"I was sweaty and bruised; face was swollen with the beatings I received a while ago. My back was sore. My head was reeling from thirst and hunger.

Gods. I wanted to die.

A low moan escaped my lips as I tried to get myself into sitting position. My eyes fluttered open and I found myself in a cell. Rather, a dungeon. It was the same cell, where they had locked me up the last time I tried to escape. The place stank with the smell of rotting matter and I wanted to puke the second the stench entered my nostrils.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I open them again. The haze clears a little.

They had moved me back to my place then, I conclude, but when had they done it? I could remember nothing.

Most likely when I lost consciousness.

I had lost all my strength when they hit me. The back of my skull still throbbed as I pressed my hand over the bump. There were about ten stitches in the place where it had cracked. Had that doctor healed me then? I had fallen face first on the floor and immediately lost consciousness. I had no idea what had happened after that.

Judging by the dried patch of dark red liquid, it had been days.

I sighed and checked my bruises. They were already turning yellow. My clothes were torn and clung to me like a battered sail on the mast of a shipwreck. They had whipped the living day lights of me. Again.

Anger churned in my stomach. I spat out blood.

The cycle was fucking endless.

They would beat me. Inject me. I would drop unconscious. Then they'd bring in the doctor to patch me up. Leave me a couple of days to recover. Once I better, I would inevitably try to run away. Then they would catch me and beat me again.

So fucking pleasant.

But despite everything, the will to achieve freedom never faded. It burned like the last lantern in a lighthouse.

The last sores hadn't even healed yet, why did they have to be so cruel? It wasn't as if I could harm them in anyway since they always injected Wolfsbane in me every two weeks. My wolf wasn't responding at all, she had shut herself from me ages ago, because of the poison. That made the pain more excruciatingly painful.

Some more days in this dungeons and I'd start scraping these walls with my nails like a mad animal.

The door opened, breaking my thoughts. A gigantic silhouette covered the entrance.

He was back. I gritted my teeth. Welcome round two.

I watched him watch me impassively. It was a staring contest. Except, there was only one winner either way.

He smirked, as though reading my expression. Underneath the hood, his electric blue eyes sparked.

Even if the earth began to revolve around the moon, I wouldn't give in to him.

How many times must I tell him 'No'?

Sighing, I curled myself up into a ball.

Any moment now.....

"I hope the whippings knocked sense into you, love." He smiled.

I kept my mouth shut and buried my face into my knees.

Go away... Just go away... Let me enjoy a moment of peace.

Why won't he leave me alone?

"Answer me while I'm still nice."

Silence. Total radio silence.

I didn't move a muscle.

In three long strides, he was next to me and yanked me up by my hair. I let out a cry of pure agony.

"Please!" I begged him.

"Not until you give in" he retorted. His claws dug deeper into my scalp. I could feel one of the stitches already tearing open again.

Tears pricked my eyes. I bit my lip so hard, I tasted blood in my mouth. "You already know. I have said it once, I've said it a thousand times: No."

His smile wavered until it fell completely. "I will not take no for an answer." he ground out.

He dropped me with all the contempt he could muster.

"You have one month. Either you voluntarily accept the title until the situation changes or ..... you know my ways." A pause. "I'm getting what I want anyway."

I snarled. "Fuck you."

I still had my pride, if nothing else.

"What good is pride if it can't even put decent food in your stomach?" He chuckled. "Stay hungry, stay foolish, sweetheart. It's your miserable life after all."

The last I saw was his long black cloak billowing past me as he strode out of the dungeon. The iron door slammed shut and the last light puckered out.

I awoke screaming and drenched in sweat. My head hidden in my palms as I attempted to control my racing heart beats.

Who the hell was that poor girl who suffered such misery? Who was that bloodthirsty beast?

"Kiara! What happened?!" Ashton's voice brought me back to reality. I shook my head as I looked up to see a crowd of people gathered around me. Ashton was sitting on the bed with a worried expression on his face.

