CHAPTER ONE.
CATANIA’s POV.I have been gazing at the elegant red dress on my bed for more than thirty minutes now with so much glee in my heart that I can hardly contain it.Today is the day!Today is my eighteenth birthday and to think that is not enough, it is the day of the ceremony where my wolf will be activated and I will be able to live like a normal full born werewolf.I am so excited.I pick up the dress from my bed and walk over to my mirror stand when I place it before me and imagine how perfect it's going to be once I put it on. Since no one seems to be excited about my birthday, I have taken it upon myself to stay happy and positive, because I know that after this ceremony, once my wolf will be awakened, things will change for the better.That I believe.Now, you must be wondering what I mean, but not to worry, you will soon find out and once you do, you will understand why I have such high hopes for this night.The sound of my room door opening snaps me out of my thoughts and I do a hundred and eighty degree turn to see who just got in without even bothering to knock. Once I see my sister, Mia, I swallow the words that were about to escape my mouth and close it.Mia is not a very civil person and I can bet my life that she feels hostility towards me.She is definitely here to say something that will ruin my mood. That's her special talent."Mia" I call as I gently place the gown on the bed and look back at her. She is giving me her typical disgusted look and I'm not alarmed at all. All I want is for her to spew her ridicules and leave."I can see you are very excited for this day""Yes, I am" I reply, trying to be as complacent as I can be. I turned eighteen today, so it was about time I learned to talk to her without feeling anxious or deterred."Why? If I may ask?""Well, because… because I'm a year older. Also because tonight my wolf will be awakened and I will live like a full born werewolf henceforth.""Hmmm""Yeah""Are you sure that's all?" She asks, giving me a dubious look and I bow down my head and play with my fingers.That's not all.Once werewolves turn eighteen, they find their mates, their better halves.I hope that tonight, at the ceremony, I find my mate so he can take me away from this house, away from my adoptive parents and sister who do not like me even one bit!"I have asked you a question Catania and it will do us both good if you'd answer me right away and don't even think of lying to me!" She threatens and I look up at her with my heart banging hard in my chest."We.. well… I…" I stutter nervously and she chuckles in travesty as she rolls her eyes. "I also hope to find my mate at the ceremony" I blurt out nervously and I can see a villainous smile spread across her lips as she takes two steps closer to me."So you would like to find your mate at the ceremony, what for?""Well, every werewolf has a destined mate. I just hope to find mine so…so…""So you two can get married and live happily ever after?" She cuts me off.There's travesty drooling from her words, but I chose to ignore her."Poor thing. I didn't find my mate on my eighteenth birthday, even now that I'm twenty two years-old, I still haven't found him. What makes you think that you will find yours today? You low life?" She asks, aggravated.I swallow dryly as I take a step backwards to spare myself from the heat radiating from her gaze.I don't even know why she is angry.Is it wrong for me to want to find my mate?"But… but… we don't have the same lives, Mia.""Of course we don't, my life is way better than yours, that's why you will never find a mate before I do. Get that into your thick skull!" She orders and I quietly nod my head. "Stupid girl! The dress you have to wear doesn't even look eye-catching. Only a blind guy will notice you and I doubt if there's any blind guy in this pack. That is to say that no one will notice you. You will not find your mate, so deal with it!" She storms out of my bedroom.I heave out a heavy sigh of relief and tiredly slump in my bed.Drained!I am emotionally, physically and psychologically drained right now.Mia has never ever been friendly to me, neither have her parents.From the stories I've heard, my adoptive father, Mr. Roland Collins, picked me up in the woods when I was still a baby. He and his wife decided to adopt me, but they never treated me like their daughter.There's this clear distinction between Mia and I.What dumbfounds me the most is that they don't maltreat me, they give me everything I need, but they don't love me or consider me their child.Most of the time, I don't know how to feel about the situation.Dear mate, please show up at the ceremony and take me away with you.I make that silent prayer in my heart and take up my dress from the bed. I place it before me and look into the mirror one more time.Mia is a liar!My dress looks eye-catching and my mate will definitely be enthralled when he sees me. She's just jealous!From now till I find my mate, I'm going to have to protect my positive energy from her bad aura. I'm not going to let her make me feel like I don't deserve a mate, because I do and I will find him!