Rejected by Alpha, Claimed by Beast

01. The escape…

“What do you mean the f*****g b***h escaped?” Alpha Jacob stormed out of his office, throwing the door against the wall. He was sure it cracked the wood as he left. Behind him followed his beta and three warriors who had just announced the missing prisoner.

Alpha Jacob briskly walked to the holding cell in the dungeon. He kept her in the furthest, one on the lowest level. Where the violent rogues and prisoners sentenced to death would stay.

His anger and rage shook the walls as he stormed down the corridors. The smell of urine, blood, feces, and death coated the walls as he walked. He loved visiting his dungeons. He loved the scent of death. This is what got him hard in the mornings, just the thought of killing. No one understood what absolute pleasure he got from visiting her every night.

When Alpha Jacob reached the empty holding cell, he turned immediately to the posted guards on that floor. His eyes burned red with rage. The guard shrunk before him in fear. Everyone knew this was his favourite toy.

“How?” he growled, causing the guard to tremble even further.

“ Alpha, I—“

Before the guard could finish, his heart was ripped out of his chest by Alpha Jacob. His beta and the three Warriors who reported the missing prisoner all stared. The warriors' jaws dropped in absolute stunned fear and disbelief.

“No one takes what’s mine!” Alpha Jacob turned to his beta, his eyes still burning crimson red. Although his beta has been with him for years, he knows enough to take a step back.

“Find her! Do not return until you do!”

With that, Alpha Jacob stormed out of the dungeon. Blood was still dripping from his hand that he had used to impale his guard with.

***

The branches in the bushes dug deep into her arms, but she didn’t stop to check her wounds. No, she didn’t have time. She knew he’d be looking for her. Although she was weakened from all the beatings and the assaults, and although she had no wolf to communicate with, she knew she needed to push harder. He would be looking for her soon. If not already.

She knew the traces of her blood on those thorns in the bushes would lead him this way, but she didn’t have time to worry about that. No, she needed to keep pushing. That became her mantra as soon as she managed to find her way out of the cell.

She wasn’t even sure her plan would work, but not all the guards were terrible. Some of them felt sadness for her, and some of them respected the mate bond. Not all of them cared about status, not like their alpha did.

She managed to befriend a few of the guards enough that they would let their guard down. She’d been planning this escape for months. Slowly, she built a rapport with a few of the guards. They would sneak her food when she wasn’t supposed to be given any and sneak her in some water. They truly helped her maintain her wits and strength for this great escape. She knew that if she failed, there would not be another chance to escape him.

She had to keep pushing! She could call her family if she could find her way out of his pack. If she could reach her father, the beta from her original pack, he would come and save her. Her family, to this day, thinks that she is in a loving, mate relationship. They were all fooled, just as she was.

As she navigated through the forest of Mountain Run Pack territory, she paid close attention to her direction. This was unfamiliar territory. Without her wolf to guide her senses, she could very well end up turning around, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

After her monstrous mates' abuse last night, the guard she befriended did quick work to nurse her back to health, well, as best as you could, with a dying wolf unable to assist.

They managed to give her first aid to her wounds and food and water. They gave her an injection. At first, she thought it was more wolfsbane, but it was a pain reliever. That is what’s currently fueling her escape right now.

They accidentally left her cell door open, managing to wedge a hinge to make sure it appeared accidental.

The broken hinge would appear as though her mate, Alpha Jacob, had inadvertently done it when he had stormed in on one of his many visits, making the busted hinge finally faulty. That was the hope, anyway.

This was indeed her only chance. If he found her, he would surely kill her. Honestly, if she’d failed in her escape, then she wanted to die. His abuse was more than she could survive any longer, especially without her wolf’s strength. She had been trapped in that awful cell for nearly three months now.

She regrets that she had begged her father to allow her to travel before she took a serious role in her career within the pack.

She was always studious and focused on her career path to enjoy parties or live the typical teen life. She saw it's adverse effects it had on her two siblings' lives and the strain it caused initially. When they each found their mates, she didn’t want that.

She wanted her mate to be proud of her for all her life’s adventures together.

Her sister was always a popular she-wolf with many friends, as well as many ex-boyfriends and lovers. Her mate was a respectable, elite council member's son; he hated the image his mate presented and almost rejected her. Thankfully, he didn’t, but they had a rough start.

Her brother was no better at not making an uncomfortable mess. Being the future beta of their pack, he slept around… A lot. Even against their parent's wishes, he took a long-term girlfriend, and when he finally found his maid, his girlfriend wasn’t willing to step aside easily. His girlfriend wanted the status his position within the pack would’ve offered her, which nearly ended his bond with his mate. His girlfriend’s greed and his blind stubbornness to see the truth had almost cost him all he originally wanted.

Rebecca wanted none of that, so she hid in the background and earned a career instead of a reputation.

She was trying to be a historian. She always wanted to be an official pack historian. It was a role of honour and absolute knowledge. Her grades and focus earned her acceptance into a very limited program, and in the end, she made her parents and Alpha pair proud.

Oh, that is lost now. She allowed her siblings to tease her enough, which led her to convince her parents that she should take one trip to experience freedom before she became a responsible adult. Now, she’s lost her freedom entirely. She misses her family every day.

As a tear rolled down her cheek at the thought of her family, a branch snapped only feet from her; this broke from her thoughts and pushed her to continue.

Following that branch snapping sound, she could hear a distinctive and angry Alpha howl not much further away.

She had been running for hours; she had to be close to the border limits by now. Without a wolf, though, she’d never have known. She wouldn’t be able to sense the borderline; for all she knew, she could’ve even already passed it.

Water! She thought immediately.

There had to be a source of running water somewhere. This would mask her scent trail, but where? Every pack in North America had a source of running water going through it. It was a necessity for shifters.

She could hear wolves in the distance, which all sounded terrifying. She pushed herself off the tree, temporarily leaning on it and ran harder.

***

Alpha Jacob was fueled by absolute rage. How dare she defy him! He had no idea how she escaped the cell, but he didn’t care; everyone would be punished for this oversight.

He was going too easy on her. Last night's abuse should have subdued her, but she managed to escape. Someone had to have helped her. They would all suffer because of this.

His wolf, Tank, was beyond enraged. His mate tried to reject him first, and now she was trying to run. Not a chance. She’d be lucky to be able to walk after he collected her, much less survive. Tank didn’t want to kill his mate, though. No, that would weaken him. He wanted her to be subservient in every possible way. That was how a mate treated her alpha.

Jacob didn’t want a weak nerd with average physical looks as a mate, but he wanted his wolf happy- so he would keep her locked away.

He was using her when he felt the urge for s****l release or anger to vent.

Once they break her completely this time, he could take his chosen wife and lock away his true mate to keep Tank, his wolf, happy. If she dies in any of the assaults planned in the future, then they would have the backup of a chosen mate to mark and preserve Tank's strength.

Alpha received a mind link from one of his trackers, telling him he was close to the runaway. Alpha Jacob then released a terrifying roar of a howl, signifying his men to follow his lead.

As he ran in the direction of his tracker, he smirked. He found her. And he would make sure that she regretted ever choosing to try and escape again.