NADINE.

“Damn, Nadine… I can smell your arousal…” He groaned as he pressed his bulging erection against my front and I couldn’t help but grind mine onto him.

“Fuck!” He growled as his hand gripped my hair, and our eyes met. “My wolf wants you!”

“Yes.. please…” I moaned. “Take me…”

His hand moved, and goosebumps raised on my skin as he trailed his calloused palm along my thigh while our mouths fought for dominance. His fingers brushed on the tiny fabric covering my core before he slipped it to the side and began touching my folds. His touch was rough, but I reveled in it, and in no time, I could feel my pussy leaking.

He pulled away from my throat and pushed his body up so his face paralleled with mine. I whimper in disappointment because I wanted his lips on my skin.

“Aren’t you too wet for me, mate?” He asked as he licked his lips. His eyes dilated again while his two fingers slid in between my folds and penetrated my pussy - stroking in and out of me.

Whimpers and moans escaped my throat until I began gasping for air. He was finger fucking me hard while grunts and groans rumbled in his chest as if he couldn’t get enough of me.

“Is this what you’ve been looking forward to, little mate?” He asked and my delirious state wouldn’t let me answer.

Instead, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and arched my body, wanting to make more contact with him.

This caused my dress to slip, revealing the skin of my thighs.

I was still lost in the sensation, rubbing my core against his fingers as I kept moaning, when I realized he had stopped moving and that his body had become rigid.

My eyes snapped open. I saw Xander as his expression turned into a scowl. I followed his line of sight, and his eyes were directed on my right thigh, where my big tattoo was — a rose with a snake coiled around it.

I could tell from his expression that he didn’t like it. Was a tattoo a deal-breaker for him?

“Who are you?” He growled as he pulled his hand under my skirt.

“What?” I asked, confused. I propped my elbows on the mattress and pushed my body up.

His gaze met mine. His eyes dilated as he let go of my body completely and rose from the bed.

“Who are you?” He repeated.

“Nadine…” I answered, but my heart was thudding too loudly, as if it would jump out of my chest.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m your mate.”

“Really? Are you here for me or for Tristan?” He was growling again.

My eyes widened at his words.

Shit! How did he know about Tristan? Tristan was the former Beta of this pack and I was sure he had never told anyone about us.

He was my ex-boyfriend. He went missing, and the next thing I knew, news spread out that he had died of a rogue attack. Others might have believed that, but I didn’t. But I had no way to prove that my theory was right — that he was killed by Alpha Maddox and not by rogues.

But if he knew I was Tristan’s girlfriend, would I be in jeopardy?

“Fuck! Fuck!” He brushed his hands over his long hair as he kept growling.

“You’re scaring me!”

““Don’t lie to me! You’re Tristan’s girlfriend! Are you here for him? Too bad for you, you will never hear or find answers about him!” He said in a cold voice.

I opened my mouth to speak. I wanted to defend myself, but he beat me to it.

“Do you love him?”

“He’s dead already!”

“Do you love him? Answer me!”

“What is the sense of that question when he’s already dead?” My eyes widened when the realization hit me.

What if he had something to do with his death? I had always assumed the Alpha killed Tristan, but what if his Beta was also an accomplice?

“Just fucking answer me!” I felt jealousy rise in his aura, and for some reason, I wanted to clear up any doubts he had.

I shook my head as I tried to reach for his hand. “I’m here for you.”

“Stop with your lies. You’re not here for me.” He moved before I could touch him. He went to my luggage, harshly opening the zipper.

I rushed to him and tried to get him off my bags. “What are you doing?”

“Stay back there!”

“Those are my personal things! You have no right to inspect them as if I’m hiding illegal items!”

“Don’t you?” He asked, his eyes dilating, before he pulled a pair of black leggings from the stack of my folded clothes. “Put this on.”

“No…” I shook my head as I inched backward from him. Was he throwing me away from this territory, and he wanted me to have more suitable clothes than this dress?

I didn’t want to cry. I already knew many things could go wrong today, but I didn’t expect my heart to get broken by how he treated me. I thought I could take everything, but the pain coming from his blatant rejection was something I wasn’t prepared for.

Focus, Nadine. Focus. I need to stay here. I told myself.

“Please… I have nowhere to go.” I kept moving backward. I didn’t notice the bed until I bumped into it, and my knees bent, making me fall back on it.

Xander moved fast and, without warning, slipped the leggings onto my feet and into my legs.

