Chapter 2

RAELYNN

A year ago, I discovered that Rai Vidal, the man I'd had a crush on for the longest time, was my fated mate. My father had been overjoyed because being mated to Alpha Rai would mean that I was to become Luna of one of the strongest packs. However, what he didn't know was that Rai didn't want me. He was in love with Nadia who was not ready to settle down for marriage.

Since he didn't want to taint his reputation, he made me sign a contract with him in secret. I was to become his contract wife until Nadia became his wife. It was stupid.

Even so, for the sake of my father, for the sake of the feelings I had towards him, I agreed to it. A part of me had believed that I would succeed in winning Rai's heart.

Yet there I was, standing in front of my childhood home. I'd just been stabbed in the back by both my father and my husband.

"You don't mean that--" I started to say, tears blurring my vision. Before I could say anything else, my father slapped me across the face. It stung. But somehow, the pain in my chest was more intense.

"How shameless of you to drag your pathetic self all the way here," I heard my stepmother say as she stepped out of the house with Caroline, my stepsister.

"Why don't you crawl back to your husband?" Caroline drawled, and I lowered my head, feeling crushed.

I should've known that they would revel in my misery. They had been unhappy when they'd first heard that I was Rai's fated mate. Nonetheless, I hadn't expected such a cold treatment from my father.

"Dad, it's all a misunderstanding. What you heard isn't true--"

My father cut me off with a grim expression on his face.

"You are no longer my daughter. I have nothing more to say to you," he spat.

I watched in horror as he turned away from me and started to head inside the house.

"Maurice. Caroline. Get in here and shut the door," my father deadpanned and entered the house.

I felt my chest tighten, my airway constricting.

"Good luck with surviving as a rogue. You have no pack now, you know that, don't you?" Caroline said with a smirk. Then she followed her mother into the house and slammed the door shut.

I flinched, and thunder rumbled in the sky. Gazing at the stormy clouds, more tears welled up in my eyes. All my life, I've never been truly happy. At this point, I was at my worst.

While I stood there, wallowing in my misery, my phone rang. Relief sank into me when I saw that it was Judy who was calling. When I picked up the call, she sounded so concerned, it brought me a bit of relief.

"Come over. Don't worry about anything else. Just come to me," she said.

Without hesitating, I took a taxi and headed to her home downtown.

Judy was supportive and kind. She slept in the same room with me to make sure I didn't feel abandoned. She was such a sweetheart.

I stared at the text I'd typed on my phone, my finger hovering over the 'send' button. My stomach churned as nausea swept through me for the umpteenth time today.

Placing my phone by the sink, I rushed to the toilet bowl and heaved, wincing as I emptied my stomach's contents.

Struggling to my feet, I got rid of the mess and stumbled to the sink to rinse my mouth.

Splashing cold water on my face, I straightened in front of the sink and stared at my pale face. I inhaled deeply as I brought a hand to the slight budge in my stomach. I'd refused to believe it before, but the number of times I'd thrown up recently was rather alarming.

Tears clouded my eyes as I acknowledged the new life growing inside of me.

I was pregnant.

Three months had passed since Rai rejected me. Deciding not to burden Judy, I'd moved to the city to settle down.

A part of me wanted to let Rai know about the baby. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to.

"Lynn? Are you alright in there?" I heard my boss ask from outside the door of the restroom.

"I'll be out in a jiffy," I said, grabbing some wipes.

After cleaning myself up, I stepped out of the restroom to see Mandy, my boss, standing by the counter. She owned the cake shop where I worked.

"You can go home. It's been a busy day," she said, and I flashed her a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Mandy."

"It's alright. Go get some rest, okay?"

I nodded, proceeding to pack up my things.

"Goodnight, Mandy," I said, and she waved at me.

As I headed out of the cake shop, I pulled my jacket tighter around my body. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood stiff.

I could sense that I was being watched.

Hurrying down the street, I glanced behind me for signs of a stalker but saw no one.

The night sky was almost starless, and an aura of foreboding hung heavy in the air.

The moment I stepped into an alley, the sounds of aggressive growls reached my ears, and my blood ran cold in my veins.

My heart pounded erratically against my rib cage as I quickened my pace. The alley was dark and quiet. Therefore, I had a very low chance of getting help.

It didn't help that I was terribly aware of the wolves tailing me. I brought a trembling hand to my stomach, afraid for my baby's life. The growls grew louder and more menacing. I was not as strong or as fast as a regular wolf.

I knew this, but I refused to stop moving.

As the wolves grew closer, I broke into a sprint, my breathing coming out in short, strained pants.

I cried out in horror as more wolves appeared along the path. One of them pounced on me, and I crashed to the ground, cradling my stomach as pain speared through my lower back. Through blurry vision, I saw some of the wolves as they shifted into their human forms.

Black spots clouded my vision as they came closer, their eyes glowing with hostility.

"Alpha Rai wants her gone..." One of them said.

My consciousness started to fade, and I parted my lips to scream for help, but I was too weak to let out anything louder than a whimper.

Right before I could sink into oblivion, I heard the sound of heavy footsteps and a monstrous growl that sent shivers down my spine.

"Shit. It's a Lycan," I heard one of the wolves say.

The sound of snapping bones filled the air. A scream followed shortly after, and I right before I passed out, I pleaded to the moon goddess to help me survive this. I swore that I would grow stronger.