CHAPTER 4:WHY?

CAMERON'S POV The scent hit me first. I was patrolling the border area after my beta sent me a message that a rogue was caught, and far from me are two guards dragging a captured trespasser along with them. Normally, I don't concern myself with trespassers like this—trespassers were punished once sighted. But something about this day felt different. And then I smelled it. A delicate, intoxicating aroma that sent a jolt straight to my core. My wolf stirred instantly, growling in recognition. Mate. I froze mid-step, the realization crashing over me like a wave. Everywhere around me fell silent as I turned toward the direction, my eyes narrowing as my two of my men entered, escorting a disheveled figure. She wasn't tiny or frail as I expected, but her clothes were torn and dirty. Her hair hung in wild tangles around her face, and her arms bore faint bruises with dirt on her face and hair that made my wolf bristle with fury. Yet despite her ragged appearance, she appears strong and charming. Her grey eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I felt the bond tugging hard at me "MATE." She muttered. "MATE!" I whispered at almost the same time. “You’re my mate.” I said, loudly enough for her to hear. “Cameron, what are you saying?” Selene asked but I ignored her, moved in quick pace to the girl and untied her restrains while she subconsciously stared at me. “I, Emilia Dock, reject you as my mate.” The words slipped out of her mouth as if that's the thing she has always wanted to say since she was born. A low growl escaped me, my wolf clawing at the edges of my control. “You don’t have a say in this. The bond..." “I don’t care about the bond,” she cut in, her grey eyes staring back at me nonchalantly. “I don’t want it. I don’t want you. Not now, not ever." The words hit me like a punch to the gut. No one had ever spoken to me like that before. No one dared. And yet this tiny, scrappy woman stood before me, rejecting me as if I were nothing. “Do you have any idea who I am?” I asked, my voice dangerously low. "No" she paused, her hands on her hips with a arrogant smirk on her face. "Why should I? Are you going to return me back to my pack or give me somewhere to live?" "Look at this stray bitch, who the fuck do you think you are?...." Selene hissed with an angry expression. "Shut the fuck up bitch!" The lady snapped. "I'm talking to your boss not you." "What the..." Selene took a step forward, her first tightened but I held a hand out stopping her on her tracks. "Yes that's more like it, listen to your boss." She said sarcastically. Feisty uhh, I love that. "And where the fuck am I? Why was I being captured earlier?" “She's a trespasser,” one of the guards replied curtly, his tone high but respectful. “We caught her near the southern border, Alpha. She claims she’s just passing through, but—” “She’s lying,” another cuts in, eyeing the girl with disdain. “She smells of another pack. She’s probably a spy.” "I wasn't trespassing, I was dumped here." She said in her defense. "Who would believe that?" Selene scowled. "That's okay," I cut in before my mate can start another argument. "You can go now." The guards bowed in respect and retreated into the woods, probably in search of other rogues. "So you mean I can go now?" She ran her hand over her almost tattered gown, brushing off imaginary dust acting as if all these talks aren't about her. Before I could speak, the girl took off into the bush. Walking stealthily but quickly her hair flying all over the place. "Get her back here." I said to Selene. "But..." "No buts, that girl mustn't leave. I kinda find her interesting coupled with the fact that she's my mate." "I think the moon goddess must be blind by making that tattered girl your mate." Selene mumbled, taking off after the girl. "You met your match didn't you, Alpha Cameron?" "Shut up Charles." I snapped. "No offense, just saying." "She's feisty and will love going against your orders. The perfect match for a cold man like you." He teased and I gave him a side eye. "If you don't stop talking, I'm gonna punish you right here and now in front of these guards." "Get your fucking hands off my hair." Selene's voice yelled and my eyes darted to their direction and my jaw flew open. There in the woods is my mate with her fingers dip into Selene's hair grabbing a handful of it and tugging at it like she wanted to rip it off her scalp. "Oh fuck!" I cussed. "Get your fucking hands off me." Selene yelled before trying to shift into a wolf. "Don't!" I warned her through a mind-link. "But..." "Don't!" I repeated.