"What. About. My. Pup." His eyes were coal black when he growled every word like a staccato. I whimpered and couldn't say a word, because there was a dark pit that felt like it was growing inside me, making me feel ashamed that I had managed to get my mate pissed at me.

"It...I–It will d-d-die...Adrian. Your... Your pup..."

The growl that echoed out through the entire forest made my blood run cold. My heart had stopped for that moment and my entire body shook with fear, my raging wolf quieting as I shut my eyes close.

I was so fucking scared. And naked.

All I could hear for that moment were his loud breaths and the low growls rumbling in his chest. I was completely still, afraid that he'd hurt me, hurt his own mate.

Male wolves are even more protective about their pups, my wolf said in a tone that sounded defeated, he won't care if he hurts us. Think twice before you say anything.

It felt like my heart broke into a thousand million pieces.

And I whimpered.

"A-A-Adrian...please...listen to me." I stuttered, "Liana told me that..." I gathered some courage, "She told me that your...pup...already has a low chance of surviving because both of your mates are a-a-alive–"

I was stopped suddenly when his strong fingers closed around my throat, choking me. I gurgled, tried to cough, and I knew my face had lost all it's blood. I couldn't breathe, and my heart had almost...almost died inside me.

"If I have to kill you to keep my pup alive, I will!" He roared, his fingers tightening around me with enough force to snap my bones like twigs.

My life flashed before me as I lied there, absolutely helpless, feeling so utterly heartbroken over a man —not even a man, a werewolf— I barely knew. This wasn't how I had envisaged my future to be. As a teenager, I had dreamt of being a werewolf's mate, being a part of a wonderful and unrealistic fantasy, but I had no idea that my dreams would cost me my life someday.

"Let me go...please." I whispered, my voice coming out as a croak as I felt a slow peace settle over me, my heart slowing down to faint beats.

And then I lost whatever consciousness I had, surrendering myself to death.

Blankness.

Numbness.

Nothingness.

A gloom had settled over me in a way that didn't feel the way death feels like. I had heard and read about near death experiences, and none of them were so gloomy.

I felt regretful: oh god, so much regret was curling deep inside my abdomen that I almost wanted to throw up. Along regret, was another emotion that even I couldn't understand.

All I knew that this emotion didn't belong to me.

Was it Adrian's?

Had he finally realised that he had killed his mate?

Was he regretting it?

He should.

The voice belonged to my pure blood and for a moment, I was stunned.

Didn't my pure blood die along with me and wolf?

You didn't die, Moon. Celeste's alive, too. You're just taking a lot of time to heal.

I didn't die?

I was still alive?

Get up, Moon! Try to wake up! Adrian will never forgive himself if you die! The entire Were Kingdom will collapse!

Why should I wake up for someone who didn't think twice before killing me?

Then for Liana! She's alone! She's waiting for you to come back home!

Oh, yes. I had to make sure that Liana made Jaxon beg and grovel at her feet. How could I die before ensuring my best friend's safety?

It came slowly to me: my will to struggle and stay alive.

Sensations came to me like a burst of sparks and tingles. I was surrounded and suffocated by an overwhelmingly warm presence, making me whimper. I knew who it was, and just for the same reason, I didn't want to open my eyes. Nothing seemed gentle, and my arm felt way too tingly for my liking.

Soon, I was shivering.

"Moon...Celeste..." It was a soft, desperate murmur, "Wake up...I know you can listen to me, I know you can hear me..." There was a pause and I heard a choking sound that made my insides clench in a weird way, "I'm so sorry... I just don't know what came over me...fuck! Just open your fucking eyes!"

I shut my eyes even more tightly.

"Stop it, Adrian!" It was Jaxon, sounding concerned, "You're probably overwhelming her, and she's already scared."

There was a loud sigh, and after a minute or so, I felt that I could finally breathe. The tingles were still there, lingering, but they weren't suffocating me anymore. Maybe Adrian had finally moved away from me, and surprisingly it made me feel better.

But it made me yearn for his touch again.

