Freeing Starr

His eyes glowed brightly as he suddenly growled and turned away from me, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

I could instantly feel his murderous emotions and fidgeted nervously, shifting my gaze to the tiled floors beneath my feet.

"You can't kill him," I murmured.

I tensed when I felt his gaze shift to me again, "are you defending the bastard?"

I bit my lip nervously.

"Are you?" He asked again.

I sniffled and wiped at my eyes, shaking my head, "it's too late. I'm already tainted. We should hurriedly reject each other and get it over with."

"Why should I reject you?"

I froze, not sure that I heard him right and asked, "what?"

His eyes stared into mine intensely, "why should I reject you?"

I stuttered in disbelief, "I'm mated to another wolf!"

He tilted his head to the side as if he couldn't understand what I was getting at, "you are but you don't want to be, am I right? The fear in your eyes, the hatred and don't tell me you don't hate the bastard because I can feel it. You can't hide from me. So now that I've found you, I have no intention of letting you go. I need you."

My heart trembled at his words and I lowered my eyes to stare at my feet, "but I'm tainted."

"So am I."

A bitter smile tilted my lips, "is it because I'm a dominant alpha female? Is that why you still want me?"

A snort escaped his lips as he crossed his arms, "don't insult me. Right now, you're not giving off the air of an Alpha much less a dominant one. I can find many of your kind to mate with if I so desired. If you're really looking for a reason, I'll be honest. I grew up in a family where soulmates are treasured. We don't believe in choice mates and never have we taken a choice mate so I disdain to do so. You were made for me and so you are mine."

"What if your mate was an omega? Then you won't be able to have a strong heir right? I know most Alphas want to keep their bloodline dominant."

Before I even realized it, he was already in front of me, his hand forcing my chin up to look him in his eyes that swirled with what seemed to be honesty, "that's the funny thing about fate. You never know what comes out of the box once it's open but that doesn't mean you should avoid opening the box either way. What's meant to be yours will be yours. What isn't, shouldn't be. If an Alpha gets an omega as a mate then that means he doesn't amount to much and will never amount to much in life. That's my take on it. Of course, if you were an omega, I'd still mate you. I'm confident that my bloodline will pull through for me. That is my pride as an Alpha male. What's yours?"

What's yours?

My mind reeled at his question and my heart moved at the prospects before me.

What is my pride as an Alpha female? What is my bottom line? Even if I'm weak, I had to have one right? So what was it?

For the first time in my life, I felt the strong desire to search for the person I was beyond all this fear and anxiety and treasure her like no one else could.

I took a deep breath and muttered cautiously, "are you gonna force me to leave with you?"

"I..." His eyes suddenly clouded over, indicating that someone had mind linked him. When his eyes cleared, they were filled with reluctance, "I have somewhere to be but I will be back and by then you should have your things packed and ready to leave... with me."

My eyes widened in surprise as he shot me a pointed gaze, leaned up and began heading towards the door leading out of the apartment.

"I still don't know who you are," I called out to him weakly.

He paused for a second, "You'll know when I get back.... as for your previous question. I'd never force you to do anything you don't want to... you'll come to me on your own even if I have to make it happen myself."

Then he left the apartment and closed the door behind him.

I stood there awkwardly, staring at the door as if I could still see his figure, my mind a mess of confusion and my heart a river of emotions.

My wolf was silent, uncertain what we should do in a situation like this. We found our soulmate and despite knowing that we were mated to another man he's still willing to be with us... what should I do?

And Zion...

As I mentioned him, I got snapped right back into focus as I thought of his blank face I'd have to face when I go back to the pack. The punishments he'd dish out.

If I go back...

Should I go back?

I... did I really love him? I don't know anymore. Was what we have even considered love? The constant beatings... being looked down on...

But how was I sure that this man would be any different? I was hopeful when I realized I was leaving my father, only to have that hope crushed and broken when I ran into Zion. How was I sure it wouldn't be the same thing all over again?

I thought back on the words he said before he left and frowned.

"You'll come to me on your own even if I have to make it happen myself."

What in the world did he mean by that?

I sighed and ran a hand down my face, exhausted. Everything was just one shitshow after the other. I needed a break.

I went and turned the door to make sure that I wasn't locked in and sighed in relief when it opened. Then I left and headed back to my room, opening my room door to find Nadia, sprawled out on the bed reading a newspaper.

I smiled weakly at her, "read anything good?"

She glanced over at me and smiled, "just local news, nothing too exciting."

I nodded and laid down on my bed, throwing my hand over my eyes and sighed.

My emotions were in disarray at the moment. I had no idea what to do.

A shadow loomed over me and I moved my arm to look up at Nadia's worried eyes, "are you okay?"

I nodded, "I just have a headache."

"I'll go downstairs and get you some pain killers then. Stay here," she said, then left me to my conflicted thoughts.

I'll probably have to stay more than one day here considering the situation. I need time to think through this carefully. I can't just keep jumping from one abuser to the next, I'd just be killing myself.

