41

I lay there, still naked and completely overwhelmed. Jayden, meanwhile, had slid down with me and was resting his head on my arm.

"Fuck," he breathed softly and turned to me. "Was that good," he finished, pulling me tightly against his trembling chest. My heart was still beating just as hard and fast as during our act and for a moment I was afraid it would never calm down.

I breathed in and out deeply as he began to caress my cheek and gave me a fleeting yet intense kiss. "I'm going to take a shower, would you like to come with me?" he asked me smiling, getting out of bed to give me a view of the part of my body that was responsible for my still barely breathing.

I quickly turned my gaze up and looked at him with a loving smile. "I'll be leaving in the morning," I gave him in reply, after which he nodded at me and after a wink in his turn, left the bedroom.

Exhausted, I pulled the blanket over my body and put my hands carefully on my abdomen, which gradually stopped glowing. The smell of my companion clung intensely to my body and I closed my eyes to smile and relive everything in my head until I finally fell asleep safe and with a grin on my lips.

I woke up to a loud knock and immediately sat up in shock. A look next to me told me that Jayden wasn't in bed with me. Excitedly I pulled the blanket tightly around my body and was about to get up when the door opened with a bang and my companion looked at me beaming. "Good morning," he said quietly, coming close to the bed to lean over me and kiss my forehead lovingly.

"Good morning to you too," I whispered and then looked at him questioningly. "Who knocked?" He turns to the door briefly and then back to me. "That was Ethan. He's sitting in the living room and since you don't want anyone but me to look at your beautiful body, I wanted to advise you to put something on before you come over."

"Good to know," I smiled crookedly at the alpha, who stared eagerly into my eyes for a moment and then left the room again.

I slumped back onto the soft pillow and checked to see if I could feel a change, because in books and movies everyone said that first time would turn you from girl to woman, but I didn't feel anything. It was almost as if everything was the same as always, except that the scent of Jayden was seeping out through every pore in my body, probably through the marking.

Jayden... His name floated through my head and at the thought of his touch and penetration, I felt my groin begin to tingle again. I felt like chasing Ethan out of here and drifting under my Alpha again. He had me addicted to something I had never experienced before. So I had changed after all.

Where there were doubts before, after that night I felt completely one with him. I had committed myself to submitting to him, and even though I was a strong woman and always wanted to be independent, the thought of being his alone felt beautiful. The same way the other way round, because it was only mine.

I smiled and decided to get up and get dressed right away, because I wanted to be near him and not just lying here alone, although it felt good to think about everything.

With the blanket wrapped around my petite body, I got up and gathered my clothes to hastily dress. When I was about to put the blanket back on the bed, I saw a small spot of blood and I was immediately ashamed of it. I knew it was me and, embarrassed, I started to pull off the fitted sheet and crumple it up. But where to put it?

I spun around questioningly and would have liked to magic it away, but then I just dropped it. I didn't need to be embarrassed, I told myself. There was nothing in front of him to be ashamed of and praising myself, I then left the bedroom with hesitant steps and slowly entered the living room, where Ethan was sitting on the couch, looking me up and down.

I didn't care for his looks. He might be wondering why I was still here after he made me look like I'd attacked Ludwig in the woods yesterday. Amused by my triumph over him, I sat down on a chair across from him and gave him a friendly smile. "Good morning, Ethan," I spoke softly, waiting for his reaction, but he just leaned back and grinned at me in amusement.

"Good morning, how was it?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes. "What do you mean?" He leaned forward again and lifted his nose. "You smell fucked up. It annoys me that you let yourself be taken so quickly. I made a bet with Jayden and I lost because of you."

My gaze froze and my heart almost stopped in shock. Shame, anger, and bewilderment welled up inside me, and just because Jayden was walking into the room, I didn't jump at Ethan's throat.

I got up from the hard chair and angrily targeted the Alpha, who was glancing questioningly between me and Ethan. "What's-" "Didn't you or didn't you bet how long it would take you to get laid?" I hissed at him, feeling my whole body vibrate with anger.

