Kicks and punching were falling on my body. My legs shivered and my back ached. I crawled on the floor, trying to escape. But I failed. My ankle was grasped by someone and he dragged me back. I turned my head before I saw my father’s furious face. He seldom came into my mind since I left my pack. He kept whipping on my back. My skin was almost torn.

“No, please stop...”I begged him to stop. My cries were of no use but boosted my father’s fury. He kicked me on my back even harder and punched the back of my head. My back was bleeding and it ached so badly that my spine seemed to be cracked.

Just when I thought I was going to die, I heard a bang. Then I saw someone grab my father by the neck and threw him on the wall. There was no time for me to see his face clearly before he shifted into his wolf. He was a beautiful wolf with glossy silver-white fur. His body was large and his paws were sharp. His fur looked so smooth that I was tempted to stroke him.

The unknown wolf pounced on my father. He moved so fast that my father was too late to shift into a wolf. It sank its canine teeth into my father’s neck. It was tightly gripped with its canines until my father didn't move. Its body got feeble. The wolf finally loosened its mouth and dropped the corpse.

The wolf slowly turned around and walked towards me. I knew that I would be its next target. So I ran away as fast as possible. The wolf followed me, not close behind me but close enough that I knew that it was there. I ran faster and it picked up its pace as well. It wasn’t long before I was tired and weakening out. It easily caught up to me and pounced on my back. I tried my best to get rid of it but I failed. I was flipped over before my eyes were captured by a pair of intense black eyes.

I opened my eyes. I gasped and woke up, clutching my chest, panting hard. That nightmare had been haunting me for the past whole years since the day of my escape. But there was something different this time. I had never dreamed about that silver wolf before, even never seen it in my real life. Even though it saved me from my father’s abuse, my instinct warns me that this must be a dangerous wolf and I should stay away from it.

I found that I was in a room that was white and pristine. I didn’t realize that I was in hospital until I scented out the smell of disinfecting water. I was lying on a single hospital bed which was in the middle while numerous medical supplies and machinery were dotted around the room. A desk lay to the left, and seated in front of the desk was a rather large man wearing a white coat, the doctor I assumed. Few nurses were dressing my wounds. Within minutes my body was wrapped by the bandage. I didn’t realize Alpha Brian also stayed in this room until the doctor and nurses left.

Was he the one who sent me to the hospital? Why did he do that? If he had stayed here while the nurses dressing my wounds, did this mean that he saw the bruises and scars on my body? My brain was filled with a load of questions while the Alpha walked closer and stopped next to the bed.

I quickly closed my eyes, attempting to pretend that I was still asleep. But I was betrayed by my trembling eyelash.

“I know you are awake.”He exposed my clumsy acting.

I carefully opened my eyes. My breath strained as I stared at him, the sound of my beating heart filling the silence between us. My whole body was tense, and I had this sudden urge to run and hide.

He raised his hand and extended it towards me. I subconsciously closed my eyes and flinched. Out of my expectation, he placed his hand on my skin where some scars and bruises were exposed and fondled. His touch was gentle, soft even. He studied me with unknown feelings in his eyes, and I couldn't help but notice the depths of his dark eyes like that of obsidian. He gazed at my eyes as if he was trying to look into my soul and see all the secrets that I possessed.

He was an Alpha, a strong Alpha who was moody and scary. Even though he was gentle and quiet at this moment, he could be fierce and terrible in the next second.

Finally, he stopped touching my scars. I tried to turn over but I failed as my back was too hurt. I groaned at the pain.

“Stay still. You are too weak to get up.”He commanded.

So I laid down on the back again. He kept studying my face without any facial expression. I felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. Jesus this was so awkward. Only the sound of medical supplies and machinery resounds in the room.

“What’s your name?”Eventually, he broke the silence.

“Ethel, Ethel Glendon,” I answered without looking at him directly. I knew it was not polite, but I was too scared to look at his eyes.

“You are Lief’s mate?”He asked.

"Um... not really." It was not a complete lie. I mean, I was rejected by him indeed.

"Don’t try to fool me. Make it clear." he squeezed my jaw and forced me to look into his eyes.

I tried to avoid his gaze but I failed. It seemed that he would not give up until he got the answer he wanted. I let out a defeated sigh "Yes, I'm his mate. But I was rejected by him. He said the next Alpha was not supposed to mate with an exotic she-wolf. I don’t belong to this pack, so I was rejected."

“That’s fairly interesting.” He finally loosened his grip before he grinned.

No, that was not interesting at all but miserable. And now it seemed to get unpredictable if Brian was involved. What would he do to his rival’s mate? Hmm, I meant a rejected mate.

“Let me be your mate.” He calmly stated.

“WHAT?!”I widened my eyes with astonishment.

“It’s not a suggestion. It’s an order.” He said peremptorily. My wolf recoiled in fear by the Alpha’s strong and oppressive aura. He pulled me closer to him before I attempted to escape and said

“I’ll be your mate.”