Chapter 5

CATHERINE.

I am frozen at his move.

He didn't even say anything!

I raise my hands to push him away, but all they do is hang limply on his shoulders.

As the man adjusts himself over me, my hands go higher, gripping his neck and pushing him down on me.

Like a drug, I crave his warmth.

Our hands continue to roam each other's bodies, exploring each other.

Whatever thoughts I had towards his behavior are fast disappearing in the onslaught of his kisses.

He moves from my lips and latches onto my neck, nipping at the tender skin, up and down, muttering something.

I strain my ears to catch his words and am shocked at what I hear.

Mate.

He is calling me his mate.

With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I shove him off me, thickly scrambling up the bed away from him.

"What did you say?" I gasp out.

He stares at me in confusion.

"Mate. I said, "mate", you are my mate."

"No, I am not."

"What?"

"I am not your mate."

"What do you mean you are not my mate? Can't you feel the pull?" he demands. "The mate bond?"

"No, I don't. I don't feel anything."

In my defense, my skin was still flushed, and my heart was still racing at the make-out we were having.

"I have a mate," I tell him before I correct myself. "Well, I had one. He rejected me. The point is, I can't be your mate. You must be confused."

He stares at me before getting off the bed.

"You, stay here. You are not allowed to leave this room without my permission," he orders before walking away.

I watch in shock as he walks out and also hear him lock the doors.

I don't even know his name.

DAMON.

"I am not your mate."

Her words keep ringing in my ears like a hammer on an anvil as I stalk through the mansion with no clear destination.

What does that even mean?

She is my mate. I can feel it. My wolf can.

So why the hell is she talking about another mate?

I stop at the front of a set of double doors and I'm not even surprised.

Whenever I encounter a confounding problem that I can't see through, I go to my mother.

Luna Janelle.

At least she is until I find my mate.

Which I have already found.

"Ugh," I groan out in frustration as I push open the doors.

My mother looks up from her lounge chair in surprise.

Upon registering the look on my face, she sets the book she is reading down and pats the space between her.

"Come, sit. Tell me what's wrong," she says.

I stalk over to her and drop down on the space she provided.

"I found my mate," I say.

"Well, that is good news, isn't it?" she asks with a wide smile.

"Hmm. She says I can't be her mate. That she already has one and that he rejected her. "

The fucker.

Wait, why am I angry at that?

"Mother," I groan out. "I am confused."

"Yes, I suppose that would make anyone confused."

"What does she mean she has a mate?"

"Oh, Damon. There is something I have to tell you."

I look up at her and see she has a serious face on.

"Mother?"

"There is a secret... passed down to all alphas to their sons. Your father, bless his soul, didn't have the chance to tell you about it."

"What is it?"

"A legend. Of the wolf king and his mate. They are said to be the strongest wolves only when bonded. Alone, they are strong but not to their full strength."

"That is a myth, mother, not a legend," I tell her. "And what does that have to do with my problem?"

"Let me finish. Once, a very long time ago, a group of Alpha wolves were threatened by this pair and, therefore, partook of a ritual that would cause them to miss each other.

"It could be by a large age gap, death to one of them, being born in different packs or territories, anything really. To curtail this, the goddess created a backup plan. A backup mate, per se. Once they reach their eighteenth year birthday, they find a mate. Not their ordained mates but one that would suffice."

"What... what are you saying?" I ask her in growing apprehension.

She ignores me and continues talking.

"These wolves, the king and his queen, are marked by a distinct trait. A trait that, once seen, there can be no doubt as to who they are. The male wolf would have a gold coated fur while the female's coat would be silver."

Oh shit.

"Once they complete the mating ritual, the barrier on their powers will vanish, and they will come to their full strength. My take is that this mate she is talking about, is just her substitute mate. You are her true mate."

"No. Wait... what are you talking about? What wolf king and queen, I am not a wolf king or anything like that. Where did you even hear this?" I ask her as I get up to pace around the room.

"Your father told me. On the day you first shifted, we saw your fur. And you are destined to be the wolf king," she says before me.

She takes my hands and brings them to her lips, kissing them, "You are already on the way to becoming that. Now all you need is to bring your mate into the fold and everything will work out well.".

I stare at her for a few seconds before reaching down and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"It is late, Mother; you go to bed now. We will talk more in the morning."

I leave her and, without actual thought, head back to... I don't even know her name.

We are off to a great start, aren't we?

I unlock the door and push it open to reveal her still in the position I left her in.

"We need to talk."