Malaysia turned on the bed, not wanting to wake up. She was exhausted and didn't even want to move an inch. Then, she caught the fragrance of oak and manliness in the bedroom--A scent she did not recognize. She snapped her eyes open and snarled as she sat up, raising her hands, claws out.

"What the hell happened?"

Alec stood in front of a door, arms at his back. "Simple, everyone has a price."

Her eyes narrowed into pinpoints as she recalled what had happened. She had been a fool to believe Anastasia truly had wanted to help her. She had been bribed by this bastard. When she stood to attack, she froze at the realization that she was in her birthday suit. Within seconds, she held the blanket around herself for protection.

"What happened?" She asked again, her voice trembling.

"Don't worry. Nothing happened between us. Your wolf came to the pack house and shifted as she walked onto the balcony. I carried you to my bedroom."

She shot daggers at him. "Get me some damn clothes." The grin on his face made her fume. When she tried to leave, he grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her against the wall. A snarl erupted from her lips, which he returned. The power of it made her whimper and she hated it.

"Forgive me, but you will not be leaving the pack house until I can trust you."

Her eyes grew wide. "You're out of your mind! This is kidnapping!"

What sort of psycho would ever think something extreme like this would ever work with anyone!

She struggled against him until he shoved her on the bed. Tears fought to rise as she stared at the bedsheets, clenching the soft fabric in her fists. "If you're trying to win me over--This isn't the way. On the contrary, you're making me hate you."

He didn't say a word and exited the bedroom. She lurched to her feet and tried the knob to realize he had locked it. In frustration, she banged her fists against the door before kicking it. Tears fought to rise as she leaned against it.

She had to find a way out fast before her friends came, which she was certain they would. They would be greatly outnumbered. Her heart ached at the thought of them getting hurt because of her. No. She wasn't going to allow that to happen.

Later, a young man brought her clothes. He put them on the bed and left without saying a word or sparing her a glance. One look at the clothes and she hated them. However, she had no other choice but to wear them. Once she was dressed, she began to look through the room for anything she could use as a weapon. Her friends had taught her that anything in her hands could be as deadly as a bullet.

She held a pen in her hands when the door creaked open. As she whirled around, she tossed it with all the strength she could muster, but Alec caught it right out of the air, a smug look on his face. "Feisty."

"Alec, please let me go." When he ignored her, she growled and moved, claws out.

He caught her arm, lips parted to flaunt his canine teeth. "The second you turned, you should have been brought to me. Sierra broke the law by keeping you in her home. For a year, I allowed you to remain there, but not anymore." When his eyes lingered on her lips, fear swept through her and she jerked her hand out of his hold, creating distance between them. "You could have shifted and hurt someone--"

"I didn't--I've been able to keep the wolf at bay. Of course, until you intervene."

He stepped closer, grasping her chin to force her to look at him. "Those fools have no knowledge of our race. Strays don't last long on their own. If a adversary pack doesn't find them and kill them, slowly, they lose their minds." His eyes lingered on her lips again. "I had to find a way to get you home."

She jerked away and walked around him to stand closer to the door she knew was open. "Stop acting like you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart. I know what you want from me."

He ran a hand through his hair before facing her, their eyes locking. "And what is that?"

She scowled at him. "You want to use me to continue your bloodline."

He appeared to think something over before saying, "When I sensed your presence that day, I never expected to find a female. Even if you had been a male, I would have brought you to the pack. Together, we are stronger...But I will admit it was quite a nice surprise to find you." He stepped closer, grabbing one of her long pitch black locks. "I can sense that you're a strong wolf, so, yes, I'd love for you to become my mate."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. "I didn't expect you to be so honest."

He stepped back and shrugged. "Why should I lie?"

"What if I refuse?" She asked, averting her gaze. "What if I love someone else?"

"Are you speaking about Connor?" Her gaze snapped up to meet his. "I'm still trying to understand why would your friends not inform you of vampires laws." He paused. "There shall be no crossbreeding between humans and vampires." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This had to be a lie to make her turn her back to Connor. It had to be. "Punishment is death."

