Chapter Nine: Strange Life

You have to train.

As soon as those words entered my ears, thousands of emotions that I couldn't articulate surged through my mind, and my heart fell.

I raise my head to stare at him, but his gaze is already on me.

He then took a step forward, but stopped when he noticed me move back.

He sighed. "Amelia."

I tremble and ignore the sensation caused by the way my name came out of his lips.

"This pack is one of the most powerful in the planet, yet for some reason, we are continually vulnerable to new assaults. Almost every day, we fight and kill rogues who attempt to undermine our legacy. Amelia, your human form is weak, and I can't abide having you around when you can't protect yourself against anything. It would kill me if something happened to you." He mutters the final bit, and my heart tugs at his words.

I frown my brow and shake my head.

I am not weak. At the very least, I have Rex with me.

Correct, Rex?

She grumbled her assent.

"But my wolf, Rex, can handle anything. She can just transform and defend me; I don't need to learn to fight anyone." I murmured.

Lia had long run away, leaving only Stark and myself standing.

I see him go closer and attempt to urge my legs to step back, but they don't move an inch. I was anxious due to the proximity, but I relaxed as his aroma overwhelmed my senses again. I feel his fingers hold my chin, and I lift my head forward to meet his gaze.

We looked into each other's eyes, and I noticed particles of emotion flicker across the greenish-brown tint of his pupils.

At least say something, moron!

He blinks, and they quickly evaporate, leaving just the typical stone expression on his face. He lowers his hand and moves away.

"You will train just in your human form and will not change for some time until I say so, which is definitive. I'll leave you for now, and you may start with the basics tomorrow. My gamma will be instructing you." With that, he walked away, leaving me with no opportunity to dispute, and I sunk deep into thinking.

I know he said training yesterday, but I couldn't think he meant this. I glanced around to see the bunch of wolves/humans from a distance. Some people halted to watch our exchanges, perplexed by my proximity to their Alpha. While some didn't and just kept training, I winced in horror as I witnessed a heavy man shatter his opponent's left hand, destroying his bones. The poor man wailed and quickly surrendered to him.

This is horrible, and I can't believe I'm going to train like this. What on earth is this type of training? This is absolute torture.

A human, like me, who has only recently survived the horrible transformation that I went through two days ago, must train among these wolves in order to survive. I know my life back home wasn't exactly entertaining and nice, but this was far more scary.

I swear I'd planned my future. With the little money I made and saved, I planned to leave the house once I received the scholarship I applied for. I was finally over the age of 18 and needed just enough time to leave my father's house with Helena, but I had not planned for all of these bizarre occurrences to occur in my life. I did not intend to be a werewolf with an unsympathetic mate . It was unexpected, and now I have to live out the remainder of this odd, terrible reality, knowing that I will not be able to live the regular human life I had always desired.

Now I have to combat the forces that come my way and train like a warrior. Is that why they brought me here in the first place?

Damn. I doubt I'll make it through this life.

Mom. Dad. I believe my time is drawing near. I'm going to meet you sooner than I expected. Please prepare a space for me in Heaven.

"Don't be silly. I'm confident our mate wants the best for us; we won't allow anything happen to us." I flinched and snapped out of my thoughts when Rex curled from the back of my mind.

I have yet to get used to hearing her voice in my head.

I scoff.

Mate, indeed. Is this how a mate is treated? Isn't a wolf expected to get protection, affection, and care from her alleged mate? He essentially proven that he doesn't care about me by forcing me to train among these people.

I fold my arms and sneer.

What did I expect? To be treated like a princess because I was his mate? I'm starting to believe the stories about him are true.

"Then, let's give him some time. I know he'll come around. I can feel it. Besides, he can't deny us for this long."

Damn you, Rex.

Why do you even defend him? Shouldn't you be siding with me? You are meant to be my wolf and not his.

She whines in her corner.

'I am not on anyone's side. I just know that if he didn't want us, he would have immediately rejected us as his mate.

Wait. Does this imply I can also reject him?

She hums, and I feel her break off the mental connection in my head.

I rolled my eyes. Yes, whatever. Crawl back to your hiding place in my mind.

"Amelia!" A female voice yelled from behind me, and I turned to see Ivy approaching me. She wore a white off-the-shoulder shirt, fitting navy blue trousers that hugged her curvy side well, and white shoes. Her straight blonde hair was put up into a high ponytail, and it bounced off her shoulders as she went, her fair complexion shining in the sunlight. She was quite gorgeous.

"Hi." I remarked, sheepishly glancing at her as she approached and her lips spread into a wide smile, showing a set of pearly teeth.

"I was looking for you and heard you were here. How are you doing, and how do you like it over here?" She replies, momentarily casting her gaze across the field as she stands, hands on her hips.

The majority of the males were virtually gaping now. Not directed at me. I don't believe I'm ever really beautiful. They were swooning over her beauty. I would too if I were a male or not heterosexual. I heard snickers from girls who were practicing with the men but kept their distance. They were clearly jealous of her attractiveness.

