You Rejected Me. Remember?

“Where is your mate?” Miles asked Philip. They ended the training session for the day and were walking back to the packhouse. After a week of rest, he had joined the training sessions with the other warriors and had blended in well with the pack.

“Mate?” He huffed out, chuckling humorlessly. “She rejected me and left years ago. So I don’t have a mate.” He said and glanced at Miles.

“But why?” Miles questioned, frowning. “I mean, why did she reject you? Did she say anything?”

Philip grimaced. “Something about not accepting the mate bond. I don’t know. It has been so many years since she left. I didn’t try to look for her or anything.” He sighed and paused for some time.

“It broke my heart. It hurt like hell. But I believed that if she left me, just because she didn’t accept the sacred bond formed by our superior, then it is not my problem. She is gone and mourning over someone who didn’t want to accept me in her life was a waste of time.” He smiled, despite his aching heart. “I used my time to serve my pack.”

A moment of silence followed as they walked side by side. Nolan, Castor and Cade remained silent. They knew the topic must be painful for Philip to talk about.

Shaking his head, Philip sighed sadly.

“I have wasted my entire life. I never thought that I was assisting a heartless tyrant. What made the Red Wings pack prosper was luna, Norah. After she committed suicide, the condition of the pack quickly deteriorated.”

His face wilted as he lowered his gaze. He couldn’t say a word more about his pack or his past. It was too painful.

Cade glanced at Philip. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A prestigious pack was destroyed because of their alpha’s recklessness. Whether he believed it or not, the main reason for the downfall of the Red Wings was Alpha Baron. Even though Cade was young, he could comprehend that much.

Miles looked at Nolan and Castor. They were speechless. Monica and Philip’s life in the Red Wings pack was appalling.

“She committed suicide?” Miles asked after much hesitation.

Nodding his head, “sadly, yes. She left a note saying that she could no longer endure the pain each time he slept with other she-wolves…”

He trailed off. Miles and the others nodded in understanding. They perceived what he meant. The mate bond was a precious connection formed between two souls, and if any one of them betrayed, it would cause excruciating pain to the other half. Especially if they have completed the mating process.

“So, that must be the reason why Monica keeps telling me not to hurt her,” Cade mumbled after remaining silent for the whole time.

“She does that?” Philip asked, turning towards the young warrior to look at his solemn face.

“Yes. I keep hesitating to ask her for details. I just know that it would be horrifying.” He admitted. “The scars on her body are proof of how she was treated there.”

Philip pursed his lips. “Have you noticed the marks on her wrists?” He asked in a sombre tone.

Cade nodded. For some reason, his heart thudded in his heart. He didn’t have a good feeling about it.

“She got those when Baron chained her up in silver, in a cage in the basement of the packhouse,” Philip whispered.

A shiver ran down his spine when he recalled that day.

Gritting his teeth, Cade clenched his fists.

“I don’t know why Baron thought she deserved that punishment. She was just fifteen back then,” he sighed. “I should have done more….”

Nolan’s lips parted.

“Haven’t you thought about looking for a second chance mate?” He asked as they entered the packhouse, diverting the topic. Philip laughed, yet his laughter held no amount of excitement. It was forced.

“Second chance? Only lucky wolves get that. We all know second chances are exceptionally rare.” He smirked at Cade.

“I’m glad you and Monica have accepted each other. She deserves the best. Life hadn’t been kind to her.” He paused when he sensed that Calli, the luna of the pack, was approaching them. They had entered the packhouse and were going to have a snack before they went back to their rooms.

“Oh, so you all are back! We didn’t know Monica was a great chef!” Calli grinned from ear to ear when she saw them. She had walked out of the kitchen when she sensed the boys were returning after ending their evening training session.

Cade’s eyes lit up. “She is?” His lips crooked in a smile.

“Oh yes, she works as an expert. I and the girls gawked at her as she cast her magic in the kitchen.” Calli replied, just as Ava and Amara peeked out of the kitchen.

“Guys! Come and taste some of the food Monica has cooked. They are so aromatic.” Ava waved her hands at them.

When they walked inside, they saw that the table in the kitchen was filled with various delicacies. Beef stew with vegetables, grilled chicken with rice, and salads, in addition to chocolate pudding for dessert. The wonderful aroma of the scrumptious food made their mouths water.

Especially since they were hungry after their training session.

“Oh wow. Monica made all of these?” Cade gaped at the food, beaming widely.

When he looked at her, she was smiling at him, her cheeks flushed slightly.

“Can we eat now?” Cade exclaimed.

Laughing, “I think we are going to have our dinner early today,” Calli commented.

