7.

ANISA.

Werewolves?

Mate?

I had never heard those words. Or maybe I did when he uttered 'mate' yesterday. For werewolves though, I was sure I'd never heard that. I have no idea what both words mean, and I certainly do not care. I just want to go back home.

I stared blankly at Elian, taking in his expression. He looked serious; there was no hint on his face that made it look as though he was joking.

I closed my eyes, hoping that as soon as I pried them open, I'll be back home, possibly in my bed? That perhaps all this happening was a dream, a figment of my imagination.

But when I opened them, they crashed into his brown eyes. Does he have some sort of magic that changes his eye color? One moment they are brown, and the next moment fiery red. Because I knew I wasn't mistaken. They did have a red glow in them yesterday.

"I...I... don't understand what you mean," I whispered, my head pounding loudly. I had woken up with a terrible headache that felt as though my head would split into two at any moment. But that was the least of my concern right now.

"Just keep your promise and take me home. Do not bother explaining what a werewolf is or this mate. I am not interested."

"Anisa...," He said with a sigh, but I quickly cut him off.

"I need to go home. I can't stay here. I have classes and my job to do!" I said, trying to think of the reason my voice sounded so calm, even to my ears. Despite the fact that I was panicking on the inside.

"Fine. Let's do this." He scratched his hair, and I wondered how long the cornrows would last on his head before he messed them all completely.

Somehow, when I woke up and found his head resting on the side of the bed with his hand clutching mine, I couldn't help the urge to run my fingers through his luscious hair. Heck, I even wished he didn't have his face down so I could study its features.

"Can you point to your home here?" I heard him ask, as the bed dipped when he sat before me. He carefully unwrapped what I assumed to be animal skin. It was brown and had some of its edges burned off.

My eyes widened when he finally set it down, and I caught on the drawings on it.

It was a map. But a strange map that I had never seen.

"What is this?"

"A map, Arwa. Point to the location of your home, and I'll take you back. Although it seems highly unlikely that there are still humans..." he clamped his mouth shut when he looked up to see me staring at him.

I was sure I had the weirdest blank look on my face to have him shut up like that. And what was that weird name he keeps calling me?

"I've never seen a map like this," I admitted, leaning a bit to take a close look at the map. "Is there another map I can see? Plateau isn't here. To be honest, I don't see a single place I know on this map."

"That map has everywhere on it. Look carefully and point at your home. I'll take you there. But Arwa," his voice suddenly turned gruff, and I saw the flash of red in his eyes once more. "You can't stay there. Your place is right here with me. By my side. As my Luna."

My lips suddenly felt dry, and I pushed my tongue out to wet them. A low growl escaped Elian's lips as he stared down at my lips, the golden shade in his eyes getting brighter with each passing second.

"Elian," I called softly. "I don't understand this. I don't know what a werewolf is, or a mate, or a Luna. I just want to go back home." I wiped my eyes furiously as I fought the tears back. I don't want to cry. I just need him to understand how important it is for me to get home.

"I have a sick mother, a young brother. A life to chase. I have a course to study and plan for my future. So please, if you hold anything close to your heart, let me go home. You don't even have to take me now. I can manage that myself. Or perhaps, get Kosey to..."

"I AM YOUR MATE AND NOT Kosey, Anisa. I AM!" He thundered, pulling the sheets on the bed so hard that the bed shook as he leaned in closer to me. He looked angry. The rage bubbling in his eyes was unlike anything I had ever seen. "If you go home, THEN I TAKE YOU THERE MYSELF AND NOT ANYONE ELSE!"

My body shuddered from the harshness in his voice, and the look in his eyes. I gulped, using my hand to shield my face from his scantily gaze. For a long moment, we stayed in the same position. Neither of us moved until he had decided it was enough.

"I am so so..."

"Keep your apologies to yourself, Elian. They mean nothing to me. And this just confirms that I don't belong here, because I do not belong to you or anyone!" I screamed towards the end. "You can't keep me here against my will only to yell at me whenever you want, and treat me like I am a damn piece of property. I do not belong to you and I certainly have no interest in whatever the hell this mate of a thing you've been blabbering about meant. Heck, I am not your damn mate, Elian!"

"Listen, Arwa..."

"You listen to me," I cut him off harshly. Weird as it may seem, I was not afraid of him that much now. "You kept yelling and calling me your mate when..." It suddenly clicked. The word mate suddenly clicked.

Before I had heard it from Elian, I had heard it somewhere. Or to put it rightly, I had read it somewhere.

I had read it from our literature book. Precisely, Mel's book.