Scarlet's pov

I turned to Alpha Alex with desperation, waiting for him to refute her claims, but he remained silent.

"Tell me she is lying?" My voice cracks, but I don't care.

The chapel is deadly silent, and I can feel the eyes of all the pack members on me, but I still do not care.

"Tell me it isn't true!" I screamed when Alpha Alex remained silent.

His silence spoke volumes, and I could feel my heart cracking with each passing second.

"You were going to marry me and mark me when you had already marked another?" I asked with astonishment.

It wasn't a secret that wolves could only mark one person whom they chose to spend the rest of their lives with.

Marking another person while your marked mate was still alive would cause pain, excruciating pain on the second wolf being marked, and he or she could run mad or even die if they were unable to bear the pain.

My heart cracked a little more when I realized he was ready to do that to me.

He was ready to put me through all that pain.

"Kayla and I have been lovers." He admitted without remorse and I felt the ground falling from under me.

My utopia, everything I thought was perfect, comes crashing down.

"Then why marry me and not her? Why put me through this sort of humiliation?" I clutched my chest.

"Our marriage was prearranged since our parents were alive." He revealed, and I recoiled like I had been slapped.

I never knew there was an understanding between our parents.

Here I had been for years, pining away at someone who only viewed me as an obligation to be fulfilled.

Flashbacks of when I tried to engage him in conversation and get him to open up to me popped up in my mind, and I cringed.

"Our marriage was an arrangement, one which I couldn't break off, but my heart belongs to Kayla." He turned and looked at her with tenderness in his eyes.

Raw pain and betrayal welled up within me.

"You knew more than anyone how much I loved him, Kayla. How could you do this to me?" I whispered brokenly.

"You were too self-centered and self-absorbed. If you took a minute and thought about me for a moment you would have realized it." She sneered.

I scanned her face, wondering where my best friend, who promised to fight the world against me, was.

"You are despicable." I spat out.

"I am with child for Alpha Alex, I am in a delicate condition, and I refuse to allow the heir to the alpha bloodline to be ignored and tossed aside." She informed me.

"Why are you doing this, Kayla? Why are you doing this to me?" A sob raked through my body.

"You took everything away from me. I'm merely returning the favor." She shrugged with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Alpha Alex, you knew how much I loved you," I whispered as tears clouded my vision.

" I cannot marry you, Scarlet, I do not love you." Alpha Alex retorted.

My head was spinning, this was all too much for me to bear.

I turned to the pack members, and they gazed at me with sickening pity.

I felt like the walls were closing in on me, and my wolf scratched within me, begging to be set free.

Kayla had moved towards Alpha Alex, and he cradled her in the nest of his arms.

The sight was too much for me to bear, and I did the only thing I possibly could.

I jumped off the altar and ran.

I ran as fast as my feet could take me, fisting my gown in my hands so that I wouldn't trip over it.

Air caressed my face as I ran, and my vision blurred with unshed tears.

I felt stupid, naive, and humiliated.

I had no idea where I was running to; all I knew was that I had to get as far away from this pack as I possibly could.

Along the way, I ditched the ridiculous heels and ran barefoot.

****

Night had begun to fall as I stumbled around the forest, unsure where I was or where I was headed.

My feet hurt, my whole body hurt, and my heart bled at the betrayal of not only the man I used to love but my best friend.

A twig snapped behind me, and I turned, my wolf perking up at the sound.

"Who is there?" I asked, my voice hoarse from crying.

I hear another twig snap to the side, and the hair behind my neck stands on high alert.

It is then that I smell them.

Rogues...the vile and unmistakable stench that seems to follow them wafts in the air.

I growled as one slowly stalks out of the shadows.

"Don't come any closer." I bared my canines, trying to scare it off, but it was undeterred by my warnings.

One by one, they come out of the shadows, and it is painfully obvious that I am outnumbered.

My stance becomes defensive, and when the first one leaps at me, I am ready and claw at its face, sending it whimpering to the floor.

Adrenaline surges within me, and when all of them pounce at me, I do everything I can to fend them off.

I wasn't going down without a fight.

I sunk my claws deep into their skin and ignored them as they tugged on my once-white gown.

A howl of pain leaves my lips when one of them bites into my side, dragging my flesh apart.

I drop to the floor as blood slowly stains my fabric.

Now they are slower and more deliberate in their movements, almost as if they wanted to instill fear in me.

One, whom I now identify as their leader, howls into the night before baring its canines at me, his intention written on his face.

He is going to kill me.

And suddenly, Alpha Alex and Kayla's betrayal is the last thing on my mind.

