Chapter 39

He didn't want to mark me.

He didn't want to mate with me.

He didn't want to have children.

He didn't want a family.

Everything mates were meant to give each other, he didn't want any of that. Just whatever was on the tip of the iceberg—he was only willing to claim me as his mate, giving me the protection I needed and becoming a part of his pack.

That was all.

Not even a mark of his claim. And he wanted me to accept that and take the bits he gave me.

After spending the entire morning in my room alone and taking his offer into consideration, I decided it wasn't meant for me. How could I be with a man who couldn't mark me as his? I couldn't swallow the difficult pill no matter what reasons appeared in my mind.

What did family have to do with marking? I was taking pills courtesy of Sheryl, and I couldn't get pregnant. I didn't want to—not right now.

I shuffled through the drawer near to my bed and searched for the pills I had been taking. I had missed a few doses of it as I was unsure how many times I was meant to take them, or whether I had to take them after doing the deed, or before.

Pulling out the bottle, I opened it and swallowed one for the day. Just at the same time, I heard someone approaching the door. It wasn't Nicholas. He left after the conversation and gave me time to think, to see if it was fit for me to be with him without a mark, without mating.

"He put you in this room?" His mother, Rosalie, opened the door and walked in. She looked around while I tried to hide the bottle behind and under the pillow. "Often the whores are kept in the room below. It's near the servant quarters." She smiled while taking steps closer to me.

I swallowed hard and sit down on the bed while still clutching the bottle. "I'm not a whore." I reminded her.

"That's what every one of his whores have said," She took a longer glance at my bed before she figured out I was holding something in my hands. "Give it." Her arm stretched and she waited with her hand out, waiting for me to give her the bottle of the pills Sheryl gave me.

"I—"

No escape.

I pulled my hand out from behind and placed the bottle on her hand. Her serpent gaze fell over it and she scoffed.

"Not a whore?" She cocked a brow.

"No."

"Keep lying to yourself." She tossed the bottle of the side and with a trail of laughter, she nearly left the room. But midway, she stopped and turned around. Her eyes lightened up with something similar to mischief, but I didn't recognize it well.

I remained seated over the bed, waiting for her to leave. Our first encounter last night wasn't good and I truly didn't want another one.

"There's a hunt tonight," she trailed off. "In the woods. It's meant for females. When it gets dark, come down and I'll have someone take you there so you can go chase a man under the full moon. It will keep you entertained and will give me some time alone with Nicholas, which he needs."

"I don't want to—"

"I'm not asking you too, Runt. You're going to go whether you want to or not. I've to discuss important matters with Nicholas, and I cannot as he kept his distraction a few rooms away from his. You will go and you can return later by midnight, when it's over." She snapped before slamming the door on her way out.

My lips parted in surprise, but I held back my gasp of horror. A shiver crawled down my spine and I looked away from the door.

What was with her?

Frowning, I grabbed the bottle of pills and shoved them into the drawer. At the whorehouse, Angel told me about the full moon and how every full moon women chased men throughout the woods and whoever would find one, they'd keep them for the night.

A hunt.

It wouldn't be too bad to get out of here, only if it was just for sometime. I could see other wolves, see them shifting and embracing their nature. A sight I had missed for long. At the same time, I could also make his mother, Rosalie, fuming and mad by turning it all around.

The skies changed hues, and just before the full moon appeared, I stood outside of the room and watched Malik as he dialed Nicholas' number on his phone. A few seconds passed. I tapped my feet over the ground and waited for him to pick up. I wasn't going to go away without informing him.

Informing.

As soon as he picked up, Malik handed me the phone and I bought it to my ear. "I want to go to the hunt." I said, my demand clear.

There was a pause before I heard Nicholas' voice. "You're not going anywhere." His voice deepened.

"I want to go."

"You're not going."

"Are you going to stop me?" I rose my brow and asked while watching Malik from a distance who appeared confused and even a little amused at what I was going.

"April." A warning set off in his tone.

I matched it, "Nicholas."

"If you dare to step out of your room before midnight, I'll punish you in ways you can't even imagine. The hunt isn't for you. It's for women who haven't found their mates." The longer this continued, the raspier his tone got and he become frustrated, just as he had left me a while ago.

"Well, I'm not sure about that either. And your mother agrees that I should go, so I think I'm going to, Nicholas. Stop me if you can." I smiled triumphantly before hanging the phone and handing it back to Malik.

It began to ring as soon as it got on his hands. I buttoned up the coat over my body and rushed downstairs, hoping to find Rosalie who was going to help me reach the hunt. She was seated on the couch, one leg folded across the other one. Her attention piqued as she found me.

"It's going to be a special night," A smiled played over her lips as she took a sip of the drink in her hand. Yes, only for me. "Khalid's waiting outside. I've told him to take you to the woods. There'll be other females, you can mingle around with them. The hunt begins when the full moon is fully visible in the night sky, by eight something."

I nodded while listening to her and then listened to the sounds of Malik rushing down the stairs after attending to Nicholas' call.

"The alpha has demanded for her not to leave the house until he returns." Malik said, his voice heavy as he breathed hard.

I held myself back from grinning.

Rosalie rose up from the couch. "It's fine. I can handle Nicholas, and you don't have to listen to his every order. I've already told your brother to take her to the woods where she'll be participating in the hunt along with the other females," She explained to him before shifting her attention on me. "You can go outside."

"But—" Malik spoke behind me, but was quickly interrupted.

She rose her hand and came in between both of us. "It's fine, Malik. Take some orders from me too. She'll be fine and she'll return by midnight. In the meantime, Nicholas and I will have a family dinner, as we are meant to." Her face sparked with delight, but she had no clue what was coming in her way.

I quietly stepped back and then headed out of the house. A car waited near to the courtyard and I sat inside while they both argued with each other inside.

I smiled to myself and looked outside the window, knowing well what I had done.

The woods were alive with the sounds of howls and the rustling of leaves as I made my way through the dense trees. I smelled the scent of the other wolves, their excitement and anticipation as the full moon appeared in the dark sky. It had been so long since I had been in woods, among with other wolves, under the powerful full moon.

Every time the moon became full, I could feel the power of it coursing through my veins. It didn't help me with shift, but it surely reminded me of my roots.

Werewolf blood was within me and that could never change.

"I didn't know you were here!" I heard a woman's voice behind me and quickly recognized it while turning around.

A smile spread over my face as I found Angel, one of the workers at the whorehouse and another woman with her. "Oh, I wasn't going to come. How are you?" I asked, walking closer to them.

"I'm good," She nodded. "This is Judy. We are going to shift and then smell men wherever we can find them before chasing them. What about you?" She asked out of curiosity.

I tried to find the words I was looking for. It hadn't been a while since I had been in the woods, just a few good twenty minutes alone before Angel found me. I didn't intend on sniffing random men and chasing them.

"Are you going to chase too?" Her friend asked.

"She can't chase. She doesn't has her wolf yet so that's going to be quite difficult." Angel explained to her and they both gave me a pity glance.

I took a few heavy breaths and let out a small laugh, "I'm not going to chase men—" I shook my head and just as I was going to finish, a howl erupted through the woods, louder and rougher than the other wolves I had heard here. "I'm going to get chased."

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