PRISCA (POV)
HOURS LATER
NEW ORLEANS
Hours later, I found myself sitting in my father’s car, already in New Orleans, driving to I-don’t-know-where! I was so sad, but I couldn’t cry anymore because my eyes felt like a desert after crying for hours at home, locked up in my bedroom.
I mean, I couldn’t even say goodbye to my newest best friend, Bryan, because he was in Australia for the winter holiday. But I did manage to send him a text message, lying that I was going back to Canada to live with my mom because some problems came up. I honestly felt so bad!
"Where are we going?" I asked my dad, who was trying to concentrate on driving since it was apparently too dark and we were surrounded by a lot of trees. There weren’t even streetlights! Honestly, I was beginning to hate this place—not only because of the lack of lights, but because I had a really bad feeling about it.
"We’re going to the Silverstone pack. One of your protectors is there, and he is the strongest... I don’t like him very much, but he’s the strongest Alpha, and I trust him to take care of you while I handle a couple of things," he said, clenching his jaw. I could feel he was a bit tense, and honestly, so was I. ‘Wait, did he just say Alpha? Taking care of me while he… oh hell no!’ I mentally face-palmed myself. ‘Now he thinks I need a babysitter or, worse, this is his way of abandoning me like Mom did.’
"You’re basically leaving me with a stranger that you don’t like? I really don’t need a babysitter, Daniel," I said, crossing my arms, trying to sound more serious.
He sighed. "It’s for your own good, and please, I don’t want to argue about it right now. I already told you why I’m doing this."
I rolled my eyes. ‘For my own good? And does he think I enjoy arguing with him?’ "Yeah, right. My own good, or your own good? I’m beginning to wonder," I said sarcastically.
I noticed we were heading deeper into the forest. How creepy... Maybe my father had finally decided he was sick of me and wanted to get rid of me by dumping my body somewhere in the woods. Nothing was certain anymore.
Okay, maybe I’m being dramatic. I should probably stay away from those crime shows.
We arrived at a really large gate with a few men dressed like soldiers. My dad showed them a card, and we were allowed to enter. The place had a lot of houses, shops, and even a few malls that we passed through. It seemed like a small town. It took a whole hour and a half to get to our destination.
We arrived at a huge house—no, wait, it was a huge *mansion*—with yet another large gate, this one with a huge werewolf symbol in the middle. I was beginning to believe in the whole werewolf thing.
My dad repeated the process of showing a card to four more security men before they let us in. ‘Are all the men around here huge and muscular?’ I wondered. Whoever lived here must be someone really important because this place was stunning, and the mansion was a *five-story building!*
It was already around 5 a.m., and the sun was just starting to rise, so I could see a little better. The driveway to the parking area was long, and I started to think maybe this was a hotel?
We were escorted inside the mansion by one of the security men. ‘Why does this Alpha need so much security, anyway?’
I was speechless when we entered. There were no words to describe how beautiful it was! The floor was so shiny I could see my reflection in it. The walls were all royal white, and the hallway was long, adorned with what looked like expensive paintings by famous artists.
I was so lost admiring the house that I didn’t even notice we had entered another room. The huge young blond man who had escorted us told us to wait here while he called the Alpha. Now that we were in a room with light, I could see how *hot* this guy was. He was a few feet taller than me and absolutely ripped. ‘Are all the men here on steroids?’ I thought.
I sat down on a couch next to my dad. Apparently, this huge room was called the waiting room.
After waiting for what felt like hours, the blond "hot" guy came back. "The Alpha will be with you in a minute," he said, then walked away. I tied my hair into a high ponytail in frustration.
‘Who does this Alpha person think he is, making us wait this long?!’ I whispered. "If this Alpha doesn’t come down here right now, I’m going to fall asleep on this couch and drool a whole swimming pool," I muttered, and to my surprise, Daniel actually chuckled.
I rolled my eyes. Just then, a really beautiful scent filled my nose, making me almost lick my lips unconsciously. It smelled like fresh rain, cinnamon, and forest leaves. I had never loved something so much—especially a scent.
I almost jumped when something—or someone—yelled in my head, ‘Mate!’ I scrunched up my eyebrows. ‘Oh, don’t be scared. Hi, I’m your wolf, Nina.’ Oh no, it’s talking…
"Daniel," I said slowly, wide-eyed, trying not to freak out.
"What is it?" he asked, alert.
"Something is in my head!"
Daniel smiled. "Wow, you should be glad. That’s probably your wolf."
I frowned. "It *talks*?"
"Not exactly. You can communicate with it in your mind," he explained.
‘Here comes our mate,’ she said excitedly. Well, I guess my wolf was already head over heels for our *unknown* mate.
A guy suddenly walked down the stairs. A young guy. He was talking to a blond girl—‘she’s so beautiful,’ I thought. He kissed her passionately before she walked away into another room. For some reason, I growled! This caught my dad’s attention, and he gave me a raised eyebrow.
‘Nina, did you just growl?’ I had to confirm.
‘Our mate kissed that skinny bitch! Yes, I growled!’ she replied.
When the guy turned to face us, I almost fainted. "Jake!" I said aloud, but he didn’t look surprised at all. He looked amused. ‘Well, the world is a small place…’
My dad nodded his head as a greeting. "Alpha Jake, good to see you’re still well."
Jake gave him a smug grin. "Likewise, Hunter. Good to see you too, princess," he said, smiling at me. I knew his smile was mocking me, but I couldn’t help but admire his beautiful stormy gray eyes, which had a thin golden circle around the iris.
His muscles were so huge, they looked like they were about to rip through his tight gray T-shirt. ‘Don’t you just wish you were that T-shirt, stuck on those sexy abs?’ Nina’s comment had me blushing furiously. I was probably tomato-red by now.
‘Nina, stop it… Gosh.’ I could feel her grinning proudly at her success in making me blush in front of our mate.
He was tall—way taller than me. He must have been around 6’4", while I was a mere 5’4". His pitch-black hair fell slightly over his forehead, and it was wet, probably from a recent shower. I blushed and looked down. ‘What is wrong with me?! I’m admiring someone I hardly know.’
A loud growl snapped me out of my thoughts. ‘That wasn’t me.’ I looked up to see Jake staring at me, walking toward me. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, his eyes darkening, "I wouldn’t look at me like that if I were you," his voice husky—*and so sexy*. Then, he kissed my neck, making me gasp.
My dad coughed loudly, exaggerating the sound. "Can we get back to business now?" he said seriously.
Oh God, did that just happen?!
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