Chapter4: Encounter
1527 Words
Iris jolted as soon as that person caught her to steady the nearly fallen body. There was this uncomfortable tingling sensation that enveloped her entire body and she let out a surprised gasp.
“Careful there.” His breath tickled her ear and she couldn’t help herself from struggling to get out of his grip on her waist.
This foreign feeling and the sensation that she was not familiar with, made her panic and anxious. She subconsciously just wanted to evade and get away.
The man still didn’t let go of her. If anything, his grip became tighter. “What makes you so anxious to go?”
She found herself attracted to his voice… and now she suddenly was curious about what he looked like. His tall figure towered over her petite body, and the top of her head only managed to reach his jaw. He wasn’t as robust as Caleb, but there was this power looming inside of him that might be even more explosive than Caleb.
She couldn’t help her curiosity and looked up. Her body froze as soon as her eyes met his.
Couldn’t bear looking into his eyes for too long, she was the first to break eye contact between them.
It was unknown when, but she found that now there were only two of them here. Mary, Caleb, and others had slipped away when her attention was occupied.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” She said in a small voice, still unable to process all of this.
As soon as she said that, she felt his grip loosened, and she hurriedly took this chance to dash toward the bathroom. A loud chuckle followed from behind her, which caused her to feel slightly annoyed and embarrassed.
Was he making fun of her?
However, after she got into the bathroom, all those superfluous thoughts were gone. What left now was the despondent mood she couldn’t control, as well as the growing panic building up inside her heart.
She couldn’t believe that she actually stumbled upon the man she didn’t want to meet the most. Biting her nails, Iris tried to figure out what was currently going on. There was one thing that she was most confused about, though.
Why was that man so friendly toward her? Was it his personality or that he hadn’t found out that she was going to pretend to be Selia? Perhaps she was just another unknown wolf to him?
Iris found the answer after she came out doing her fake business in the bathroom. She couldn’t slip away in time because she found out that he was still standing in the same spot the whole time.
“Finished? Let’s get some meals.” He looked at her, then shifted his attention to the other werewolves, who instantly scrambled around to execute his order.
Iris blinked, and before she could process what had happened, she already sat across from his table.
“Miss Selia, I hope that the food is to your liking.” Mary said politely, and Iris’ smile went stiff.
She couldn’t help but to take a peek at the man whose name she didn’t know yet. So, they, and especially him, regarded her as Selia, right?
They also touched each other earlier. It was impossible for him to mistake his mate. His reaction just confused her; he didn’t seem to notice that there was anything wrong with her.
He had treated her as Selia. But he wasn’t supposed to feel the mate bond between them. The total confusion caused her to plunge into silence. They seemed to take her silence as something else, and Mary immediately ordered for the people to change the meals.
“No, this is fine,” Iris hurriedly said. The treatment they gave to her was a bit overwhelming that she didn’t know how she should react at first.
“All of you, leave.” He ordered, and people instantly left the room, causing Iris to almost feel despair.
She didn’t want to be left alone with this man.
“Aren’t you hungry? Don’t just keep staring at me. I am not the food.” He raised an eyebrow at her. Iris froze as embarrassment crept to her face.
She didn’t give him a response, but she started eating the food served on the table. They ate in silence and she waited.
Even after they finished eating, he still didn’t call her out on being a fake, and that confused her further. They touched each other earlier, right?
“Let’s continue the journey to your pack. I believe it should be close around here, right?” The deep, enchanting eyes stared at her with such intensity.
Iris nodded, feeling extremely conflicted. She had an urge to tell him the truth; his real mate was gone and that he should spend the time looking for her. However, there was this tugging of foreboding that caused her to remain silent.
Everything was so baffling that she needed to contemplate her next step. She should get to the bottom of things; because she had a feeling that everything wasn’t that simple. Including Selia’s disappearance and this man’s odd reaction to her.
They packed up and headed toward her pack. It only took less than an hour to arrive there as everyone shifted to their wolf form and sprinted through the tall trees and high vegetation.
As soon as the group arrived, her pack instantly welcomed them with excited yet nervous faces, including the elders and the Alpha. There was also Luna Lucy, the Beta, and the Beta’s son, Danny.
They hurriedly escorted the group to the houses they had prepared before. It wasn’t until Iris shifted to her human form that she earned some stunned looks from the people around. She didn’t show any expression on her face.
“I see that you have met our daughter, Sir.” Arthur Wellington said politely and Iris fell into deep thought.
The man who had been teasing her earlier now was like he had transformed into another person. Oppression and power radiated off his body, even almost similar to the Alpha of their pack. That was with him, restraining his power.
His face was expressionless and cold. He looked noble and unapproachable. Regarding Alpha Arthur’s words, he only nodded.
Iris went to her own house. She was so baffled about everything that she needed an answer right now. One of the suspects was that suspicious liquid she was forced to drink. When it was near dinner time, the thought couldn’t keep her sat still anymore; she went to find Danny.
“Hey, Selia.” She heard his mocking voice as soon as he saw her figure approaching.
Iris directed her sharp eyes at him. “Watch your mouth.”
“Oh, after becoming the mate of a large pack’s son of an Alpha, you are already showing your claws are we?” He continued in a nonchalant tone, but his words triggered her anger.
She raised her hand, that was still bandaged, and smashed the table in front of him. The table, which was actually made of a very good wooden material, split into a few parts.
Danny’s pupils constricted upon seeing her destructive power. Had it been his arm laying there, would she have smashed it bloody too? What shocked him further was that she actually possessed such great power.
“I know that you think I am stealing Selia’s mate right now.” She took a deep breath to calm herself. There was a hint of tiredness in her voice. “I also don’t want to be caught in this situation, so if you can get me out of this, please do it. I don’t want her mate.”
Danny fell silent.
“Now, tell me. What was that liquid for?” She looked at him seriously.
For a moment, Danny had the illusion that his fate would be similar to that table if he didn’t answer her truthfully.
“It’s a potion.” He finally answered truthfully. “We weren’t so sure about the efficacy of that potion, but we know that it works now.”
Iris already had a faint inkling what it was for, but she couldn’t help but ask. “What is it for? Be clear.”
“It can make werewolves mistake some as their mate. As long as the ingredients have their true mate’s aura in it.” Danny replied hesitantly.
Iris took a sharp breath and muttered under her breath, “You are crazy. You are all batshit crazy.”
She held her temples and rubbed them, occasionally throwing Danny a look. He didn’t notice it at first, but he gradually noticed the blood red color that was becoming darker in her bandaged hand. Her wound was opened.
Danny stood up and walked toward her that was pacing back and forth. He grabbed her hand and the unsuspecting Iris was surprised by the sudden movement, that she stopped to balance herself.
She was about to glare at him, but an icy voice interrupted them first.
“What is happening here?”
It was the Alpha’s son.
- Writer
