Chasing The Rejected Mate

1 year later

Near the place where Lily was hiding, a man's voice commanded angrily, "Don't let her get away. You must catch that bitch."

Hearing this, she stifled her sobs as she began to flee into the woods across from where they were. She was so terrified that she failed to notice the branches and was scratched. She persevered, however, and kept going.

"I'm going to kill you with my own hands when I find you," her Alpha roared fiercely.

She quickly ducked behind a bush, covering her mouth with both hands, not wanting to make any noise. She tried to hold her breath, but it became quicker when she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer, the leaves crunching as the steps moved slowly and steadily, making her heart drop in fear.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," a voice said in a sing-song voice before laughing darkly.

Lily closed her eyes tightly, and her heart continued to pound violently against her chest. She pressed her palm to her mouth to stifle the sound of her breathing. Lily was terrified—terrified of being discovered again. If her Alpha found her, she was sure he would kill her.

"Alpha, I have searched everywhere but can't find her. The bitch must have made it out of the territory," another voice spoke.

Lily flinched when she heard her Alpha growl angrily. "Send out a search team tomorrow morning. I want that whore back as quickly as possible. I'm going to have fun snapping all her bones and breaking her legs for escaping the pack," He said and laughed maniacally.

Tears rolled down her eyes, her nails digging into her skin while the footsteps walked away from near her. Lily peeked out from the bushes, and after seeing no one in sight, she heaved a sigh of relief after withdrawing her hands from her mouth. She looked down and silently cried; her arms and legs were now full of bruises and cuts. She leaned back and gazed at the dark sky above her, the moon staring down at her with its light making her somewhat feel safe. She smiled despite her tears and thought, 'Sure enough, the moon goddess was watching over me.'

Lily hugged her knees and looked around her surroundings. She didn't know where she was, only that she was surrounded by tall trees and darkness everywhere. She nearly screamed when she felt something touch her leg. She quickly stood up and sighed when she saw it was just a bug.

The wind howled, blowing her hair all over her face. With her eyes still scanning the area, Lily retreated, still feeling uneasy. She panicked as something touched her back, only to find out it was just a tree. She sat down once again and leaned against the tree. When the wind blew in her direction, Lily shivered and hugged her body to keep it warm. Feeling tired, her eyes started drooping, but she pinched herself to keep herself awake. She warily looked around her, her eyelids heavy, listening to the crickets, the rustling of the shrubs and trees in the breeze.

Only God knew what was out there at this time of the night.

When Lily heard an owl hooting, her tensed nerves made her flinch. She looked around. The moment she saw the huge eyes looking back at her, she froze and stared at them. After realizing it was not a threat, Lily sniffled and hugged herself more tightly while wiping her tears. As the night passed, her eyes became even heavier, unaware when she closed her eyes, and darkness overtook her.

THUD!

Lily jolted awake when she heard a loud sound. She frantically looked around only to see nothing. She swallowed, feeling her throat parched from thirst, and her stomach started to growl in hunger. She rubbed her stomach and weakly stood up. "Where do I go now?" she wondered loudly and started to cry again.

She decided to walk deeper into the woods while constantly looking for any danger. Lily didn't know what time it was or where she was. She was lost in this forest, not knowing any survival skills.

Lily then froze when she heard a crunching sound, followed by a roar echoing through the forest. Without hesitation, she started running for her life. Hearing someone behind her prompted her to run even faster until she tripped and fell onto her face. Lily let out a painful cry, her cheek now bruised, and her leg started swelling.

"Well, well, look who we have here, brothers," an evil voice spoke.

Lily looked up with tears only to see three ugly wolves walking around her in a circle.

"She looks delicious," "Mouth-watering," "Tasty," they all spoke in unison, their tongue licking their razor-sharp teeth.

"P-please, I mean n-no harm...P-please, l-let me g-go," She said in a shaky voice and scooted backward.

"Awww, the baby is going to cry now," one of the wolves mocked, causing them to all burst out with laughter.

Lily couldn't help but shriek as a large washed-brown wolf charged at her with an unsightly scar extending from its eye to its lips. With its face now directly in front of Lily, she froze in terror. She felt sick as he snarled at her and closed his mouth, filthy drool running down her calf.

"How about a No, missy? We haven't had a great snack in years, right, brothers?" one of them replied, tilting his head and giving Lily a nasty glare while his brothers chuckled behind him,

"P-please l-let me go," Lily begged and let out a frightened scream when she felt the wetness on her cheek. The rogue was now licking her, making her shut her eyes with disgust and fear.

"Weak human, I'm going to have so much fun with you," the wolf laughed evilly.

Lily opened her eyes in a flash. Her eyes were now swollen from all the crying. She wanted to rub them but was too terrified to lift a finger. Her body shook, and her lips quivered when she saw the huge brown wolf open his disgusting mouth; his sharp fangs were pointed at her like daggers.

"AHHHH," Lily shrieked, tightly closed her eyes, and covered her face with her arms.

Lily waited for the pain, but when she didn't feel anything, she slowly opened her eyes and sprang back in horror as she saw the wolf's head on the ground, eyes wide open. Terrified, she turned to the side and noticed its body had been tossed away. She gulped as she backed away from the lifeless head.

Meanwhile, the two brothers were looking around, growling and snarling. Lily screamed in terror once more as the black wolf swung its head at her and growled, "You did this, didn't you? I'm going to kill you, you bitch!"

Lily frantically shook her head. "I-I didn't, I-I swe-swear," but the wolf came straight towards her, gritting his teeth. As he leaped into the air with his mouth open and ready to attack her, a figure suddenly appeared and struck the wolf in the face, sending it flying back into a tree.

