"This is Black Thorn Pack's territory. Any uninvited werewolf would be considered an intruder! You should leave!"
Two werewolf guards, tall and robust, said to a woman standing at the pack's border.
"I'm Gloria, from the Silver Spring Pack. I need to speak to Alpha Patrick. Please let me in."
The blonde woman pleaded. She looked exceptionally delicate compared with the guards.
"We don't know who you are. Leave, now!" said the guards as they had a quick look at each other.
"It's about Gabrielle's death. I've got something important to tell Alpha Patrick. Please, I need to see him," Gloria begged.
"Shut up! You don't get to say her name!"
A sullen voice cut in from behind the guards.
"Beta Damon!" The guards turned to the man and bowed their heads.
Damon was the Beta of the Black Thorn Pack.
"Damon, please hear me out. I have nothing to do with Gabrielle's death!" Gloria explained anxiously.
With a scowl, Damon glanced at her resentfully.
"Seize her. The woman is a rogue. She is trying to blend in our pack with ill intentions." His voice was icy cold.
The guards looked at each other and didn't move.
"What are you waiting for? Seize her, now!" Damon shouted again.
This time, he gave the command as the pack's Beta.
The guards stepped forward and grabbed Gloria's arms.
Gloria was outrageous. She struggled to break free and said, "My father is the Alpha of the Silver Spring Pack and I'm only here to see Alpha Patrick. Are you trying to break the peace between the packs?"
"If you want to see Alpha Patrick, then stop struggling," Damon walked to Gloria and whispered.
Gloria stiffened at his words. Then she ceased to struggle.
"Take her to the square and tie her to a pillar," Damon ordered, taking a step back as he waved his hand at the guards.
"Yes, Beta Damon."
This time, the guards did not hesitate. They grabbed Gloria and took her to the square.
They tied her to a pillar, and she stayed that way without any food or water for an entire day.
Gloria was at her last gasp after a day of exposure to the scorching sun.
She was bound with ropes covered with wolf poison so that she could not shift.
As she was dying of thirst, the sky grew dark and cloudy. Then, it began to rain.
A car was approaching the square. She raised her head at the sound.
It was Patrick's car, the Alpha of the Black Thorn Pack.
Gloria was desperate to break free. Her skin was torn by the ropes, yet she did not give up the struggle.
Finally, she broke free. Then, she staggered toward Patrick's car.
"Pull over," Patrick said to the driver.
The car stopped.
"I didn't do it. You must believe me." Gloria stared at Patrick stubbornly.
The rain was pouring down and beating against the car windows. Gloria saw Patrick's grim face through the window.
She stood outside the car, trembling. "Patrick! Please listen to me. Just this once!" she shouted.
The door opened. Gloria was dragged into the car all of a sudden.
She was drenched to the skin, and water soaked Patrick's clothes.
"Patrick, I didn't ask those rogues to hurt Gabrielle."
Before her voice died away, Patrick pinched her chin unmercifully.
"Why are you so obsessed with me?" his voice was magnetic.
"What?" Gloria was a little stunned.
Patrick was her mate. She and her wolf recognized him right away at the mating gathering.
'Why would he suddenly ask so?' Gloria wondered.
Patrick pinched Gloria's chin, while he reached out his other hand and touched her cold, wet face with his fingers.
Gloria was lost in Patrick's gentle eyes and felt as if he was asking, "Are you cold?"
However, Patrick suddenly turned cold again. "Gloria, do you want me that much that you had to kill Gabrielle?"
Gloria felt a chill inside as if a bucket of icy water had been poured over her head.
She laughed bitterly and came to her senses. Patrick, her mate, had always been so.
How could she forget the fact that he had always been cold to her? After all, Patrick's gentleness was never meant for her.
It was not gentleness but a demon's smile.
"I didn't kill Gabrielle..." Gloria tried to explain herself.
"Yes, you didn't kill her with your own hands. But you paid those rogues to rape her."
Patrick did not grant her the opportunity to defend herself as he became agitated.
He ripped Gloria's shirt.
"What are you doing?"
As she screamed, Gloria was pushed out of the car and fell to the ground.
Patrick's cold voice came to her ears.
"In the name of the Mood Goddess, I, Patrick Hammond, Alpha of Black Thorn Pack, reject Gloria Carter as my mate."
Gloria raised her head and looked into the car in disbelief.
"Patrick! You can't reject me. You don't know how much I love you! Please let me explain... Please..."
"Miss Carter, I may consider listening to you, if..." Patrick looked up indifferently.
He cast a glance at Gloria and said, "If you stay in the square in the rain till morning. Then, perhaps, I'll give you a chance."
