Chapter 5

(Hunter)

Ten years ago…

‘Your mate is not in this place, Mr. Blackwell,’ the Seer declared when it was my turn to meet her on the stage. They said she had the eye of the Moon Goddess. She was born blind. Her eyes were covered in a golden bandage, but she could see things, whether they belonged in the past or the future. She could also recognize people without anyone informing her about them. In fact, she knew my name and called it as soon as I stepped on the stage.

‘You mean she is not in this auditorium tonight?’ I asked and glanced at the alphas who had successfully found their mates in this annual mating ceremony and were given the Seer’s blessings.

‘No.’

‘Then where is she? Where can I find her?’

‘You can't. Not right now.’

‘Why?’

‘Your mate belongs to another world, Mr. Blackwell.’

A statement which haunted me for years. Hundreds of alphas who heard it mocked me for it. It was as good as saying I did not have a mate. Or maybe that was what the Seer meant all along and just wrapped it with those crazy words to make it sound less devastating.

‘Stay alert, Hunter. When the portal opens, that’s the time you will see her.’

I was twenty-one then and was already aware that I was doomed. It was an age where alphas should have already met their mates. If not, it meant they were destined to be feral.

Every alpha needed a mate to control the chaos in his beast, in his soul. Without a mate, the chance of becoming feral was high. I did not even understand what portal the Seer meant, she did not clarify, but it became the reason why I guarded the borders, why I was constantly on the move, hoping our paths would cross.

But after ten years, I had already accepted the fact that I was not going to have my own mate. That's why I went to battles after battles, eventually becoming the Alpha King’s killing machine to control the growing madness inside me.

But then I came home and there she was, right under my nose all along.

Worse, I can’t claim her. I bit Selina, I tasted her sweet blood in my mouth, and yet, the bite mark on her skin disappeared. Again and again, making my temper flare and my wolf restless. She was enjoying every bit of it, not even bothering to hide her reaction from me.

The second Selina realized that it was impossible for me to claim her; she had been whistling beside me inside the car.

“Stop it!” I growled.

She glanced at me and feigned innocence. “Why? What did I do?”

“You look so fucking happy.”

“So, it’s a crime to be happy now?” Selina cleared her throat and quit whistling. “Sorry. I didn’t know my happiness is offending you. I’ll try not to be too happy in the future.”

Garrison, who was driving, suddenly burst out laughing although he stopped upon seeing me snarl. He hardly ever laughed, especially when it concerned her. It was the same for me. I was not usually like this. I was not easy to piss off. Heck, I grew up with the Alpha King. The rogues I conquered were nothing compared to the hell he put me through just because our father failed to keep his cock in his pants and impregnated a servant: my mother.

“The Selina I know doesn’t talk back to me.”

A brief sadness flashed in her light brown eyes. “She’s gone.”

I could see it as clear as day. Selina stuttered whenever she spoke to me. She did not dare meet my eyes, making her look guilty even more. She trembled when I passed by, she never called me by my name and never tried to threaten me, especially my cock, with a stolen dagger.

I felt her grip. It was firm like she was used to holding such a weapon. Selina had become fast as well. Garrison did not even notice his precious dagger was missing until I saw him searching for it like a fool in the hallway earlier.

Her voice was sharper when she spoke again. “You lost her.”

Selina talked as if the ‘her’ she was referring to was another woman.

I raised a brow. “Is it really a loss when I gained you instead?”

“Gain me? You could not even claim me, Hunter.”

Even the way she called my name and challenged me was a major turn on. How could this happen?

I shrugged. “It doesn’t mean you can escape me, Selina.”

“We’ll see about that, Mr. Blackwell.”

My beast snarled, already alarmed at the thought that we could lose her any time.

The Selina that stepped out of the manor tonight showed impeccable grace that surprised the pack. She carried herself well, too well, in fact. She walked with her head held high, her every step was sure and confident, her back was straight, as she met everyone’s eyes, including Agatha’s. She did not cower or hide behind Marie who was just as shocked as the rest of us which convinced me that she was not the woman I married. I even caught her sliding Garrison’s dagger in her purse a while ago.

Tonight, she sat beside me comfortably, something that the old Selina would not dare do, as she watched every single thing through the car window with fascination as if she was seeing them for the first time.

That’s why against my will, the Seer’s words had been crossing my mind the minute I saw her hours ago, standing high and proud even in an old, tattered dress, looking like a soldier on a mission with a scent that nearly knocked me off my feet.

As an omega, Selina’s scent was naturally fragrant although it did nothing to me and my beast. But tonight? That scent was… everything. It was sweet, with a hint of jasmine and cedarwood.

How could a person’s scent change? Nothing like that had ever happened before. It was like meeting a new woman with Selina’s face, body, and voice. Bold, daring, and extremely addictive. Could she be a hidden twin I had not heard about?

‘Schedule a meeting with the Seer, Garrison,’ I ordered my beta through our link. ‘Tell her that I’m willing to pay no matter the cost as long as I can meet her sooner.’

‘Understood, Alpha. What reason should I tell her?’

‘Tell her that it’s about her prediction from ten years ago. It’s about Selina. She is not my wife.’

His forehead creased. ‘The Luna has truly changed, or could this be the real her all along? I can’t really tell. Marie seems confused as well. But if she is not your wife like you said, then who do you think she is?’

‘That’s what I want to find out,’ I answered as I instinctively held Selina’s hand. When she tried to pull away, I lifted her hand and put her finger in my mouth. I sucked her finger as her eyes went round. The warmth of her skin, her taste, and her scent that wrapped around me like a blanket instantly calmed the chaos in my mind.

“Let go,” she demanded.

“Misbehave again and this will not be the only part of you that I will be putting in my mouth tonight, Mrs. Blackwell.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “You’re crazy.”

“I warned you about it when you married me. You didn’t listen. Your fault.”

I watched her chest rise and fell out of anger as she clenched her other hand. I grinned. I had never felt this alive in years. I relinked with my beta.

‘I am also confused, Garrison. But I’m sure about one thing. Whoever she is, she is my mate. And she is mine.’