➳
"I am not a werewolf."
...
Nathan blinked in incredulity. "What?"
The Alpha leaned closer, repeating the assertion. "I am not a werewolf."
"What are you talking about? I've seen you shift, and I can smell-" Nathan paused to sniff the air. "Yes, you smell like a wolf."
"I am a wolf. Just not a werewolf."
"What does that even mean?"
"I'm a direwolf." He watched as Nathan's mouth slowly dropped open.
"A d-direwolf? No way! They went extinct thousands of years ago-"
"No, there's still a few of us left. In order to keep our species alive, the Moon Goddess has not only increased our strength, but has paired us with humans, unlike werewolves. We have the ability to turn our human mates into direwolves, though it rarely works. Humans are so weak, they typically end up dying during their transformation."
The thought of his little sister dying made Nathan's muscles rigid. He knew that she was weaker than most humans, meaning if she were to transform, she certainly would not survive.
"You're not turning her into a wolf. Stay away from her," He spoke through gritted teeth. He did not care how powerful the man in front of him was, he was going to protect his sister no matter what.
The Alpha leaned back into his chair nonchalantly."I have no desire to transform her, I think she's quite cute as a human. But... I can't say I'll stay away from her. I believe she's quite fond of me as well."
Nathan sniggered. "She's nice to everyone, don't think you're getting special treatment. No offence, but I highly doubt she's interested in you. Humans can not feel the mate-bond, you have to make her fall in love with you."
"Make her fall in love? How would I do that?"
"I don't know, talk to her, buy her gifts, impress her... Wait- Why am I helping you woo my sister?"
The Alpha thought for a bit, ignoring the last part of his sentence. "I'm one of the strongest Alphas in the world. Is that not impressive enough?"
"She doesn't care much about strength. Believe it or not, she has actually never heard of you before. I guess that's a good thing, because if she knew how many men you've killed, she would never be able to love you," Nathan commented, briefly making the Alpha's eyes widen.
"Well, make sure you don't tell her about that then. If she doesn't care about strength, how am I supposed to impress her?"
"I guess be kind and thoughtful-"
"You have to be kidding me. Kind and thoughtful?"
Nathan threw his head in laughter. "Yeah, you're the complete opposite of someone she'd fall in love with. I really suggest you leave her alone and go find another human-"
A loud growl interrupted him.
"She's destined to be mine, do not try to keep us apart. I'll kill anyone who comes between us, even if it's you, understood?" The young man felt his blood freeze as Alpha Blade's threatening stare pierced through his skull.
"... Yes, Alpha."
"Good. Now, tell me, what kind of gifts should I buy her?"
Nathan let out a breath as the tension left the air. "I don't know, flowers maybe? She's really not a materialistic person, anything would make her happy."
"Hmm... Her name is Maddie, correct?"
"That's her nickname, but yes, you can call her that."
The Alpha stared at him blankly. "I asked for her name, not nickname."
"Madeline."
"Madeline." He tested her name on his tongue. "How lovely. What else is there to know about her?"
The two spent awhile talking about the young girl. Nathan was not too happy with the fact that one of the most dangerous men in the world was mated to his sister, but in his heart, he knew he'd take good care of her. Being a human in a werewolf pack can be lonely, especially when it comes to romance, since werewolves cannot really feel attraction to humans. Despite her striking beauty and kindness, Madeline had not once been in a relationship or even on a date. Deep down, her brother was glad that someone would finally love her in that way.
-----
"The Alpha's coming to have dinner here tonight, if that's alright with you," Nathan said to his sister, who was helping the maid cook dinner in the kitchen. She hummed in agreement, not paying much attention.
"The Alpha's coming?" The maid asked, perplexed. "The food should be as good as possible then. Darling, will you please knead this dough to make the pasta?" She requested, turning to Madeline.
"Sure, I love touching dough," She beamed, plopping the yellow ball onto the clean counter and working it in.
After cutting the pasta into long, wide sheets and boiling it in salted water, the maid began assembling the lasagna. She slid the dish into the oven, then cleaned up the kitchen.
"I have to go now, alright darling? Take it out in about 45 minutes, make sure it doesn't burn!" She instructed, before shutting the door behind her. Madeline busied herself by decorating the dinner table, changing out the tablecloth, and placing glass candles on top.
"Hmm... It's missing something..." She wandered to the living room and grabbed a white vase, setting it back down on the dining table. "Much better. If only I had flowers to put in it-" Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
"I'll get it!" She hurried to the door and opened it. The Alpha stood there, holding a bouquet of flowers. A small gasp escaped her lips at the sight of the beautiful plants.