******************************************"Father, what about Catania? I hope she is not driving with us!" I hear Mia speak from the living room.I'm descending the staircase, all dressed up and ready for the ceremony. It is to take place at the Alpha's castle in two hours time and all the members of the pack will be there."Of course not darling!" My father's masculine voice follows and I just shake my head as I keep descending."There's no way I'm sitting in the same car with that…" My mother stops on her words when she turns around and sees me descending the staircase. I shoot her a tiny smile as I walk on, but that smile is short lived because both Mia and our father turn to look at me as well. Having three pairs of judgemental eyes staring daggers at me as I descend a flight of stairs with a pair of five inch heels on is not an easy situation to be in, I'm amazed at the fact that I haven't tripped over yet.I tear my gaze from them and plaster my eyes on the stairs as I walk on with my heart throbbing hard in my chest.When I get down to the living room, they are still looking at me with shocked expressions plastered on their faces.Mia looks like she wants to shred my body into pieces."Hello" I greet quietly, with a smile on, but nobody replies. There's a long moment of pin dropping silence as we all take turns in staring at one another."You are walking!" My father finally breaks the silence and exits the living room. Both my mother and sister, Mia, follow suit, leaving me all alone like the outcast I am.I heave out a heavy sigh of frustration as I take off my heels.Since I will be walking, I need to wear something comfortable, else I'll be crippled by the time I arrive at the castle.I hope…I sincerely hope that I find my mate tonight.My happiness, my sanity, my future depends on him."Nothing will turn out right for you tonight, get ready for the war that lies ahead"A voice speaks from nowhere and I look around to see who it but I don't see anyone. Right now my heart is palpating hard in my chest and I can barely breath.Who is that and what does he want from me?"You will not find your mate!" The voice speaks again and this time around, a loud hysterical laugh follows his words. I turn left and right in fear, but I still don't see anyone.The entire living room becomes quiet again and I hastily rush out before the voice can sound again.I know that's just my subconscious mind trying to scare me. No one can make me lose hope for this day. I am going to find my mate.But… what if… just what if this voice is for real?———————————————————————————————————————————-It takes me almost an hour to arrive at the castle and I'm confident that I am the last guest to arrive. Even the guards were shocked and I believe my disheveled state got them more confused.I have the worst family anyone could ever wish for.As I walk across the well cut lawn that leads to the banquet hall, I admire the blooming flowers at the corners of the lawn and in the green carpet grass. There are lights all over the yard, lighting up the entire surrounding and making it look very beautiful.If I didn't have anything important to do there, I would have stayed out here instead. The solitude out here is way more conducive than the pretence and competition going on in there between wealthy families.One of the reasons why I hate ceremonies like this.Wealthy families often come to show off their wealth and gossip about each other and I hate it!When I arrive at the door leading to the banquet hall, I take off the leader slippers I have on and put on my black sandals heels. If I dare go into that hall with my slippers, I will be crucified!The ballroom is just like I had expected. Enormous, beautifully decorated and jam packed with people of different classes. The women are chatting in small groups and I can bet that they are busy telling each other how much their clothes, shoes and jewellery cost.As I push through the crowd, I try to spot my parents and when I do, I immediately walk over to them. Not that they need me, but I just want to let them know that I have arrived, even though I now look awful."Ewe! What is that stench?" Mia cries holding her nostrils as she turns to face me, causing the people around to look at me as well."You reek of perspiration and dry leaves, look at how disheveled your hair is. Your dress is a mess!" She rants with a disgusted look on and the other girls