“Stop!” I tried to kick him off, but aside from his strong grip, the pain in my heart made me weak. “Xander, please!”

“Don’t let anyone see this tattoo!” He said, his teeth gritting. He was holding my hands together while his other hand pulled the tights up on me.

“Why?” I finally gave up fighting.

“Just do what I say!” He successfully did it, and once he was done, he coiled an arm around my waist and pulled me off the bed, taking me along with him. The band holding my hair snapped, and my hair ended up almost covering my face, but I didn’t have the energy to fix it, even if it was blocking my sight.

“I want to understand what’s going on. What did I do wrong?” I asked in a painful voice.

Xander didn’t answer and proceeded to open the door. He looked along the corridor, and when he saw no one, he took me out of the room and locked the door.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Stay quiet.” He said in a hushed tone, and it was taking all of me not to freak out. He was holding me by my waist, almost half carrying and dragging me. It was painful, but I knew complaining would just lead me nowhere.

So I tried to numb myself. I had no idea what happened. One moment, we were into each other, and the next thing, he was throwing me out.

We walked down the corridor and down the stairs, but instead of going to the ground floor, we proceeded to another staircase going down, which I believed was the basement of this packhouse.

“Where are you taking me?”

“I said don’t make a noise.” He said coldly.

I wanted to scream and defy him, but I was too tired. It had not even been hours since I came here, and I already feel defeated.

“What is this?” I asked when he opened a metal door after he punched in the code.

“Get inside.”

“No. No.” I pushed him off me, but he was faster. He grabbed my waist again and placed me in the secluded room. He dropped me on a single bed before walking away with a fast stride, closing the metal door without even looking at me.

“No!” I screamed as anger surged through my whole body. He had put me in a bunker, and without a code, I knew I would never be able to get out.

I pushed my body off the bed and went to the door, trying to punch all the possible codes I could think of, but it kept beeping. I kept trying until I got a warning.

One more wrong code and it would notify the Alpha directly.

My body shook as I screamed. But I kept fighting to keep my tears from falling. As much as I wanted to get away from this bunker, I didn’t want to deal with Alpha Maddox, as I knew my heat would come soon.

Females who met their mates and were not marked would go into a wild heat every full moon, releasing a scent that would attract every unmated male. The unmated males would go into a haze with only one goal: to fuck the source of the heat.

And the last person I wanted to be around when I went into heat was Alpha Maddox. Given his reputation, I was sure he would take advantage of me.

I kept slamming my palms on the metal door before I rested my forehead against it as I murmured while my tears rolled down my cheeks. “I will make you pay, Xander Trevino! Mark my words!”

NADINE.

As soon as he left, my heat came. And it was the worst feeling that I ever had in my whole life. I was burning and miserable.

In the beginning, I kept myself composed and did my best not to even flinch at the first sign of pain when it came. But as time went on, I couldn’t stop myself anymore.

I was burning. I thought I was about to die. I couldn’t stop my cries anymore. So I just let the pain consume me and added my mate’s name to the list of people who had wronged me.

I thought Xander was different. I thought being his mate would make me special in his eyes. But I was wrong. He was one of the worst kinds.

I spent the whole night crying, cramped up in my little bed. I didn’t know when and how I fell asleep. Or maybe I passed out.

I woke up with my clothes soiled from my sweat and tears. I was sure the whole room was reeking of my juices because of how many times I touched myself until I couldn’t remember anything anymore.

I was the only one in the bunker, but I felt used and violated.

My eyes darted to the camera attached to the roof directly in front of me. I saw three cameras around the room but this was the only one that kept blinking last night, letting me know that someone was watching me.

I was sure he was at the other end. He probably watched me with his men, and they all enjoyed themselves or laughed at me while I touched myself during the peak of my heat.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as my lips quivered.

I felt like an open show.

The camera wasn’t blinking anymore but I turned my body around so my back was on it and I was facing the wall. Only then did I let my sobs go again.

I would cry so hard that when all the tears had gone dry, I would pick myself up and start my plan again. I would not let Xander derail me from reaching my goal.

I had no idea how long I had been in this position when I heard the lock of the metal door click, but instead of smelling my mate, I smelled the Alpha.

I closed my eyes and whispered to my wolf, asking her if she had the energy to help me fight off Alpha Maddox if he attempted to harass me because I was already drained out of it from all the screaming and thrashing I did the whole time I was in heat.

Before my wolf could answer, I felt my body being hoisted up, and I had no choice but to place my hands on the chest of the person who carried me in bridal style.

