"Are you telling her about this?" Mom asked Uncle Ray, who I just knew was my MATE.
I didn't believe it would happen at first—even though from the very beginning, I felt so comfortable around him, inhaling the pheromone scent that I didn't recognize before was a sign that he was my mate, then the turmoil of desire that kept bubbling up—but when Uncle Ray himself spoke out of turn because he was drunk, I began to wonder about the truth of his words.
And yes. I was fated to mate with my uncle.
I heard and eavesdropped anything Mom and Uncle Ray talked about. Mom and Dad looked anxious, and I had no idea what made them feel. Even though I was still a teenager, I was mature enough to understand.
If only they wanted to share everything, even a little.
"Impossible for me to tell her about this matter. She's still a little girl to know this shit! I don't know what the Moon Goddess has planned for me. There is a lot of craziness that I have to face. This world is getting crazy." Uncle Ray Groaned in annoyance.
He was right; the world must've been ridiculous. Or Moon Goddes was CRAZY.
Uncle Ray must have thought that I knew nothing about this matter; if they had told me about the truth that I was his mate, really, I felt it.
"What should I do?" Uncle Ray asked Mom and Dad, who looked giddy.
"We should distance her from you. Don't ever come except to discuss the pack and business matters with my husband. Do you understand?"
"That's impossible! It'll torture me if I do it."
"You must do it! Only you know about this matter for some time; Ioris still didn't know anything cause she's still a teenager. She can't feel bonding between her and you." Mom said with her brows furrowed and tightened jaw. "Don't tell me that you and Ioris have done–"
"Are you out of your mind? I wouldn't do that to her!" Uncle Ray denied it. Mom hadn't even finished her sentence anyway.
"Then do what I asked, Ray. Please."
"What if I reject her? There will be no problem, especially; she will be saved whenever she's near me."
Rejected me? Would he reject me? Really, it was the cruellest thought I'd ever expected, he would think.
I turned around and stepped outside the house. There was no more thing I wanted to hear because what Uncle Ray said had hurt me. The rejection was still a plan, but it meant he didn't want me.
I think he felt the same way. He had always been there whenever Mom and Dad were too busy with their business. Even to keep me company, Uncle Ray would stay in the room until I fell asleep.
I felt comfortable around him. Even though I knew that there would be many obstacles in the way of my feelings for him, I didn't care.
But that was before I heard that he didn't want me.
I ran into the forest and ignored my feet, which stepped onto the sharp rocks. I forgot to wear my shoes because I was so upset. After all, it didn't matter anymore. The pain I felt on my feet wasn't worth the pain I feel in my heart right now.
Was Uncle Ray doing this because I don't have a wolf?
Many people were talking about wolfless wolves, which was useless. I was nineteen, but there wasn't a sign that I would meet my wolf just like my friends.
They got their wolf right after their seventeen birthday party, while me ...
BRUGH!
Something made me stumble and roll over, falling further into the forest and stopping by not far from the river. It meant I was almost out of the pack border, and it would be dangerous if I didn't return immediately. However, it was hard for me to step on my feet because of the wound on my elbows and legs.
"Awh!" I squealed softly while cleaning the dirt on my bloody elbows. So were the soles of my feet, which I forcefully washed off in the clear stream before I decided to return to the pack.
Unfortunately, the sounds made me shudder, and I instantly looked for the source where it came from.
"Well, well, well ... Looks like we have an honored guest," said an unknown voice, and his figure unexpectedly approached me.
At first glance, I thought he was Uncle Ray because he was a giant wolf with shiny silver fur that glistened in the moonlight. However, I realized he wasn't him when he got closer to me.
"Who are you?" I asked while stepping backwards, dodging him, and the other wolves appeared one after another.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking? Who are you, little prey? Why are you in my territory?"
"Since when did rogues control territory?" I snapped, which made those five creatures laugh thunderously. I took out quickly, the thing I'd always bring wherever I go. A small dagger Uncle Ray gave me, which made them laugh even more.
"What do you think you can do with that shit, little lamb?" The silver wolf instantly turned into a man and approached me. "Why don't you shapeshift into an arrogant wolf like your father, who is always proud because he can be an Alpha king?"
"Do you know my father? What do you want from me?"
"What if I tell you that I want ... YOU?" The man smirked and then turned to his back, at which point the others instantly transformed into humans and held my hands.
What would they do to me?
"Let go of me, asshole!" I tried to fight, slammed them who grabbed my hands, fight them back with the martial arts I learned from training, but still, as people said, the wolfless wolf was useless.
The silver wolf knocked me to the ground for the umpteenth time and held my body on the sharp rocks. His gaze was on me, wild and starved. However, I didn't expect that he wouldn't be willing to tear and eat me but for another purpose.
My body ...
That bastard tore my clothes brutally, and all the pain I felt before no longer existed when he opened my thighs and fucked me forcefully.
I wanted to struggle but in vain. Everything they had always blurted about me sprung up, that I was a useless wolf.
I couldn't even protect my honor.
I hated myself to death.
I hated them.
I wanted to tear them up into a million pieces and watch them suffer and beg me to kill them.
I was imagining myself lifeless, in heaven, and meeting the Moon Goddess to punish her for making me suffer so much. However, a voice made me slowly open my eyes, and I was forced to feel the excruciating pain from my crotch where the bastard was still satisfying his lust.
FUCK THEM!
I vowed to finish them off someday.
"Let her go!" That voice... I thought I recognized it. However, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. Either I was no longer alive, or I was already in hell.
Was that the mysterious man who always saved me whenever I was in danger?
I could hear a growling voice that was so boisterous it seemed to fill my headspace. It was so loud that I wanted to bang my head on the rocks until it shattered.
However, that state only lasted for a few moments because soon, someone lifted my weak body, and before moving away from that place, I saw several creatures lying helplessly.
Or maybe even lifeless.
"Uncle Ray," I muttered when I hadn't fully recovered my consciousness. The figure carrying me didn't reply with even a murmur. However, I could hear him babbling repeatedly, and for some reason, my chest felt like it was going to explode at the sound of his babbling.
"Please stay with me, Ioris. Don't close your eyes. Please come to your senses. I'm sorry."