"Those are so pretty! You know, I was just thinking about getting flowers to put in that vase." She turned to point at the empty vase on the table.
He handed them to her. "I brought them for you."
"Really? I can have them? Thank you!" She smiled, taking them from his hands. Nathan watched the scene amusedly. His sister was terrible at taking hints. It was clear that she failed to see the romantic intention behind the flowers.
"I just remembered I have something to do. You both can eat dinner together, I'll be back in an hour," Nathan announced, heading to the door. The Alpha firmly grabbed him by the arm, stopping him.
"What do you think you're doing?" He whispered, narrowing his eyes at him. Nathan smirked playfully.
"I'm leaving so you two can be alone."
"Eat before you go, Nathan," Madeline pleaded. "Or you'll starve."
"I'll eat later, I'm not too hungry right now. See ya!" He slipped out of the Alpha's grip and disappeared out the door. His sister frowned as she watched him leave, before turning her attention to the guest.
"Are you going to leave too?"
He blinked at her, confused. "Do you want me to?"
"No. But you came to see Nathan, right? And now he left. Still, please stay. I hate eating alone."
He was glad that she wanted him to linger. "As you wish."
The young girl took the lasagna out of the oven, pleased to see the slightly browned edges and melted cheese. It came out perfect. She cut in into squares and put two pieces on the plates, giving him a bigger piece. Alpha Blade was distracted looking at the liquor rack in the dining room.
"Do you drink?" He asked her, examining the bottles.
"No, those are for Nathan. I'm not allowed to drink."
"Why not?"
"Because I'll get drunk. But werewolves don't get drunk, so you can drink some."
"One drink won't hurt you."
She shook her head. "Nathan will get really mad at me. Anyway, dinner's ready!" She set the plates and utensils on the table, before sitting down. He sat across from her, and they began to eat. The silence in the room disturbed her. He seemed completely uninterested in speaking to her, but she was very talkative.
"My name is Maddie. I don't know if I ever introduced myself."
"I know. Your brother mentions you often."
"Oh."
She waited for him to introduce himself, but he simply stayed quiet.
"... Can I know what your name is?"
The Alpha gazed at her, the corner of his lip twitching in amusement. "I'm an Alpha, you know?"
Her head tilted in confusion. "But I thought 'Alpha' is your job, not your name."
"You're right. But it is considered disrespectful to call an Alpha by his name."
Madeline peered at him through her lashes, pushing her bottom lip forward slightly to form a pout. "But I thought we were friends."
He froze for a second. Friends? "No way I'm letting my mate friend-zone me." But if permitting her to call him by his name would make her feel closer to him, he decided to allow it. Plus, she looked too cute while pouting, he couldn't refuse.
"My name is Matthew."
Her eyes instantly lit up, a grateful smile spreading across her face.
"Thank you for eating with me today, Matthew." He was not used to being called by his name, but he loved the sound of it coming out of her mouth. Her voice was euphonious, sweeter than honey.
"Only you are allowed to call me that. Anyway, I have to leave now. Take care."
"Goodbye." She watched contentedly as Matthew left, before turning her attention to the flowers sitting in the vase. "Pink and blue, how did he know those are my favorite colors?"
