CHAPTER 3
~RAULA'S POV~
I fell to the ground with a thud and a whimper spilled from my chapped lips before I could stop it. Silence fell over the lips of every soul present and the atmosphere that was flowing with lust and love was now thickened with tension and confusion.
But despite the disgusted looks I got, the pain that ran through my form, and one of my legs being sprained from the fall, I limped towards him looking like I was exhumed from a grave.
Splinters covered the entirety of my skin and the prettiest dress I owned was ripped till it looked like rags and my hair looked like a bird's nest dipped in red paint but that wouldn't stop me from approaching the man who had exceeded my wildest imagination. Alpha Gonzalo Kenyon.
But before I could take my fifth step I was pinned down by a soldier who proceeded to drag me towards the woods for another beating when a booming voice sounded.
"Stop," Alpha Gonzalo spoke with authority dripping from his deep voice and every living thing paused at the power he held. The soldier's grip on my hand tighter as the Alpha walks towards us with slow calculated steps. His body language is like that of a predator and his eyes bled with anger.
He stood in front of us and looked behind me with murderous intent in his eyes.
"Let go of her."
The soldier released me and fled to the side of his comrades as they all stared at their Alpha in shock.
"Mate," he spoke with a firm voice as gasps were heard from every angle of the field. And I can't blame them. It's not every day you hear that the weakest member of the pack is the Alpha's mate.
Alpha Gonzalo looked at me with soft eyes as he held one of his hands to my face and the other traced the outline of my hips before it stopped under my breast. Electricity ran through my broken form and my wolf howled in joy from the contact.
"Beautiful…you are so beautiful…" my heart soared at the words he spoke to me and if I thought my wolf was happy before then now she would be ecstatic.
"...with wavy red hair and blazing blue eyes…so beautiful…" The hand under my breast lowered till it was over my ribs and just as he gave me a gentle squeeze, I sensed animosity in the air and I knew something was about to go wrong.
"...and so weak. So weak that I could break you with just a squeeze of my hand…" Just then the gentle squeeze he gave me turned into a vice grip and as I began to struggle, a cracking sound filled the air and red-hot pain coursed through my side. He broke my rib.
He let go of me and fell to the ground but not before he landed a clean punch to my cheek. Blood fell from my nose and I spat out a tooth as I stared at the man who made me feel safe only a second ago.
"...So weak that you are incapable of standing in my presence, let alone rule by my side."
I looked at him in shock. Confusion was written over my face and before I could take my next breath, he asked a question.
"What's your name?"
More confusion crawled onto my face and before he could ask again, a familiar voice spoke over the crowd.
"Raula Pierre."
I turned to the sound of the voice and Morgana's green eyes clashed into mine. She walked towards my mate with a sway in her slender hips and a sly smile on her face.
My blood boiled at the audacity she had but then my heart sank when his eyes ran over her form and a smirk was plastered on his face before he stared at me with disgust and then spoke.
"I Alpha Gonzalo Kenyon reject you, Raula Pierre as my mate and Luna."
A sharp pain cut through my heart like a knife through butter and every form of pain I had ever known paled in comparison to what I was feeling now. He walked over to me and crunched to my level before saying.
"Now you have to accept my rejection."
I looked at him in shock as dread slipped into my bones. He wants me to accept his rejection as if our mate bond meant nothing to me. He wants me to accept his rejection as if I hadn't climbed up a tree just to meet him.
Unsatisfied with my silence he punched me in the face again and kicked me in the stomach expecting me to beg him to stop. But I didn't. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and let him rain punches and kicks on my battered form trying to force me to let go of a gift that could have been mine. I don't want to. But I also don't have a choice.
"I…I accept your rejection."
The pain I felt tripled and I clinched my chest as heavy pants fell from my lips as if it couldn't get any worse than this, my mate walked over to Morgana and the smirk was back on his face.
"Did you meet your mate today?"
She shook her head and a feigned look of sadness was present in her eyes. Alpha Gonzalo's eyes shone with mischief and he ran a finger over the exposed skin on her hand.
"Well, how about you become my mate?"
Morgana's eyes shimmered with joy and she accepted his proposal in a heartbeat while I lay on the ground in pain.
I didn't want to wait for the crowd around me to erupt in a peal of earth-shattering laughter. I didn't want to wait for Morgana to look at me with a smirk on her face and mischief in her eyes. I didn't want to wait for the man who was once mine to bind his soul with that of someone else.
So I ran. I ran with nothing but the clothes on my back, the bruises on my body, and a thought in my mind.
I am Raula Pierre. And my former mate and former best friend had driven me into my darkest hour or so I thought.