Chapter 13

　　ARIA's perspective 　　Diana was right, she’s the only one I can trust now. She told me I shouldn’t trust him, and I had almost fallen for his charms. 　　It was getting late and Neon wasn’t home after he left the house in the morning, I had some tea with Diana in the bedroom, and she wanted us to take some cool air on the balcony. She spends the whole day together, having random talks. 　　Then, we went out to the balcony, she went to the kitchen to get some late-night snacks when I caught a glimpse of something in the woods. 　　At first, I saw the trees moving and something running. I leaned closer, I saw the glowing eyes in the dark and a body lying on the ground will blood around it. He stood up, his sharp teeth bared forth, and ears longer than normal. 　　I gasped and moved away from the railings. 　　He moved closer, and that was when I saw his face, and his body clothed with blood. 　　It was Neon. 　　That was the same man standing in front of me right now, pleading that he wasn’t going to hurt me. 　　Bullshit! 　　He was going to kill me and pull out my lungs or eat my kidney! 　　“You are overrating, I do not need your kidneys, I’m not going to eat them either,” Neon muttered, his eyes darkened. 　　Did I just voice out my thoughts? 　　“You are going to kill me the same way you did to that man ain’t you? That’s why you keep me here, to kill me off eventually.” 　　“No!” He raised his voice as if he was being frustrated already. 　　“You broke the door, you lunged at me!” I yelled. 　　“I did...it was...” He heaved a sigh. 　　“I’m sorry. I did not mean to frighten you, and I did not lunge at you. You should have opened the door when I asked you to.” 　　“You were going to hurt me.” 　　“No, Aria. Can you understand that I can’t hurt you? Hurting you is like hurting myself. I can’t harm you.” He tried to sound convincing. 　　I lowered my grip on the scissors and watched him take a step closer. 　　“You broke the door. I thought you could do worse to me.” I mumbled, dragging my feet away from him. 　　He pressed his lips into a line and ran a finger through his hair. 　　“Aria.” His voice was calm. 　　“Wolf doesn’t hurt their mate but can hurt anyone who tries to hurt their mate. You saw that I killed a man, he was coming to hurt you. I have to protect you because you are mine to protect.” 　　He exhaled and took another step closer to me. 　　“I am sorry, I lied about my identity. I didn’t want to frighten you and I did not want you to learn about the truth this way. I’m Neon Kendrick, the Alpha of this pack.” 　　“So am I in a pack?” 　　“Yes.” 　　“Silas is my Beta. He’s the second in command but there’s you. The Luna who stands beside me, might as well share similar responsibilities if you want. There’s the Gemma too.” He rubbed his hands nervously. 　　“...He is the commander of the warriors. We call them warriors or soldiers, not detectives or cops though they can be referred to as that but it’s because we fight war.” 　　It wasn’t making any sense to me, that this existed, and I am his mate. 　　“It doesn’t make any sense to me.” I folded my hands defensively across my chest. 　　Neon slaps his palm against his forehead. 　　“You want to see him, Jax?” 　　“Who is Jax?” 　　“My wolf.” 　　I blinked my eyes at him and dropped my hands to my side. 　　I wasn’t prepared to see the other side of him yet. 　　I shook my head at him. 　　“Then believe, Aria. The man I killed deserved to die.” 　　“Nobody deserves to die, Neon!” I half yelled. 　　That was why I was angry with him, that he killed someone without a second thought. 　　“We lived in a different world Aria. Here we don’t let rogues live. They don’t deserve it. Anyone who brings harm to my pack will face my wrath. That’s why I am a leader, to protect my pack and my family. And Aria, you are part of my family now.” He sighed. 　　I didn’t know what to think or what I should say to him. I plopped down on the bed. 　　“I’m not a beast. I’m just a werewolf.” His back was turned against me. He remained standing, watching me. 　　“Every werewolf has a mate?” I asked. 　　He stared down at his nails as if something was interesting in them other than the dark blood that had clothed them. “Yes.” 　　“Why am I your mate?” 　　“The Moon Goddess, Selena, decides to bless me with you, she knows best. It seems you are the perfect one for me. You will be a good Luna.” 　　He sat down on the bed, keeping some distance between us. 　　“I have searched for you for a long time, ten years was it? I lost count. I couldn’t find you, I was getting older, and the pack needed a Luna. An Alpha can’t lead without having a Luna or a child. An Alpha is stronger with his mate beside him...” He turned and caught my gaze. 　　“I’m stronger with you. An Alpha without his soulmate dies quickly, and not as strong as An Alpha with a mate.” He reached out to me and took my hands, he placed them on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat. 　　“You feel it don’t you?” He spoke softly. I nodded and held his gaze. 　　“My heart beats because of you.” 　　I did not know why my eyes watered at the sound of his voice. He pulled me close to his chest and kissed my forehead. 　　“I’m sorry, Aria. I’m so sorry that I scared you.” 　　He held me close, with his hands wrapped firmly around me. 　　“You are my soulmate, my other half. The only one my heart will forever beat for.” 　　My hands went round his back, and I wrapped it around them. Hugging him, he kissed my hair and squeezed my body against his. 　　“Mate.” I heard him mutter. 　　“....I will protect you. And I’m sorry.”