Chapter Two

~ KYLE'S POV ~

I flipped to the next page. The entire building had been cleared out, leaving only me and the books. It wasn't that I valued books. I hated them, but they were Lilith's favorite books, and I was still trying to understand what she had loved about them.

Then I heard hurried footsteps approaching, and a moment later, the door burst open.

“Alpha!”

Eric rushed inside, panting heavily, and I slowly lifted my eyes from the book.

“Eric, what do you want?” I asked, my voice calm despite the interruption. “I specifically requested privacy and silence.”

“Alpha, you need to see this.”

I dropped the book onto the table. “Hurry up.”

“There’s a huge issue at the university.”

“What issue?” I asked as I got to my feet, already expecting another one of his meaningless reports.

“A rejection was just broadcast live. It’s spreading through the university and far beyond.”

“And this is my business?” I asked. “I own the university. That doesn't mean I need to sort out every problem involving the students.”

I picked up a wipe and walked over to Lilith's portrait. Once I reached it, I began wiping the speck of dust from her picture.

“What are the maids even for if they can't keep this place clean?”

Eric continued staring at me.

“Alpha, that's not the issue.”

I ignored him until he finally spoke again.

“She looks exactly like Luna Lilith.”

I paused, my hand still against the portrait.

“What?”

Eric pulled out his phone and showed me the video.

I watched the screen, and then I saw her.

“Lilith,” I muttered.

There was no mistaking that face.

It was hers.

The Moon Goddess had actually done it.

Eric swallowed before continuing. “She looks exactly like her.”

“Not exactly,” he added quickly. “I mean, she has the same face, but…”

“But what?” I asked, turning toward him.

“She isn't like Luna Lilith.”

I continued wiping the portrait as I listened.

“Luna Lilith was slender and considered exceptionally beautiful. This girl is plus-size, and people don't seem to notice her face because they're too focused on her size.”

I said nothing.

“Luna Lilith had one of the strongest and purest wolves in our entire bloodline,” Eric continued. “This girl doesn't even have a wolf.”

My hand slowed against the portrait.

“And Luna Lilith was carrying your child when she died. This girl is infertile.”

“Enough.”

My voice came out sharper than I intended, cutting him off.

Eric immediately fell silent.

I looked back at the screen.

Ariel.

That was her name.

The Moon Goddess had kept her promise.

After all these years, she had finally returned my mate to me.

Just not in the form I remembered.

I remembered her promise clearly. She had told me she would give me a mate who would make me return to the White Mountain and beg for the opportunity I had once rejected.

Perhaps this was what she meant.

Perhaps she had decided that if she returned Lilith to me in a form completely different from the woman I had loved, I would finally regret refusing her offer.

Eric cleared his throat. “Alpha?”

“What?”

“So, I could follow you to the White Mountain and join you in begging the Moon Goddess to give you back the offer.”

I frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“Because this girl is clearly not the kind of mate you wanted. She is completely different from Luna Lilith. Why not go back and ask the Moon Goddess to let you choose someone else?”

I reached up and pulled Lilith's portrait down from the wall, holding it carefully in my hands as I looked at her face.

A smile slowly appeared on my face.

“If this is a punishment…”

I looked back at Ariel's face on Eric's phone.

“…then it's definitely the sweetest punishment I've ever heard of.”

“What? Alpha, you really can't do this.”

“Why can't I?” I asked as I headed toward the door.

Eric immediately rushed in front of me. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm going to the college.”

Eric stared at me as though he was trying to process what I had just said. “You're going to the college? To do what exactly?”

“Will you tell her that she's your mate who died twenty-five years ago and was reborn as this?” he asked. “Because it doesn't actually make sense.”

“Hey, mind your language. I'm your Alpha,” I growled at him.

“I get it, I get it. But you really can't go, Alpha.”

“And will you stop me?”

“I don't want to stop you. It's just ridiculous. I understand if you're okay with your new mate, which I am not. But for now, I'll find out all the information about her and have it dropped on your desk tomorrow morning.”

“Fine,” I muttered, rolling my eyes as I returned to my chair.

Eric shook his head before turning around and walking away.

As soon as he was gone, I sighed.

Why was he restricting me?

I could finally see her. Well, if I couldn't see her in person, I could definitely watch it online, couldn't I?

I immediately searched for the video, and it was at the top of the search results.

I watched it again.

How dare they treat her like this?

I watched the short clip again, my expression darkening as I saw the way everyone had treated her.

“These kinds of students should be expelled. They don't deserve to be in school.”

I stared at the screen for a moment, but this wasn't satisfying my curiosity.

Angrily, I went to the shelf and picked up another book, hoping it would help me forget about her for the moment.

But it didn't.

The next morning, very early in the morning, I was right in front of Eric's place, pacing around.

The door opened, and I came face to face with him.

“Alpha? Why are you here?” Eric asked, looking at me in confusion.

“I… How did your search go?” I asked.

Eric stared at me. “Did you come here very early this morning for this?”

“I already said I would help. Try to trust me,” Eric said.

“I do trust you, but I also need the report quickly,” I replied.

Eric frowned and went back inside. A few moments later, he returned with a file and placed it in my palm.

“Here. Have it. Stop being weird. You're not the Alpha I know,” Eric said.

I looked at the file, then at my friend.

“You're quite efficient,” I said, forcing a smile.

“You will not understand how it is to have a mate,” I said before turning around and walking away.

“If this is what having a mate is about, I don't want one!” Eric shouted after me.

“Idiot,” I muttered.