Chapter 1

~ELENA~

His footsteps were getting closer and his growling louder- a warning of the danger behind. I could even feel his breath over my shoulder. I knew It was over. I gave up!

My heart paced, wild and terrified, as his grip seized my wrists, I felt my sore feet raise completely from the wet soil. In one fluid motion, he had me pinned to the tree trunk, my hands locked above my head, his strength unrelenting.

“Please, Emmet…” I breathed, my voice trembling, barely a whisper between us. I knew better than to scream- I had accepted his challenge thinking I could outrun him for once. I failed- He let me get into the heart of the bayou where the trees were packed so tightly even the sunlight couldn't pierce through the leafs. We were alone now-Me and him. And now I had to pay the price.

“Please?” he echoed, his tone dangerously low, ignoring that I’d mentioned his name. His breath, hot and steady, fanned my cheek. His soiled bare chest pressed into mine, branding my skin with a punishing heat.

“There’s nothing to beg for,” he murmured, nose brushing my jaw. “Like always, I’ll pardon your silly mistakes. That’s what mates do… isn’t it?”

I didn’t respond. My voice was gone -like it always vanished when he was this close, when fear wrapped around my lungs and made it hard to breathe. When I braced myself for his torture.

“Look at me,” he ordered sharply.

I squeezed my eyes harder. I couldn’t look into those eyes -those sharp, unreadable green eyes that once made me daydream… and now made me shrink.

"Look. At. Me," he growled.

My heart pounded so loudly I thought he might hear it -might enjoy it. Then his voice reached out again, this time calm, smooth, soft...

"Elena."

He called my name? He called my name!

A tight knot uncoiled in my stomach, the terror loosening just enough to let a flicker of excitement slip through. I was tempted to open my eyes, to look at him.

But I didn’t.

Because I knew that softness- in his voice -was one of his traps. The kind of calm that came right before the storm to tear everything apart.

When I still didn’t move, I heard a soft hollow chuckle.

“I thought as much.”

His released me, and I slumped against the trunk, my feet connecting with the cold earth again. When I opened my eyes, the echo of his footsteps was all that's left.

* * *

They say your mate is supposed to be your missing half. A soul divided, waiting to reunite. A sacred bond forged by fate, stronger than blood. Two souls split into two bodies, destined to be one.

But nothing about Emmet felt sacred. Nothing felt whole.

He didn’t see me. He barely looked at me, touched me, kissed me, or tucked my hair behind my ear. He barely spoke to me unless it was with irritation or command. And when he did hold my hand, it wasn’t affection -it felt like a touch full of hidden contempt, felt like a warning. A leash.

Still… I clung to the hope that it would change.

He was my mate. The one destined to be my husband. That had to mean something.

We’d grown up together in Wolf-Hills Packhouse. Me, I was just the orphan girl his father took in. But we were raised like siblings. Emmet's father -alpha Otto loved me like his child. He said he used to be really close with my dad. And I, hopelessly and quietly, had always admired his son.

I had loved Emmet Domean for as long as I could remember. It wasn’t just a crush or a passing infatuation. It had lasted too long to be just that- it was something deeper, something that lived in my bones.

Just the sound of his name made my chest tighten, made my breath catch like I was falling and flying all at once. He had a way of looking at me that turned my thoughts to smoke and my knees to water- I always felt like behind those strict gazes there could be compassion within.

He barely smiled but when he did -Heavens! when he smiled, it was like the world tilted just a little, and suddenly nothing else mattered. I only wished he'd smile at me like that- I wanted him that much.

And one day, Alpha Otto smiled proudly and said, “You’ll be my son’s wife. He’ll need a strong, beautiful woman like you when he becomes the Alpha.”

I had smiled for hours, my heart lifted with excitement and for days, all I could think of was being with him. This time with assurance. I just had my biggest dream handed over to me on a platter. But when I had looked at Emmet, he barely reacted- stoic and indifferent. Still, I told myself he’d change. That he’d come to see me differently once I became his mate.

One morning at the training grounds, Emmet was sparring under the sharp gaze of our pack mates, bare-chested and breathless. Sweat clung to his skin like armor.

Like everyone else, I was watching him- too long, too obviously- then his eyes found mine.

He didn't look away. He had me held in a careful gaze like he just found someone he had been hunting for. Turning to face me fully, he pointed at me. Slowly and deliberately, he crooked his finger- beckoning on me.

My stomach sank.

What was it this time? I swallowed hard as I stepped over the training line and approached him, heart thudding.

“I hope you’ve been keeping up with your morning drills,” The excitement in his tone was clear. I knew that wasn't a good thing for me.

“I…” I haven't.

“Because today, you’re gonna be my last match, little shrimp.”

As far as I could remember, he always called me that- “little shrimp” -and never with affection. He hated shrimp in his meal. I often wondered if he really saw me as one.

My heart pounded with each step I took closer to him. My fists clenched and my lips shuddered- I had bitten it too hard and too long.

Around us, people murmured with curiosity and excitement as we faced off. I had never done this before- not with him. But I took my stance, nervous yet determined.

He moved fast, catching me off guard. His hand hooked mine. I tried to block, but his foot swept beneath mine. A scared soft whimper escaped my lips.

Before I knew it, I found my surroundings moving around me as I lost balance with a gasp and nearly hit the ground... until he caught me.

Just as quickly, he yanked me up, crashing me into his chest.

“How pathetic,” he muttered, his tone laced with disgust.

And just like that, he turned his back on me and walked away, leaving my pride crumpled on the field.

I lowered my gaze, too ashamed to look up at the people around me.

He had chosen that very moment to humiliate me in the guise of training and I just walked passed the crowd pretending I was fine with it just because he's my mate.

I really wasn't sure if I could be the mate he wanted. I was determined but I didn't know what he wanted in me. All I could do was beg for his forgiveness again but instead of hearing me out he dared me to earn it. And I suggested the race which earned me failure again.