A useless burden

Luke.

The moment I entered Valerie's room, the mint, fresh scent of hers that always invades my senses became extra potent. I could feel my wolf suddenly become impatient and anxious. It had been so long. We had both waited so long to claim her as ours.

And now, she was here, but we- my wolf and I- couldn't claim her because she probably had no idea of my kind existence. The thought dampened my alert senses and I proceeded into her room. It was strangely larger and more beautiful than I had thought. Last night, it was all I could think of.

Is she asleep? What color is her blanket? Does she have any preferred clothes that she wears to sleep? What is her favorite color?

I had little to no sleep last night, I kept myself occupied with the thought of my mate. It was all new to me, being overly excited, and intrigued about a woman. Not just any woman… But my mate.

A smile appeared on my face when I noticed that it wasn't only her room that was painted blue, but her blanket and her mirror frame were blue too. Is that her favorite color? Curiosity got the best of me and I found myself exploring her room while I smiled like a stupid horny teenager.

Now I felt ashamed for embarrassing Chris when he found his mate and started acting like a lovesick fool.

Perdio…

I sighed heavily when the memories of my pack invaded my mind, and I had to take a sharp breath to stop myself from trailing that route. There was nothing left for me in Perdio anymore. Not my position, nor my beloved  sister.

Now that I've found Valerie, I just wanted to protect her, make her happy, and be everything she wanted in a man before I revealed my identity to her. I can't risk her rejection now. She was everything I have.

It wasn't hard to find her bathroom, it was identical to the one in the room I slept in. The only difference was a huge white ceramic tub, it looked strangely comfortable and could on average fit more than two people. The more I looked, the more I discovered new and flashy things in her bathroom.

'The human world was really different from the supernatural world,' I thought as I undressed to take my bath under the shower head.

I knew I had used a lot of time to explore her room, so I made sure to take my bath as quickly as possible. I didn't want to seem as if I wanted to move into her room when it was literally what I wanted. After my bath, I picked up the blue bath towel on the rack and wrapped it around my waist before I stepped out of the bathroom.

I took a last glance at her room, inhaled her smell again, and shortly stepped out of the room.

Valerie's dark soulful eyes were the first thing I felt the moment I stepped out of her room, it was calling to me, wanting to be the same with me. It took everything in me to resist walking toward her and claiming her luscious lips under mine. The presence of Lydia was the only barrier that stopped me because I didn't know who she was to Valerie, and I wouldn't want her to consider me to be a pervert.

"Ahem," Lydia cleared her throat awkwardly, and it brought us back into reality.

My eyes met with Valerie's again, and she winked at me. She actually winked at me!

My lonely, barren heart instantly fluttered warmly, and I forced myself to look away from her before I found my way back to the room I slept in. I knew if I had stayed longer, I would have damned Lydia to hell and kissed Valerie right in front of her.

"Valerie! That man is fucking gorgeous. I bet Moria would die to have her hands on him."

Dead silence.

"Moria will not be going anywhere near him." Valerie's soothing voice came up after Lydia's excited one. It had a hint of displeasure in it, but I doubt Lydia paid any attention to it because she kept on going.

"Valerie, that man is a hot cake. A Greek god in all ramifications. Not only Moria would die to have him, but even big-shot designers would kill to have him wear their design."

"Do you remember the runaway invitation we got from Givenchy? That man looks like he can pull it off."

"His name is Luke! Not that man. Lydia, come on. Can we stop talking about this? He is injured!"

Their conversation was loud and clear, I almost thought Lydia had no idea I was in the same house with them. Strangely enough, I found myself paying attention to their conversation even though 'Moria' was the only name I could recall. Valerie's boss.

What did Lydia mean by a Greek god? I am a werewolf, not a Greek god.

"And you are leaving the city today. What do you intend to do about him?" Lydia's next words came as a surprise to me, and I instantly stopped in my tracks before the wardrobe.

Valerie was leaving? To where? With who?

"I will think about it on our way to Angelo's. Can we stop talking about this for now?" I heard her pleading voice, and I suddenly became self-conscious about how I had intruded greatly on her daily activities. I had become a burden to the woman I cherished most in my entire life..

The realization was hurtful and almost unbearable for me because I'd never thought I'd lose everything before I found my mate. Back in Perdio, when the thoughts of my mate would overwhelm me, I always stacked up a box filled with gold in the secret treasury.

Over time, the treasury became crowded, and Liana suggested we move them into a larger space. She had me build a whole secret tunnel for the treasures and kept the key. She had said she wanted to be the one to show her sister-in-law the treasures I had prepared for her.

Everything was useless now. My preparation, my enormous fortune, everything… I had none of it.

I was now a burden. A useless burden.

"Luke, are you okay? Do you need help with anything?" Valerie's voice traveled to my ears, snapping me out of my self-condemnation thoughts.

"No, I can handle it." I retorted, before mindlessly grabbing an outfit from the wardrobe and putting them on.

When I came out of the room, I realized that Lydia and Valerie had finished eating and were prepared to leave.

"Luke, that looks extraordinary on you. You did more justice to that leather Jacket than Sean O'Pry." Lydia complimented me when she noticed my presence and I gave a small smile even though I had no idea who Sean O'Pry was. Maybe a Greek god?

I was more interested in how Valerie's dark enchanting eyes settled on my body and how her cheeks suddenly flushed red. What in the hell was going on in her pretty little head?

"What do you think?" I found myself asking her before I could stop myself.

She blinked her eyes repeatedly and opened her mouth to reply, then a vibrating sound filled the air. She instantly turned away to rummage in her bag and brought out a familiar rectangle object. I recognized it immediately because anytime she picked it up, it'd made funny noises. And within a few minutes, she'd leave for a while.

"You should eat. It's getting cold." Her voice came out low and soft. I could barely hear her even though I was just a few steps away from her.

"Okay," I muttered and walked towards her. The instant I took a seat in the dining room, she left for her room.

Was she not comfortable in my presence?

"Luke, have you ever been a model?" Lydia's eager voice interrupted my thought and I raised my head to look at her.

"No, I haven't." I was an Alpha, and before that, I was the Alpha's heir. I didn't even know what a model was until this morning when Valerie explained it to me.

"Would you like to be one? Not just any model. A top model, you can successfully become a runway model without stress…." She rambled off while I quietly ate. Thoughts of where Valerie was going today, and what my next step would be, were all on my mind. I could barely hear any of Lydia's conversation.

"Luke, are you listening to me? Presently, there's a great offer at hand. Givenchy is having this terrific runaway show and they offered Miss Moria an invitation. Sadly, it's only for male models, but I don't think we have any hot man that can pull it off and give us the publicity we want."

Bang!

I turned around to see a furious Valerie glaring at Lydia. "How many times did I have to say that he is not modeling for Moria? He is not fit for it. You are not the one that will decide for him." Her voice sounded sharper and authoritative than I'd ever imagined.

A tiny smile lifted on my lip as I imagined her seated beside me in the massive throne room of Perdio, ruling the Cayon Moon pack alongside me. Until I heard her voice again.

"Luke, can I speak to you for a moment?"