Chapter 2

Taken aback, Suki was instantly silenced, but she stood her ground. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to speak, “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Everett rolled his eyes and moved towards their destination. “Like I said, forget about it. It’s my problem to deal with.”

“I didn’t realise you were in love with someone…” she cooed. Everett snarled, but Suki stood in front of him with furrowed brows. “If you’re in love with this girl, why wasn’t she a contender to be your chosen mate?”

Pushing her aside, he continued walking, “She’s not 18 yet.”

Suki gasped, “Then she could be your mate. It’s possible. Why couldn’t you wait for–” She paused and exhaled, “Of course, your parents made you do this sooner… but if you explain to them your feelings, surely they would listen to you, no? If you feel a strong connection to her, you’d have an even stronger argument to wait and see.”

“Is that so?” Everett scoffed.

“Yes!” she responded almost too excitedly. “You feel a strong connection with her, don’t you? You wouldn’t be so angry about this if you didn’t, and trust me, I know what that feels like, so why haven’t you told your parents? You could be with her and be happy.”

Everett stood looking away from her for a moment. After a few seconds, he turned and looked at her. “What do you mean that you know what that feels like?” He stepped closer, holding an intimidating stare at her.

Swallowing thickly, she stepped back and struggled to get her words out, “What? I…”

“You mentioned last night about having your own fated mates drama, I assumed it was just that you hadn’t found your mate yet and your father was getting antsy to have you with someone high-ranked…” Everett stepped closer again, towering over his soon-to-be Luna, “Have you experienced the bond, Suki?”

Suki tried to hold his glare, but she was crumbling under the pressure. “We… We aren’t talking about me.”

“We are now. Answer the question.”

She didn’t want to lie anymore. She just wanted to say it out loud, even if it was just once. Turning her head, breaking their locked eyes, she sighed, “Yes.”

Nausea hit her, feeling like she had just committed a crime by admitting the truth. If her father were nearby and heard her, the amount of trouble she would’ve been in… just thinking about it made her knees feel weak.

“Why are you here and not with him?” Everett’s brows furrowed, confused. “You clearly don’t want to be here with me, so why force this when you have someone waiting for you, someone meant for you?”

Panic arose in Suki, her body heated with fluster, “I’ve said too much already.” She stepped aside and tried to keep moving, but Everett pulled her back. She snarled at him, “No, don’t make me say it.”

Everett scanned her face, “How bad can it be for you to want this life instead of the life you deserve?”

Suki scoffed, “Deserve?” She forced a chuckle, “If you knew how bad the situation truly was, I don’t think you would use that word.”

“You wanted me to talk to you, well, it goes both ways. Talk to me, Suki, what is so bad about your mate bond?”

The wind whistled around them, blowing Suki’s hair in her face. Exhaling, she tucked her hair behind her ear and spoke faintly, “It’s bad enough that if my father found out, he’d banish me from my family or maybe even worse. I’m better off allowing my father to push me towards a forced bond.”

“That’s… not fair.”

“I’m used to it,” she said sternly.

For a moment, Everett saw a little bit of himself in her, even though she was the daughter of a Beta and in a different pack. Their strict traditions forced her to be something she’s not, just as he was being forced to find a mate to create a strong front against their curse. They weren’t too different after all.

He stepped towards her again, faster. As a response, she immediately stepped backwards, unaware of what his intentions were. Her back meeting a solid surface forced her to stop in place, “Please,” she cooed, “don’t tell anyone what I told you. If anyone looks into it… If my father finds out, he’ll–”

“Relax,” he snapped, interrupting her, “your secret is safe with me.”

“Really?” She leaned in towards him, looking at him with hope beaming out of her hazel eyes.

A gentle nod, “You’re not the only one with strict parents, I understand. Maybe we can try not to become as bad as our parents when we…” he trailed off. Suki knew that those words tasted bitter in his mouth – talking about having a family with someone whom he neither loves nor is fated to be with.

Her breathing felt weighted, but Suki managed to let out a soft, “Thank you.”

Everett smiled, placing a hand on either side of her and leaning his face in closer to her.

She stiffened, “What are you doing?” she asked, pushing herself against the wall behind her, but there was nowhere for her to go.

“Practising,” he whispered, looking down at her lips before gravitating to her neck and taking in her scent: subtle floral hints of rose, vanilla and cinnamon. A unique combination for an even more unique werewolf. He chuckled. “You know,” he began, moving himself up towards her ear, “if you retreat away from me like that every time I’m close to you, people will guess something is up.”

Cheeks burning, Suki gulped, “I’ll work on it.”

“Good.” He moved back and jerked his chin towards the wall behind her, “Say hello to your new accommodation.”

Wide-eyed and confused, Suki turned around to discover that her back had met with the wall of a beautiful cottage in the woods – if it could even be called that, given how huge it was. “Wow, this place is beautiful.”

“Wait until you see the inside.”

She took a few steps forward, towards the front door, but halted and turned back to Everett, “Is this… our future home?”

He shook his head, “No, you’ll move into Shaw Manor with me when everything is finalised. For now, I thought it would be nice for you to be away from all the chaos of everyone asking you about how it feels to be chosen to be the ‘scary Alpha-son’s’ mate.”

“You’re not as scary as you make yourself out to be,” Suki smiled.

Everett mirrored her smile, “Get inside and get some rest.”

✧ ✧ ✧

A loud noise startled Suki from her slumber, jolting her to sit up rapidly.

“Dad,” she called out, “is that you?” Pulling her duvet to her chest, shielding herself as she listens for a response.

Nothing.

Kicking the duvet off, she stepped closer towards her bedroom door, “Dad?” She waited a moment, but there was still no response. Another loud noise had her leaping against the wall beside the window. She turned slowly to sneak a peek – the noise had come from outside, she was certain of it now.

There couldn’t be any danger out here. Suki was in a secure home within the Silver Moon pack. Surely no one would dare to harm the future Luna…would they?

Suki stepped right in front of the window, pulling on a brave face. It had to be the guards that Everett promised to send, so if it wasn’t her father, then it had to be them. Yet, looking outside, she saw nothing, no one at all.

If there were guards, there would be multiple, and at least one of them would be visible to her, even within the darkness of the night.

It became too silent, but instead of bringing her peace of mind, she felt even more on edge. As if something was out there, she could feel it, as if it were calling to her.

Two conflicting sides of her mind fought against each other – should she stay inside where it was safe, or should she go outside and confront whatever was taunting her? Surely there was no real danger, but that little inkling in the back of her mind wouldn’t let her rest until she knew for sure.

This is ridiculous. Suki rolled her eyes and straightened her silk nightgown before sliding on her slippers and hastening down the stairs and through the back doors towards where the noise had flustered.

Looking from left to right, there was nothing in sight. The darkness of the forest wouldn’t fail to conceal anyone, and if her eyes failed her, her nose certainly wouldn’t. Yet, she felt like, for the first time, her senses were deceiving her.

Part of her swore that she could smell a salty ocean breeze with a tangy twist of orange and sandalwood. The scent brought her comfort for a moment; she shut her eyes and raised her chin to the sky, ingesting the bliss.

Another scent lingered from further away; all she knew was that the scent brought her nostalgia and a sense of security.

Before she could fully determine and pinpoint the scent, a hand grabbed her shoulder and pushed her against the bricks of her temporary home.

Gasping for clarity, Suki’s eyes met with eyes blacker than the night sky, and her heart sank, “You…” She tried to settle herself, but the world felt blurry and askew. “You can’t be here.”