√TEN.

**CHAPTER TEN.**

The silence was loud as Draken drove me back to my hostel. Despite the car's smooth engine hum and the city noise filtering in through the windows, it felt like I was in a vacuum. It was noon already—three hours since I'd come back from the dead. The details of my being-dead experience were still vivid in my mind, like a ghostly afterimage. I'd been killed by the Drake men, their bullets shredding through my chest, and the shock of the pain still echoed through my body. The realization that I'd somehow survived such an ordeal was astonishing. Yet, the whole event left me with only eight of the initial nine lives I had.

Draken was focused on the road, his expression steady and unreadable. His blonde hair fell over his forehead, and his hands gripped the steering wheel with quiet confidence. Despite his calm exterior, I sensed an undercurrent of unease. I couldn't help but think back to the revelation about me being his mate. He was a werewolf, and I was a werecat, so that shouldn't be possible…it shouldn't.

Draken's voice broke the silence. "If you have questions, just ask," he said, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come. I had so many questions, yet I didn't know where to start. Finally, I decided to ask the one that seemed the most obvious. "Is Drake your brother?" I asked, watching his reaction.

Draken smiled slightly, his focus never leaving the road. "I expected you to ask about me being a werewolf or even about the mate bond, not Drake," he chuckled.

“I'm still going to ask about all that. I'm just trying to build the mood,” I argued.

"Well, yes, Drake is my twin brother. He was born a few hours before me, but he was a stillborn. Everyone thought he had died."

"And he's still alive?" I questioned, trailing off.

"Obviously," Draken replied. "As a werewolf cub, he was fed my father's blood for the first few months, while everyone believed he was dead. My mother couldn't bear the thought of losing him, so she kept his body close. On the sixth month, during the Azure Moon, he suddenly woke up."

"What's an Azure moon?"

"It's a blue moon that reflects on the waters of Edinburgh. It appears once a year, visible only to shifters, not to human eyes."

I nodded, taking in the explanation. "So besides werecats and werewolves, are there other types of shifters?" I asked, my curiosity growing.

"More than you can imagine," he answered. "There's a ball that my family holds back in Edinburgh. It's called the *Palla soprannaturale.*"

"That sounds Italian," I remarked.

"Because it is," he said, glancing at me before turning his gaze back to the road again. "It means *'the ball of the supernatural.'* It's where every renowned shifter from around the world comes together. It's like a peace treaty, but with shifters. Also, don't be surprised if I tell you the president of America is also a shifter."

"Wait, Topper's uncle?" I asked, connecting the dots. Topper's father was a high-ranking military man, among the richest in North America, and he was also the president's younger brother. "Does that mean Topper, your best friend, is also a werewolf?"

Draken looked at me, switching his car to autopilot so he could place his whole attention on me. "Topper isn't a werewolf, but he's a shifter—a lycanthrope."

"And Killian?"

"He's a werewolf, my father's beta son," Draken explained. "Practically my brother. We grew up together."

I nodded, absorbing all this new information. Just yesterday, I thought werecats were the only shifters. Now I knew I had been wrong, and I had one as a mate. Wait, could that explain the smell I got off him? The ineffable aroma that always managed to assault my nose whenever he was close to me?

"Anything else you're curious about?" Draken asked, his voice gentle, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“The mate thing,” I started. “Werecats can't have mates, so how's it possible that I'm your mate?”

“I’m honestly still confused about that, Eline, but I know for a fact that you're the one the moon goddess appointed as my mate,” he replied, smoothly. “It's just…the smell off you and my pull towards you ever since middle school just made me so confused, but as I matured and saw you in Uni, I just knew you were my mate.”

"This scent of mine, is that why you were standoffish to me in middle school?" I drifted my gaze back to him. "Is that why you never attempted to speak to me? Because of my scent?"

Draken tapped his fingers on the steering wheel rhythmically, keeping his eyes on the road. "I was a kid, Eline. I couldn't understand why you smelled so distinct, and I could tell you weren't a werewolf, so I was confused on why you stood out to me. Your scent was messing with my brain—it still is. I told my brother about you, and he was the one who told me to try avoiding you."

*Ah,* Drake's fault. I wasn't surprised.

“But I don't understand…how can I be your mate? I'm a werecat. I think your moon goddess made a mistake or something,” I said.

“The moon goddess never makes mistakes, Eline.”

“So, what next? Am I supposed to marry you now that I'm your mate? I'm clueless on how this is meant to work.”

Draken chuckled. “No. Actually, you can choose to reject my bond or accept it. But it's all up to you.”

“What about you? Do you want to accept it?” I asked, curious.

“Yes.” Draken's answer was simple, but it held the weight of his genuineness.

I looked away from him as I tried not to think too much about the mate bond. Did I really want to accept Draken Gallagher as my mate? I wasn't really sure. Besides, I was still convinced the moon goddess had made a mistake. I was a werecat and Draken was a werewolf, two different species.

I thought about what else I needed to know and I couldn't get Drake out of my head — his eccentric nature and the way his family had all respected his absurd decisions made me curious, but I decided not to pry too much. I was still processing everything.

Then, I decided to ask a question that had been bothering me the most. "Is it true you died nine hundred…and sixty-three times?"

A flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes as he shifted his focus from me to the GPS navigation on the dashboard. "Seems like we're almost close to your hostel," he replied, avoiding the question. It was a clear signal that he wasn't ready to talk about it, but I couldn't let it go. "I'll take the car off autopilot now."

"Okay," I replied, sensing the topic was off-limits. I turned my gaze back to the bustling streets of New York. The city was alive with activity, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many people knew about the existence of shifters. How many among them were even shifters? "How do you recognize a shifter?" I asked, my eyes scanning the passersby.

Even without looking, I could feel Draken gaze on me. "It depends on how keen one's nose is. If there's one thing that makes werewolves stand out, it's their nose."

The car came to a halt, and I noticed we’d arrived at the front of my hostel. "We're at your hostel," he announced.

"I can see," I replied, feeling awkward as I unbuckled my seatbelt. But before I could open the door—

"Eline," Draken said, his voice softer. I turned to look at him, his forest green eyes locking onto mine as if he was seeing me for the first time. There was something ethereal about his gaze—it made my heart skip a beat. "I'm not saying this just so you'd accept the mate bond between us, but I really wish I could turn back time and do things differently. Instead of avoiding you in middle school, I should have tried to be your friend. I should have wondered why you stirred up emotions within me."

I shook my head, placing my hand on top of his, which rested on his lap. My ocean blue eyes locked with his green eyes, one which felt like nature's masterpiece. "You were a kid, Draken. Now that I know your side of the story, I can understand why you didn't approach me."

"I should have tried-" he said, his voice tinged with regret.

"No," I interrupted, shaking my head. "Let's just forget about that now. We're in uni now. Let's Leave yesterday's baggage behind and power forward without looking back…and about the mate bond…I'm not sure if I want to reject it or accept it yet. Let's give it some time."

Draken chuckled lightly at that. "So, we're cool now?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with hope.

"I guess," I replied, sensing a shift in our relationship. The awkward silence returned as I realized my hand was still resting on his. I quickly withdrew it, feeling a rush of warmth. "I should leave now," I said, reaching for the door handle.

"Hm," he replied, a faint smile on his lips.

I stepped out of the car and watched him drive away, feeling a mix of relief and uncertainty. The events of the day had changed everything between Draken and me. He was…my *mate*. Could I even still call him my *nemesis*? Or was he becoming something entirely different?

As I walked toward my hostel, I couldn't help but wonder what other surprises lay ahead.