CHAPTER 15

"So, there are soulmates?" she asked. Max nodded happily.

"Soulmates are very important in our tradition. At the age of 16, we find our mate by their scent. Or you set your eyes on someone, and that's how you find them," he explained.

"But how do you know it's your soulmate?"

"Our wolf spirit tells us. They get more excited when they find their mate. For example, my wolf found our mate at school." He smiled.

"Alright, so who is your mate?"

He chuckled. "My baby. You are my mate."

"Seriously? No way." She gasped and grinned.

"Exactly. So, as you know, having a mate is important for us, which is why I try to be around you more. My wolf couldn't stand being apart from you, especially since he's dominant."

"Dominant?"

"Remember what I said about the roles and positions of werewolves?"

She nodded.

"Well, baby, I'm the Alpha of my pack, and when Alphas find their mates, they usually get more possessive and controlling of their mate because they are dominant. They are the leader," he said.

She hummed in reply. She was interested in his species. She wasn't scared of him. On the contrary, she felt safe with him since she was his mate.

"I think that's all you need to know, but I can ask my mom for more information. She might know more about our species." He smiled.

"Last question. How the fuck does Darby know about this?" asked Jayla.

"Well, if a werewolf's mate is human, they can tell their mate about werewolves since they are destined to be together. Otherwise, we cannot tell anyone, or we will be sent to the council. They will either kill you or sacrifice you to the vampires."

"That's harsh." She frowned.

"I know, but that's our way to keep our world safe."

"But then, how will the werewolf feel if their mate dies?"

"The Goddess is kind enough to give them a second chance mate. They will not have the same connection as they had with their first mate, but at least they get to live like true mates. If a werewolf rejects their human mate or vice versa, the human could live happily with their choice of lovers while the werewolf might die because of their yearning for their mate," he said with a sad smile.

Jayla was about to cry because it made her sad. Nobody should live like this.

"If you are worried about rejection, I won't reject you. I'm not that evil and stupid to reject you," she said, reassuring him.

"I'm glad you won't. If I weren't a werewolf, I would still be in a relationship with you," he said. "As I said before, you were mine the minute I set my eyes on you."

"Of course, like you are mine." She grinned.

The door opened, and a nurse came in with a tray. She smiled kindly and bowed to Max, who gave her a slight nod.

"Luna, it's time for your discharge since you are healthy," she said. Jayla frowned.

"Alright, thank you for informing us," Max said, and then she left them after bowing again.

"Why did she call me Luna?" she asked. Max sighed.

"Oh, I forgot to say that since I'm the Alpha of this pack and you are my mate, you will also share the same power, same domination, and same control that I hold," he said, helping her stand up.

"So, it's like a marriage contract?"

"Not exactly. A marriage contract is basically the equivalent of a ceremony for the Luna, which we will hold soon," he explained and took her hand, leading her to his room.

"Anything else that I should know?" she asked. Max thought about it. He debated telling her that he was also the future king and that he was special.

"Yeah, it's kinda confidential, though, so we are going to talk about it in my office," he said, and she nodded.

They walked toward his office. He locked the door carefully and put a spell of protection on it. It would keep them safe for 4 hours. No one could enter. It was like the door disappeared from the building.

"Max, that was amazing. Are you secretly a wizard?" She was fascinated.

"Not quite." He chuckled.

He walked toward the couch and patted the empty spot next to him. She walked over and sat next to him.

"What I'm about to tell you is confidential, and you have to swear never to tell anyone about this," he said, keeping his eyes on his mate.

"Yes."

He put his thumb in the middle of her forehead, and a golden glow started to come out from his thumb. Her eyes widened.

"Alright. Now that you swore on your life about this, you can only speak of this to people who already know," he said kindly, taking her hands in his.

"I'm the future king of the werewolves. Since I'm the gifted werewolf, I will be taking the crown," he said. Jayla was shocked.

"But you said that you weren't royal?" She frowned.

"Well, the thing is, it should be Mathis, but he rejected the proposal because he wants to live as a powerful alpha, and the gifted werewolf, which is me, should take the crown. The Basilisks are descendants of the royal family, but there is a law that any gifted werewolf must take over the crown if the prince doesn't want it, and Mathis got lucky because I was here," he continued.

