Chapter 6

‘Mate,’ My Wolf kept repeating in my mind.

“Let go of her.” Nicolas’ voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I was still in his embrace- my mate’s. He was holding on to me so tightly, I could feel his claws digging into the skin in my waist.

“Nicolas, what’s going on,” I asked worriedly, looking away from the guy holding me and at Nicolas, who had just gotten up from the ground.

“It’s fine. Dylan is just confused. But he’s going to let you go,” Nicolas told me, before turning back to face Dylan.

“She’s my mate!” He growled, digging his claws deeper into my skin.

I let out a whimper, as the slight pain I’d been feeling from his hold, multiplied.

“You’re hurting her!” Nicolas snarled back at him, as he began walking toward us.

Once he was close enough, he tried taking me away.

He only had a chance to touch my arm, before my mate- Dylan- had moved me out of the way.

“Stay away from her,” Dylan threatened.

Being in his arms, with his Wolf so close to surfacing, I was able to feel it.

He was an Alpha.

While my Wolf was telling me to let him protect us, I was just feeling terrified with the entire situation.

“Dylan, calm down,” A blonde guy said, approaching us slowly.  

“She’s my mate Jace. Nicolas was touching my mate!” Dylan snapped, directing his anger toward the blond guy- who I assumed was Jace.

“I was touching her because she’s my wife, pup. Now I want her back,” Nicolas countered in a threatening tone. My Wolf wanted to growl at him, for calling our mate a pup.

Even I could tell that Dylan had stopped being a pup, years ago. The fact that Dylan’s Alpha Wolf was calling to me so much- alluring me to subdue to him- proved that he was not a pup.

I felt trapped.

My heart was beating erratically, and I felt my Wolf fighting me for control. She had a way to fix it all. Her solution, however, involved mating with Dylan to prove that we belonged to him.

“You aren’t taking her from me. She’s mine. I’m leaving your territory right now, but I’m taking her with me,” Dylan stated.

He tried walking towards the backdoor of the house.

A few other guys, who I didn’t recognize, were starting to surround us in a protective manner.

“Let my wife go,” Nicolas said, in a warning tone.

“She’s mine! Don’t call her your wife!” Dylan retorted.

Even if I wanted to get my voice in, I couldn’t. By this point, I was able to see Marcus and Derek in the background.

Neither of them was saying anything, but they looked ready for any surprise. Each of Alphas was surrounded by the men in their pack.

“She’s his mate Nicolas. I’m sure that beats her being your wife,” Marcus said, allowing himself to take a step closer.

The men from his pack followed him forward- each of them surrounding his Alpha protectively.

“With all due respect Marcus, this isn’t any of your business.”

Nicolas didn’t turn to look at Marcus when he said that. He kept his eyes on Dylan and me the whole time.

“Let her go,” Nicolas told Dylan.

His eyes had already shifted to black. Just like Dylan, part of Nicolas’ Wolf was now doing his bidding.

Slowly, people from Raven pack began flooding our house. They surrounded not only Nicolas, but Marcus, Derek, and us as well.

“We don’t want a fight, Nicolas,” the blonde guy from Midnight Moon pack, Jace, spoke.

“If Dylan doesn’t let go of Leila, then he’ll give me no choice,” Nicolas replied.

“Leila,” Dylan said my name, looking down at me.

He stared into my eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. I felt stomach flutter in nervousness, and my Wolf moaned appreciatively at the way Dylan was looking at us.

“Leila, my mate,” Dylan whispered, as he loosened one of his hands from my waist- to run it softly over my cheek.

“Stop looking at her like that!” Nicolas shouted, which got both Dylan and my attention.

“She’s not your mate. She’s my wife,” he reinstated.

“Why don’t we let her talk? I think the Luna should have her input in this.”

I quickly searched for the person who’d made that comment. Part of me was feeling angry that I was now put on the spot.

It had been Derek.

Unlike everyone else in the room, he actually looked amused by the entire situation.

His comment had gotten everyone’s attention. The room had fallen silent, and all eyes were now on me.

‘Come with me,’ I heard Nicolas’ voice in my mind.

He smiled at me, but I could see his anxious figure trying to control his Wolf.

