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4

The sun rises.

It’s about time.

I expected huge noise and chaos coming from the pack house, and yet it was eerily silent as I walked out of my bedroom. It gave me chills, seems like every member of this pack is obedient to their Alpha.

Nothing is going to be postponed today. I thought with a slight bitterness.

Triss remains a step behind me, guiding me from the pack house and out into the woods. At first, I didn't feel much of anything, until we got further into the barely lit trees, far enough that Alpha Hardin began to show through the space in the distance.

My legs falter.

"Stand tall, chin up, shoulders back," Triss whispers to me, adjusting my rigged posture.

I nod faintly, keep my eyes forward, and step steady, unwavering beneath curious eyes. Like Triss said, the male wolves look at my bare flesh without a blink, while the female wolves stare at me in awe or jealousy.

“See? Such a small change to my choice of clothes and this is the difference it brings.” Said Triss.

But I think the pack’s reaction is based on the fact that their beloved Alpha is choosing me, not on what I look.

The pack separates like Moses separates the sea for me to pass, leading me straight to a tall freestanding stone building. Huge pillars are holding up a stone slab over the opening. Green moss crawls up the sides of the brittle stone, intricate designs once covered the place but age seems to have taken its toll.

“This place has stood for almost four hundred years,” Triss says in a quiet voice, then she stops walking.

Understanding I have to go inside alone, I slowly climb up the large steps. The small bits of crumbled stone dug into the soles of my bare feet, which hurt.

Despite the dusk mid-morning sky, it didn't provide much light inside the building. The only thing visible is at the far end of the huge building, a large square missing from the ceiling, held up by four huge stone pillars. Resting in the center lays a slab of rock, and Alpha Hardin stands right next to it.

"Come," He states.

In my mind, I thought I would feel less terrified being face to face with him, but it isn't.

But I know I should never anger the Alpha in a place that is sacred to him and his pack. So I quickly overcame my fear, like I suppressed all my feelings in the past, and hurried my steps. Hesitantly, I place my shaky hand in his colossal outstretched one, allowing him to pull me closer. My heart beats like a drum. I stiffly stare up at the barely lit sky above us, trying to shift some of my fear and anxiety away.

The warmth of Hardin's body seeps into my cold skin as his proximity closes in on me, one deep breath, and our chests press together.

His looming presence fills my vision as he towers over my smaller frame. I finally see his face clearly. In the dining room, I was so afraid of my parents, that I didn't even look directly at him once. Alpha Hardin is the most handsome man I have ever seen. His black, thick hair hangs naturally aside his basalt cheek and jaw, creating curved lines like Greek God status. His gray eyes gazed at me, I could see a million little faces of me reflecting on the surface of his iris, which somehow ignited a slowing-burning flame that made my blood run up to my forehead. I lower my head immediately to his muscular chest so I don’t wet myself.

"The more you resist it, the more pain it will bring," Hardin warns me in a much softer voice. It’s like he can read my mind.

My palms are sweaty palms, and my body is shivering, so I only nod my head. I couldn't speak, the words gluing themselves to my throat, stopping me from responding.

Hardin brushes my perfectly curled hair behind my shoulder, his rough fingers pressing under my jaw, tilting my stiff head. I can’t move, knowing he wants more from me.

“You are mine now.”

This is the last sentence Hardin said before his canines bite into the crook of my neck, piercing deep into my tender flesh with absolutely no remorse. At first, it wasn't too painful, only what I expected it to feel like. I relax my shoulders and arms, allowing myself to simply let it happen, to give him what he wants.

Yet the pain grows, like a sudden match being lit inside my mind. I felt the presence of another, the pressure as Hardin attempted to force his way into my mind.

Burning fire boils over my skin, my skull throbbing with electric currents that take my breath. It hurt, more than I thought it would. The pain quickly becomes agony, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut and lock them in place.

Somewhere through the excruciating torture, I hear Hardin’s growling, rumbling off the ancient stone walls. The agony prolongs itself, still not letting up despite Hardin pulling out his carnies. His bite is causing it, he is forcing the first stage of mating on me, yet something inside me simply isn't allowing it.

"AAAAH!"

I wanted to smash my head onto the concrete, anything to release the agony pulsing within my skull. As if my head is splintering, and repeatedly cracking into half.