➳For the past few weeks, both Matthew and Nathan had been very busy. The rogues near theirterritory had been attacking more often, and there's a lot more of them they expected. It was evident that a war between them was inevitable, and very imminent."I'll come talk to you again later, I have a meeting with my Beta right now," Matthew said, glancing at his watch."Alright. Also, if you can, bring some chocolates for Maddie. Shereally appreciates them during this time of the month."Matthew did not quite understand what Nathan meant by 'this time of the month', but agreed nonetheless. He enjoyed buying gifts for his mate, especially when he got to see her angelic smile as she received them.This time, however, she did notsmile. She did not even get up from the couchto greet him like she normally does. He stared at her worriedlywhile she ripped open the chocolate bar wrapper and took a bite, her othe
➳He stood therewhile Madeline sobbedbitterly into his chest. Matthewhad seen too many deaths, it almost never affectedhim anymore. But this time, it wasagonizing. He could notimagine how much pain his mate was going through. Madeline had to be rippedaway from her brother's body;she was refusing to let go, insisting that he wasn't dead yet. He had never seen someone cry this much in his life. It physically pained him; his heart wrenched with every sob.Matthew was notused to this; he had no idea how to console her. "If only I had arrived earlier, I could've saved him..." The Alphaneverblamed himself for the death of his warriors, since they willingly put their life on the line, buthe couldn't help but feel responsible for Nathan's."P-protect her, please..."His last words replayed in his head. He looked down at the young girl crying in his
➳Matthew woke up, feeling a light weight top of him. Raising his head, he looked down to see his little materesting her head on his chest, still asleep. He mentally smiled as his handbrushed her chestnut-brown hair away from her face, revealing her pretty features. No matter how many times he hadseen her, herbeauty always took his breath away.His smile diminished when he saw traces of dried tears on her face. She almost never cried in front of him anymore, but he would sometimes hear her sniffling during the night or whenever she was alone. It was clear that she missed her brother deeply. As much as he wanted to help her, he knew only time would heal her wounds.He gentlyplaced her head on the pillow so he could get up. As usual, he had a busy day of work ahead of him today, starting with a meeting with his Beta...."Good morning, Alpha." The Beta bowed his head slightly, before entering his offi
➳As the weeks went by, Matthew became increasingly impatient. His lovefor his mate grew strongerevery day;he beganto find it hard to control his ardent desires. Each timeshetalked to him, he wanted to taste her lips, and whenever they wouldlayin bed together, he felt like running his hands all over her body.Madeline, on the other hand, was still painfully oblivious tohis feelings. She constantly mistook his displays of affection for friendship. A strange sensation would growin her heart every time he'd hold her close, compliment her, or give her gifts, but she could notunderstand what it was.A smile formed on her lips as she remembered theconversation they had this morning...."Do you like this dress?" She asked, twirling around in his office. Matthew was busy doingpaperwork at his desk."I told you you're not allowed to come in
➳Over the next week, Matthew had been very busy with the merging of the two Packs. At first, the majority ofthe other Pack wasagainst this, but theyslowly realized this new integration would mean morestrengthand better protection. They all began warming up to their new Alpha...especially the females.Their previous Alpha was nowhere near as attractive as Matthew. They all drooled over him, secretly hoping he'd claim one of them as his mate. Whenever he'd train with his new Pack members, he would sense a crowd of females peeking through the windows, gawking at his shirtless, muscular body.He never paid much attention to other women. Sure, he had slept around with some, but he never heldany deeper feelingstowards them; except for Madeline, of course. His lips twitched into a tiny smile as his cute little mate entered his mind.Despite everything that's been going on, he always fo
➳"Do I seriously have to fight a female?" The Beta asked derisively, holding up a punching bag whileMatthew repeatedly hit it. The twostood at the fighting grounds, waiting for the Beta female. Since she was taking rather long to show up, they took this time to do some physical training."She won't leave me alone until I letyou fight her. I doubt she's strong enough to hurt you, just hold her down or something," Matthew replied, his attention focused on the punching bag.A feminine voice echoed through the room. "I am strong enough to hurt him. Don't go easy on me."The two males turned their heads towards the entrance to look at her."Finally, you're here. I don't have much time, so start whenever you're ready," Matthew spoke in an uninterested tone. He glancedback athis Beta, only to see him gawking at the woman with wide eyes and a gaping mouth."Mate."The Alpha sta
➳Matthew glanced at his watch impatiently."Is sheready yet?"A ball wastakingplace this day to celebrate the integration of the two Packs and bring them closer. He was not fond of such large parties, but being the Alpha, he was obliged to attend."Sorry for making you wait, Alpha." The stylist hurriedly pushed Madeline out the bedroom, giving some final touches to her hair.His jaw almost dropped when caught a glimpse of her. She wore a stunning, strapless blue gown, her hair styledin an elegant up-do. She warmlythanked the stylist, before steppingdown the stairs, being careful to not trip over the gown. Matthew kept his eyes on her the entire time, not blinking as she approached him.She lookeddown at her gown, smoothing it with her hands."Do you like it? I've never worn a dress this pretty before."Taking a step closer, he softly tipped up her chin, locking their ga
➳Madeline froze in place, her eyes wide, as Matthew gently moved his lips against hers. Her headache disappeared right away,replaced by euphoric sensations all across her mind. Her entire body tingled with the intensity ofthe feeling.She wasn't kissing back at all; her senses had gone numb, she couldn't even breathe.He could hear her heart thundering in her chest, andrealized she had stopped breathing. Although he didn't want to, he finally pulled away from the kiss, letting her get some air.A myriad of emotions soared through her head;joy, love, shock, fear, confusion, and... Resentment."Stop messing with me like this!" She tried to push him away, but her strength could noteven budge him. His brows furrowed in bemusementwhenhe saw tears welling up in her eyes."Why are you upset? I thought you liked me.""You keep being so romantic, it's only making my fe