13. She intrigues me

Alvin Donald's POV

She is different. That's the only thing my wolf has been saying to me since we laid our eyes on our so-called mate.

I had never thought I would meet my mate and take a second look at her. I dislike women because of what some of them did to me and my kingdom, and I had always thought the first thing I would do after seeing my mate was to reject her. However, I couldn't do it.

I couldn't do it to this strangely amazing and beautiful girl in front of me.

There was something about her that was worth observing. I wanted to observe and know more about her.

I wasn't some pathetic, irrational jerk who would reject his mate directly because of past experience. I want to observe her and see if she is rude and materialistic like other women around me or is a little bit sensible and tolerable.

Observe her, and see if she is likely to become a queen or not, which I was unsure about, and then reject her politely with enough money to last her generations.

That was the plan. However, things aren't exactly going according to it.

There are many things that are not only intriguing me but are pissing me off too.

First, I am not sure if it's the case or not, but our mate doesn't recognize us, and Kelvin is both confused and hurt about it. When I touched her earlier, I felt pleasurable shivers run down my spine, and all I wanted at that time was to hold her close and keep hugging her, but judging from her reaction and how she pushed me, it looked like she felt nothing for us. Our mate is more inclined toward the council's son, and their relationship is what is making me angry and losing my patience, which rarely happens.

And last but not the least, she is quite informative and professional in handling situations regarding rogues.

Apart from her not recognizing us as her mate, and her friendship with Henry, there is nothing worth detesting in her, and that's pissing me off even more.

She has been challenging my thoughts, my opinions about women, and how capable they are so much that I have started to question if I ever met the right ones or not.

'I like her already. She is a beauty with brains. She is perfect in every way. She will be my perfect Luna,' My wolf said dreamily, and I rolled my eyes as we walked towards the area where our team has told us the rogues are going to smuggle the ammunition and some new technology wolfsbane laced weapons.

My wolf likes her already, and I am intrigued by her, but what about our mate? She doesn't even recognize us, let alone have any feelings for us. She likes Henry more than us. In fact, judging from how she pushed me and looked at me earlier, I think she already has a bad impression of us.

Honestly, a king doesn’t need to handle these matters himself. However, it’s because I want to work with Kathy and win against her that I am doing this.

"Why do I not see anyone or any hint of something happening so far?" I asked the team, angrily.

'Why are you getting angry, Alvin? It's not their fault that our mate doesn't like us back or recognize us,' Kelvin said, and I sighed before looking at the leader.

'I am not angry because of that. Mate or no mate, don't you remember how she challenged us by saying‌ she has better information than our highly trained and experienced team?' I asked, and he hummed.

'Look, I don't know, but I think our mate is going to win,' Kelvin said, and I scoffed.

'You are saying that because you are whipped for her already,' I said, and he scoffed as we walked further towards the location.

'Let's bet. If in any scenario our mate wins, then you are going to let me take over and have some interaction with her, okay?' Kelvin said, and I hummed.

"Sir, there is some news about the rogue pact that we have been following. It looks like they moved already. Our trackers have tracked their location," One of the guys said as he looked at me cautiously.

"They changed the location? You mean to say someone informed them about our arrival, no?" I asked, and he looked at me uneasily.

"It seems like that's the case, sir," He said, and I closed my eyes to control the anger I was feeling.

"When did this happen? What's the new location?" I asked coldly.

"Judging from the faint scent and the footsteps, the trackers are guessing it happened around two to three hours ago. The new location is the Cantele lake," he said cautiously, and I paused in my tracks before turning to him.

The location changed around three hours ago, and now they are headed to Cantele lake? Didn't we meet our mate around two hours ago? And not only did she help us catch those wolves, but she came in with information about these rogues too. Could it be that she really wants to help us? I thought before taking a deep breath.

"Everything happened so long ago, and you guys are telling me this now? I didn't know my team was so incapable. Now, because of you guys, I might have to suffer some embarrassment later," I said to him before turning toward the rest of the team.

"We are going towards the Cantele lake. Not everyone can accompany me. Let's make the plans along the way," I said as we walked towards the lake.

