Chapter 3

Rowan

We were sitting down in a lounge room. Me and Seth in one couch and her and The dark haired female on the other. Amy was to Seth's disappointment sitting in an armchair close to the two females, excitement and interest filling her face. The dark haired female was sitting close to my mate, holding her hand. My mate had wrapped herself in another blanket when we came in, as though any exposed skin was dangerous. Her eyes hadn't met mine since then, and she kept staring at her bloody hands. I decided to reach out to her wolf. Get some answers. *What's your name?* I asked. *I'm Rowan, and my wolf is Azariah.* I said, waiting for an answer, but nothing came. Finally she looked at me. "She's mute. She can't answer even if she wants to." She wants to. The words made me stupidly happy. "Her name is Vyn."

Vyn. It was cute, but old. Nymeria too. How old was she? Where was she from? Who was she?

"My name is Rowan. I am the illegitimate son of previous alpha king Lucien. I'm 106 years old. My birthday is May 12th. I was raised by my grandmother after my mother died and I have been alpha king for about five years." I looked at her. Hoped she'd speak too. say something about herself.

"My name is Nymeria." She paused, and I saw her friend slightly squeeze her hand. "I am the oldest daughter of alpha Lunev. I had... six siblings. I'm 647." The number shook me. I didn't know many who had lived that long. Lunev. The name rung a bell in the back of my head. I had likely read about him long ago. "I... Can't remember the exact date of my birthday, but it is late summer or early autumn." She stopped. Looking at her friend. "The rest you don't want to know." She said. Of course I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about her. I had always waited for my mate. I had always wanted her.

"how about I lead you to a room." Amy said to her. She nodded quickly, but I stood up. I needed to talk to her, needed to know her. "I'll do it." I said, nodding my head towards the door. She stood still for a moment but then slowly made her way over. Even when she passed me to get to the door she made sure to keep her distance. It stung in my chest, the clear avoidance. I pushed the sadness out as I followed her out of the room. She stopped outside, waiting for me to lead the way. My skin tingled, wishing to be in contact with hers, but I mustered every ounce of my self control to keep my hands at my sides. We stood in silence for a while. "I found you." I huffed, her amber eyes meeting mine.

Nymeria

My entire being was focused on breathing, not shaking. The alpha king towered over me.

"I found you." he said in a low voice and my blood froze in my veins. Claimed. Again. I stuck my hands behind my back, trying to hide the violent shaking. Letting him see such an obvious sign of weakness would surely be used against me. I closed my eyes, picturing them. I took a deep breath and followed him as he started moving towards section A of the pack house.

He led me to a door at the end of a corridor and let me in. "Your stuff will be delivered soon." He told me, standing in the door opening as I Looked around the room. Blocking my exit. He expected me to try to escape.

"Okay." I nodded. The room wouldn't stay mine for long. Soon enough I would be moved into his room, highly ranked males weren't known for their patience. I didn't completely turn my back to him as I surveyed the room. It was bigger than the one me and Emyra shared and the bed across the room was large. I made my way over to it, surveying the large window without handles- unopenable. I placed a hand on the bed, pushing lightly on the soft mattress.

Suddenly I felt his hand on my upper back. Sliding slowly over my shoulder. I froze. Every muscle in my body turned to stone as I focused on my breathing. I had been a fool to think he had any sort of patience. I slowly willed myself to lift my hand from the bed, and let go of the blanket I had wrapped around my shoulders. He held his breath. I almost snickered at the cuteness of it. Almost.

"I... I'll let you change in private" he said.

Oh. He must have seen them. Who would want to touch a female as scarred as I was?

As he left the room he turned on the lights, pointing at a drawer with a "there are clothes in there" before closing the door. I lost strength, sinking to my knees on the floor. I should have felt relived, but I didn't. Somehow I didn't.