"It was a nightmare." I whispered hoarsely and tried to clear my throat as subtly as possible. To say I was terrified and shivering, would be an understatement.

"Everybody can go back to their rooms now." a female voice ordered in a firm voice. I heard the shuffling of feet subside and felt a warm hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I gazed into the warm brown eyes of Elena.

"Here, drink this up. You need it." she said kindly as she brought a glass of water to me. I took it wordlessly and gulped down the entire thing in one go.

"Better now?" She asked me and I nodded. She patted my back gently, soothing my nerves.

"Was it your past bothering you again?" Ashton asked me, once he knew it was safe enough to ask. "Was the bullying so bad that you are actually having nightmares about them? I swear I'll cut a bitc-"

I shook my head vehemently letting him know that wasn't the case at all. "No, it wasn't me. It was a girl, about my age and her ruthless captor."

I felt the bed dip beside me and knew it was Elena. She gave me an encouraging smile, urging me to go on.

"They-y were torturing her mercilessly!" I choked out the words with difficulty, "I didn't get look at her face, but her body was so scarred and beaten it was actually horrifying! What happened to me can't even be compared to this situation, Ashton! He wanted her to accept something and she kept denying him."

"Him?" Ashton inquired, his brows knitting together in confusion. "Did you see his face?"

"I don't know, Ash, I really don't. All I noticed was that he was well built and wore a long cloak." I replied. My hands were still trembling recalling the nightmare.

"Have you ever dreamt this before?" He asked me sympathetically.

"Never," I shook my head again."This has been the worst nightmare ever."

Something passed through the eyes of the mother and the son but they looked away before I could even ask them about it. "It's alright. It was just a dream, not reality. Go back to sleep Kiara," Elena stroked my hair gently before tucking me back into bed. At any other time, I would have protested because they were treating me like a child, but this time I welcomed the gesture.

They got up and left, shutting the door behind me.

The next morning, I got up with a long sigh. After the bone chilling nightmare, I couldn't sleep a wink. I lay on the bed tossing and turning, as I thought about the girl and the captor. What did he want from her? And more importantly, who was she? Nothing made sense.

I brushed, showered, combed my hair and slipped into a pair of jeans and a red tee. I yawned loudly as I made my way to the dining hall.

"You will begin training today." Ashton told me, once breakfast was over.

My brows scrunched in confusion. "Haven't we been doing that everyday?"

He shook his head. "Not the usual one; you need to undergo special training being a white wolf."

Oh.

"Alright. Who will be the one training me?"

"Mom and I."

I eyebrows shot up in surprise. Elena, of all people?

"Mom is a white wolf too." He reminded me.

Oh of course.

"What about you? Don't you have other business to do?"

A slight blush appeared. "Ki, I am a Black wolf plus an Alpha. I do everything keeping in mind the best interests of my pack."

"Right. Like training me?" I scoffed, disbelieving him.

He obviously had no reply to that.

Elena, Ashton and I were on the training grounds at sharp four. I was sweating after working out at the gym. Under Elena's instructions of course.

"Twenty laps along the pack perimeter," she ordered and I nearly fainted right there.

Nearly, being the keyword here.

I'm damn tougher than that.

We set off at a reasonable pace with Ash always trying to run a few feet ahead of me. I struggled to keep up with him. The first ten laps were easy. The next three where a tad difficult. But by the time I finished the fourteenth one, I was ready to pass out on the ground.

"Keep up, Ki!" Ash hollered when the distance between us began to increase. I staggered and pushed my body to move forwards.

"I. . . I - pant pant - can't. I need. . . a break. . . goddammit!"

He simply rolled his eyes and continued to run. Damn. I thought as I watched him. This guy was literally sailing through the air. How am I supposed to keep up with something like that?

"Just one more and we'll take a break. Okay?"

My knees finally gave way to the floor. I collapsed, my face hitting the ground first and my limbs in a tangled mess. My hair was greasy and caked in mud and now my face was caked with that too. I looked like a mess. No, not even a hot mess, just an ugly mess.

