"Wh...whh... You can't even speak properly. I can never guess why a weakling like you is fated to him. But don't worry. I'll free both of you from this curse." Heather smirked devilishly. Her eyes showed the mark of cruelty she held inside of her.

"What are you saying? What did I do? I have never even met you. What do you want?" Ashlee's throat was drying up with every word she spoke. She didn't even want to know Heather's reasons. She was too tired to figure out why someone would hate her.

"Let me show you what I want." Heather grinned, rushing to Ashlee within a blink of an eye. Heather grabbed her by the neck, tightening her hands slowly around it.

"Ahh!!" Ashlee screamed, grasping onto Heather's wrist. Heather kept smirking, showing her teeth. She was certain she would get rid of Ashlee today and forever.

"S...Stop it." Ashlee grasped her wrist with her other hand. A tear strolled down her cheek as Heather kept tightening her hold.

All of a sudden, Ashlee's will to live and survive overwhelmed her. She clutched tightly onto Heather's wrist. Heather slowly started to lose her hold. She was astonished by what was happening.

Ashlee quickly jerked Heather's hand off of her neck, throwing her to the ground. Ashlee held onto her knees, panting faintly. She was at a loss for breath. She just wanted to go home and nothing else.

"How? What is going on?" Heather confusedly looked at Ashlee. Rapidly getting up from the ground, furiously, she ran towards Ashlee.

This time, Ashlee dodged. Ashlee could even impose the speed of Heather, which no other wolf had ever been able to.

"How are you doing this?" Heather hissed in frustration, ruffling her hair. She went for it again and hit Ashlee in the face, bruising her cheek.

Another second, Ashlee was on Heather. She turned around and stared straight into Heather's eyes. The dawn was set on fire. The red sky wasn't helping much. Ashlee's eyes glowed for a second, making her into something else.

Something no one had ever seen. How could a human's eyes glow like that? Heather stepped back, seeing the rage running through Ashlee's eyes. She was actually getting scared of her.

The wind blew with a great blow. The silence and the scream of the sky could be heard clearly. Heather again attempted to go for it. She didn't want to go home, losing to a human.

"You still think you can?" Ashlee grabbed her fist as soon as Heather tried to hit her. Ashlee was way more mysterious than the Alpha. But why?

Soon, the sky cleared, with just darkness hovering around. The wind stopped, and Heather realized she needed to go back before anyone could get suspicious about her not being around.

"I will kill you someday." She screamed, before rushing back in the other direction.

Ashlee, being unaware of how she did what she did, went on her way. She clearly wasn't in good condition. All she wanted was to lay down for a second and get some rest. She could barely breathe properly, and walking was like going through fire for her.

"Ugh!!" She growled, holding onto the bench near the road. Heather's punch and hold weren't light enough to be considered nothing. She had actually made Ashlee this vulnerable.

"I'll just rest here for a bit," she murmured before fainting slowly onto the bench with her bag under her head.

Her face wounds weren't healing as well as before. It was nothing like her Uncle's blows. It was more than that. More than any pain she had ever felt. She was sure it would heal quickly, but to her surprise, they were taking longer than expected.

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Soon, it started to pour lightly, which obviously didn't bother Ashlee. She didn't care until the rain started to drench her. She got up with the leftover energy she had.

On that heavy and thunderous night, she walked home. Fully drenched in water, dripping from every inch of her body. Fortunately, she walked alone, and nothing else happened on the way.

On the other hand, Kyle was worried about Diana. Her parents depended on him for their daughter. Being the Alpha, he would be held responsible if anything happened to her.

It was more frustrating because he didn't get to meet Ashlee today. He was worried when he realized rain was pouring heavily. 'Is she okay? Would she be taking care of herself?'

Only if he could escape a bit and go out to see her. He didn't even like her, so why would he want to see her every day?

"You don't look so good," Derion, his beta and his sister's mate, entered. He was the one and only closest friend Kyle would consider.

