➳
As the weeks went by, Matthew became increasingly impatient. His love for his mate grew stronger every day; he began to find it hard to control his ardent desires. Each time she talked to him, he wanted to taste her lips, and whenever they would lay in bed together, he felt like running his hands all over her body.
Madeline, on the other hand, was still painfully oblivious to his feelings. She constantly mistook his displays of affection for friendship. A strange sensation would grow in her heart every time he'd hold her close, compliment her, or give her gifts, but she could not understand what it was.
A smile formed on her lips as she remembered the conversation they had this morning.
...
"Do you like this dress?" She asked, twirling around in his office. Matthew was busy doing paperwork at his desk.
"I told you you're not allowed to come in here while I'm working," He responded, not even glancing at her.
She sulked, walking in front of him. "But why? I'm so bored, and I haven't seen you all day."
He finally looked up at her. His eyes immediately darkened as they raked her petite figure, taking in every detail. He could hear his wolf howling in his head, clouding his mind with racy thoughts. His eyes reached her face to see that cute little smile that melted his heart every time.
"Is it nice? I made it myself." Madeline wasn't sure what he was thinking; his face was completely emotionless, but something in his eyes seemed different.
He studied her from head-to-toe one more time, before finally answering:
"You are a doll."
"A doll?" She did not quite understand what he meant. "Why?"
"When I first saw you, I almost couldn't believe you were real. You're just too pretty."
She felt her face flame up when her mind processed his words. Madeline wasn't the type to ever get shy and awkward, but his compliment got her flustered. This was the first time he's ever called her pretty. She opened her mouth to speak, but did not know how to respond. Her heart started beating faster when he got up from his chair, approaching her.
"I-I'm distracting you from your work aren't I? I should leave," She stammered, turning around to dash out of his office. He did not try to stop her, but a small smile crept on his face seeing her reaction to his compliment as he watched her run out.
...
Madeline buried her face in her pillow to hide her smile. "He thinks I'm pretty," She sighed dreamily. She had been called pretty many times before, but it felt so different coming from Matthew. Once she finally got over herself, she strolled downstairs to see Edith.
"So, what's there to do today?"
"Nothing, really. I just finished packing Alpha's suitcase and he left for his trip."
"What trip?"
"He didn't tell you? He's leaving for a week." Madeline blinked, her eyebrows creasing in disbelief. Matthew was going away for a week and he didn't even tell her?
"... What?"
"He has an important meeting with another Alpha. I don't really know the details, but I won't be having much work to do here for the next week."
"Oh... Okay, thank you." Madeline forced a smile, making her way back up the stairs and flopping down on the bed. She was shattered that he'd just leave like that, even if it was only for a week. Silent tears trailed down her cheeks. She knew it was foolish to cry over this, but then again, she always cried over foolish things. Shortly afterwards, she fell asleep with the lights still on, feeling particularly cold without Matthew's touch.
-----
"I'm so mad at him. He didn't even tell me he was leaving," Madeline spoke, playing with the grass. She was sitting in front of Nathan's grave again, sharing the news with him.
Talking to her brother always comforted her, even if she knew he wasn't ever going to respond. She felt as if he could hear her and enjoyed her company. Besides, she had almost no one else to speak with. Everyone in this Pack was very busy, working all day, or simply had no interest in speaking with a human.
"I'm not actually mad, I'm just... sad. I can't really describe how I feel about Matthew. Sometimes he makes me really nervous, but I like being around him. Especially when he holds me, it feels so nice and safe. And when he compliments me, I think about it for hours. He reminds me of you a lot, except... it's different. I don't understand-"
She paused to look up at the sky. It was a beautiful blend of pink and purple, given that the sun was setting. Above her head, she noticed a heart-shaped cloud. Her eyes widened as the realization hit her.
"... Nathan, I think I have a crush on him."
She hid her face in her hands, shaking her head.
"I know it's stupid. I'm a human, I'm not supposed to feel this way about werewolves. He'll never feel the same about me. You'd probably be laughing right now if you were here... But, I really like him," She mumbled against her hands.
"Excuse me, Miss." A voice behind her made her jump. She turned around to see the Pack's Beta standing a few feet away.
"Me?" She asked, pointing to herself.
"Alpha ordered me to keep you inside after sunset."
"Oh... But he's not here right now. Let me stay here longer, he won't know."
The Beta rose his brow, intrigued. "You know I can't do that."
"Why?"