Your human side is scared, your wolf is on the verge of hating him – but still loves him. It's confusing you.

Of course, it was.

My eyes fluttered open, and for that moment, I was staring up at what looked like a car's roof. The scent of expensive leather was surrounding me, and soon I realised that I was lying down in the backseat of a car. And by the masculine and heavenly scent that I could sense, it was probably Adrian's.

I blinked once, twice, and then tried to sit up. Once I was sure I was seated up straight and could gather my wits, I looked around; my eyes roamed from the windshield in front of me, down to what I was wearing. It was a T-shirt, and it was Adrian's – too big for me, that it almost reached my knees. It was then when I realised that I was also wearing shorts, and wondered where Adrian managed to find them.

The clothes that I had worn to work had been completely torn and destroyed by Adrian, but thankfully, my undergarments had remained intact.

I shuddered.

I didn't want to remember anything that he did to me, anything that a wolf should not be doing to his own mate. Granted that it was about his pup, but I had no idea that he could actually go ahead and kill me just because I was a threat to someone who probably wasn't even his own.

I made the mistake of turning to look at my right, and found myself frozen when I found two pairs of eyes staring right back at me. When my gaze locked with that of my so called mate, it was like I had lost control of my own body: I never realised when I scrambled and pressed myself up against the opposite door, drawing my knees close to my chest as I curled up against the leather seat.

As Adrian tried to reach out to me, the image of him grabbing my throat flashed, making me shut my eyes tight.

It didn't help at all.

All I could see was him doing it again and again, threatening to end my life right there and then, and me lying completely helpless – all thanks to the stupid mate bond. I was so sure I was completely white, drained of blood and pale. My wolf wasn't helping, because she was even more scared than me; so confused between wanting safety and warmth with her mate, and wanting to just run away from him.

Adrian clenched his jaw. He could probably even taste my fear – I felt so scared. Jaxon had a tight grip on his arm, probably controlling him from trying to kill me again.

My body started shaking terribly, and it became difficult for me to catch my breath.

"Leave me alone!" A growl escaped my mouth, "Just let me go back and stay with the humans, I'll never fucking come back again, if that's what keeps your pup alive!"

"Moon—"

"No!" I yelled, shaking my head as my body was still shivering, despite the weather being so warm, "Don't come near me! Don't even try to touch me! I'll go back myself, just go away!"

"Moon." That was all Adrian had to say, and he climbed in the car to pull me on his lap with his arms around me.

I screamed, as loudly as I could, and struggled, afraid that this was his ploy to kill me, but he had his arms wrapped so tightly around me that I couldn't even get away from his chest. No matter how much he tried, neither did his presence, nor did his scent calm me down the way it should have, and it only contributed to the pits of messed up emotions swirling in my abdomen.

I wanted to throw up, and I gagged once.

Sensing it, Adrian immediately got me out of the car so that I could get some fresh air. The moment my feet touched the ground, I weakly pushed him away, and stumbled to puke my guts out.

It was so exhausting.

When I was finally done, only heaves racking my chest, Adrian came up by my side and offered me a water bottle. For some reason unknown to me, I eyed that poor bottle suspiciously.

I felt regret coming off him in waves, along with a sadness that I preferred to ignore.

"It's just water, you need it, trust me." He said softly.

"I don't trust you." My tone was harsh, and I stepped back instantly.

"I'm sorry for whatever I did, Moon." He tried to form words to explain it to me, "You have no idea how I'm feeling right now. You are my mate, I'll always love you. I don't know what happened to me then, I wasn't thinking—"

"Clearly." I scoffed,wondering why my moods were swinging so swiftly.

I'm so hurt, Moon. I never knew a day would come in my entire life where I'll be in such a situation that the wolf I love the most will kill me. This is so exhausting, we need Liana to comfort us.

Remembering Liana, I turned on my heel. I walked down the path and I doubted that the MoonLine was very far from here. It looked familiar, but my feet stopped moving the moment I heard Adrian say, "Where are you going?"

I didn't turn around, "Home. I'll never come back."