Jayden glared at Ethan, who just sat on the couch and grinned to himself. "No, well yes, but I didn't know you then!", the alpha tried to defend himself and I stopped breathing. Ethan had lied so many times before, why couldn't this be one of his lies.

"You knew from the start that I was your mate and you still-" My shaky voice broke and I turned away from him, tearfully leaving the cabin. how could i be so stupid

As soon as I walked out the door, I heard the two of them yell at each other, but I focused on something else.

My paws on the forest floor. My fur that began to shine under the sun.

I felt the heat go through my whole body and I got on all fours and hoped so much that Jayden wouldn't follow me.

The sun was shining down on me, but clouds kept covering it up and brought back the shadow that also completely absorbed me on the inside.

I ran and ran and there was nothing that could stop me. The forest floor took on the outlines of my paws and only the birds and the gently blowing wind could be heard around me. The silence on the outside gave no insight into the loud chaos going on inside my head.

A battle began in my mind, between connection and disappointment, while my heart was consumed by hate and self-doubt. It hurt so much that as a human I wouldn't have been able to escape, because I would have just died in front of his hut from my broken heart, at least that's what it felt like.

Where should I go, I thought about it, but I couldn't come to a decision. After the last deception, I didn't know who to believe anymore. Even thought Ludwig tried to kiss me to bond me even closer to Jayden. The thought that Lou knew about this bet and ran off in a rage because of it broke my trust in the little blond haired girl.

Even Chace didn't say anything and just left me wondering if it was true that everyone but me knew.

The further I got from the hut, aimlessly racing through the trees, the more I doubted that I might be overreacting to the situation, but I figured it was my connection to him trying to make me think so. I shook my head and yelped in pain. What had these people done to me? My whole perspective on everything was so torn that I didn't even know if what I was feeling was really true.

My confused thoughts snatched me from reality and I just kept running like a shadow of myself, while I dodged trees and it was getting darker and darker around me. But suddenly I saw something that I never thought I would ever see again.

The forest lay behind me and I saw a large field behind which I could see houses. I had made it, escaped this madness and was free again. But as great as the joy was, it had a bitter aftertaste, because I had a longing for my companion, but it was only burned into me by my instincts.

I tried to ignore her and fought against myself until, with a looming headache, I slowly continued on my way to put it all behind me.

Putting one paw in front of the other, I walked away from the dense forest, confident of my freedom, until suddenly something jumped me and threw me to the ground. My pulse was racing with excitement as the shock ripped through my body and I didn't know what was happening to me at the moment.

The attacker bit my neck so hard that I began to whimper in pain and tried to grab him in fear for my life. The smell emanating from him made me realize that it was Ethan who was biting me and trying to pull me back into the woods. I tried with all my might to tear myself away, but the more I moved, the deeper his teeth penetrated my skin.

I realized that I didn't want to go back and that I wouldn't take the pain for my freedom. I pulled myself out of his grip with a firm tug and faced him, growling. That horrid idiot didn't seriously think I would follow him back to that hell after smelling the sweet smell of freedom in front of my nose.

I stood right in front of him, ready to hurt him, waiting for what would happen next. My heart was pounding against my ribs so hard it hurt, but I didn't show it in front of him.

Instead of attacking me, he suddenly whined as if to ask me to return to the forest with him, but I only growled louder until a snap of the branches behind Ethan made me sit up and take notice. I knew he probably had Jayden with him, but when three huge wolves stepped out of the woods, I could tell immediately by their smells that it wasn't one of our pack.

The largest of them had sparkling poison green eyes and immediately took aim at the beta. Ethan stood protectively in front of me and bared his teeth while I widened my eyes in shock and held my breath. How could anyone have experienced so much bad luck in such a short amount of time? Have I been penalized for anything? I couldn't explain it and was pulled out of my thoughts by the fight that suddenly started in front of me.

The two smaller wolves pounced on Ethan, biting his side repeatedly. Something inside me, definitely my wolf, couldn't take the sight of it so I started to growl and wanted to help it, but a hard smack on the back of the head made me fall onto my side and the last thing I saw was was the bright green eyes. After that I was enveloped in darkness.