Chapter 2

Elie's POV.

The chatter from the crowd faded into a blurry wave of sounds as he took a step further and bent his head to look at me.

My brows arched and my eyes twitched in confusion. “But…but he never told me he would be going anywhere. And today is my…” I looked around, circling the guests with my eyes. “Today's my birthday, he's supposed to be here,”

“Elie, I'm sure you are worried, but trust me, I'll explain everything later. Just follow me, we need to leave here.”

“Huh,” my jaw fell open in surprise. This was sudden. Too sudden. I trusted him but it all began to feel weird, and I soon had a feeling that something big was at play.

James couldn't just disappear for a few days and show up, claiming to be my personal guard. Worse, my father wasn't in the halls with us and I swore I had seen him a few hours earlier.

“You look pretty, Elie.” An elderly woman bowed her head as she walked towards us with a glass of champagne. She studied my looks and pressed her lips together. James threw a cold look at her but the woman barely looked at him.

“Shouldn't you be up there with your speech, you can't…”

“Back up, lady,” James stood before me, stopping the woman from getting any closer.

The confrontation drew some attention from the guests, and they turned their eyes to us. At that moment, I knew I was in the spotlight, but I never thought it would be like this.

Humiliation, left to question what James was up to.

“Umm, I think the…” he suddenly grabbed my hands and whistled to one of the guards standing by the doorway.

He pulled me through the crowd as people gaped at us, some whispering to their neighbors as we rushed past them.

We got to the door and he mumbled to the guard. “Send them all out, now. And guard every corner.”

The guard nodded briskly and James continued as I paced behind him, struggling to keep up with his pace.

I was starting to get worried, and not only because of my father. We hurried past some of the empty rooms in the mansion. Mere breaths away from my room, I felt my legs losing balance.

“James, can we… ouch!” I tripped and fell on my knees.

“Crap. I'm sorry,” he crouched on his knees, running his hands through his hair. “I should have been careful.”

“No, it's not your fault. I should have…” I gasped inwardly as he wrapped his hands around my waist and the other hand behind my knees.

Then he lifted me with his arms and took a deep breath. I could feel his muscles, I could feel his heart beating fast, his veins surging with blood. I could feel him once again.

And then, I heard a whisper, soft and smooth.

‘mate’.

My heart fluttered as he picked up his pace and continued.

He was…

What was wrong with me? I needed to keep my head straight. Now wasn't the time to fantasize about him. There was trouble, even if I couldn't see it, I could feel it in his presence.

We got to my room and he locked the door behind him. He paced around in a circle for a few moments and stopped to look at me.

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” He asked.

“No, no. Of course not.”

“Alright,” he muttered, staring down at my knees to confirm. I clasped my hands behind my back and pressed my legs together.

“I'm okay,” I said softly, looking away. We went mute for a second until my eyes flashed with a thought.

I cleared my throat and took a step forward. “Can you tell me what's happening? I'm confused. Why are you sending the guests away? Where's my father? Why are you looking troubled and…”

“Hush,” he took a long step in my direction, placing his finger on my lips. “You're gonna be just fine. That's why I'm here,” his voice deep and husky.

It made my insides rumble, but my head was still blank with thoughts. I couldn't possibly forget and act like nothing happened.

“No, I need to know what's happening. This has never happened before, and is it true you're gonna be my personal guard? Don't you have better things to do? You know, helping my father with the pack.”

His jaws clenched slightly and he broke eye contact. I felt a restriction in his expression like he was hiding something from me.

“You're not telling me something,” I voiced. “What are you not telling me,” I held his left arm and swallowed hard.

He looked around the room and heaved a heavy sigh. “The pack, it's… it's… under attack. There's a war in the south of our territory with rogue wolves and we think some might have infiltrated the…”

We heard a loud bang outside the mansion. It grabbed our attention faster than a falcon breezing past. I rushed to my window to watch what was going on, but I could barely see anything from my balcony.

James gently pulled me in and shut the door. “Please, don't go out, I'll go check it out.”

“Really,” a cold chill crawled down my spine, causing the hairs on my skin to jolt up. “You want to go out there?” I asked again.

“Yeah, don't leave your room. I need to make sure our perimeter is safe, I can't have anything happening to you. You are my obligation now,”

Obligation? Didn't his wolf feel the same thing for me? He was my mate but I was still scared to tell him, scared to see him reject me for someone… better.

“But… what if…”

“You will be fine.” He echoed. “First, let me figure out what's wrong.”

I had barely lifted a finger when he slipped out of the room and shut the door. I locked the door per his orders and paced around impatiently as I awaited his return.

Five minutes, ten minutes, and then suddenly, it was thirty minutes past.

I had begun to let my curiosity push me to the door when a loud bang shook the door. It happened repeatedly and I moved back, my heart pounding against my chest.

“Wh… who is that?” I stuttered.

It took a while before he responded, but it was so obvious I was being played. “It's me, your father sent me to make sure you are alright. Open up so I can take you to a safer place.”

My knees began to shake as my breath became heavy. “You still haven't answered my question, who are you?”

“I said it's me!” He snapped, punching the door with force. Don't make me force my way in, little bitch!”

Tab 4