Chapter 5: The Truth

Zayden’s POV

Seeing my mate in my arms, she seems so fragile right now. Initially, her wolf was attempting to take over and shift. Maybe this is her first time; I wonder if she is a late bloomer?

It takes me a few minutes to walk to the car that my beta brought for me. As I tuck her hair behind her ear, I put her in the back seat. Her scent is like lavender, and she is so beautiful. Recalling that wonderful scent I had smelled earlier.

We were heading to the villa when she ran across the street and my driver almost hit her; I rolled the windows to make sure I didn't smell blood, but all I could smell was lavender. At that moment, when my wolf was going crazy with excitement about being around our mate.

I gave up the idea of having a mate long ago. Instead, I focused my energy on building a kingdom, and the desire to have Luna by my side had been buried. There were a few love interests in my life, but no one that I could even consider a mate.

Eventually, the word love was foreign to me. I was a ruthless man without the capacity to love or be loved. Years of longing, hope, and betrayal have constructed a wall in my heart. With a simple blow of the wind, this small unconscious girl knocked down all the walls I put up to keep myself from crumbling.

My blood started boiling when I saw that she was hurt. I might have ended up on a rampage had it not been for her lavender scent.

"I see that you're called Oliver, right?" I ask, turning to look at her friend who had been silently following me.

He had an unreadable face. Then he let out a long sigh. "Yes, it's Oliver, and you're Alpha Zayden, correct?"

"How do you know me?" I stare at him.

Looking down at his feet, he looks up again. With such confidence, he says, "I know all the Alphas, Vampire Lords, and anyone who could threaten Celeste."

With a chuckle, I say, "Well done protecting her from that low-level vampire!" I tilt my head and ask, "Why do you need to know about all those creatures? There is something off about you. Your scent is different from other human scents."

He glares at me: "See, I let my guard down on her birthday. I didn't realize she could see that vamp! Her seal hiding her power is almost broken."

As my body stiffens, I feel uncomfortable. "What do you mean seal?" I gaze at my mate. "Why does she have a seal?" I ask. It's the first time I've heard of a wolf being sealed. My gaze returns to Oliver.

I growl, "I need an explanation for everything, starting with Celeste's seal!"

As Oliver runs his hand through his hair, he asks, "Would it be better to discuss this somewhere else, instead of in the middle of the street?".

After trying to control my rage, I let go of the anger and sigh, "Okay, we'll go to my villa, I want to get my mate somewhere more comfortable anyways." I get into the driver's side of the car, and Oliver gets in as well.

"By the way, are you her lover?" I ask. He laughs in a sad voice.

The look on his face is intense. "Nope, she only considers me her brother. Don't worry about that. Just know that I will guard her, even from her own mate."

"You'll protect Celeste from me?" This brought out a laugh from me. "I wouldn't hurt her, but instead I feel compelled to shield her from harm. I have to ask; why are you protecting her? And from what?" This is what I have been wondering as well. It's true that he's not a normal human, but he has power that he is holding back from Celeste. I noticed this earlier.

I will wait till we get to the villa. I'll question Oliver till I find out everything about Celeste.

***

When we arrive at the villa, I take Celeste to one of the many rooms. After I lay her down, I ask one of the maids to change her clothes. My first instinct was to do it myself, but it didn't seem right. Her privacy is important to me, regardless of whether she is my mate or not. As I kiss the top of her head, I cover her with a blanket, and I turn to go downstairs.

Oliver sat down on a chair, lost in his thoughts. I sit down in front of him. As my arms cross my chest, I say, "Tell me about the seal."

"Celeste is more than just your average wolf Zayden, I'll explain her family history to you."

"Okay, let's start at the beginning." I lay back in the chair.

After a long pause, he stands up and declares, "Celeste is a hybrid, a descendant of the most powerful witch of all time. In addition to having magic coursing through her veins, her blood is that of an alpha." It sounds as if he's narrating a story.

Nowadays, being a hybrid is not that unusual. It isn't stigmatized like it used to be. Finding out my mate is one is shocking, but it won't change anything. Elders in my pack might be an issue, but as long as I am alpha, they won't do anything.

He glances at me and pauses. "You might remember her relative, she was around when you became immortal."

