Chapter 3

Katrina.

The past few days after my 18th birthday party, I got sick. It wasn't the normal case as the family physician has told me. He couldn't diagnose why I was sick. 

"This could be something related to your wolf. You already turned eighteen. Have you met her?" 

"My wolf?" I asked the doctor, my hands fell numb at my side. 

"Yes, your wolf." 

I looked away from him and to my mother and father who were worried sick at me. 

"Not yet," I replied and sighed. 

The family physician prescribed another medicine and told my parents to observe my behavior. Later that night, I was having a bad dream about Archer, my mate, when I woke up feeling sick and throwing up again. 

I didn't notice that I was growling when my mother came inside my room. 

She turned on the lights and touched my forehead. "You're having a fever. I thought you were doing well, honey..." her voice sounded so worried. 

I hold my mother's hand to feel her warmth. Tears started escaping from my eyes as I looked at her. "Mom, please get Damien..." 

The door flew open and I saw my father panting while looking at us. "What happened?!"

"Leonardo, call the family physician!" Mommy shouted at him, but my father shook his head. "I will find another one! He couldn't cure our daughter, Felicia!" I saw anger crossed in my father's face as he focused on mind-linking another wolf doctor. 

"Mom, how about... D-Damien?" I asked my mother. She nodded and focused on mind-linking Damien, too. I waited for several minutes but her face disappointed me. 

"I couldn't contact him. He must be far away in the pack," she replied to me in a worried voice. 

"T-Try it a-again, Mom..." my voice shaking as I keep on thinking about Damien. I need him. I want him by my side! 

"Still nothing, honey..." my mother said and it irritated me. A doctor came inside and checked my vitals. He looks unfamiliar to me, but I don't care! 

Damien! I want him here! 

"Katrina, when did you feel the symptoms of your wolf coming out?" he asked me. 

I coughed before replying. "After my 18th birthday party, I could feel her wanting to come out."

He let out a heavy sigh and turned to my parents. "She has been sick because of her wolf. Her wolf doesn't want to come out for a reason." The physician diagnosed me and looked at me curiously. 

He asked a question that shattered me. "Did you already meet your fated mate?" 

It was a simple question I didn't want to answer. My parents must have noticed my reaction because they dismissed the doctor and made him leave the room. Then, my parents stayed by my side.

"Katrina," my mother asked, looking at me with a shocked expression on her face. "Is it true? Did you meet your mate already?" 

I looked away at my mother and saw the blank expression of my father. Tears started swelling in my eyes as I looked at both of them. 

The air was thick inside the room. I could feel my body shaking as I tried to sit.

"Please tell us, honey. Is it Damien?" My mother was hopeful that it was Damien. It must be Damien. 

But she confirmed when I started crying and panicking. "I will never be the future Luna in our pack, Mom...." 

I saw my mother's shocked expression. She covered her mouth and tried to laugh. "Katrina, this is not the right time to joke around. Are you telling us that you and Damien... are not mated to each other?"

I nodded. My mother, then, started panicking; she was pacing back and forth in my room while my father was trying to talk to her. She was fuming mad at the fact that I was not mated to Damien, the future Alpha of Hawthorn Pack. 

"You are not allowed to get out of this house until you recover from your sickness! This is insane! I will never believe what you said!" My mother said, pointing a finger at me while I was shivering in high fever. 

I was mad, too, because of the expectations that they put on me. "No, you don't get it, mom! The reason why I am sick is because my wolf hated me for rejecting my mate! She wants her mate!" 

"Tell your wolf that she only has one mate, and it's going to be Damien!" my mom shouted at me. 

My body felt weak, but I managed to get up from the bed to look at her. "Just accept it, mom! I won't be the Luna in this pack... ever! Damien has a fated mate out there! And my mate... it's what my wolf wants. She wants him!" 

"Then tell us who is he?! Who is he, Katrina?! Who's your fated mate?!" 

I keep on shaking my head because of the embarrassment. 

"Don't fucking tell me you mated with a lowly omega in our pack?!" My mother's voice was so loud and harsh that I think everyone in our mansion heard it. 

It stung in my heart; what she said struck a chord within me. That's what I did to Archer, too. I insulted and showed him that there was a social class system in our pack... which was very wrong. 

I grabbed my blanket and went out of the room. My parents kept on shouting my name but I didn't look back. 

I just wanted to get out of the house because it was suffocating me... when I saw Archer hopping off his bike outside our house. 

"What are you doing here?!" I shouted at him. 

It was raining cats and dogs. 

It was like my world slowed down as I stared at him. His eyes look dangerous, his brows almost meet, and his expression is hard. But his lips... it was his lips that were only soft. 

He was wearing a black leather jacket as he approached me. "Why did you give money to my mother?" he asked in a firm voice, still trying to be calm and not shout at me. 

"I... I just want to say sorry to you," I replied, my voice quivering as I stood soaking in the rain.

He let out a devilish laugh, finding my words amusing. "You felt bad because you rejected and called me a 'lowly omega,' so you gave me money in exchange?"

I nodded, feeling a mix of shame and confusion. "Yes, is it... bad?" I asked him, my wolf stirring within me, almost wagging her tail at the sight of Archer.

Archer's eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer, the rain dripping from his hair. "You think money can fix everything?" he scoffed.

"I'm not some charity case, Katrina," he spat on my face, invading my personal space as he looked at me eye to eye. He is so near that our lips almost touch. I could see his jaw clenching so hard as he looked at me dangerously. 

"Don't get me wrong! With the money, you can go to school without doing part-time jobs—" I almost jumped in my place when I felt him touching my chin to make me look up at him. 

"How did you know I do part-time jobs? Did you make a background check already to see how your mate is doing?" 

I fell into silence. He was correct. I was curious about him; it's what my wolf wants! So I hired someone to give me information about him.

He's not doing fine... he has a lot of debts and is involved in illegal fights when not in school.

"Well, why don't you just ask me directly about what I do, hmm," he whispered on my lips as he pushed the strand of hair on my ears. 

"Stop, w-what are you d-doing?" I asked, my breathing hitched because his touch tingled my skin. 

"Observing your reaction. I'm betting that the mate bond still lingers on your skin."

Suddenly, he held my hand and I felt an electrifying energy flowing down there, so I pulled it and took a step backward.

"What do you mean? Of course, there's no mate bond already. I rejected you!" I shouted at him. I tried to maintain eye contact with him, but I just couldn't.

His eyes give me chills down my spine. "Yes, so get the fuck out of my life and don't do shit like giving me money. I don't need it." Archer said, his voice was lethal and serious.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "I'm just trying to help—"

"Help?" he interrupted, his laugh bitter and mocking.

"You think throwing money at me is helping?"

My heart pounded in my chest. "Archer, I—"

"Save it," he snapped. "My wolf and I don't need you. Women throw themselves at me. I can survive without your heat, Katrina. I fucked them like how your wolf wants me."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I staggered, feeling as if the ground had been pulled from under me. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them back.

"I hate you!" I screamed, my voice breaking.

Archer's expression didn't change. He stood there, unmoving, as if my words meant nothing. The pain in my chest grew, spreading like wildfire.

The world around me started to blur, dark spots dancing in my vision. Before everything went black, I saw Archer's expression soften for just a moment. His arms reached out to catch me as I collapsed.

The last thing I felt was the warmth of his embrace.