Ivy ignores them and turns back to face me, and I blink, forgetting she had asked a question.

"Uhm, yeah." I clear my throat. "I really don't know." Everything seems unusual and unfamiliar. You know, I'm not used to this type of lifestyle."

She nods. "I was told you lived as a human all your life." She says this while glancing at me.

"But it doesn't make sense to me that you have werewolf blood in you. Before you were sixteen, you ought to have shifted. Once a werewolf is born, most of them shift before they turn 16 or 18, at most. After that age, they can start looking for their mate. I'm not sure why yours was different." She rambles, and I exhale quietly before settling down on a little stone under a tree. She followed and did the same.

I stared down at my hands, picking at my fingers. Something I do anytime I am nervous.

"My entire existence was a lie, and I have no concept of where to find the answers to the questions that haunt me. My wolf refused to tell me anything; she claims to know nothing, and the parents I grew up with are buried 10 feet underneath. I have no one on this planet to turn to and explain things to me. My life back home is quite complicated." I mutter as I continue to look down at my fingers, as if they are the most intriguing thing to look at.

Hell, I believe Helena would know something about where I came from, and she isn't the ideal person to turn to. I don't think I want to see her ever again.

"I apologize. I'm sorry you've had to live without your kind your entire life, and I'd want to assist. I can conduct a background check if you let it." She speaks convincingly, and I glance up to stare at her.

"Can you? But, how?"

She grins. "I'd do anythLuna.or our Luna. This is a simple task. I'll finish it quickly." She snaps her index and middle fingers before reaching down to get a bottle of water I hadn't seen she had brought with her. She opens it and takes a sip.

My cheeks flush at the idea of Luna. Luna. I assume that is the Alpha's mate's title.

"I would love that. Thank you." I say, and she nods before we settle into a comfortable silence.

I'm thankful that the family is pleasant and friendly. When I'm among them, I get a sense of comfort. When my guard is down, Ivy makes me feel safe in the knowledge that she will not hurt me.

"How come people don't know about this other life? I don't remember ever hearing that werewolves existed."

"Some humans know, but they wouldn't risk revealing us. They are the ones who allow us to conduct our activities in the human world efficiently. It's based on mutual consent. Allow us to mix freely among your people, and in exchange, we vow not to kill or hurt them." She stated.

"Oh."

"It's becoming quite hot. Come on, I think we should go inside." She says as she rises to her feet, and I do the same.

I stretched my legs and followed her as she took me through a different route to the massive building. This place was ridiculously vast, and I might easily get lost if I didn't know my way around sooner. Some maids, or omegas, rather, bent their heads as we passed. She took me inside her brilliant blue room and collapsed on the bed, her head facing up. I sat quietly on the bed next her.

"You see, our world is different from the human world." She begins looking at the ceiling."We can never reveal it to them because it may cause turmoil. It is part of the legislation that connects us together peacefully and ensures our safety. If we do, things might get very nasty between the two realms, and a lot of blood will be shed. To avoid such situations, we prefer to keep our wolves hidden from human sight." As she spoke, the words started to sink in. I averted my attention from her and stared into nothingness.

I could image people's reactions when they see a person transform into a werewolf.

They'd be scared as hell.

Back home, Stark Grayson is a multibillionaire who is supposed to be vicious and brutal, but no one knew he was a werewolf, even my stepmother, who attempted to marry me off to him. If I hadn't turned out to be his mate , I would have died the instant I stepped foot in this place.

Ivy chuckles and I stare down at her.

Did I speak out loud?

She gazed at me and spoke."Yes, he is quite wealthy and has owned big enterprises over the world. The Royal Empire is recognized as one of the richest and most prominent organization in the human world, but in the werewolf world, it is the strongest and most powerful pack after the Lycans and the Royal Eclipse. I'm not sure whether you're aware of this yet, but it's a topic for another day. What I am trying to imply is that the rumors about him are true. He is vicious and brutal, but only against those who deserve more than death. We don't just slaughter anyone, including people. We slaughter traitors, rogues, and wolves that threaten or refuse to respect our authority. Yes, we are ruthless in that form, and people are only aware of this about Stark. Years ago, a neighboring rival attempted to conduct a stunt as part of their strategy to bring us down. They wanted others to know that we existed, so they spread some words to them. You don't have to worry about the pack; we took care of them ." She grins.

I glance aside. "That's why he wants me to train, but do Lunas have to fight as well? Why doesn't he just protect me himself?"

"No. My cousin simply wants to protect you in his own way. He wouldn't want anything to happen to you, and I'm confident that your beauty and presence have already whipped him. He's only attempting to combat his feelings as a result of some of his prior past experiences."

It was my turn to frown, and I whipped my head to face her. "His past experiences?"

She sighs and sits up. "It's not in my place to tell you, but I can assure you that if you give him some time, he will come around."

Rex snickers in my brain.

I told you so.