Chapter 3

Justin's POV

Eventually, the pack slowly made their way home, and as soon as I knew everyone was home, I made a mandatory meeting in the backyard. As everyone gathered around me, I quickly scanned the pack. I wished, actually hoping that I would see Melanie. But of course, she did not exist, as her note said. "Everyone, something has happened." The pack grew quiet. "One of our pack members has left. Melanie Moon has runoff. She left a note stating that she got mistreated and her wolf could no longer take any more of the treatment and so she left. This is an issue seeing as she could easily run onto Midnight pack territory."

Some people started whispering and talking with each other. "So, we need to start coming up with ideas of where she could have gone and ways to get her back here." "Why would we want that? It's a good thing she is gone. No one liked her. She was just another useless pack member who occasionally did the dishes and made us all breakfast." I know that nasal voice by heart. "Lucy, get your ass up in my office now." Her eyes went wide before she rushed into the house and up to my office. "Dillon, come with me. The rest of you talk with each other and think of ideas or any places you could think Melanie could be hiding or have run away to." Dillion and I both made our way up to my office, and when I walked in the door, I got immediately ambushed by Lucy. "Hey, baby. I know you asked me to come up here for a reason."

She looked behind me and saw Dillion. "I don't think you need to be here for this Beta Dillion." He let out a low growl. I lifted her hands off me and pushed her back. "Lucy. Those words you said about Melanie, you should not have said that." She turned her head to the side. "But why, we all knew that was true. She was a useless slut who never knew her place." My hand moved fast as lightning, the impact made Lucy's face turn to the side, and I could already see a fat red handprint forming. My eyes shifted from green to piercing grey. "You will never speak of my Mate that way ever again. Do you fucking understand me?" Fear was seen in her eyes as she slowly nodded her head, then sprinted out of the room. I walked up to my chair and sat down, letting out a loud sigh. I brought my hands up to my face and rubbed them all over. Peaking out, I noticed Dillion was staring at me still. "What Dillion?" He shook his head, "Nothing, I am only wondering why you called Melanie, your Mate. When this morning, you told us she wasn't your Mate. Is she your Mate Justin?"

Looking him in the eyes, I slowly nodded. "Fucking hell Justin. You rejected her in front of the whole damn pack. She won't ever be respected now since you did that. Everyone will treat her as Lucy did." A growl crawled its way up my body and out my throat. "Anyone who disrespects my Mate will have to talk to me personally. I will make sure she gets the respect she deserves." "Whatever you say, Alpha." 'This bitch' 'Hush Rhydian, you know he is joking. But he is right. People will not respect her because of the way I treated her. I will be required to ensure the pack knows she is important to me.' 'You better. I already told you, you would regret that.' Rolling my eyes, I got up and headed back down the stairs.

Last night everyone tried to develop ideas, but no one could come up with a single strong thought. I noticed one person, in particular, being entirely to quiet through the entire thing. Lilac Thomas. I knew she and Melanie were friends in high school. I need to know what she knows. She hasn't talked to anyone since after school. "Lilac, come here." Her eyes snapped up and met mine. Quickly she moved over to me, bowing her head as she approached me. "You were a friend to Melanie. You know exactly where she has gone, don't you?" Lilac whipped her head up, meeting my eyes. "N-no, I have no idea where Melanie has gone." 'She's lying.' "Now now, Lilac, you shouldn't lie to your Alpha. Tell me what you know. Now!" Lilac hesitated before pulling out a crumpled up note and handed it to me.

Dear Lilac,

Hey hon, I am sorry that I had to leave you without saying goodbye. However, this morning I found my Mate, and he rejected me. I need to get out. That was the final straw for Maddy. She is poorly hurt, Lilac. I am heading north, I don't know where I will end up, but I will call you tomorrow. If I do not, then you can assume I am dead. Please do not show this to Alpha Justin cause he will most likely not care. I love you so much, Lil. Take good care of yourself, because I promise you I will be back for you.

Love,

Melanie

Growling, I handed the note back to Lilac, who took it quickly and tried to run off. "Not so fast. Lilac, hand me your phone." I outstretched my hand towards her. Lilac's eyes went wide. "B-but if she calls." "I will answer the phone. I need to know she is safe, Lilac. I messed up badly as a mate. I will be paying for it for the rest of my life and then some. I know what I lost, and now I would like it back." Lilac eyes went soft a little bit. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to have the cell phone my mate might call later today." Nodding, she handed over her cell phone, told me the password, and left. But not before she said something that hit me right in the heart. "Melanie was always just trying to get by here. You guys made her life hell. I know you are sorry, but that is a lot of making up you must do. She got hurt in the worst way possible and by the one person who needed to save her from it. Don't hurt her anymore. Please, I am begging you."

