4

After Dylan’s conversation with his mom, he came to the conclusion that he would move into the pack house. He can’t continue living with his family because at this rate, he’ll probably not make it out alive if he gets into another fight with his dad. 

While heading to the pack house to clean up a room for himself, Dylan’s phone started to ring. He decided to ignore it since he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, but the caller didn’t seem like he was going to give up anytime soon, so he reached for his phone inside his pocket. Just as he was he was about to answer the call, a black armored Chevrolet Suburban SUV pulled up beside him and two buff guys on shades climbed out of the car. One stood in front of him, blocking his path while the other stood behind him.

“What is this about?” Dylan irritatedly asked, thinking this was his dad’s doing.

Neither of the men responded to his question, but rather the one in front nodded in signal to the other, who immediately covered Dylan’s nose with a chloroform soaked handkerchief. Dylan thrashed and kicked, at the same time trying to hold his breath.

‘Where the hell did everyone suddenly go?’ he wondered, glancing around his surroundings as he was forcefully dragged into the SUV.

Dylan tried to fight back while in the SUV but the chloroform was already starting to take effect, causing him to feel drowsy and his actions sluggish. He eventually gave up and lapsed into unconsciousness.

#

Dylan’s eyes slowly and unwillingly fluttered open to an unfamiliar room. The room looked like a study but it definitely wasn’t his dad’s study. This one looked classy and exquisite. His nostrils was suddenly hit with a strong scent. It was the same vanilla scent he had perceived on his eighteenth birthday. A sweet soft voice then distracted his focus from the heavenly smell.

“I’ll talk to you later. I think he’s awake.” The voice said.

Dylan’s eyes followed the sound of the soothing voice and stopped at the chair behind the desk. His wolf began jumping with excitement, making his palms sweaty. He didn’t have the time to shut his wolf because he was waiting expectantly to see the mystery person behind the chair.

Seconds felt like an eternity for Dylan, who had sat up straight to have a better view. He had totally forgotten about the fact that he was kidnapped and brought to God knows where. 

She swiveled the chair around to face him and it was as if time stopped. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest from the goddess before him. She was breathtakingly beautiful with her effortlessly smooth tanned skin and her sleek black hair, that cascaded down her lower back as she gracefully rose to her feet. Damn! She was blessed in all the right places.

Dylan gulped, staring lustfully at the approaching female dressed in all black. It was a simple black tank top and jeans with a black leather jacket and ankle boots but it didn’t look regular on her, rather she looked drop dead sexy. She crouched down in front of him, her caramel orbs staring directly into his blue ones in a relaxed manner.

“Hello, mate” she greeted in that enchanting voice of hers, causing his eyes to flicker from blue to gold. 

Her lips curved in a smile at his wolf’s reaction and she affectionately brushed her hand over his. This slight body contact made his wolf howl in excitement, but Dylan wasn’t as excited as his wolf. He felt used and betrayed even though he was only meeting her for the first time. The only reason why he hasn’t walked away was the undeniable mate bond he could feel between them, and at the moment he hated the mate bond because it has prevented him from showing his displeasure.

“You knew all this time.” His voice was surprisingly calm while he spoke, his eyes not leaving hers even for a second.

She said nothing in reply, confirming his statement.

Dylan’s eyes carefully followed her as she stood up from her previous position.

“What difference does it make?” She replied with no hint of regret or remorse.

All these years he was worried about his mate. Who she was, where she was, what she looked like? Hell! He even wondered if she was still alive. He was repeatedly taunted by his father and some pack members for being mateless, meanwhile his mate was very much aware of his existence, yet she didn’t give a damn about him. Is this the reward he gets for faithfully waiting for his mate?

“You know… For a pack famously known to be the second strongest in the world, your security is quite poor.” She mocked, suddenly changing the subject.

“I will not sit here and let you disrespect my pack-“

“And what are you going to do about it?” She questioned indignantly, her eyes flickering for the first time.

There was something about her voice which made Dylan speechless. If he couldn’t recognize what it was, his wolf already did. It was authority.

Why would a female werewolf have this much dominance that can make his wolf cower away in fear?

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to suppress her wolf.

“I was there on your eighteenth birthday.” She confessed, breaking the awkward silence.

“Why didn’t you show up then? Why did you make me feel like a complete fool? And why are you suddenly interested now?... What am I saying? If you were interested, you wouldn’t send some strangers to treat me like a criminal.” Dylan bombarded her with these questions, hoping she could clear the air by answering them all.

“The only reason I can tolerate you speaking to me in this manner is because you’re my mate and this is our first meeting.” She gritted her teeth to control her wolf from revealing itself. She didn’t want to scare her mate on their first encounter.

“To answer your questions…” she continued.

“I didn’t show up then because it wasn’t the right time, and.. sending those strangers was the only way you could come here without making things public.” She concluded.

“What happens to my family? How would they know my whereabouts?”

“I am your family!”

Dylan felt like hitting something right now. The aura of authority and confidence around his mate was too overwhelming and he hated it because it reminded him of his father.

Not being able to control his anger, he punched the glass coffee table in front of the couch, shattering it into pieces before glaring at his mate who was already staring at him.

Was that lust in her eyes or was it adoration? Dylan couldn’t make out the emotion in his mate’s eyes as she quickly masked it with a poker face.

“Welcome home, Dylan.” she said with a proud smirk and started her way to the door.

“How come you know my name, but I don’t know yours?” Dylan confusedly asked.

When he realized that she was going to leave the study without giving him a reply, he demanded,

“Who are you?”

She stopped just when her hand made contact with the door knob.

“Alpha Isabel Martinez” she replied in a voice that wasn’t hers.