Chapter Two: New Beginnings

Kinsley’s POV

“Can you tell me your name?”

The man with crisp blue eyes has been asking me questions for hours. I don’t have an answer for any of them, nor would I even know what my voice would sound like if I did reply. I fear what anger this will bring since he cut my chains and took me from Ace’s camp.

The Rogue Prince will be furious.

I run my fingertips over the sores on my frail wrists, the cold air kissing the marks that sit there. I don’t remember life before those chains, before the pain and utter hatred flooded my system. Ace has turned me cold and bitter or maybe I have always been this way.

I can’t tell the difference.

Another male comes into the small cottage, handing a steaming mug over to the wolf that claims we are mates. I can’t feel the pull yet and wonder if I ever will.

I’ve never shifted. I may not have a wolf to connect to and that means any pull this guy claims he has over me could be one-sided.

“Anything out of your fated?” the man asks his eyes a gentle shade of honey.

My self-proclaimed mate shakes his head, his gaze so cold and stern that I shiver in response to it. “She doesn’t talk, Lucas. I don’t even know if she can feel the pull.”

Lucas pulls a chair up beside the other burly man, both of them giving me wondering looks of curiosity and bafflement. I feel more guarded under their glares than I had been under Ace’s.

“What have you been talking to her about?” Lucas questions.

“I asked for her name about twenty times,” he growls. “I asked why she was out there with rogues, if she was part of their group or if she had been taken from another pack.”

“Terron, you saw the chains. She wasn’t there by choice.”

Lucas cocks his head at the sight of me, the wounds littering my body all over pricked with panic. “Just give her a little space. She’s probably overwhelmed.”

I inhale sharply, my mind running laps in murky thought. “Ter–Terron,” I manage to say.

Both wolves perk at the sound of my voice. I press a hand over my split lips, my heart racing in response to the sound of my voice.

I haven’t heard myself speak in years and what if I just made a mistake speaking? What if these two strong, strange wolves will hurt me as Ace has?

I cower in my seat, pulling my legs to my chest so I can hug my knees. When I press my head into my legs, I feel safer.

This position got me through a lot of beatings, protecting my face, but nothing happens after my brief mumble of his name.

On the contrary, when I peer over my kneecaps, I see them both smiling.

“Yes, that’s my name, little wolf,” he hums, his eyes growing to a brighter blue than I’ve seen before.

His smile accentuates his defined cheekbones, cutting straight against his lengthy brown hair that curls on the unruly ends.

He is beautiful, whether he is my mate as he claims or not. I have no way of double-checking that declaration but just from the sight of him, I don’t think I would mind it.

“What is your name?” Lucas asks, leaning forward with his elbows digging craters into his thighs. “You can tell us, little wolf. We won’t hurt you.”

I glance around this small hut. I can hear the creek outside, the sound of splashing water is so tempting. I smell a hint of something in the air, food of some kind. My stomach groans aloud, thinking of the excess water and the possibility of a hot meal.

I bet his kitchen is nearby and stocked with so many luxuries. I can’t even fathom what I would do with that much food.

I tuck my hands between my knees to keep them from shaking but both wolves notice it instantly.

Terron glances over his shoulder to his inviting kitchen before returning a look to my static anxiety. “Are you hungry? Is that what it is?”

I nod profusely, tears threatening my eyes but I’m far too dehydrated for them to trickle down my cheeks.

A sandwich is given to me moments later and I devour it. I haven’t got the energy to be polite and careful with it. I am still starving and have been for a few weeks, if not for years. I would scrounge on the forest berries outside but they all stopped growing for half the year and Ace wouldn’t care.

I would become dependent on Ace or his band of bullies to feed me and that was in sparing lapses of abuse and torture. I pull myself from thinking about it but it aches my stomach and I have to lean forward, threatening to double over.

“Are you okay, mate?” Terron brushes a hand down the back of my neck, Dirt and leaves are still tangled in my hair but he doesn’t seem bothered by it. When I don’t answer, his frown deepens. “I need you to talk to me. It’s clear that you can.”

I meet his glare, trembling inconsolably at the edge of his focus. I can’t feel my wolf but I can feel the aura of his and it’s too intense for me to handle.

“Alpha, you’re shedding your power onto her,” Lucas coughs, trying to warn Terron of his energy. It’s overwhelming but to hear he is an Alpha; it makes more sense. “Relax, man. You’re scaring her.”

Terron stands abruptly. His sudden movement forces me backward in my seat, cowering at the sheer height of him. His body is laced in muscles, so many muscles that I didn’t even notice at first how much larger he is than any of the rogues, including Ace.

I can’t stare up at him for long, seeing spots like his hands are wrapped around the base of my throat.

I brush my neck, the impression of being choked remaining even when I make sure there are no hands there. Terron notices every movement, his eyes drifting from spot to spot on my body and making me dizzy. His power is noticeable as an Alpha.

He’s too powerful for me to even consider talking again.

“Step outside,” Lucas ushers, pushing his friend out of the cabin. “Get some air.”

“I’m going for a run,” Terron bites hard on his words.

I can’t help but feel like I’ve disappointed my mate so soon, even if I can’t recognize the pull yet. It was only a matter of time before he would feel this way about me, though. I sulk at the thought of being taken from Ace, being rejected by my mate, and being thrown back at the feet of the Rogue Prince.

I’d rather die than go through that.