No words were spoken, and I kept my eyes closed. I had no idea if the Alpha knew I was awake, but at the moment, I didn’t want to talk to anyone.

I felt my lungs expand as I was able to take a breath of fresh air. I was out of the bunker, but I had no idea where he would take me. My eyes remained closed until I heard footsteps approaching and my mate’s scent swirled around me.

“You can give her to me.” Xander’s voice came out cold, as expected.

“No.” The Alpha answered in an equally cold tone. “If I knew you would put her in the bunker, I would have taken care of her myself during her heat.

“Give me my mate, Maddox,” Xander growled at him. It amazed me that he was not afraid of the Alpha. Maybe because they were brothers.

“Out of the way, Beta,” Maddox told him without stopping from walking.

“I said, give me my mate!” Xander roared, and I felt his aura rising. “Or I will fucking grab her from you and I would not care if someone gets hurt.”

I opened my eyes, curious to see the Alpha’s reaction, but then he lowered my body to the floor, and I had no choice but to stand on my feet.

My chest was heaving as I slowly tilted my head up, and it was only then that I realized there was another person beside Xander — a petite female with olive skin tone and long, straight black hair. An Omega.

The Omega smiled at me before she took a step forward. “Let me help you, Lady Nadine.”

“I don’t think she wants your help, Mindy.” Alpha Maddox scoffed sarcastically, and my face heated up.

Pain hit my chest, and in an instant, I pulled my arm harshly from her touch before I threw a deadly glare at Xander. I wondered if he spent the night with her while I was suffering from my heat.

I felt like I was the Omega. I looked like a peasant — my hair was a big mess, and my clothes were soiled from my sweat — compared to how fresh-looking Mindy was with her neatly comb-haired and ironed clothes.

My eyes pooled with tears, but I didn’t take my gaze off Xander, who was also meeting my gaze with a deadly look.

“Let me walk you to your room, Lady Nadine,” Mindy spoke again in her angelic voice, but she didn’t attempt to hold me this time.

I wanted nothing but to scream at her and tell her to stop pretending to be nice to me. But instead, I answered in a calm but sarcastic tone. “I’ve got feet. I can walk on my own.”

“Don’t help her if she doesn’t want to,” Xander told her and my hands coiled onto tight fists as I kept myself from tearing up.

I turned my back to all of them and walked up the stairs. I had no idea where I got the strength to keep my head high and to keep walking despite not having any energy at all. But somehow, I was able to walk arrogantly and made it out of their sight.

If Xander wanted war, I would give him a war he never expected.

NADINE.

“Nadine!” Xander’s voice rang in the air before another one came.

“In my office, Beta,” Maddox ordered him.

“Give me ten minutes, Maddox,” Xander answered, and soon I heard footsteps following me.

I hurried my steps, and the moment I reached the second floor, I ran to my room.

“Fuck!” I heard him mumble before he ran as well. I was able to reach my room, but it was locked, and I had no idea where the key was.

I was still holding my doorknob when I turned around, my eyes glaring at him as I spoke. “Don’t come near…”

He stopped right away and raised his hands. “I have the keys in my pocket.”

“Give it to me.”

With one hand still up, he reached for his pocket and pulled the key from it. I grabbed it from him and inserted it into the keyhole. With my body facing him, I pushed the door open. “Don’t you dare attempt to come inside my room, or I will scream.”

“I just want to talk.”

“You had your chance last night!” I snapped at him, my teeth gritting.

“Can you fucking calm down and get inside your room!”

“You are not going to tell me what to do!”

“In your room now, or heaven forbid, I will grab and throw you in the bed again!”

“Bastard! I hate you!”

“I already know I’m a bastard. Now get your ass inside the…”

I didn’t let him finish his words before my foot raised and kicked his thigh. He didn’t expect it. So in the split second his eyes went to his legs, I slid inside the door and pushed to close it but he was fast. He slipped his arm inside, and it took too much effort on my end to keep it from opening.

“If I push a little more, I might hit you with the door. So stop fighting and let me…” He kept talking, and I knew he was right, so I had no choice but to bite his forearm.

“Aargh!” He grunted, but he was restraining himself from yelling.

Since I was biting too much, I forgot I was also holding the door. By the time I let go of his arm, there was already enough opening for him to slip in.

He closed the door and locked it.

“I’m tired, Xander. I want to rest.” I said in a soft voice as I stepped back. I knew screaming at him would only cause me to lose more energy.