We eventually had the pack come inside for lunch, and during lunch, I felt a vibration emit from inside my pocket. "Shit, I almost forgot about the phone." Whipping it out, I looked at the caller ID and noticed it said private caller. Could this be Melanie? 'Well, you won't ever know unless you answer it, huh?' 'Shut up, Rhydian.' Clicking the green button, I held the phone up to my ear and walked out of the kitchen.

"Lilac!" It was her. She was alive. She sounded happy even. "MELANIE?!" There was no noise, complete silence. Please don't tell me she hung up. I looked down at the phone and saw the call was still connected, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be soon unless I did something. "Please don't hang up. Listen, please." Once again, silence. What is she thinking? I want to know. "What do you want, Justin?" Her voice was fast and sharp. Alright, consider this, Justin, what did you want to say when you got ahold of her. Think think. 'You love her.' 'Not now, Rhydian.' "I just want to figure out where you are. I messed up Melanie. I am sorry." I heard a shift in her breathing, and then the most beautiful thing happened.

"Rhydian. It's Maddy. Come to me, Mate." 'Let me through. I need to talk to her.' I felt Rhydian push me back. "Maddy? Is it true, my dear Mate?" I could feel the happiness Rhydian was emitting. I know he loves Maddy already, and I know I screwed this up for him, but I will do my best to fix what I broke. "Yes, it is. I have missed you." A smile graced my lips, and I don't think anything could take it off. "As have I. I am sorry for what Justin has done to Melanie. I never knew she was our Mate, I never knew you used to be my Mate. If I had known, he would not have been able to get away with all of the beatings." 'Sorry, Rhydian, I never would have done any of that. I shouldn't have even done that. I am sorry.' 'Its alright, Justin. I know why you did it. I understand, and hopefully, so will Maddy and Melanie.'

"Rhydian, I am in the Midnight pack territory. Melanie ran four states over just for me. Justin hurt me, my dear, so Melanie left for my sake." Rhydian let out a deep feral growl. "Why the hell are you there?!" I could feel myself on the verge of shifting, but even I was upset. "Rhydian, calm down. As I said, Justin hurt me badly, and Melanie did the only thing she knew to do. She ran. Will you come and get me back plea-." Her sentence was cut short, and there was silence over the phone. "Maddy?! Maddy! Answer me!" We heard a low growl from over the phone, and on instinct, we started growling right back, wanting to be there to protect what was ours. Then a muffled voice called out. "He shall do no such thing. You will not be leaving anytime soon." Maddy let out a growl, almost challenging him. "Give me the phone back. Alpha I was not finished speaking with my Mate." Pride washed over Rhydian and I as she stood up to that Alpha. She was becoming more confident by the second.

"Don't you speak to me like that! I am the Alpha here! You will respect me." Daemon was going to die if he hurts her. 'Rhydian, he better not touch her, or I swear I will rip him limb from limb.' 'Do not worry Justin, you will be in line, I will kill the person who hurts our mate.' Rhydian then growled out. "If you touch her, I swear to god Daemon, I will kill you with my bare hands." WE heard the phone get moved, and then Daemon finally decided to speak. "Don't you dare come on to my land and we won't have to worry about that." Once again, Maddy growled at Daemon, and once again, our pride for our Mate swelled. "I will be getting out of this place. You cannot hold me here. I am going back to my Mate even if he has to come on to your territory and get me. I will be leaving with him." Daemon let out a loud and thunderous growl and slammed the phone down, effectively disconnecting our call. I was looking at the phone before racing back into the kitchen. "I know where Melanie is, but we have to hurry. She is in danger." Pack members nodded, placing down their food and drinks. Multiple people walked out back and shifted, jumping around waiting for my command. I walked out, let my eyes change colors. I got down, ready to run. "Let's go." Then I let Rhydian take over as we left off towards Midnight territory.