Scarlet's pov

Just as the rogue is about to sink his canines into my neck, a howl echoed into the night, right before a huge black Lycan jumps in front of me.

His aura reeks of power and authority, and he stands tall, looking down at the rogues who are visibly shaken by his presence.

My wolf perks up at his presence, and she claws to be let loose as my eyes trace all his features.

That was weird.

The Lycan growled lowly, daring them to step forward and challenge him.

Their leader snared and leaped towards the Lycan.

The Lycan effortlessly sidestepped the rogue and flung it back.

The rogue stood and seemed to weigh his options. He thinks better of it when it is painfully clear that the Lycan can take them all at once.

With one last threatening growl, they retreat and disappear into the shadows.

The Lycan turns towards me, and my breath hitches when our eyes meet.

Brown hazel eyes sparkled as they stared at me, almost as if they were searching my soul.

His face was hard and unreadable.

My throat dries at how huge and muscular he is, towering over my little frame. His eyes are sharp and alert with a mix of wonder.

Electric sparks surround us, and my wolf begs to be let free.

I'm baffled by how my body craves to gravitate towards this stranger.

"Mate." His low husky voice declared, looking straight at me, and my heart dropped.

My wolf leaped for joy at his words.

"No, it couldn't be," I muttered as my eyes rolled to the back of my head and I passed out.

****

"What if she dies?" A tiny voice asked.

"Sophie, don't say such things." Someone gasped, and I groaned as I felt someone poke my side.

"Aren't you a tough one?" A voice lulled me into consciousness, and I slowly peered my eyes open.

A small girl of not over five years and a young, chubby woman towered over me and stared at me with curiosity.

"Off you go Sophie, I have a patient to attend to." The woman shooed the little girl out of the room and locked the door with a click, before returning to me.

I took in the simple cream coloured room and frowned when I realized this wasn't my bedroom.

"I'm sorry, that's my daughter. She's very curious." The woman's soft voice broke the silence.

"Where am I?" I asked, cradling my banging head within my hands.

"In the Moonlit Lycan pack." She informed me, and my eyes bulged.

The events of the past day flooded my memory, and I plopped down on the bed in defeat.

"Who brought me here?" I asked.

"Damien, the Lycan King." She shrugged, and my heart stopped.

It couldn't be.

This had to be some sick joke from nature.

Of all the people in the world to be my mate, it had to be the Lycan King. A wolf feared by all throughout the kingdom.

I marvelled at how, in less than a day, I had gone from almost getting married to the love of my life to finding out he was having a child with my best friend and then almost getting killed by rogues if not for the timely appearance of my mate.

My mate, the Lycan king.

"You don't need to seem so frightened, dear, I know what the rumours say, but when you get to know him, you'll discover he is nothing like that." The woman looked at me with a soft smile.

"Who are you?" I asked, gulping down the water she offered me greedily.

"Emma, the pack doctor." She introduced herself.

"King Damien asked me to inform him when you are awake." She commented and a strange emotion I couldn't place gripped my heart at the thought of staring into those brown hazel eyes again.

"I'm not sure I'm up for company just yet," I muttered, trying to avoid any interaction with him until I could decipher how I felt about everything.

"I can't disobey his orders." She told me.

She went to the door and spoke to whoever stood behind it before returning to me with a frown on her face.

"Is he standing outside the door?" Panic spiked through me.

"No, those are the guards he stationed at your door." She explained.

"Guards?" I quirked a brow at her.

"Just a formality." She shrugged.

"King Damien has ordered you rest and regain your strength before he visits you." She informed me.

That was exactly what I wanted, so why did I feel disappointed instead of relieved at her words?

Why didn't my mate want to see me?

"How fast do you think the wound would heal, and would I be able to leave?" I asked her as she changed the dressing on my abdomen, where the rogue had bitten me.

"I don't know about leaving." She looked up at me wearily.

But it should take a day or two at most for you to heal, your wolf is very strong and is helping to speed up the healing process." She revealed and I merely nodded.

Once I was strong enough to be on my feet again, I would leave this place, regardless of whatever my mate had to say about it.

"I tried to save your gown, but I'm afraid it was unredeemable." She divulged.

It was then I noticed I wasn't clad in my white wedding dress; rather I was in a simple black tank top and shorts.

My heart clenched at the mention of my wedding gown.

I should have been marked and happily married by now.

"It doesn't matter, you could burn it if you like. I want to have no physical reminders." I gritted out, and the woman stared at me in bewilderment, no doubt surprised at the venom laced in my words.

Because the last thing on my mind right now, is taking revenge against those motherfuckers who betrayed me.

