepy, not the kind of smile you wanted to see on your mate’s face when you were recognizing each other.

“Ciara,” Devon said, and my whole body shivered.

“So sexy…,” my wolf purred. I didn’t wholeheartedly agree right now. Something was off.

“Yes?”

“Come closer.” He beckoned.

I walked slowly, and when I was close enough, he grabbed my arm. His grip was tight, and I wanted to recoil. Why was he hurting me right now? What had I done wrong?

“Did you think that you could be my mate? Don’t make me laugh! You’re weak, barely a dominant. My luna has to be strong.

“I don’t want a whining orphan as my mate. I, Devon, reject you, Ciara, as my mate and luna.”

It hurt like a bitch. It felt like the world had stopped spinning, and I couldn’t even breathe anymore.

Someone started laughing, and I knew that it was Lydia. She’d wanted to be Devon’s luna since forever. Not that she loved him, really; she just wanted the title.

My wolf was whining in my mind because she felt the rejection hard.

“It’s all right, baby girl. You’re perfect to me,” I told her as tears started running down my face.

“It’s your choice,” I said. “I, Ciara, accept your rejection.”

The link between us broke, and I felt nothing toward him anymore.

He smiled, satisfied, and moved on as if I’d never even been there.

It hurt so badly that I couldn’t stay there. I ran to the hospital and put on my work clothes. It would help take my mind off things. Oh, and happy birthday to me, of course.

***

Ever since Devon had rejected me and ascended to the alpha position, my life had been a living hell.

He made sure that I was humiliated everywhere I went, and all the she-wolves in the pack growled at me when I got too close to their mates.

They still needed me to treat their wounds because I was the best, but that was it. They otherwise avoided me like the plague.

I was a pariah. I’d done nothing wrong, but Devon seemed to want me dead. He hadn’t been able to find a chosen, because his wolf wouldn’t let him mark anyone.

That hadn’t prevented him from fucking almost all the she-wolves in the pack, except for me—me, he would never touch. Good too. It would have hurt too much if he had.

Scratch that—he did beat me up every chance he got, and nobody ever helped me, so I tried to stay out of his way as much as I could.

I was working the late shift again tonight, and I was exhausted by the time I walked back to the pack house where my room was.

I was dragging my feet and dreamed of a hot shower. I’d enjoy that so much… Goddess, give me the strength to arrive quickly.

I entered the pack house and headed for the elevator in the right corridor when it pinged. Devon got out, and he threw me a nasty glare.

I lowered my eyes in submission and prayed that he would just pass me by. Of course, I wasn’t so lucky.

“Get out of my sight, you disgrace,” he growled before slapping me so hard that I was thrown into the wall.

I stifled a yip because I knew he’d hurt me more if I uttered a sound. I stayed where I was until he was gone, and I picked myself up.

I bit back the tears as I entered the elevator and pressed the button to my floor. When the doors closed, I allowed myself to shed a few tears.

What had I done to deserve that? He’d been the one to reject me. Sometimes, I wished he would have just killed me; that would have been better.

I walked to my place and started undressing for the shower. It was small, but I lived alone, after all. I didn’t need much more.

I could see a few new bruises starting to bloom on my skin. Great. The others weren’t done healing since I was so weak. ~Damn it.~

I entered the shower and let the hot water ease the tension in my muscles. It could have been worse; he could have kept kicking me when I was already down.

After my shower, I settled in my small bed and was about to close my eyes when my door came crashing down.

Lydia was there, and she seemed furious. She’d already taken my mate. What more did she want?

“Devon couldn’t mark me again tonight, and it’s because of you, bitch,” she growled. “He forbade me to kill you, but since you both rejected the mate bond, I think it’s safe to dispose of you.”

Was she for real? I could see in her mad eyes that she was. She wanted me dead because she thought it would allow Devon to mark her.

It was guilt and his wolf’s mourning that prevented him from marking her. Nothing that time wouldn’t heal, but she was ready to kill me; I could see it in her eyes.

I needed to get the fuck out of there.

I shifted into my tawny wolf and started running for the door. I ran as fast as I could, but I could hear her behind me. If she caught me, I was dead.

I went running down the stairs, crossed the hall of the pack house, and saw Devon. He growled in pure anger, but then he saw Lydia behind me. I bolted through the door as he yelled for her to stop.

I was running so fast my body wasn’t used to it, and my lungs were starting to burn. I didn’t stop, though. I kept going.

I was almost at the border, even if I knew that I couldn’t cross it. If I did, I’d be declared a rogue, and pack wolves would kill me on sight. Damn it.

I’d started pacing along the invisible line, trying to figure out what I should do, when Lydia’s silver wolf caught up to me. She was growling and baring her sharp white fangs at me.

She was dominant enough to fight me and win, especially since she was sleeping with the alpha. I’d have no chance of winning. I was finished.

“Now I’m going to kill you. No one will miss you anyway, so no hard feelings, huh?”

“He’ll never forgive you,” I said.

It was a long shot, but Devon was the only person who mattered to her. Only because he was the alpha, though. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have given a damn about him.

“We’ll see. I can be really persuasive.” She snickered. ~“You won’t be here to see it, though.”~

“Lydia, stop right now!” Devon’s dark-brown wolf growled. ~“You leave her alone. She’s not important.”~

“Then why can’t you mark me?! She needs to die so we can finally be together!” Lydia snarled.

Devon looked sadly at me out of clear yellow eyes.

My wolf was done mourning. She felt nothing toward him anymore.

Lydia launched herself at me, and I took a step back, officially out of my pack’s territory. I was now a rogue, but Lydia stopped snarling at me.

I couldn’t hear her anymore. I felt free… Until I was tackled by a giant red wolf.