"W-Werewolf?" I repeated, and then looked at Seniorito who was now unconscious.
"Yeah, you heard it right. We are werewolves," the guy confirmed clearly.
We? All of them!
I unknowingly swallowed and looked at him. "You mean... that dog? Is that so?"
His face immediately went bad. "Excuse me, we are not dogs!"
"It's the same. You are still barking the same awoo awoo!" I answered back.
He palmed his head and shook it unbelievingly. "It's different. Stop calling us dogs, lady. We're greater than them."
"High breed dogs?" I know he'll be annoyed by what I said, but that's probably the only way I could reduce the creeps I'm feeling right now.
"Damn. If you hadn't just treated me earlier, I might have bitten you."
I was stunned and gulped slowly. I hesitated to laugh and then took a step away. I might cut his patience if I continued.
"As for you, don't be silly," I said.
"Aren't you scared, Raya?" Manang interrupted.
They were both silently watching me now, waiting for my answer. I let out a sigh before staring at what they called Alpha.
"I'm scared," I admitted.
"Do you want to leave?" Manang, while looking at me full of understanding.
I made a nod. "I want to, but... I also need a job," I said and smiled sparingly at the old woman. "I just want to be be sure, I'm not... going to die here, am I?"
"As long as you don't approach Alpha during the times when he's not on his own self, you'll be safe," Manang instructed.
For the nth time, I swallowed hard. "I understand."
"Come on, I'll explain everything to you. I know you're confused right now," Manang said with a smile on her lips.
She was the first to walk out of the room. The man with us followed her while I stared for a moment at the Alpha they called.
I could not understand myself. Yes, I was terrified. All of this was not normal for me. But despite that, I wanted to stay. Not just for the wages, but because of this man as well.
"Raya?" Manang called outside the door.
I smiled sparingly and then finally followed them.
We gathered in the living room again. I know they are waiting for me to get adjusted so they can start sharing their story, but of course, I'll never be ready for it. I wanted to pinch myself, thinking that I was just dreaming.
"Why is Seniorito not like his usual self?" I was the one to break the silence.
Manang and the man looked at each other and then looked at me seriously.
"First of all, I want to introduce you to Miro. The youngest son of the Zarelli's, the beta," Manang began.
Confused, I still tried to embed it in my brain.
"Of our werewolves, Cleon is the Alpha, Miro is the Beta, and I belong to the Omegas," she continued.
"Ahmm... is that a ranking?" I couldn't stop myself but asked.
"Yep. Alpha is the pack leader, me — the beta — is the second in command, omega is the lowest rank," Miro answered my question.
I just nodded. I can't deny the fact that I am amazed by their rankings.
"And you are the chosen mate," he added.
My forehead furrowed. "Mate?" I uttered. "Why am I involved?" My eyes dilated in shock.
I'm human, hello?
"I also don't know why it has to be you," he lazily replied to me.
Is that a joke?
"It's been six years since Cleon's first mate died in an accident. That was also the day when she rejected the Alpha," Manang snatched my attention.
There, I became serious again.
"Male werewolves have a single mate set by the Moon Goddess. They become mateless when their partner rejects them or so when they die."
I winced. "So, they are not allowed to be broken-hearted?"
"They can, but it's not a good thing," he replied.
"Why? They are not allowed to be single?"
I heard a whimper from Miro. It was as if he was losing hope that I could understand everything. Manang scolded him; instructing.
The lady gave me a miserly smile. "Because it could kill them, or like Cleon, his inner wolf is greatly affected."
I blinked twice and processed everything. "You mean, crazy?"
"If that's what you want to believe from what you saw earlier, maybe. But in Cleon's situation, he can no longer control his inner wolf."
Slowly, my lips parted.
That means he's arguing with his second persona.
"His mate rejected him for a human. For us, werewolves, our mate is our soulmate — the other half of us. So when Zhen rejected him, it caused a problem with his inner wolf. Luckily, he didn't die." That's Miro.
I still could not speak. I was just thinking about the consequences of rejecting them, it was already too heavy on my chest. People are lucky because they can still go with one human to another.
"Wait, didn't you say soulmate? So his mate can love him too. Why did she reject the Alpha?"
Miro nodded. "If you were to choose, as a mortal, who would you want to be with? A werewolf or a human?"
I was silent to his question. I got what he wanted to convey. Suddenly, what he said earlier came back to my mind.
"Y-You said... he picked me. Does that mean..." I unconsciously gulped. "I can't refuse him?"
He couldn't answer me. Yet the tension on his jaw did not escape my sight; objecting to a decision I could possibly make.
"It's rare for werewolves to have a second mate," Manang said. "You could be a second mate or a chosen mate—Cleon chose for himself."
My jaw dropped at her last statement. "Me? Chosen?" I was pointing to myself. "I'm human!"
Manang just smiled at what I said. "Anyone can be a match for a werewolf. Depends on what the Moon Goddess has set for them."
I couldn't help but faint and leaned back on the sofa. It's not happening yet but my chest was already heavy thinking about the possibilities. A werewolf? For me?
Their Goddess is going crazy.
From the very beginning, it was a mortal who hurt Cleon. A human like me put him in that situation. So why, for the second time, did she give another human destined for him?
"Did Seniorito betray our country in his past life?" not in my usual self, I said.