Chapter 2

Leah Pov

I woke up with a sharp cry in the small room allocated to me in the pack. 

The pack members of the Darkwater pack never looked beyond the obvious physical weakness of my wolf, concluding I was of no use to the pack with such a wolf, and thereby not worth any position in the pack. 

This lack of position was one of the reasons I was given a smaller room.

People who were useful to the pack in one way or the other got the better rooms and better everything. 

I sat up, my right hand automatically going to my chest to massage it, my body still reeling from the rejection pain. 

I should have known Thomas would do this to me, he was after all very ambitious, which was one of the things that had drawn me to him in the first place. 

And the events of the past few days should have been enough warning for me to tell that my usefulness had come to an end. 

In my usefulness, I helped put him on the Alpha seat, and since he got what he wanted, that was the end of me and any relationship we ever had. 

I was now as useless to him, as I was to the rest of the pack. 

A loud sob pushed at my throat, trying to erupt and leave me a sniveling mess of tears and heartbreak, but I forced it down by sheer force of will. 

I refused to cry again. I refused to cry over that bastard, Thomas, and now I would show him why nobody should cross me ever again. I would show him that I was not weak, and should not be cast aside, no matter the strength of my wolf. 

I jumped off the bed and hurried to the small cupboard I kept hidden in a small hole at the side of my room. 

I discovered the hole one day while cleaning, and it was where I hid the tiny cupboard that housed all my magic instruments and herbs. 

I pulled back the tattered carpet covering that side of the room, opened the hole covering, and removed my magic cupboard. 

Taking the ingredients I wanted out of it, I began to prepare it, chanting softly under my breath, as I mashed them together in a small earthen bowl, till the ingredients started to glow slightly. 

Now, all I needed to do was get close to him. 

****

"What the actual fuck!" Thomas shouted, his voice raised in shock and alarm, as he wrestled me to the ground. 

He had startled awake as I leaned over him, my hands reaching for him. 

I kept on struggling on the floor, trying to pull my arms from his hold, but he tightened his hold further. 

"What the fuck are you doing here, Leah?" He asked, angrily. 

Looking down at me, he noticed the almost transparent white shift I was wearing, and laughed cruelly, his dark eyes taking on a lewd look. 

Whatever he was thinking of, I wanted no part of it, so I struggled earnestly, pulling at my arms anew. 

"Did you come here to seduce me? Then you shouldn't have been such a bitch all those times I told you to let us have sex," He announced, then snorted derisively, as he mimicked, "No Thomas, let's wait, Thomas, we will be mates soon, and we can do it on our mating night," 

"Well, tonight is more than good enough for me, since you came to me yourself. I will take what we both want, then you can get the fuck out of my life. What do you say, Leah?" He asked, one of his hands gripping my slender wrists tightly, while the other hand reached for my left breast, squeezing it painfully, as he rubbed his nether region slowly on my hip, his legs and thighs trapping mine to the ground. 

"I will only do that in your grave, you bastard. Let me go!" I shouted, still struggling.

If I didn't get out of here, this bastard might end up raping me. Being forcefully taken by him would break me in a way I wasn't sure could be easily mended. 

As I pushed myself against him to throw him off, the small leather pouch I was holding caught his eyes. 

"What is this? Did you come to kill me with your witch magic?" He asked, his voice hardening. 

No, no. He mustn't see what was inside or I was doomed. 

I gripped the pouch tighter, as he removed his hand on my breast, pulling the pouch hard from me, and opened it to peer inside.  

"Herbs… Hmmm. What? Hair! What are strands of my hair doing with you, Leah? Do you want to curse me?" 

He looked up at my sudden stillness, his eyes widening in realization. 

"You want to curse me! You bitch!" Thomas threw the pouch to the side, punching me so hard in the face, I saw bright shining lights that left my head ringing. 

Rising from my body, he pulled me up alongside him, and dragged me out the door by the hair, my scalp smarting at the pain as he mindlinked the guards to call their attention. 

****

"Leah Grey, you are banished from this pack, and you must not be seen anywhere near this territory or you'll be killed on sight" I kept hearing the pronouncement of the Darkwater pack council in my head, as I walked and walked and walked. 

It's been four days now since I was banished from my pack, and I've been wandering, with no real destination to go to, my stomach throbbing with hunger, my body tired, and my heart empty. 

Seeing a huge tree in the distance, I dragged my tired body to it, slumping on the tree, as my consciousness slid into darkness. 

"We found her lying unconscious inside our pack boundaries, Alpha," I heard a male voice say, as I dragged myself out of the darkness that seemed to want to pull me back in. 

Where was I? I wondered as I opened my eyes, to find myself lying on a cold floor, my arms and feet bound tightly.

"We don't have any need for her here and she feels too weak to be from a rival pack, sent to spy on us. Whatever she is, I don't want to deal with it for now, you know how important the coming days are, so take her back to the boundary and throw her out. Make sure she doesn't find a way back in, or you lose your lives," A deep male voice commanded. 

"Yes, Alpha," a few voices chorused in answer.

Who were they? I wondered groggily, as I saw a hand reach out to grip my arm, dragging me up as I was pulled towards the exit, my legs weak from the hunger and days of walking, unable to support my body properly. 

We were almost at the door, when it opened suddenly, banging against the wall, as a woman ran into the room, tears pouring rapidly down her cheeks. 

"Alpha! Alpha! She's dying. Princess Anne is dying!" She said in a sob, as she stopped in front of a broad-shouldered male, who stood up from where he was seated immediately at her words, his face blanching. 

"What's wrong? What's wrong with my daughter?!" He shouted, grabbing the woman by her arms, and giving her a hard shake. 

"She consumed some sort of poison, Alpha, and the healers say they have no cure for it, and she will die in the next hour if nothing is to be done," 

At her words, the broad-shouldered male fell back into his chair, his shock and disbelief obvious on his face. 

Snapping his head up, his hazel eyes agonized, he gestured to his men. 

"I want three of you to leave immediately. Go to the nearest pack and seek for a solution. Beg, batter for it if you have to. My daughter must not die!"

The male holding my arm continued to drag me towards the door, intent on obeying his Alpha's command to throw me out, so he could join the others to look for a solution for their princess. 

"I can do it. I can save her" I spoke up suddenly, shocked at myself.

What was I doing? I shouldn't call attention to my magic, but I couldn't continue like this too. I needed to survive. 

At my words, the Alpha turned to look at me. 

"You had better not be jesting with me, or your life will be forfeit," He warned, his eyes flashing gold of his wolf. 

"I can help her Alpha, just give me a chance to, and before you men find someone to help her, it might already be too late," I stated weakly. 

I couldn't continue the way I've been these past four days. I needed food and some basic necessities. I hadn't been allowed to take anything from my old pack, forced to leave empty-handed without even food or extra clothing. And if I helped the Alpha, he might have pity on me and provide me with some food or even let me stay here for some days too. 

"OK. You, " The Alpha said, pointing to the one holding me upright by the arm. 

"Take her to the princess quarters, and make sure you provide her with everything she needs. Everything." Shifting his eyes back to me, he warned. 

"You had better save my daughter, or you will not leave this pack alive,"