Chapter 2

ARIELLA. "No. It's not going to happen," I said softly to myself as I looked away from Eli. "There's no way it's him," I muttered under my breath. Because even if there was a 0.01 percent chance of Eli becoming my mate, it was not going to work out. Not with everything that has happened between us and our families over the last two years. I needed to drop the idea because it would only traumatize me. After all, Eli and I were barely more than strangers right now. And I preferred it that way. However, I couldn't deny that he still had this 'pull' on me no matter how hard I tried to fight it. Just like now, it's like there was this weird magnetic pull between us that made me glance again at him. But that was a mistake because I immediately looked away again when our eyes met. I walked towards the staircase as blood rushed into my face because he just caught me staring at him. "There you are, babe," said a sweet voice and an arm wrapped around my shoulder as I reached the second floor. Kayden, my boyfriend, planted a kiss on my cheek as he led me to the corridor and my room while we waited for the clock to strike twelve. "Are you excited?" he asked nervously as I sat on the edge of my bed. The noise from the party outside became muffled as he closed the door and then sat right next to me. "Yeah, I am," I said, nodding to his question. "We have been waiting for this moment to come. This is it, Kayden. Our mating bond will be finally revealed." As I said that I had already cast away the doubt that seeing Eli earlier made me feel. I even wanted to slap myself right now from thinking of that dreadful possibility. I love my boyfriend and he's the only mate that I want. Kayden was the son of the beta of our pack. He was tall, and lanky and had the boy next door vibe with his black piercing eyes. Just like his father to mine, he was loyal to me even when we were still just friends. He never abandoned nor distrusted me despite the bad reputation my family got two years ago. "As soon as you turn eighteen, we'll find out if we're really destined for each other. O-Or not." Kayden gave me a warm smile that made me smile too, taking away the fear and worry in me that was created by just seeing Eli again. Then he held my hands tightly and I felt how cold they were. It pained me to see that he was just as nervous as I was but had to suck it up because he's the man. That's why I hugged him tightly and I could feel him relaxing as he sighed while he caressed my hair. He rested his head on my shoulder, burying his face on my neck. "Was it so obvious that I'm scared?" I chuckled. "A little. But you don't have to feel that way. You're my mate, Kayden. And I don't want it any other way." "T-That's how I feel too, Ariella. But just in case I'm not—" "That's not going to happen. Couples tend to become mates eventually, remember? It's rare for young couples to actually not become mates as they turn eighteen." I said that because it was the truth, but it's also true that lovers who became a couple before their mating bond revealed itself to them are not guaranteed to become mates. There were a few cases where one of them became another person's mate and for me, that's the most terrifying thing that could happen to anyone. "Nothing like that has happened to our pack in decades, so I'm not that worried Kayden," I said not only to calm down my boyfriend but also me. "Y-Yeah. As long as we both love each other, our wolves will follow suit." "That's right," I replied. "I may not have my wolf in me yet, but my heart could tell that you're my mate, Kayden." He smiled at that. It was my turn to kiss him, but this time on the lips. But when I was about to do it, Kayden moved backward as if trying to avoid my kiss and that surprised me. He was shocked too. I guess he was surprised that like it was his instinct, he tried to avoid my kiss which was a first. "Kayden? Is there a problem?" "N-Nothing... This is nothing," he replied laughing nervously, but I knew that he was lying. I know because he had been this way since morning. For some reason, he is more nervous than me, when it should be me since this is the first time my wolf will manifest itself to me so it's my wolf that needs to accept Kayden's. Kayden's wolf had already manifested and was just waiting for its mate. But werewolves' mating bond is only revealed when they turn eighteen, so Kayden had to wait a year for me. Perhaps the long wait had put a lot of pressure on him. "Are you sure? You look so pale. Did something happen earlier?" He looked away from me. "Nothing happened," he replied and stood up. "You know what, why don't we join the party downstairs?" He looked at the wall clock behind us and saw that it was just fifteen minutes before midnight. "Come on. I bet your father is already looking for you." "Yeah. I guess we better get back to the party." We shared a passionate kiss first before we left my room. But to be honest, I didn't want to come out of my room because that meant I would see Eli again, but I had no choice. Kayden was right. My father would definitely look for me. And that's because as the Alpha of our pack, he had to give his blessing to me once my mating bond was revealed. As his only daughter and the Omega of our pack, I grew up with the duty of bearing my future mate's children and continuing our bloodline. It wasn't something that I really liked as a kid, but since I had no choice I kind of just accepted my fate. "I still don't know why they're here," Kayden muttered under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear. We headed back downstairs where the party was. "They don't even try to mingle with any of us so what's the point in showing up?" Kayden was referring to Eli and his pack, who used to be members of our pack two years ago. "Look at them. They just talk to themselves. I bet you my life they're all silently judging us right now with the way they gather like that." "Shut up, Kayden. They might hear you." "Should I tell them to just go home?" I knew that he was kidding but also kind of meant it as he personally disliked Eli. "Don't do anything foolish. You know that having them here is just part of our pack's tradition. They believe that the Moon Goddess will be displeased if they don't attend important occasions like this." "Well, everyone in our pack is displeased at their presence. You included. Right?" I paused before I replied. "Yeah. But let's just ignore them." "Hard to ignore rude people..." Kayden said. I had to agree with him on that though. Both of us saw Eli's group just hanging around near the main door, not even trying to greet any member of our pack who passed by their group. Eli was talking to his Uncle, their Alpha, and at that very moment, I stopped moving when I felt this sudden jolt of twisting pain in my stomach as if it was churning. "What's the matter?" Kayden asked when he noticed. We were still in the middle of the stairs when I stopped. Clutching my stomach, I wanted to go back to my room, but Father finally spotted me and immediately called me. "Ariella! Come here!" Father called out to me. "But you just looked like you were in pain. What happened?" "Nothing. Come on, Father is waiting." Holding hands, Kayden and I went to the dining hall where Father was. He was talking to Kayden's father. The house was packed but I could sense someone following me with their gaze which made me shiver a little. "Ariella! My daughter! Come. It's only a few minutes. Sit beside Kayden, we'll give you our blessings as soon as your mating bond gets revealed!" I noticed that my father was already drunk. He was in his celebratory mode. Just like everyone else in our pack, he already assumed that Kayden was my mate. And I hope that Father is right. "Did you and Eli fight?" Kayden whispered in my ear, as he was seated next to me. "He's looking at you like you did something bad to him." "What? No? I don't even talk to him. Not even at school." "Then why is he looking at you like that?" I shrugged, controlling myself from looking back at Eli too. "I have no idea." But I was distracted by the loud voices of the people around me including my father's. It turned out that they were shouting the countdown to midnight as we were only a few seconds away from twelve o'clock. And as the time got nearer and nearer I started getting dizzy so I stood up, mouthing to Kayden that I needed to go to the bathroom. He was about to walk with me but the countdown had already stopped and just in a few seconds, a lot of things happened. I saw that people began clearing away for someone. And then a hand suddenly pulled me away from the table and then I found myself climbing up the stairs with someone amidst the loud voices of everyone. The next thing I knew, Eli was pressing my body into the door. We were up in my room and all I could notice was how strong his scent was before our lips met.