Three days earlier…

Kirstin’s P. O. V

I couldn’t believe it.

The omega was dead?

I had been walking into the living room when I overheard Brittany scorn the omega for her death and how weak she was to have been killed by a bear.

“She’s a werewolf for goodness sake – or at least half. And to think she claimed her biological father is my dad. What a disgrace. Any werewolf worth their salt wouldn’t lose to a bear.” She’d said then cackled.

‘No,’ I thought, ‘she can’t be dead. My shot at revenge can’t be dead.’

‘Why don’t we check for ourselves?’ Gracine, my wolf, asked. I agreed but first, I had to do something in case the news wasn’t true. I pivoted around and crept to Kylie’s room careful not to catch anyone’s attention. As luck would have it, the corridor her room was on was vacant. I opened and closed the door as quietly as possible, wary of werewolf ears.

I didn’t have to look long for what I needed. I picked the letter up and quickly read it. Even though it wasn’t addressed to me, the contents made me shudder. Intense.

Despite that, it made me grin. Good, someone else was out for her blood too.

If she wasn’t dead, that is.

I placed the letter back the way I found it and left the scene, praying that I’d been over enough for Kylie not to notice the strength of my scent. I bolted outside, avoiding everyone I could and making myself as inconspicuous as possible to those I couldn’t. I rushed to the edge of the forest and closed my eyes. Breathing deeply, I connected with the forest before me.

It was extremely rare for a werewolf to be gifted. A gift to a werewolf was a special ability or power that was outside the usual perks that came with being a one. While not unheard of, only one in every few hundred werewolves was likely to be gifted. I was one of those few.

My gift was that, if I connected enough with a place, person or thing, I would be shown their view of the past. I’d planned on telling my mate first but… you know how that went.

I deepened my connection with the forest. Show me the last female werewolf who did not shift.

A heart wrenching scene played in my mind. I saw the omega limp towards the border and collapse. I watched with dismay as she tried to get up, only to fall back down, screaming. I covered my ears along with her in an attempt to block out the blood curdling sound she emanated then sighed with relief when she stopped, probably due to loss of consciousness. From the intensity of her screams, I could tell the pain she was in surpassed even my rejection pain, including when Harry marked and mated the bitch Kylie – and I was talking about a girl who never made a sound, shed a tear or lost consciousness during the brutal beatings she’d received daily when she was still in the pack.

For her to have screamed so loud, in such pain, with so much despair and agony… I never wanted to feel anything like that.

I fast forwarded to when she got up and limped across the border and into the forest. Even with a limp, her speed could have matched that of an uninjured werewolf of considerable status. I continued to fast forward, skimming her journey to where she slept, her conversation with her wolf, her trip back to the border and the gap between when she strayed too far for the forest to see and when she re-entered the forest.

I stopped when she arrived at a river. I listened to her mental conversation and watched as she created her ‘death scene’ then continued her run. I noticed her rapid recovery and break-neck speed. If it weren’t a mental replay, my eyes wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her speed of light movements. It wasn’t normal werewolf speed. I doubted that even the royal family of werewolves would have been able to keep up with her. In addition to that, she had enough strength to throw that rabbit carcass several miles.

Apologizing was suddenly my top priority once I found her. Her bad side was the last place I wanted to be. Likewise for the rest of the pack if they found out.

I thanked the forest and disconnected, finding myself back at its edge.

As I walked back to my room, I went over what I’d learned; the omega was alive, she was majorly powerful, she’d only staged her death – probably so that her return would be more of a shock to the pack, she was currently in New York building a life for herself – good for her – and if she did come back, the pack was screwed.

I smirked to myself. Maybe I could be of help.

First order of business: find her. And I knew just the person to help me with that. First, I had to find a secure place for the conversation I needed to have.

I found my way to the attic, dodging people and becoming one with my surroundings to appear inconspicuous. I snuck into the omega’s old room and shut the splintered door behind me. This would have to do. Very few of the pack members lingered around the top of the house and those that did left after a short while, having completed their required tasks from the higher ups of the pack.

I pulled my cell out and dialled my old friend’s number.

