Chapter 2

I slept in the cabin last night with the stranger. The sun strikes my face and I hear a low groaning beside me. "Why are you still here? I told you to leave!" The man screamed at me, and I just gave him a small smile.

What a nice greeting to start your day!

Smiling at him sarcastically, I replied. "Good morning! Your energy is coming back because you could shout now."

He looked confused at what I said.

Before he could cut me off, I fixed my hair and grabbed the basket that I used yesterday to pick up some herbs. "Don't worry! I'll come back with another set of herbs. I promise it is better than the one I picked yesterday!"

I beamed at him before heading back into the woods. My heart brimmed with an unusual joy because of helping the stranger I had only met the previous night. It felt irrational, almost insane, but I could not stop myself from doing this.

After an hour, I returned with the herbs I had painstakingly prepared.

At first, the man displayed hesitance and anger, but he had no choice. I believed my herbs were mending his wounds.

As I fed him the medicine, I couldn't help but maintain a cheerful smile throughout.

A loud silence settled in the room, with the distant melody of chirping birds outside our small cabin. The prolonged silence grew increasingly awkward, intensifying our mutual gaze. So, I broke the silence timidly, my curiosity overcoming my shyness. "What's your name?"

He replied with an air of authority, reciting his full name, "Lycan Steven Styles. Your name?" His question followed, demanding my identity as if I were a servant to a king.

Nervously, I stammered out, "N-Nathalie. My name is Nathalie Salem Bentley."

His response was a resounding silence. I tried once more, "So, your name is Lycan?"

He appeared confused. "Lycan is the title of my pack. I hail from Lycan royalty, but now I am a rogue."

I struggled to comprehend his words, but the fact that he was engaging in conversation with me was a promising sign.

"What does it mean to be a rogue?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

“It’s a werewolf who was banished from his pack. You wouldn’t know because you are human, aren't you?" he smirked.

"Well, I am a human...?" My brows furrowed while looking at him.

He looked me in the eye like he knew what I was thinking. Just when my heart started beating rapidly, he replied, "I don't belong to your world."

"What do you mean?" I asked him to confirm my suspicion.

"I am not a human like you," he replied shortly.

My eyes widened after he said that. I took a step back and gazed at him. This man is a werewolf. I saw him shift into his human form. I had heard stories about werewolves shifting into humans, but I didn't know I would find one.

It was true!

They are not just mystical creatures!

With a shuddering voice, I asked again. “W-What happened to you, then?”

"I was attacked while I was on a quest," he responded, his gaze locked with mine. I found myself captivated by those emerald, forest-like eyes.

"A quest... like a mission?" I murmured, a growing sense of unease settling in.

"Yes."

"What's your mission?"

He chuckled, his amusement evident. "You certainly have a lot of questions," he remarked.

"I'm c-curious," I stammered.

He didn't respond and attempted to rise, but his weakened state sent him tumbling to his knees. Without hesitation, I extended my support and helped him up.

I felt a pang of hurt when he pushed me away earlier, but now he allowed me to assist him.

Gazing back at me, he explained, "I'm on a quest to find the witch who can cast a curse upon me, preventing me from ever discovering my mate." He winced in pain as he attempted to take a step.

This man's ego seemed boundless; he was reluctant to accept my help!

"How long have you been searching for her?" I inquired once more, now that he allowed me to nurse him.

"A few centuries," he replied with a heavy sigh.

My eyes widened in shock. “A few… what?! Centuries?!”

He nodded, "Yeah."

“How old are you?”

He glanced at me first before answering, “Five hundred and one years old.”

“But you don’t look like a five hundred and one years old man!” I immediately told him.

My mouth hung open on the floor while looking up at him. He shook his head and drank the last herb I made for him.

I was curious again, so I asked another question. “What if you find your mate first before the witch? What are you going to do?”

“Before I answer that," he put down the glass on the table and gazed at me, "do you even know what a mate is?”

I shook my head no. I had my answer, but I wanted him to confirm it by telling me the definition of a mate in his world.

Maybe it’s different in my world.

“A mate is…” Steven put his hand on my chin. I was kneeling in front of him.

His body, possessed with a great physique, intimidated me. He looked so dangerous now that his wounds were healing. He could kill me any time if he wants.

Steven pulled the back of my hair so that he could gain access to my lips. I gasped when he did that.

Was he going to kiss me?

To my disappointment, his lips didn't touch mine. His lips felt like a feather on my jawline while he trailed them on it.

"A mate is the other half of a werewolf's soul," he whispered in my ears in a hoarse voice. I could feel the skin on my arms standing on end. He was kissing my neck now, and I was gasping for air.

"W-What... w-what are you doing?" I asked him. My eyes shut tightly as I felt his tongue licking my neck.

"Fuck, why do you smell so good?" he growled at me.

"S-Steven..." I whimpered his name. He was breathing heavily, just like me, while his hands were touching all over my body.

He continued talking about mates. "A mate can sense each other's emotions, feeling joy or pain as if it were their own. This link is not just emotional but also spiritual and physical," he paused and cupped my cheek while looking into my eyes intently, "making the two werewolves stronger together than they ever were apart," he finished the sentence.

“And for your question earlier, little girl," he pushed the strand of my hair behind my ears.

"If I find my mate first before the witch can put the curse on me, I’m going to kill her…”

He glared at me with dilated pupils in his eyes. I could sense that he felt the mate bond, too.

Everything he said to me checks the list.

I craved his mint and rose scent; his excruciating pain was all I felt, too. But it was impossible because how could a human be mated to a werewolf?

"Mate," he growled and I gathered all of my energy to push his chest away when I stood up.

Then, I ran as fast as I could away from him while hearing the drums of heartbeats in my ears... scared and electrified at the same time.