Mating Bond.

Four Months Ago,

"Remember Seraphine, no slouching, no frowning, and no walking around. Keep your shoulders straight, chin up, head held high and."

For goodness’s sake! Father! I've heard you for like the tenth time!" Seraphine said, interrupting her father.

Beta Carl raised his hand to his face, stroking his chin with his fingers.

"Oh really? I didn't know it was ten times," he said.

"You're right Dad, it's not ten times. It's been twenty times!" Seraphine added. She sighed as she leaned on her seat in the carriage.

"Also, no sitting like this," Carl said.

Seraphine glared at him, and he chuckled. She folded her arms beneath her chest as she looked away. "I still don't know why you want us to act properly before him when his Dad treated you like you were some traitor."

Carl sighed. "Now I have told you for the thirtieth time that the late Alpha was my best friend and that he never treated me like a traitor," he said to her in a calm and firm tone.

Seraphine turned to him, raising a brow. "Oh really? Then how do you explain him sending you off to another pack to stay, huh?" She questioned.

"Well, my little Seraphine, don't worry; in due time, you'll get to understand everything," he said to her with a smile on his face.

Seraphine rolled her eyes. 

"Well, Seraphine, if it pleases you, I heard the  Alpha King and his brothers are handsome," Elara said.

Carl laughed. "You see, Seraphine, now that's what a lady is supposed to be thinking about, and not worrying about the past," he said to her.

Seraphine leaned forward. She wasn't going to let her father get a win with that one. 

"Well, Dad, just so you know, I am not like other ladies who worry about castles and children and men; I long for adventure and so many other things." 

"And what about love?" Maera, Elara’s Mom, and Seraphine’s stepmother, asked. "Don't you care about finding your mate? Loving him? And settle down with him?".

Seraphine chuckled. "I don't care about things like that, Maera. Hopefully, the moon goddess will spare me the pain of finding one."

Maera and Carl glanced at each other, their lips curving into wry smiles.

Seraphine was twenty-three and hadn't found her mate yet, which was unusual for their kind. They hoped for her to find him so that she would get to know what love truly meant.

Seraphine, on the other hand, didn't care about that. She once did, but not anymore. What bothered her was their trip to the Bloodmoon pack.

The new Alpha King had invited his family over for the celebration of his father's anniversary of death. 

She couldn't help but wonder why. His father, Alpha Xavier, had sent her father, his Beta, to a faraway pack to stay after he had served him for years.

A year after his death, his son decides to reverse his orders and have them return to the Bloodmoon pack. Seraphine found it suspicious.

She couldn't wait to meet the so-called new Alpha King.

***

As the carriage stopped, Seraphine and her family got down. The pack was a lot bigger than she thought. They had passed through an uncountable number of different houses. And now that they were in front of the castle, Seraphine’s jaw couldn't help but drop in bewilderment.

"Is this where we will be staying now?" Elara asked.

Carl smiled. "Yes, Elara, this will be our new home."

She squealed as she turned around, taking in the beauty that was before her.

Seraphine, on the other hand, tried to remain indifferent.

The pack guard walked them towards the ballroom. When the doors were opened, they were shocked.

The room was packed with so many male and female werewolves. So many people had come to celebrate the late King.

Seraphine glanced around, looking for the man with a crown on his head. 

She was still in search of him when a smell hit her. A mix of cinnamon and dry wood. She hated cinnamon, but at that moment, the scent was pleasing.

She walked towards the tables where the snacks were lined up, and none of them smelled like the one that had hit her. All of a sudden, the scent became stronger. 

Just then, someone gently pulled Seraphine's arm, making her turn around.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, Seraphine. I want you to meet someone," Carl said to her.

Before Seraphine could say anything, two guys appeared out of nowhere, standing next to her.

One of the guys had neck-long hair and blue eyes. The other had cropped hair with hazel eyes. Both guys looked handsome, but only one of them caught Seraphine’s attention.

"This is Seraphine, my daughter," Carl said, gesturing towards her. "And Seraphine, this Alpha Alaric, the new Alpha King," gesturing towards the man with blue eyes.

Her father also introduced the guy next to him as the Alpha's Beta, but Seraphine wasn't paying attention.

Seraphine was shocked. The man in front of her wasn't putting on a crown. Unlike the other guests around, he wore a simpler outfit—one of nobility, but not of royalty.

And the look in his eyes as he stared at Seraphine made her heart beat quicken.

"It's nice to meet you, Seraphine," Alaric said as he offered her his hand. But Seraphine didn't return the gesture. She just stared at him, trying to remain indifferent.

"Seraphine, you can't be rude to the Alpha," Carl said.

"But he is not my, Alpha," Seraphine countered—her eyes still on Alaric.

Carl was furious. "Seraphine!" he yelled. But before he could say anything else, Seraphine turned around and walked away. He called out to her again, but she didn't stop.

Seraphine didn't want to listen to her father. Not because of what they had spoken about in the carriage, but because of something else.

She wasn't sure what was going on. Not only was she smelling something strange, but she was also feeling something strange—something she couldn't understand.

She knew she had to get away from it—from him.

Just as she was about to step out of the door, someone held her hand and spun her, placing her back gently on the wall.

"You can say that I am not your Alpha," he said as his fingers lifted her chin, making her look at his blue eyes. "But can you also say that I am not your mate?"