CHAPTER THREE

I do not return to the same den I slept in last night.

Instead, I follow Impala to his den.

My new home.

With my new mate.

It is a mess inside.

"Impala," I say. "You're untidy."

He chuckles. "That is why I need a mate."

"If you think I am tidying up after you, you are sorely mistaken. Lunas do not tidy."

"You're not a luna anymore," he reminds me.

"Make yourself comfortable," he says. "I'm going hunting."

"And me? What will I do while you're out?"

He shrugs. "You could tidy

I am appalled. "You're a pig."

"you'll learn to love me, Oryx."

"That is not my name," I say. "I am Victoria."

"whatever you say, Oryx!"

He leaves the den.

I sit down in the corner.

I am angry. Angry at him.

I do not want to accept this.

We are opposites.

No matter how I look at it, we are opposites.

We will never be a good match.

I am supposed to lead not clean!

Not sit around waiting for my lower ranked mate to come home.

I am supposed to lead.

I am supposed to outrank him.

This is not right.

This is not going to work.

Soon, I hear Impala return.

"Did you catch anything?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

He is not even a good hunter.

He is a failure.

How can I have accepted him?

The guard.

I hated him the moment I saw him.

I hated him even before he spoke to me.

He was the guard.

I was luna.

He was nothing.

Now, I am nothing.

I am just another wolf.

I do not matter.

This is so disappointing.

I feel like I'm going to cry.

I will not cry.

I will not cry over this.

I hear a knock at the den door.

I frown.

"Who's there?" I call out.

"My name is Cloud," a voice says through the door. "And I want to talk to you."

"What do you want?" I ask.

Impala is not here.

I don't know the rules of this pack yet, but entertaining males when your mate is not home was forbidden in my old one.

"I want to talk," Cloud says.

"I'm busy," I say. "Go away."

"I'm not going to go away," he says. "I'm coming in."

Before I can stop him, the wolf pushes the den door open.

He strides inside.

He is dressed as a guard.

My heart rate spikes.

"Get out," I say.

I am not in the mood for this.

I am not in the mood for any of this.

"No," Cloud says. "I will not leave. The alpha has asked me to watch over you. To keep you safe."

"I do not need safety," I say. "I do not need protecting."

"You are an omega. What you say doesn't matter."

"I am a luna," I say.

"You are an omega wolf. I am a night howler."

"What is that?"

"A night howler. A protector of female wolves."

I am confused.

We had no such thing in my old pack.

Females were fighters, just the same as males.

Cloud makes himself at home.

He sits in the chair.

"You were matched today?" he asks. "To Impala?"

"Yes," I say.

He laughs. "I'm so sorry. What a bad match!"

I frown.

I don't know why, but this insults me.

"Why do you say that?" I ask.

"Impala is a failure," Cloud says. "I'm surprised they even let him take a mate."

My heart is pounding.

I am angry.

I have never heard anything so infuriating in my entire life.

"You'll have weak cubs," he adds.

"I don't want cubs," I say.

"You think you don't," he says. "You don't know. Pack life is so different from luna life."

"I don't want cubs," I say again.

He smirks. "I'm sure you'll change your mind."

"I won't."

"You should. Seeing your firstborn is a beautiful thing."

I try to picture the poor woman married to this jerk.

How many cubs has she made for him?

Poor thing.

He looks around.

"Where is Impala?" he asks.

"He's hunting," I say.

"He's hunting? Hunting what? A mouse?"

He throws his head back and laughs.

"Don't listen to him," a voice says.

I turn to see Impala in the doorway.

He is panting.

He has a dead animal in his mouth.

A rabbit.

I run over to him.

Instinctively, I lick Impala's face.

I feel suddenly protective of him.

Cloud just stares at us.

I don't know what to think about this.

"Impala killed a rabbit," he says, thinly. "That's a big deal."

"I am back," Impala says. "You can leave."

Cloud stands up and approaches Impala. "I am watching your mate."

"I'll watch over her," he says.

"It's my job," Cloud says. "I'm a night howler."

"I can watch over my own mate."

"You can't watch over her if you're standing there talking to me," Cloud sneers.

Then he rips the rabbit out of Impala's jaws and eats it in front of him. One gulp.

"What are you doing?" Impala demands.

"Being a night howler is hard work."

"You can't just steal my food!"

"You should go and hunt some more," Cloud says.

The atmosphere is unbearable.

I get to my feet.

I don't want to be near this.

"I am leaving."

Cloud looks down at me. "You can't."

"I can't stay here," I say.

"You have to," Cloud says.

"I don't have to do anything," I say. "Just because you're a higher rank doesn't mean I have to listen to you."

Cloud is fuming.

He growls.

For a moment, I think he's going to hurt me.

I feel nervous.

I have to admit that.

But I don't care.

I can't stay here with these two awful men.

I need to get out of this.

Out of my match.

Out of this pack.

I leave the den.

Cloud follows me out.

He is still growling.

"Get out of my way," I snarl.

"You can't leave," he says. "It's not safe."

"I'm going to find the alpha."