"You are not going anywhere." The voice was insanely scary, and with how he had growled out each word, I felt like I was going to crumble with fear right there.

Why was I so scared? He wouldn't do that to me again! Right?

"Even if me staying here means it will kill your pup?"

He was gritting his teeth so hard that I could hear it.

"I need to go back home." I stated calmly, and turned around to face both Jaxon and a pissed-off Adrian, "Liana is alone and she is probably waiting for me to get back, soon."

Silence lingered for a while as Adrian's glare bored into me, making me wonder how long my defensive wall will stay strong against his power.

"We will let you go." Jaxon sighed and Adrian turned back abruptly to growl at him. Jaxon then looked at him, "You need to understand this, Adrian. If she wants to go, we cannot stop her here. Can't you see it? Her wolf is unstable and she is scared of you. Even your mate bond isn't affecting her."

He turned back to me again, "But you have to promise that you'd help me in getting Liana back."

He was pleading.

So now, my wolf had suffered from awful mood swings that went from pissed too scared to pissed, again, and now, to protective.

"You think I'll hand her to you, just like that, when I already know how much you've hurt her? If you think you will ever be able to manipulate me into helping you, then you are really fucking wrong. She'll come back to you when she's ready. It's her call, Jaxon. Your mate bond should be enough to convince her to come to you."

I turned around once again, ready to run away when a hand caught my arm and Adrian's scent had me dizzy again.

He was very, very close to me.

"At least let us take you home. If you don't want to stay here, then don't, I won't force you. But hell I will let you wander alone in the streets when you're looking as if you're ready to do the walk of shame." He was already pulling me along him and managed to shove me inside the car.

"Drive back to her home, Jaxon."

It was an understatement to say that the car was filled with awkward silence. I was curled up against a door – with both Adrian and Jaxon sitting at the front – and my forehead was pressed against the cool window. My anxiety and regret was rolling off in waves, and I didn't stop my wolf from emitting her emotions till we weren't across the MoonLine. My pure blood was helpless, because neither me, nor my wolf were ready to let anyone know that I was actually a hybrid.

Fuck my life. Fantasy and werewolves felt like bullshit now. A simple human life seemed so much simpler than the complicated processing of Weres.

It was so fucking exhausting.

My wolf didn't hesitate to make Adrian and Jaxon, both, feel how pissed, hurt and devastated she was. I was actually quite surprised that she didn't want to reject him, but then, being the Queen, she knew that rejection was completely out of option.

Adrian was sitting stiffly, with his back ramrod straight, in the passenger seat. He stiffened more and more as the intensity of Celeste's disappointment grew, to the point that he snapped.

"Can you stop that? I already feel guilty and sorry, you don't need to make me feel even more pathetic."

My left eye twitched, but I didn't bother to turn and look at him. That man really had the nerve to be pissed after what he did to me.

I just shrugged nonchalantly, tugging the neckline of the shirt when it slipped past my shoulders, "I haven't learned to control her yet. I am helpless."

He just growled and gritted his teeth in annoyance, because now my wolf was even more pissed. Adrian didn't show any kind of remorse, other than emotions that were radiating off him, directed towards me. Even though I craved his touch, and wanted to be in his arms just to feel that safety again, I knew I couldn't do it.

Jaxon was stiff too, his eyes concentrating on the road, but I could almost taste the gloom of defeat in his emotions. The two probably planned to kill two birds with one stone today: kidnapping me and ensuring the safety of the Luna Queen under the supervision of the King and his Prime, and then using her to bring Luna Prime back into the kingdom to take her entitled position along with her mate.

Alas, their own plan backfired on them. Instead of ensuring my safety, Adrian ended up almost killing me, and Jaxon definitely realised that I was definitely not going to play matchmaker for someone who didn't know a woman's worth.

Even when we had crossed the MoonLine, Celeste still found a way to torment Adrian, courtesy to the mate bond. Only when the familiar driveway came into view, my wolf decided to relax.

