CHAPTER 1

Kavi's POV:

"I reject you as my mate," he said with a smirk, but the little jerk of his body made his pain clear.

"You can't do this to me. It is not supposed to be like this. Mates are blessings," she cried, holding onto her chest and falling to her knees. Her friends rushed to help her while shouting profanities at him. He just laughed in reply.

I slowly walked past them with a blank expression, looking at the floor. But my mind focused on her erratic heartbeat. I felt her pain in my chest, which almost choked me. I concentrated on her in an effort to heal her pain. But I needed to first experience the pain in order to heal it. I could only give temporary relief. She had to go through the pain of her bond severing.

Oh, I am not a witch but a healer. It's one of my many secrets. No one knows that I have healing abilities. But I will help people who need me the most without their knowledge. The reason is I want to be invisible. Not all packs have a healer wolf, and it's kinda rare to be blessed with/inherit those powers. I entered the class and took my usual right corner seat where no one else would sit next to me.

I am Kavithanjali, but everyone calls me Kavi. I'm 16 years old. Thank the Moon, I haven't found my mate yet. I hate this whole mate theory, and I hate men more. I respect a few men, but that didn't alter my hatred towards them.

Everyone in this school thinks I am an average student. But it is my cover so as to not attract any attention. I am well-masked in my usual unattractive outfit, and trust me, I have no friends in this school. This is a private school for werewolves of our Mountain Shadow pack. Every pack has its school to teach their pups their pack rules. And if werewolves want to earn a degree, we have to go to human colleges as most wolves don't attend college.

The day passed with the usual classes. I ate my home-packed lunch under my favorite lime tree in the backyard of the school campus. I have a special pass to skip my physical education class, which happens to be my last class. Just one more month until this torture ends. I started walking towards the pack hospital.

No worries! I am not sick. My mom, Anu Radha, is the pack doctor. You might think I would have gotten the healing abilities from her. But no. She is not a healer. She studied medicine and has been working here for the past seven years. I got a special pass from her stating I needed extra care as I still wasn't able to shift after the age of twelve, so I am basically a human in the eyes of my pack mates.

But that's a big fat lie that no one knows, including my mom. And it's my excuse to train alone in the woods. Once every year, I go to the northern region where a pack of werewolves lives in their wolf forms. They are so animalistic and will kill without any mercy. I am training my wolf with them as they are the most powerful werewolves in their wolf form. I stay there for a month during school vacations.

And that lie is a gateway to learning human martial arts. I learned karate and kickboxing. I never went into competitions with humans as my wolf strength would overpower them. Also, I learned to use a pistol and archery. That helped me build up my strength a lot, and it was also a great opportunity to learn the human lifestyle. Befriending a human other than one's mate is a punishable offense as it might lead them to danger. So, I had no luck with human friends, too.

I walked into my mom's office and smiled at her. She was drowning in her work, so she didn't even sense my presence. I frowned since her wolf should have sensed me already. I sat down in the chair on the other side of her desk.

"Hi, Mom. How was your day?" I asked happily. She is one of the few people I speak to with less of a filter. She looked up at me and frowned.

"Hey, Kavi. As usual, hectic with yesterday's rogue attack. Why are you here? Aren't you going to Kalai's shop? Or do you need money from me?"

I sighed.

"I have an hour before work and thought I would drop by here to see you. And you have given me enough money for this whole month."

She gave me a small smile and busied herself with an x-ray examination. I rolled the paperweight, which earned me a glare from my mom. I let out a deep sigh and got up from my seat.

"Bye, Mom."

She nodded without even looking at me. Great! My wolf let out a low growl in my mind as she never liked disrespect. But she knew not to let out any wolfish sounds that might reveal my secrets. She is my only companion for my lone self. But she understands me and supports me in whatever I do, and she is a really good, obedient girl. She never took control of my human side.

It's not that my mom doesn't love me. She loves me, but she doesn't want me near her, even after a lot of my efforts. I understand her reasons and stay away as I don't want to hurt her anymore. And that's the reason she engages in work from dawn till midnight. I only see her once in a while, like this visit.

I plugged my earphones into my mobile and made sure the volume was on one since my enhanced hearing would make my ears bleed with the noise of louder volume levels. Right before I opened the door, the door opened from the other side, and Alpha Vinodhan walked in. I looked down at my feet, bowing my head. The forty-year-old Alpha gave me a mean look, walked up to my mom's table, and sat in the seat I had just been in. He is one of the men I hate for not treating she-wolves equally. There is only minimal defense training for a she-wolf in my pack, which would never help in a real battle. And I knew he personally thought of me as the weakest excuse for a wolf.

"Have you tried it again?"

