Chapter 1

"Ow, ow, ow... My head hurts."

A familiar scent filled Castellana's nostrils and even though it was pleasantly relaxing, it unnerved her because it was something she could not remember. Such things simply scared her to some extent. A groan left her lips when she attempted to move as her body felt rather exhausted and sore.

It was probably one of those days again when she suddenly woke up from a deep slumber and could not recall what happened hours ago. Either way, she forced herself to open her eyes while massaging her temple and sat up whilst feeling her head throbbing.

She scanned her surroundings with half-opened eyes, still feeling a bit sleepy.

Confirmed.

This place was definitely not hers. There was just no way that her room would be this tidy. And not to mention, it looked elegantly simple. Her total opposite. The cold touch of the air conditioning brushed her skin and made her look at herself.

Wait...

Why was she naked again? Was she so tired from the party that she forgot to put on some clothes after a shower? Huh? A shower?

Then, why doesn't she smell like her bodywash? She sniffed at herself and with her heightened sense of smell, she was certain that someone else's scent was all over her. Another unfamiliar thing. And what's up with these red marks all over her chest? Bed bugs, perhaps? Questions upon questions popped in her mind.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something move right next to her. The moment she turned to her right, she almost let out a yelp. She shook her head with a dreaded look.

No, no, no.

This man... His scent... It was his scent that was all over her. She slowly lifted the white blanket covering his lower extremities to confirm her suspicion, but the moment she saw his morning, she immediately regretted it and shut her eyes.

Was it supposed to be that big though? She gulped as she gripped the blanket. If they indeed did the deed, how did that freaking fit in? No wonder... She felt sore. She gathered her thoughts. This was not the right time to be thinking such a thing!

"Okay, Castellana Sullivan... Relax. Do not make a single noise or this man..." she whispered, only to stop for a while. "Wait a damn minute..."

Looking closely at him, she found him somehow familiar. She just could not pinpoint the exact place and time when she saw him, but she was sure that he was someone she knew. How could she forget the name of such a handsome man? Her gaze landed on his neck where she saw a pair of punctures. She pursed her lips and lightly slapped her forehead.

She... She definitely bit him, but she could not remember the taste of his blood. She sniffed at him. Hmm... He did not smell tasty at all so she probably did not enjoy his blood. She stared at him closely with the hope that his name would finally come to mind.

But when her gaze landed on the tattoo of an amethyst-eyed wolf baring its fangs on his chest, she gasped.

"Oh, shit..." she cursed.

There was only one person in the werewolf world that had amethyst eyes. No, it cannot be. This man... He was definitely Alpha Alaric Ivanov of the Ivanov Bratva! And the mere fact that she bit him will only give him more reason to hate her pack, the Fajardo.

"Castellana Sullivan, what did you freaking do?!" she screamed internally. "W-Wait... There is no time to waste."

She quietly left the bed, grabbed her clothes, and tiptoed out of the bedroom. She had no idea how and why this had happened, but every nerve in her body screamed that she must flee this place before that fearsome creature woke up. It took her only a minute to put on her dress and rush out of the apartment. She did not care how she looked because what mattered the most was for her to escape.

As much as she wanted to run back home, she could not do that because, first and foremost, she had to get rid of that man's scent on her. The last thing she wanted was for her family to find out that she slept with the very man who wanted her loved ones to be eliminated. Hence, she rushed into a public bathhouse and scrubbed every part of her body several times before hailing a cab back home.

"What? How did that even happen? I mean... I did not even drink that much to get drunk and be laid by..." She grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled it out of frustration. "Of all people, why did it have to be him?!"

She could feel the driver's strange looks towards her, but she simply ignored it and paid him after reaching the entrance of her home.

"Okay, Castellana. Relax. Pretend like nothing happened."

She shook her hands vigorously as if shaking away any negative thoughts before entering the main entrance.

"Castel... Where have you been all night?" her mother asked the moment they stumbled into each other.

"I just came from my friend's house. We pretty much passed out after going all out last night," she replied.

Her mother examined her, which she always does every time she spends a night away from home. As usual, her hands were cold. A reminder that she was a vampire, pureblooded at that. Contrary to her physical coldness, she was the warmest person to ever exist so it was not surprising why her father fell for her.

After some time, her mother looked at her suspiciously.

"You spent a night with a man, am I right?" she questioned.

She hated how sharp she was!

"Of course not! Why would you even think about such a thing?" she said as if her question was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard.

