I looked at the clock hung on the wall patiently and went outside. I decided not to think about the letter and proceeded to do my daily chores. I ignored Reed as much as possible and tried to put a considerable distance between us.
Somehow, he was hell-bent on being near me. Many times, I caught him looking in my direction and soon turned his gaze away from me. Whenever I looked at his face, I remembered the pleading eyes of Selene.
I didn't mention the letter to anyone. Not even Reed and August. Today was the last day. All of us were on high alert. Reed had called the meeting to mention something very important related to the witches. I went to the meeting unwillingly; I don't want to admit it, but we needed Reed. He was the only one who had seen how the witches work.
"All of you know that tomorrow is the blood moon, which means half of our pack would already be weakened," he said, looking directly at me. Immediately I looked away.
"Witches are known for their manipulations; they will never attack you from the front. They will try to talk to you, try to bribe you, and ruin you. Trust me when I say you can't resist their voices," he said as if remembering some terrible memory and shook his hand.
All of us listened to him, but none of them liked him. I was amazed by how not one of them liked him, yet they respected him. They listened to their alpha. He may not be a good man, but he surely was a good leader.
"As you all know, magic comes with a cost; no witch could perform magic without a sacrifice. If you want to stop their magic, kill them. Either burn their heart out or eat them. It's the only way to stop the flow of their magic," he said sternly, his voice crystal clear.
He walked back to his position and took the stand. "Now, as you all listened to your alpha, it is a war, and I don't want to force anybody into it. Every one of you is free of your own will. If you don't want to be a part of it, now is the best time to walk back to your homes."
Not one of them spoke. I smiled proudly. "Well then, the meeting is adjourned." With that, all of us started going back to our houses. After talking to August, I started heading to my house. Before I could make it to the door, someone pulled me by my hand behind the nearest tree.
I lifted my face only to meet the ocean blue eyes of my mate. He backed me up to the tree and stared at me. I shuddered under his minty breath. He looked at my lips, and his eyes darkened. I realized I was biting my lower lip.
He closed his eyes and released the breath he was holding. "Why are you ignoring me?" he said barely above the whisper. "I am not," I lied immediately. He smirked, and I forgot to breathe for one second.
He slowly ate the distance between us until we were touching nose to nose. "I know when you are lying," he said, caressing my cheek with his left hand. The sparks were dancing on my fingertips. The butterflies in my stomach flapped their wings angrily.
My wolf howled in joy. Slowly, his hand reached near my lip. He gently caressed it. By now, both of our eyes were filled with the same emotion, lust. I don't if it was the heat due to the arrival of the blood moon or his musky scent because, in the next moment, my lips were on his. We kissed gently and slowly before giving in to each other's hunger. Everything about it was perfect as I imagined my first kiss to be.
I moaned into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He took full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I had never been kissed like this. My tongue tentatively stroked his and joined his in a slow erotic dance that's all about touch and sensation, all bump and grind. He brought his hand up to grasp my chin and hold me in place. I was helpless.
After an intense make-out session behind the tree, I broke the kiss to fill my lungs with air. My lips were swollen and red from kissing. I peered up at him through my eyelashes to see his eyes already trained on me. He was also breathing fast, trying to catch his breath just like me.
I looked away shyly. "That was..."
"Amazing," he completed, his eyes darkened; the lust and possessiveness were evident in his eyes. He shook his head, trying to hold himself from devouring me alive. "You. Are. So. Sweet," he murmurs, each word staccato.
"Are you hungry? I wondered if you would join me for coffee this evening," he asked, more like convincing me to go with him.
Very. "No," I lied straight to his face. He smirked before looking straight into my eyes. "As I told you earlier, I know when you're lying to me. Come with me, let's talk over the dinner," he said, his eyes hypnotizing me. After fighting myself in a losing battle, I nodded. I hated how easily I gave in, just by looking into his eyes.
He smiled a full-blown toothy smile that could melt the coldest of the hearts. He looked so young when he smiled. I wanted to capture every moment when he smiled. We started walking toward the shop.
It was a small coffee shop and diner run by one of my father's oldest friends. He was also a werewolf but has hired human staff there. It was open 24 hours and seven days a week. We entered the shop. He pulled a chair for me to sit.
"Thank you." I blushed uncontrollably, seeing his chivalrous nature. He sat on the other side and signaled the waiter to order. A young girl approached us with a pen and paper. She was human but beautiful and young.