My body violently shakes under the agony, and it isn't long before I feel myself weaken. My legs are the first to give way, the pain knocking me to my knees, right before everything goes deathly silent and empty. Then I felt Hardin's warmth is back again, his arms were around my shoulder, slowly let me lie down on the ground.


"The union has been accepted."

Those words burn into my memory, awakening me from the darkness. I am not sure how long I'd been out, but I knew the pain had knocked me unconscious. It's not the first time it's happened, despite this being the first time my brain hurt instead of my body.

I blink hard to open my heavy eyelids, then I realize there's a rather sharp ache pulsing within my skull. But it’s bearable, so I push myself up off the stone slab slowly. The last thing I want is to go dizzy right now.

"Do you have any idea what you did?" Alpha Hardin questions me, his tone clipped with anger.

I lower my aching eyes and give a small shake of my head as I brush tiny stones from my palms gently. I know I must give some response that shows a flicker of remorse or guilt to satisfy him. My father never liked it when I didn't take the blame, which made him feel like it was his fault, even when it was.

"I didn't mean to." I whispered hoarsely, my throat still rough from screaming.

Hardin turns from me briefly as if the sight of me infuriates him. I didn't understand why he was so angry, other than the fact that I couldn't let him into my mind. I suppose for an Alpha as powerful as him, it's irritating for him to lose control of a prey he thought he owned.

After a short-lived silence, my shoulder begins to itch, a searing burning sensation filing the bite Hardin gave me. I couldn't help whimpering, trying to grip my neck to conceal the pain. Thankfully the pain didn't last long, only a minute or so before it fades to a dull throb.

"They accept you."

Hardin’s words catch my attention.

I know who ‘they’ are. I am aware of what comes next at the wedding, thanks to Triss’s unceasing questions and speeches.

First, the ancestors must accept me as a part of Alpha Hardin’s pack. Then Hardin himself should look at my naked body and accept me, and thirdly, all pack members must also see me worthy of their Alpha. It's a full circle. Triss said if everything runs smoothly, as sunset approaches, Hardin will take me to a chosen spot and finalize the mating ritual by sex. Like it or not, I must go through all the process.

I couldn't help to take a back step on the stone. I want to move a mile away, and it wouldn't be far enough away from Hardin.

His rough hands grip my shoulders, firm yet gentle. I freeze instinctively. I could feel his eyes burning down into my skull. The Alpha is patient, but unwilling to let me get away. Fearing what the rather gentle Alpha is truly capable of if angered, I didn't want to deny him, at the same time, it’s truly against my nature to give him what he wants.

It'll be easier if you give him what he wants. Triss's words ring through my head.

I see it in Hardin’s posture, the urge to snap me into place. I didn’t have to look up to know he was glaring down at me; this was a silent warning to not disobey.

I rise from the stone slowly, Hardin steps back to allow me only enough space to undress. I begin to remove the lemon-yellow fabric, the jewels gleaming as the sun shines through the gap above. The sound of the jingling soothes me slightly, a noise that I find quite comforting.

Untying the fabric from my chest, it fell from my back, forcing me to hold the front of the material against my chest. Instinctively, I turned away from Hardin's heavy gaze. After a second, I regretted this impulsive action.

Turning my back to Hardin is a big no. He's an Alpha, and it's disrespectful!

It’s too intense to face him simply. I freeze and remain unmoving.

"After tonight, you are free on this land as you wish." Hardin's voice is low.

Surprise fills me, his words are not quite what I expected. I assume he will be angry with me for giving him my back, but on the contrary, he reacts the exact opposite. Was it because he knows that keeping myself covered isn't a confidence thing or was it because wolves have no shame with nudity? Maybe it's normal for a wolf to be naked in front of their mate.

Although I have my wolf, in the past four years, I only shifted three. Besides strength and healing, I don't know how to be a wolf, my parents forbid me to learn what I am.

I finish undressing, going at my own pace without any signs of irritation or anger from Alpha Hardin. He seems like he doesn’t mind waiting, standing there as patient as a man can be.

Hardin's eyes stared boldly at my bare body. It is covered with bruises and faint scars, but there isn’t any disgust in his eyes when he stares at them.

He doesn’t hate me.

A weird warmth runs through my heart, like a sparkle of electricity. Thankfully it lasted only a couple of minutes before he allowed me to get dressed again. He even helps me to tie the fabric at the center of my spine.

"Come." Alpha Hardin gestures after I fully dressed.

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