Chapter 2
Natalie''s P.O.V.
I pushed through the crowd, desperate to get away from everyone. I had been beaten, bullied, and
broken by this pack over the past few years, and the only salvation I had was upstairs cheating on me
with my sister.
Although, I guess he wasn''t anymore. Now, he was just fucking his mate. I no longer existed to him.
Our rtionship had just been a way to pass the time until he found someone better…someone, who
had shifted and wasn''t human still.
A hard shove came from behind me as I raced down thest few steps. My vision was blurred by the
tears, and I was clutching my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I didn''t want the rest of the pack to
enjoy my pain any more than they already did.
They loved it when I cried and when I begged them to stop hitting or kicking me. It spurred them on to
hear me calling Jake for help. This time, I had no one to call for… no one who cared enough to help
me.
The force of the push sent me flying into the hardwood floor with a shout of pain as my wrist twisted
beneath me, my dark brown hair falling over my shoulder.
"Silly Tilly, always being in ces that she doesn''t belong." Savannah hissed as she stepped over my
body. I knew I needed to get away, but arge foot came down on my back as I tried to stand, sending
my chin to the floor.
I turned my head, panting for air as they pressed more of their weight down on my spine. "I''ve been
really sick of you bothering us. If you are not a wolf, then you are not a part of this pack. We don''t want
humans here. It''s time for you to get lost, runt."
"That is quite enough!" The Alpha''s voice boomed through the house, and I took in a deep breath as
the weight on my back was lifted.
I didn''t want to look up at Alpha Dalton. He felt the same as the rest of the pack did. He wanted me
away from his son. It wasn''t because I was human. He despised me for being weak. ording to him, I
was nothing more than a distraction to Jake, and he was right.
"Make your way home, Natalie." He ordered as he looked down his nose at me. I didn''t need my wolf to
feel the alphamand he used, but I did feel the blood dripping from my lip as I scrambled to get to
my feet.
As I was rushing out the front door, his voice rang out again, and I paused just outside the open door
on the front porch. "For the rest of you, the announcement has been made of their travels, and The
Offering will be tomorrow."
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Gasps filled the house, and for the briefest moment, my pain was reced with panic. We knew they
would be arriving any day now, but we hadn''t expected them toe so soon and with such little
notice.
The Lycans.
They ruled the world. Wolves, Fae, witches, and humans alike were all under their thumb.
They were supposed to arrive days ago. We had begun to assume they were going to reschedule or
cancel as it had been silent on their end.
I sniffled as quietly as I could, needing to hear what my Alpha was saying, but unable to stop the tears
from the pain and betrayal I had experienced tonight. My wrist was cradled to my chest, and my
breathing wasing out in shallow and shaking gasps.
"Don''t worry, runt," Savannah said quietly but with malice in her voice. The Alpha would have been able
to hear her still, but he didn''t say anything. "They areing for the she-wolves, not for disgusting
humans."
I didn''t bother to respond as I just wanted to get out of the pack house and forget tonight ever
happened. But a small part of me hoped they chose her. I wanted them to take her far away from here,
where I would never have to see her again.
"It has been announced that the Lycan king will be joining his pack this time. I want everyone on the
best behavior." The shock of the news was audible as the pack gasped in awe.
The Lycan King hadn''t been seen outside the castle walls in years. He was rumored to be a vicious
beast, one who fed off the pain and torment of those around him. He killed without warning and took
whatever he wanted without consequence. The stories of his ruthlessness were vast, and I knew
nothing good woulde of him leaving his castle.
When The Offering was done each year before, it was only the unmated members of his pack that
showed up to choose from our unmated she-wolves. Never him.
I shook my head as I turned and made my way out of the pack house, wiping the tears from my cheeks
as I did so.
Savannah was right. The Lycans wouldn''t bother with me. Even the Alpha thought my knowledge of
their arrival to be unessential. He had tried to send me away before he told the rest of the pack.
I had nothing to worry about, but it would be a good chance for me to make my escape.
I wasn''t wee in my pack. They only kept me around in case I were to shiftte. They couldn''t have
someone shifting around the humans. While they knew about us and also lived under the rule of the
Lycans, they kept to themselves as much as possible.
It was exactly how I wanted to live.
Away from the pain. Away from the suffering and abuse.
The image of Haylee and Jake had been burned into my mind, making it hard to focus as I ran back to
my house. It was as though I could feel my heart physically breaking inside my chest, and I had no way
to reach in to hold it together.
I stumbled as I held my arm tightly to my chest. The pain in both was excruciating. While a part of me
demanded that I go back and give Jake a piece of my mind, I had nothing more to say to him.
He was a liar. I loved him with everything I had, and he had taken my heart and spat in my face. I
wasn''t sure how toe back from it. How did one ever get over being betrayed by the person they
loved most in the world?
Small drops of cold waternded on my skin, making me choke out augh at the irony of the rain at a
moment like this. Yet, the chortle of amusement only made me cry harder.
The freedom I had craved was going to mine sooner than I had imagined. Before I thought I would be
freed of my torment by mating with the man I loved. Once he had imed me as his Luna, all the
bullying and pain would stop.
That was my mistake.
I never should have believed that I would be freed by a man. I would take care of myself from now on,
starting with getting the hell out of here. As soon as the Lycans arrived, all attention would be turned to
them. Everyone from the pack would be present, and no one would notice one little human missing
from the crowd.
I would have a very brief window to make my escape, and it didn''t matter what happened. I was willing
to risk it all.
What was the point of being alive, if you were scared to live? I had to be missing something. There had
to be something out there better than this.
The lights were on in my house and gave me pause. I slowed as I approached. I wasn''t ready to face
my parents. They hated that I didn''t shift more than even I did. They had high standards for us. Coming
from a Beta bloodline, they were ecstatic that I had been dating the future Alpha.
When I didn''t shift, they were livid. I was a disappointment to their name and our pack. It was
something they reminded me about repeatedly, how ashamed they were of me and how I let them
down.
Silly Tilly.
That was what they used to call me as a kid. I was their Silly Tilly, always doing adorable things like
bumping into walls, smearing food in my hair, and building things in ways that seemed right to me but
went against the instructions.
Now, I hated that nickname. Silly Tilly, the girl who thought she could find love and happiness. That girl
dreamed of having a safe ce to live and raise her own family someday.
Haylee and Savannah loved to use it against me as I got older. Silly Tilly… they would spit it with
disgust and mocking tones,ughing at me for one thing or another.
Turns out I was silly after all. There was no true love. I had nothing left here for me.