"It is obvious how you washed up first before coming here to get rid of that man's scent. I know you are an adult already, but you must refrain from engaging in such an act. Who knows? Your mate might be suffering the consequences," she said as she motioned her to follow her. "And you are glowing. You must really have enjoyed doing the deed last night."

She shuddered at her last statement. She may not be able to recall it, but just thinking that she did it with Alpha Alaric just made her want to bury herself six feet underground. But that matter aside, right, her mother mentioned her mate. She sighed.

"Mom, you are very much aware that even at this age, I still haven't found my mate," she mumbled, but she was pretty sure she heard that. Yet she just chuckled.

"Castel, you are still young. Sooner or later, you will find your mate. The moon goddess is not that cruel to not give you one. Perhaps you will find him at this upcoming gathering," she said.

"Gathering?"

"The peace pact between our pack and the Ivanov Bratva."

She thought she was just joking, but she sounded pretty serious about it.

"Mom... Ivanov Bratva wants us dead because of our vampire blood. I see no use why we have to do that peace pact. I bet it was just some kind of bluff to subdue us."

She was not even kidding. The Ivanov pack was the reason why they, the Sullivans, were always backed into a corner. Castellana even lost count of how many times they declared in wanting her mother dead. If only the alpha of their pack and her father had not killed the vampires who wanted the werewolf race gone, then the Sullivans would have been wiped out years ago.

"Come on now, Castel. If your mate is indeed from that pack, then the Ivanov would see it as a sign from the moon goddess that we are meant to join forces," her mother said as if wishing that her mate was indeed from that hateful pack.

She rolled her eyes to the side. She did not like that idea at all because if it indeed happened, then she was more than sure that her mate would despise her. He would even call their bond a curse since he was paired with a werewolf having vampire blood running in her veins.

Either way, she excused herself and headed to her room so she could get changed. While doing so, she tried so hard to remember how she ended up in that situation.

"Okay, let's recount what happened," she muttered to herself. "I went to the bar alone. I sat by the counter and ordered some drinks. I had several glasses and... and..."

She almost pulled out her own hair because everything after that just looked plain black. It was hard to tell if she was the one who approached Alpha Alaric or if it was the other way around. But then again, why would a person who hated her approach her out of nowhere? Not to mention, they had never seen each other in person before. It would also be impossible if he had not recognized her when her face was literally everywhere, especially now that she was in the middle of promoting make-up brands as a model.

"Of all times, why did that damn memory gap occur at such an important time?"

Her attention shifted to the door, where she heard a knock.

"It's open. Come in!" she said, putting on some new clothes before stepping out of the walk-in closet.

"Ivana, what's the matter?" she asked her younger sister, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

"An invitation came for you." She showed her the envelope before placing it on the side table. "Anyway, Father is summoning all of us in the living room. He said it's an important meeting."

She did not sound really enthusiastic about it because, most of the time, family meetings did not bring any good news. Well, she just hoped it would be different this time, but she knew it had something to do with the upcoming joint training with the Ivanovs. She and Ivana headed downstairs together, where they found Diana sitting next to their Mom.

Their Dad was as serious as ever, making Castellana wonder once again why her Mom, a ball of sunshine despite being a vampire, fell for someone like him. But then again, she always had weird tastes so that alone should not be something surprising.

Sitting on the couch across from their mother, the place went more deadly quiet than before.

"Tomorrow is already the joint training with the Ivanovs. Needless to say, I want all of you to behave so there would be no trouble rising there." His gaze settled on Castellana. "If by the end of the joint training and you have not found your mate yet, you will be participating in the mate hunt on the last day of training."

Her eyes widened. She wanted to negate it. She wanted to protest, however, she could feel Ivana and Diana's gaze on her. If she dared question their Dad's decision, then they might do the same in the future, thinking that disobeying him would be a good thing.

"I..." She gulped. "I understand."

"I also called your agency to give you three breaks from your work so you can focus on your training," he added.

Right after saying what he had to say, their Dad immediately left because he still needed to attend an important meeting of the pack since he was the beta. Mrs. Sullivan followed Castellana back into her room and gave her one of her 'It's okay, let's talk about it' smile. Before either of them could speak, her mother came forward and gave her a hug.

She embraced her back, leaning her head against her exposed shoulder. Somehow, her coldness gave Castellana comfort. They stayed like that for a while before they settled on her bed.

"So..." she said. "Why did you not tell your father that you are against that mate hunt?"

She shook my head.

"It's not like I am against it. I was just shocked," she replied.

"My sugarplum, I am your mother so there is no need to lie to me. Tell me, do you wish to be mated with an Ivanov?"