She broke the distance, meeting his gaze head on. "You're making that up—there is no way Elias and Connor would keep such thing from me."

"Trust me—I can't understand what the hell their thinking. Perhaps, I should keep a close eye on them—something definitely seems amiss."

"You better stay away from my friends."

His hand went to the back of her neck to pull her to him. "Or what?"

She kicked him where the sun don't shine, then made a run for the door, but halted at the men down the corridor aligned with many closed doors. They all aimed their weapons at her. Without another option, she raised her hands in surrender and turned to face Alec, who had a smug look on his face.

"It sure as hell feels like I'm part of this pack and not a damn prisoner," she said, glaring.

"Like I said, at the moment, I can't trust you to leave this house."

He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her into the bedroom. She snarled at him, which he returned. His eyes flickered amber before a man walked into the room, head bowed. "Sorry for interrupting, Alpha, but we have a problem."

"Speak."

Malaysia stood, holding her chin high.

"Anastasia has used her magic to send a message...If she is not returned by tonight, the vampires will inform all the alphas of her existence."

Alec grinned. "Do they really take me for a fool? They would never dare do such thing--"

"I wouldn't be so certain." She inched closer, not faltering as she glared at him. "Can you really fight all the alphas?"

"Connor and Elias know well the dark world, dear Malaysia." When he stepped closer, she took a step back against her will. "They would never make the mistake of making your existence known to the rest of the world. Do you know why?" He paused, reaching out to grab a lock of her dark hair. "Humans would be the first to sell you the highest bidder. Hell, some might lock you up on a cell and have someone come to you every night." Her eyes widened at his words. "If they were to tell everyone, they would be placing a target on your back."

She sat down on the bed, staring into the distance. "You can't force me to fall in love with you---I already love someone else." Alec said nothing before leaving the room, the man following suit, shutting the door. Malaysia stared at her quivering hands, hoping that her friends didn't look for her. In the end, she would never want them to get hurt, even if it meant that she had to remain amongst this pack...for eternity.

Later that night, at the sound of the door creaking open, she sat up, ready to attack to freeze at the sight of Lennox. A silence hung in the air as he stood there, staring at her with what seemed to be hatred. So, he was no longer pretending to care.

She lurched to her feet, but a couple of men walked into the bedroom and grabbed her by the arms, tugging her out of the house. She screamed and kicked, but no one released her. "Let me go! You fucking bastards!"

A slap to the face silence her for a brief moment before she growled. She was dragged into the woods that encircled the beautiful two story homes.

"We need to hurry before Alec returns."

"You don't have to worry about him. He is out celebrating the shift of his younger brother with the rest of the pack."

"What do you plan to tell him?" one of the man asked.

Lennox shrugged. "That she managed to escape."

She began to laugh as if she had lost your mind. "You're not only a horrible husband, but also a traitor to your pack mates."

They all stopped but didn't let her go. Lennox inched closer, his parted lips revealing a mouth of razor sharp teeth. "You are not the trouble you will cause our pack. Alec should have taken you by force and gotten rid of you the second he got a child out of you."

She spat on his face, which gained her a slap. Not giving him the pleasure of seeing her in pain, she smiled and flaunted her teeth before her wolf rose to the surface and she shifted, forcing all the men to release her. Her wolf was far smaller, but soon, as she dodged the men, she realized she was faster. Her wolf locked it's canine teeth on the neck of the other wolf and pulled, tearing it apart, the blood pervading her mouth.

She shifted to human form and ducked to avoid the blow from the other wolf. When he leaped to attack her, she swung her hand, shoving it deep into it's body until reaching it's heart. She wrapped her fingers it and yanked it out. The wolf howled in pain, dropping to the ground as it shifted back to human form.

As she held the heart in her hand, rivulets of scarlet dribbling into the blades of grass, she smiled at Lennox. "Why do you want me dead so desperately?" At howls in the distance, she narrowed her eyes before wolves of all colors leaped from the woods. She snarled and got ready to attack, but froze when out of thin air, Alec appeared feet from her, glancing around at the bodies of those who had dared to try to harm her.

