17

Wolves can be incredibly possessive, to the point of changing their entire outlook on life. The fight between Zen and Alex grew more intense, with both of them attacking each other. It seemed like one of them could end up seriously injured, and it appeared that neither of them would stop until they had killed the other. Finally, Dylan and the other wolves decided to intervene.

Zen continued to growl in anger, unable to calm down. Both he and Alex were forced to revert to their human forms, their heavy panting indicating their exhaustion. They were pinned to the ground, overpowered by the other alphas in the pack who had given their all to intervene.

On that day, the Alpha lost his composure for the first time.

"What is the meaning of this? Zen, Alex, explain yourselves! Right now!" the Alpha demanded, his voice filled with burning rage. The two boys knelt before him, bowing their heads in submission once the chaos had subsided.

"He dared to mark my mate," Zen said through clenched teeth, pointing at Alex. The anger in his voice still lingered, as if he was ready to kill Alex at any given moment.

"Mate!" everyone was taken aback in shock.

"What do you mean by mate?" The Alpha questioned skeptically, furrowing his brows together.

"You already rejected her. She's no longer your mate," Alex retorted with the same anger in his voice.

Zen growled silently. The Alpha finally noticed me. His eyes landed on the bite mark on my neck. It didn't take him long to understand the whole situation.

"Why didn't you inform us about this?" the Alpha turned to Zen and asked calmly. "You are going to be the next Alpha of this pack. How can you both act so irresponsibly regarding the Luna of this pack?"

Zen found himself unable to provide any answers. He acknowledged that he had no grounds to be angry with Alex for marking me.

"I am unaware of the events that happened here, but are you both still acting like children? Is it appropriate to become possessive or overly excited about a girl at this time? The sapphires have already surrounded us from all directions. We have suffered the loss of many members of our pack. Do you believe that the sacrifices our brave soldiers made for this pack were in vain?" the Alpha Lord questioned.

Zen and Alex remained silent, contemplating their actions.

"I do not care about the details at the moment, but it has come to my attention that the Sapphires are forming alliances with neighboring packs. We will discuss this matter thoroughly once the war is resolved. If I discover that the two of you are causing trouble with each other again, I will expel both of you from this pack. Do you understand?" the Alpha Lord demanded angrily.

The two of them nodded silently. Finally, the Alpha turned his attention to me. I could already sense the disappointment in his intense gaze.

"From the moment you were born until now, you and your mother have done nothing but cause trouble for this pack," the Alpha's eyes were filled with contempt. "Out of respect for my late friend, I have chosen not to be too harsh on you, despite it going against our pack's rules. But how could I not see that you would also bring trouble for my son?"

Every word spoken by the Alpha pierced through my heart, causing me to long for the earth to split open and swallow me whole, never to be seen again.

"As long as the war continues, you will be imprisoned," the Alpha Lord declared.

"What?!" Zen exclaimed in shock.

"She is now marked by me. You cannot do this to her," Alex also protested immediately.

"Are the two of you defying me once again?" The Alpha Lord shot them a cold glare.

"If you wish to keep her imprisoned, let it be in my room. Zen is your son. How can I be certain that he won't abuse his authority to humiliate my partner in prison whenever he pleases?" Alex inquired.

"Who do you think you are calling your mate? You forced that mark on my partner. She is mine!" Zen angrily shouted.

I felt repulsed. They were treating me as an object. This was not love, not at all. They only wanted to possess and satisfy their egos. Was there any consideration for my feelings towards them?

My mate turned me down but still expected me to have feelings for him forever. And the other person only showed interest because his best friend showed interest in me, even though he initially rejected me. Both of them believed they could impose themselves on me, and I would obediently comply, like a doll.

"Take her away from here," the Alpha commanded a few betas. He rubbed his temples, exhausted. "And do not allow any of these guys to see her until I give my permission," he declared.

"But, Father!" Zen attempted to object once more. Nevertheless, his father's angry glare silenced him.

I wasn't even sure why I was being held captive. I had no control over becoming his son's mate. It wasn't as if we could have influenced it in any way.

I was the one rejected and humiliated, and it nearly cost me my life. The two dominant Alphas made sure to continue harassing me, leaving no opportunity. However, the Alpha Lord blamed me for everything, and now I was facing the punishment. How ironic!

As I walked past my pack mates, I could feel the disdain in their glares. I began to feel suffocated. The guards brought me upstairs and locked me in a room on the second floor.