Setting: Starfall Pack
Melody Reese
I put on a phony smile for the pack members I met on the way as I headed to the healers' place. Every time I took a step, I groaned several times and gulped while trying to play it cool. Despite the fact that the wounds had already closed up, my back was still hurting. I healed more quickly than typical werewolves, which I found difficult to wrap my mind around. To avoid running into Alpha Nathan or any of his whores, I walked the long way.
The last thing I wanted was to deal with jealous she-wolves for something that I didn't even ask for in the first place.
"Where are you going unguarded so early in the morning?" My friend Mason jumped me, catching me off guard as I took the last corner towards the healer's house.
"Jeez, Mace, you just can't jump on someone like that!" I put my hand on my chest, feeling my heart palpitate a little bit faster.
"Why not? I'm an excellent tracker. The first lesson I was taught was to make sure I couldn't be detected by the enemy," he said excitedly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Where did you even come from?" I looked around, biting my lower lip enough to draw blood when the skin on my back stretched. I hoped Mason hadn't noticed because he would keep digging until I told him what was wrong.
"I have been following you since you left Alpha's house." That had me halting in my steps.
"What the hell, Mace? How can you invade my privacy like that?" I couldn't believe my own friend had been stalking me.
When he looked down and began faking a cough, I knew there was something he wasn't telling me.
"I'm sorry, Mel." He sighed before continuing.
I put my hands on my waist, waiting for him to talk as he fumbled around with words.
"Alpha Nathan asked me to follow you and report to him who you talk to and every place you go to." My already jumbled thoughts started spinning fast and out of control. So Nathan wasn't only beating me up and using me as his damn slave; he also had me followed.
"Don't." I stretched my hand when he attempted to step closer to me, my head shaking.
"He is my Alpha, Mel. What choice do I have? Can't you see I risked my life by telling you?" He lowered his voice because he knew anyone nearby would hear him. After all, werewolves had an enhanced sense of hearing.
"Why?" That was the only thing I managed to utter after letting his words sink in.What had I gotten myself involved with? I took in a deep, calming breath. I was seconds away from stomping to Nathan's office and giving him a piece of my mind.
"He didn't exactly say, but he thinks you'll escape. He hinted that you had found your mate." I drew my head back quickly, blinking rapidly, trying to digest yet another piece of information.
"Wh-at?" I stuttered, my gaze wandering around, unable to settle.
"Is it true, Mel?" A heavy feeling settled in my stomach, making me tighten the muscles around it.
"How the hell did he know?" At that point, I wasn't even speaking to Mason; my mind was drifting away.
"So it's true you found your fated one," Mason concluded, his voice fading.
I took a step, then another, clasping my hand around my throat. I needed to find that herb first before Nathan marked me. If he knew the man from the ceremony was my mate, there was a possibility he was planning to mark me as soon as possible. The only thing that could stop him was me taking the herb to kill my fertility.
"Mel,” Mason called as I walked away, a sudden coldness hitting me at the core. I knew why he whipped me so badly the previous night. He was taking out his frustration on me; it wasn't a punishment like he made it out to be.
"Mason, please leave me alone." I put some distance between us, but he wouldn't listen.
"You can't let Nathan mark you if you found your fated werewolf, Melody." He clasped the sides of my arms, making me look at him with teary eyes. Even through my blurry vision, I could see the amount of concern on Mason's face. He had always been a sweetheart ever since he moved to our pack years ago.
"I don't have a choice," I whispered, hanging my head.
"There must be a way out," he insisted. If only I could tell him I had one, but I couldn't risk it getting out to Alpha Nathan.
"I need to see the healer now, but we'll figure something out. You need to keep a distance from me for now before someone sees you close to me. I don't want to risk Nathan punishing you because of me." I just wanted to get done with it as fast as I could, and Mason was delaying everything.
"At least tell me who your mate is, Mel. You know you can trust me," he begged, letting go of me.
"Nathan referred to him as Draven Fox of the Yellow Moon pack yesterday,” I answered, leaving immediately.
From the look on Mason's face, I knew he had a lot to say, but sadly, I had urgent matters. When I got to our healer's place, I let myself in, then went to the backyard via the backdoor. I knew that's where she liked mixing her herbs because it provided privacy.
"Luna." She bowed when I approached, a dazzling smile coating her wrinkly face.
"I'm not yet your Luna, and even if I were, I wouldn't want you to address me as such, Lilith," I responded with a smile.
"Did he hurt you again?" she asked, her voice full of pity.
She was the only one who knew how Nathan punished me and would always provide painkiller concoctions. She had recently found me sprawled in Nathan's living room, bloody after being whipped for talking back at him. She had been there to deliver a concoction he wanted, but instead, she found me.
"I'm here for something else, actually." I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.
"What is it? Your smile didn't quite reach your eyes." I lowered my gaze to my hands when she patted the spot next to the cushioned bench where she sat.
"Do you have the herb that causes infertility?" I went straight to the point, my eyes widening when she clasped my mouth shut.
"Sshh, don't let anyone hear you, child," she whispered, looking around her fenced yard.
"What you're asking for is a total abomination in this pack," she explained, unclasping her hand.
"I need it, Lilith. I can't allow myself to spend the rest of my life bound by stupid pack rules to bear the Alpha heir. I don't want to be a breeder." I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed.
"You are willing to deny yourself the gift of being a mother?" she pressed.
"He is a monster." I blinked back tears, my eyes stinging slightly.
"How can I allow my pups to be raised by such a man? The moment I give him what he wants, he will get rid of me. I c-an't do that to my babies."
I could no longer hold back the tears in my eyes. I let them flow; I let the hurt in my chest out; I allowed my vulnerability to show.
Lilith stayed silent for a while as I quietly cried my heart out. Then she spoke, her heartbroken voice making the emotion inside of me intensify.
"You know that there's no going back once you consume the herb’s contents..." she trailed off, taking my hands in her warm ones covered in a thick green liquid.
"I know." My voice broke, my throat beginning to close up on me.
She sighed, turning. "Then come with me."