CHAPTER Four

Immediately after Alpha Liam left, Nicole fell to the ground shuddering and gulping in air. That was the most intense moment of her life. What the hell did that devilishly handsome man have over her? Why was her body melting under his touch and gaze even after he had said the worst words anyone has said to her in a long time?

"Breathe in, breathe out, " she huffed, fanning her hot face.

He also made the most ridiculous statement she had heard in a while. What did he mean by she was going home with him?

He may be the Alpha, the most ruthless Alpha known to the werewolf kind, but Shane was her mate. Despite the disparaging treatment he was giving her, she was still his. They were fated mates.

"Just breathe," she muttered to herself and placed her hands on her beating heart to calm it.

She didn't know why despite all the assuring words and thoughts she was giving herself, she felt afraid. Her body trembled, her heart thrashed within her chest, and how her wolf was going crazy in her subconscious.

"There she is," a snarky voice hissed, as the door to her dressing room floor opened.

She was taken aback by this suddenness and moved further away from the door.

"Where have you been? Do you not know that Alpha Shane has been looking for you all over the place? Have you forgotten your duties as Luna of Crimson?"

Nicole released a breath she didn't know she was holding and gathered herself to her feet.

She looked at her intruder for the first time and it was one of the omegas he'd been with.

Nicole rolled her eyes, then stared at her reflection in the mirror, pretending to ignore the young girl.

"Bitch are you listening to me? Are you deaf or are you dumb? Alpha Shane has requested that you be at his side immediately. And you are ignoring me!" She ranted,

Scoffing, Nicole continued to pretend like she was adjusting her face.

The young werewolf growled,

"You're cocky huh? You are cocky because you know I can't do anything to you right now. Well, watch what happens after the party."

With that, she stomped out of Nicole's dressing room and flung the door close.

It took Nicole a whole lot of self-control to keep herself from bursting out into laughter. She always enjoyed putting those nasty girls in their places. Even though she knew the repercussions would be dire.

She chose not to worry about that now and even ignore Shane. She allowed herself to fall into the comfy couch in her dressing room and then exhale.

The past few days had been a total bliss for her. Shane had been too busy with his grand party and she had been lurking in the shadows and avoiding him completely.

"Ugh," she groaned. "All this will be over when the ruthless Alpha Liam returns to his pack."

She massaged her temples with her eyes shut, wishing that by some miracle something would happen and extend his stay. At least that way, she would have a couple more days of freedom.

At the thought of alpha Liam, a delicious shiver snaked up her spine, causing her to sit upright immediately.

Why was the mere thought of him making her body react like that?

She laughed grimly as she remembered his threats.

He was not only rude and wicked but also out of his mind. Because why would a normal-thinking person believe or even threaten to take away the Luna of a pack?

It was hilarious and if she wasn't so pissed off at him, she would have laughed harder. Her ears picked up the sound of thundering footsteps heading toward the dressing room and she jumped to her feet immediately.

"Nicole!" Shane growled, flinging open the door.

"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing inside here when I summoned you about an hour ago?"

Nicole's eyes went around with fear. Her heartbeat became regular and her breathing became labored.

"I-I," she started, shifting slowly until she was leaning on the dresser.

Shane sneered, the veins on his neck looked like they were about to bust open. He balled his fists, pushed away the chair in front of her, and growled at her.

"How dare you bitch? How dare you disregard me! How many times do I have to warn you about your disrespect to me? Do you think I will not find out? The girl I sent told me everything. You called her names, you called me names and you dare to stand here and stare me in the eyes!

"I see you've begun to develop wings again. Because I've been busy for the past few days, do you think you are now free? Have you forgotten so soon how you are here? stupid bitch!"

Nicole could barely breathe. Her fingernails dug into her palms as she fisted them. Sweat broke out from her forehead and her legs trembled beneath her.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, her hands flying to her trembling lips.

Shane laughed maniacally, his eyes flashed from gold back to their normal color.

"You should win an award for best in pretending, swine!"

He swung his arms and gave her a heavy smack that sent her crashing into the mirror behind her.

"Next time I call you, answer," He snarled, hitting her again before she could recover.

This time around she fell to the floor whimpering. A burst of pain ripped through her body. Her eyes began spinning and she curled up as stinging tears seeped out of her eyes.

