5.

I needed some air so I walked up to the window by the right side of the bed and pushed my head out. The chilly wind hit my face, almost instantly making me feel a bit better and helped ease the pounding in my head. It gets worse every time I am stressed.

"Do you think she'll accept me?" I asked, my voice barely audible. I was sure Kosey still heard me.

"She should. She's your mate after all."

"That didn't stop Belinda from rejecting me when she did, though." I answered back bitterly.

"Belinda is history, Elian. It's been three years already, and now you have a new mate. A beautiful mate who I'm sure will make a great Luna - once you stop scaring her, of course. Humans have been extinct, so I can't say what the pack's reaction to you having a human mate will be, with certainty. Besides, you were already planning to take in a new Luna, Lacie. What will you do about that?" He paused. Staring into the cold night as well.

Why was I in a rush to get a Luna? Simply because the pack needed one.

"But I personally think she would make you better and break that cur..."

"Don't. Do not say it." I pleaded, shutting my eyes tightly.

Kosey had been my best friend since I was a child. We grew up together, his father being my father's beta and now, he is my beta as well. I've had a cu... a situation since birth.

I've never shifted. I don't even have a wolf. Which was why Belinda had rejected me. Or perhaps that was one of the reasons she did.

Will that also be the case with her too?

I stared at the ink on my right arm and felt a bit of joy at seeing it. I might not have shifted, but they declared me the strongest warrior in Ethuria. The ink on my arm, an honor only given to warriors accepted by each of the nine packs in Ethuria.

I was the only one who had this mark of distinction. I needed to prove to them I was strong enough on my own. And that I deserved respect as an Alpha. I got what I wanted.

Except for a mate.

I turned to face her again. My heart thudded loudly against my rib cage. I wanted to hug her in my arms. To feel her body pressed against mine. To take in her scent until my head filled with nothing but her scent. To listen to her voice as she talks. Or laughs. To go on dates with her. To have her spend the rest of her life with me.

And to do every single wild thing I have ever imagined doing with a mate if I had one.

Now, I get another one. Only she fears me because I allowed my emotions to get the better of me.

"She'll come around. You just need to give her some space for that without suffocating her."

"What do you think would've happened had we not gone for that run?"

I didn't want to think about that. But I couldn't help the thought. I couldn't help imagining what that vile rogue would've done to my mate had I not gotten there in time.

A cold shudder ran down my spine and the pounding in my head doubled. Just headaches. No wolf. Nothing.

It was why I was considered weak by some packs. But I had always proved them wrong. When my father died ten years ago and I took over his rank, I made sure that I always worked hard to make things work, that hasn't changed.

With or without my wolf.

"Don't think about that. Let's focus on her for now. I'll go back to the packhouse and inform your mother and Imani about this. That should give you and her enough time to decide the next step before you announce anything to the pack members."

"Imani will come running here if you tell her I've found my second chance mate. Don't say a word. The silly girl would spread it around before I even had time to make the announcement."

Kosey chuckled, knowing full well who my sister was and what she was capable of.

"Okay. I'll only tell your mother, then come over with the ministers in the morning."

"No. Don't. It will be too overwhelming. Let me talk to her first."

Kosey nodded as he bid me goodbye and left.

Now I was all alone with my mate. With Anisa.

I walked back to the canopied bed and sat back on the cushioned chair that I had been sitting on for a while. This time, however, instead of taking her hand in mine, I leaned in and lightly brushed my lips against her lips.

Hot sparks ripple from my head to my toes. I was reminded of how delicious she had tasted. How soft her skin had been against my lips. How intoxicating her scent was. It was all too much.

I traced the tip of my index finger on the mole below her right eye. It was perfect. And it added cuteness to her face.

A soft whimper escaped her lips as she turned her head a bit. I inched back, studying her face that still had a frown on it. I wonder what happened, or what she was dreaming about.

"I'm right here, Arwa. I'm right here and I'll always be," I whispered. "You can't reject me, Arwa. I'll do anything possible to make things work for us."

I took her right hand and pressed it against mine after placing a small kiss on it. I tucked another lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. This woman was mine.

I just hope she accepts me.

I clutched her hand in mine and rested my head on the side of the bed, feeling an overwhelming wave of fatigue hit me.