Chapter 4 - Never Looked Back
Her mate hated her, did not want her, he was disgusted at her, and she knew it in her head. Alpha King Luther Reeds’ words may not be the formal rejection that could kill her wolf, but it was an implication already of a rejection that still left her wolf whimpering in sadness and pain.
Katherine did not know the Alpha King Luther Reed, she was not able to recognize him. And neither the Alpha King Luther Reed knew her. She was just a complete stranger to him, a stranger who turned out to be his mate, and a stranger that he wanted now to avoid and banish. His mate whom he was supposed to love and adore, to care for and secure, to keep safe and protect, turned out to be just a girl he needed to dispose of his life.
In Katherine’s head and heart were pure sorrow, thinking that her mate must have sensed that she was not a high ranking werewolf, that he had sensed that she was just a slaved servant, that she was not worthy of anything expensive but a dime from a dirty street. She felt it, the burst of anger and hatred that coursed his veins, the disgust, the tightness of his hand against hers as he clenched them when they made contact. She understood then and there, her mate hated her, and he did not want to meet her.
As she was spun around and the cheers and melody got louder and merrier, she landed on a man she definitely recognized, and too, the man did.
“Hi, Katherine.” his voice was deep and warm, it was calming and comforting, but his presence at that moment and his recognition of her sent an alarm to Katherine. Her eyes widened as she stared back at a pair of hazel brown eyes. It was the son of the Alpha of Domil Pack, heir to the title for he will be appointed as the Alpha next month.
“Maxon.” She breathed nervously, thinking that she was now doomed. Maxon was the next Alpha of her pack, and he was one of the two nicest people Katherine had in her life, him and Sandy. He was totally different from his family, and a complete opposite of his bitchy sister who had been bullying her since she was a kid.
“Now, you gotta keep your head low or my family will recognize you,” Maxon said, totally caring for her. Katherine followed his advice knowing that Maxon’s parents would be keeping their eyes on their son while they search for a suitable partner for him. If she gets caught, she will be reprimanded again. She wished then to be passed immediately to the next man, but even though the next steps already required them to spin and switch partners, Maxon did not let her go, he just spun both of themselves in a different position to avoid getting switched out and be able to stay at each other’s closeness. Maxon chuckled at the confused eyes and disapproval of Katherine.
“You are going to get me in trouble, Maxon.” Katherine muttered.
“Oh no, Katy. YOU got yourself into this.” Maxon emphasized her doings with playfulness in his voice, amused by Katherine’s actions.
“I just…” Katherine wanted to reason out or say that it was Sandy’s idea but she did not want her best friend to be punished if she got caught. Katherine sighed.
“Do not worry about it. I got you.” Maxon said.
He actually liked her but he was not making a move for he knew that maybe out there somewhere he had a mate waiting for him, and he had been searching for years.
But he had decided that if he was not able to find his mate, he would take Katherine as his, but with respect to her, he would be considering her decision, for he is too nice to force her into something she does not want.
“B-but… You are not going to tell them?” Katherine clarified hopefully.
“Nah. You wanted to be a princess, isn’t it?” Maxon chuckled, and for a moment, Katherine forgot what her true mate had just done.
“I did not want to be a princess or anything.” Katherine rolled her eyes thinking that playing princess was just a childish dream and as a lady, she was no longer fit to play princess delusions.
“Alright, princess if you say so.” Maxon teased.
“Shut up. I was just curious what happens in this kind of event.” Katherine replied.
“Let’s get out of here,” Maxon said and they swiftly moved away from the dance floor.
But little did they know the Alpha King, Luther Reeds was watching them, and it angered him more to see her in the arms of another man, which he could not recognize due to the mask they were all wearing. After his interaction with Katherine, he immediately excused himself from the waltz and stood with the crowd, watching the ones dancing, but his eyes remained on Katherine, anger was raging inside him because the mere interaction and touch that traveled in his skin was already enough to stir his emotions and cause turmoil inside him.
And he did not like it, he did not want it. He did not want anything that would put him vulnerable and in a fragile state, much with the presence of a mate, who was the very weakness of a werewolf, he despised it.
He despises her.
But despite the fact that he did not want her, he was also enraged to see his mate in the hands of another man. He wanted to tear the man’s hand away from Katherine, he wanted to torture him for laying a hand on his mate, and he wanted to kill him for taking his mate away. Just the two of them, alone, walking out of the gigantic double doors of the royal hall, in the late night.
And the Alpha King’s mate never looked back.
She never looked back.
Alpha Luther hoped for her to turn back, to find him, and see him again; to show him those beautiful doe eyes staring back at him, the surprise, the excitement, and the hope that danced in her orbs, the hope that he had crushed for the power he needed to protect.
But the irony of him hoping for her to look back, to go to him… but as a taste of his own medicine, he got nothing.
Katherine never looked back.