Chapter 3 Alpha Calix has Arrived
"I wonder how tall he is..."
Ruella lay down in the tent, closing her eyes for a moment to calm her noisy mind with many questions and images from her imagination about the appearance and stature of her mate, Alpha Calix. The more rumors she heard, the more curious she became. She had even forgotten about the tense incident at the border. Fortunately, she managed to convince the warriors, who looked fierce and strong, but the thing that made her unable to sleep was about Calix.
"Who?" Asked Clare, who was trying to close her eyes in a chair not far from the makeshift bed where Ruella was lying.
"Of course Alpha Calix," Ruella replied.
Ah, about him again. Ever since Ruella had been talking about Alpha Calix, Claire's ears had been ringing. Calix must have felt his ears buzzing incessantly from being talked about.
"Are you sleeping, Claire?"
Claire chose to ignore it, hoping Ruella would feel tired and finally sleep on her own. Claire really needed to rest after the long and tiring journey so that she could serve her master, the princess, again the next day.
But suddenly the atmosphere outside the tent became lively, the sound of the crowd becoming more and more clearly audible. It caught Ruella's attention, dispelling the drowsiness that had almost taken over.
"Alpha Calix has arrived."
Ruella heard the whispers.
"Calix?" she whispered to herself. Her heart was pounding with curiosity, and without thinking, she got up from the bed.
"Where are you going, your highness?" asked Claire, instantly awakened by Ruella's noisy movements.
Ruella did not answer and ran out of the tent barefoot. Her steps were hurried, as if she would be dead if she didn't come out a second late.
"Your highness! Wait a minute!" called Claire, trying to hold the girl back while carrying her footwear. "Your slippers!"
However, Ruella ignored her. Her curiosity and enthusiasm made it difficult for her to restrain herself. She continued to walk quickly towards the crowd gathered near the entrance of the campground.
"He must be there." She muttered to herself, "Excuse me, excuse me... Make way for me."
With difficulty, she slipped between the gathered people until her nightgown was stepped on by someone.
With all her might, she pulled at the dress until her body lost its balance.
Bugh.
"Awssh..." Ruella stumbled until she accidentally bumped into someone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. That was--"
Finally, she stood right in front of the figure that made everyone whisper in admiration. Her body was frozen, her eyes glued as if if she blinked then the figure in front of her would disappear into the night wind.
"How handsome..."
"Excuse me?"
Claire had just arrived at the crowd, only able to see her princess blushing before a tall man with an alluring aura.
"Are you Alpha Calix?" Ruella asked straight to the point.
The handsome man was dressed in a simple yet elegant white shirt, with straps tied around his chest, giving off a stern and charismatic impression. It was obvious that he was from the upper class. His black hair was slightly messy in the wind, and his face looked serious, without a single smile.
"Red-colored eyes, black hair like a moonless night, and he ignores me. My type. He's very much my type." Ruella's eyes twinkled at the pair of piercing eyes of the man she was sure was Calix.
"What did you say?"
Unconsciously, Ruella murmured, "I'm in love."
The man looked at her with a cold look in his eyes. His voice sounded firm and deep when he said, "You're... Ruella?"
Ruella gasped, realizing the handsome man was calling her name. She paused for a moment, her heart beating faster and faster, until she managed to nod her head, feeling shy.
"Y-yes... I'm Ruella," she replied, her voice trembling slightly. "You're Calix, right? My mate, mine."
"Mine?"
Ruella smiled, "Yeah, I'm yours."
What? Calix speechless.
That's right, he was Calix. He sped up his horse and headed to the camp without resting out of curiosity after hearing the news of the arrival of guests from the enemy pack.
Calix watched Ruella for a moment, as if sizing her up. His face remained serious, no smile or sign of friendliness.
"Weird girl," Calix muttered.
His piercing gaze made Ruella feel intimidated, but not once did she want to look away from those beautiful red-colored eyes.
Meanwhile, Claire, who was standing some distance away, looked anxiously at Ruella standing before Calix with all the sentences coming out of her mouth without consideration. In confusion, Claire whispered to herself, "What should I do?"
Ruella was still standing in place, looking at Calix with a sense of fascination. Even in his cold, impolite demeanor, Ruella could still feel the charisma emanating from him.
She was truly in love. In addition to making her blind, she also became immune to the cold northern night wind that blew through her thin nightgown.
"So... He really is Calix. He is beyond my expectations," she thought.
Calix, who was a few steps ahead of Ruella, noticed that she was shivering slightly, the nightgown she was wearing was too thin to withstand the night wind in the northern region, where the cold was more piercing. Surprisingly, Calix saw Ruella still trying to maintain a smile while continuing to look at him.
In a cold tone and without much ado, Calix said, "We need to talk face to face, don't you think?"
"You're right, let's go," Ruella replied excitedly.
She led the way to her tent with a fluttering heart. Her head immediately spun many romantic scenarios that might happen when with Calix, just the two of them, without any interference from others.
Ruella blushed at her own thoughts. "I didn't expect him to be that handsome. That big hand of his... It must be very comfortable to sleep while being held in his arms," she thought.
