Chapter 7 Abandoned Mate

I wake up wrapped in a pair of strong arms and a warm chest pressed against my back. I had the most beautiful sleep of my life. I barely move when I hear the male behind me speak, "You're awake. I thought you died in your sleep. Look at the time."

My eyes flicker to the clock. It's only 8:02 am. His arms let go off me and before I could even think, my body reacts with me turning around and hugging the male. A soft groan reverberates from his chest and I look up to meet his dilated pupils.

He reaches out and his knuckle softly caresses my cheek. I instinctively lean into his touch as the sparks erupts through our skins. I feel the pull in my chest that had increased compared to the last night. In a way, I knew it would happen.

Mate bond is a sacred bond created by the Moon Goddess herself but its strength depends on the actions of the fated wolves. If they stay close to each other and let their bodies touch, it grows stronger, making it harder at first and then impossible to be separated.

If the fated wolves leave each other then the bond slowly fades away but it's a heartbreaking process filled with depression and pain. As his hand moves to cup the side of my neck and his thumb brushes my cheek, I wonder if he too feels it. If he too feels a strong pull towards me.

I get the answer to my question as he lifts his head, capturing my lips with his own. My eyes instantly close and I melt into the kiss. Our lips separate to let our tongues swirl together in a beautiful dance. His arm wraps around me before rolling us so I lay on my back with him on top.

The blissful feeling of being pinned under his weight made me let out a soft sigh in the kiss. His warm hand feels gentle to touch as it explores my skin under the shirt. I couldn't help but bury my fingers into his locks and tug onto them.

He tries moving and properly laying on me but hisses in pain and pulls away from the kiss, looking down at his leg. I too quickly lift my head to glance at his wound, "Does it hurt still..?"

As soon as the words leave my lips, his eyes snap back to mine and I notice them change, as if he was pulled out of a trance. The look of pure love and desire leaves his face only to be replaced by utter disappointment. My heart crushes at the sight. The male tries to get off me but I hold onto his arm desperately. "Why...", I ask through the pain, "Why do you refuse to accept me?"

Alex lets out a sigh before slowly removing my hands off his arm and sitting up, "Because I can't be with someone like you."

I quickly sit up as I try looking at him, "What do you mean by someone like me..?"

He averts his gaze and looks at the wall ahead of him, "You're a weakling. I hate weaklings."

My heart painfully squeezes and I clutch my hand by my chest, "But...you said you don't hate me last night..." He doesn't answer and keeps his eyes fixated at the wall. Tears pool in my eyes, "You don't even know me well to know if I'm a weakling..."

"I can smell it!", he almost spat. "I can smell your wolf. She's weak. She hasn't been let out in years. Has no strong aura of her own." He scoffs, "I bet she doesn't even talk in your head anymore."

I lower my head at his sharp tone, "My wolf...is weak..."

"And who made her like that?", he glares at me, "You didn't train her. You didn't work with her." His veins bulged out of his neck and his orbs are surrounded by golden rings of his wolf. "Do you know what my kind does to weaklings??", heat emits from his body, revealing how his blood boiled in rage, "Males get eaten as food! And females...", he grits his teeth, "breeders"

He turns back to stare at the wall, "But they deserve it. What's the point of being born with wolves when they don't even use it? Princesses. That's what I call them. Men work and train hard to become warriors and still continue to push through their limits to get to higher ranks but Princesses? They just sit all pretty, paying the warriors beneath them. Money for protection."

His glare then turns to me, his face contorted in disgust, "And in some cases, sharing bed with shining knights."

Tears roll down my cheeks as I realize his last line was directed towards me. I lower my head as I speak, "I..I'm not a weakling by choice..."

"Then tell me!", he growls, "Tell me Why you didn't train your wolf? Why is she so weak?!"

I avert my face, feeling his burning gaze burn holes in my head, "It's...because of Wolfsbane... The pack is supposed to ingest it in small amounts on daily basis... My parents decided to give me more than what was prescribed for me by the pack doctor... It weakened my wolf...to the point she struggled to come out... And when she did, she was weaker and slower than others... So we couldn't train... We wanted to...but we couldn't. Wounds refused to heal, legs refused to run, canines refused to elongate. There was nothing else we could do than hide."

There, I told him everything. I bared my heart out for him to judge. For him to decide my fate. For him to choose whether I'm worthy of his love. Alex just quietly stares at me for a long moment while I keep my head low, awaiting his answer.

The male suddenly clicks his tongue before speaking, "So you're done talking? And here I thought you'd actually give me a reason for abandoning your wolf." My head snaps up to him with my eyes wide in disbelief.

The male scoffs with a look of utter disappointment on his face, "You keep asking me why I don't accept you. Do you know that humans are not given mates? It's just werewolves who have soulmates. 'Wolves' have mates" He grabs my chin in his hand as he tilts my head up while he narrows his eyes, "I'm tied to you only by our wolves but you abandoned yours years ago...hence abandoned me long before we even met." He slowly leans in as he softly growls, "You abandoned your mate."