"If he ever found out I disobeyed him, he'll kill me. Now follow me back inside."
Madeline hesitantly stood up and began following him. She was rather confused by his claim. "I feel like you're exaggerating. He won't ever kill anyone like that."
He kept walking, not bothering to respond. The young girl decided to keep quiet; it was clear that he didn't want to speak to her. When they arrived to Matthew's house, he opened the door for her.
"Thank you," She uttered, stepping inside. Before he left, he handed her a letter.
"This is from Alpha." And with that, he closed the door, locking it from outside..
She stared at the letter curiously, before opening it:
"I will be gone for the next week, or maybe longer. My Beta is in charge of keeping you safe, so be good and listen to him. If you ever need to talk to me, you can ask him to call me. Take care, doll.
Also, do not go down to the basement, under any circumstances."
The last sentence piqued her curiosity. Madeline did not even know where the basement was, and now, she was itching to find out.
She scolded herself for having these rebellious thoughts: "Don't break his trust, if he doesn't want to you to go there, then don't go." A wave of languor immersed her, so she began preparing for bed, smiling at how he had called her 'doll' in his letter.
-----
Matthew watched as his opponent collapsed on the ground, panting from exhaustion. The two Alphas were discussing territorial disputes, and he had challenged him to a fight, which Matthew was quick to accept.
"That's all you've got? I was hoping this fight would be somewhat challenging, but I guess not," He scoffed, while the spectators gaped in awe. Their Alpha was at least ten years older than Alpha Blade, and had far more fighting experience. How could he possibly be losing?
"I think that's enough. Alpha Blade may have all the territory he wants," The Pack's Beta intervened, rushing to help her leader.
"No! I must keep fighting. That was purely luck on his part, but this time, I won't hold back," The Alpha scowled, getting up to face his rival again. Matthew mentally smirked, shaking his head while he sensed him running closer.
As the Alpha raised his fist to hit him, Matthew grabbed it and wrapped his free hand around his neck, turning around to choke him against the wall. His movements were so quick, the crowd could not even register what had happened.
"If I kill you, all of your territory along with your entire pack will belong to me," Matthew growled, tightening his grip on his neck and crushing his windpipe. His opponent's face had turned red from the lack of air as he spluttered, flailing around helplessly. The members of the Pack observed in horror, but none were brave enough to intervene.
This was not the first time he killed an Alpha to take over their territory. According to many rumors, Alpha Blade used to be a rogue. At the age of sixteen, he had challenged the Mystic Moon Pack's Alpha to a fight, and killed him within seconds, effectively taking his position as Alpha. His incredible strength had everyone doubting the rumor; how can a meager rogue be so powerful? He was impossibly strong, even for an Alpha.
Matthew let go of the body and took a step back. Everyone watched as their Alpha lifelessly fell to the ground. He then turned to the crowd, who stared back at him with terror-struck eyes.
"From now on, I am your Alpha."
➳Over the next week, Matthew had been very busy with the merging of the two Packs. At first, the majority ofthe other Pack wasagainst this, but theyslowly realized this new integration would mean morestrengthand better protection. They all began warming up to their new Alpha...especially the females.Their previous Alpha was nowhere near as attractive as Matthew. They all drooled over him, secretly hoping he'd claim one of them as his mate. Whenever he'd train with his new Pack members, he would sense a crowd of females peeking through the windows, gawking at his shirtless, muscular body.He never paid much attention to other women. Sure, he had slept around with some, but he never heldany deeper feelingstowards them; except for Madeline, of course. His lips twitched into a tiny smile as his cute little mate entered his mind.Despite everything that's been going on, he always fo
➳"Do I seriously have to fight a female?" The Beta asked derisively, holding up a punching bag whileMatthew repeatedly hit it. The twostood at the fighting grounds, waiting for the Beta female. Since she was taking rather long to show up, they took this time to do some physical training."She won't leave me alone until I letyou fight her. I doubt she's strong enough to hurt you, just hold her down or something," Matthew replied, his attention focused on the punching bag.A feminine voice echoed through the room. "I am strong enough to hurt him. Don't go easy on me."The two males turned their heads towards the entrance to look at her."Finally, you're here. I don't have much time, so start whenever you're ready," Matthew spoke in an uninterested tone. He glancedback athis Beta, only to see him gawking at the woman with wide eyes and a gaping mouth."Mate."The Alpha sta