An hour later and Nadia was nowhere to be seen, but I didn't pay too much attention to that. She could've gotten side tracked. I turned the TV on and lazily browsed through it, trying to distract myself from everything else.

It was after another two hours that I began to worry when Nadia didn't come back yet. I hurriedly left the room to go and look for her.

I first looked around on the first floor then asked the receptionist if she's seen her before going to knock on Michael and Alex's room door.

Michael opened the door with a greeting smile, "Luna, has our shift started again?"

"Have you seen Nadia?"

His smile dropped as his eyebrows furrowed, "Did she leave her room?"

I nodded, "she said she was going to get me some painkillers but it's been over four hours now so I'm getting a bit worried."

Michael looked over his shoulder, "Yo Alex! Nadia's missing! We gotta go find her!"

"I'm coming!"

A few minutes later, we were running along every floor and asking others if they've seen her but no one had any idea where she was.

My heart was near ready to leap out my chest as my anxiety and nervousness grew. I couldn't help my thoughts as I considered maybe Zion came back early and found out that we weren't at home. What if he tracked us here? What was I supposed to do? And what about my mate?

Dread was weighing heavy on my shoulders.

I sent Michael and Alex outside to look while I continued searching the premises. We came up empty handed.

The sky had already darkened and I didn't see any sign of Nadia... or my mate for that matter... although I wasn't too concerned about him at the moment.

Michael, Alex and I were in our rooms sitting on the beds brainstorming of where she could've possibly wondered off to.

I already confirmed that it wasn't Zion. If it was, he'd have come for me next and have dragged the both of us back to the pack. The fact that he hadn't made an appearance suggested that he wasn't involved, thankfully.

"Maybe she ran away?" Alex suggested.

I frowned, "how could she? She didn't leave with anything besides a couple dollars. I don't think she'd simply run away."

Alex shrugged, "maybe she thought you'd change your mind and kill her. I wouldn't feel comfortable around you either knowing I'm carrying your man's child that he cheated on you to get."

Michael elbowed him and hissed, "dude what the fuck?"

Alex rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "well it's not like it's not obvious. You can smell the Alpha pup and Alpha Zion's scent on her. Anyone with brains can deduce what happened." He turned his appreciative eyes to me, "I commend you for your excellent control, Luna. Most Alphas I know would've torn the woman apart by now."

I sighed and ran a hand down my face, "she's innocent."

Michael hesitated as he opened his mouth then slammed it shut as if he'd changed his mind.

"What?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "it's nothing. I just wanted to point out that in most cases mates are paired by compatibility. If Zion is the way he is now... his mate's innate nature should either compliment him or be exactly like him."

"So what are you saying?" I asked.

He shook his head with a grmiace.

Alex butted in, "he's saying that Nadia shouldn't be trusted, Luna. You should be careful around her."

I pursed my lips as I thought back on my interactions with Nadia. It's true that I did sense a few odd vibes every once in a while but she seemed like a genuinely sweet girl. Even if she wasn't though, wasn't this trip planned to get rid of her completely? I'd sleep much better at night once all of this was over.

The door to the room opened and the woman we was just discussing walked in with a gentle smile on her face and a plastic bag filled with groceries in hand.

All three of us stood up in surprise and I immediately approached her to scan her body and pat her down for injuries.

"Where in the world have you been!? I've been looking all over for you!"

She smiled guiltily while peeking over me and at the boys, "did you guys wait up for me? I'm sorry for the trouble. I went to the grocery store next door to buy some stuff and then I met someone who wanted to show me around town."

I frowned, "what? What about my painkillers? And what someone? You went with a complete stranger?"

She shuffled through her grocery bag and took out the painkillers before handing them to me with an apologetic look on her face, "I'm sorry it took me that long. It was a kind old lady that was so insistent that I couldn't possibly refuse. After our walk around the neighborhood she took me to her house to get dinner then let me go. I really am sorry that I worried you guys but I'm fine. Really."

Unease blanketed my entire body as I sensed that something was off but no matter how many questions I asked, Nadia completely brushed them off.

It took another half an hour before Michael and Alex called it a night then left.

I used the shower to clean myself up then borrowed one of Nadia's shirts to sleep in. As I sat there on the bed, looking over at Nadia who was already tucked in with her back facing me, I frowned as my feeling of unease grew.

"Are you sure you're OK?" I asked worriedly.

She turned around and smiled gently at me, "Starr, you're too sweet you know that right?"

I pursed my lips, "Is that what this is? Me being sweet? I don't see it that way."

She giggled, "well you are and I'm fine. We should go to sleep."

I nodded and tucked myself under my comforter, closing my eyes. My sense of unease grew as I felt her eyes on me.

Eventually, her breaths began to even out and she fell asleep. I fell asleep soon after.

A few hours into my sleep, my heart grew vigilant as my wolf coaxed me out of sleep anxiously, expressing her feeling of danger looming. As I slowly began to wake up, the silence grew louder to the point where I could hear a pin drop.

My body stiffened as I heard the slight breathing of someone right next to me.

My eyes snapped open.