CHAPTER 2: A MATE AND TWO LYCANS

Meredith’s POV

I have never beheld such beauty before in my entire life.

The three men that surrounded me stood tall, but only two of them gave me a chilling aura.

The one who had spoken has icy blue eyes piercing right through my soul. A few strands of strawberry blond hair fall above them, making him appear even more handsome.

He has on a white shirt that is folded up by the sleeves. We are in the middle of the woods, and there is not even a speck of dirt on his shirt. And judging by the state of their camp site, I could tell that they have been here for a while.

His expression is cold, almost unreadable. The way his icy eyes pin me to the spot has a shiver running down my spine.

The second man is bronze-skinned and has eyes that remind me of honey.

His muscular and tall physique nearly has me salivating. He has on a black tank top that shows off his impressive torso, along with black cargo pants and boots.

He looks down at me with his eyebrows a bit furrowed. Curiosity and interest swirl within his brown eyes.

The third man is not as attractive as the first two. He has a bow and arrow in his hands and looks more roughed up than the first two. He has on what I can swear to be some sort of uniform.

He does not give off the aura the others do. If I were to place a bet, I would say he is their servant. When the blond man speaks to him, it only confirms my thoughts.

“Marco, is this little creature the one that ran off with a kilo of ham?” the bronze-skinned man asks. His voice is calm as he speaks, yet so menacing.

It sends a wave of fear through my body and has me trembling.

“Yes, Alpha Caelen. I watched her make a run for it. I would have followed her, but I knew it was not wise to leave the site unprotected,” the less attractive one says.

“I say we kill her,” the blond one says passively.

Instantly, I get on my knees before the blond one.

“I am so sorry. I was just so hungry, and I had no cash on me, so I-“

“Shut up!” he snaps, and my lips seal shut.

It was like my body obeyed him before my brain did. The way he spoke with so much authority and assertiveness, he is most definitely an Alpha.

“Don’t ever speak unless you are spoken to; do you understand?” he asks, and I nod. “You can use your words now.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I feel his eyes scale up and down my body before he asks, “What are you anyway? I can't sense your wolf.”

My lips parted, but I instantly shut my mouth.

What am I doing? I can't tell him I am an omega; if I do, they will kill me for sure.

What should I do?

“I am human,” I blurt out.

A menacing growl fills the air, and I feel my heart pound wildly against my chest. It came from the blond one. Did he know I was lying? Was he angry about it?

Is he going to kill me?

“What the hell is a human doing out here stealing ham?” he asks.

The wheels on my head spin faster than they ever have. I need to think of a believable lie, or I am going to get killed!

“I-I just got thrown out by my uncle—no, I mean parents—and I had nowhere else to go, so I just found myself here.”

I am so dead.

I manage to peer up at him, and he does not look even a little bit impressed.

“Give me one reason why I should not kill you right now,” he says, and I watch his eyes turn a devilish shade of black.

The white in his eyes completely disappears and is replaced with the hunger and bloodlust of a beast. His teeth lengthen until they turn into canines.

He takes a step toward me, and I scurry back to put enough distance between the both of us.

A devilish smile lifts the corner of his lips, and I swear he looks like a demon that just crawled out of hell.

“Or better yet, why don’t I hand you over to my men? I am sure they would love to have some fun with you. Isn’t that right, Marco?”

Marco grins, his hungry eyes shifting toward me.

“I would love that, your majesty.”

His eyes trail down my body with lust, and a disgusted shiver goes up my spine. The thought of Marco and more of his kind having their way with me made me want to throw up.

I swallow the bile that has risen within my throat, and the blond guy laughs coldly.

“Calm down; you are scaring the poor thing.”

I want to beg them to have mercy on me, but it suddenly feels like something is shifting within me. I feel uneasy—hunger, to be precise.

But not for food, for someone. My nose goes wild as it picks up a scent so sweet and so arousing. I need to find out where it is coming from.

Or rather, who it is coming from.

The hair on my neck stands out.

Someone is coming.

I can feel them heading toward me. I could trace his steps long before my ears or eyes could. What is happening to me? Am I hallucinating? I do not think so.

Something in me is screaming at me to run in the direction of the person coming, but I do not.

There is something about him that makes my body weak, like it has forgotten how to move.

"Well, look who has decided to join the party,” the blond guy says before stepping aside.

When my eyes lift to meet the most beautiful pair I have ever seen, I am unable to control the gasp that escapes my lips. The person standing before me cannot be considered a man; he is a pure God.

His aura radiates power and death.

He is the tallest of all of them. His skin is covered in tattoos, which makes him even more menacing. His hair is the darkest I have ever seen; it is darker than night.

