Selena stood, petrified at the scene before her. Blake, Lively, but most surprisingly, Nathaniel stood with a bag hanging off his left shoulder while on his right, a beautiful woman tall and fair smiled sweetly. Her dark olive complexion was in contrast to the white turtle neck she had that encased her ample breasts and astonishing curves.

A part of Selena was relieved to think that Nathaniel did have a woman waiting for him to return. It made her believe that he was indeed planning to let her go and that she was finally going home to pack Highcliff. But a side of her wishes it was her that was standing beside Nathaniel, smiling and carefree.

That was a side that Selena hated the most. A side filled with mortal folly was not worthy of her time.

Nathaniel moved towards her. His closeness suddenly snapping her back to reality.

“Fancy seeing you here.” He coldly murmurs under his breath.

She grimaces. “Yes, fancy that.”

Selena turns to Winston who was already gone and instead, he was embracing Lively, his wife. She couldn’t believe that he had betrayed her for the second time in just a matter of minutes.

Nathaniel leaned down and kissed the baby’s forehead. Gently, he removed the child from Selena and held her in his arms.

“Happy birthday, Leticia. Uncle Nate is here.” He spoke.

The woman beside Nathaniel chirped happily with an excited tone.

“Can you believe it? She’s one year old now. It seemed like it was only yesterday when she came out of her mom.”

Uncle? Selena’s heart performed a somersault. Did that mean Winston and Nathaniel were siblings? Or maybe it was Lively and Nathaniel was brother and sister.

“Ah, yes. The first girl in after over a hundred years of boys. Of course, she deserves all the love that she gets. Isn’t that right, baby Letty?”

He embraced the child one last time before handing her over to her mother. That soft sounds of the baby filled Selena’s ear as she nervously stayed in place, pinned down by Nathaniel’s strong energy that he exuded.

“Are you new here?” The woman cocked her head to the side. “I’m Kayla Marie but weirdly enough, people call me Katie.”

Selena gulped, glancing at Nathaniel who wore only a stoic face.

“Winston was only helping me out. I’m leaving today.” She stated coldly.

“Oh, are you trying to get home?”

“Yes, to pack Highcliff.”

“Pack Highcliff? Oh, dear. Your pack was attacked yesterday. I can’t imagine what you feel right now, luckily my boyfriend was called and he helped your Alpha out.”

Selena smiled through the sudden jolt of pain that landed on her chest. Nathaniel was her boyfriend, that fact was already obvious, and hearing it confirmed drove a stake through her heart.

“I was informed yesterday. That’s why I need to go home as soon as possible.”

Katie grimaced. “Don’t worry. Come every Sunday, a truck filled with vegetables is passing through here. I know the driver and I can set you up with him. After all, pack Highcliff is only an eight-hour drive.”

Beneath the sugary sweet exterior Katie wore, Selena couldn’t find one fault. It seemed like the woman was nice and no doubt far more mature than Selena.

“Thanks. I appreciate the help.” Selena lowered her head, showing respect and gratitude.

Katie laughed. “Oh, no problem. You’ll be staying here in the packhouse or?”

“She’s staying in my cabin.” Nathaniel suddenly entered the conversation. “Winston, did you do what I asked you to do?”

Winston took his attention away from his wife and stared at Selena then Nathaniel.

“Yes, Nate. As you requested, she’s housed in your cabin. We were just about to have breakfast before you came, would you like to join us?”

“Wait a minute, you requested her to be in your cabin?” Katie raised her brow.

“Yes. Alpha Talon Highcliff asked me to take care of her sister. She’ll be staying here as long as I say so.” Nathaniel huffed.

His denial of what she is to him hurt more than what she expected. Mixed with the cold and empty tone he used, it resulted in a concoction of feelings Selena never thought to go through.

Perhaps this is what they called heartbreak?

A feeling of jealousy and rage compiled into hopelessness and despair.

Despite the tear that forcibly pushed itself out of her, she managed to regain her resolve and quickly wiped the tear off her face before anyone could see it.

“My brother asked you to take care of me? How kind of him.” She gulped.

The hall was filled with silence. Everyone who knew what was going on was keeping their mouths shut. Which was perhaps the most viable option for every one of them. Selena didn’t want anyone knowing that she was the Alpha’s mate and she was glad Nathaniel shared the same sentiment.

“Yes, how kind,” Nathaniel answered. “Let’s all have some breakfast.”

Nathaniel leads the way, leaving Selena behind. But instead of following them, she walked gingerly towards the opposite direction and left.

She didn’t have the face to speak and pretend that she was fine. Her heart was simply not prepared for it.

Before she knew it, Selena was already back in the cabin. She tucked herself between the bed and the wall. Selena has never once been alone. She always had her friends and her brother to help her get through any kind of situation. But now that she was on her own, the only person she could cling to was herself.

With her current situation, almost everything about her was stripped away, even her freedom that she valued the most, was now only a ghost of a whim.

