THE CONTRACTED MATE

Kali's POV.

I dragged my feet through the forest, my heart heavy as I swallowed in shame and self-pity. Atlas, my mate and the son of our pack's alpha had just rejected me in front of the entire pack. I felt like a failure, nothing but a cursed wolf not worthy of love or respect.

As I approached our family's house, I could feel my mother's anger and disappointment. She was waiting for me, her eyes blazing with rage.

"So, you're back," she spat, her voice filled with hate. "With no mate by your side, I see."

I hung my head low, unable to meet her blazing eyes. "Mother, please-"

But she cut me off, her words like a slap to my face. "You're a disgrace, Kali. A cursed mistake that should have never been born. You're a failure as a daughter, a failure as a wolf. You should have never been brought into existence, a blight on the earth. A wretched cursed wolf is all you are and all you will ever be."

"I. I am sorry mother..." I managed to force the words out of my throat.

"Sorry? Will sorry rid you of that curse?! Will sorry get you a mate?" My mother hissed and walked menacingly towards me.

My breath caught in my throat and I closed my eyes expecting a slap on my cheek but to my utmost surprise, she stopped right in front of me, looking at me like I was some worthless piece of shit.

Finally, she hardly pulled my hand and dragged me to my room, roughly shoved me inside slammed the door to my room, locking me in. "You'll stay in there until you learn to be worthy of our pack," she hissed.

I collapsed on the bed, my body shaking as I sobbed. I felt like I would die of shame and rejection, my mother's cruel words echoing in my mind, refusing to stop, reminding me of how I never got any form of maternal love from my mother.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, then realized that had two choices: give up and accept my fate as a cursed wolf and the pack's spitbowl, or find a way to escape and prove myself worthy. But how could I possibly do that, when my mother thought I was a cursed mistake?

I lay there, my tears running down my cheeks, my mind filled with the cruel truth of my mother's words. Every word, every sentence, every hiss reminded me of how she hated me. I was born with a curse, I didn't choose to be cursed.

Why should I be blamed for something I didn't want?

As I cried, my sobs seemed to have found their way into my mother's ears. She stormed into my room, her eyes blazing with fury, her hand balled into a fist.

"You're crying?" she sneered. "You're crying because you're a failure? Because you're a cursed wolf who can't even keep a mate? You're pathetic, Kali. You're a weak, little wolf who can't even stand up for herself. A mutt who should have never been born in the first place."

"You're a disgrace to our pack," she spat. "You're a shame to our family. You're nothing but a cursed mistake, a wolf who should have never been born. I should have fed you with poison instead of my milk!"

"Mother..."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare call me a mother?"

I tried to defend myself, but my words were stuck in my throat, refusing to come out. I tried to explain, to plead, to beg for mercy, but she wouldn't listen. She raged on, her verbal thrashing coming out of her mouth, shredding every last bit of hope I thought I had left.

"You're nothing but a burden," she hissed. "A burden to our pack, a burden to our family. You're a waste of space, a waste of resources. You're nothing but a cursed wolf, a wolf who doesn't deserve to live."

I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't escape the cruelty of her words.

Finally, she stormed out of the room, leaving me alone in the darkness. I lay there, feeling like a broken object who can never be fixed again, a worthless mutt who wasted time and resources by being born.

But even in the silence, her words continued to echo in my head. I could still hear her voice, still feel the heat of her anger. I knew that I had to escape, had to find a way out of this house, out of this pack, out of this misery. But for now, I lay there, trapped in my room, my heart heavy and my breath coming in short ragged gasp.

As I lay there, my body shaking with sobs, my inner wolf spoke to me.

She said in a whisper, "Kali, my dear, do not listen to her. She has no idea who you are, your courage, strength, or heart. She does not know how strong you are."

Her calm words were like a balm to my battered soul, I could only smile to myself.

"Run away, Kali," she advised. "Leave this place, leave this pack. You don't need them, you don't need her. You are strong enough to survive on your own. If you stay here they will keep trampling on your worth and make you feel useless."

I considered her words, weighing the pros and cons of my possible escape. I thought of the dangers of the forest, and the hardship that comes with finding food and shelter. But I also thought of the freedom, the independence, the chance to be free from the harsh words mother and everyone else had to say about me.

As I thought of escaping, my tears slowed, and my breathing calmed. I wiped the tears that were on my cheeks and sat up straight.

But as I sat up, as I prepared to make my escape, I hesitated. I thought of my mother's words, her anger, her rejection. I thought of the pack, the only family I had ever known. Even tho they said such mean things to me, they were the only family I had... the only roof I had over my head, and my only hope of a sure meal.

And so I stayed, stuck in my fear and doubt. My inner wolf whispered words of encouragement, but I couldn't bring myself to take a step forward.

For now, I remained, stuck in the darkness, not of what the future held.

After what seemed like an eternity

... I heard Mother's voice... talking with someone.

"Are you sure you want her to become a pack breeder? The alpha would not tolerate mistakes... this could mean signing your daughter's death certificate." A deep manly voice said.

My heart raced in my head as I tried to figure out who this person was and what was he talking about.

"Breeder?"