A little recap of what happened so far:

"He got shot." Jace, the guy who was carrying James, said handing him over to the Beta.

"Shit!" Beta Drake cursed again, getting hold of his injured Alpha as he sprinted towards one of the chambers, I suppose which belonged to the pack healer.

I stood there hesitantly, not sure whether it would be a good idea to follow behind.

"You can follow along if you want," Jace said as if reading my thoughts, without any other utterance he walked away, leaving me behind to stand alone in an unknown packhouse by myself.

I exhaled and closed my eyes. Maybe, I should allow myself a little slack and let my emotions come out for once, or else I would find myself going bonkers.

For sure.

Continuation (New):

Alina

A few minutes passed by. I stood outside the healer's chamber, fiddling with the rim of my tee-shirt as I tried to control my wolf. She was on the verge of exploding once again, going rampage and assassinating anyone whom she would consider as a threat. And I certainly didn't want that. I wanted no more regrets, not when I was hanging on a thread especially with my past attached to it.

A few snippets of the past invaded my memory as I stood there silently.

You are filthy, you all are. Blinded by the glitter of power and authority. The female abandoned wolf had said in the past. Some snippets of her being tied with silver chains down the prison flooded my mind. The familiar face of filth and hatred as she glanced my way, seemed to bother me a lot more than it probably should.

That statement wasn't true at all.

She is dead. I reminded myself. Somewhat disturbed by what she had said in the past, I clenched my fist. We never had the greed of attaining power and position.

We were just protecting our own kind. Our family, our pack members, from those who meant harm.

I felt tired. My eyes roamed around and tried to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings. The interior designs of the house were different than that of the exterior. The simple white building, which I saw from outside had a rather unexpected twist inside. The walls were painted with a mixture of crème and red, while some of the walls contained a maroon shade making it the centre of attention.

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty. My mate was there, shot with his soul slowly drifting away and I stood there looking and commenting about the interior designs of his packhouse. It felt horrible.

A few more seconds passed by.

Some people came rushing towards the chamber, with tonnes of emotions displayed on their faces. They rushed their way and made their stop just outside the door. There were three people to be exact, two elders who I supposed were James' parents while the other was Beta Drake.

One of the elders, the man whom I suggestively considered to be James' dad had a blank expression on his face. His eyes were exactly of the same colour as James' honey brown. His aura was strong like that of a former Alpha as he stood there trying to convince the other female.

"Stop weeping." He gruffed, keeping his stern blank composure as he patted her shoulder. His emotionless eyes soon softened as his gaze shifted towards the face of the lady wrapped around his arms.

That was his mate.

"He will be fine." He cooed, trying to soothe her sobs. "Nothing will happen to him, don't worry."

I tore my gaze away from them. The pain they had on their faces somewhat made me feel responsible for all this.

Beta Drake stood right next to me and motioned some gestures. I blinked a few times, as I tried to comprehend what he was trying to say.

After several trials, he sighed soon and mouthed 'follow'. I nodded slightly and trailed behind him. We walked for a few minutes. The entire atmosphere was gloomy, some of the pack members who were inside the house had wistful looks in their eyes. Some glances were thrown at me which for a second made me feel uneasy.

We soon stopped outside an enormous door. It was a faded maroon door with prominent marks of claws prodding out like an undesirable stench. "Come in," Drake said opening the door for me.

"What is it?" I asked as I walked inside the room. Stacks of book, some new while the others with those ancient covers intrigued me.

We were inside the library.

"Who are you?" He catechized.

"I'm —"

"—you are Alina, aren't you?" He asked his voice merely a whisper.

"Yes," I replied, feeling uncomfortable at his sudden interrogation.

He knew me. But how?

His eyes softened as he looked at me and sighed, "Don't feel alarmed. I know everything." He voiced out.

"What do you mean by everything?" I gasped, suddenly feeling anxious.

He is probably bluffing.— My wolf stated.

"Everything. James told me everything, from day one." He said cautiously. He pulled out two chairs and motioned me to sit. He took a seat himself and started, "I know it feels weird for you since you don't know me. I am Drake, James' Best friend and Beta."

I wanted to roll my eyes at him. It wasn't rocket science to figure that out, even without him phrasing it. I sat quietly with my lips pressed into a thin line.

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. None of us spoke.

Drake awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "Where have you been? You disappeared from your pack almost four years ago."

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know that?"

"We heard Alpha Andrew, your brother, sent a search team after you but much to his misfortune, he couldn't find you."

I gasped at that as scraps from the past clawed at my memory.

He wanted to punish us. That's probably one reason why I felt a sudden threat and asked you to run away from the pack. — My wolf explained.

"We looked for you," Drake said soon after. I frowned in return.

"Why?"

"James wanted to apologise. He felt shit afterwards. He can be thick and dumb as fuck." He laughed to lighten the dark atmosphere that surrounded us. "But he   has a good heart."

"I don't know what to say or think," I answered truthfully.

"We can't change the past but at least you have the right to know some things about him," Drake mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"The thing is, James and Hailey have been together since childhood, childhood sweethearts as some may call it. It was way before you came into the picture."

My heart clenched at his words. He loved her.

"James was trying to avoid the whole confrontation and thought rejecting you was the only option for him." Drake sighed and continued, "He wanted to be with Hailey, again, they have been together for ages. It's hard to let go, you know. He thought it would work out and it did but it damaged three lives, probably four. Yours, James, Hailey and her mate. Though she has not found hers yet."

I was left speechless.

"He has nothing against you. But the thing is— shit can get pretty complicated when you fall in love with someone who is not your mate. Being without you literally drained him. I am the witness."

My heartbeat raced as I sat there breathing heavily. He chose love over his own mate bond. I was in pain.

"Look Alina, I am not trying to advocate him into your good books. I am just giving you his side of the events. I bet he will apologise to you once he recovers. For everything."

I didn't need an apology. I didn't even need him back in my life. I just prayed for his survival.

"Alina, I know it's too much to ask but can you please stay here till he recovers? Your presence will help him to heal faster. We all need him."

I shook my head, "I can't stay here."

James had Hailey and everyone else by his side. He did not need my presence in his life.