➳Matthew glanced at his watch impatiently."Is sheready yet?"A ball wastakingplace this day to celebrate the integration of the two Packs and bring them closer. He was not fond of such large parties, but being the Alpha, he was obliged to attend."Sorry for making you wait, Alpha." The stylist hurriedly pushed Madeline out the bedroom, giving some final touches to her hair.His jaw almost dropped when caught a glimpse of her. She wore a stunning, strapless blue gown, her hair styledin an elegant up-do. She warmlythanked the stylist, before steppingdown the stairs, being careful to not trip over the gown. Matthew kept his eyes on her the entire time, not blinking as she approached him.She lookeddown at her gown, smoothing it with her hands."Do you like it? I've never worn a dress this pretty before."Taking a step closer, he softly tipped up her chin, locking their ga
➳Madeline froze in place, her eyes wide, as Matthew gently moved his lips against hers. Her headache disappeared right away,replaced by euphoric sensations all across her mind. Her entire body tingled with the intensity ofthe feeling.She wasn't kissing back at all; her senses had gone numb, she couldn't even breathe.He could hear her heart thundering in her chest, andrealized she had stopped breathing. Although he didn't want to, he finally pulled away from the kiss, letting her get some air.A myriad of emotions soared through her head;joy, love, shock, fear, confusion, and... Resentment."Stop messing with me like this!" She tried to push him away, but her strength could noteven budge him. His brows furrowed in bemusementwhenhe saw tears welling up in her eyes."Why are you upset? I thought you liked me.""You keep being so romantic, it's only making my fe
➳"Just kill usalready, you monster."Matthew's lips curved into a smirk, whilehe slowly paced around his victims. "But that wouldn't be any fun for me, would it?""You're horrible. This is why direwolves must be eradicated and-" He was interrupted by a loud crack. A howl of pain echoed through the room as Matthew pulled back the whip.The Alpha felt a rush of pleasure at theircries. He knew it was sadistic, but torturing his captivesfilled him with unbearable satisfaction. All of his confined emotions were taken out on them;it was a thrilling experience for him."I'm horrible? Yet you are the ones who had my entire family killed." Rage flowed through his body like lava as he remembered what happened to his kin."Direwolves are demons. They all deserved to die, and you'll be next-"Crack."I suffer every single day because of you," Crack."Thi
➳"Why are you here?"He could feel her trembling as he staredinto her ocean eyes. Thosesame eyes that previously looked at him with love were now filled with nothing but fear. He glanced down atthe cat in her arms, then back at her face.His jaw clenched in anger. She haddisobeyed him three times thisnight; going outside without his permission, bringing that damncat in his house, and comingdown to the basement.Madeline hesitantly opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She was far too terrified. Was this really who Matthew was? He hid he fact that he was a direwolf, he hidthe fact that he was a cruel torturer who kept men chained up in his basement, what other secrets is he keeping from her?"Answer me." His gaze was menacing. She began scolding herself for coming down here. "Youshould've just stayed in bed, you idiot. Everything would've been fine."
➳"Have you ever met your biological parents?" Matthew asked, his eyes focused on the road before him. Madeline sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the window boredly."No. I don't even know who they are.""They just left you in a forest?""Yeah, that's what everyonetold me."He was suddenly very interested in knowing more about his mate. "What was your life like before I brought you here?""Hmm... It wasn't that interesting.I hadschool, but I hated it and skipped class most days. I spent a lot of timebaking things, whenever there was an event, the Pack would always ask me to make a cake for them. And sometimes, Nathan would take me to the city and we'd meet other humans." She looked over to him. "What was your life like?""My life?""I talked about mine, now it's your turn.""Well...I was bornfar up north. My family would move around from Pack to Pack pretty o
➳"What's happening here?" Matthewasked, his voice menacingly low.A flash of fear flickered in the boy'seyes. "Good evening,Alpha," He uttered, bowing before him.Madeline smiled at him,unfazed by his sudden appearance. "We were tasting my cake, you want to try it?" She felt the boy nudge her softly, staring at her with wide eyes."What are you doing? He's theAlpha, bow to him," He whispered.She looked back at Matthew. "I have to bow too? Okay." She bent at her waist, lowering her head. The Alpha watched in bemusementas she clumsily bowed. This was the first time she had ever showed anysignof submission to him as the other Pack members do.His attentionturned back to the young-looking boy. "Since when did they let children work as cooks?""... Children? I'm almost eighteen, Alpha.""Really? I couldn't tell," He replied condescendingly. "I assume the foo