Ruthless Mate

twenty four

In all honesty, I knew the brutal side lying within my mate. I knew the rumors, the stories of claws for fingers and sharp teeth. I knew it all, and yet it still shook me out of my mind.

I felt bad. It's not his fault at all. It's mine really, and if I had to admit (in which I never would), I should never have acted this way in the first place. He saved me, and I was too stupid to actually acknowledge that.

Wandering the vast fields of Bade land seemed like it would take days just to explore. I was standing maybe a couple hundred feet from the house, near the edge of the forest. Just a couple more feet behind me were all the wolves on the training ground.

I admired their lessons. They were taught brutally, but well. Many defense mechanisms, many attack methods, some entirely new and confusing to me. I imagined being trained like that. Would I turn out more dangerous, even more stronger? Scarier?

Would I have turned out like Christian?

Will these kids turn out like him as well? Their training is harsh, and there's no room for mercy to be learned. These wolves will become murdering machines. They'll protect people, yes, but only people here. Anyone else is a dead man.

Sighing, I continued down the edge of the trees, staring into the darkness. The canopies above were thick and high, like a dark ceiling without a working light bulb.

It looked peaceful. Imagine, just being some squirrel or something. Not that I would really enjoy it, only not having to deal with such complicated things in a human life would be nice for a change. No relationship problems, war threats, just looking for food. Seems easy.

A soft rustling interrupted my thoughts, a good distance away from me, but close enough to be alarming. With our hearing skill magnified, I heard the soft, yet unsteady breathing of some living thing. It could just be some deer, but at the same time, it could be a rogue.

A scent wafted through the trees stealthily. I couldn't help but feel like I knew it, familiar with the sweet yet forest smell.

"Who's out there?" I called out, waiting for any sign of movement. And I got it.

A quick flash of orange hair gave me all the recognition I needed. It was the chirpy, outgoing, yet friendly person I've been wondering about.

It was Bella.

"Bella!" I yelled, darting into the forest, following her scent. She ran away from me, as if I was a disease. What's wrong with her? She shouldn't be scared of me, luna or not. I'm still her friend!

"Bella stop!" I yelled, though she did not listen. In frustration, I sped up. The edge of our land was nearing, and I won't be able to go past for long.

Racing behind her, I finally latched onto some part of her, bringing her body down. We tumbled onto the dirty, wet leaves, sharp sticks stabbing at my face painfully.

She grunted, trying to sprint away, but my grip was firm. I pulled back, her body falling once again.

"Where are you going?" She glared at me. The twinkle in her bright blue eyes were missing, along with the cheerful smile and bubbly personality. Instead, it was replaced with harsh glares and a scowl. She was no doubt angry, maybe even hateful.

"What happened?" I asked, pinning her shoulder to the ground. Bella snarled at me.

"I don't know. Go ask your mate." She spat. Her attitude was riling myself up, but I remained calm. I don't want to fight her.

"I think I want to hear it from you. Christian isn't very keen on answering." She rolled her eyes. I watched Bella, the nice girl I had met completely gone. She glanced at her shoulders and then me.

"Don't run," She stared at me blankly, which I'm guessing was a silent agreement. Slowly, I retracted my arms until I was on my knees. If she were to run, I would catch her. I'm just hoping she wouldn't.

"You know what happened." She spat, sitting up. Her body was tense, but she won't run. She knows I can outrun her any day.

"I really don't." I countered. Bella sighed, running a dirty hand through her tangled hair.

"He yelled at me. Said I was a no good traitor. After you left the door, he hit me. Beat me up good too. Bade dragged me out after, all the way to the basement. Took me through the secret door all the way to the prison and left me there. People I used to know, people who used to be my friends treated me like dirt. To them, I was what their alpha told them I was. I was a no good traitor.

"A few days after, my mate had finally realized what happened. He broke into the prison, along with two other wolves. They broke me out, with the others too. Valdez, however got captured. Today, we rescued him." She paused, the anger taking over her face. "I'm sure you're familiar with those events."

It hit me. Today. Christian and I were supposed to question a rogue. Valdez, apparently, was the rogue. There were more, and Valdez had disappeared.

"The rogues were-"

"Yeah, they work for Theo. We all do."

I gave her a blank look. She's throwing too many names out into the open, and I'm not picking up on who any of them are beside Valdez.

"Want to tell me who Theo is?" I asked.

Bella's dark lips twitched u pinto a cocky smirk. "You'll find out soon enough, but now I really have to go. See you later, luna." Her words were pure venom, more poisonous than a snake itself.

I didn't dare try to stop her as she stood up, shifted, and ran off. I, too stunned at the recent events, sat on the forest floor, replaying her words.

She was cruel now. Bella, the girl I knew was sweet and bubbly and cheerful, not to mention my friend. The girl I met today was anything but her. She was arrogant, twisted, and rude.

By banishing her from the pack, we banished the real Bella. We took out that chirpy side and replaced it with something else. Something horrifying and ugly and mean.

A monster.