It took us about three hours to reach one state over. I agreed that everyone needed a break, so I stopped and told Dillion to set up a camp. "I'm going for a walk. Dillion make sure no one does anything stupid." Nodding, he continued to help put tents up. 'Rhydian, do you believe that she got away?' 'Maybe you should ask her for yourself.' 'What do you mean?' Rhydian said nothing but smiled. Then I smiled at it. Melanie. "Melanie!" I started running towards the scent but slowed down when I heard growling and her voice. "Daemon, I need to talk to a doctor." The only response she got was a growl. 'Justin, get in there and protect mate.' 'I am trying, but he will launch himself at her if I go in now.' Rhydian grumbled, but he knew I was right. "Fuck." The word was whispered off of Melanie's lips just as Daemon launched himself at her.

I jumped forward, shifting mid-air. Nevertheless, Daemon already had her pinned underneath him. I could smell her blood, and that put Rhydian into a frenzy. As I was about to start attacking him, a voice stopped me mid-step. "Jus-Justin." I turned my head and looked over at Melanie. Her hand raised, but it was shaking, and also covered in blood. Melanie's blood. My pack members were showing up and helping push Daemon back to his territory. He tried to push past them, but they held tall. Eventually, he turned and left. But not after letting out a long howl. More commonly referred to as a battle howl. Meaning he was declaring battle against me., Well great. 'Focus Justin. Mate is dying right now.' 'Right sorry.'

"Melanie, I am so sorry. I will repay you for everything. I will ensure that you live the high life from now on. You will be a princess." I looked down and saw that she had fainted. I knew that meant she didn't have much time left. Picking her body up, I ran home. I ran for what appeared to be ten hours, even though it was only a five hour run in human form. As I ran inside, I shouted for our healer. "Calum!" He came running in and immediately took Melanie out of my arms. Rhydian didn't like that, and neither did I because we both started growling, and my eyes shifted colors immediately. "Justin, I need you to calm down. I need to check out her wounds. She is losing a lot of blood." It seemed as though I couldn't stop growling. 'Rhydian, stop it. He needs to help Melanie.' 'He is touching what is ours; he is trying to take her away from us.' 'No, Rhydian Calum is only helping!' Calum started moving once again, and Rhydian shoved me to the back of my head but, something happened. It was as though neither of us was in control. We lift our head and see Calum holding a needle. "I'm sorry, Alpha." Then everything in sight was swallowed in darkness.

*Time Elapses*

'Justin, what happened? Why am I feeling groggy?' What the hell? What happened to me? 'I don't know Rhydian, but I am going to try to move. I can barely feel you there.' He nodded and retreated, trying to gain his strength also. Focusing, I tried to open my eyes, and that's when everything hit me. Melanie, Daemon, blood, Mate, Calum. My body immediately went into overdrive, and I lunged up. "Melanie!" Everything was still blurry, but I saw a figure standing in front of my bed. Squinting my eyes, slowly, the model became distinct. Melanie. Adrenaline kicked in, and I lunged forward, grabbing her arm, I pulled her to me. My face buried in her neck, I took a deep breath in. 'Justin… You might need to let her go.' 'Rhydian, how could you say that!!' 'She's injured for one, and probably can't breathe.' Right then, I felt three gentle taps on my back. "Um, Justin. I can't breathe." Releasing her, I placed her on my bed. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Are you in any pain? Fuck, I should have thought about that before grabbing you. Melanie are yo-." A small hand covered my mouth, and the body it was connected to was laughing. "Justin, calm down. I am fine. Yes, I'm hurt, but I don't feel any of it right now because Calum gave me some pain meds. You didn't hurt me." Relief washed over me. She was okay. She mentioned Calum, and it reminded me that mother fucker sedated me. "Where is Calum? I am going to kick his ass." I jumped up but didn't get very far because an authentic voice stopped me dead in my tracks. "You will do no such thing. You will get your ass back over here and sit down with me." Turning around slowly, I stared at Melanie in disbelief. 'Ha, she told you!' 'Damn, that was hot, though.' 'Yea, you right, she is one fiery mate when she's mad.' I walked back over to her and took place on the bed. Pulling her to me, I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. "I am sorry. I'm sorry for everything I have done to you. You don't deserve any of it. You deserve the world, and from now on, that is what you are going to get. I am sorry. As of now, you are going to get treated like a princess. I know I have a lot to make up for, but Melanie, if you give me a chance to show you what kind of Mate I truly am. You will not regret it. Please give me another chance." I looked down at her, and it looked as if she had an internal debate. However, eventually, she stopped and met my eyes. "I wi-."