It was a question directed at me. And it's the same question he asks whenever we meet. If my mom was not the dedicated pack doctor, he would have kicked me out of the pack long ago.

After all, who would want a werewolf without shifting abilities?

"Yes, Alpha, I tried. But I couldn't shift," I said in my usual low-toned voice, trying hard to sound sincere. He nodded, thinking.

"Shift!" He used his Alpha tone on me. I acted like I was flinching, but it never affected me. My wolf snorted at my acting. My grandpa was an Alpha of a small pack in his younger age. Then he merged with another small pack and gave up the title to the young Alpha. So, I think his bloodline shielded me from being affected by the Alpha's orders, even though my mother was his younger daughter. Alpha Vinodhan frowned and looked at my mom, who was frowning as well.

"She smells like a wolf, but why can't she shift into a wolf, Anu?" he asked my mom.

"Maybe her wolf needs time, Alpha. Her grandparents' death affected her wolf more."

My heart skipped a beat when my mom mentioned my grandparents. The Alpha noticed it and looked at me with pity. That's one of the Alpha perks, sharper senses! I nodded my head and turned around to walk home.

When I got home, I locked the door and used my wolf speed to go upstairs in a flash. I had a nice warm shower and got ready in a pale green t-shirt and black jeans. I looked decent but not attractive, just the way I wanted. I rechecked whether I was wearing my moonstone pendant and made my way out.

I work as more of a partner at "New-Tech Park," which is owned by my mom's friend. The shop sells products and services related to computers. There are only a few employees there. I knew how to assemble and dismantle any type of computer, and my interest turned to software. I have created and maintained a few websites for our kind. I have been working on a pack-wide database app for top-level wolves to access the details of every wolf of the pack. Secretly, I am creating this app to ensure access to any clues about this monster that I planned to kill.

Usually, I just write the program and ensure its safety and efficiency. Kalai is the one who goes to different packs to explain the pros and cons of my apps and get a contract. From security-based apps to games apps, I have created twenty-five apps so far, and all apps were successful in the market.

The most hilarious app was the one I created out of boredom for children, though I also made it useful for parents. It was a complete guide for a kid in the werewolf world. It was so comical yet informative as I animated the werewolf origin, and it was also indirectly a teaching app with stories and poems.

Kalai gives me sixty percent of the earnings, which helps me maintain a decent bank balance. My mom earns more than enough, but I want to make my own money. I use half of my earnings to pay for the entrance fee of fighting tournaments. It's a fight held by rogues in a free land where we fight to the death or till submission. And that's where I use my knowledge of martial arts and also my wolf's ability to beat the hell out of those rogue wolves. I never shift to my wolf form since my wolf is a secret. Anyone can use masks there. So, there's no fear of revealing one's identity, and I am a star there with the name of 'Black Mask.'

The fights are held on Saturday nights. A few teen pack wolves go there to have fun, and illegal things like betting, drug dealing, and smuggling happen. No one knows about me sneaking away from our pack land. It's not that our border patrol is bad; I am just so good at sneaking. On my way back, I run in my wolf form to let my wolf have fun. I give her complete control and enjoy her hunting and chasing from the back of our minds.

Once I got to work, I walked into the office and found my boss bargaining with one of our regular customers. I greeted her and plopped in my seat to continue coding for the new app I was developing. Kalaiarasi, the shop owner, walked towards me. She is a thirty-five-year-old lady who is happily mated and blessed with a daughter. Unlike me, she is very friendly and gets along with everyone in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, honey, how about some coffee? I have prepared a few promotional posters and messages for this application. Let's review it over coffee."

She patted my head lovingly. My wolf purred at the affectionate gesture. I nodded my head and walked with her. She poured the coffee from the flask into two cups and gave me a cup.

"Thank you, ma'am."

She sighed and shook her head. She wanted me to call her by her name, but I never obliged.

'Don't get close to anyone. Don't let anyone get close to you,' I chanted in my mind, ignoring the eye roll from my wolf.

I knew my behavior was affecting her too. But it's the best way to survive in this world without any heartbreak. We reviewed the posters, and I made a few changes. She hugged me and said bye. I patted her shoulder awkwardly. It was our regular routine. I went home, ate some leftovers, and went to my room to finish my homework.

After an hour I decided to go to bed. I removed my brown cosmetic lenses and placed them safely in their box. The reflection of my bright purple eyes brought me many unwanted memories. My mom has fair skin, unlike me. But it only made my life easy. No one will take a second look at me after seeing my dark complexion. I braided my hair and went to bed, but sleep was far from me. Around one in the morning, I heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, followed by the front door opening and closing. Then I heard the sound of some program on the television.

Mom is home!

With that thought, I drifted off to sleep.