Chapter two
Mara POVMy mind wandered back to the amount of money I had saved. I wasn't sure if I saved here and there on my paychecks, I would meet up and I had another issue to worry about , which is mom's approval.Thankfully the alarm I had set to signal the end of my shift went off, it made me rush to change at the break room before dashing out of the store, ignoring the angry voice of my boss.So now ,how do I get home after today's After today's mess? Usual subway ? But I really want to take a break from everything ,so maybe taxi this time ?I asked myself while checking my purse , I froze then . I guess I couldn't even take the break I wanted. I resigned to my fate and took the subway . By now I was used to the cluster of people in the train , as I gripped the hand rail tighter to hold myself steady , I felt a hand on my butt.What the hell is this guy doing?I used my second hand to push the straying hand's away but the hand came back and I could feel a hot foul breath on my neck ."Hey darling, don't you want to have a taste of this " he whispered, thrusting , into the back of my jeans. My skin crawled in disgust as I desperately tried to push them away , but the man's hands kept straying until I got to my stop. Ew!As I was about to get down from the train , I decided that even if the universe had turned everything against me, I wouldn't allow a stranger to just molest meso j turned to the bastard, showing him my middle finger""Hey , I can't want something that doesn't exist"I left the man stuttering in embarrassment amidst Jeers as I came down from the train, I felt relieved.Standing in front of the orphanage I had grown up in only unnerved me. It had originally been built by the pack to house children who lost their families in the great werewolf wars but now it was a place that housed just about any orphan .I was one of those orphans. And I also knew that it was about to shut down, if we didn't get financial support soon.“Well, well. Who do we have here?”I turned around almost immediately. There he was, my best friend, Sam. He stood with a backpack in one hand and a suitcase in the other.“Sam! You are back. I tried to reach you during your trip but I couldn’t get a hold on...” I was so happy to see him but was cut off when he held up a hand.“Why the hell would I pick up your call after what you did?” Dread filled me as I took in a sneer alongside his cold tone.Was he insinuating that ? He must be . I had heard the same words ever since that day. I thought he would be the one to believe in my innocence but I guess I was wrong. Still I wanted to hear him say it.“What are you on about, Sam?”“There you go. Always playing the victim , you think your drama would work on me again ? I have seen the real you Mara and everyone does too. You are just a murderer.” He growled each word, sending a stab of pain into my heart.“Was that how you thought of me all along? I thought you of all people would take my side. You know that this isn’t true. I am not….”“Enough! Wow, you are such a good actress. You killed your sister and you act like you have done nothing wrong" He cut in with a cold voice.“I…” Tears began to fill my eyes but I refused to let them fall because I would not give in to my weakness.He continued.“Since we are on the matter, I want to make something clear now. I was never your friend, I talked with you just because your sister said that you were a kind girl. I got nothing to do with a murdere With that, he bypassed me and walked towards the orphanage. I finally let the tears fall.Moments later, I sat in a dimly lit bar chugging drinks upon drinks into my mouth. I could still feel Sam's words haunting my mind .Was I really the murderer ? I knew it's an accident but did I have no responsibility at all ? Have I been wrong the whole time ?for a little while. I knew that I would regret wasting money on alcohol tomorrow since I was strapped for cash but for now, I drink.Multiple drinks later, I froze as I sensed something, My body felt restless as I looked around for something. I wasn’t sure what but I kept searching anyway. Soon, I spotted him.I didn't even have time to give him a once over before my body had begun leading me towards him . I walked through the crowd of dancing wolves before finally reaching my target.He seemed to have also sensed me because he was watching me too.Our eyes met and sparks flew. My nipples tightened ,"as I felt my panties getting wet , with my throat became increasingly dry, as I got sucked into the stranger’s eyes.My wolf immediately started getting as restless as me.I didn’t know why I felt this way but I wouldn’t mind having a bit of fun with a stranger. And the stranger seemed to also want me.Chapter 3"Gretel, that man smells so nice."Oh yes he smells so heavenly. I wouldn't mind spreading my legs for him right here" Gretel responded, her voice quivering with excitement.Sighing, I calmed myself down and then stalked towards, lithely avoiding the bodies in the already overcrowded bar. I could feel his eyes following me throughout and it made me quicken my pace.Soon I was standing before the man. His eyes roamed my body in a slow and deliberate manner that clearly expressed that he liked what he saw. His lips curved into a smirk."Hi there." I said while panting. I wasn't sure if it was from being tired or having such a handsome man devour me with his eyes."Hi." His voice was a deep baritone that instantly made me wet between my legs. I clamped them close and slid into the seat beside him.He sniffed at the air before licking his lips and I know my attempt at covering my arousal had failed badly. He leaned forward till his mouth was beside my ear and I immediately tense
CHAPTER 4MARA’S POV“What did you just say?” I inquired, totally confused and dumbstruck.“You heard me right, Mara. Stop acting like you didn’t. This your reaction here is why I don’t like dealing with you. You always try to play down the situation till it suits your liking. I said you are getting married to our new sponsor. There! I said it again. Hope you heard this time around?” Her snide remarks or the fact that she said she doesn’t like dealing with me didn’t even get to me this time as I was too busy processing thewords I just heard.I was getting married? And that to with a total stranger who decided to wake up one day and sponsor the orphanage?“No!” I replied immediately.I didn’t even turn to gauge her expression as I turned and tried to leave. I would have been successful in my attempt if I didn’t realize that she had locked the door. She seemed to have anticipated my move so she locked it on her way back in.“Open the door!” I demanded as I turned back to face her. I wa
