Taming My Alpha

4. My mate is not my savior

Cal POV

As we made our way towards the limousine waiting outside, Nava was howling excitedly inside my head. Somewhere inside me, beneath my wolf’s joyful sounds, I couldn’t help but feel worried about my situation.

The Beta opened the door for us, showing me a warm smile before taking his place beside the driver. I watched through the window as I left my pack behind, as well as all my painful memories. There was a chill to my bones when it occurred to me - would my new home be any better?

“I’ll send someone to get your things later,” Levi uttered, not bothering to look at me. Those were his first and last words to me during the ride.

I don’t know how far away Blood Eclipse Pack is; alone with my thoughts, the minutes soon seemed to turn into hours. It was impolite to stare at an Alpha, but I had to study this man closer, and since he wasn’t paying any attention to me, I figured it couldn’t hurt. This gorgeous man was my mate? He was so close to me, yet he felt so distant…

Wasn’t my mate supposed to be the one who would love me beyond limits? I only had the chance to look into his eyes for a brief second. They were so beautiful, but exhibited a coldness that chilled me to the bone. There was no sign of love in them, or in his words, or his attitude.

Maybe the rumors were true; maybe he was a ruthless, emotionless Alpha. If so, was I in danger? He didn’t seem the least pleased by my presence, but did he actually want to hurt me? The idea of leaving a place where I was constantly abused just to move to another place to be in the same situation made my heart stop.

“Don’t be such a dummy, Cal!” Nava scolded me. Her tone and words stunned me; she was always so polite, especially towards me. “Levi is our mate. He would never hurt us, he came to rescue us from this hell. We just have to get to know him better, you’ll see.”

Lacking any evidence of the contrary, I decided to stop tormenting myself with negative questions and trust my she-wolf. It was still painful to ride in such silence with someone whose touch I already yearned for, so I distracted myself by watching the landscape roll past my window.

Eventually, we stopped briefly in front of a majestic stone gate. It was very tall and seemed to go on forever, probably securing the borders of the territory. A man on top of a small tower nodded at the car before opening the metal gateway to let us through. Not too long after, I heard loud howls as a long-furred light blond wolf and a beautiful black one jumped out of nowhere to escort us.

I was immediately awestruck by Blood Eclipse’s grandiosity. It was very large with tons of colossal pine trees. Slowly, the forest became less dense until it turned into peaceful plains. White wooden houses were scattered around, wolves in both animal and human form sharing the space peacefully. There was even a crystal-clear lake in the distance. This didn’t look one bit like the haunted home of a bloodthirsty Alpha.

“I told you, Cal! You worry too much,” Nava chuckled. “Our new home is so lovely.”

Before I noticed it, the car came to an abrupt stop. We parked in front of a majestic building; it looked like some kind of mansion with tall white walls, large glass windows, and scarlet details. There was also a beautiful rose garden in the front.

Once again, the Beta opened up the door for me, offering me his hand to help me up.

“Welcome home, Luna!” he said with a bright smile.

I was stunned for a second. Did he just call me Luna?

“Of course, he did! You’re the Alpha’s mate, silly!” My she-wolf’s happiness was so contagious, I even let a small smile light up my face.

“Thank you, Beta,” I replied, realizing I still didn’t know his name.

“Please, call me Darrell.” He bowed curtly.

Levi scoffed, making both of our heads turn in his direction. “I’ll introduce you to everyone, then we can talk. Come.”

He turned his back on me, just like he did back at my old pack. It made my heart shatter, but I couldn’t go against an Alpha’s orders. Darrell flashed me an apologetic look before he accompanied us inside.

The inside of the packhouse was impeccable, even more dazzling than the outside. The white marble floor glistened, the tall walls were perfectly decorated with silver wallpaper with a glamorous royal pattern. Sofas, rugs, chairs, paintings - every single one of the decorations was of the same crimson color. Chandeliers that seemed to be made of real diamonds hung from the ceiling, adding to the grandiosity of the place.

“Is this her?!” An excited female voice echoed through the large halls, catching my attention.

The woman was as tall as me. She had gleaming, long blonde hair, and intense blue eyes. Her porcelain skin had a few bags, evincing her age - she seemed to be around her fifties. She looked like a queen dressed in a red velvet dress.

Then, my gaze fell on the two people behind her. The first one, a young man, had a blue headband to prevent his messy wild blonde hair from falling over his caramel brown eyes. Judging by his fairly white skin, I guessed he was someone who spent a lot of time indoors. Beside him was an intimidatingly beautiful woman. She had voluminous, wavy ebony hair and vivid yellowish-green eyes. Unlike the other guy, her shiny skin was very tan. They both looked very similar to the wolves I spotted earlier when we entered the territory.

“Yes. This is my true mate…” He turned to me with a quizzical look, and I had to blink a few times to understand what he wanted. Did he really forget my name?

I masked my hurt and showed everyone a small smile. “Calliope Gaumond. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“You’re so beautiful, dear!” The older woman approached me, offering me a hug. I stiffened at the gesture - I couldn’t remember ever being hugged since my parents died. “Oh, I’m so sorry about my manners! I was so excited to finally meet you,” she explained herself quickly, backing away to allow me some space. “I’m Calanthe, Levi’s mother.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luna Calanthe.” I bowed respectfully at her.

She just waved me off. “No need for formalities, my dear! You are our Luna now.”

“I’m honored to meet you, Luna.” The young man approached me, lowering his eyes. “I’m Ivar Leonhardt, Gamma of this pack.” I nodded at him.

“Name’s Bellatrix, but you can call me Trix,” the other woman chimed in, eyeing me from head to toe. She didn’t seem as welcoming as the other ones, which made me swallow dry.

After we were formally introduced, they started showering me with questions - even Beta Darrell joined them. As nice as everyone was to me, it still felt a little overwhelming. The place, the people; they were all so…majestic. Powerful. And I was just a weak Delta.

“I can show you around if you’d like, Luna Calliope,” Ivar suggested, offering me his hand.

“Please, just call me Cal,” I insisted. I figured it would be easier to adapt to my new life without the titles. “And that would be lovely.”

“You can do that later,” Levi snapped, slightly growling. The Gamma immediately stepped away from me, bowing at his Alpha. “There’s some things we need to discuss first. We’ll be back soon,” he informed the others before leaving them behind. By now, I already knew that meant I had to follow him again.

As I walked past Levi’s mother, I swear I saw concern in her eyes - was she afraid for me? My heart raced faster, and my attention fell on my mate. I wanted to feel safe around him, like Nava did, but it bothered me not knowing where he’d take me. I was probably overreacting; like my wolf said, our mate would never hurt us. Right?

Long minutes went by as we crossed the hallways, taking four flights of stairs towards the top floor. He stopped in front of a white door, opening it for me. I hesitantly walked in, stiffening when I heard it shut behind me. It looked like an office. There was a white shiny wooden desk, a very regal black chair, shelves with thousands of books and folders.

Levi didn’t bother taking his seat. He just rested his weight against the desk before his penetrating icy-blue eyes fell on me. Part of me wanted to look away, but I simply couldn’t, whether it was because of the mate bond or out of fear.

“Listen up. I don’t like repeating myself,” he started. His tone was just as cold as his gaze. “I have no interest in having a mate. Your only purpose here is to be the Luna of this pack.”

And just like that, my heart stopped.