"I would have pummeled you if not for the party!" He panted, and sweat dripped out from his face. "Get the fuck up from the floor, clean yourself up, and join me at my table!"

With that, he stormed off. As soon as the door closed. Nicole broke into silent tears. Her wolf raged within her. She tried getting to her feet but fell back to the floor.

The door swung open again and a couple of chittering omegas came in. Immediately they saw her sprawled on the floor, they laughed hysterically.

"I knew he was going to deal with her rightly," One mocked,

"Come on, get up bitch." Another one said as they pulled her up and dumped her on the chair.

"Ugh, I hate this, why do we always have to be the ones to clean her up?" Another one grumbled.

"Shut up and let's do this,"

Nicole winced as they dabbed and cleaned the cuts on the visible parts of her body, then forcefully applied makeup to conceal the healing wounds. Anger and pain brimmed within her, but she sat stiff as they worked on her body.

"Stupid bitch, always making us go through shit," one said, internationally stabbing the wound on her arm.

Nicole let out a soft whimper and snatched her arm away from her. Her eyes were turning black and red again. Nicole's wolf fought for control because Shane wasn't around.

She bared her teeth at the Omega releasing a low growl that made the girl jump back. No matter what she was still the Alpha's mate and Luna of Crimson, so even if Shane treated her like shit, she still had power over them.

At the sound of her growl, they all stepped back and stared wide-eyed at her. Nicole's wolf fed into fear oozing out from their body. It strengthened and soon it snapped control out of Nicole's grasp.

Nicole snarled, clutching her injured arm. Her wolf stared at each omega from its red and black eyes. This was the first time it had been in control in a long time. Shane had always made sure to compel it to stand down. It wanted blood. It wanted to tear out the skins of the stupid omegas. It wanted to escape and run free in the forests.

Knowing what would happen and the repercussions it would bring Nicole fought to gather control again.

"Get out!! "She growled, banging her hands on the dresser as she shook her head to push her wolf back in and take control.

The girls hobbled out of the dressing room, shivering like drenched dogs.

As soon as the door closed, Nicole leaned back into the chair and exhaled.

Her heart began thrashing in her chest. If she didn't follow suit immediately, they would report her to Shane and she would receive a worse punishment.

With an effort she pushed herself up, almost losing her balance. As soon as she tried to move her feet, pain shot up her leg.

"Fuck," she hissed, closing her eyes and leaning into the dresser, as the searing pain throbbed in her left leg. She pried open one of her eyes to inspect the leg.

"Fuck," She hissed again, knowing that she needed to move quickly. Biting her lip she took another step and let out a piercing scream.

She sucked in the air as the pain latched onto her chest and squeezed it. After a few minutes, she regularized her breathing and managed to take another step toward the door.

It hurt as much as the first but she pushed forward, limping until she held onto the door knob.

Sucking in the air again, she twisted the door and allowed her face to slip into that of a calm, perfect, reserved, and fulfilled Luna. Although her mind was about to explode she navigated the corridors until she got to the main hall and located Shane's table.

On seeing him, fury lashed in her chest. There he was smiling and impressing the members of the Dark Moon Pack, after beating her.

The worst part about her situation was having to smile and pretend to be Luna of Crimson when she was worse than a slave.

"So tell me, Shane, how do you keep your enemies at bay? Do you sign treaties with everyone?" A familiar voice asked.

Nicole stopped in her tracks and held her breath. Her senses began blaring horns as Alpha Liam suddenly materialized beside Shane, with mischievousness gleaming in his eyes.

Nicole saw Shane grimace at his question. It was a trick question as well as an insult. Shane's eyes quickly swept across the room in search of a quick escape.

Coward. Nicole mused.

"Awww, there she is!" Shane cooed, standing up, drawing her into his arms, and fiercely kissing her.

His rough arms pierce into the wounds he'd created earlier causing her to whimper.

But that wasn't the only thing Nicole noted.

Why did Shane's kiss repulse her so much? He was her mate and despite the cruel treatment she'd received from him all this while, her body always pined for his touch.

Then why did a certain man flash in her mind as her mate rough-handled her in the name of PDA? Why'd she feel the eyes of that certain man boring into her skin as she held her mate?

Something was very wrong everywhere.