Chapter 2 Never!

• Zara's POV
• "Over my dead body," I spat. "You had your chance!"
• "Zara!" Noah grabbed my arm, and anger flared up inside me, making Kaya release a warning growl. Nevertheless, Noah disregarded the warning, tightly gripping my arm to keep me in place.
• "I think you should let go of my arm before my wolf rearranges your pretty face," I growled. "She will not hesitate to strike and kill you; she is very protective of me."
• Noah winced, but he held onto my arm.
• "You believe I have a pretty face?" Noah taunted, a grin on his lips. "I feel flattered."
• "Let go!" I hissed. "Before-"
• "Come one, Zara," Noah said, lowering his head down to my ear. "Do you really think that your wolf would hurt her fated mate?"
• "Do you want to put that theory to the test?" I roared, moving nearer and cocking my head to meet his gaze.
• Noah and I started staring at each other as our tension increased.
• I refuse to back down. He had better step down before I let Kaya have him.
• "Luna Zara, Alpha Noah," the hosting Alpha called. "Is there an issue?"
• I guess he must have noticed the commotion.
• "No," Noah replied, a smile playing at the corners of his lips and a look of amusement crossing his eyes.
• With a slow motion, Noah released my arm, raised his hands in the air, and retreated one step.
• "Now if you would excuse me," I hissed, anger radiating off me as I straightened my midnight blue dress. "I have better things to do than to talk to my two-minute ex-mate!"
• Noah opened his mouth to say something, but I flipped him the bird and bolted as fast as I could down the hall, heading in the direction I saw Levi go.
• No matter how good his excuse was, there was no way in which I would give that son-of-a-bitch another chance.
• Noah appeared unfazed. I could hear his shoes squeaking on the polished floor behind me. He was clearly determined to speak with me.
• "There is something off about Alpha Noah," Kaya remarked. "He seems incredibly eager to make his point."
• "Too eager," I agreed.
• Doesn't Noah understand that he rejected me and I had moved on? The bond is severed. It is nonexistent. I have no feelings whatsoever toward him.
• "Where the hell is Levi?" I growled. "He is meant to stick by my side and shield me from my obnoxious, conceited ex-mate."
• I lifted my nose in the air and took a whiff while searching for Levi.
• I narrowed my eyes when his scent led me down a long and dark corridor.
• What the devil happened to him?
• A few minutes later, I discovered a door that led to the garden outside.
• After several minutes, I finally noticed Levi sitting by himself on a bench near the goddess's feet. He had his hands buried in his hair.
• "He seems sad," Kaya whimpered, and a cold feeling washed over me.
• I hurried over to be by Levi's side.
• "Levi?" I called. "Are you alright?"
• Levi shook his head, but he avoided turning to face me.
• "What the heck happened?" I asked, moving closer.
• "I should have realized it was too good to be true," Levi whimpered to himself.
• "What are you talking about?" I asked, startled.
• Oh, Goddess. Tell me, please, that this is not what I believe it to be.
• "That he did not want me," Levi sobbed.
• Sh*t!
• "You found your mate?" I questioned carefully.
• Was that the reason why Levi rushed out of the hall, leaving me alone with Noah?
• "Yes," Levi cried, his lower lip trembling.
• "What happened?" I asked, sitting down next to Levi and placing my hand on his back.
• "He rejected me," Levi said, and he sniffed. "He spared me not even five minutes of his time."
• I felt a surge of anger.
• Who would do such a thing? Levi is the kindest and most compassionate person I know.
• "Who is this guy?" I asked, curling my hands into fists. I was already furious. I would not mind extending my claws and taking a big chunk out of the wolf.
• "Alpha Harrison," Levi mumbled, and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks.
• My heart skipped a beat, and I sighed, relieved. The rejection was a blessing in disguise.
• Alpha Harrison was a jerk. He is a heartless, ruthless Alpha who cares more about his wallet than his pack. Everyone despises him. I could not bear the thought of my closest friend getting paired with that awful Alpha.
• I took Levi in my arms and gently placed his head on my lap. While I attempted to comfort and reassure him, he silently sobbed from his broken heart.
• I knew Levi was depressed, so I inadvertently began to play with his hair, an old habit of mine.
• I sighed.
• Knowing how much pain Levi was going through on the inside broke my heart, and I had a feeling that after this, he would be very brittle and wary of love.
• I turned my head as my eyes noticed movement, rolled my eyes, and grunted inside when I saw Noah standing a few feet away. He was leaning against the pack house wall, grinning as he watched us in silence.
• Could he give his stalking a break?
• "The nerve he has," Kaya growled. "To think that, after rejecting us, he is now stalking us like some wild animal."
• "Ignore him," I said, turning my attention to Levi. He was whimpering, even though his crying had stopped.
• "I tell you what," I said. "I have something at home that can help mend a broken heart like yours."
• I gently wiped the tears from Levi's face as he straightened up. His skin had already become scarlet from the tears.
• "You do?" He asked, a sob escaping his lips.
• "I do," I said tenderly. "Come on. Your name is written on a large bucket of ice cream. And you are welcome to add as many toppings as you would like to go with it."
• "Even strawberries?" He asked.
• Levi loved strawberries, and they were one of my favorites too.
• "Even those," I said. "On the way back, we can make a stop to get you some juicy red ones."
• I stood up and extended my hand to take Levi's. "Come on. Let us get going! Let's not waste another minute."
• The return trip home was a quiet one.
• The desire for his mate lingered in Levi's eyes as he gazed out of the window.
• A year ago, when Noah rejected me, I had the exact same dejected expression.
• My mind drifted back to that horrible evening.
• I didn't take the car home. Kaya took control, shifted, and took off, running into the rain, as fast as her legs would carry her, away from Noah.
• We simply ran through the forest for hours on end in an attempt to find relief from the constant ache in my chest.
• I eventually returned home, shivering, exhausted, and cold. The pain would always be etched in my heart, a scar that would never truly go away. There was no way for me to overcome it.
• I hurried straight to my room when I got back to the pack house. I did not even bother to inform Levi that I had returned.
• I was heartbroken to no avail—inside, I felt so empty and cold. The fact that my mate chose someone else over me made me feel ashamed.
• I allowed myself to be miserable for just one night.
• I kept the rejection to myself, and I never told Levi about Noah. I did not want Levi to feel sorry for me.
• I noticed a black SUV trailing behind us.
• "It never ends," snarled Kaya. "Allow me to have him!"
• "Calm down," I replied. "I think we could lose him in the forest."
• Kaya scoffed at me, but she was aware of the reality. Compared to regular wolves, silverback wolves were significantly faster and stronger.
• I told our driver to pull over, and he brought the car to a stop.
• "What's going on?" Levi asked, surprised.
• "Our wolves could use a little run to release some steam," I remarked as I opened the car door. "It will improve their mood."
• "What about our clothes?" He asked. "Your dad—"
• "Levi," I interrupted him. "I am sure you will never put those clothes on again. Not after tonight, and my father will understand."
• With a defeated sigh, he unlocked the car and got out.
• I quickly gave the driver his orders, shifted into my black and silverback wolf, and darted toward the forest with Levi's wolf nipping on my tail, hoping to outrun Noah tonight.
• ****