CHAPTER TWO—- Betrayal.
~RYKER~
I was on the training ground when an immeasurable amount of pain hit me, I couldn't stand, I couldn't understand what could have gone wrong, what was happening. The pain was so unbearable, that it felt like a knife had been plunged deep into my chest and was continuously twisted. After some minutes, the pain subsided.
"You okay?" Bradford's concerned voice reached my ears.
"I’m not sure, I just...” I tried to answer, but another wave of pain crashed over me, stealing my breath. I doubled over, clutching my stomach.
"What's wrong, Alpha?" A gruff voice inquired.
Scattered footsteps reached my ears, and I knew the concerned faces of the pack warriors surrounded me. I forced out a breath to push down the pain.
I gritted my teeth. “It's… nothing. Keep training," I managed to choke out. I knew that something was wrong so I decided to tap into Bradford's mind.
“Something is going on, Brad but I’m not sure.” I decided to let that hand as if I wasn’t already suspecting it. “I need to be in the pack house asap.”
His eyes flickered blue with understanding as he directed the warriors to clear the way. As they all breezed off, Brad leaned closer suspiciously.
“You don't mean…" Bradford trailed off, and I nodded. “s**t!”
I had just confirmed his suspicion and mine. His jaws went slack with shock.
"Damn it!" My eyes snapped shut as I prepared for the pain to come.
“I need to leave,” I muttered under my breath without really waiting for his response.
I breezed through the pack compound, making my way to the pack house. Thankfully, Bradford followed behind me to keep me in check. I searched the house desperately for Elly, but she wasn't there.
I closed my eyes, taking a big whiff of her faint scent while I concentrated on our bond to find her. When I opened my eyes, the trail led to the pack border, but I hesitated.
Why was she there? Stupid question! I already knew but I wanted to confirm.
"I know where she is," I informed Bradford, clenching my jaws against the pain.
"Should I accompany you?" He asked, ready to shift into his wolf.
"No, I need to handle this alone," I replied firmly, storming the forest toward the border.
As I drew closer, Elly's scent grew stronger. It encouraged me to go faster in that direction. My suspicions were further confirmed as I heard lewd sounds from her. I wasn't surprised to see her on another unscented wolf—a rogue, no less.
They were passionately making love.
Anger replaced the pain in my stomach. It boiled over. I switched back to my human form.
"Elly!" I thundered with rage.
I heard her gasp, but it faded away when she met my eyes. A smile graced her lips, one obvious to my pain.
Not only had she shattered our bond by betraying me with another wolf, but she had also violated our pack's law by associating with a rogue. I blinked when the rogue stood boldly behind Elly, daring me to challenge him.
There was nothing I wanted more than to snap his neck. I chose to ignore him, shifting my gaze from him to the one I thought cherished me as I, her.
"Elly, how could you?" I asked, surprised. Disappointed? Hurt? We’ve had our ups and downs, argued and all but never did I think she would do such a thing.
"How could I what, Ryker?" Her voice was cold as she retrieved her clothes from the ground to shamelessly advance towards me.
"You've never had time for me. You're always absent, either on the training ground or in a pack meeting. And when you're home, you're always exhausted," she accused, pausing to plant a kiss on the rogue's cheek.
He f*****g followed her everywhere. If she took a step, he did too. I scoffed, pushing down Enzo, my wolf, when he strained against my control. He desperately wanted what I wanted. To rip his head off.
Her eyes darkened. "You see, darling Ryker, I only agreed to be your Luna because I believed you would become a strong Alpha, conquering other packs. But it seems I was mistaken." She sighed dramatically. "In fact, I should have rejected you from the start, had I known you'd turn out to be such a pitiful excuse for an Alpha.” Then she grinned. “But fear not, I've found someone who truly understands the meaning of strength and knows how to cherish a woman! A warrior and a true leader." Elly finished, turning to the rogue.
When did all of these start? The rogues, her affair with him?
I felt stupid connecting the dots.
The rogue wore an agreeable smirk. "That's right, darling. Soon, we'll take control of the pack, and you, my queen, will stand by my side.”
Whatever he said after that, I didn’t listen. That was the last straw. Enzo ripped out of me in wolf form, soaked in fury. He slammed into the rouge, who had swiftly transformed into his wolf form upon witnessing my own shift as he slammed into a tree.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Elly attempting to intervene, but Enzo didn't care she was his mate. She hurt us. He flung her away with a swipe of his paw. I landed a heavy blow at the rogue, preparing to strike again when the scent of other rogues invaded my senses.
I paused. From the corner of my eyes, I could see other rogues. They had invaded my pack without knowing since I was focused on Elly and her betrayal.
Like a plan, they all jumped on me at once. Distracted by the movements around me, I didn't sense Elly’s lover behind me quickly. He rapidly sank his teeth into my shoulders, a sharp pain piercing through my side that I shook off.
A loud growl tore out of my chest. My eyes filled with rage. The rogues moved back and then I noticed Elly's lover's eye turned red, and all the other rogues stood still.
They all began dispersing into the woods,
out of my territory, while Elly followed behind, that was when I felt the sharp pain shooting through my body and my legs weakened.
“f**k!” I gritted as beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Those fuckers had injected me with silver and I couldn’t mind link Bradford which was the effect of the silver, I dragged myself as I tried to stand up but it was of no use as I stumbled on the floor, my sights growing blurry.