Ruella occasionally glanced at Calix, making sure he was following her.
Arriving at the tent, Calix cast his eyes around. There weren't too many things there, maybe Ruella's belongings were still in her carriage. But that was not the purpose of Calix inviting her to talk alone, he just wanted to make sure that Ruella knew if he didn't want her.
"Look, I rushed here because-"
Ruella wasted no time. She suddenly approached Calix, standing so close in front of him that the Alpha's masculine scent and Ruella's floral fragrance met, clearly smelling each other.
"I know." Ruella said, pulling her hair to the side, exposing her delicate neck.
Calix frowned in confusion, looking at Ruella with disbelief. "W-what are you doing?" he asked.
Ruella blushed, "It's okay, just do it. I'm ready, after all, they say the process of being marked as a mate doesn't hurt, and instead... It feels good."
What the hell?
Calix was rendered speechless by her. He didn't expect her to think in that direction, wasn't that too bold for a woman to say that to a stranger man she just met for the first time?
"Woah..." Calix pushed his hair back in frustration. "You're in a hurry, huh, aren't you? Can't wait to join the Silverpaw Pack, spy on us, and report to your father?"
"Oh?" Ruella looked at him innocently, not understanding what Calix was saying. "Me being a spy? Aey... no, my father doesn't need me for that."
"Are you looking down on us now? No need to find out information about us because you Bluemoon packs feel superior." Calix crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Ruella quickly shook her head. "No! It's not like that. I think you... you brought me here because you wanted to officially mark me as your mate. You know what I mean, right? Biting me as the final step, after which I officially become your Luna."
Calix let out a long breath, then chuckled, but his laugh sounded more cold than warm.
"Mark you? Look, if I really intend to mark you immediately, I don't need an enclosed place to do that." Calix said with a sneer.
Strangely, Ruella was getting more and more mischievous, her face turning red. After seeing that, Calix began to question the sanity of the enemy Alpha's daughter.
"If that's the case, that's fine with me... If you want to mark me in front of everyone, I don't mind," she said in an excited tone.
Calix shuddered, rubbing his temples while sighing heavily. His patience, which was as thin as a tissue split into seven, began to run out. Ruella really tested his patience to the last point. Every answer made Calix speechless, very unexpected.
"Ruella," Calix said firmly. "Stop talking and just listen to me."
Ruella nodded curiously at what Calix was about to say to her.
"I don't want you. I don't care about fated mate, the fact is, I'm not interested in you." Calix said without hesitation.
Ruella looked down sadly. "Oh... alright," she murmured, her voice trembling slightly.
"It's good that you understand. So, it shouldn't matter if I reject you, right?"
"Yeah, it doesn't matter. But... What will happen if my father finds out that you rejected me?" Ruella tilted her head. "He'll definitely feel humiliated, and... It's not impossible for him to start a war, right?"
War. The Silverpaw pack was not in a position to go to war considering the condition of the pack in some regions was experiencing a lot of problems due to plagues and natural disasters. Damn it, Calix was frustrated.
"Are you threatening me?"
Ruella shook her head. "No... I'm not that kind of person. You want to reject me, right? Okay. I, Ruella Xiomara, accept rejection--"
"Stop. Stop right there." Calix said, stopping Ruella from saying the pledge of acceptance of rejection.
Ruella breathed a sigh of relief, apparently Calix fell for her words. "Don't let him know that I'm an unwanted daughter. If he finds out, then he will throw me away easily. That can't happen. I can't let that happen." Her heart murmured.
Calix looked confused, he could see no way out.
"Hey, you don't have to decide tonight. Just take your time, I will always be here with you." Ruella said as she stroked Calix's arm, "You must be tired, get some rest. I'm sleepy too. Good night."
"Don't be happy yet, I will definitely reject you as my mate when the opportunity arises." Calix pressed with his cold expression.
Ruella smiled and nodded. "I like you too."
Calix chose to leave, leaving Ruella's tent feeling upset that he could not break the mate bond that was bound against his will.
"Fck." Calix growled, holding back the anger that was rolling inside his chest.
Ruella could only stare at Calix's back, which was getting further away from her sight. Deep down, she felt pain hearing that her own mate didn't want her either. Since long ago, she really hoped that her mate would love her and accept her wholeheartedly, but it turned out that her brother's words were true, no one wanted her.
Without realizing it, her tears fell. "Rue, don't be sad. It's too early to give up, you just need to try to get his heart. After all, that handsome and dashing Alpha Calix is my mate, mine. If it's fate, then no matter how far he runs, his path will always lead to me."
"Princess Rue? Are you alright?" Claire flicked the tent flap suddenly, making Ruella immediately wipe away the remnants of her tears.
"Heem, I'm fine." Ruella replied as she was about to get into bed.
"You're not going to sleep with dirty feet like that, are you?" Claire said sarcastically, then walked to the corner of the tent to bring a basin of water.
Ruella just realized that she had been barefoot, even when running to meet Calix.