Chapter Four

ARIEZEL

My lids felt heavy as I forced them open. My entire body ached, all the bruises and pains from my body making me groan against the cold ground.

Cold?

I forced my eyes open wider, adjusting to the sight only to find that my surroundings were dim. I wasn't in the forest anymore.

Looking down at the cold surface I was on, I saw the stone tiles.

No, I wasn't dead.

And I definitely wasn't in the forest anymore.

The place was mostly dark, the only source of light came from above me on the wall.

Finally, I could see much clearer. Only a few meters away from me were bars. Long metal bars that went from ground to ceiling.

My belly hurt from hunger and the pains and weakness ailed me, still I managed to stand and move forward to touch the metal bars.

I was in a cage? No. A cell.

I looked around me. There was nobody else in sight. When I saw the duffel bag of my belongings I let out a sigh of relief.

Where was i? Most of all, how did I get here?

I tried recalling what I remembered before I passed out.

I remembered collapsing, too weak to continue my journey… the leaves in the forest, those two figures…voices…

I'd figured that they were the ones that brought me here.

But there was something else. It was a niggling feeling in my brain that I had missed something important. What could it have been?

As I shut my eyes tightly, I tried remembering.

The two figures, the scent…

Mate

My eyes opened in shock. I took several steps back, almost crashing to the ground.

There was no doubt. My instincts didn't lie .

I had found my mate.

The clanging sounds of metal came suddenly, making me wince. It was followed by a loud creak that echoed all the way from there.  

A deep male voice spoke out of my sight, commanding and authoritative.

“Resume your posts. I will handle it myself.”

“Yes, Alpha Michaels.” a set of voices echoed in response.

The word 'Alpha' made my hackles rise. I stood up straighter, ignoring my weakness for a moment. I was going to be seeing the Alpha of the pack I didn't even know.

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat as a faint scent wafted into my nose. It was the same scent as before.

That only meant- oh no.

The scent grew stronger with every echoed step, and I felt my wolf crying out those same words.

Matematematemate

Mate.

A bubble rose up in me the closer those footsteps became, the louder they got. The stronger that painfully irresistible scent became.

My heart thumped heavily in my chest.

He finally came into sight moving until he stood directly in front of my cell. In front of me.

He was nothing like Derek. Where Derek held a larger build, this man was more lithe. Despite that, his aura was powerful and striking, intimidating me.

Strands of his blonde hair fell across his  silver eyes. They were cold and piercing, digging into me uncomfortably.

He was imposing, looking large and threatening even though I was also standing.

This man was my mate.

My wolf called out ‘mate ’ again, confirming it.

In a standstill, the both of us were bathed in silence. He said nothing as he stared at me whilst I stared right back. The air became more and more suffocating the more the silence persisted. What was I supposed to say at the moment?

Perhaps anything else was better than the tense silence.

I opened my mouth, ready to break the silence when another loud sound rang. It was the same metallic creak of the metal doors opening again.

“Asher.” my ears perked up as a female voice rang. Clicking sounds came faster towards us.

I turned to the side, the direction where the sounds were coming firm and looked back to him to find his gaze still on mine. Even from his face I sensed a feeling of discomfort.

Finally, she came into view and I finally saw the woman in question.

Her hair was a light blonde, practically white and somehow everything was curled into place. A green sheath dress that almost seemed metallic even with the limited lighting wrapped her frame.

Even from her poise she looked graceful naturally.

“Asher.” she said again, moving towards him.

I turned back towards him, seeing as he finally responded to the name, turning to her.

Asher. That was his name.

The blonde woman came forward and didn't even spare a glance at me, solely focused on my mate. Her arm touched his covered shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes at the intimate act.

He…Asher pushed her hand away with his own, pushing her away lightly before he turned back to focus on me.

“Why are you here Serena? You didn’t need to come. I told you I was handling my pack matters.” he said.

A scoff came from the woman.

“Our pack matters.”she corrected “Besides, how on earth do you expect me to not be worried by my own mate?”

The words were a shock to me. I looked at him one more time to find his gaze still on me, an unreadable expression as he looked.

This man…Asher, was my mate. My true mate.

But… I trailed to the blonde woman-Serena- who looked at him even while he remained solely focused on me.

My mate was already mated to someone else.

A feeling rushed through me. It took time before I understood it for what it was. This airy, light feeling.

Relief.

I finally let myself breathe as I stared at them. It felt like a huge burden had been taken off my shoulders  at this realization. I hadn't even realized the pressure that seeing him, of finding my mate felt.

But knowing he was mated, all of my worries went away.

I didn’t know whatever he or his pack had in store for me, but what mattered to me was my well being, and the well being of my child. I wasn't ready for a relationship and probably would never be.

After the hell that Derek had put me through for the past two years, the word mate left a horrible taste in my mouth.  I had only escaped from one person’s grasp days ago, I was not planning on bringing myself under another, true mate or not.

Looking at them, I couldn't help it as a small smile of relief came onto my face. It was good that he was already mated, because mated or not...

I had no intention of accepting him either way.