CHAPTER THREE FEAR

DAPHNE’S POV “MATE!” I said again as if I almost couldn’t believe it. I could feel Diana’s restlessness. I barely caught the expression on the faces of Amelia and Nita as I walked away to find out whom my mate was but I couldn’t find anyone even after searching for thirty minutes. As I began to return to the hall, I felt dejected because I knew I would become the laughing stock. “It’s okay, Daphne. You will find him soon.” Diana tried to assure me.” I pretended not to hear what she said as I pushed the door opened only to meet Amelia and Nita waiting fir me with curiosity. “So, did you manage to scare away your mate or what?” Nita asked while Amelia remained beside her with a very expressionless look on her face. I could cry if they pushed me too much but as luck would have it, Amelia turned around and faced everyone. “We have less than thirty minutes to get this place all set up. Nita, take care of things here. Daphne, follow me.” “Where are you going?” Nita asked and Amelia narrowed her eyes at Nita who immediately looked down. I followed Amelia to wherever she wanted to take me. I was too dejected to even put up any resistance. She stopped in front of an empty storage room. I knew it was empty because it had been my duty to clean it for a long time, every month. “I left my bracelet here this morning, go inside and find it for me.” I looked at her in. Confusion. I knew no one came here anymore and how could she have list her bracket here when she hasn’t been here in a king time. “How did you lose your bracelet there? Perhaps you lost it somewhere else because this place has been locked up for a while. I clean it every month.” “And since when did you question me? If you must know, I was fooling around with my boyfriend and we thought this ace with be ...” I took the key which she dangled in her hands hurriedly. I did not need to hear what happened between her and her boyfriend. I should get the damn bracelet and leave as fast as I could. As soon as I opened the door. I left the key in the knob and entered. I turned on the lights and looked around first before I began my search. “Have a nice stay in your new room.” I heard Amelia say behind me just turned around to see her closing the door of the storage room with a wide smile on her face. I made for the door and stuck my hand in between it before it closed but thought it was a bad idea and withdrew my hand just before it closed. I sank down in fear. Why is she doing this? Could it be that she did not want me to find my mate? I shook have suspected this would happen. “Hey, don’t cry. Just find a way out of here.” Diana said. That was when my mind went to looking for an escape. Even if I did not find my mate, I wanted to be there at Xander’s birthday party. I looked around and the first thing my eyes caught sad a small bracelet lying in a corner of the room. So, she really had been here. She couldn’t have left the bracelet behind intentionally it maybe she had been with someone else. A strange sense of protectiveness overcame me. The storage was very large and as I began to walk around, I stepped on something but before I could look down, I glided forward into a bookshelf. My head made a loud sound as it came in contact with the hard wood the shelf was made of and I cried out in pain I knew the storage was sound proof so even if I decided to scream, no one would be able to hear me so I immediately dismissed that idea as it formed in my head. Just then, the shelf moved and I jumped back in fear. “It’s a secret passageway!” Diana screamed and I excitedly approached it. I have no idea where it led but I knew I have to get out of here anyway so I will go wherever it led. I entered the passageway and after walking for a couple of minutes in the empty long passage, I stepped out to breathe fresh air and heaved a deep sigh of relief even without knowing where I was yet. “You can’t be far from the pack house, I could feel that you have been here before “ I immediately kept walking only to find myself right in the front of my dumpster room. I looked back at the passageway as it closed , it was not too obvious so I could not have known that there was a secret passageway there. I tried to change my dirty, muddied clothes so that I could attend the party. Amelia would be shocked to see me. How could she do that to me? At least she could have just sent me home. Could it be that she was jealous that I am about to find my mate faster than her. I knew that I couldn’t go back to the hall right now. I am sure she would find a way to get rid of me permanently if she set her eyes on me again. What do I do? Perhaps it is time to make my escape now that everyone was busy preparing for the party. I packed my little belongings. I have just one cloth aside from the one I wore. Asides that, I had nothing else. I headed out slowly and took one last look at the place I had called home for a long time and heaved a deep sigh. I have no where to go even if I left now. I could not go back to my father even if I knew where he was because it would be easier for Xander and his people to find me again. “Stop delaying and get on the way.” Diana snapped at me just when I caught a whiff of that delicious scent again and this time, it was coming from the direction of the hall where I knew that the party was already going on. “We have to go back there.” “Do you think I don’t know that? But how do we escape Amelia?” “We will find a way, we just have to find our mate.” I nodded as I began to make the journey through the patio that separates the clearing from the pack house. The noise was getting closer and closer now and my heart thumped loud and loud as I neared the hall. I needed to go through the back door to avoid too many people seeing me. I was finally in. I could see the Alpha and Xander standing opposite each other. “I, Alpha of the Lunarian pack, make you, Xander, my son the Alpha of this pack.” The crowd roared loudly. I am sure they couldn’t have noticed me at this rate but the scent was leading me far and further into the crowd and I did not like this one but. I saw Amelia right beside Xander smiling so widely and then, the most shocking bathing happened. Xander turned towards the crowd as if he was looking for something and for a brief second, he searched through the crowd with his eyes before moving forward. His eyes locked on mine as soon as he was about four feet away from me. “MATE.”