JADE POV
I was watching the time again. It had been ages since the council members left. I had freshened up, taken care of my injuries, and wore a smug sweater that covered my skin to my mid-thigh. That was what I had been provided with and this time it was by a girl who didn't even dare look me in the eyes.
"This is frustrating!" I groaned and dragged my nails through my hair. Why wasn't Dearil here yet? Did the meeting go badly?
The door creaked open and my face whipped in that direction, but then fell as I saw that it was the girl bringing me food. Was I disappointed, yes, because living in constant denial was stressful?
"Here's your dinner. Master will be with you shortly". The girl dropped the tray and made to go.
"Wait!", My voice rang out with more urgency than I'd meant to and the girl flinched in shock. I cleared my throat, pushed my hair back from the corners of My face, and tried to paste a reassuring smile on my lips. "Can you stay for a while. I am always by myself, and it's funny, I've always loved to eat alone, but right now I can't seem to be able to".
The girl stared at me, then a smile broke out on her lips making her appear more pretty than before. "Of course. I'll stay with you if you want me to".
"Well, seat then" I pointed to the chair facing the bed and her face paled.
"No, that is master's favorite chair. I'll just sit on the rug", she smiled and sat down before I could stop her.
"What is your name".
"My name? Oh, yes, my name, my name is Astra, like the stars".
"That's a pretty name. I'm..."
"Jade Alvarez" she cut in with enthusiasm, her head bobbing excitedly. "Almost all the pack members know who you are. Since you've come, Master has been more tolerable. He's been joining the soldiers for the forest patrol, and when he goes with them, he's so efficient, that they destroy all possible threats in record time and still get to come home."
I smiled as she spoke of Dearil. She was also telling the truth because the way her eyes sparkled could not be faked.
"Are you Master's mate?" She suddenly asked and my brows furrowed.
"Mate? What does that mean".
Astra gasped. "You do not know what a mate is. It means that you and your master are destined to love each other forever and that your being by his side and him by yours would make you both stronger, happier, and invincible. You'll also never get tired of each other because each day would feel like the first time over and over again".
"That sounds like some grand bullshit!" I muttered in disbelief as I brushed her off even tho her words made my heart skip a beat. Someone to love me forever. I wasn't destined for that.
Astra leaned towards me, her gaze deadly serious. "No it is not. Every wolf has their mate, and they know who their mate is just by the scent they give off, and others when they kiss each other for the first time".
"And wolves can also have human mates?"
The light that had been shining on her face dimmed. "None that I know of, but the pack kind of wishes you were master's mate, we shouldn't, but we can't help it. Master Dearil has gone through so much, and he was cursed by the witch he'd killed to protect us all from." She paused and I raised a brow, my confusion making my brows furrow.
"It isn't his fault that he's so destructive, or that he cannot control his wolf. An evil witch cast a spell on him, and on every full moon, he becomes a mindless killing feral monster, and that is why he has to chain himself down so he doesn't kill any of his pack members while everyone else goes through a peaceful shift. And on every shift, he suffers, because it feels like the first shift all over again. I always cleaned the blood up in the basement. It was so much... " Her voice trailed off, her eyes distant as if she wasn't in the room anymore but in another dimension.
Witches, mate, wolves. My head hurt just thinking about the information that Astra kept dropping at my feet.
Dearil was cursed, hence the bad unpredictable temper. Was that why his parents also abandoned him, was that why his pack was secluded from the others? It was unfair.
"I thought everyone hated Dearil".
"Not everyone and others are just afraid that they would get killed or that the curse would pass on to them and they won't be able to find their mate. Not being mated is the most horrible feeling in the world, it is worse than a heart attack".
Watching the girl, I could hear how serious she was about the whole mate thing. It also made me empathize with Dearil. In a way we were both alike, we were just waiting for the one who would accept us for who we were, but I was not his mate, and he was not mine.
The realization felt like cold water dousing against my skin.
"What happens when Dearil finds his true mate, will he let me go," I asked even tho a part of me rebelled against the thought, I guess the line between pretense and what was real was getting blurry.
"Only Master can answer that question, but there is a hundred percent chance that he wouldn't even look at you anymore once he finds his mate, he'd only have eyes for her, but you see, Master is cursed to die unmated. He'll never find his mate".
Just like I was fated to live a life of crime, with no one to love. fuck! Why was I thinking about love when It didn't matter to me, crime has always been what made me happy and alive. The respect, the reverence, and the fear of those beneath me were the only form of love I knew and needed.
No matter what I heard about Dearil, it wouldn't change my mind. I was going to get out of here and I was taking some of his powers with me.
"You're nicer than I expected" her voice cut through my thought and my gaze that had wandered snapped back to her. "But your heart is troubled. I know Master is a hard man to love, but he's drawn to you, you're more to him now than any mate will ever be".
It felt as if my whole being was attuned to Dearil because I sense him walking toward my room. My gaze snapped to the door, and he was standing there, looking both feral and breathtakingly gorgeous. My breath hitched as our gaze collided. It was smoldering.
Astra quickly got to her feet and bowed. "I was just leaving Master" she stuttered, then flew out of the room as if it had suddenly caught fire.
Dearil's gaze didn't slip from mine for a second, and it was crazy but I felt relieved, giddy, and happy that he was alright, that he'd come to see me.
"What was the verdict" I forced out of my throat, licking at my lips nervously.
He took a step and my back connected with the wall as he pushed me into it. I gasped as his body pressed flush against mine, the momentum of being manhandled sending a rush of sparks through my veins.
He stared at me, his eyes hooded with lust as they trailed down my lips.
"I should have claimed those lips" he murmured and his word resonated deep within me. I was turned on because he was turned on, I could also feel how badly he wanted to kiss and something inside me told me to give in, to please him, even though it wasn't like me at all.
I grabbed his shirt and watched as his nostril flared, his eyes fastened on mine as he took in all of me. I leaned toward him, his height making me go on the tip of my toes.
"I'll kiss you then" I whispered, then pressed my lips to his.
Sparks flew, and the earth shattered around us and ceased to exist.
I kissed him deep and slow and he let me even as I felt his finger tightening on my arms as he tried to hold back. It hurt, but I embraced the pain because it was dulled out by the pleasure.
He lost control, his tongue dueling with mine as took control of the kiss.
My skin burned and it felt as if we were one soul, as If we were soulmates just like Astra had talked about.
The thought doused the fire and I jerked back from the kiss at the same time my hands shoved him backward. We stared at each other, him with a confused frown on his face and I with a racing heart, that seemed to beat rhythmically for him.
I was not his mate. Fuck!