"So the girl will be staying with me, especially considering the fact that she is my mate, unfortunately," Jake said bluntly, taking a seat opposite me and my dad. 'What does he mean, unfortunately?' I felt really hurt somehow, though I didn't know why. It's not like I wanted to be his mate either... right?
My dad balled his hands into fists. "She will stay here for a while, but that won't be long. She is my daughter, and she belongs with me... Alpha," he said, emphasizing the last word with a hint of disgust.
The atmosphere grew tense, and I could feel it. Nina was whimpering, wanting to disagree with my dad. I was guessing she really liked Jake, which was bad news for me.
"What's wrong, Nina?"
"We belong with our mate. Your dad is making him angry, and I don't like it," she said. I rolled my eyes.
"Nina, our mate—so you say—doesn't want us, okay? Calm down. Besides, he was making out with that blonde, remember?"
She didn't reply.
There was a loud, angry growl from Jake. He stood up and marched towards my father, who also rose slowly to face the angry Alpha. I looked at them, scared out of my freaking mind. I could feel the power radiating off the Alpha, and it made my wolf whimper even more, wanting to submit.
"She is mine, and I keep what's mine, Hunter. You’ve done your job well by bringing her to me, although it was only a matter of time before I took her myself," he said, his voice filled with authority and menace. It was terrifying. I just wanted to sink into the ground and stay there forever.
My dad tried not to submit, but even he couldn’t hold out long against the amount of power radiating off the Alpha.
"Fine," he said, almost silently.
"Next time, don't threaten to take away what's mine. I won’t tolerate defiance," Jake said. Then he called out to one of the maids. "Show her to her room. I’ll be up there in a minute."
Is he serious? He won't even let me say goodbye to my father? No way!
I walked to my dad, who looked like he was ready to tear someone apart, and I hugged him tightly. "I don’t like him. Please don’t leave, or just take me with you," I whispered in his ear, ignoring the Alpha's deadly glare.
"I’ll be back for you, Princess. I promise. I love you," he said, kissing my forehead.
"I love you too, Dad." He smiled, and I walked away, tears finally breaking loose and streaming down my face as I followed the little blonde maid up the stairs.
"I'm sorry you had to leave your dad," she finally said, breaking the awkward silence.
I smiled at her. She was a little shorter than me, with short, curly, golden-blonde hair that made her green eyes pop. Her bouncy curls framed her face beautifully, and her skin was a smooth olive tone—no spots at all. She was really beautiful.
"Thank you. I'm Priscilla, but you can call me Prisca."
"Nice to meet you, Prisca. I'm Cathy. I just got here yesterday. I'm on punishment for insulting one of the policewomen, so now I have to help the cleaners in the pack house for six months!" she complained as we stopped at a door and opened it. It led to another hallway with more stairs—this place was huge.
I laughed. "And why would you insult the police?"
She sighed. "Because she was being a total bitch. She wanted to arrest me for accidentally spilling juice on her! I even apologized twice. Now here I am, doing dirty work without pay."
I felt kind of bad for her, but I was starting to like her. She had guts. "Sorry, but how long are we going to take to get to my room?"
"Honestly, this is a huge pack house. The Alpha stays on the fourth floor—he uses the whole floor. It's like his own penthouse or something. The rest of the house is for the pack. The Alpha wants you to stay on the fourth floor." We entered an elevator. After a few seconds, we reached the fourth floor.
Cathy opened two large wooden doors, revealing the most beautiful sitting room I’d ever seen. It was elegant and spacious, with white leather sofas, white walls, and a large glass table. There was a vase with white roses, and the room was filled with light from large French windows.
"It's so beautiful," I said aloud.
"I know. That’s exactly what I thought when I first came here. Beautiful and huge, which only makes my job harder. Okay, follow me to your bedroom." I followed her down a corridor with more paintings and a few closed doors.
Cathy opened one of them. "This is your room for now."
I entered the bedroom. The walls were cream, and the bed was covered in purple bedcovers, which made me think it was someone else’s room. "What do you mean for now?"