I became immortal when the moon goddess visited a dream of mine. As long as I can unite all the packs around the world, she will grant me immortality. In the event that we were to marry, my mate would also be immortal. I dismissed it at first as a weird dream, but soon realized I wasn't aging.

Devlin was murdering my people at the same time. As a result, I was able to assemble several packs to take Devlin out. Devlin was sealed by a witch at the end of the war, according to my memory. I came to New Orleans to find her kin because he is searching for them as we speak.

Wait.

Standing up abruptly, I ask, "Are you referring to the witch who sealed Devlin?"

The look on Oliver's face is one of surprise. Nodding, he adds, "That is the one, so you have heard of her? I know you had to battle Devlin around that time, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that you know about her."

My head nods in agreement. He has certainly done his homework. Currently, it appears Devlin is hunting my mate down because she might be the witch he is after. My wolf is commanding me to take our mate and hide her, not only from Devlin, but from everyone else as well.

The decision to tell Oliver about this is on my mind, but I'll wait and see. I let out a sigh. I'm eager to learn more about this seal, then I can decide what to do next. Oliver looks at me as I sit back down.

"Why does she have a seal on her?"

"In the wake of Devlin's seal, the witch found out that she was mated to an alpha of a small pack from New Orleans. They had pups, but were worried that their power was too strong and those seeking power might use them." He lets out a sigh, "This is when my family steps in."

Before continuing, he looks into my eyes. "After the witch sealed the pups' powers, they lived a normal life, unaware of their power. At the end, when the witch became too old to seal away her grandchildren's powers, she sought out other witches to replace her. As long as my family has been around, we have continued to seal the witch's bloodline. Whenever a child was born, any powers would be sealed. In time, the powers faded away. Her family would sometimes fall in love with their chosen mate, unaware of the mate bond, but they still found their mate." He pauses again, letting me take it all in.

It was all too much. I am angry at how her family had a strong bloodline but was never able to shift nor have a pack. Instead, they lived like humans. There is a bitterness in my heart.\

Celeste’s seal has been explained, but I still have more questions. I run my fingers through my hair, "I am starting to see where this is heading, but what's going on with Celeste's seal?"

While he tries to hide his frustration, he says, "Celeste's power is too much. Her dad was an alpha. We believe that this triggered something in her. Her mom died giving birth to Celeste; her power absorbed her mom's life. Celeste's father had no idea that my family was sealing Celeste's powers. We had no intention of telling him. When Celeste's mother died, this broke her mate, he lost it. We managed to seal Celeste's powers while keeping Celeste away from him. After ten days, her father's pack was attacked by a gang of rogues. They slaughtered the entire pack, including her father."

He takes a deep breath and he continues, "Her grandparents took her in and my family moved next door to keep an eye on her seal. We had to do this every day, but now our seal has weakened and we can no longer contain it at bay.”

"I knew eventually her seal would break, so I studied hard with my magic and I studied all supernatural beings. I was determined to protect her. The last thing I expected was to be mated to you, the CEO of the biggest corporation and soon to be alpha king in the world of wolves." His jealousy was evident, I could tell it already. I know he loves Celeste though.

The mate bond is something he knows he can't compete with, I smirk. I won't consider him a threat right now. However, I have more pressing matters to deal with.

In order to calm my anxious wolf, I pour myself a glass of whiskey. With every new revelation, I have ignored him as Oliver spoke. I had to resist the urges my wolf was trying to break free. Looking back at Oliver, I thought, “She has no idea who she is, who you are, or anything about her family?”

He nods his head, "Her grandparents intended to tell her soon, but her seal was breaking fast, and they wanted her to continue living a normal life as long as possible. Several years ago, her grandpa noticed she was changing. He built her a gym in the basement to burn off energy and at least teach her how to defend herself.

She has quite the fighting spirit."

I grin, remembering her trying to hit me.

I sigh, I realize the excitement of finding my mate has turned into something more complicated. In the end, I will have to find another way of dealing with Devlin, since I cannot let her near him.

For now, whether Oliver or her family like it or not, she is coming with me.

I came here in search of the witch who could seal Devlin, and not only did I find the witch, I also found my mate and they turned out to be the person. The moon goddess definitely cursed me.

I pour another glass of whiskey.

D*mn.