Chapter 37
Kaiden searched for hours all around the city before he got tired and let his wolf take control to take them to the lake and drink some water.
As he neared the lake, he noticed a few camps on the mountainside.
Right. He checked the entire city but didn’t check the tourist‘ places in the area.
He quickly drank water and rushed to the camps, hoping he would find the girl there. He was really hanging through a thin string of thread which was stopping him from losing control.
As he neared the camps, he finally started smelling one scent that was almost. untraceable to others and strangely this role her smell was stronger than before. Or should he say, it was becoming stronger with each passing minute.
He rushed towards the familiar scent, a grateful smile on his face as he neared the
tent.
Kaiden scrunched his brows slightly when he smelt another unfamiliar scent. along with Anastasia and though there were many scents here, this one looked like it was with Anastasia only.
He walked to the open window kind of thing and looked inside.
Standing in the middle of the tent was a man along with Anastasia. Her hair was on her left shoulder and the man removed the hair from her back, stepping closer to the girl he thought would be his.
He noticed how the man blew some hair and placed a kiss on the base of her neck.
He heard her unadulterated chuckle and the man followed suit before he hugged her from behind.
The scene provoked and pricked Kaiden’s heart more than it should’ve and he gulped, barely controlling Atlas who was going haywire.
Anastasia smelt his presence and immediately turned in Grayson’s embrace and looked at him, straight into the eyes of alpha Kaiden.
Grayson had been trying all the jokes he heard on his journey to keep her mood. uplifted and it was really starting to work. However, as soon as she felt Kaiden’s presence, her mood immediately turned sour.
If the earlier hug of the man was an eyesore, the way Anastasia’s eyes immediately turned from recognition to hurt and then to someone who didn’t want to recognise him, hurt him even more.
He looked at her earnestly, his hands clenched by his side as he stood there.
None of them said anything for a few seconds until the man in the room noticed a new constant presence near their tent.
He turned around and looked at Alpha Kaiden, his eyes full of hatred and animosity.
“Anastasia, let’s talk,” Kaiden walked to the entrance of the tent and Anastasia looked at Grayson before nodding.
She wanted to convey the message that she would be fine.
Grayson wanted to be there for her and ensure she didn’t get hurt by this alpha now, but even he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything if the alpha decided he wanted to take her.
After he heard the pack Anastasia was in, he searched all about it when she was sleeping in his arms and to say he was pissed and shocked would be an understatement.
He walked out of the tent to some distance, looking at the girl one last time. No matter how hard he tried and how many reasons he gave himself to not like her, he seemed to have not gotten over even after all the time, no? Grayson smiled, feeling hurt that she got closer to an unknown alpha rather than him.
Then again, feelings can’t be forced. Or can they be? Just like this alpha did? He shook his head and walked to the campfire.
“You smell different. You smell like him,” Kaiden addressed the most unimportant thing first, probably unimportant to others, but to him it was enough to enrage. him and want to have that man dead by her foot.
“Is there something specific you want to say, Alpha Kaiden? Or probably do? Maybe your pack members forgot to add a little bit to my humiliation. You are here to do it?” Anastasia asked, hurt evident in her eyes and Kaiden gulped before turning around and closing the entrance of the tent.
“Oh, so unlike your pack members, you want to give me some privacy. How thoughtful of you. Anyway, you can get over it. Let’s not waste each other’s time, yeah?” Anastasia said before she removed her turtle neck top and Kaiden’s pupils dilated at all the bruises on her skin.
The marks of someone grabbing her hands and the base of her neck forcefully. He noticed all the black and blue leftover spots on her abdomen and his throat constricted at the sight.
A tear slipped down Anastasia’s eyes as she let the top fall to the side. She grabbed the button of her jeans and undid it.
She was about to remove it when in a swift motion Kaiden placed his hand over hers, his eyes speaking thousands of words that Answers needed and didn’t need at the same time.
“What are you doing?” Kaiden asked.
“Can’t you see? Removing my clothes so that you can use me. It’s obvious I can’t fight my way with the strongest Alpha in the world. Planning the revenge on one alpha is already tiresome.
Maybe your little future Luna sent you here to accomplish her task. Oh right. You would need a video for the proof,” Anastasia turned around to grab her phone, but Kaiden held her hand and pulled her back, hugging her from behind.
He couldn’t bear to hear her. Every word she was speaking was like a dagger in his heart. Her back, her abdomen, everything was terribly bruised and knowing that it was all because of him hurt him even more.
“Please forgive me,” Kaiden said and Anastasia smiled through her tears as more drops rolled down her cheeks.
“Forgiveness is for those who committed a mistake. You didn’t do anything. So there’s no need to apologise to me. You just showed me why people like us can’t be loved and no matter whether we behave or not, we will tossed around as nothing more than a human body that you can use for sex,” Anastasia turned around and looked straight into his eyes.
Kaiden knew that no amount of words could make up for what she went through. No matter what he says or what he does will take her pain away anymore.
He didn’t know what to do.
“Please come back to the pack,” Kaiden said and Anastasia raised her teary eyes to him in shock.
“You still have the audacity to say that to me. Wow, alpha Kaiden. You are the height of a person who only thinks about himself. Look, you want me in the pack just because you want to use me as a sex slave, right? I get it. You want to do it under the council’s threats, right? I have called the council myself. They’ll come and take me soon,” Anastasia said and Kaiden.
“Anastasia, you know very well that I don’t mean anything like that. Come back to me as my friend, my secretary and my love interest. Please,” Kaiden said and Anastasia chuckled.
It was a dark humorless chuckle and Kaiden didn’t like the emotionless expression on her face.
“Ana-”
“A friend? This friend got bullied and humiliated in your pack. What did you do to her offenders? Did you beat them? Kill them? Locked them in the dungeons? What did you do alpha Kaiden?” Anastasia asked and Kaiden froze in his place. “Let me tell you what you did. You did nothing. And not right now but even in the future if Tiffany thinks it’s a good idea to have my body displayed in the auction field, you won’t do anything to her. You can’t do it. So please, Alpha Kaiden, keep this pathetic friendship to yourself. I would rather drink poison than have a friend like you.
Do you know what a friend is? That man out there is my friend,” Anastasia smiled; making Kaiden’s eyes turn dark as Atlas felt offended.
“Don’t compare me to anyone!” Kaiden roared and she chuckled again.
“It’s funny how among so many things I said, this is the only thing that caught your attention. The other things are true, right? Anyway, just because you don’t want it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t it. He is indeed my friend. He is my ex–pack member who left the pack because I was humiliated there,” Anastasia took a deep breath.
“He left his beta position for me, a friend. You… you want to be my lover’s interest. So what can you do for me? Or is it just a way of friendship where I have to sprawl my legs for you because I am the only one you can have your desires fulfilled with? Isn’t that exactly what you want from me? Because a love interest doesn’t stay so calm when his girls get humiliated in public,” Anastasia smiled and Kaiden squared his jaws since he didn’t have anything to say to her.