She wanted to see fear in his eyes, but instead, he seemed pleased. He smiled at her before his eyes deepened. Then, he had Lennox by the neck, kneeling in front of her. She didn't understand what was happening until everyone also knelt, bowing their head. "How dare you try to harm your Luna."

"Forgive me, Alpha--But we all know what will happen when the rest of the packs know of her existence. They will all come to fight for her."

"You are the Luna of this pack," Alec said, gaze locked on hers. "Decide his punishment."

She shook her head, dropping the heart on the ground. "I--I can't."

"Death or exile."

She stared at Lennox, remembering that she was a werewolf because he had attempted to kill her. "He isn't the only one who had tried to harm me--"

"Everyone who dared follow his orders that night is dead."

Her eyes widened.

"I've only kept him alive because he is a strong wolf, but clearly, he has chosen his own fate."

She thought for a moment. "Keep him alive. We need to know where they were taking me."

Alec smiled, flaunting his perfect teeth, eyes glowing amber against the moonlight. "Wise choice." He shoved Lennox toward the rest of the pack. A couple of men shifted and forced him back to the house. When Alec inched closer to her, she jerked away.

"I will remain here only if you promise to not hurt my friends."

After he nodded, he motioned for her to head first and after clear hesitation, she followed the rest of the pack through the dark woods to the large house. Once inside, she followed Alec to the bedroom she had been in.

There she stood in the middle of the room, aware that she was as she had come to the world and no longer giving a damn. His eyes held hers for the longest before she said, "I need a cellphone."

He took one out of his pockets and handed it to her. Her heart palpitated wildly as she made the call. Of course when Sierra answered, tears fought to rise. "It's me."

"Mal! We were worried about you! Did that bastard hurt you?"

"I'm fine...I decided to stay here--"

"What! Have you lost your mind--Has he threatened you? Mal, I'm certain that Elias and Connor can kick that bastards ass--"

Her heart dropped when she was cut off, obviously someone taking the phone from her and placing it on speaker. "Mal." She swallowed at the voice of Connor and glanced toward Alec to notice he was listening. "We can get you out of there--"

"There is no need for that--Connor, I'm safer here...with the pack."

There was a long painful silence before Elias said, "Bullshit."

"Then, I see no problem in us visiting you," Sierra said.

Malaysia glanced at Alec. "I'm no prisoner here, so of course you all can come visit me. See you tomorrow." After she ended the call, she handed it to Alec. He held her hand, pulling her closer. His eyes lingered on her lips as his hand went to the back of her neck.

She smiled. "I don't recall agreeing to being your mate." She jerked away, holding her chin high. "We agreed that I would remain here and you would not hurt them---That's it." Wanting to rid herself of the blood covering her body, she walked into the bathroom and locked it, leaning on it as she fought back tears. Her façade began to faltered as she fought to not break down and cry her eyes out.

She had no idea for how long she could keep the act for, but she had to remain calm. Losing her composure wouldn't help her at all. She had to remain collected in order to think with a clear mind.

Mal

Sierra?

Oh, god! It works. Anastasia is using her magic to help me connect with you. We have a plan to get you out of there--and don't you dare say you've made the choice out of your free will.

Please, Sierra. I don't want any of you to get hurt. Please.

You're our friend. And friends don't abandon each other, okay. Tomorrow there will be a meeting with Alpha Joel. That is the best time to get you out of that house. Alec will try everything to hide your fragrance from the alpha, so it will be easy to enter his home and get you out.

How exactly do you know this?

All supernatural have to request to enter the city so we're aware of who is here. So, the plan is simple. Anastasia will open a portal and were going to get you out before anyone notices our presence.

How can you trust that woman after what she has done? I'm here because of her.

At a bang of a door, she was torn from her mind and pressed a hand over her temple, biting back a cry of pain. Another knock and Alec's voice followed. "Is everything okay in there?"

He truly sounded concern for her, but he didn't know her. That was all feigned to gain her trust. All of it was nothing but an act to get her to lower her guard--so that he could take her to his bed without a fight.

