CALEB'S POV

"I hereby introduce to you Layla as my mate." Everyone seemed to be happy, apart from one person who stood in the doorway with a very moody and sad expression, Maya.

I don't think she will expect me to name her as my mate and Luna, at least not after what her mother did to me 20 years ago.

Lady Luciana, Maya's mother, had been my mate, but she had rejected me in the most humiliating way by getting pregnant for my best friend, Kent. They had gotten married and ended up having a daughter, Maya, and now, 20 years later, the daughter of those who had caused me the greatest heartache was my mate.

To mark her will be over my dead body. How would I be with her? Luciana and Kent might have died early, thereby missing my chance to get my revenge on them, but their daughter was going to bear their sins.

"Caleb?" Layla called, and I turned my face back to her.

"He really needs to have a word with you," she said.

"Who?" I asked.

"My father, honor him," she added, her voice laced with excitement and fulfillment. It was a great thing to be my mate.

As I walked gently to my soon-to-be father-in-law, in the corner of my eyes, I could see Maya running out of the room with teary eyes, and her friend, Maria, ran after her.

"Caleb," her mother spoke softly, "so, since when have you known our daughter is your mate?" "Diana?" Layla's mother asked, grinning ear to ear. Instead of replying, I just smiled.

The rest went on and on as the whole pack celebrated; congratulations flew left and right to Layla and me.

"I haven't seen Layla; do you have an idea where she's at?" I asked Diana's mother.

"Just about to ask you the same thing; we were supposed to have a dance together, but I can't seem to find her anywhere," Diana explained, looking sideways to check if she could catch a glimpse of her daughter, but she didn't.

I took a walk around the room in an attempt to find her, but I still couldn't find Layla.

"Alpha Caleb?" Someone called out from behind me, tapping my shoulders. I turned to be met with a not-so-familiar face. I looked confused, giving the man a questioning look.

"Oh, I'm Thane, an omega. There's something outside you need to see, sir," the man who I now knew to be Thane said. I couldn't help but notice the sadness and urgency in his tone as he spoke. At once, I followed him.

Thane led the way; he led me outside and to the corner of the palace, and there it was.

My eyes met a very gory image of a lady lying lifeless on the cold floor; her face was ripped out, but I knew who it was. I knew that dress, that nail polish, that shoe, and that necklace; it was Layla's.

My new mate and Luna had been murdered on the night I marked her. Who would dare? my wolf growled in anger.

"Call me Tyler.'' I backed those orders out of my throat to Thane; he hurriedly scurried away and in no time appeared with Tyler, my right-hand beta.

Tyler stopped in his tracks as he saw the image before him. "Oh geez!" He covered his face in shock. "Is that whom I think it is?"

"I need to find who did this. We need to hunt them down. We need to show them no one messes with Luna of Nightshade and gets away with it," I growled to Tyler, who just nodded in affirmation. I might not have loved Sheila as much, but I sure as hell wouldn't allow anyone to get away with a direct attack on my wolf.

An attack on my mate was as well an attack on me. Soon after, the news reached the whole party, making everyone fretful for their lives. People began to leave one after the other. Diana rushed to the scene and began to scream and cry, and her husband, Raven, tried his best to hold onto his wife, but it was proving difficult. The tone of the party went from a happy one to a sad one.

"Did you find anything?" I asked as Tyler came back.

"Yes," he declared confidently, "but I'm not sure if you're going to like the results of this," he said, looking worried.

"Crack it," I ordered, but he was still hesitant. "Obey my order; I'm your alpha," I barked at him.

"Maya," Tyler mentioned.

"And what is with her?" I asked.

"Layla was seen talking to Maya a few minutes before Thane found her body," he dropped the bombshell.

"Maya? Maya has done this to Layla out of revenge? How dare Maya stand against me? How dare she?

"I want her in front of me, Tyler," I growled at him. "Find me Maya right now, and bring her to me. Search the premises; she must still be around. I will also join you in the search," I ordered and began to walk away.

The search for Maya went on, but it was beginning to prove unfruitful.

"Caleb, Maya has been spotted running away from the Pack's territory. What should we do?" Tyler asked.

"You stand there while she's running away? She must be real guilty, and there's only one thing to do: we hunt her down!" I growled at Tyler.

"Listen up, everyone, your Luna and my mate have been murdered by a young woman whom we all have, one way or another, cared for after she lost her parents, and this is how she repays us? And now, I want everyone to spread out and find her, bring her back to me alive, and let us show her Nightshade always repays what we owe.

"I ordered," and every werewolf growled in agreement at once, and soon.

"I don't think we should hunt her like this. She is the last person to be with Elena, but she is only an omega, and Elena is a beta. Do you think she could kill her? She is just a suspect, for now," Tyler said, trying to reason with me.

"If she wasn't guilty, why is she running?"" I asked, but he couldn't reply.

"Now I want you to hunt her down and bring her to me alive. I am going to teach that bitch a lesson. For the rest of her life, she will live in bondage," I spat in anger and walked out on Tyler, who followed behind.