His voice held only bored intrigue as he answered, “Kiry? What’s up? You haven’t called for almost a year.”

“I’m sorry, Danny. Things have been pretty hectic. Listen, I need you to help me with something.” I needed to keep the conversation short and avoid the possibility of anyone hearing.

“What do you need?” he asked.

His tone had lost the little intrigue and held only boredom but that was natural with him. Even before he moved away to NYC – when he attended Lightwood Middle School – he’d always had an indifferent attitude and sounded perpetually nonchalant and, more often than not, bored.

“I need to find someone. I don’t know her name but she has tan skin, green eyes, brown hair, should be about five foot three or four and she was pretty skinny the last time I saw her. She shouldn’t have been in the city for more than two days.”

That was pretty much all I knew about the omega apart from the fact that she was super smart and really powerful but I didn’t think those descriptions would be of any help.

“And you believe this mystery girl is in New York?” He sounded slightly peeved.

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“Yes”

“Those descriptions are pretty vague. NYC’s a big place, Kiry. I don’t think I’ll be able to find her.” He deadpanned.

I knew he could do it. He had to. He’d been the best at hide and seek and always managed to find anything that went missing. His memory of faces and descriptions was always on point too. If he couldn’t find her then I might as well have given up.

“Do you have a picture of her? It’ll be better if I have a visual.”

I perked up. I did have one picture of her. Brittany had told me to take it after one of her beatings a few months ago. I’d never gotten ‘round to deleting it.

“Yeah, I’ve got one. I’ll send it now but I’ve gotta go, okay? Thanks so much for helping me out, Danny.”

“Yeah. Whatever. No problem. See ya.” He hung up.

I sent him the picture immediately; trying not to dwell on how broken the omega looked in it.

I had a lot of apologizing to do.

‘I need to meet her in person.’ I told Gracine.

‘I’m aware of that but you need an excuse to go to the city.’ She stated.

The pack had multiple allies. That was one of the reasons it was powerful. Another reason was that during our visits to our allies, we secretly siphoned money and information from them and planted seeds of doubt and distrust. Multiple packs had disbanded or fallen down the ranks due to this. Not many members of the pack knew about the methods we used to climb up the ranks. I wasn’t even supposed to know and I wouldn’t if I hadn’t caught the Gamma in action during one of said trips two years ago. He’d made me swear to total secrecy and silence then explained the process and its purpose to me.

I distinctly recalled a certain ally we had in the outskirts of New York. Jackal Pack if I remembered correctly. Weird name, I know.

All I needed was permission and I could be in the city in three days. I smiled and pocketed my phone then snuck downstairs.

I marched to Harry’s office and knocked.

The disgusting slurping and sucking sounds paused long enough for Harry to utter a distracted “Come in” in a husky voice that ignited heat deep inside me and made my wolf whine.

I opened the door to find a very shirtless Harry on his seat with a skimpily dressed Kylie on his lap, straddling him. I’d always had a crush on Harry and was always a little hurt when I saw him and Kylie in action but I’d never been affected this badly. I’d never felt my heart break the way it did when I saw them and I’d never hated Kylie more. I smirked inwardly at the fear and surprise in her eyes.

I cleared my throat awkwardly to give myself a few seconds to dispel my lust and calm my horny wolf more than anything. Damn, being mateless is hard.

“Alpha Lightwood, with your permission, I would like to go visit one of our allies in New York, the Jackal Pack, to check on their progress.” Even though I didn’t want to, I avoided eye contact and bowed my head.

Jeez. How did the omega resist the urge to grovel at the higher ups’ feet? It was all I could to not to shift, roll on my back and expose my belly for my Alpha and Luna to see.

I despised it.

He blinked twice. His tone was laced with surprise and caution, “Permission granted. I’ll send a notice ahead to the Alpha. You can leave by tonight.”

“Thank you, Alpha.” I turned and left before I could witness more of what I was supposed to be doing with Harry. I guessed he thought that I was leaving for a break. Might as well be.

I went to my room and packed the necessities. I didn’t plan on staying at the Jackal Pack longer than a week. I’d spend one or two more weeks in the city, hopefully with the omega, planning our revenge.