Chapter 5Mara povShe continued. “This is the least you could do for how I saved you back when you had nowhere to go. Plus, you know what would happen should the sponsor come tomorrow and be dissatisfied. I heard he has enough power to shut us down. Think of all the young ones who will be tossed out on the street.”“But..”“No buts! Just think it through. The future of the orphanage now depends on you and your decision. Also, should you agree, you are not to ever tell the sponsor that Talia is dead. We don’t want him to start digging only to find out about our involvement. Do I make myself clear?”I wanted to refute but I couldn’t. I clenched my fists till I was sure they had bled before I replied.” Crystal.”With that, I stormed out of the office and went straight to my room.I paced around agitatedly as both I and my wolf grew restless. In my chaotic state, I accidentally slipped on the rug causing me to stumble and fall headfirst into the carton box I had laid by my bed.The conte
CHAPTER 6RHYS’S POV“Have we met before?” I inquired as uncertainty filled me when I saw her eager expression. She didn’t feel familiar to me at all.Was this some sort of tactic to make me like her or was this some sort of outdated pick up line?I wanted her face to fall when I uttered those words and for a moment, a very brief and almost unnoticeable one, I had the thought to lift her spirit. I immediately shook such thoughts to the back of my mind.“I... we... The” I raised a brow as I watched her stumble upon her words as her cheeks colored a bit. I didn’t know why but I found this sight oddly cute. Her face and clumsy expression was weirdly pleasing to my eye.I chased those thoughts out of my head. No matter how nice she looked, I still preferred Talia’s beautiful and serene face to hers. She was what I longed for in a woman. A hardworking educated woman who sparked a man’s desire to protect her. Talia was all that and more.“My name is Rhys Ingrid.” I announced that the woman
CHAPTER 7MARA’S POV Huh? Why does this place look so familiar?"Hey Mara, hurry up and go get the juice from the basement." Wasn't that Sam's voice? I thought he wasn't talking to me again.Suddenly, someone that was an exact copy except with shorter hair sprinted through me. Seeing the dress she was wearing, I realized that this was a recollection.I stood like a bystander and watched as my other self sprinted to the basement happily. I remember thinking at that time that the orphanage kids surely make it obvious that they wanted to surprise for my birthday.I waited in the basement for a little while to give them time before coming out with the juice. I had been all smiles as I walked into the hall we used for celebrations in the orphanage.What I had seen had shattered me.The banner that had been hung didn't say happy birthday. Instead it said, congratulations Talia on your successful Thesis.Talia stood amidst them with all smiles as they sang for her and celebrated while I wat
Chapter 8Mara POV His words fell on my ears like a bombshell, and I knew right then that this whole thing was a very bad idea. Hell. Could I probably get myself out of this? I found myself scanning the halI for an escape route.The door and the window were a capital no way because I would be caught before I could even take three steps away from the altar.I could feel tears flooding my eyes. My hands gripped the bouquet tighter then a thorn pricked my finger. "Don't cry, don't cry," I repeated to myself over and over again, but my mind kept thinking of how I was getting married to a cruel man who seemed bent on punishing me for what I didn't do.My heart pounded in my chest as I stood at the center of the grand hall, surrounded by the extravagance of the whole wedding affair. I felt like I couldn't breathe as the realization that I was now bound to this marriage, to this pack, whether I liked it or not, dawned on me. I glanced around, my eyes sweeping the faces of the people from
Chapter 9Mara's POVI just stared at the ground, looking at the pieces of the white flimsy material of my veil on the ground. Tears were threatening to fall again. It's like a never-ending cycle of me being weak and pathetic."You don't even deserve to wear that dress on your wretched body. I could strip you of that dress if I wished to. Because in case you don't know or you don't know yet, I have the power to do whatever I want with you," he said quietly in my ears. He turned to leave, leaving me ashamed and embarrassed of myself. That was when I snapped."Well, I didn't ask for all of this. I didn't ask for you to get married to me, so if you think for one minute that you own me just because you forcefully made me marry you, then you are wrong!"I stepped closer to him, my tears brimming close, but I refused to let them fall. "You want to strip me?" I stretched out my hands. "Come on, what are you waiting for?” I didn't really know what I was saying, but when he looked at me wit
Chapter 10Rhys POV When she talked back to me, I smiled inside. She was quite intriguing. She always had that meek, pathetic look on her face, but seeing her with such fire in her eyes stirred something within me. My pulse quickened in excitement. I felt tempted to carry out my threat and take her right there, to see if she would display such fire underneath me."Seems like the little kitty has a bit of claw,” I smiled, “I am going to have a great time removing the fire in you.""I look forward to it, Alpha Rhys." She replied, not scared of me.My wolf grunted about bun approval. She had courage and he liked that. There was something undeniably captivating about her. This girl was going to be an interesting one to break.Then I finally remembered who she was. She was the girl who slept murmuring due to nightmares. That morning, I kissed her forehead before I could realize it. So I showed her my soft side?My scowl was back on my face.I turned to Alfred, disapproval was written