CHAPTER 3: ON THE RUN

MAYA'S POV

I raced out of the room in mortification and disgrace. I was still pregnant and had given my whole to a man who didn't want me; my virginity was lost for real. I could hear Elena running after me as I left. I ran outside, gasping for breath.

"Maya!" She whispered, but I didn't hear her clearly. "Hey, Maya, what's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Caleb, Caleb chose Layla as his mate and Luna," I answered her.

"Are you that shocked, sister? Well, I guess I am too, but why would you be this shaken over that? Layla is our friend, and that means one thing: we'd enjoy her luxury as Luna. She chimed excitedly, obviously clueless as to what I was going through.

"Caleb is my mate, Elena, and..." I broke down into a hysterical sob to finish my sentence.

"No, Maya, Caleb is Layla's mate," she replied, confused as to whatever it was I meant. "And please don't cry," she added, patting my back.

"No, Elena, Caleb is my mate, and he's been for 2 months now; in fact, it's deeper-we made a baby," I said, touching my stomach as I cried harder, then found my way to sit on a stairway at the entrance.

"But I don't understand; he told me he was going to announce me as his Luna today and mark me as his, and now he marked Layla. It means I've been rejected'" I rushed my words amidst sobs.

"No... what?" Elena asked, surprised.

"But why am I just hearing of this? How did you guys meet? When did all of this happen?" She had a lot of questions, and I knew it was wrong for me to have kept them from her; she was my sister, and she never kept anything from me.

"Caleb, he told me to keep it a secret," I said, realizing I had been stupid, and began to break down and cry even more.

"I hate to say this to you now in your darkest moment, but Maya, how could you be so stupid? How would you expect Alpha Caleb to love you when he'd rejected his mate, who was an omega, once?" She asked; she was concerned, but I knew even though Elena was concerned, she'd always say the truth and hit the nail on the head, but what she was saying I had no idea.

"He rejected an omega?" I asked, facing her as I wiped my eyes. "What could she have done?" I probed.

"You really don't know?" Elena asked. myself in, the more confused I was.

"She's here," Elena muttered, tugging at my gown, succeeding in getting my attention. I stood from the stairway I sat on, dusting my gown, trying to look presentable as Layla approached. She was now my Luna, and no matter how I felt, I was to serve her.

"Maya dear," Layla said in a very disgusting tone, "you must have thought Caleb was going to name you as his," she said as she began to toy with her fingers and then burst into hysterical laughter.

"But you see, you dream so high and try to reach things that can never be yours. I mean, look at you, trying to become the alpha's Luna; a mere omega dares to dream," she mockingly said.

Layla had changed from the loving beta friend who stood by me to a bitch who dared to steal a man she knew was mine. "I don't. Would you explain to me already?" I demanded, and then she sighed and began.

"Before you, Caleb had once been mated to another, only he never marked her; his excuse for rejecting her was that she was a weak omega who he couldn't trust to rule alongside him."

I couldn't seem to be able to comprehend the rest of whatever Elena was saying, as the only thing that kept ringing in my head was.

Alpha Caleb had rejected me because I was an omega, but then, why had he been intimate with me? Was I just a plaything in his eyes?

"Maya, Layla is walking towards us," Elena snapped, waving her right hand in front of my face.

But I paid her no attention; the more I thought about the situation, I found it was mated to me.

"But I'm not surprised he rejected you; if I were you, I'd reject me too."

she said with a wicked grin on her face.

"Don't you dare talk to my sister like that, you bitch," Elena growled at Layla, but I pulled her back. Layla was now above us, and getting on her bad side meant punishment.

"Let's go; I want to leave this place'" I said to Elena, who tried to protest, but looking at me, seeing the frustration on my face, she closed her mouth, held my hand, and dragged me further away from Layla.

"I need some water; could you get me some?" I asked Elena. We were in the warehouse of the hotel and had sat in silence for over 25 minutes since we got here after fleeing Layla. Elena didn't say a word; she just sat there for me.

"Sure, let me fetch you some water." She said and made her way out of the warehouse, but soon after, she came rushing back in, panicking.

"Maya, you have to run, right now," Elena said, roughly tugging at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused and not understanding what she meant.

Elena moved closer to me and then, in a low tone and with a sense of urgency, repeated, "You have to leave Nightshade right now."

"Why?" I asked in a more serious tone.

"I can't explain much now, but Layla is dead-no, she's murdered-and Caleb seems to believe it's your doing, and now, the whole pack is on the hunt for you," Sheila said, pacing around in front of me as she rushed her words, but they were clear enough.

A lot of thoughts rushed through my mind, a lot of questions I knew better not to ask because Elena wouldn't have answers to them.

Why was I to be hunted? Why was I suspected? Why should I run? And more importantly, where was I supposed to run to?

MAYA'S POV

The morning slight rain brushed my feet as I ran with no particular direction in mind. Morning was approaching already, and I was still running. I had been chased like a criminal all through the night, and my body was weary already, but I knew better than to stop.

