Ben barely caught his breath when he heard a crack nearby. He sat up and scanned his surroundings. A breeze blew a familiar scent past him, but because his mind was not open to other wolves, the Omega wolves could not communicate with him.
One of them shifted into her human form and untied her dress from her back leg and put it on before stepping into clear view, “you know it will be a lot easier if you just open your mind.”
Ben recognized her as one of the visiting pack’s Omegas and felt at ease but wondered why she was sent after him.
Ben tried to open his mind to her, but the truth was that he never learned how to. The only people ever in his mind were Alphas and Lunas hat forced their way in.
‘I will have to shift so that I can talk to her,’ Ben thought and shifted.
“I don’t know how to let others in,” Ben admitted and sat down so that he can cover more of his naked body. The other Omega’s in their wolf's form came out from their hiding spots.
“You belong to our pack now. Don’t you feel the Luna invitation?” she questioned.
“So, Melina was telling the truth? I got sold like an effen animal,” Ben sneered.
“You are free to accept or be a rogue. Our Luna doesn’t keep slaves or servants, but she does like to set them free,” the Omega smiled and tried to put his mind at ease.
“How much did I cost her?” Ben wondered.
“Probably more than what you are worth,” the Omega smiled.
“So, are you coming home with us or not?” the Omega questioned.
“I am not leaving Melina. I love her,” Ben said objectively.
“She does not care for you. She only set you free because she felt sorry for you. She does not see you as her equal,” the Omega explained.
“That is a lie,” Ben protested.
“Look at me and then try to talk to me without using your words,” the Omega tried to teach him how to open his mind.
It didn’t take long for Ben to get the hang of it and soon he saw and heard what the Omegas heard Melina say to her best friend.

“Wow, how hot is that slave boy now?” Melina’s best friend exclaimed on arrival for the twins’ birthday events a week ago.
“Gross,” Melina said, not willing to admit to anyone that she has to fight her heart from wandering off to fantasies of being with Ben.
“Well, I think he is hot. Just because he is a slave does not mean he is not attractive,” the friend chuckled as they ran off to her room.

“Fine,” Ben said, not sure if he was angry with himself for believing that Melina set him free because she loved him or for loving him.
The Omega turned her back on him and took off her dress. She tied it around her back leg and shifted into her wolf form.
Ben shifted as well and ran with them, unaware that Melina’s brother spotted them.

‘I guess he had a little pack of his own out here in the woods all along,’ Evan showed his family, including Melina, what he saw.
Melina tried to block her mind so that no one feels her heartbreaking but unfortunately, she couldn’t from her father.
‘So, you are in love with that low life? He just used you,’ her father mind linked her.
‘Get out of my head,’ Melina mind linked him with tears running down her face.
‘I just hope that you will meet your fated mate and all traces of Ben in your heart will be gone,’ her father's mind linked her before allowing her to block him out; feeling her broken heart is punishment enough for now.

Evan, Melina’s twin brother, met his fated mate a week later at a human house party, but she was also Lycan. Melina didn’t meet her fated mate for a whole year. It was only the week before the twins’ 18th birthday, with the arrival of the invited packs, that Melina founded her fated mate.

Melina was eagerly waiting at her window, looking down at the courtyard as the guest arrived. She was waiting for the pack that bought Ben to arrive and wondered if the Luna will bring him with.
“You are wasting your time waiting on him. We did not invite the Pack he belongs to,” her father interrupted her thoughts, speaking out loud making her jump away from the window.
Melina knew it won’t help to deny it since she suspects her father was in her mind without her realizing it.
“Go downstairs and mingle with the guest. You never know your fated mate might be amongst them,” her father encouraged her.
“Yes father,” Melina said, no longer using the word daddy.
Melina stopped at the tall mirror to give herself a look over.

“You look perfect,” her father complimented.
“Thank you,” Melina said with a half-smile and took a deep breath and let it out slowly while shooting up a silent prayer, ‘please let me meet my fated mate soon.’ She was desperate to forget about Ben.

Melina took her place next to her brother, that was standing with his fingers plated to his fated mate Serina’s.
They greeted their guest with smiles and Melina noticed a few new faces that has never attended their birthdays before.
“Must be the new pack father invited,” Evan remarked.
“All in the name of finding me my fated mate,” Melina sighed.
“Gerald,” a young, not too handsome-looking guy, with a good body, held out his hand to Melina to greet her.
Melina just looked at his hand and rolled her eyes, “hi.”
Evan reached out to take Gerald’s hand to shake it but he retracted his hand and deliberately reached out and touched Melina’s face, “cheer up.”

‘MATE,’ Melina felt the mate bond rip through her and felt half disappointed, thinking, ‘I thought it would feel better than this.’