around start laughing at me.I feel a painful lump form in my throat as tears sting in my eyes. Mia always does this."I… I… had to walk all the way here, remember?" I try to defend myself."All the more reason why you should stay far away from me and my parents. In this very shabby state of yours, it'll take a miracle for any guy to notice you. Even if you find your mate, I can bet my life he is going to reject you! Such an ugly bonehead!" She lashes out and I look at our parents, hoping that they'll say something, but when I realise that they won't, I quickly turn around and force my way through people, targeting the door.I want to go far from Mia and my parents.Sometimes I wonder why they adopted me if they never planned to love and treat me like their daughter. Don't get me mistaken, I'm happy that I grew up with a family. I mean, my adoptive parents are rich and I grew up as a rich kid, but their disdain for me has never gone unnoticed.There has always been a clear difference in the way they treat Mia and I.Most times, I chose not to think about it, but I break down every-time Mia rubs it in my face.She is actually very cruel and I wish I never see her again. I wish I could just run away and never come back.Oh how I wish I could find my mate during this ceremony. My life will change for the better if that happens.I wipe the tears that have been streaming down from my eyes and try to keep my breath steady. No matter how many times I promise myself not to cry over this issue, I still fail in the end and cry.I cry because it hurts and I wish things would get better.CHAPTER TWOCATANIA’S POV.Alpha Chase addresses us all and soon announces for all the youths who turned eighteen years old this year to come forward. This day is our day, our wolves will be awakened. Some of us will find our mates, others won't, but I pray I fall in the category of werewolves who will find their mates.A cold silent breeze blows across the hall as our pack witch, Rivera gracefully walks into the hall. She is the one to call out our wolves. This is our pack tradition.All the butterflies rise haphazardly in my stomach when she stands before us. We are roughly fifty in number, both male and female werewolves and I'm certain each and every one of them are just as excited for this as I am.I can see it on their faces.Like… who wouldn't want to live like a full werewolf. All the crazy things we can do in our wolf forms and above all, the fact that we finally get to find our mates. Ahhh… I can't wait."Our creator and Moon Goodness…" She begins to recite as she holds up
CHAPTER THREE.NOLAN’s POV“Alpha Nolan, we have arrived” My driver announces as the car comes to a halt and the engine dies. I wait patiently for one of my guards to open the door for me and when he does, I graciously step out of it and stand straight with both hands shoved in my overall pockets.My outward demeanour is not a very friendly one and I know it. Everyone standing around bows down the moment they set their eyes on me, including the Alpha of the Pack, Alpha Chase Phoenix. I am in his pack today to do the usual annual inspection which involves me moving around the pack to look around and make sure that Alpha Chase is handling everything just well and of course not treating his subjects like slaves.I am the Paramount Alpha and none of the Alphas around here like me. Werewolves from other packs hate and fear me because of the rumours surfacing that I am a ruthless Alpha and that I kill my subjects or any other person without reason.Well… I’m not going to try to defend myse
CHAPTER FOURCATANIA’s POV “It’s time to go” A guard announces as he walks into the bedroom I was taken into last night.I barely got any sleep. I mostly cried and asked the moon goddess why all these things were happening to me. Begging her to tell me where I went wrong in life. Why would she pair me with an Alpha and still give me the identity of a Stealer?It’s unduly agonizing.It’s all too much for me to bear and I wish I could die so all this would end.Without letting out a word or resisting, I quietly walk out of the bedroom with the guards following me close behind.I had thought on my eighteenth birthday, I would find my mate who will take me away from my adoptive parents who never loved me, but I found my mate and he doesn’t want to believe that I’m his mate and right now I’m being taken to his pack to be a rebound for his widowed maniac brother.What a pity!Once we get out of the mansion to the compound where multiple cars are parked, the first thing I pick up is my mate’
