Chapter 2

Knowing her mother would surely find a way to convince her father to change his decision, Castellana can only smile and appreciate her effort. As much as she wanted her help to avoid being mated with an Ivanov, she also did not want it to be a reason for her parents to get into an argument. Not to mention, if her relationship progresses positively with an Ivanov, her family would surely be spared from further threats and scrutinizing remarks.

"Yes, Mom. I also think that it is a great idea," she replied, making her mother look at her with doubt.

She held her hand and squeezed it.

"If I change my mind, you will be the first one to know, Mom. So do not worry about me."

When her mother left, the invitation Ivana brought crossed her mind. Castellana found it on her side table, but she hesitated in opening it. She had a feeling that she might come to regret once she saw what was inside. After some time of deliberation, she finally let out a heavy breath and opened it.

The very next day, the Sullivan sisters departed to the venue of the joint training with the Ivanovs. It was held at the private island of the descendants of the ancient pack, hence, the plane they got into was owned by the Ivanovs themselves.

"Did you bring extra bags of blood?" Castellana asked her sister in a whisper.

Ivana and Diana both nodded.

"Make sure to drink one every day and remember, no matter how they try to entice you in drinking their blood, never do it," she firmly reminded them.

Castellana just did not want to put themselves in trouble because it could possibly be a reason for the Ivanovs to eliminate them. Now that their parents weren't with them, she had to be in charge of her sisters for an entire week.

After four hours of flight, Castellana could already see the island of the Ivanovs. It was larger than she imagined, especially the humungous fortress surrounding it. From what she was told, the fortress was meant to keep away the vampires during the peak of the war against them.

Within the fortress, a dense forest spread out before a clearing came into sight. From afar, it looked like a wide and best place for a golf event, however, Castellana knew it was the training ground for the Ivanovs.

When they finally landed on the island, some pack members from the Ivanovs came to meet and escort them. It was just their first hour on the island yet Castellana could already feel the mocking gazes from the Ivanovs.

"Don't mind them. They are nothing but a bunch of attention seekers," Calvin whispered to her, making her giggle in no time.

"I exactly think so, too," she agreed.

Calvin was a close friend of hers and the future alpha of the Fajardo pack. Castellana grew up with him and he definitely was the only guy she felt comfortable around with. She had suspicions that he could possibly be her mate, however, such a dream felt fleeting because even after being together for years, Calvin never once called out to her as a mate.

This one-week joint training was all she had left to confess her feelings to him. Yet one question remained in her. Will he reciprocate her romantic feelings or not? The answer scared Castellana, making it hard for her to speak of her feelings.

"Wow! Look, a grand palace!" Diana exclaimed, pointing at the palace beyond the gates.

"Heh. Sounds like what a poor person would say," one of the Ivanov pack members snorted. The other young girls snickered as well.

Ivana smiled at them and tried to fix her bangs with her middle finger raised towards the girls seemingly of the same age as her. Castellana immediately took notice so she grabbed her hand and put it down.

"Stop. Don't let them get into you," she whispered, receiving only silence from her.

"I wanna go and see what it looks like inside," Diana said.

Castellana thought that their room would be in the palace itself since it looked like it could house several packs with a thousand members. However, before she could speak, one of their escorts snickered.

"Don't get your hopes up. Only Ivanovs are allowed in there." She then pointed in the far right direction. "That's where you will be staying, the Moon mansion."

Unlike the palace, it was not as huge or luxurious, but it still could be compared to a five-star hotel in the human world. Castellana simply caressed Diana's back as they walked towards their assigned room. Trees surrounded the place, making it look like a hotel in the middle of the A****n forest. Refreshing and perfect for a hunt and training ground for werewolves.

"At exactly 7 PM, everyone should be out to the courtyard," the escort said before leaving the premises.

The room was more spacious than Castellana expected. There was a small balcony on the right, a mini-living room before it, and a large tub in the bathroom. The bedroom had three separate beds with three lampshades near them. Before anything else, they inspected the entire room to check if there were hidden traps that the Ivanovs loved to play on them.

Upon making sure that the room was free from whatever crazy plans the Ivanovs had planted, the Sullivan sisters started to unpack. Castellana then grabbed the two packs of blood and handed them to her sisters.

"Drink them before we leave our room," she said.

"What about you?" Ivana questioned, sitting on the edge of her bed and already having a taste of her crimson drink.

"I'm fine," Castellana replied before taking a pill and swallowing it with water.

She actually felt full and had not craved blood since the other day so she thought she did not need to drink more.

"What are those pills for?" Diana asked. "You have been taking them for a long time. You are not sick, are you?"

"They're for..." Castellana paused for a while and stared at the pills. "They're for my anxiety."

"You still get those even after being a famous model for years now?" Ivana teased.

After finishing their drinks, the three of them left their room and headed down the dining hall. It was a large space with three long tables parallel to each other and filled with different cuisines. Almost everyone got excited so they chose their seats and started to gobble up the food. The crowd did not fare well with Castellana so she excused herself and went to the back garden instead.

It was a puzzle to her as to why she suddenly started to feel uncomfortable, dizzy, and nauseous despite taking her medicine.

"It's hot," she mumbled to herself, removing her jacket as she settled on the bench beneath a hood-shaped hedge.

Castellana leaned on her back and shut her eyes with the hope that whatever she was feeling at the moment would come to an end after a few minutes. However, it simply got worse. Every corner of her body burned with unexplainable heat, which she surely had not experienced before.

Meanwhile, just near the Moon mansion, Alpha Alaric and some of his men just came from their usual nightly training. Seeing that the mansion seemed more lively than before, it was a sign that the Fajardo pack had arrived for the week-long joint training.

"I wonder if the Sullivan sisters came since their father is unable to attend this time," Zack Ivanov said. He was the current beta of the Ivanov pack and the first cousin of Alpha Alaric.

"The younger ones probably came. As for the eldest, I think not," Gallahand commented.

"Why so?" the beta questioned.

"From what I heard, she is busy with her modelling work. Haven't you been seeing the news? Her face is all over the place. Talk about famous on another level. If only she didn't have vampire blood, she would certainly be sought after by many of our kind."

Alpha Alaric remained quiet while the others continued to talk about the Sullivan sisters. A moment later, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, making the others shut their mouths in no time. They thought that they probably annoyed him with the constant mention of the vampire family in the Fajardo pack.

"I will make a detour here. Go on without me," the alpha said before taking the path that led to the Moon mansion.

The others had no idea what he was up to, but since they needed to also prepare for the assembly, they headed to the main palace without him. Alaric reached the back garden and he was not wrong. That was the place where the familiar scent of the woman, whom he spent the night with the other day, came from.

The garden reeked of her scent, but it seemed like no one else had noticed it yet aside from him. He approached her and found her lying on her side on the bench with her arms wrapped around her as if it would help suppress her scent.

Castellana groaned, not knowing what exactly she had to do at the moment. She did not have enough strength to even stand and walk back to their room to get some suppressants. It did not just occur to her that this would be the time she would experience her first heat.

Alaric grinned when she grabbed the hem of his shirt with her eyes still shut so she probably had no idea who he was.

"Do you think I would help you with that?" he asked.

"P-Please..." she barely whispered, sounding desperate for his help.

"I'll go and find someone willing to touch a vampire."

It did not take much effort to make Castellana let go of his shirt because of her vulnerable state. The alpha paid no heed to it and started to walk away, thinking that any man would suffice in satisfying her during her heat. Sooner or later, someone will come, especially with how her scent spreads throughout the place.

"I... It's my first..." Castellana said. "I... I do not w-want anyone. J-Just some s-suppressants will do."