‘Don’t leave me,’ he said again, just before completely shutting our connection.

Both statements had sounded demanding.

Dylan was looking down at me- his much taller figure slightly intimidating me. If it wasn’t for my Wolf- reassuring me that Dylan would never hurt us- I probably would’ve been scared of him.

“Leila?” Dylan said my name.

My eyes were getting watery, and I was sure it was just moments before I broke down in front of everyone.

“Nicolas,” I mumbled.

My Wolf was growling, complaining, and howling against me. I wanted the same thing she did. The easy choice was to tell Nicolas that I wanted Dylan, and that I was sorry.

Hell, my Wolf didn’t even want for me to give any pleasantries. She was content with letting Dylan fight for us, and then happily go back with him to his pack.

I couldn’t do that.

Every ounce in my body told me that Nicolas didn’t deserve that. He had been good to us. He had saved us from Alpha Jackson- and whatever scheme he could’ve planned by using us. Nicolas didn’t deserve for me to abandon him- to abandon him like Isabelle had.

“What?” Dylan asked, pulling me back to his side. I wasn’t sure how, but I felt like he was holding onto me tighter than before.

I didn’t look up at him. I couldn’t. I was sure it would break my heart to see his expression after what I had said.

“Nicolas,” I repeated, this time making my voice sound firm.

“I’m not letting you go with him,” Dylan told me, but he was trying to get me to walk towards the door.

“She made her decision. Let her go.” Nicolas spoke with more confidence this time.

“Please let me go,” I managed to say.

I had never found it so hard to speak, like I did in those moments when I pleaded Dylan to let go of me.

“I don’t care what she decided. She’s my mate. She rightfully belongs to my Wolf,” Dylan said, growling when Nicolas touched my shoulder.

I kept thinking of a way to make it all stop. It was nerve wrecking to have a room full with strong Wolves and four Alphas. It was the first time I was surrounded by so many Alphas at once.

There was only one way to break the tension of a room filled with male Werewolves fighting for dominance. Someone had to make the first move.

So- I did.

While Nicolas and Dylan were throwing insults and demanding that I either go with one or stay with the other- I placed my hands over Dylan’s arms that were on my waist.

He responded to my touch, because his hands quickly interlaced with mine- which made him let go of his hold on my waist.

He didn’t stop arguing with Nicolas. The tension seemed to grow wider when Derek and Marcus tried to add their input.

Dylan was in the middle of something when I jumped away from him and shifted into my White Wolf.

For a moment, everything stood still.

Nicolas was now focused on me, as was everyone else around. Dylan looked at the empty space in front of him, where my body had been just moments before. When his eyes finally landed on mine, he looked furious.

I thought of my mediocre plan- or at least the plan I had formulated in just seconds.

And then, I ran.

No one was expecting me to do that. It was my best guess, since it took them a moment to begin chasing after me.

They were males, they were all strong, and some were even Alphas- but none of them was able to catch up to me.

I ran faster than I allowed myself to run before. I kept telling my Wolf that it was the only way neither our mate nor Nicolas would fight. She didn’t care much for Nicolas, until I reminded her how much he’d helped us in the past month.

It was the first time I ever did that, but once I was a mile into the run- I allowed my Wolf to take complete control of our body. I was in Wolf form- which made it too easy.

She was enjoying being in charge for once. Most times, she found I was too emotional or weak to handle things. My Wolf thought more coldly and was more objective, which was what I needed at the moment.

They didn’t stop chasing me. Even when we had left them behind- I could hear Dylan and Nicolas. I had only met Dylan just now, but his scent was already engraved in my mind.

Whenever I saw a body of water, whether lake or river- I jumped in. It was the only way I found I could try to hide my tracks.

Once I shifted back into my human form, my Wolf was ready to let me take back control.

I didn’t have any clothes, so I was thankful we were still in the woods. I wasn’t sure where we were, just that I was north of Raven territory.

Walking around in my human form felt exposed, but it was nice to take a break from the paws and fur.

No scent coated the area. My Wolf was in unclaimed territory- which could be both safe and dangerous. The last thing I needed was another run in with a pack- but I also wasn’t too excited about stumbling across a Rogue.