CHAPTER FIVE.NOLAN’s POV“Are you okay baby?” I ask Mia whose eyes seem to be watery. I hate that she is always around to witness the drama between Catania and I. I can only imagine how bad she feels, because if I were in her shoes, I would feel the same. Having someone else try to claim your mate before your eyes is a very vexatious thing to witness."Uh…yeah…" She stammers and the pain in her voice is inevitable. "Yeah, I'm good. You know, I'm actually used to this by now""No baby, don't get used to this. I promise everything will be fine soon. I promise!""Ah… yeah. I know everything will be fine, Alpha. But what I actually meant was that I'm used to my sister always trying to steal what's mine. You see, while growing up, she never wanted me to have anything nice. If our parents bought something good for me, she would steal it and hide or destroy it so I won't have it anymore. That's why right now I'm not surprised that she wants to take you away from me" She elucidates sadly and
CHAPTER FIVE.CATANIA'S POVAll my life I have been unloved, but I have never felt so ridiculed. How can my mate deliberately refuse to accept me, but offer himself to Mia who isn't his mate. She is the imposter here!I have always known Mia to be a sly fox, but I didn't think she was up to this level. How did she even succeed to do this? How did she know I was his mate? How did she pick up my smell? How on earth did she manage to convince my mate?She must have said and done something!She must have said something to turn my mate against me and I have to find out. All my life, Mia has been stealing my spotlight. She always made me feel like a lesser bring every time she went out and I let her have her way with me all this time, but right now, I won't!This is my mate we are talking about, my happiness, my future, my life as a whole. I cannot let her steal it from me.I can't.I have to find Alpha Nolan so we can have a one on one talk.Maybe after I have explained things to him ,he w
CHAPTER SEVENNOLAN'S POV"How is she?" I ask Alex who's standing by Catania's room door.Trust me, even I myself do not know why I have come here. I tried to get her off my mind, to stop thinking about how unsafe she feels right now, but I couldn't, so I made a rash decision to come and check up on her. Absurd thing is, I'm not even thinking about it's mate who is in my bedroom right now, prolly waiting for me to come to her. I'm not thinking about her at all, but here I am, obsessing about Catania's safety and comfort.There's something fundamentally wrong with me."Well, she hasn't screamed or broken things or cried, she should be fine""Oh…" I gently open the door and peek in. Ander sprints up on my mind when I see her petite frame lying on the bed, probably asleep. The smell Caramel mixed with honey and chocolate fills my nostrils and I close my eyes and sniff in a long deep breath. All my nerves and senses go in total disarray and my entire body feels giddy.There's this weird
CHAPTER EIGHT.NOLAN'S POVThe events occuring today are overwhelming. Catania is unbelievably stubborn and her pheromone is making me think and say things I'm not supposed to say and Nigel is not making matters any better by slipping into his black list mood with me.This is the moment I need him the most, not as a beta, but as my best friend, but he has decided to shun me away.Stubborn as hell.The only person who can help me out of this stress is my mate, Mia, that is why I'm walking to my bedroom right now to see her. It's been a whole lot of hours and I miss her very much. I miss the smell of her sweet pheromone and also her very charming smile.I have to mark her tonight!I have to make her mine…"Mate!" Ander screams in my mind the moment I'm done ascending the staircase. I look over to the West Wing where Catania's bedroom is located and I can perceive her pheromone from here. Damn!It's sharp and hypnotizing. I close my eyes and huff heavily as I take the right wing where
CHAPTER NINE.CATANIA'S POVI can bet my life that Alpha Nolan was here a while ago. When I woke from my siesta, I could perceive his scent in the entire bedroom, but he was nowhere to be found.He must have definitely come to reprimand me after the news of me roaming around got to him. Poor me.I have been in this bedroom for hours now, waiting for that door to open up and for soldiers to drag me to Alpha Kai so he can devour me.I have never seen Alpha Kai before. According to the rumours, he used to be the good brother, but when his mate died, everything went down the drain for him. I have never really known whether he is way older than his little brother or not. Whatever be the case, I hope his face is at least lookable. I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life sleeping with a man I can barely even look at.Sweet Moon goddess, please hear me out.The sound of my room door opening snaps me out of my thoughts and when I look up, I roll my eyes hard when I see my evil, treache