When our eyes lock, a voice I have never heard before speaks within me.

Mate!

Wait, what?

There is no way this handsome devil incarnate is my mate. The way he looks down on me with eyes void of emotion only proves that.

No, he looks at me like a predator would their prey.

I shrink back.

“What is going on here, Saul?”

His voice alone sends shivers through my whole body. I have never heard one quite like it. It sounds foreign yet familiar; there is a bit of Italian and British mixed in his accent.

His voice is very deep yet silky, like velvet.

“This pathetic human stole some of our food. We caught her taking a nice little nap here; now we are trying to figure out what to do with her,” the blond one, whose name I have learned is Saul, says.

Oh no, he just called me a human!

If this man really felt the mate bond between us, he would certainly tell his colleagues, and then they would definitely kill me for sure.

Or even worse, they will find out that I am an omega and then kill me.

Honestly, this could only end in one way, and that’s death.

My heart goes wild in my chest as a bead of sweat slides down the side of my face. I wait for my mysterious yet handsome mate to say something, but he doesn’t.

I do not know why, but his silence terrifies me even more.

I look up to find his cold, demonic eyes glaring down at me. tearing my gaze away from his, I gulp.

His voice fills my ears as he asks, “Is that so?”

My heart drops to the pit of my stomach when I feel a hand grab the back of my neck. For a split second, it feels like there is a rush of electricity through my body.

And the next second, I am gasping for air as I am being lifted off the floor.

The other men watch the scene with widened eyes, but my terrified ones remain solely focused on the demon glaring up at me with murder in his gaze.

“What are you really here for? And do not even think of lying, or I guarantee that I will snap your neck.”

My body trembles as I struggle for air.

My legs kick out, desperately searching for some form of earth to steady myself. My hands claw at his hand around my neck, but his grip doesn’t waver.

I do not know how I manage to speak, but I still manage to.

“I swear, I am just lost,” I wheeze out as I struggle for breath. My eyes sting with tears, and my vision blurs. “Please, do not kill me. Please!”

There is not a hint of emotion in his eyes as I feel myself slowly losing consciousness. Dark dots taint my vision as a single thought comes into my mind.

There is no way this man is my mate.

Just when I feel as though my body is about to succumb to the darkness, he lets go of me. I release a yelp as my ass meets the dirt. My hands wrap around my neck as I fill my lungs with oxygen.

I end up having a coughing fit as I try to regain myself.

I can't believe it; he didn’t kill me! Maybe he really is my mate.

“Take her away and sell her to those slave collectors; I am sure she will make a nice whore at some dive bar brothel.”

My blood runs cold as his words register in my head. My head snaps up, and I watch him walk away with Saul and the bronze-skinned god.

Without thinking, I lunge towards him and grab his ankle. My mate stops, and I hear a growl rumble off his chest, but I still do not let go of him.

“No, please!” I do not know what gets over me when I say, “I would rather offer myself to you guys instead. I will serve you all in all my capacity.”

The bronze-skinned guy raises a brow, and amusement swirls within Saul’s eyes.

My mate spins around slowly; there is not even a hint of emotion on his face. His expression remains blank and hard; it makes me wonder what is going on in his mind.

“And why the hell would we agree to such a thing? Do you really think that we do not have enough women swimming around us?” The bronze-skinned god asks, and I am unable to think of a reply.

Instead, I say, “Please, do not do this to me.”

Saul chuckles and crouches beside me. The smile on his face is mocking and filled with so much mischief that it is absolutely terrifying.

“You have no idea what you are asking for, do you? Only an idiot would pledge herself to men like us.”

I part my lips to say something, but I swear the growl that escapes my mate’s chest shakes the very ground beneath us. His furious gaze is directed at Marco.

“What the hell are you doing standing there? I said, take her away!”

Marco instantly springs to action: “Yes, Alpha Roman.”

Alpha Roman, so that is the name of this devil.

Marco picks me up from the floor, but I struggle against him.

No, this cannot be happening.

I cannot be sold to slavers; they will most definitely find out I am an omega and hand me over to the Wolffian Council. I will be thrown into the gallows and subjected to a lifetime of horror until I am dead.

No, I would rather be at the mercy of these three.

Tears spill from my eyes like two streams.

“No, please, don’t. I will do anything for you all; just please don’t!”

Marco starts pulling me away from them, but I continue to beg for my life.

“Wait.”

The weight on my chest lifts when Saul speaks.

He walks up to me, and the look in his eyes suggests that I am not going to like what is about to go down.

“You would do anything for us, huh?”

I nod.

“Then get naked.”