New Friends

Rayne stood off to the side of the dance floor, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. She planned on waiting around for another hour after that to make sure it was safe, and then she was out of this hellhole. She had been turning down dances and pawing hands for longer than she wished tonight. Every time she tried to make her way to the door of the ballroom, she somehow caught Wilson’s eye and he would glare at her. Did he know what she was planning or was he just watching her make sure that she stuck around to find her mate? Everyone knew he wanted her gone, yet no one knew why he kept her here after her parents had died.

There was once a time that Rayne had thought of finding her mother’s pack and running away to find her uncle who was the Alpha of The Crystal Dawn pack. Wilson had told her when she was thirteen that no one from her mother’s pack wanted her either. She has been heartbroken and cried herself to sleep for days until she decided that it didn’t matter. She would just go rogue and go as far away from here as possible. There was so much more to the world than a small pack in Arizona. She spent four years dreaming of where she would go. California and the ocean were her ultimate plan, and she could not wait to leave and be free.

She had hidden all the cash she earned over the last two years since Wilson had finally agreed to pay her for being their maid. It wasn’t much, but it would get her somewhere far enough away that she could find a job and earn enough to get to California. Now if time would just go faster so she could make her dream a reality. She imagined the salty ocean air, the sand beneath her toes, and all the possibilities she would find waiting for her. She knew that there was a small rogue pack in southern California that she would probably make her home, or at the very least let them know that there would be a lone wolf in their territory.

What would it be like finally being on her own? With no pack to protect her? Not like they ever really did. Most of the pack turned a blind eye to how she got treated in the Alpha’s house. Only the cook in the mansion ever paid her any attention, and that was only to make sure she did what she was told. Sometimes Beta Henry’s wife would bring her clothes and little things to make Rayne smile, but she was just as afraid of Wilson as everyone else was. Rayne no longer cared why Wilson hated her. She has spent too much of her childhood trying to please the only father figure she had. Too many times had she hope he would finally welcome her into his family and treat her like he did his children, but as she got older, she saw that even they got treated no better.

Bridgette got spoiled and pampered, but Rayne knew it was mainly just to keep her quiet and out of Wilson’s sight. That explained so much of the other girl’s drama queen ways and needs to be the center of attention. Alec was treated better because he was the heir, but he stayed out of his father’s way and spent most of his time training the pack warriors or with his friends out in the nearby town doing whatever they wanted. Rayne envied his freedom to come and go. He was the only one she would miss when she left. They were close as kids before Bridgette’s jealousy became too much and he distanced himself from Rayne. She was sad but understood why he chooses distance over fighting with his sister. Fighting would bring unwanted attention to all three of them and that was something that they tried to avoid, well except for Bridgette. Even when she got negative attention, she was still happy with it, unless Wilson was angry, then we all hid the best we could.

Rayne was brought out of her thoughts as she got bumped into from behind. She jerked around expecting a blow only to find a strikingly beautiful woman looking at her in shock. Her hair was brown with red highlights and she wore a knee-length pale blue dress that hugged all her curves. What stood out the most to Rayne was the kindness in her eyes. She looked genuinely concerned that she had bumped into Rayne. This was the first time anyone had shown her kindness in their eyes. Rayne took a step back and looked around the room to see if Wilson had his eyes on her. When she spotted him at the bar talking to a group of men, she sighed and turned back to the woman who had bumped into her. She had to focus on what she was saying and felt bad for not paying attention to what was being said.

“Again, I am so sorry for bumping into you like that, I was just trying to avoid Mr. Handsy there,” the woman pointed to the grinning man behind her.

Rayne looked at her and then behind her at who she referred to and nodded her head in understanding. “It is fine, I wasn’t paying attention at all to my surroundings and that is on me.”

“The way you reacted makes me sad. You flinched like I was going to hit you,” She looked at Rayne closer and she saw old bruises and new on the girl’s skin that the concealer she wore could not hide. What have they done to this child? “My name is Arianna Stone from The Redwood Pack in Oregon.”

“Rayne Solas, Jade Moon Pack,” Rayne rubbed her arm unconsciously where her newest bruise was.

“Ah, this is your home territory. That will be good when you meet your mate, your father will already be here.”

Rayne looked down at her feet at the mention of her father. She barely remembered what he looked like anymore. The sound of his voice faded long ago. Her mother she still remembered, but that too was fading. She looked back up at Arianna and saw the look on her face and knew she understood.

“I am sorry if I hit a sore spot. When did he pass away?”

“In the last big pack war ten years ago, I was eight. Both of my parents died that night.” Rayne could feel her throat tighten as tears gathered in her eyes. She swallowed hard, cleared her throat, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I am so sorry that I brought that memory back to you. Those were dark times for all wolves. You must be excited about midnight and the knowledge that your mate could be in this very room.” Arianna looked around the room briefly, then back to Rayne.