I spat the mud out of my mouth and glared at him. "I can't walk an inch and you have the nerve to tell me to finish another lap? Screw you, best friend!"

"Aww. Is the pretty little white wolf tired?"

"Screw you, Ash. Screw you."

"Ha. You wish." He chuckled. Nevertheless, seeing my state, he sat beside me while I took my time to regain my breath. He ruffled my hair slightly, laughing again when I swat his hand away like a kid. Opening his little side bag, he took out a bottle of water. "Want some?"

"Get me a whole damn river." I growled, snatching it away. I finished it two gulps and handed it back to him.

He snorted when he saw it empty and crushed to a pulp. "You are so considerate, Ki. It's heart touching."

"Your sarcasm is refreshing."

I laid on the ground, folding my arms at the back of my head. Looking at the clear blue sky, I sighed contently. "I like this."

"What, this?" Ashton pointed at the sweat stain under my armpits. He scrunched up his nose. "I don't. It's gross."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and lie down with me."

He pretended to think about it for a few moments until I leaned forward and pulled his ear, dragging him down. A pained yell escaped him as he protested. "Ow. Ow. Ow. What the fuck, woman?"

"Lie down."

He scowled at me before he did as he was told. "I am the Alpha here. I am the one who is supposed to give orders."

"Too bad. That ain't happening, buddy." I grinned.

He gave me a slight shove, but said nothing in reply in reply. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips, reassuring me he hadn't taken it to heart. I smiled back at him and link my fingers with him. He squeezed my hand, wordlessly letting me know he'd be there. Always.

"Have you found your mate yet, Ash?" I asked him, after a few beats of silence.

Immediately, I felt the fall in the temperature. Ashton stilled like I had physically hurt him. "Why do you want to know?" His voice was suddenly harsh and I didn't like that one bit.

I frowned. "I'm curious. I'd love to meet her. Is there something wrong in that?"

He doesn't say anything, but his grip around my hand tightened like he was suddenly afraid.

Afraid of what?

"I rejected her."

My blood turned cold. Everything around me froze. My mind became numb.

And then suddenly I was springing onto my feet, looking down at him in horror, shock and disbelief. "YOU DID WHAT?!"

He flinched at my voice as he sat up. "Don't scream, Kiara, please."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do! You rejected her? You fucking REJECTED her?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" My eyes stung with unshed tears and my heart ached for what she must have gone through. Like me.

"-Kiara, listen, I -"

"Why did you do that? Because she was an Omega?! Because she wasn't anyone special. . or because. . ."

In a flash, Ashton was up at my side, growling. "Do you seriously think I'd do something as low as that?! Is that what you think of me?"

My voice held venom. "Gods, you're just like him, Ash."

"I AM NOT!" he screamed back at me. His own voice broke at the end. "I AM NOT REMOTELY LIKE HIM!"

Before I could open my mouth again, he was pulling me back to the ground, forcing me to sit down and listen. There were tears in his eyes. Honest to God, tears. I froze as he broke down before me and I wasn't able to take a step ahead and help him.

What the fuck was I supposed to do?

He REJECTED her for crying out loud.

That wasn't any trivial matter.

"I had to, okay? I HAD to!" He was saying. His voice was just a whisper, yet I could hear him; read the pain in him. "She was a human. She knew nothing about us. How on earth was she going to handle our world when she didn't believe in us in the first place?"

My breath caught. "H-human? How's that even -"

"—Possible, right?" He scoffed bitterly. "I thought that too. I thought the moon Goddess was playing some kind of fucking joke on me. She probably just wanted to sit back and have a good laugh while I was going mad with frustration. How on earth was I supposed to convince the girl, and above all make her like me? I wasn't remotely like her." He shook his head. "Not one bit."

"What h-happened then?"