Lily stood there frozen in shock and bewildered by the sudden turn of events. When the second wolf howled and charged toward the figure, his head was severed from his body and hurled into a tree. Lily shuddered. The red wolf tossed his head, howled, and glared at the person while rocking back and forth on his four legs. Without hesitation, he attacked the figure with all his might, growling loudly and baring his filthy, rotten teeth. The figure remained still as if waiting for death.

Then, with his jaws wide open and his claws extended, the wolf leaped into the air. Unexpectedly, a hand holding the dagger was faster than him, which stabbed into his eyes and caused him to collapse to the ground with a thud. Lily gasped and screamed in horror. The figure bent down to the wolf's height and mercilessly twisted its neck. Lily closed her eyes tightly, choosing not to witness such a gruesome scene.

Except for her labored breathing and whole body drenched with sweat, the forest restored its peace as if nothing had happened. Lily slowly opened her eyes and didn't see anyone. She quickly stood up and hissed in pain, remembering her swollen leg. She whipped her head around, trying to see where the person who saved her life went.

"Up here, kid," a voice spoke. Lily instantly snapped her head up at the tree and see the exact figure sitting there with an apple in her hand, looking at her in boredom. After jumping down, the figure approached Lily and threw the apple away.

Oddly enough, Lily felt safe with her around. She stared into her savior's eyes, her eyes scanning her features. Her savior was beautiful with her golden eyes glowing, her long hair so silky with a scarlet-fiery color streak on her locks, giving her a vibrant look. Now, standing in front of her, Lily realized that she was taller than her.

"T-thank you for saving m-me," Lily stuttered, her cheeks blushing from being scrutinized by this mesmerizing woman.

"What are you doing here alone in the middle of the woods? Don't you know how dangerous this area is?" she asked calmly, but her face was still emotionless.

Lily gulped and looked away, her tears blurring her eyesight, remembering why she was here."I-I r-ran away," She answered, her voice breaking.

"Why?" her savior asked bluntly.

Lily looked down at her fingers and played with them, feeling nervous. "M-my fa-family doesn't l-like me," Lily sadly admitted.

"Hmm," the beautiful woman hummed. Lily looked at her and saw her eyes softening, but she quickly covered them with a cold stare.

"How old are you, kid?" she asked.

"I'm 12," Lily responded.

"Did they hurt you?" she asked, looking at Lily's wounded leg.

Lily frowned but then looked down in sadness, understanding her question. Lily sniffled, wiping her nose. "A lot... T-they s-said I'm w-weak a-and t-that I d-don't d-deserve to h-have h-happiness," her voice stuttered.

"And why's that?" her savior asked and shrugged off her small jacket while keeping her eyes on Lily.

"Because I d-don't h-have a wolf," Lily answered and cried, her heart churning with nervousness as she awaited her savior's response.

Lily apprehensively looked at her, knowing the latter would leave her to die or might even kill her for being abnormal. Her savior raised her hand towards Lily's face, making her immediately shut her eyes and flinch. When the pain didn't come, Lily slowly opened her eyes and saw how the latter softly gazed at her.

Her beautiful savior then bent down, making Lily flinch again, but the former rolled her eyes and ripped her jacket, wrapping the fabric around Lily's bleeding leg.

"Next time, read before wandering off," she said, standing up and pointing towards a signboard that said: [TURN BACK!] Knowing how she almost died tonight, Lily gulped and nodded frantically.

Lily looked at her savior's attire. She wore soiled cargo pants, a pair of black boots, and a black tank top. For a moment, Lily wondered why her clothes were dirty, yet her hair was kept clean, smooth, and silky. Lily snapped back from her thoughts when her savior turned around and started to walk away. Lily hurriedly ran after her, in fear of being left alone.

"W-where are you going?" Lily asked as she limped behind.

"None of your business, kid," Her savior spoke with a cold voice.

"W-where...where will I go then?" Lily pitifully asked, her bottom lip quivering as she walked, supported by a tree branch.

"You should have considered that before running away, kid," Her savior coldly said.

"C-can I stay with you...p-please?" Lily croaked. She didn't want to be alone again. What if she saw other vicious wolves? Though she looked only a bit older than Lily, she felt safe being with her.

She suddenly came to a halt, looked over at Lily, and stared at her with an unknown expression. "No," she muttered, making Lily's heart lurch.

However, Lily followed her once more, pleaded, "Please? I promise I will be good," and flashed those adorable puppy eyes.

Her savior stopped again and huffed. "Those puppy eyes won't work on me," she pointed at Lily's eyes with an irritated look.

Lily mentally giggled. "Please? Pretty please? I promise I won't be a bother to you," Lily begged, fluttering her eyelashes.

Her savior sighed helplessly and ran her hand through her silky hair, warning her, "One complaint, and I will throw you back to those wolves." She then glared at Lily, pointing her finger at the latter's face.

Lily grinned broadly and pounced at her, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you so much," Lily squealed, wrapping her arms around her savior's waist. The latter just patted Lily's back and walked away nonchalantly. Lily smiled at her and for a moment, her savior smiled back at her before displaying a cold expression again. Lily quickly held her hand, causing her savior to stare at their intertwined hands.

"Can this get any better?" her savior muttered dryly, making Lily's smile widen.

The two then started walking away from that area. Lily was now safe with her savior, and Lily pledged to always be with her, never leaving her side. When Lily grew older, she would protect her from all kinds of evil, like how she protected her from those vicious wolves.

"What's your name, kid?" Her savior suddenly asked Lily while looking ahead.

"My name is Lily," Lily responded, to which her savior only nodded.

"You?" Lily tilted her head and looked at her, asking.

She looked down at Lily, her bangs obscuring her eyes before responding with a beautiful name, "Lunaire."