I didn't even want to ask those stalkers how they got my address. The moment the car stopped, I took my stuff and scurried out of the car without letting them even say a word. I had kept my keys ready for use, and unlocked the door the moment I reached it. I slammed the door shut, and then ran around the entire house, shut all the doors and windows and then finally slid behind Liana, curling up against her sleeping form, and heaved out a shaky breath.

And then I cried myself to sleep, silently. I tried to convince myself that it was the right thing, staying away from Adrian.

I tried to convince myself that I shouldn't be this hurt - because he was still a stranger, right?

When I opened my eyes the next time, I was warm, and no one was sleeping next to me. I could still sniff Adrian's scent which meant I was still wearing his shirt.

"Why was it that when I woke up, I found you lying next to me, reeking of Adrian?"

I startled at Liana's voice, and realised that she was sitting at my other side with her brows furrowed. Either she was too pissed or she was too worried.

"Say something, Moon! I'm out of my wits here." She ruffled her hair frustratedly. "You returned earlier than I thought you would, and then I find out that you were crying, you are wearing clothes that smell like your mate, and you have those bruises on your neck."

She then looked at me and whispered, "What did he do to you now, Moon?"

I didn't say anything.

"Moon!" She shook me, her tone warning me to speak up "Tell me!"

I choked in a sob that threatened to turn me into a blubbering mess, and slowly narrated the entire incident to Liana. She listened to me carefully, and didn't interrupt me even once. I tried my best to stop my mind from flashing me the images from when Adrian had ripped my clothes off my body.

The moment I uttered the last word, it was like the weight of the entire world came down crumbling upon me. How could it be possible that the only one made for you, to protect you, to love you, could be the one who wanted to kill you?

That too for just another she wolf and her pup?

"Hey. Moon." Liana whispered and pulled me close. Even though she couldn't emit her soothing waves like she did before, even her arms around me felt comforting, and safe.

I hugged and sobbed, hard; like I never did in years. "Why Liana?" I heaved, "Why me? I was happy as a human, alone and on my way to a well planned life? Why did this whole werewolf bullshit had to come and fuck up my life."

She rubbed my back but didn't say anything, "I never felt alone, Liana. But now..." A choking sound escaped my throat, "I feel lost, so utterly lost, and alone. Even though I knew nothing about that man, I still somehow fell in love with him. Everyone else seems incomparable now! He has a mate – a pregnant one at that – and it hurts even more."

I sobbed again, wiped my nose and sniffed while Liana heard me out patiently, "How could he do that to me? That too just for a pup that might not even be his own!"

Liana sighed, but kept running her hand in my hair soothingly. "Male wolves are protective, not just about their mates, but about their pups, too. The moment he learnt that you were a threat—"

"Where the fuck was his protectiveness when he tried to kill me!" I pulled away from her and walked to the dresser, pulling my shirt over my head so that I was only in my undergarments.

"Look at this, Liana!" My voice was hoarse as I pointed to my throat, "See these imprints of his fingers on my throat?" My fingers pointed lower, "Look at those bruises all over my chest; even werewolf healing isn't working on it."

I then looked down at my thighs, "See those claw marks, Liana? How am I supposed to protect myself from my own mate?"

How am I supposed to protect myself from my own traitorous body and feelings?

Feeling exhausted, I collapsed onto the floor and cried, cursing my fate for its wrong timing..

Liana couldn't even understand how she could make me feel better. All she could do was gather me in her arms and let me cry.

"Thank you." After ten minutes of silence, Liana finally could manage to break it.

An entire week had passed, and half of the days were spent with me wallowing in self pity and blaming my fate for things to go so awfully wrong. The other half was spent in a tensed silence; with me having nothing to work for due to my so-called resignation, and her not knowing what to say to me.

"For what?" I asked her back, my face hidden behind the coffee mug.

"I really don't want to remind you of that day: just today you've started to behave more like the Moon I met the first time. I just..." She paused and searched my eyes in case I didn't start crying hysterically again, "...I just wanted to thank you for defending me in front of Jaxon that day. Goddess knows the two are giving you shit just because of me."