MATERD TO THE SON OF THE DEMON KING

Mercy’s POV

I watched him slide across the ice like he owned it.

His hockey stick was tightly clutched in his hand as he skillfully passed the puck to his teammates.

The girls who sat before me screamed at the top of their lungs,

“Nicholas! Nicholas!”

Obviously they weren't screaming for the love of the game. None of these girls truly knew anything about hockey.

They were just desperate to get his attention.

Nathaniel Fangs.

The hottest boy in school, he was the son of the vampire king and the captain of the boys' hockey team.

The girls screamed louder again, this time their voices even louder. “Nicholas!!”

Who could blame them?

Who wouldn't fall for those brown eyes, golden blonde hair, tall figure, and muscles that looked like he was born at a gym?

You could write an essay about his looks and eight pages wouldn't be enough, and no, this is not an exaggeration.

He looked like a god.

And yes, I wasn't an exception from the girls who had fallen for him. I had been in love with him since I started attending Nevermore High School. I had decided today that I would confess my feelings to him after school ended.

Nathaniel and I had our first conversation three weeks ago when our father had thrown a party for werewolves who had just turned eighteen. We had reached the age to form a mating bond and he wanted to bless us.

Of course not every wolf in the city could attend, but hundreds of us were there.

Nathaniel had stepped away because parents kept trying to introduce their children to him and he had gotten tired.

I, on the other hand, had stepped out because I had run into Lydia. She was the daughter of the alpha king's right-hand man. She thought she deserved to be with Nathaniel because of her status.

But Nathaniel had never looked her way.

Lydia was a bully.

“Who would have thought she would show her face?” Lydia mocked, speaking to her friend who was sipping a drink.

“The daughter of a mere plumber in the space of powerful werewolves like us? It's an insult. I wish the alpha king had given invites to specific people who deserve it,” Aria scoffed.

I had bowed my head in shame.

“A girl who hasn't even formed a connection with her wolf yet?” another mocked.

That's right, I didn't have a wolf yet. Dad said I was a late bloomer, but that wasn't a normal thing among wolves. I had never heard of it before, so why me?

Maybe there was something wrong with me?

My aunt Clara said she wasn't sure I would get a mate if I didn't have a wolf and Dad had scolded her.

It was okay. Some people mated at twenty-six or thirty. It wasn't like my time was running out anyway.

Soon the game ended and the members slid off the ice. The girls didn't stop screaming. As the boys took off their helmets, I noticed the grim looks on their faces.

Asher, a member of their team, would be moving to London because his mother got remarried, so they would be losing a member. This was their last game together.

I slid off my seat and walked out of the hockey rink. I had decided to confess my feelings to Nathaniel later.

I even bought a strawberry cake with the words "I love you" written on it.

I walked to my locker to get a textbook for the last class of the day.

“I wish Nathaniel would look my way, even just once,” a girl with glasses giggled as she walked past.

“He wouldn't look at girls like us,” her friend responded.

I looked at them. “He wouldn't look at girls like us?” I mumbled. My fingers pressed against my locker door. If he wouldn't look at them, would he look at me?

I mean, he is the son of the alpha king.

The almighty Manchester Fangs. Would he really look my way?

Even if he did, a person could only be with their fated mate. Would the moon goddess ever deem me worthy of being his mate?

I sighed.

Throughout that day in class, my eyes were only fixed on him. I stared at the back of his head as if it owed me money.

My eyes caught him stealing glances at Lydia.

It made my heart ache.

Why was he looking at her?

I looked in her direction. She looked good today. What if he fell for her?

I sighed.

Maybe I was thinking too much.

I opened the zip on my bag and looked into it. There was a little hand mirror. I looked at my reflection.

I had been called ugly many times. Was I really?

I looked at my brown eyes and brown hair that I had put in a ponytail. I looked exactly like Dad. Mom always said he was the most beautiful person she had ever come across.

After school that day, I froze at my locker, pondering whether I should tell him about my feelings or toss the cake out.

I had been postponing it for days. It was better I did it now or I would keep postponing it. I knew I would.

I turned around. The boys would be having their goodbye party in the ice hockey rink. I knew Nathaniel would still be in class. He always stayed after to call his mom.

I carried the cake in its little box in my hand. I sucked in a deep breath and headed for class, muttering little words to motivate myself as I walked.

Immediately my legs passed the threshold of the door, I froze in place. Nathaniel stood before Lydia, her back pressed against the wall while he kissed her.

My chest tightened. I watched him kiss her desperately like a hungry man, her hands against his chest.

“When will you tell the boys about us?” she mumbled against his lips.

“Today,” he answered. “I promise.”

I quickly stepped out before they could see me. My eyes clouded with tears. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

How could the nicest boy in school be with such a girl?

Lydia was the devil.

How could he like her? I knew they were secretly dating, but for how long?

I carried my legs—no matter how heavy they were—and led them away from the door.

I quickly tossed the cake in the trash beside me and wiped my eyes.

I carried my bag and tried to walk out of school, but it still felt as if I had passed out.

“Ms. Mercy!” a teacher's voice shouted.

I looked up. It was Ms. Hogan, one of our teachers. She stood beside a boy in a button-up shirt and black pants. His eyes were green and he had black hair.

His eyes were fixed on me. There was something dark about them—soulless.

“Come here.”

I walked to her.

“This is Timothee Black. He is a new student here. He is officially resuming tomorrow but I would like for you to give him a tour of the school today,” she explained.

Why hadn't I left earlier?

I didn't have the energy to force a smile. “Of course, ma'am,” I said. It wasn't like I could say no to a teacher.

She handed his file to me. “This is his room card,” she said, handed it to me, and walked off.

I looked up at him. “Hello, my name is Mercy,” I said.

His green eyes narrowed. “Mercy…” His hand slipped into mine, his voice hoarse. Wrinkles formed between his eyebrows as he spoke again. “…it's a unique name.”

I smiled, but the smile quickly fell as I felt a sharp wave blow past me. Well…not exactly past me—through me—and it stayed there.

He quickly removed his hand from mine, his eyes wide with alarm. “No,” he growled in a low tone.

I blinked. “Are you okay?”

He looked at me. “You…you are my fated mate,” he announced.

I froze.

That was that feeling I had just now?

It was a mating bond?

No… I wanted Nicholas, not him.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He grabbed my hand and dragged me into an empty classroom beside us. I watched as he frantically undid the buttons on my wrist to check.

My eyes grew wide as I saw a mark on my wrist. It wasn't there before.

He held it up. “See? My family crest. It appears only after a person finds their mate.”

Not every family had a crest when they mated—only royalty did. He couldn't be royalty. Nathaniel was the alpha king's only son.

“How can you be my mate? I smell wolf all over you,” he said with a confused expression on his face.

I chuckled with confusion. “Of course I'm a wolf. What else would I…”

His eyes suddenly glowed bright red. It paused my words and my mouth flew open. Werewolves couldn't do that.

The only people who could do that were Demons.

Mortal enemies of werewolves.

My legs trembled. I tried to run off, but his hands wrapped around mine and he pulled me back, cornering me against the wall. He panted the words.

“Stay.”