Rejected, Abused, I Fall for the Forbidden Alpha (by Riley Scott) novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Marissa POV

It feels like a lifetime before I force myself to stop. I’ve put as much distance between myself and the Shadow Pack as I possibly can. Not that Damien will care enough to come after me, but I’m not taking any chances. If anything, he should be glad I’ve rejected the mate bond. Now he’s free to pursue the woman he really loves, Alice.

So why did my heart feel so heavy when I think about that bitch being with him? Damien had done nothing but hate me when I got to his pack,, and yet, some small part of me couldn’t stop caring about him. Wanting him. was stupid of me. We’d never had a chance of having a future together, and I only had myself to blame for that.

By now he should have accepted the rejection.

That hurt more than I cared to admit.

I shifted and put on my clothes, blinking up at the sunrise, marveling in its beauty, and admiring the pink and subtle yellow tones in the sky. I couldn’t remember the last time I took a moment to appreciate my surroundings. That would change once I was free and figured out for certain if my mother was truly alive.

“If she’s alive, she’ll make her move,” I muttered, “but she has to be hiding out somewhere she thinks I don’t know about. Think, Marissa, think. The pack is gone and has been burnt to the ground. MaryAnne Sinclair is not the type to just hide out in some ruined building; she’s far too proud for that. She also has to have resources at her fingertips. Maybe she’s hiding in the coven that’s helped her?” I paused considering it. “But then what coven helped her? They would have to be relatively close by,” I thought out loud, “and with a bad reputation if they helped the likes of her. Which witches are in the area?”

Nothing came to mind. Damnit. Why was this so hard? Why had I left without forming some sort of plan?

It’s not too late to go back, my wolf whispered.

But it was. It was far too late and I had too much pride to go back to a pack, to a man who didn’t want me. I wouldn’t let myself be second best, not anymore. All my life, I’d been nothing more than a pawn, a girl to manipulate and abuse, and now I was done. I might have done horrible things but I was a changed woman, and I wanted more in life. I wanted a man to love and adore me, children, and a place to call home. Everything most people took for granted. Even if my mate turned out to be human, if they loved me, I would accept them with gratefulness.

Damien could be that person.

What a joke. Damien wanted me out of his life. Besides, did I want a mate who despised and humiliated me? He’d made his feelings for me perfectly clear.

I sat, my knees against my chest, my breathing even. I was tired, drained from running all night. Right now, I could barely keep my eyes open, but the threat of rogues possibly being near made me remain alert. Even in neutral territory you weren’t safe from the likes of them. They were ruthless, vicious, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill me but not before doing something much, much worse.

I miss our mate. You should never have rejected him. He hurt us, but he could have changed his mind. We could have changed his mind. You never gave him a chance.

I ignored the broken cries of my wolf. She was hurting and so was I, but we had to move on. Stop letting our emotions get the better of us.

I rested my head on my knees, feeling my stomach give a light growl. I would have to go hunting in my wolf form later to find food, but right now, I needed rest.

1/2

15 8

I heard the distant sound of a twig breaking, and my head shot up. It could have been a creature stepping on it but some instinct screamed at me that it wasn’t. I sniffed, but there was only dirt and pine wafting towards me. I stood up slowly anyway and scanned my surroundings.

Slow footsteps. This was no animal. But the question was, was it human or worse?

It could be a hunter, I rationalized. Somebody looking for an animal to track and kill. That didn’t comfort me though. At this time in the morning it was highly unlikely.

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