'Alvin, I told you, didn't I? I think our mate is going to win. Now since you lost the bet, you are going to let me take over, okay?' Kelvin said, and I hummed.

Since Cantele lake wasn't too far, we reached there in half an hour, and what I saw there, made me raise my brows.

There, right in front of me, our mate tamed some rogues and asked them to leave, and they followed her instructions like some tamed puppies.

I was about to take a step forward when I heard my men talking wrongly about her and couldn't help but feel a fire burning inside me.

No matter what she does or how she acts, no one has the right to talk badly about her or judge her apart from me. She is our mate, even if I don’t like her at the moment.

Walking ahead, I teased her a little, liking the way she got flustered for a second before gaining her cool.

Honestly, when I saw her looking at me with those wide, big cat-like eyes, all I wanted to do at that moment was to pull her cheeks and kiss her senseless. And I know for a person like me who hates her guts, this is completely wrong, but I couldn’t help it.

"Let's discuss the plan first. The rogues will be here in some time, and both I and your new leader believe that they must have sent some spies into this forest. Let's disperse and try to camouflage as much as we can. According to the reports, there will be around 30-40 of them, and I don't think I need to instruct you guys on how to fight them. Our main concern is to track and confiscate all the ammunition and any new deals that they might be having right now," I said before looking at Kathy, who had a dazed look on her face.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked her, feeling a bit concerned, and she shook her head.

"Get ready. They will reach here any moment," She said, and though the words confused me for a second, I nodded nonetheless.

"You heard her. Get ready," I said before looking at the previous team leader, who was looking at me as if wanting to say something.

"Sir, our trackers said they have seen some movement in the west wing area of the forest," the leader said, and I nodded.

"Let's go to the west wing," I said before walking in the west direction.

Seeing that Kathy wasn’t following us, I turned around and noticed her going in the north direction.

"Kathy, we need to go in the west direction," I said, and she sighed.

"I say we should go in the north direction. The movement in the west wing can be faux to distract us. Cantele lake is in the North direction. I am sure the deal was about to happen there only," Kathy said, and I sighed.

"Look, I know that what you have been saying all this time has turned ‌right, but this time maybe my team is right. Our trackers sensed movement in the west wing. Maybe the deal with the Cantele lake is faux? There could be a chance that they changed directions at the last moment because of some suspicious activities, no? I am saying we go to the west wing, and we are going there, including you," I said with finality, and this time she scoffed.

"I told you this from the beginning, didn't I? I only trust my instincts and nothing else. Do you want to go west? Be my guest," she said, and I glared at her.

I know she is pretty smart, but does she have to defy me all the time? Can't she listen to me at least once? It looks like I was too early to judge her.

"Look, Kathy. I know I have said you intrigued me and all, but that doesn't mean I'll let you defy me all the time. We are going to the west, and that's it," I said, and she looked at me for a second before smiling.

"I still don't see why I should drop my plan and follow you," She said.

"Because I am the king," I said, using the king card, and she scoffed.

"And? It should bother me because?" She asked, rendering me speechless.

"You!" I started, and she smiled.

"Yes, me!" She said before sighing.

"I think you still haven't understood the situation here, Mr. Donald. I am not concerned about you or what you would do to me. I am going North because I believe in my source of information. Also, take your team too. I don't want people who don't trust me leading this and spoiling it for me, anyway. This might just be a case for you to find hidden ammunition, but for me, it's more than that," She said before turning away, making me squint my brows.

I don't know if I am overthinking things or what, but I felt some pain in her voice when she said the last part.

"Kathy, wait. I am coming with you. Sorry, king Alvin, I am sure you will be able to handle the team. I know I should help you, but my friend here needs me. I don't want her to do anything stupid while she is at it," Henry said before he followed Kathy and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her smile sadly as I saw her wiping her tears.

Wait. Is she really crying? I thought, feeling a pang of pain in my chest.

"Sir, are we going west?" the leader asked me, and I closed my eyes.

This would be the first time when I am going against my principles and that to be for a girl who doesn't even recognize me as her mate.

"We will follow Kathy. I believe her," I said.

Damn it. It looks like this mate thing is messing with my head.k