“Not at all, I have other plans. I do not want or need a mate.” Rayne looked around the crowd the same way Ariana did, but her eyes held a different determination than the other woman did.

The firm note of defiance in Rayne’s voice had Arianna looking at her oddly. The girl sounded too much like Sebastion, but for different reasons. She felt a sudden protectiveness to the girl. She had experienced loss at such a young age, and from the sight of the new and old bruises. She is being abused by someone in this pack. Rayne kept looking towards the bar area. She had a feeling of who it was. Alpha Wilson has been known for his sour temper and violent nature. She would not just leave this girl behind tonight if Rayne did not find her mate tonight, she would offer her a home. Sebastion would probably dislike it, but he rarely told her no and she would make sure he didn’t this time.

“You sound just like my twin.” A thought struck her. “It would be ironic if you two were mates.”

“I would reject him and carry on with my plans, I do not need a mate. I am only here tonight because they forced me to be.” Rayne moved to walk away from her, but Arianna reached out and touched her arm, stopping her.

“When you make your move and you leave this pack behind you, come to Redwood, I will make a place for you.”

Rayne didn’t know what to say to that. A place to feel safe and at home was something that she had always wanted. Somewhere that she was welcome and wanted. From the kindness that Arianna had shown her, she knew that what she offered was genuine and it scared her at the same time. It wouldn’t be that easy as nothing in her life ever was, but she wanted to believe it could be.

“I will think about it,” was all she said.

“That is all I can ask for.”

“What is your pack like?”

“My brother Sebastion is the Alpha. He took over five years ago so that my father and mother could travel to Europe. We are one of the more prominent packs on the west coast. We are near Portland, Oregon.”

Arianna looked around briefly wondering where her brother and his whore went off too. She could no longer see him on the terrace. He better be in here soon or when she found him and Gia, she would make sure they both would regret sneaking off.

“How big is your pack?”

“Oh, we have about nine hundred members. We have businesses all over Oregon, Washington, and California, so we are not all on pack lands all the time. My brother and I run the companies from Portland.”

It surprised Rayne with all they had. It was much more than Wilson ever dreamed. He failed at every business venture he tried and was struggling with keeping the few his father left him afloat. Alec would do better and she hoped he would challenge Wilson for the Alpha title sooner rather than later, not that she would be around to see him do so.

“Rayne!!” Wilson called from behind her.

She jumped and spun around to face him. When the hell did he move from the bar? This would not be good. Would he hurt her in front of all these people? Yes.

Arianna looked at the approaching man in disgust. He was who Rayne was afraid of. Her Alpha was her abuser, and that was wrong. It meant he was to protect every wolf in his pack, not hurt them. She needed to find her brother and show him what is going on here. He could not stand weak men who thought it was ok to hurt women. She turned back to Rayne and saw fear in her eyes. She didn’t want to leave her alone but knew if she stayed it would probably be worse for the girl. She reached out and squeezed her arm and then walked away to find Sebastion.

Wilson watched as the woman walked away and growled low as he got closer to Rayne. What had that girl been saying about him? What lies did she tell a total stranger? He stalked over to Rayne, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out into the hall, his grip on her arm brutal and meant to hurt. His eyes flashing to black as he felt the rage take control. Her yelp of pain did not stop him. Once in the hallway, he pulled her further down the hall away from the door to the ballroom, stopping at the bottom of the grand staircase. He spun around and smacked her hard across her face, splitting her lip instantly. The blood welling up on her lip made him even angrier. She was weak and didn’t belong in his pack. He couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

“What did you say to that woman? What lies did you tell her?” He yelled at her as he yanked her closer to him.

Tears sprang to her eyes from his slap. She tasted the blood on her lip but found her words gone as his rage consumed him. Rayne struggled in his hold, but no words left her mouth, only her ragged breathing as she struggled to break free. Her wolf lay dormant like she had since she was fifteen and that bastard had stolen her innocence. No help like always. She was a weak, wolfless girl. She was practically human. She could feel the hot tears roll down her cheeks.

“WHAT”

Slap

“DID”

Slap

“YOU”

Slap

“SAY!!!”

Slap

The last slap hit her so hard she saw stars, her knees buckled and he dropped her to the floor, his harsh breathing was all she heard. Her tears made him growl in rage.

“You are a weak and pathetic excuse for a wolf, even your wolf has abandoned you.” He spat on her, then kicked her in the stomach. “Now tell me what you said to that woman.”

“I was…. only telling…” Rayne struggled to breathe after he had kicked her in her stomach but force the words out hoping he would stop, “her about…. my parents.”

“Did she know them?”

“No.”

“Then why bring them up?”

“She mentioned fathers, I told her mine was dead” Rayne struggled to sit up only to get kicked in the stomach again.

Through all of this, neither of them heard the bell strike midnight, but the sudden scent of jasmine and vanilla hit her nose from somewhere close. That meant only one thing. Her mate was near.

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