Chapter 4

Astra pov ...

I promptly inclined my head as the two men who had captured me walked forward. From the corner of my eye, I watched as they bowed, then one of them said:

"She was found loitering at the border of our pack, my alpha. We guessed she was a spy, trying to gain information about our security at the perimeter."

I heard the alpha grunt as I stared at the grass close to his feet. "And you think bringing a spy into our borders was the best choice? Don't you think you are giving her more opportunity to learn about our security inside the perimeter?"

"I...we didn't think—" I felt rather than heard one of the men shuffle uncomfortably.

"Shouldn't one of you have sent word to me while the other stayed by the "spy" at the border? Couldn't you have, oh I don't know, killed her there, perhaps?" I heard the alpha continue. His voice had a mocking edge to it now. I could almost see the half-smile on his beautiful face.

"We're...sorry, alpha—"

"That's alright," the alpha said. "Leave her be. I'll take it from here."

I heard one of the werewolves let out a soft gasp. "But alpha, she might be a spy..."

"Yes," the other responded. "I vote for decapitating her on the spot..."

"No decapitation shall be done!" The alpha commanded authoritatively. "You both have done enough damage by bringing a potential spy into our borders. I'll deal with her now."

"But alpha—" I heard one of the men protest, then his protest was cut short. I imagined the alpha giving him a forbidding look. The men bowed to him again, then they turned and walked away.

Slowly I looked up, my eyes trailing the beautiful statue of a mam from feet to face, and I was drawn into his striking brown eyes again. His face was hard and grim, although I could tell that something soft was beneath it and he was only putting up a show.

"Get up," he commanded, and I scrambled to my feet. He was already walking across the garden and towards the large pack house, and I had no choice but to follow.

We continued to walk in silence—I was at least five feet behind him—until we got inside the pack house, where he promptly led me to the large staircase that led up. I half-expected him to lead me up those stairs, but instead, he walked towards a door on the side of the grand staircase.

The cellar.

What in the name of the Goddess—

He kicked open the door and a cloud of dust billowed out of the room. I looked at him, then the dusty room, then back at him, my anger rearing its ugly head again.

"Get in," he ordered, jerking his head towards the cellar.

"I am not an animal," I said through gritted teeth.

"How dare—" He started, then reined in his rage. "Get in, now."

"I am not a spy, either." I protested. "I do not deserve this."

"Your status in this pack is left for me to decide." He retorted. "But for now, get in and stay there while I think of what to do with you."

"I'm sure there's an A in your name for 'Asshole'" I grumbled as I bent my head to enter into the cellar. Once inside, he bent so that he was eye-level with me.

"My pack members are already very averse to spies, and if they see you, they won't hesitate to rip your insides out with their fangs." He murmured. "This is the safest place you can be."

"Asshole!" I yelled as he shut the door in my face.

I stayed holed up in the cellar for Goddess knew how long, bored shitless and hungry as hell. I couldn't tell how long I'd been in there; all that kept me company was the rumble of footsteps above my head as people walked up and down the stairs. My mind never left my home pack, where I'd lived all my life as Noah's friend and subsequently his mate, even though my body was in a cellar several miles from home.

I was already dozing off, suspended in that space between sleep and wakefulness, when the cellar door opened with a bang, hitting my shin. "Ow!" I groaned and held my leg tight, grimacing.

A face peeked into the darkness of the small room. "Come on," a voice said. "The alpha is asking of you."

I crawled towards the door on all fours and stood as I walked out. It was nighttime already, as a chandelier and several candles had been lit close to the cellar. I squinted as the person led me away from the cellar and towards a grand, gold-painted door.

"Where are you taking me to?" I asked.

"The alpha asked for you to have dinner with him," the lady turned to me and looked me up and down with barely-concealed disdain. "For reasons best known to him." She added under her breath.

I bristled with annoyance as she turned away before I could retort. "Won't you at least let me shower before meeting your beloved alpha?" I asked instead. "I'm covered from head to toe in cobwebs."

"That will not be necessary," she said as we reached the gold-painted door and a guard ushered us in.

I was taken aback with awe as we walked in. "Whoa," I murmured under my breath, taking in the high ceiling painted with murals, the walls which were ringed with french windows, the glass-cut chandelier glinting with a thousand different colours, and finally, the long table with a golden tablecloth on it and the beautiful god of a man that sat on one end of it.

He was eating when we walked in, cutleries clinking. He stopped chewing and looked up, then waved the woman who had brought me in with one hand. I moved to walk towards the table but he stopped me with one hand. Taken aback again, I stopped short.

"I didn't call you here to eat with me." He said, swallowing the last bit of food in his mouth. "I have questions."

"Shoot, then." I replied, eyebrows raised.

"What pack are you from?" He asked.

"Why do you need to know?" I countered.

"Why are you here?" The alpha asked again.

"I—" I stopped short, the ache in my heart reigniting as I remembered why exactly I was here. Noah had rejected me as his mate, treated me as something less than vermin.

"I was—" I said and gasped as tears rushed to my eyes. I bit my lips to hold back my sobs and grabbed a nearby chair, trying to steady my emotions.

"Pull yourself together, woman." I heard the alpha say, but his voice was soft, almost sympathetic.

I did; taking a shaky breath, I wiped the few stray tears that had fallen from my eyes and met his gaze bravely. "I was accused of something I knew nothing about, and my...the alpha banished me."

"Is that why you decided to come to my pack?" He murmured, his voice almost inaudible.

I nodded in assent, and he stared at me for several seconds, his expression unreadable. Then he pushed his chair back with a loud creak and walked towards me, his brown-eyed gaze never leaving mine. I backed up until my back hit a wall, but he was relentless. He didn't stop until there was merely a few inches between us.

He was so close that his long hair tickled my nose. I could feel his breath warm my face, and my eyes fluttered shut in bliss as his scent found its way into my nose. Dahlia, I thought, as my senses went amok with him all around me. 

His hand snaked up and gripped my neck, turning my face upwards so that it was even closer to his. He bent downwards, and I was disappointed as instead of a kiss on my lips, he sniffed my hair instead.

Pervert!

I tried to push him away, but he was as unrelenting as a rock. He sniffed once, then twice, and suddenly my wolf reared its head inside of me, sniffing along with with him. Then something clicked inside of me, and I felt a completion as I'd never felt before.

"My mate," the alpha whispered, and my world went to golden pieces around me.