"I followed her around for days. I dug up every bit of information I could. She was - no, is - twenty one. That makes her three years older than me. I followed her to her work place, her college, every single place I knew she would go to. But you know what I missed?" A ragged breath escaped his lips and he looked at me with bloodshot eyes. A sad smile traced his lips and my own eyes began to blur with unshed tears. "I missed her own home."

"She had a child, goddammit! What was I going to do? She wasn't married, but she was definitely in love with the guy she were staying with. They had already planned their future together, a life together. They already had another baby coming within the next few months."

"Ashton, I'm so sorry." I whispered. "I - I didn't mean to."

He smiled sadly. "Don't be. I know why you reacted so badly, you've been through this before and it hurt you really bad. I don't blame you."

"Bu - but, Ash, the girl . . ."

"I had no hope. It was clear as day they were happy. I didn't want to be a homewrecker. Besides, thinking about her children, I realized it wasn't worth pursuing. So, I did what I was supposed to." He inhaled deeply and a few more tears ran down his cheek. Instinctively, I leaned forward to wipe them away. "I rejected her."

"I'm sorry." I said, over and over again.

"I told you not to be." He said. "I don't regret doing it. On the contrary, I'm happy. Granted, it brought me pain and heartbreak for a long time, but gradually I built myself back. That day, when I rejected her, I must have looked like a loon - standing like that, in the middle of the café, her workplace, holding her hand and telling her I was rejecting her. It must have looked like a goddamn joke to her. Hell, she even laughed, thinking it was a play. Humans are weird like that, they think they know everything, but they don't. They fail to see the obvious, they judge quickly and their actions, albeit indirectly, can hurt a heart forever. That's what happened to me."

I could only nod. My fingers squeezed his hand tightly and he held on to me like I was his lifeline.

"And now?" I asked him, wiping away the tears on his cheeks, "And now how are you?"

"I'm okay. I built myself back." He shrugged, not meeting my eye. "It was a long painful process, but I allowed myself to hope."

"Hope what?" I asked him, although I already knew the answer.

He looked into my eyes and I couldn't make myself to look away. His brown eyes swirled with warmth and he hugged me tightly.

"A second chance." Was all he said.

We resumed our run an hour later. The tension around us broke when a very livid Elena, mind linked Ashton and gave him a piece of her mind for loitering around.

I, of course, was yet to receive my due punishment. To avoid her anger, Ashton and I decided we would run seven laps more today as bone breaking and terrifying as it sounded to me.

When he told that to Elena, she seemed a little mollified.

"Does your mother really make you do this three times a week?" I asked, panting when we were on our nineteenth lap.

Eight more to go before I could hit my bed and procrastinate as long as I wanted. To be honest, I was amazed at his stamina.

And his body too. Not that I'll ever admit that aloud.

Ashton only chuckled. "Yes. But you'll soon get used to this. We have a lot of energy in us."

"Wonder why I feel so tired then?" I asked, sarcastically.

"That's because you are still a pup."He said. I growled which only made him laugh more. "No offence, Ki, but that's the truth. However, you will soon gain that strength within this month."

"What about my powers then?"

"You receive those a week before your birthday."

"What are your powers, Ash?"

He shrugged. "I have control over storms, block people who try to control my mind and temporary invisibility."

"Wow!" I exclaimed, "That's really awesome!"

I wish I received some super rare powers like him.

"Dammit, I'm sweating like anything! Curse this heat!" He said after another twenty minutes.

I looked at him as he halted to a stop.

"What happened?" I asked him, stopping as well.

"Wait for me, will you? I just want to remove this sweaty tee shirt. It's sticking to my body and honestly it feels gross."

I nodded and looked away, trying to catch my breath in the meantime. He came up to me a few moments later, "Let's go!" He said, as he took off again.

I turned bright red at the sight of him.

Goddess!! He had a perfect chiseled body and killer abs . The sweat drops glistening on it were not helping either.

I swallowed, and I tore my eyes away with difficulty. He sure had one hell of a sexy body!

"Should've taken a picture, it would have lasted longer," I heard the smirk in his voice and blushed red again.

He and his big fat ego!