Elena stood in Nick's room, feeling nervous and unsure of what was going to happen. She had been taken to the pack house by Alpha Simon, and now he had ordered her to be Nick's mate. She didn't even know Nick, and she had no idea if he wanted her as his mate.
Alpha Simon was pacing through the room and Nick was trying to plead with him.
"Enough of this talk! I am your Alpha and I demand that you obey me without question," he shouted.
Nick stood his ground, looking at his father with determination. "I'm sorry, Father, but I can't do this. I won't mate with someone who isn't my true mate," he said firmly.
Alpha Simon's face turned even redder with rage. "You dare defy me? I am your Alpha, and I know what's best for this pack," he snarled.
Nick didn't back down. "I'm sorry, Father, but I can't go through with this," he said, his voice steady and unwavering.
Elena watched the exchange with a mixture of fear and confusion. She didn't know what was going to happen next, but she had a feeling that things were going to get even more complicated.
"You will listen to me and do as I say young man and that is the end of this! Tomorrow morning we are going to announce your union and I expect for you to be mated at least by the end of the week!"
"But father..."
"Don't Nick, just don't... You need to trust me, I have only the best intentions at heart for you and our pack, and so should you! I expect more of you! I expect you to take this as your duty! This is your responsibility to your pack, to provide the strongest Luna there is... And I am telling you there isn't stronger than this girl in the whole world! So you will be mates!"
Nick looked at him with a blank expression on his face, which made the Alpha to huff and leave the room, leaving Elena and Nick behind.
Nick's eyes widened in shock. "This is madness. I don't believe that mating with someone who isn't our true mate will benefit either of us, or the pack," he protested.
"I understand how you feel, Nick. But we have to obey Alpha Simon's orders, don't we?" Elena said, her voice trembling slightly.
Nick shook his head, clearly not satisfied with her answer. "This isn't right. We should have a say in who we mate with," he said.
"Don't you want to meet your true mate?" Nick looked at Elena questioning
"Well, yes, of course I do... I guess.. I haven't really processed this whole thing yet. One second I am dancing with my friends, and next I am here with a really angry Alpha..." Elena responds making Nick chuckle.
"I guess you are right. I have been looking for my mate for the last couple of years and through that time I managed to build it up a bit in my head, I guess maybe a bit too much.." Nick smiled to Elena and continues. " Look, you are really great looking and seems like a nice person and my Father definitely approves of you, but I really want to meet my mate and be with her. So as much as I love and respect my father in this one instance I will have to go against him. Are you with me?" He looked at her hopeful
"Yes, yes I am. " Elena said felling a great relief washing down her. "So what do you think we should do?" she asked
***
Nick and Elena were sitting on the edge of Nick's bed, quietly discussing their plan to escape the pack.
"We need to get supplies and clothes," Elena said, looking at Nick. "We can't just leave with the clothes on our backs."
Nick nodded in agreement. "I have some cash saved up. It's not much, but it should be enough to get us by for a little while."
Elena smiled at him gratefully. "That's a start. We can try to find some work once we get to a town."
Nick smiled at her, feeling a little more at ease. "Okay. Let's start packing. We need to move fast before anyone realises we're gone."
Elena looked at him worriedly. "What if Alpha finds out and sends the pack after us?"
"I guess that will make us rogues, but I am hoping that he will not go that far with this. We'll have to be careful," Nick replied. "We'll go at night, when everyone's asleep. And we'll try to leave a false trail."
Elena nodded, looking more confident now. They quickly gathered some clothes and basic supplies, putting them in a small backpack. Elena checked her pockets to make sure she had her phone and wallet.
As they were about to leave the room, Nick hesitated. "Are you sure about this? We'll be leaving everything behind."
Elena looked at him with determination in her eyes. "I'm sure. I can't live the rest of my life being mated to someone I don't love. We have to take our chances."
Nick nodded, taking her hand. "Okay. Let's go."
They left the room quietly and made their way to the pack's storage room to grab some food and water for their journey. As they walked, their hearts beating fast, they knew that their lives were about to change forever.
***
As they approached the end of the pack's territory, Nick faced a couple of patrol guards, who seemed bored and tired. He talked with them for a few minutes, explaining that he and Elena were going on a run and would be back in a few hours. The guards, recognising Nick's status as Alpha, let them through without any issues.
Once they were on the other side, Elena and Nick started running. Nick was surprised to see that Elena was keeping up with him with ease. He had always known that she was a skilled fighter, but her speed was impressive. Elena, on the other hand, was exhilarated to be free from the pack and the pressure to mate with someone she didn't love.
As they reached the outskirts of a town that Elena had never seen before, Nick led them to a farmer's house. "I know the farmer that lives here," he said. "I know where he keeps his car." Soon they were inside a barn and in front of an old Jeep. Nick found the car keys in the sunshield of the car. They quietly opened the barn's door and were on their way to the nearest motorway.
As they drove, Elena's exhaustion caught up with her, and she fell asleep in the passenger seat. Nick was focused on driving but couldn't help but notice Elena's fitful sleep. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.
Elena jerked awake, panting. "Yeah, just a nightmare," she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"What was it about?" Nick asked, still worried.
Elena took a deep breath and looked at Nick. "It's the same dream I've been having for weeks now," she said with a troubled expression. "I see Alpha Simon fighting with this other Wolf, and he always kills him. It's like a nightmare that keeps replaying itself over and over again."
Nick listened intently, his brows furrowed in concern. "Do you know who the other Wolf is?"
"No, I've never seen his face," Elena replied, shaking her head. "But I feel like I know him somehow, like he's important to me."
Nick nodded, understanding the gravity of Elena's dream. "We'll figure it out together," he said reassuringly. "But for now, let's focus on staying safe and getting as far away from the pack as possible."
Elena nodded in agreement and leaned back in her seat, her mind still troubled by the vivid nightmare. As they drove further away from the pack territory, she couldn't help but wonder what their future held and if they would ever be able to find a place where they could truly belong.
"Nick, do you have a plan? Are you driving somewhere specific?" Elena asked breaking a long silence.
"Yes, I decided to go and visit my good friend in another pack. I think he will let us stay at his pack for as long as we need to figure things out and decide what we should do next."
"What do you want to do next Nick?"
"I want to find my mate"
Elena looked from Nick to the fields they were passing.
"What would you like to do next Elena? Do you want to find your mate?" Elena looked at Nick as she was processing his question.
"I guess I do... I am not sure to be honest."
"Ok, so if you are not ready to meet your mate, what would you like to do? Out of anything in the world what would you like to do for yourself?"
This question had hit Elena even harder than the previous one. She never thought before about what she wanted, never ever before dared to look in to her heart and see what desires and dreams are there. She was very used to now just going through the motions and living on the surface of every day. It helped that she was never asked what she wanted... But now, now she was asked and now she was free to look in to her heart, there was nobody to stop her or distract her and there was one really annoying young alpha looking at her expecting an answer.
"Can I think about it?" She asked
"Sure"Nick replied "You have until this evening, as that's when we will arrive to our destination.