“If she is going to keep cooking like this, I think we will have to drag Cade out of the kitchen each time,” Miles laughed as they sat around the table.

“This is so good,” Cade ate spoonful after spoonful of rice with beef stew.

“Yeah. It is,” Amara agreed, as she chewed on the grilled chicken.

Monica felt her heart flutter. Seeing them enjoy what she cooked gave a new kind of satisfaction. No one praised her in the past. They just ate the food and left. They did not give a single gesture of gratitude. At times she wondered if she was doing it right. Nonetheless, she kept cooking for the pack members, and especially for Baron since she didn’t want to be punished.

“Maybe they liked your cooking so much that they didn’t want anyone else to do it,” she heard Asena’s remark in her head. It made her scoff internally.

Ungrateful wolves. She thought.

“How did you learn to cook like this… like a pro…” Nolan mumbled with a mouthful of food.

Smiling, “I loved cooking with mom. And after she died, I lived in the packhouse. There luna Norah was teaching me how to cook until she died,” she told them.

“But luna died a couple of months after,” Philip added. “That wouldn’t be enough for anyone to master this art.”

Monica glanced at him. “Uh…yeah. I was the pack slave, so I had to cook for the whole pack every day for the past three years. I guess that’s where I got to practice what I learnt from mom and luna Norah.”

Cade froze when he heard that. He suddenly lost his appetite. Aspen whimpered in his mind as he glanced at his mate.

“How could anyone be so cruel?” Aspen complained.

Cade swallowed hard. Sighing, he tried to force himself to eat the remaining food on his plate. No one spoke for the rest of the time. All of them went back to their rooms, secretly telling themselves to never discuss her past again.

“You are going to take a bath, right?” Monica said as they entered their room.

Cade, who was still affected by Monica’s statement, nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll be fast.” He told her.

Shrugging her shoulders Monica slumped onto the mattress and rested her back on the bed. An involuntary smile was constant on her face. Never had she thought that she would enjoy cooking. And hearing words of praise was just something else. Sighing in contentment, she closed her eyes.

“I like it here,” she mumbled to herself.

“Hey.”

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard Cade’s voice.

“Hey,” she sat up. Cade was wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms that hung right below his navel. Her eyes travelled from his face, down his bare torso and rested on his six-pack abs. Cade chuckled when he saw her lick her lips. Monica quickly looked away. Her face heated up as she covered her face with her hands.

Laughing, Cade sat beside her.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he removed her hands. “This is yours,” he told her, pointing at himself.

She g*****d, still embarrassed. Never had she thought she would act like that, but it seemed that Cade had a strange effect on her.

Cade knew that she was shy so he pulled her closer to him until she was sitting on his lap. Without uttering a word, he started to trail k****s on her face and neck, until he felt her relax. Closing his eyes, he allowed the mate bond to pull him into a reverie. The enchanting sparks of their bond continued to cast their magic on them. Before they realised what was happening, they were both lying on the bed.

Her previous embarrassment forgotten, Monica let Cade shower her with love. She craned her neck to give him more access as he lay on top of her.

“Mine,” he growled, making her shudder. Her breathing hitched and her heart raced.

“Mate,” he grumbled as he licked on her marking spot, making her gasp. A completely new feeling of pleasure spread throughout her body.

With an erratic heart, she wrapped her arms around his bare torso.

“Yes, yours,” she managed to whisper.

He ground against her, as his excitement rose.

“Damn…,” he breathed out, “I can’t wait to mark you.”

Monica gulped. She wouldn’t lie to herself. She too needed him.

“Mate, mate….” Asena kept chanting in her mind.

“I… I need you….” She gasped.

Cade hoisted himself up so that he could gaze into her face. Monica looked back at him. She meant it when she said that she needed him, and she knew Cade was holding himself back. She was ready now. Ready to be claimed by him, her mate.

Suddenly, his eyes clouded. She frowned. She knew what that meant. Cade was receiving an urgent mindlink.

“f**k!” He cursed as his excitement instantly died down.

“What is it?” Monica frowned when he hastened to get up.

“Our beta Ava has had a vision. We are in danger.” He mumbled as he quickly changed his clothes.

“Danger?” Monica’s lips parted.

“Yes. The vampires are preparing to attack. It seems she had seen them arriving at the borders. And there is no time. We must get to the borders before they come.” He urgently explained, as shortly as he could.

“But why……? The vampires?” She couldn’t understand.

“I don’t know. We better hurry. That’s what I know.” Cade replied.

“Stay in here. And don’t go out. The vampires can be extremely cunning.” He instructed and ran off, leaving Monica stunned in the room.