“I want to know what the fuck was that?”

“What?”

“Why did you cling to Maddox as if he was your fucking mate?”

“Leave, please. I just want to go to sleep. If you’re going to throw me out, at least let me get a decent rest so I have the energy to look for a new place.”

“You have no idea what trouble you are in.”

I wanted to shout at him. I was already fed up with his attitude toward me. “I don’t care,” I mumbled softly.

“Do not let anyone see that tattoo until I can figure things out. Or just don’t make it visible at all.” He said out of nowhere.

“What?” I asked.

I saw his mouth open, but then a knock came on the door.

“What do you need?” Xander asked, his voice sounding annoyed.

“I’m sorry, Xander. But the Alpha insists you meet him at his office.” Mindy’s voice came, and my hands automatically coiled into tight fists.

“He wants you there in three minutes. I’ll wait for you at his office.” She added, and I heard footsteps going away.

“Mother fucker!” Xander growled.

He then turned around, ready to leave, and I couldn’t keep my silence anymore. “So, that’s it! One word from her, and you’re leaving me after you insist we talk!” My lips quivered and eyes watered. I wanted to say I was only pretending but I knew deep inside me, his actions were painful.

“If I don’t go there in three minutes, he’s going to make a pass at Mindy,” Xander said in one breath as he stared at me. He was the first one to drop his gaze and leave without saying anything.

The moment the door closed, my tears fell as I slowly lowered my body to the floor. I thought the pain from last night was already the worst and that whatever pain he gave me would no longer hurt me. But hearing Xander be possessive of her in a way that he could not for me was ripping my heart apart.

I cried for a while before I pushed my body up and forced myself to walk to the bathroom. I opened the shower and stood under it, letting the water stream down my body. I didn’t even bother to take off my clothes. I just stood there, staring at the tiled walls as I went through everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I came here with a purpose. But every time I encountered Xander, I would lose my focus and let myself be vulnerable. I couldn’t let that continue.

I shoved my wolf, Star, at the back of my head because she was just making all of this more unbearable as she kept pining for Xander. I stripped my clothes off and washed my body, scrubbing my skin to remove my sweat and all the juices that had dried on my legs.

I had things to do, and I shouldn’t let Xander get in the way.

Maybe it would be better if we rejected each other. Maybe without the mate bond, I could no longer feel any pull toward him. Without the bond, I could focus on things I needed to do, and he could rot away with his chosen mate.

After taking a shower, I changed into new clothes. I initially wanted to put on a dress, but I remembered what he told me about Tristan. I had no idea whether I should trust him, but I guess it was only right to hide my tattoo, especially if it was the reason she found out I knew the old Beta.

I wondered if Tristan talked about me to anyone.

I contemplated whether I should pull my hair up in a tight ponytail like Mindy’s hair, but then I realized I had to stop caring about Xander and Mindy, so I just let my hair down and put on a faint lipstick.

I had no idea what time they ate breakfast, but I was hoping I could catch Alpha Maddox before he left for the day or got busy.

I grabbed the small ice pick I hid inside my luggage and slipped it into my back pocket before leaving my room and heading to his office. I was relieved that I didn’t bump into anyone on my way down.

I pacified my loud heartbeat as I stood outside the Alpha’s door. I couldn’t smell Xander, so I was sure he was not there anymore.

I was about to knock when I heard Maddox speak from the inside. “Come in.”

I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open, flashing him a warm smile as I peered inside. “Good morning, Alpha. If you’re not busy, I want to speak with you.”

“Come in,” he repeated as he eased back onto his chair and rested his elbow on his armrest before his fingers played with the pen in his hand. “What can I do for you?”

I stepped in and closed the door. I walked toward him but stopped a few feet away from his table. He wasn’t smiling. For a moment, I worried that Xander might have told him about my tattoo.

“Uhm…” I stuttered. I wasn’t acting. I almost forgot what I needed to say because of the nervousness I felt. “I was wondering if I could be inducted into your pack.”

His brows hiked up, and it felt like forever as I waited for his reply.

“Does Xander know about this?”

I shook my head. “I decided for myself, Alpha. I don’t think Xander will claim me, and I have nowhere to go. I don’t have money to look for a new place. But if you give me a room, I can work in the packhouse, or anywhere I might be needed. Just tell me what I need to do so I can stay.”

“I like that.” A wicked smirk tugged on his mouth. “Would you like to work for me personally?”