Chapter Thirteen

LUCY

"This is my chance to prove myself and get my revenge, he won't even see it coming," I said to myself as I trained hard for the duel.

I knew he was a skilled fighter and I wasn't going to doubt that so the only way to beat him was to train harder. The duel was in ten days and it felt like forever. I barely spent time at home but rather I was in the woods training. Lothar had stopped by severally to talk me out of it but I turned deaf ears to him.

“You can't beat the alpha, it's pointless for you to try,” he said to me.

I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m not going to quit, I’ll rather die trying to get my revenge.”

“Is this what this is about? Revenge,” Lothar asked

“Of course,” I scoffed. “You thought I would merely accept a duel simply because I want to avoid being his mate. you should know me better than that, Lothar.”

“You have to stop this, Alpha Chris has nothing to do with what happened to your father.”

“I don’t care, he will pay for his father’s sins,” I yelled.

“If you’ll listen to me, I’ll explain to you what really happened to your father,” he said.

“My father told me everything already,” I said and returned to my training. Nothing Lothar would say will make me change my mind about the alpha, he was my enemy and that would remain that way, mate or not.

Seeing that I wasn't going to heed his words he bid me goodbye and left for his pack.

"So this is where you are," a voice said from afar.

Knowing who it was, I cursed under my breath. "What are you doing here?" I asked as he got closer.

"C’mon, you don't have to be hostile towards me, we are on the side here. I’ll tell you everything you need to know and in return, you do anything I say from today,” Maverick said.

“You must think I’m a fool. I don’t need any information from you anymore, I know everything,” I snapped.

Maverick burst into laughter. “You are too slow-witted to know anything. Do as I say and I'll give you all the information you need."

I ignored him and returned to the pack while he followed behind. My mother wasn't in the hut when I walked in and everywhere was unusually scanty and quiet. I found a young lad lurking around, so I quickly asked.

"Where is everyone?"

"Cade called for a meeting with everyone at the field about a few minutes ago," the lad said.

I raced down to the field and found Maverick standing at Cade's right-hand side. "How did he get there so quickly?" I mumbled.

"I called everyone out here to apologize. I failed as your leader to protect this pack from our enemies but I stand here today to make a promise to you all that such will never happen again," Cade said. "I'm going to make sure that they pay dearly for invading our home."

Wishful thinking, I thought. If they had listened to me when I told them of the attack, things wouldn't have gone sour the way they did. I had no time for the meeting as I considered it irrelevant since my opinion was of no value.

The only thing I could think of was the duel happening soon and what Lothar had made mentioned. Yes, he had nothing to do with the death of my father or for punishing them unjustly but he was the son of the man my father spoke highly of and who had banished my father despite his plea. He had to pay for his father's sins and that was it.

To concentrate on my training, I had to stay away from others and spend the rest of the days at my father's hut in the woods.

Days went by and the D-day was only a few hours away. I barely slept, I pictured his defeat and him begging for me to spare his life. I was so lost in my imagination that I didn't know it was dawn already.

"You should be alert at all times, little wolf," I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I jolted and grabbed the blade by my bedside. It was the Alpha of the hallowed manes pack

"Get dressed, I'll be waiting outside to see what you've got," he said. A smile smoothened on his lips and I felt disgusted.

"How did you find me here?" I asked.

Aside from Nathan, no one else knew about this place, I was sure of it.

"That's not important right now. I'll be waiting," he said and left.

I quickly got dressed and picked up my sword. I huffed a sigh as I stepped out of the hut to meet him. Lothar was there and another young male whom I presumed to be his Beta.

I unsheathed my sword and rushed to attack him while he wasn't paying attention but with a slight punch, I fell to the ground with the tip of his sword pointing at me.

"Yield!" he said "One move and you're dead."

"You cheated!" I screamed.

"You lose and I win, mate," he said and pulled me from the floor.

I refused to be defeated and picked up my sword to challenge him once more.

"Don't you dare come close! You're an Omega and that makes you weak, you can't stand a chance against me, so give up," he said.

I scoffed. "I see you're so full of yourself, how about I kill you right now and become the next alpha? Besides I heard it's possible isn't it?"

"Not only are you naive, but you're also stupid. Anyways, I admire your courage," he mocked.

I felt disappointed and belittled for failing to achieve my goal but it still wasn't going to change my decision. I wasn't going to be his mate.

"We had an agreement, you're going to be my mate at least for a while until I'm able to convince the elders then you can decide to leave afterward," he said.

I spat on his feet, seething words meant to provoke him but he simply smiled like it was nothing. I took a few steps forward toward him while he moved backward, I glared at him and for once I could feel the nervousness in him.

"Now listen very carefully to the words I have to say so that you'll understand how much I hate you and your family," I took a deep breath to ensure my voice doesn't falter as I say the words of him.

"I, Lucy Garcia, reject you, Chris of the Hallowed Manes pack as my mate," I said hoping that those words would sink in.

I hoped to feel the disconnection between us but there was nothing of such; rather he moved closer to me, so close that I could feel his breath on my skin as he bent over to whisper into my ear.

"Sorry mate, we're bound for life."

His words sent shivers and I felt my world crumble right before my eyes.