"I'm fine."

She got inside the shower and turned on the water, closing her eyes as the water splattered against her body. A smile pulled at her lips at the memory of her kiss with Connor. Unintentionally, she trailed a finger over her button lip before propping her hands on the cold tile wall, growling in frustration when the heat struck her harder than before. She bit her lips and turned the knob of the shower so that the water would be ice cold, but that didn't even seem to ease her heat. Even though her body ached, she didn't scream. She managed to get through it, surprising herself.

When she walked out of the bathroom, a towel around her body, she was surprised to find the room empty. She walked closer to the bed to pick up the clothes left there for her. Once she was dressed, she stood in front of the window and drew the curtains back to find pack mates right below, clearly making sure she didn't try to escape.

As she stared at the sunset, she hoped that her friends' plan went as planned.

As expected, she was told to not leave the room at all. When she tried the door, she was surprised that it turned, but the second she pushed it ajar, she found a pack mate guarding it. She closed it and ran her hands through her hair. When a knock came on her door, her eyes widened. The door creaked open and in walked a tall female with bright green hair. She tilted her head and raised her hand toward her. Malaysia pressed her hands against her temples, feeling an immense pressure like her head was about to explode.

"A she-wolf...Interesting." Her smile scared Malaysia. "I think it would be wise for you to join everyone in the meeting."

Malaysia refused to move, but her body had a mind of it's own. Her heart hammered in her chest, the realization of the woman being a witch hitting her hard in the face. Her guard laid motionless on the ground.

"Don't worry...I didn't kill him."

Within minutes, they had arrived where a meeting was obviously being held. The room was enormous, yet, when all eyes were on her, it felt like a tiny closet and she found herself struggling to breathe. All those present seemed shock and began to murmur things.

A older male stood, a smile on his lips. "This is quite a surprise, Alec."

Alec had not moved from his chair, his eyes meeting hers, concern evident.

"Where you really trying to keep her from me?" The male began to move to her direction. When he reached a hand toward her cheek, she wanted to recoil away, to run, but the witch beside her had full control over her body. "It's been long since I've laid eyes upon a she-wolf."

Alec appeared between them and stopped the man from laying a hand on her. "She is the Luna of this pack."

The male arched an eyebrow. "Yet, she doesn't bare your mark, Alec."

When men began to rise to their feet, Malaysia knew all hell was about to get lose. Alec snarled and stood on the other men's face. "Joel, return to your territory."

Joel didn't seem fazed from the obvious threat laced in Alec's words. "And if I don't?"

When Alec grabbed Joel by the neck, a growl erupting from his lips, everyone moved into action. Malaysia was left speechless as Alec growled, released Joel and shifted into a large blood red wolf that moved like a blur, too fast even for her eyes to keep up with.

When the witch moved, the air around them flickered before turning glass like. The witch grabbed her hand and tossed her across the room just as flames erupted from the portal, wrapping around the witch and setting her ablaze.

Malaysia tried to shift to no success. Her eyes widened as the flames vanished as an act of magic, the witch laughing. From the portal, Anastasia appeared and blocked a blow from the witch. Malaysia tried to run toward it, but wolves blocked the way.

Her heart dropped to the ground when Connor walked through it, his eyes locking on hers instantly. She sprinted toward him, but the second she came close, something wrapped around her and pulled her away, right through the wall. She hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. Now, her pack mates who were outside snarled and growled, but to her surprise, Alec's voice echoed all around her, demanding them all to stand back.

At first, she didn't understand, until they all stood around her, clearly ready to fight until the end to protect the one they called Luna. Malaysia shook her head. "Why are you all doing this! I'm not worth it! Stop!" Everyone froze. "I'll go with you, but please stop this madness."

Connor actually appeared beside her after Anastasia shot flames to force the wolves out of the way. He grabbed her hand, and in that instant, everything moved in slow motion. He moved toward a portal conjured up feet from them, but before they could reach it, something struck him, jerking him out of her hold.