"Alex, Kayla..." I breathed heavily, my fist clenched in anger.

Damien's pov

I drove my fists harder into the punching bag, concentrating on letting out all my pent-up frustration.

Two days–it had been two whole days since I had met my mate and carried her back to my pack.

Everything within me screamed to go to her, to take her and claim her as mine, but I bit down the urge, drawing a breath as I didn't derive the sensation I sought from attacking the punching bag.

"We've already changed two punching bags in the last day, some of my men are in the infirmary because they were brave enough to spar against you at your command, and the others are unwilling to risk their lives by stepping into the gym even though they need to train." Callan, my beta, stared at me as he leaned against a wall at the far corner of the gym.

"Your point is?" I quirked a brow at him.

"You have to get it together, Damien." He pushed off the wall and approached me.

"I am well put together," I informed him, and he scoffed, ignoring the daggers my eyes shot his way.

Callan was the only one who could call me out and go scot-free.

"Then why are you attempting to kill all your men?" He quirked a brow.

"I am not attempting to kill my men, I simply wish to train their bodies. They are weak." I growled.

"Or maybe you are being a coward who is scared to face his mate outside these gym walls and doesn't know how to express the emotions raging within him." He retorted.

"Know your place, Callan." My voice boomed, but the man didn't even bat an eyelash.

"I know you, Damien." He sighed.

"Avoidance won't help you." He advised and I raked my hands through my hair in frustration.

"What do you expect me to do? I was sure the moon goddess hadn't given me a mate. I was sure I was going to rule alone, considering the curse, and that was fine by me, but now the moon goddess thrusts a little frail woman my way."

"If I dare mark her, she is going to die, and if I reject her, it will weaken me. So tell me, what do you expect me to do?" I placed both hands on my waist as I tried to control my ragged breathing.

"Why can't you be with her?" Callan asked, and my expression immediately darkened.

"You know about the curse-" I gritted out. Callan was the only one who knew about the curse.

"There could be a way around the curse. If the moon goddess gave you a mate, then there must be a way." He interrupted me.

"You knew how long I searched for a cure, a remedy, a way around the curse, and anything that would break it. I won't give myself any more false hopes only to end up at a dead end." My words rang with finality, and he knew better than to say anything more on the subject.

"Just find another outlet for your pent-up emotions and leave my men alone." He sighed before walking out of the gym and leaving me with my thoughts.

Callan was right about one thing, though: I couldn't hide away in the gym forever. I had to face my problems head-on.

After taking a shower, I made my way to my mate's room, stopping short as her melodic laughter rings through the door and something stirred within me.

"Come in." Her soft voice called out to me when I knocked on the door.

I pushed open the door, and immediately my nostrils flared as the sweet scent of strawberries wafted around me.

My eyes landed on my mate who was in the middle of her bed and staring at me with blue doe eyes, and her little lips parted.

Everything within me begged to pounce on her and claim her as mine.

I knew my eyes flashed, and I closed them for a second, trying to gain better control of my urges before I opened them and kept a blank expression.

Sophie, Callan's daughter, and Emma are perched on the bed beside my mate.

"I would like to speak with my mate." I announced and Emma immediately spring from the bed.

"Let's go, Sophie." Emma bundled the little girl in her arms and left the room, shutting the door with a click behind me.

Awkward silence stretched in the room for several seconds, and my mate rose from the bed.

The sparks were undeniable when our eyes met, and I couldn't second-guess this.

This woman was my mate, there was no mistaking it.

She looked fresher now that the dirty and bloodied gown was gone and her blond hair was tied up in a bun.

She was perf,ect.

"You wanted to talk to me?" She asked, breaking the silence as a blush stained her cheeks at the intensity of my stare.

I cleared my throat and looked away from her.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her lamely.

"Much better. I'm practically healed." She replied slowly.

I was at a loss for what to do.

"What is your name?" I asked, keeping my voice steady, and her eyes widened in shock.

I had made it a point not to talk about her whenever Callan or his mate tried to bring her up in the last two days. It was safe to say I knew absolutely nothing about my mate.

"Scarlet." She replied.

"Scarlet." I tested her name on my lips, and I noticed her sharp intake of breath.

Good, I wasn't the only one who could feel the mate pull.

"And you are the feared Lycan king." She muttered after a moment, and I quirked a brow at the title.

Somewhere within me, I didn't want my mate to see me as the Lycan in that title, I wanted her to see me for who I was behind the crown.

"I hope-" I began, but my mate cut me off.

"I want to leave." She announced, and my heart dropped.