"I'm fine. How's Diana, by the way?" Kyle asked, rubbing his temples. Colin's healer came in time, and they were able to cure Diana. But she was taking a good time recovering.

"She will be fine in a couple of days," Derion replied, sensing that wasn't much he needed to elaborate on.

"Any clue on who brought wolfsbane here?" Kyle asked, shutting down his laptop, not getting any clue about misleading activity. He was tired but more of staying confined in the room and working like a dog.

"Not yet. But we will surely know in some time," Derion took the laptop as Kyle strolled over to the window, looking out. With his keen eyesight, he tried to place Ashlee's house. As it was far away, he couldn't reach it with his eyes.

"You know you don't have to take every single one on yourself," Derion said, making two glasses of whiskey—one for Kyle and the other one for himself.

"I do. I'm the Alpha, and it's my responsibility," Kyle replied without turning around, staring into the blank space outside in the heavy rain.

"It wasn't your fault," Derion genuinely smiled, giving him the glass of drink.

"I know," Kyle murmured, swirling the ice in the drink.

"Then believe it and go," Derion could easily guess what was running through Kyle's mind. His actions were enough to prove Derion right about his judgment.

"I can't. What are you saying?" Kyle chuckled weakly, sighing and turning back.

"I have a mate, Kyle. And I know what it feels like when you can't see your mate, can't know what they are doing and how they are doing. I can understand your feelings. Go, otherwise it would just keep getting harder on you to control yourself," Derion cleared his throat. He was stern without flicking his eyes.

"Okay. Alright." Kyle placed the drink down. "Stop acting like my mentor." Kyle playfully punched his bicep. Both chuckled, and Kyle left through the gates.

Suddenly, he sensed something hiding and running. He was the Alpha, obviously, nothing and no one could pass him. He focused a bit and caught the person in his hands, running around.

"Heather?" Kyle tilted his head slightly, bewildered. What was she doing out in the rain?

"Kyle. You caught me!" Heather nervously giggled. She wasn't wearing her normal clothes. She looked so different from before.

"What are you doing out? And what are you wearing?" He pointed to the jeans and a hoodie, which Heather would never wear. Heather liked to live as a princess. She had never worn jeans over a dress.

"I just wanted to have some fun in the rain. I didn't want to destroy my clothes, so I wore some of Diana's," Heather gave him a tight smile, still not sure if he believed her. She didn't once think about what she had done to Ashlee.

"Okay. I think you should stay with Diana. Being a friend, you do have some responsibility towards your friend's life." Kyle smiled while explaining to her. He had always treated her like a little girl who was immature. He hadn't even realized yet that Heather had been missing the whole day.

"Where are you going?" Heather asked, putting on an innocent face.

"Just for some business," Kyle replied, knowing she didn't like him having a human mate. And the fact that he put that in her mind was more embarrassing than that.

"Come back safe. I'll wait inside." Heather just wanted to get away from him, fearing that he would read her mind. As soon as Kyle nodded, she ran inside.

"That was so close," she panted, putting a hand on her chest, controlling her breathing. She went to her room. Changing into her normal clothes, she went to look for Diana.

"I never thought it would affect her this much, she can't even take a mere wolfsbane. He should keep her immune strong, I told her many times. She just won't listen," Heather kept murmuring to herself all the way down to Diana's room.

Kyle reached Ashlee's house with excitement to see her. His thoughts were all over how she would react seeing him outside her door. 'What if she remembers me changing into the wolf?'

He reached her door and entered, only to see the whole area wet with water everywhere. Ashlee was drenched, lying lifelessly on the couch. Her bag, which she probably dragged, was also placed beside her.

Kyle's feet stopped for a minute. He just couldn't rephrase what he saw. Then he realized it was all real and went to Ashlee.

"Ashlee!" He shouted, shaking her gently and trying to wake her up.