Chapter 3: His Mate?

Just when a tear of regret finally slid down my face, I suddenly felt strong arms pull me by the waist and jerked me back into the hall. I wheezed, my whole body trembling from fear, while I struggled to gasp for breath.

I felt light headed as the hands slowly dropped me to the ground. I kept my eyes shut, my body and heart was still trembling from the frightening scene it had just witnessed.

Then I heard a very angered voice chafing. “Is this how you treat your people here? Everyone of you watched this bullying happen before you and you did nothing, is this what you have been trained to be, bullies?”

I gently opened my eyes, my head feeling swollen and my eyes dizzy, but as I looked at where Edina stood, I was shocked to see that she was dangling in the air, her legs struggling to reach the floor as a man choked her with his claws.

“Is this what Seth choose to be with, a hopeless bully?” He asked disdainfully.

“Alpha Damon, please.” She whimpered under his hold while still struggling to breath as she held his hands choking hers with teary eyes as she struggled to breath.

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. The man standing right in front of her was the same person from earlier, and she addressed him as Alpha Damon.

He was very angry now,  and his hand only seemed to tighten against her as he growled in rage, this time I was afraid she was going to drop dead the next second. It seemed he was struggling to hold back himself from shifting and ripping her head off.

Why does he seem so mad at Edina? Was he trying to defend me or angry with her?

“You're not worthy of being a Luna. You should be ashamed of yourself. I will make sure you get punished for what you’ve done.” The threat in his voice made me sit up slowly from fear.

My whole body was still trembling as I sat up, but just as I made to move, I felt a strong hand hold me in place as though he was trying to support me.

I looked up quickly and saw a rather strange face staring at down at me. His eyes were cold and penetrating, and he looked a little older than I am. He had a jet black hair which seemed a little too long and his eyes seemed to hold me in place.

I swallowed and looked away quickly not knowing what to think of this new man, or the other man who was still choking the almost passing out Edina.

“Please forgive me Alpha, please I'm so sorry.” Edina cried in tears.

He then dossed her away, sending her flying to the far end of the room, and no one dared to move. Slowly with fiery eyes, he turned to the rest of them who were still gathered with a horrified expression on their faces.

“I am disappointed with all of you. You wanted them bully her and none of you tried to stop them. Is that how weak and ruthless you all have been trained to be. If there is a next time, I will make sure to snap your necks.” He said to the scared ladies who were now trembling from fear.

He then turned to me, and as soon as our eyes met, I felt my heartbeat increase with a frightening speed, at what I saw in his eyes. I moved back when he came closer, and he paused, his eyes darkening slightly as he looked at me. Then without another word, he leaned down and scooped me up into his arms.

I gasped at the contact, but then I looked up to see him looking at me with a softness I wouldn’t have imagined he had in him after what he just did.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered as he placed his cheek on mine, his hot breath fanning my ears. “I will make sure this never happens again.” He said calmly.

With that he while still holding me, walked out of the hall. I hid my face in his shirt, inhaling his addictive scent as I tried to stop others from seeing my face.

I didn’t look up again until I heard a door open, and after few extra steps, I was lowered into a very soft bed.

“Would you need anything else, Alpha?” A solon voice called out from the doorway and I peeped to see the same strange guy from earlier.

I felt Alpha Damon shake his head slightly while still holding me to his body, “I won't be needing anything when I do, I'll let you know.” He replied calmly.

The other guy nodded, and then casting me one more gaze I couldn’t understand, he turned to leave, but paused when Alpha Damon spoke again.

“Don't stray off the pack ground. Dylan. It could be dangerous around here.” He said seriously.

As soon as Dylan left, I quickly looked away afraid that I will meet his eyes. He looked at me for a while, I could feel his burning gaze at me. He then gently let me go, a move that caught me by surprise.

The bed was very wide, but with him seating beside me, it suddenly felt to small and the large room stuffy.

I could hardly breath, I curled my toes and kept my eyes drawn on them, just so I could avoid his eyes. I still didn’t know why he brought me here, or was he intending to punish me?

He felt his hand caress my hair gently and then he said, “You should relax, I’d like to talk with you, if you're okay with that.” He suddenly said as though he could read my thoughts.

I looked up at him then with narrowed yes, but I couldn’t maintain eye contact with him for long, not when his face was that close to mine.

I looked away quickly, “Is it ok for me to be here?” I asked quickly in a choky whisper.

I heard the smile in his voice when he reached out and touched my cheek before he said, “I don’t think anyone can dispute that.” He replied.

I hesitated, hating myself for feeling this afraid and vulnerable, yet I forced myself to nod as I began fumbling with my fingers.

“I'm sorry,” I said softly, “I didn't know you were the Alpha.” I apologized. If I had managed to escape all other punishments, I wondered if I could escape the grave punishment of disrespecting an Alpha, not to talk of one as powerful as him.

Alpha Damon shrugged with a small smirk. “I can’t blame you, not many people know me, and I don't care about the rules other mundane wolves adhere to.” He said carelessly.

Confused, I continued to stare at him, watching as he casually fiddled with the large ring on his thumb with an insignia.

Seeing the confusion on my face, he smiled and explained, “What I mean is, I don't care for formalities.”

I made an “Oh” sound and looked away, but not before seeing the smile in his eyes.

He leaned in and looked at me closely, and I felt my heart stop again and began racing speedily. Why was he constantly tormenting me like this?

“You haven’t told me your name yet.” He said, his breath casually fanning my face, making me imagine things I shouldn’t be imagining.

It took me a while to reply, “Evelyn?” I said in a breathless whisper.

Something flashed across his eyes, making them darken even more, and then his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip and I felt a strange feeling a sense of uneasiness creep up my stomach.

“You have a very beautiful name,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as she stared at me. “Tell me, which family do you belong to?”

The question brought a strange feeling of pain to my chest, as though he had poked an old wound. I recoiled, my face fell and I pused my lips forcing myself to remain calm under the painful feeling rushing through me.

He seemed to notice because he suddenly put his index finger under my jaw and lifted up my face to look at me. “What’s wrong?” He asked, a slight frown now playing on his lips.

I looked away, swallowing the lump that was already forming in my throat.  “I lost my family in a rogue attack. I'm a wolfless orphan, who no one cares about. Apparently, I am lucky this pack took me in, else I would have been a rogue too.” I tried to appear unbothered by this news, but my heart was trembling painfully.

“Little Wolf.” He said quietly as he rose to his feet, circling to my front. He then crouched low his calloused fingers softly, pushing my chin up so I could look at him.

“I am sorry, I never meant to make you uncomfortable. I didn't know, okay?” he looked as though he felt terrible for asking me about it. I felt the need to relieve him from his agony.

I forced a tight smile to my face and nodded slowly. I looked at him questioningly, my voice barely a whisper as I asked, “Why do you have me here?”

He still stayed there, looking at me like I was some piece of interesting art he loved looking at. He shrugged and smiled. “Well, I brought you mostly to talk, but my wolf wants us to be near you. It's to keep us calm from going back to rip her head off for what she did to you.” His voice suddenly became hard and his eyes flashed dangerously, and I could see that he was restraining himself from rage.

His words brought mixed feelings in my heart, making me feel both good and unsure. One was for his wolf wanting to be near me, and the other was for saying he'd wanted to rip Edina's head off, no one had ever…..

“Why would your wolf want to be near me?” I asked him.

His eyes met mine again and he said, “Because you’re my mate.” He said the words so casually with a shrug. I gasped from shock.