Three

“The food is great! Thank you so much for your hospitality. I don't know how I would have survived without you.” I was truly thankful for everything he had done for me so far.

 “It's my pleasure. I really hope you like your stay here,” he said.

“So, Florence told me this pack is the strongest. Tell me more about your pack. I would love to know more if you don't .” My curiosity was getting the best of me and a part of me hoped that he wouldn't mind.

 “We are the strongest pack in the USA, but definitely not the whole world,” he started and I straightened my back, ready to learn more about everything. “But being the strongest doesn't mean you don't have rivals.”

 “So you've got rivals?” If he was strong, then this was expected.

 “Indeed, but the strongest one is called Crimson Pack. Ten years ago, there was a war between us and luckily, we won, which meant that we got to control the lands of Juliet Rose, but like any war, each of us experienced loss in it.” The spark in his eyes faded for a moment, but he forced himself to recover.

“What's Juliet Rose?” I asked. Talking with him made me forget that I once wanted to sleep.

“A kind of flower that gives werewolves more strength.” I loved how he answered all my questions without showing any sign of annoyance. “Excuse me for my questions, but I'm just trying to make sense of everything.” I blushed, looking down.

“You don't need to apologize,” he assured me. “What else do you want to ask about?”

“Who… who did you lose at the war?” Right after the question rolled out of my mouth, I realized how stupid it was of me to ask that. “I'm sorry! You don't need to answer this.”

“It’s okay. I lost my mum. She was the Luna of the Pack. I then lost my dad four years later. I was forced to become an Alpha at eighteen,” he revealed some parts of his history. My heart ached for him. He went through a lot at a young age.

“I'm sorry that you had to go through all of this,” I murmured.

“It's okay.” A sad smile graced his lips. It wasn't okay. It wasn't okay at all, but he was probably used to acting all strong and powerful that he forgot it was okay to be vulnerable.

 “Have you ever wanted to take revenge?”

“I have always wished for that, but I can't.”

“Why?”

“Because of the Supreme Council. Once the war ended, we had to sign a truce and it stipulated that no member of any pack shall harm any member from the other one. We even had to exchange members to ensure safety,” he explained everything to me. I thought he had finished talking, but he continued, “I think that was the thing that slowly killed my father throughout the years. He loved my mother too much. They were mates. He couldn't avenge her. Maybe guilt killed him.”

I was about to say something, but a cheerful voice interrupted me. “You're finally back! I missed you!” A gorgeous girl appeared out of nowhere. Her hair was as black as Xander’s and her skin was slightly tanned.“That's her? Hi, I'm Rowena! Xander’s sister.” She grinned and bent down, surprising me with a hug.

“I'm Priya.” The name sounded foreign on my lips, but I was certain I was going to get used to it. I didn't know any other name to reject this one.

“I don't really need to introduce her to you. She's doing a good job.” He chuckled. “Rowena, go easy on her. She's hurt,” he told her.

“Sorry!” She quickly pulled away. “I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just excited to meet you.”

“You didn't hurt me. It's okay,” I assured her. I couldn't help but smile widely at her. She radiated joy.

“Are you done eating? If you'd like, I can show you to your room, and maybe we can chat and get to know each other,” she suggested. Even though I was enjoying my time with Xander, I really wanted to get to know Rowena.

“Is that okay with you?” I looked at Xander. I didn't want to wander around the place without his consent. After all, this was his house and I was nothing but a stranger.

“Not at all! Feel free to do whatever you want here,” he told me. “Rowena, don't exhaust her. She has just gotten out of the hospital and she has a big gash on her side,” he instructed his sister.

“Noted!” She grinned. She helped me to stand up and we both walked away from the dining room. I had a feeling that Rowena and I were going to be good friends. I needed somebody like her at the time being to mentally heal from what I had been through and her cheerfulness was definitely going to have a positive effect on me.