"But what about the princess?"

"The princess can be the queen only if her mate is a descendant of the royal family or a gifted werewolf," he added.

She hummed in response and looked at the ground.

"So that means that I will be the queen?" she blurted out.

"Yeah, absolutely. People will love their future queen." He grinned.

"But I don't know why those guys called me their queen?" she said.

"What the fuck happened with them, and how did you end up in the woods when I told you to be careful?" he growled. Her eyes widened, and she hugged her knees.

"The seniors were playing hide and seek in the woods. I wanted to play because it looked like fun, so for two hours I stayed in the same spot, and when I was about to return to the festival, two guys with red eyes started to follow me. One glared at me, and the other one smirked at me." She looked up at Max to see if he was following. He was staring at her, urging her to continue.

"Then those guys kept calling me royal and even said their names."

"What are their names?" he asked with anger in his eyes.

"Eglantine and Piper."

"So, as I said, they were calling me Queen, and they talked about kidnapping me in front of me. Piper grabbed my hand so that he could paralyze me, but I kicked him in the crotch and took his knife from his belt. Eglantine told me to put down the knife, and then you guys came." She finished the sentence with a sigh.

"Well, you should be careful around them. They are rogues. Rogues are exiled werewolves. They committed crimes and were kicked out of their pack because of abuse, or they were born to rogue parents." He shrugged and tugged her arm to bring her close to his chest. She hugged him close and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Our mate bond is getting stronger. Even though you are not a werewolf, it feels like you are since my werewolf keeps telling me that you are our destined mate. I don't know why he thinks like that," he whispered in her ear as he nuzzled his head against her neck, inhaling her scent.

"We should be able to do the mating process in eight months," he continued, holding her waist tightly.

"What is the mating process?" she asked, suddenly facing him.

"The mating process is basically the part where you mark your mate and then have sex with them," he said casually.

"S-sex?"

"Don't worry. We have eight months. Keep in mind that I will wait for you, and those months will help our bond grow stronger," he said softly, cupping her jaw.

"Oh, okay," she said, smiling at him. He smiled, then leaned in close to her and pressed his lips against hers. He caressed her cheek while kissing her roughly. His wolf wanted more. His hands went down her jaw to her neck.

He choked his mate softly. She gasped.

"I hope I didn't hurt you," he whispered, biting her lips.

"You didn't," she breathed.

"Good," he said in a deep, husky voice.

She stared at his face. She traced his eyes, nose, cheekbones, jaw, and lastly, his soft lips.

She pushed her finger into his mouth. He opened his lips lightly, and she felt his saliva and his tongue, and it made her feel good.

He pulled her finger out of his mouth and licked the finger with his tongue. She gasped and breathed heavily.

"This tongue can do a lot more than just that," he muttered with a devilish smirk on his face. He rested his head on her chest, inhaling the scent of peach. She brushed away his wavy, messy brown hair, passing a hand through his soft hair.

With his arms securely wrapped around her figure, he hugged her tightly. She let out a deep sigh as she felt him taking a nap on her chest. She leaned back on the couch.

"Sleep well," she whispered.

"Thank you. I needed that," he muttered against her chest. He felt comfortable resting his head there. Her chest breathing up and down made him feel at peace.

Jayla also needed to sleep because things had been so surprising lately.

She was still brushing her mate's soft hair while staring out the window. It was late afternoon, and the sun was setting. She touched the glass. She was beginning to feel like she belonged here, and it was unusual to feel like that.

It felt like she belonged in the woods and not her own house. It was weird, and she thought that maybe it was the mate bond. But she thought that it must be more than that.

She frowned, trying to figure out why those two rogues called her their queen.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" he mumbled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your thoughts are keeping me awake. I can't sleep," he blurted out.

"What? You can read my mind?" she said, lifting his head up from her chest.

"Yes." He smiled sheepishly.

"When did it start?" she asked with uncertainty.

"When I met you," he said with a childish voice, cocking his head in an innocent way.

Jayla's eyes widened as she remembered having dirty thoughts about him.

"It's alright. I'm used to it," he said, pecking her on the cheek.

"Fuck," she said out of embarrassment.