heart felt conversation

Acantha woke up to the warmth of Ghod's body beside her, his gentle breathing trickling down her neck. As she slowly opened her eyes, she was met with the unfamiliar sight of his bedroom.

She stifled a yawn and took in her surroundings. Memories of their passionate night came flooding back, and she felt a blush rise. She touched her neck softly and could still feel the bruises from his bite; he had marked her last night. She was his now.

Acantha took a deep breath and tried to slip out of his arms, but he wrapped his hand tighter around her, pulling her close.

"Where do you think you're going?" he whispered, his voice husky with sleep.

She tried to play it cool, but her heart was racing. "I just wanted to get some water," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

He dropped a kiss on her head. "You're lying; I can hear your heart racing."

Acantha swallowed nervously. "No, it's not."

Ghod pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. "Stay a little longer."

Acantha was surprised by his sudden change in attitude. Since she had arrived, all she had received were death stares and snappy remarks. Now, here he was, cuddling her and asking her to stay in bed longer.

"I don't want you to leave me just yet," he mumbled, his voice sending sparks down her spine.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Don't you have important things to do? You know, Alpha work."

In one swift movement, he flipped her around so she could face him.

"Are you trying to chase me away, Acantha?" he asked.

She felt my breath hitch at the sudden movement, and her heart began to race at his sight: his tousled hair, lazy eyes, and sleepy look.

Acantha shook the head. "No." she breathed.

He sighed. "It's understandable if you are, though; I haven't exactly been the best person to you."

She shrugged softly. "I can't blame you."

He pushed her hair back, resting his palm on her face. "I'm sorry for yesterday."

She tried my best to focus on his words, not his thumb caressing her cheek. "I ran away." She pointed out.

"I'm talking about the issue with Theo," He said. "I got jealous and aggressive; I'm sorry."

Acantha's mouth fell agape in surprise. The Great Alpha Ghod apologizes to her for getting jealous.

"I also want to apologize about what you saw in my study the other day," He continued. "I won't see her again."

She was still speechless, not knowing how to react to all of this. He gave her a small smile and nudged her mouth close.

"Aren't you going to say something?" He asked.

"I don't know what to say." She stammered.

He smiled again and dropped a light kiss on her nose. "It's fine if you don't; I want to move past all that. We are mates, and there's no point ignoring it anymore."

She nodded my head slowly, still in shock about what was happening.

"Since you are my mate, I'd like to know more about you." He said.

Acantha looked away. "There's nothing much about me; the rumors already cover everything about my life."

He placed his hand on her chin and made her look at him. "I don't care about the rumors. I want to know about you from your point of view."

She still wasn't convinced by his words and did not want to talk about herself. Whatever good opinion he had of her might be gone if she did.

She bit my lips and stared into his eyes, hoping to see something. A sign that all of this is some sick game. But she saw nothing but pure interest.

Acantha sighed. "Fine, but I assure you this will be quick." She said. "As you very much know, I grew up without a wolf, making a weakling, a disappointment, and easy prey for anyone. Growing up, I was reminded of how much of a disappointment I was. All my siblings got their wolf at a young age, and all my hope to try to keep up went out the window. I prayed silently every day for my wolf to activate, but it never did, and at some point, I just gave up. I put all my energy into other things, but it was nothing in a society where everything is measured by strength and power."

"What are your dreams if it isn't to become a wolf anymore?" He asked.

"To become a doctor, I was hoping to help society in some intellectual way." She replied. "But life just has a way of kicking in my guts. I found my mate, which is meant to be impossible since I don't have a wolf."

Ghod cleared his throat. "For all that's worth, you would have made an amazing doctor."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "Thank you."

He shifted his position and rested on his back, pulling her on top of him. Heat crept up to her cheeks as they rested on his firm chest.

"Your body is warm." He said softly, his chest vibrating.

Acantha swore silently, hoping he didn't catch up to her. "It must be the weather."

He chuckled. "What's your favorite childhood memory?"

"I don't remember having any good childhood memories." She said thoughtfully.

All she could remember from growing up was her brother death, being yelled at, bullied, teased, and treated like an outcast. They were memories she wished to repress.

Suddenly, an image flashed in her mind. "Oh, I remember one." She said. "I think I was about ten. During the weekends, I hated staying home because everyone was always around, which meant hell for me. So, to avoid that, I'd play in the woods after breakfast and stay there till evening. One day, I bumped into this sick wolf. She was alone and hurt; she reminded me of me. So, I took it upon myself to nurse her back to health. I'd skip school to spend time with the wolf. Those days were my best."

"What happened to the wolf?"Ghod asked, totally engrossed in my story.

She shrugged. " One day, she just disappeared. I cried and searched for days but couldn't find her."

"What do you think happened to it?" He asked.

"I told myself it probably died while searching for food, or it got sick again, but it was too weak to return." She said. "Now I'm older, I'm sure the wolf left on its own accord. I wasn't part of its pack; I was just a means for survival."

Ghod kissed the top of her head. "You were kind; that's all that matters."