Chapter 8

CATHERINE.

"Hi," I say to the Alpha at the door.

"Can I come in?' he asks.

"Yes, please."

As he walks in with his very large and domineering frame, I try to hold on to the assurance given to me by the woman earlier.

Damon's mother.

"He will never hurt you... he is just worried about you. Why don't you try and give him the chance to show that he is different?" she had asked.

"My mother told me you had a nightmare, do you want to talk about it?" he asks as he sits at the foot of the bed, a good distance away from me.

"No, not really."

"That is fine then. How are you feeling?"

"Um, calmer. I think. Thank you for asking."

We are both silent after that. None of us knew what to say to each other.

I take the opportunity to look at him.

He is big. Really big.

Broad shoulders just emphasize the large expense of his bare chest, and his arms are muscular but not in a bulgy way. Nothing about him is bulgy, just trim and fit.

He has shoulder length loose curled hair that I am not sure if it is brown or auburn, it looks silky and my fingers itch to run through the strands.

His face is an art of chiseled and perfectly properties lines. And his eyes are the clearest pair of green I have ever seen.

Everything about him is just irritatingly perfect, it is unreal.

"You want a picture? It will last longer," he teases, making me flush down to my toes. "Sorry, that was mean," he apologizes.

"It is fine. I was staring," I reply.

"And?"

"What is the verdict? Do you like what you see?"

I choke in my saliva at the question, making me cough and heave for breath.

"I will take that as a yes," he says as he moves closer to pat my back for air.

I manage to calm down as I raise my head for air.

"You good?"

"Yes, thank you."

"No problem. I wanted to apologize, have I done that before? I am not sure, can't remember. But if I haven't, I am sorry."

"For what?" I ask.

"For everything. I was so excited to finally meet my mate, I just threw myself at you like a caveman."

"I think you already apologized for that."

"Then I apologize for breaking in like that and giving you more reasons to fear me."

I can't help but smile at him.

He is kind of adorable.

"You are forgiven."

"So, shall we start over? I am Damon Blackwater, Alpha of the Blackwater pack."

"I am Catherine. Catherine Thames."

"Hello, Catherine. What about your pack?"

I refuse to give him the name of my pack.

"I have no pack."

"I see. Well, you have one now. Welcome to the Blackwater pack."

"What? You can't do that?"

"Why not? I am the Alpha am I not?"

"Yes, but- I am- you don't know who I am?" I tell him.

"Of course I do. You are Catherine Thames. My mate," he says in such a deadpan voice, it makes me wonder if he is alright, mentally.

"But-"

"That is enough for that. What I want to know is if you are willing to give me a chance?"

"A chance?"

"To prove that I am a wonderful mate."

I am tempted to ask what would happen if I said no but I decide against it.

Ever since I got here, I have been treated kindly and with respect.

The least I can do is do the same.

"I can try," I tell him.

"That is good enough for me," he says standing up.

His eyes are caught by the shattered door on the floor.

"Ah, I will have someone fix that. Tomorrow. Will you be okay with an open room? If not you can come to the study," he says.

"No, I am okay."

I am not comfortable just moving around just yet.

"Okay then. If you need anything, just say my name. I will come running."

"Thank you. Damon."

He smiles at me before walking out.

I am left alone with just my thoughts.

Is it possible that my life can change this much overnight?

"Of course it is. He is perfect, you should mate as soon as possible?" my wolf answers.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

*********

SKYLIGHT PACK

VANCE.

Something is wrong.

I have been getting this feeling for a few days and it is beginning to piss me off.

The fact that my wolf is not something to me is just a bonus.

"How long are you going to keep ignoring me?" I demand.

No answer.

Great.

I leave my room and head to the training grounds to get a good workout in.

Maybe it will help with my quickly souring mood.

"Alpha," Cody, my Beta and Tammy's brother greets.

"Cody. How is the training going?" I ask.

"good. We will be getting the new set of wolves inducted this weekend."

"That's good. Come with me, I need a sparring partner."

"Yes, Alpha."

We spent the next few hours roughhousing it. I beat him in several rounds and we are bruised, sweating, and aching everywhere.

"Okay, that is it for now," I call out to him as I lay on the floor panting.

"Thank you," he gasps out.

I manage to pull myself up and head to The kitchen for a cup of water when I enter into a shit storm.

Dirty pates overflowing from the sink, burnt pots and pans, empty bridges, and an appealing amount of empty take-outs.

"What the fuck?" I snarl." What is the meaning of all this?" I demand.

The whole place goes silent. No one is willing to look into my eyes.

"Well, have you all gone deaf? Why is this place messy? Answer me!" I roar.

The noise has Cody running into the kitchen.

"Alpha? What's wrong?" he asks.

"You tell me? Why is this place a mess? Why isn't it cleaned? Where is Catherine?"

He freezes at that and I begin to get that this is why I have been feeling off these days.

"Cody?" I growl. "Where. Is. Catherine?"

"Alpha, Catherine- Catherine is no longer in the pack."

"What?!"

"About fucking time you noticed," my wolf snacks.

Fucking great.