A short walk on foot led me to a river. My Wolf seemed to perk up at this, since she’d been salivating for water.

‘Leila!’ Nicolas’ voice rang through my mind.

He’d been going at it the last few hours while I ran. It bothered my Wolf that he’d been able to cross through the barrier I had put against him and anyone else from the pack in my mind.

My running had surely given all the Alphas a chance to scatter around, or given them an opportunity to make their way back home. It was what I wanted. I didn’t want anyone to fight- especially over me.

After gulping down some water, I walked over to one of the few trees at the side of the river. The sun would be out soon enough. I’d been exhausted before I ran away. It had been a tiring night and hours ago- my body had asked me to turn in for the day.

Now, the sun was about to rise, and I found myself in the middle of nowhere- completely naked.

I allowed myself a few more minutes to breathe- letting my mind mull over both of my options. Nicolas wanted me to go back- he’d been calling out for me for hours.

I could also keep running- away from him and from my mate.

My Wolf quickly complained at that. I didn’t have her blessing if it meant abandoning our mate. Unfortunately for me, I needed my Wolf to be on board with whatever I decided.

I’d been too caught up in my thoughts, that I’d missed the scent that had now taken over the entire area of the river.

I hid behind the tree, not that it would help in anyway. He was a Werewolf. By now, he probably already knew I was there.

“Luna,” I heard him say, as he slowly approached me.

I shifted into my Wolf, my answer in the form of a growl in his direction.

He raised his hands in the air, and took a few steps back.

He was naked, which had been uncomfortable for me- but did nothing to shy away my Wolf.

“We talked earlier, remember? Eric,” he said, taking a cautious step away from me.

I remembered. It wasn’t like I could forget him even if I wanted to. Every detail of tonight was really fresh in my memory.

“I’ll be right back. I’ll go get us some clothes,” he said, before turning away.

He only took a step, before shifting into his Wolf and running away in the opposite direction.

I didn’t shift back to my human form.

While I wanted to run away from there- knowing Eric would be able to find me when he returned- I didn’t. My Wolf wanted to stay. She was hoping when Eric returned, he would bring our mate with him.

Without choosing for myself- it seemed like the decision had already been made.

Eric came back dressed in a pair of warm-ups.

He was holding in his hands some jean shorts and a huge guy t shirt.

“I’ll put it in front of you so you can change back,” he said, slowly approaching me.

About ten feet away from me, my Wolf growled at him. Eric raised his hands in the air in surrender.

“I’ll leave them here,” he said, pointing at the spot in front of him.

I quickly ran to take them, before going back to where I’d been standing before.

Eric turned around, while I slipped on the clothes he’d brought for me.

“The Alpha, my Alpha- he’s a good guy,” Eric told me while still facing the other way.

“He’s my mate,” I whispered.

When Eric heard me talk, he turned back to face me.

“I know,” Eric said.

“Right now when you ran, everyone scattered around the territory. Your scent was all over the land- and some of the other Wolves lost your trail soon after.”

“Where’s the Alpha?” I asked him, feeling worried about his safety.

“He’s looking for you. He isn’t far from here,” Eric replied.

“How did you find me?”

“The Alpha is too focused on finding you.  It’s clouding his senses. It’s my best guess to why he hasn’t found you.”

His words made me go silent. My Wolf and I had just begun another argument with ourselves when he spoke again.

“You’re fast,” Eric told me.

“I wouldn’t have caught up to you if it weren’t because you stopped just now. You crossed this same river an hour ago- and that’s where the Alpha and Alpha Nicolas lost your trail,” he explained.

“He should leave, you know. It isn’t fair that he starts a fight with Nicolas.”

Eric shook his head at me. He took a small step closer, almost looking like he was testing to see if it would anger me.

“You two are mates. Alpha Nicolas is wrong by trying to keep you from that. He had his mate. We’re all sorry she’s dead. But that doesn’t involve you.”

“You’re just saying that because you want me to go with your Alpha,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.

Again, Eric shook his head. This time, he straightened out his posture, looking at me with a determined expression.

“No, I’m not,” he firmly said.

I was about to say something else, when he continued talking.

“I’m saying it because he’s your mate.”

Comment and vote if you'd like. Thanks so much for reading!