Chapter 10

"Hello!", she beams at me. I feel my knees weak, and the walls i had raised around my heart all these years slowly cracking, brick by brick. She emits some kind of peaceful power, but she is not a werewolf. What is happening? Why this fragile human has me in full panic mode?

"Oh, Gods, you are not done yet?", a teenage boy approaches her and exclaims annoyed, looking at the contents of her cart. I don't like his tone, he should be more respectful. A soft growl escapes my throat before i get to stop myself. He turns to face me, as i start to fake cough, to cover up the growl.

"Are you ok, sir?", she says, looking genuinely worried. I know i must speak right now, but it's as if i have forgotten how to.

"Yes. I am.", i manage to utter, surprising myself. The boy looks up at me with a stern glare and one raised eyebrow. I know i didn't convince him one bit, but i couldn't care any less. I already decided i don't like him.

"Oh, good. You got me worried for a sec!", she chuckles awkwardly. My face muscles moved involuntarily to almost form a smile. "We are new in town and if you needed anything i wouldn't know who to call for help,", she says, never once breaking our eye contact.

"New?". Thomas never mentioned we had newcomers in town. "Why did you come here, of all places?" I know i just came out harsher than i intended but i am not feeling very well. My wolf just declared this woman our mate and i can't stand that feeling. I thought i will only have one mate in my life and i have come to terms with being alone for the rest of my life a long time ago. But now, right now, my whole life theory and plans are blown out the window. Not only my mate was the most perfect girl i had ever laid eyes on, she was also a powerful Alpha she-wolf. But, this... This is just a mundane human. Is the Moon Goddess playing me again?

"Come on, it's not that bad.", she giggles. All my senses are on high alert and super-focused on her. Her scent is still attacking my brain, making it impossible for me to think straight and my heart is softening little by little with every word she says with that honey mellow voice of hers. My eyes are following her every movement and my whole body reacts to her in a way it never did before. I see her right hand raising and reaching my waist level, before stopping, waiting for a handsake.

"I am Amy, by the way. And this is my son, Hektor." The boy nods as i stiffly reach out for her hand. The moment our palms touch, i feel the warmth of her skin spreading all over my body. In my fingers, my arm, all the way to my head and toes, i feel the coldness of the constant pain shatter immediately. She must feel something too, because the very moment i take her hand in mine her expression changes. The wide smile she had one second ago drops, her eyes grow wider and i can hear her breath becoming heavier. I notice her chest falling in deeper than usual and coming right up again, in a shallow, sharp breath. She retracts her hand abrubtly,her eyes never leaving mine as her cheeks get pinker and pinker.

"Sebastian". I manage to say with a steady voice. I know i will not be using that steady voice again any time soon, so i turn to leave. "I'll see you around".

"Yeah..." She whispers, stuck in a daze. I know she felt something, i know she knows i did. I have to leave this place, though. I start hyperventilating, i need to get some fresh air. This, right there, was not supposed to happen. Ever. A mate? Another one? I suck big time as a man, and i suck bigger as an Alpha, so what did i ever do to deserve a second chance mate? I am really beginning to think that the Moon Goddess plays games on my back. She is clearly mocking me, punishing me for letting my pack wither and for causing so much pain and discomfort to all my innocent packmates. She decided that i deserve a mere human as a mate, a clear degradation from my previous one. Although, somehow, she feels different from the other humans i've met, it doesn't change the fact that she is just human.

On my way out, i growl goodbye to Jack, who just pales even more and lowers his gaze. I didn't buy anything and i don't have the energy to go shopping somewhere else. I think i have some rice in a cabinet, somewhere, so i will settle with that. Enough outside for today.

I head home on foot, almost running. I can barely contain my wolf, who is clawing his way out. I want to shift to run in the forest, away from everyone, but he wants to take charge and run back to her. He hasn't stop screaming and howling in my head, i can't get him to quiet down. My head hurts and i feel more and more nausiated as i think about what is happening. My house is outside the town, one of the three just on the border of the forest. But right now i can't risk a shift. If my wolf takes over, he will go straight at hers. She has a son, so obviously she has a husband. This is so wrong, in so many levels. I am almost home.

As i get inside, I feel someone trying to reach me in the mindlink. "What?" i growl in my head. I can't deal with anything right now.

"Alpha? Welcome back!", i hear my Beta, Thomas, inside my head. "I have a lot to report back...", he starts but i cut him off.

"Not now, Thomas."

"Is everything alright, sir? Do you need me to do anything?", he says worried. Thomas is a great Beta, and the pack is lucky to have him. He fills in my spot perfectly.

"I just need to rest."

"I understand, Alpha. But, please, don't forget that tommorrow is the Autumn Town Fair. It would mean the world for everyone if you attended. Even for a little bit. Call me if you need anything." He ends the link before i can say anything. I wouldn't know what to say, anyways.

The Autumn Town Fair. My annual commemoration of my lost mate. I never attend, but everyone seems to expect me to, every year. They all believe i grieved too much.