Malaysia stared horrified at his motionless body feet from her before scurrying to his side. His eyes snapped open and he managed to stand but the blood coating his shirt was not a good sign. The witch from earlier walked around them, a smug look on her face. Anastasia laid motionless on the ground feet from them.

"Well that's interesting. A vampire who doesn't burst into flames at the touch of silver." She raised her hand and silver particles floated all around. "You aren't a normal clan member are you?"

She swung her hand and the particles shot in their direction, but to her surprise, Elias stood in front of them, bands around his wrist shinning bright, absorbing them completely before he hissed, baring his fangs. "You witches are a fucking annoyance."

"I am simply here to protect a friend." She swung her hand again but flames rose high to the sky, blocking the attack.

"So am I." Anastasia stood beside Elias and raised her hand with balls of fire. "I'm sorry...For everything."

Elias smiled. "All is forgiven, but don't pull some shit like that again."

Anastasia laughed.

When Connor stumbled, Malaysia tried to help him to be pulled away from him by an unseen force. She screamed as all around her chaos unleashed. Those who decided to protect her even though she had never wanted to be part of the pack were losing.

Joel held her against her will as she screamed for him to release her. Within seconds, Alec had locked it's canine teeth around Joel's arm and brought him down. Connor appeared beside her and shoved her into Elias' arms as a portal opened beside him. Not expecting it, Elias stumbled, wrapping his arms around her as they both fell into the portal.

She screeched, her heart shattering to pieces as she watched Joel wrench the heart out of the man she loved. Pain consumed her as darkness shrouded her vision. For a moment, something seemed wrong. They were still floating in the portal. She cried at the top of her lungs, the arms around her tightening as a dazzling light blinded her.

When she woke up, she found herself in a white room. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she recalled what had happened. It felt as if her heart was being torn to pieces. Then she noticed the man standing beside the door, the hood from his sweater covering most of his face, except his lips.

"Elias?"

He visibly shook. "Well, that didn't go as plan."

When he placed a hand over his face, still blocking it from her and broke down, she didn't hesitate to yank everything off her and break the distance, hugging him as she too shattered into a million pieces.

"Anastasia was killed...The portal she opened sent us out of the united states...Perhaps she intended to do so to protect you..."

She cupped his face and tried to have him meet her gaze, but he jerked away, turning his back to her. "Her spell broke the moment she died...I think it's best we go our sperate ways."

"What? Elias--"

"Mal...Connor made me promise that if anything happened to him...that I would protect you against them all...I only know of one way."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "And what way is that?"

"A blood bond...If we blood bond...then those mutts can't track you...Pack or not. You will belong to me." He paused, clearly at the verge of tears. "But honestly, I only agreed to such thing because my arrogance made me belief that those mutts had no chance against us...My mistake got Anastasia and him killed."

She placed her quivering hand on his arm and he finally faced her. When he lowered his hood, the pain within intensified. There was no possibility of them looking so much alike. She inhaled in an attempt to not cry as she cupped his face in her hands. "That's not true--No one could have predicted that witch would force me out of the room." He wiped a tear that streamed down her cheek. She leaned into his touch, the pain intensifying ten fold as she remembered Connor's touch.

Elias made distance, probably sensing her pain enhancing. His bright red eyes locked on the floor. "My presence obviously causes you more pain..."

She ran her trembling hands through her hair. "That's not true." When she reached out to hold his hand, she stopped herself, remembering Joel murdering Connor. "You're right---You look so much like him...."

He stepped closer, moving her hair form her neck. "I will keep the promise I made him...I just need time to mourn his death....and so do you."

After she nodded, he bit his wrist and offered her his blood. She placed her quivering hand just above the bite and drank his blood. It tasted like copper, nothing special. When he bit down on her neck, an electricity shook her body before a soothing warmth sensation filled her veins.

He pulled back, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before he averted his gaze. Without another word, he exited the room and she crumbled to the ground, covering her face in her hand, crying her lungs out.

She didn't want him to go, but if he stayed by her side, he too would meet the same fate as Connor and Anastasia. Even if it pained her, she had to stay away from him--from Sierra---from everyone.