I couldn't stop; I kept running in the woods, lost all sense of direction, as different men chased after me. Men who were once my protectors, neighbors, and friends now seemed to want nothing but to catch me for a murder I didn't commit.

I gasped in fear! With the way I'm seeing things, surrendering wasn't the best option; I'd be killed before they heard I had nothing to do with it. I ran as fast as my wolf could carry me.

I lost count of the number of pack territories I had passed, but one thing was sure: I was still in the borders of packs friendly to Ravenclaw, and that was why they could openly chase me even though we were in other territories.

One reasonable thought that kept reeling in my head was to find our rival territory, the Mooresville Pack. That was to be my safe space; I wouldn't be killed in a rival's territory, but I also would only be a slave, but I guess that was better than dying.

After a few minutes, I stopped running and tried to remember the direction to the Packs. We were warned to never wander.

"Was it north? Or south?" I impatiently growled in frustration; I never really paid attention in class, and now my fate depended on a silly class I had missed.

"There she is," a man said, and another howled, signaling to the others I had been sighted.

"Shoot," a voice uttered.

"Eh! How are they so fast?" I was already getting weary, pregnant with a child, hungry, and tired from all the running, but I knew I had to keep on going; I had to save myself, save my child.

I was jolted. I started running faster than I could; my body began to give up. Then, I stepped on something sharp, a sharp metal that pierced through my feet. The pain was out of this world. With both feet stuck in a trap, I could not move. I was bleeding profusely, and my eyes began to shut, but no one was catching up. As my eyes closed, I could see the men chasing me standing still, then turning their backs and beginning to walk back. They were retreating.

I calmly smiled through my teeth, knowing what their retreat meant, then allowed the darkness to envelop me.

"I think she's waking up," I heard a female voice say as my eyes fluttered open. I blinked once, twice, or maybe thrice; I wasn't so sure. It was in reaction to the brightness of the room.

"Who are you, and why did you cross our borders?" a young, handsome man gruffly asked me. Beside him stood a lady who was about my age, smiling at me. With no one else in the room but the two of them, I figured she must have been the owner of the female voice I had earlier heard.

"Let her be, Ryder; the poor girl just woke up after 13 days," the lady said as she chastised the handsome man, and then what she said sank into my brain.

"What!" I couldn't control myself. "Wait, what did you just say? 13 days? I had been asleep for 13 days?" I immediately tried to get up but was drawn back by some force; I was in bondage.

"I told you this would come in handy; I knew she was going to try to run immediately she woke," the man called Ryder said, smiling to himself, but the woman gave him a look that said, "Not now!"

"Please assist in getting her out of these," the woman said.

"But why, Amelia?" the man groaned; he was acting almost like a whiny baby.

Now, the woman whose name I now learned was Amelia gave him a serious look, and without a word, he swiftly got into undoing the chains that bound me to the bed.

I wiggled my wrist as I got relieved of the chains.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Amelia asked.

"Uhn...uhn! I let out a quick cough and cleared my throat. "N...o," my voice croaked as I tried to talk. Well, no surprise there; I hadn't talked in 13 days.

"I'd like to inform you that you stepped on one of my dear brother's 'protections'; it hurt your feet pretty bad, and you passed out. We thought you were not going to make it when we found you lying lifeless in the bush around noon, but you and your baby made it just fine," she said, giggling and smiling at me.

I didn't feel any pain around my feet, but as she mentioned it, I remembered. I looked down and saw I had completely healed; my baby was fine too, and all I had to do now was get up and leave this place.

Amelia handed a bowl of water to me, urging me to drink. I drank it, and I felt so much better and refreshed.

"Thank you, miss," I said more in a mutter, but she heard me, and she smiled back.

"I think it's time you tell us something to hold on to." She spoke softly, "So why did you cross our borders? Your dress speaks of your origin; it clearly shows you're from the rival lands," Amelia said, maintaining the gentle tone. Her brother just watched as we conversed.

"Yes, I am of Nightshade, but I am an orphan and now, an outlaw. I've been pursued out of my land," I said sadly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.

"It's alright!" Amelia patted my back, rocking me up and down like a baby.

"And what are you called?" She asked.

"Maya, my name is Maya," I replied to her.

"Well, if you don't have any place to go or stay, you are always welcome here,'" she gently said as she continued to caress my back, but I think her brother might disagree.

"And on whose order is that? Now the alpha doesn't mean much here, does he?" Ryder grunted out, scoffed, and rolled his eyes.

The symbol on his shoulder and wrist shows he's the Alpha; he was the alpha of wherever it was I found myself in, only he didn't look like one.

"Of course she can stay," His next words soothed my mind for a few seconds until he spoke again. "But if she wants to stay here, she'll have to pay. We already saved her life, and now we're offering her shelter? How does she intend to pay us back? He rolled out the words as though payback was all that mattered.

But I wasn't ready to back down; I wasn't ready for defeat. I'd gone through too much to lose it all and be chased out of here, so I boldly asked, "How do you want to be paid back?"

Amelia wanted to say something, but before she could, her brother beat her to it: "It's simple, marry me." He said it, or had I heard wrong?