I seriously needed to learn her name but I didn’t know anyone who knew it. I guessed that was now priority number two.

I was done packing by around eight in the evening. Normally, I’d have been called by six for the pack dinner but the new omega was significantly slower at cooking so unless she started preparing the meals by noon, dinners were moved to eight. Not that I was complaining. I hadn’t attended a pack anything since that day and opted for sneaking into the kitchen for a sandwich or granola bar during meals.

I heard the noise of my rowdy pack and the clanking of silverware on ceramic plates. I hauled my luggage out the front door and sat on it, head in hands, waiting for my ride. Feeling a presence I looked up.

“Hey, Kirstin.” He greeted. Hearing my name from his lips sent shocks of giddy bliss down my spine that I tried my hardest to ignore.

“Alpha.” I nodded in acknowledgement, avoiding his gaze. Gracine was itching to jump him then and there and looking at his eyes would not help the control I had over her. Besides, I physically couldn’t look him in the eye without his permission even if I wanted to, unless we were having a ‘mate moment’.

He cleared his throat and at next to me, enveloping my senses with his scent and loosening my control. To be so close to him but unable to touch him – to kiss him – the way I longed to was pure agony.

“Why the sudden decision to go to New York?”

I stared ahead, unwilling to look at him and dig a deeper grave for myself in the process, “It’s summer. I’ve never been there so why not go there now?” I replied then looked at my hands in my lap and added in a sad whisper, “It’ll be a good reprieve too.”

I felt his fingers on my chin, lifting my face to his view. “Look at me, Kirstin.” He pleaded in a tortured voice. The sound of his voice, the look in his eyes, they made me want to abandon all my plans of revenge and bury myself in his embrace. To make everything okay.

His eyes told me everything I wanted his mouth to declare; that he loved me, that he wanted me safe and by his side, that he wanted me to be his Luna instead.

His mouth decided to contradicted his eyes, “Please understand, Kirstin. You can’t be my mate and Luna.”

Tears sprung to my eyes. The words became a knife that plunged into my heart.

“Harry-bear! There you are! You left early and didn’t come back so I got worried.” Kylie came bounding through the front door. Harry quickly got up and put his arm around her, dropping a kiss on her lips that I so wished were mine instead, as if to emphasise his statement, finalise it and seal it with that kiss.

The knife twisted mercilessly as I watched them like a masochist. The cab chose that moment to pull up and rescue me. I declined Harry’s offer and let the driver help me put my luggage in the trunk instead.

“Have a nice trip.” Harry said as I got into the cab. I nodded and shut the door. Kylie stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply as I watched through the window while the car pulled away. Harry’s emotionless eyes were trained on mine as he held her hips and kissed her back with the fervour and enthusiasm his eyes didn’t show.

Damn him.

Damn Kylie.

Damn the pack.

I was going to help the omega make them pay even if it killed me. I turned away from the window and practically ordered the driver to go faster.

Damn me for still loving him and not accepting the rejection when I had the chance. For still clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d come to his senses and change his mind and accept me as his mate and Luna. For reacting to his voice, his smell, his words, his actions, his touch. For wanting him even though I was obviously unwanted. For being a masochist and sticking around every time he decided to rub the fact that he didn’t love me in my face by insisting on displaying his disgustingly obvious affection for Kylie.

I couldn’t take it anymore, the dam burst. The tears seemed endless as they raced down my cheeks. As much as I tried, I couldn’t hold back the sobs as they were wrenched from my throat. The driver glanced back at me, worry etched on his face. I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t stop myself from breaking down there in the cab.

I hated him enough to destroy him and loved so much it hurt at the same time.

He’d made his choice. He’d moved on from the fact that we were mates and was blissfully happy with Kylie. I needed to move on as well – to forget him and find someone else that could make my heart race and my breath catch the way he could and would love me the way he couldn’t.

‘It’ll be okay, Kiry.’ Gracine said. Even with her own aching heart, she tried to comfort me. And to think I never appreciated her when I spent more time with Brittany and the girls.

I stifled my sobs and wiped my eyes, ‘I know. Now, let’s go find the omega.’

I really needed to learn her name.