It was in the afternoon that Selena decided to emerge from the room. She didn’t want to touch the bed, the couch, or any place. After all, this was Nathaniel’s cabin. He probably held orgies all over this place.

She couldn’t understand why she was so adamant about hating him. Maybe she could reason with Nathaniel and arrange into an agreement? If not, then she would do everything in her power to escape.

Stepping out of the room, Selena caught a whiff of Nathaniel’s scent. She braved herself, knowing full well that running away from this was foolish.

Nathaniel was sitting on the couch, legs crossed and a scowl painted on his face. His eyes were closed as if he was sleep. Only when his eyes opened to reveal his steely gray eyes when the strength she gathered quickly melted away.

“I don’t like it when people stare. It’s rude.”

His tongue ran across his lower lip. Selena saw the sizable cut on his lip and remembered how he managed to sustain the cut. At the battlefield, Selena was trying to aid a wolf when Nathaniel came to rescue them.

She hadn’t even thanked him yet for that.

But why should she? He had displaced her from her home and acted like a supreme being towards her.

She sighed. “Now that you have me where you want, I need to know what you plan on doing to me.”

Nathaniel groans, still wearing a frown.

Was the great Alpha of pack Stormwind perpetually pissed off?

Selena thought so. There was no other reason why he would keep grimacing at every moment he saw her. Or perhaps Selena was that revolting, causing him to look like he was spanked with a two-by-four.

“You are to stay here, in pack Morris.” He sates. “Until I say so, at least. It’s clear to the both of us that we don’t like our situation so I want you to make yourself scarce when I’m around.”

“Oh, right. You don’t want your girlfriend discovering I’m your mate.”

“It’s better for the both of us.” He looks outside the window. “Why did you have to show up, Selena? My life here was perfectly calculated and planned until you came.”

How calculated? Selena asked herself. Perhaps it was serious to the point that they were planning to build a family of their own.

“You blame me for the Moon’s plans?” Her face contorted into an incredulous stare. “Why don’t you just say the words, Alpha? It only takes a minute to slice someone’s heart open with words. Aren’t you heartless enough to do it?”

He leans forward, raising his thick brows. The furious glint of his gaze caught Selena’s tongue. It was a mixture of fear and awe that stopped her from moving. His big brawny body approached her, with each step he took, Selena could hear her heartbeat getting faster and louder.

Intoxicated by the smell of his soap and freshly washed hair, Selena gawked at Nathaniel’s towering physique and gloomy attitude.

“Rejection is not an absolute solution, Selena.” He murmured.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Can you not see? To sever our bonds, to cut the ropes that tie our fates, you must reject me. The other option is that we kill one another.”

She made a promise to herself when her parents were slain by wolves. She must fight and survive to bring justice to her mother and father. And if Nathaniel’s solution was to kill her, then she wouldn’t give up without a fight.

“Can you really try and raise a dagger in front of my face?” He taunted her.

Selena’s wolf begged her to fight back. But Selena knew that whatever she could do, Nathaniel was overwhelmingly more powerful than her.

“I,” her heart screamed from the words forming in her mind. Selena took her dagger from her hip and opened the palm of her hand. To cut Nathaniel from her life, she was must let herself bleed. “Selena Highcliff, reject-”

“Don’t.” He says.

“Why?” Selena asked. “It’ll be easy, Alpha. I just need to say the words and we are over then I’ll be back home and whatever you plan on doing with your girlfriend, you can do so without worrying about me.”

“Leave Katie out of this.” His voice rose.

Nathaniel tried to grab the dagger but she was too quick to retract her hand.

“I can’t. If your happiness is with her, why should I come between the two of you?”

With a straight face answer, Nathaniel spoke after he swiped the dagger from her hand.

“I’m keeping you here for the sake of my wolf.”

“And I’m severing our bond to keep my wolf sane.” She protested, reaching for her blade back.

‘To keep me sane.’ Selena thought.

Nathaniel dropped the blade and turned to Selena, holding her shoulders and slowly pushing her against the wall. She squirmed and try to push back but whatever she did, her strength pales in comparison to the might Nathaniel possessed.

Both of her hands were pinned above her head while Nathaniel kept her body up with his arm. Drowning in an ocean of dread, Selena took the chance to dip her gaze into Nathaniel’s cold eyes and saw nothing but regret.

“Submit to me, Selena.” He muttered against her the skin of her cheek.

“Reject me first.” She almost begged.

Her answer caused him to groan angrily. He let her fall unto her knees, thudding when the palms of her hands kissed the floor. He turns away and murmurs a string of curses under his breath.

“You make it so difficult.” He storms out of the cabin.

For now, Selena bitterly smiled at her hardheadedness that caused her a win.

No matter what Nathaniel or anyone might throw at her, she was determined to push through everything.

~•°•~

Yeah, Nathaniel is actually one big jackass. There's no ifs or buts, he's just an ass.

The plot of this story is already coming along with my plot charts so I'm very excited to share it! ✨

So, if you liked the chapter, please consider leaving a vote or a comment!

Thank you for reading.

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