Chapter 004: Mate? Impossible.

~Seren~

I didn’t understand what was happening to my body. That was the first honest thought that cut through the storm inside my head as Alpha Draven’s hand stayed wrapped around my wrist.

He was holding me in place against the wall of his private chamber. His eyes did not leave mine…not even for a second.

“Mate,” he said again, lower this time and I felt the pull. Not physical pain, not even attraction in the way I understood it.

I felt the urge to kiss him right there, I want to claim him. My breath caught as warmth spread through my skin in waves I couldn’t explain and I hated the fact that my body reacted before my mind could catch up.

I hated that my thoughts were fractured in two opposing directions. One screaming at me to stay because something in me recognized him, while the other clawed violently at my awareness reminding me of who I was in this pack and what men like him represented in my bloodline history.

Draven…Enemy.

My pulse quickened as his free hands lifted slowly and I watched it, watched as his fingers reached for a loose strand of my hair that slipped from the bun Gwen had forced me into before sending me here.

He tucked it behind my ear with a precision that felt too intimate for strangers and my stomach tightened in a way that made me angry at myself immediately.

He brought down his lips to mine, about to take a hold of it and something in my chest responded again. I inhaled sharply as heat bloomed through my body in a slow rise that made my thoughts scatter.

“No,” I whispered automatically, though I wasn’t sure of what I was denying anymore.

His gaze darkened slightly as I stopped him just as his lips collided with mine. Shit! I had survived so much to become someone who stood still under anyone’s hold.

I pushed him back harder than I intended and the contact broke as I stumbled back, forcing air into my lungs.

My mind snapped back in place with a painful clarity dragging me of whatever fog that pull had tried to wrap me in.

I shook my head, trying to physically dislodge the sensation from my skin.

“I’m sorry for intruding, Alpha .” I said quickly, my voice steadier than I felt as I stepped away from him. “I’ll be back when you need me.”

I did not wait for his response, I turned and left the room so fast that I barely registered when my hand pushed the door open, my heartbeat loud in my ears as I walked faster and faster until walking became something between stumbling and running.

The overly long maid dress tangled around my legs as I moved through the corridor, forcing me to lift it awkwardly just to avoid falling flat on my face.

I could still feel the pull. Like something invisible had attached itself to me.

I hated the fact that my wolf, sealed for so long that I had almost stopped believing she existed, stirred at the worst possible time, in the worst place, with the worst possible man.

By the time I reached the outer corridors, my breathing became uneven from confusion. I pushed away the thought violently and kept moving.

I did not stop until I reached the outskirts of the pack, where I eventually found the secluded hut that belonged to the old woman…Seraphina.

She opened the door before I could knock, her eyes scanning my face.

“You met him,” she said calmly before stepping aside silently.

I entered the hut, collapsing into the wooden chair. “Yes,” I said, exhaling shakily. “I met him.”

“And?”

I laughed. “And he said I was his mate,” I replied looking up at her. “He said it twice. Maybe more if I had stayed to count.”

Seraphina did not look surprised and that irritated me more. “I don’t understand what is happening.”

I continued, my voice lower now. “There was a pull between us. It was like my body was reacting before I could even think and it makes no sense because Draven is my father’s sworn enemy and I should feel nothing but disgust.”

“You feel what your body recognizes,” she said simply.

“Look Seraphina, I am not going back there, I can’t go back there. Because he is a curse to my entire family. How do you expect me to serve my father’s enemy?” I said immediately.

Seraphina studied me carefully. “He will come looking for you.” She said after a pause, “that’s his problem,”

I straightened. “Why would he come looking for me?”

Her eyes softened slightly, almost pitying. “Because Alpha’s like him do not ignore mate bonds, especially the one that reacts.”

“I don’t care,” I said firmly. “I had survived without a wolf, without a pack and without anyone, I can survive this too.”

Seraphina sighed, shaking her head slightly. “Survival in the world isn’t always about running, it’s about understanding what you are running from.”

I stood abruptly. “Then I’ll keep running.”

I turned to leave and she spoke again, softer this time. “Then keep running Seren, because he would not stop searching.”

***

I scrubbed the stone floors of the lower hall when I felt footsteps approaching me from behind, just as I turned, a strike landed on my cheek.

Pain exploded across my cheek as Gwen’s hand collided with my face, my head turning violently to the side. The bucket beside me tipped slightly, water spilling across the floor.

“What have you done?” Gwen hissed, grabbing and violently yanking me upright before I could fully react.

I blinked, still processing the impact. “What are you talking about?”

She leaned closer, her eyes narrowed. “What have you done to the Alpha that he is threatening to kill anyone who can’t produce you?” She snapped.

Produce me? I stared at her, “What?”

Her grip tightened. “Get up and go to his quarters, now!” She ordered sharply.

My legs wobbled as I moved. My heart was pounding.

By the time I reached the chambers, my whole body had begun to vibrate. I lifted my hands to the door and pushed it open.

I automatically froze. Draven sat near the center of the room, beside him a man I didn’t recognize stood near him, leaning casually.

Both of them turned towards me as I entered.

The stranger smiled first, his eyes bright with amusement as he looked up and down slowly.

“Well,” he said leaning back slightly, “so you are Draven’s— sorry, the Alpha Draven’s long lost mate?”