Chapter 5

_Ryder’s POV_

I watched Xena expectantly, waiting for a positive reply to my confession.

I knew it might seem a bit too rushed to suddenly say this to her, but I felt that I needed to let her know.

"Do we even need her opinion? We could just go ahead and claim her, whether she likes it or not" Jeremy suggested lazily and i hurriedly rejected the idea.

"We can't force her! I would never force her against her will" I replied.

"So you're willing to reject her if she says she doesn't want to be your Luna?" Jeremy asked again.

"Hell no! I'm never letting her go. I can give her some time to process the entire thing and come around, but I would never reject her" I said firmly.

Jeremy groaned in annoyance and said again, "Just look at her face and tell me if she looks anything like someone who is willing to be mated to a kid!"

"Ouch, I'm not a kid" I replied exhaustedly.

Why couldn't she just accept this for the goddesses sake?!

"Yes, you're not a kid" Jeremy said sarcastically, but I ignored him this time.

I watched my Xena's face again, and suddenly I reached out a hand to touch hers.

"Xena?" I called out softly and she looked into my eyes. Her eyes mirrored sadness and confusion; a look that tugged at my heart.

"Believe every word I say to you, I love you. From the depth of my heart. The very first day I saw you at my history class, being introduced as the new teacher, your beautiful hair was tied up in a messy bun, leaving your face bare and showcasing your white slender neck. You were the only thing I couldn't stop thinking about and dreaming about. It might sound selfish, but I had also prayed you don't find your mate till I turned 18, that way, I would pick you as my Luna instead" I paused, a smile on my face.

"The Moon goddess then did me a huge favor and made you my long awaited mate" I finished my love confession.

Xena still didn't say a word and just looked at me like I was some foreigner.

"Goodness, do we need her approval? Her wolf is calling out to me. Her wolf clearly wants us, so we really don't need Xena's approval" Jeremy suggested again, but I pushed his voice down.

"Xena say something" I pleaded, hoping for any reply at all. Her silence was killing me.

I just wished she could say anything, no matter what it was. I just wanted to hear her sweet voice again.

Surprisingly, she pulled her hand away and stood up abruptly.

I also stood up with her in surprise at her sudden reaction.

"Xena, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Ry-Ryder, you're definitely sick. I would never mate with you! I never pictured ending up with my student! No!" She shook her head in denial and for a moment I felt bad.

Was it so bad to love someone older than you?

And what was so difficult to get married to your student?

Age is just a number and moreover, I looked quite older than she was.

I was taller, and builded, so there was no reason for anyone to say that she was older than I was.

Besides, she didn't look old at all. If anything, she looked super hot that I would never even have the energy to look at other women the way I look at her.

"I need to go" she suddenly said and dashed out of the room.

I cursed and followed after her.

"You both didn't even eat" Jeremy whined about food and I got instantly pissed.

He cared about food more than our mate?

"Don't get me wrong, I do want our mate, but she doesn't seem to want us and like I said before, in my own opinion, I think we should just claim her, whether she likes it, or not"

Jeremy's suggestion was something I wouldn't even want to think about.

How could he vomit such nonsense?

I followed Xena outside the restaurant and just as I promised, someone brought the car over to the restaurant for us.

She didn't even wait to hear from me and directly hopped into the car, leaving me standing there and watching her zoom off.

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.

I never pictured meeting my mate this way.

And Xena was clearly not coming around anytime soon.

I stood there for a while, before I turned around and went straight to where I parked my own car.

I had lost my appetite already.

I got into the car and left the restaurant.

She might have run away now, but I would still see her at school tomorrow and even at the party tonight.

Every pack member was expected to attend the coronation of their new Alpha and I knew she would never refuse.

She was the type that never broke rules.

Sooner or later, she would be mine.

Soon I arrived at the packhouse and got down, tossing the car keys to one of the bodyguards.

The preparations for tonight's party were still ongoing.

There were maids here and there carrying one thing or the other as they did the decorations.

I ignored them and directly went upstairs to my room before anyone saw me.

As usual, the entire place was clean and tidy.

I walked straight to the bed and slumped on it, feeling the fatigue suddenly weighing heavily on me.

Just as I closed my to fall asleep for a while, I suddenly heard noises coming from my bathroom.

I furrowed my brow in confusion, hurriedly sitting up.

Who the hell was in my bathroom?

How dare they enter there without my permission?

I hurriedly stood up and marched to the bathroom door, when I pushed it open, I was greeted by the sight of my girlfriend, Renee laying in my tub and playing with the water.

Just the right person I wanted to see.

Time to end things.

"Renee?" I called out and she turned to look at me.

Her face broke out into a seductive smile.

"Hey Alpha! You're back home, come take a shower it with me" she offered.

If it had been on a normal day when I didn't find out about Xena being my mate, I would have foolishly joined her so I could forget about Xena for once.

But I already realized who she was in my life, and having something with another woman would definitely hurt her.

Without thinking I looked Renee dead in the eyes and, "Renee, let's break up"