"Yes, sir?" she asked, fluttering her eyes in his direction, completely ignoring me. Reed ignored her and looked in my direction.
"What would you like to eat?" he asked me. For some reason, my heart swelled. The girl finally noticed me, unwillingly.
"One black coffee, please, without sugar," I ordered before I smiled sweetly in her direction. She quickly wrote it down before glancing in Reed's direction.
"Same," he ordered, still looking at me. The waitress looked somewhat disappointed, but she nodded before leaving us alone.
"So, what was it about the last night?" he asked in a low voice, referring to my crying session last night. I bit my lip, thinking hard for a good lie to cover.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked instead. It was the only question that was bothering me since the day he took me to his home. One minute he was the all caring and loving type, and the second moment he was cold and distant.
This time he finally broke the eye contact. I felt like I hit a nerve. Neither of us spoke, and soon the girl came with our orders. I took a sip from my cup before leaning back on the table, examining the shop. It had been a very long time since I came here.
"I know I have hurt you," he spoke finally, his voice laced with regret. He was looking everywhere but me. "What I did was completely selfish, and I didn't think it would hurt you that much." He looked directly at my eyes. His eyes were sincere.
He brought his hand near mine. As I touched his hand, I was aware of that delicious current running right through me, lighting me up, making me blush, and I'm sure my erratic breathing must be audible. "All you have ever done was be good person, a better leader. And last night, seeing you like that shows me what I have done to you." His head hung low as if in shame.
"I wanted to apologize for whatever I had done to you, your pack, and your family. I am sorry."
My eyes were a second away from shedding tears. The most ruthless and tyrant alpha was apologizing.
"I know what I have done is unforgivable and haven't thought of you to forgive me either. I wanted you to know that it was not you; it's me. It's always been me who was not worthy enough of a mate to you. I am..." He looked lost for words.
"I am cursed. Whatever, whoever comes near me gets nothing except hurt and pain. I am a mess," he said finally.
"So you were protecting me." I was shocked by my own tone. By now, the tears I had been holding for so long finally went free. "Why does everyone think I need protection? Had I asked you to protect me?" I asked, clenching my fists, trying not to make a scene in the shop.
"Look at me," I ordered. He slowly looked in my direction. His eyes showed guilt and sadness.
"You could have said anything, Reed. I would have listened to absolutely anything."
He again looked away; his head hung low. "Instead of doing that, you rejected me," I said, wiping the tears and stood to go to the washroom.
As soon as I entered the room, I started crying. After five long minutes, I stopped crying. Thank god nobody entered during my little session.
Just when I lifted my head to look at my reflection, I gasped in fear and immediately looked behind me. Diana was standing behind me. An apologetic expression was plastered on her face. I wasted no second to understand that she had already seen my state. I went to her and took her in my embrace. She rubbed my back and tried to soothe me.
"It's okay. That's why I was telling you; you were not ready," she said and smacked my head lightly as if scolding. I nodded my head in understanding. I made a mental note to always listen to her.
"Please stop crying. I know what you are going through, but you have to understand. You can't blame Reed for all of this. He is already pretty much damaged." She said the last sentence barely above a whisper, and I found myself nodding in understanding.
"Look, I don’t have much time. I am here to warn you. I know you are thinking of going tomorrow to meet Hecate," she said hurriedly, her eyes fixed on the door.
She was right. I was definitely thinking of meeting her. I was not planning to tell anybody, but now knowing Diana knew everything had somehow lifted a weight off my chest.
"I can't see beyond that, but listen to me, Emmy." She put both of her hands on my shoulders to get my full attention. Her eyes were laced with an unknown expression I couldn’t interpret.
"Listen, Emmy. Hecate is very dangerous, but they won't harm you until they get what they want. Don't listen to any of their lies. Please don't think to meet them," she said in a serious tone. I nodded my head, and someone knocked on the door from the other side.
"Esma, are you alright?" Reed called from the other side of the door.
"Remember what I told you, Emmy. I'll take care of it; you don't have to meet them." With that, Diana vanished into thin air.
I composed myself before I opened the door to meet my mate. He was leaning against the door like a model or something. Waiting for me.
I cleared my throat, and he immediately looked at me.
"I think we should leave now," I said and faked a yawn to look tired. He looked at me for some minutes before nodding anyways. His ocean blue eyes were the same replica of Selene's.
He is already pretty damaged. Diana's words were still fresh in my mind. I couldn't stop myself from holding his hand, and to my surprise, he didn't protest. We continued walking in the long yet comfortable silence.