She threw herself on the bed and gave me a cheeky grin. "Well, this is Mila’s room—the Alpha’s younger sister. She’s in France for a holiday right now. Besides, I overheard that you’re the Alpha’s mate! It’s only a matter of time before he decides to bring you into his room and you two get down and dirty." She wiggled her eyebrows.
I wanted to die of embarrassment. Blushing furiously, I exclaimed, "God! What’s with all this talk about mates?" I decided to ask about the whole thing.
Cathy looked at me, shocked. "Oh, poor Priscilla. A mate is like your destined lover. The bond between you and your mate is stronger than any human relationship because it’s made by the Moon Goddess herself. You’ll feel more attracted to him, and you’ll get very possessive. If your mate is an Alpha, the bond is even stronger. Alphas usually mark their mates as soon as they find them. A mark is a bite on the neck to show that you belong to him and to strengthen the bond. Then, you get down and dirty to complete the mating ceremony."
My eyes widened. "Fuck. My. Life."
---
After talking to Cathy for a while, she had to get back to what she called "torture." Left alone, I decided to find something to eat. I wandered around until I found the kitchen. Of course, the walls were white, with a gray counter, black touchscreen stove, and gray kitchen table. The Alpha must be very neat. For some reason, this made me smile.
I made myself some instant noodles and fried chicken. "Now, how the hell am I going to get out of here?" I thought aloud as I stuffed my mouth with noodles. "Tastes so good."
"Quick answer, Princess: You’re not going anywhere. And if I were you, I wouldn’t try anything stupid, or there will be consequences for your actions," a deep voice said behind me. I widened my eyes. How did he get here so fast and so quietly?
I turned around on my stool to face him. "Uh... well, maybe you should just let me go, then I won’t have to do anything stupid, right?" 'Why did I say that?' I mentally face-palmed. He smiled, and I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Nice try, Princess, but you’re mine, and I keep what’s mine right here with me," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
I couldn’t help myself. Crossing my arms, I said rudely, "But you managed to live without me, 'Alpha,' and I’m sure you can do without me. Plus, I’m not an object. You don’t own me." I smirked, feeling victorious.
He narrowed his eyes and closed the distance between us. I glared at him, but he grabbed my hair from behind, making me gasp and forcing me to look him in the eyes. 'Someone’s got a temper.'
"If I say you stay, little mate, you stay. And don’t disrespect me, because I’m your Alpha now. Next time, hold your tongue, or else—"
Before he could finish, a loud coughing sound interrupted him. He glared at me for a moment before letting go of my hair.
My scalp was sore. 'Cruel bastard! What kind of mate is he?'
"The kind you disrespected, and you got what you deserved," Nina cut in, defending him.
"Now you talk to me? I did not deserve that! I’m not his dog; he can’t force me to stay."
"You two should get a bedroom if you’re going to get all down and dirty," a voice said behind me. Jake finally moved away, and I realized he had been standing between my thighs. I blushed. 'Thank God, the guy needs to learn something about personal space.'
I turned to see who had spoken and was surprised. It was the redheaded girl I saw back in Zimbabwe, the one who had gone all creepy on me with that random prediction.
"We were not going to have sex, Sophie," Jake said bluntly, rolling a fork into my noodles. I glared at him, but he just smirked.
"Are you sure? Because from where I’m standing, it looked like you were about to," she said with a grin. I blushed at her words. These people were going to make me die of embarrassment. We were far from doing that—I was five seconds away from stabbing him with the fork.
"Hi, my name is Sophie. I know we met, but I didn't get to introduce myself formally. " she sat down opposite me and Jake. I smiled she sounded really bubbly, and I loved her blue ocean, bright eyes.
"I'm Priscilla, but you can call me Prisca."
"Well, you two have fun ..." Jake said, standing up straight to his true height. He was so tall.
"...and I wouldn't do anything stupid if I were you Princess" he continued the rest of his statement whispering in my ears,then he walked out leaving me with a red angry face plus murderous thoughts and an amused looking Sophie.I bet she thought I was blushing-boy was she wrong.