Chapter 2

Two years ago, I was human. No, I should say I forced myself to be human. I will still wholesomely say I had been human because I had no qualities of being a wolf aside from my parents' being one. But literally, I would say I was the worst human to grace the planet earth due to how antisocial I was. I mean, who would want to be friends with someone whose mind harbored different thoughts on how to take vengeance?

After I had escaped from the crisis that occurred to my pack years ago, I lived with my grandmother, who was human. Honestly, I would say it was a big miracle how I had been able to get out of the woods alive, but here I was, still alive and well.

My identity was a two-timer, more like a hybrid as I was both wolf and human. My father had been pure wolf from an Alpha bloodline and had broken the order of the wolf pack by being mated to a human who then became my mother. Such a thing wasn't outlawed anymore, but it was frowned upon in the society. It wasn't like it was something they could both control because finding a mate wasn't one's call but just a fated kind of thing, as I had mentioned before. But being that my father was the soon-to-be Alpha, they had let it slide.

The moment I knew I had to stop trying to be human was when I turned sixteen. That was exactly two years ago. And it was basically at the time that my grandma, who had been trying to force me to at least act human, accepted that I could never be one even though I carried the blood of one. My hybrid identity was never a secret to me, so when the change had occurred, I had genuinely accepted it, mostly because I had been waiting for that change all my life.

“We have arrived,”

Soon as I heard those words, I realized that the ride I was in has finally come to a halt. All along, my mind had been someplace else. I looked straight ahead, and my eyes caught the sight of a majestic building behind a barricaded wall. With the look of things, it meant I was finally at the place where everything was about to take a turnaround for me.

I turned my head to the other side, and for the first time since I began this journey, I met his gaze. The gaze of the one who, unfortunately, has been mated to me. What bad luck he had. If only he knew what was coming his way.

His eyes met mine. Those pair of green eyes were the same that stared back at me the first time I found out who my mate was going to be. Thinking about that day brought back memories of what had transpired. And hell, I really do not want to think about it.

Accepting a mate is first sealed with a kiss. A tingling sensation, or should I call it sparks, would be felt before and during the process. And trust me, both individuals would feel it.

But mine had been totally different. Instead of a wavy feeling, I had felt slight disgust right from when the sweet scent that I had traced had led me to my mate, being that I had already known the original identity of the one I was to get mated to. And honestly, I bore a hatred for him and the whole of his pack even though it was apparent he had nothing to do with the whole thing.

It had come to me as a shock, and at the same time, I was happy to realize that plans were about to be made more accessible. The kiss had been a reminder to me that there was a mission I had to execute. And since that already, I wasn't going to falter away from that.

Luckily for me, I haven't accepted to be marked yet — I haven't even wholeheartedly accepted him as mate, and we weren't even going to rush things — if not, he would be able to know what's on my mind. Trust me, with the intense way I was staring at him at the moment, he would have been able to figure that something was going on with me if that had been the case.

"Adaliah, are you okay?" he asked me in the most loving way possible, and for a moment, I was mesmerized by his voice. There was just no fighting it — the effect of the mate bond was much stronger than my will to hate him. But guess what? I'm a fighter, and I'm definitely not going to allow that to get through me.

I gave him a nod and uttered, "I'm okay. Just a bit nervous, that's all,"

He held out a hand toward me and caressed my shoulder. "It's okay to be nervous. Don't worry. I'm here with you,"

The way he uttered those words made me believe I wasn't the first girl he was saying that to. Call it a jealous instinct, and I won't argue, but it had been really smooth that if I were a feeble-minded person, I would have quickly fallen for him. All I could do was smile at him like a fool in love. Even though it was the dumbest move I could think of at the moment, it was the only thing I could do that wouldn't make him think otherwise of me.

The car was driven into the building after the guards outside had let us through. We both stepped out of the car simultaneously, and I had to adjust my gown, which had blown up due to the heavy gust of wind that was all around. I took in the scenery of the new environment I was in, and I could see that there were guards stationed outside the majestic building whom, with their smell, I could sense they were werewolves like me.

Many times in the past, I had wanted to be here. I had wanted it more than anything, holding a knife and putting it through the main person that had made my life so unpleasant. But knowing the risks involved, I had kept my emotions in check. I wouldn't even make it past the first gate if I had ever attempted such. Right now, I was in the same territory without anything to fear.

I turned my head to the other side to look at him again, and I had to force a smile at him when I saw him staring back at me. He gestured with his head for us to head into the building, and I complied almost instantly. We met across the car, and that was when he took my hand in his. I can't deny that it almost felt magical. I'm sure it's because I have never really had my hand being held that way by a man. Being a hopeless romantic, I never explored love in the past, so all of this felt new to me.

The guards didn't do anything to stop us and let us in. Well, they definitely couldn't stop the Alpha's son from passing through even though he was with a stranger. All the same, their attentive gaze at me didn't go unnoticed.

The interior of the building had this vibe I had never felt before. I had lived in something similar to this in the past, but this had a totally different vibe to it. In as much as I couldn't place my hand as to where the feeling was coming from, I wasn't going to associate it with my dislike for the occupants. But I eventually found out deep inside the building.

All through the passageway, there were different artifacts that I had never seen before, and while looking at them all,  I could see they were medieval but of rare quality. They might be way too old, but surprisingly they still looked good as new. My love for art made me realize their quality, and I wouldn't lie, I was impressed with what I saw.

I'm sure he noticed how intrigued I was with the different artifacts I saw in the hallway because all through he didn't bother to make small talks with me. I was impressed all the way, and before I knew it, we had arrived at a totally different room in the building.

I could see it was the main quarters. And with the presence of more than ten people in there, my anxiety began to kick in. Did I mention I wasn't used to the company of so many people in the same place? Well, seeing and being this close to people I don't know wasn't something I would ever get used to.

The moment our presence became known to the others, all eyes turned in our direction. And for a brief moment, I felt the urge for the earth to open up and swallow me.

"Greetings, Father," I heard my mate say, and I decided to check who those words were being directed at. And for the first time ever, I was getting a closer look at the man, or should I say wolf, who had most likely been the cause of my predicament.

And I could swear, I was beginning to lose it.