Chapter 2

Diane’s POV

It was that time of the year again when I mourned my father’s death.

It had been so many years since my father was killed. Although I still remembered the day clearly like it happened yesterday. The pack had forgotten about it already and everyone had moved on.

My father’s name and legacy had been reduced to nothing but a tale to be told to the young ones.

A lot had changed in the pack. One would have thought that I would be given the throne bit since I refused to take a mate and I was nothing but a mere woman, I was rendered too weak to rule. It was not like I cared anyway.

I had come to hate one thing the most. The concept of mating. It was this same mating tradition that had caused my father’s death. If he had not tried to get a new mate, then he would have been safe with me in the pack house and he would have still been alive.

For this reason, I refused to show up to any mating ceremony to be claimed by a werewolf. I was ready to spend the rest of my life alone. After all, everyone in the pack ignored me and pretended I did not exit.

The council members had allowed me to keep our pack house as something to inherit from my father and the new ruthless Alpha was told to construct his own pack house.

Alpha Maxwell was the new Alpha and his reign changed the entire mood of the pack. He was a cruel Alpha that was feared by all and no one dared to cross him. He also pretended that I was invincible the few times we crossed paths but he had been among my bullies when my father was still alive.

I shrugged all my thoughts away. I had a date with my father’s grave. I always dropped white lilies in his honor since Maxwell had forbidden everyone else from visiting my father’s grave.

So I wore a black overall and a jacket. I coupled them with boots. My clothes were made of leather and it was all soaked in black.

Aside from myself, I was allowed to keep some maids and guards. I stepped out into the night to head for the woods when I saw someone waiting by my horse.

“Dave,” I whispered.

“You were planning to go out there alone?” he answered.

Dave was the only guard who stayed loyal to protecting me even after everyone else left. He was also the reason I was still alive today. He has been the one to find me and being me back home after I got attacked by the unknown beast.

“I thought you were out on a trip,” I said instead.

Dave scoffed. “My job is to protect you. My life is yours. You think with this great task, I would abandon you? Never. Come on, I will accompany you, Diane,” he responded and mounted his horse.

I sighed and mounted my horse too. The white lilies were safe in a small basketball carried. I hit the sides of the horse and it neighed loudly before racing out into the woods.

Dave followed silently behind as he scanned the woods. Till today, the creature that had attacked my father was still unknown to us. No one ever caught it until the case was forgotten. But I knew that Dave still sought to find answers for me.

We reached the cemetery and dismounted my horse. Dave did the same too and remained in his position. He knew that I always wanted to be alone whenever I visited my father.

Tonight was a full moon and it shone brightly in the sky. I took my basket of lilies and quietly walked to my father’s grave. He was buried beside my mother.

I paid my respects to my mother first before proceeding to my father.

“Hey, Father, it’s me again. Life is hard without you. I’m seen as an outcast. I really wish you were here with me though, you would have tried to find a way to make me smile,” I said and wiped away the tears that had managed to escape my eyes.

I looked up at the full moon. It was shining very brightly. It felt as if the moon was also mocking me. The only person I had left in this world was Dave.

“I’ll just drop the flowers and be on my way,” I said and dropped the flowers on his grave. I also put some for my mother. “I miss you both a lot. Living without any of you is just so hard. But I’ll survive it, I’ll be just fine,” I assured them both and got on my feet to leave.

Suddenly, I saw the silhouette of a person watching me in the fog beyond my father’s grave.

“Dave?” I called but there was no answer. “I thought I made it clear that I prefer being alone when visiting my parents!” I exclaimed.

The silhouette remained without a word. I gritted my teeth in anger and went after it. When I entered the fog, it was gone like it never existed.

That was when I realized that it was not Dave. He would never play such silly games with me.

“Who’s there?” I called but there was no answer.

The silhouette appeared again and went deeper into the fog. I followed it and found myself in the middle of what looked like a storm. It was like I was in the eye of it.

That was when the silhouette stepped forward and revealed its identity. I gasped.

It was a woman. The representation of beauty itself. She wore a pale blue silk dress that covered her legs up but showed off her perfect curves. Her white hair fell down her back and she wore a crown which a big silver crescent moon at the front. Her presence was overwhelming and I could not bring myself to speak.

“My child,” she began with a smile.

My eyes went wide with shock when I realized who she was. It was the Moon goddess herself.

“You’ve been hiding from my sight for too long. I even allowed you to stay hidden for a while but the time has come for you to be mated,” she spoke.

I suddenly found the courage to speak. “I do not want to be mated to anyone. That was what took my father away in the first place!” I exclaimed.

The goddess continued to smile at me. “Mating did not kill your father. You and I both know that. Aren’t you tired of living alone in solitude? I have arranged a rather interesting mate for you. Give it a try. If you still don’t want it after that then you may end the bond,” the goddess told me.

I sighed heavily. It was not like I had any other choices. She could force me if she wanted to but she was giving me a choice and I had to take it. The last thing I wanted was to anger the moon goddess. She could kill me in an instant.

“Fine, as you wish. I will give it a try,” I answered her.

The goddess smiled in satisfaction.

“Who have you chosen for me?” I asked her.

The goddess had a mischievous smile and excitement in her eyes that I could not phantom. She was enjoying every part of this.

“It’s a surprise! You’ll meet him soon. I shall leave now. We shall meet again,” she announced and faded away into the fog.

The storm died down and I went lost my balance.

“Diane! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What happened?” he demanded.

I sighed as he helped me to my feet. “The moon goddess just visited me,” I told him.

Dave looked surprised. “The moon goddess doesn’t just visit anyone. What did she say?” he demanded.

“She said she’s got me a mate and we will meet soon,” I explained.

Dave nodded thoughtfully. “Let’s take you home then. So you’ll be in I’m good shape to meet this mate,” Dave said.

“I have no other choice, I guess,” I answered Dave in defeat.

He led me to the horses and I kept thinking of my encounter with the goddess. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to let someone in. Staying alone did not seem like a good idea. There was too much emptiness and darkness in my life. It left me devoid of any happy feelings.

I was about to mount my horse when a carriage appeared through the trees. It came to an abrupt stop before me. The men that followed the carriage got down from their horses and bowed before standing straight.

Dave and I stared in surprise at the show before us and I tried to ignore them to get back on my horse when Dave stopped me. I sighed and waited for the result of the show before us.

A man came out of the carriage. He was dressed in royalty. A red robe over a white silk shirt and a pair of dark pants; a pair of dark boots and a sword stranded to his waist. Not that he would actually use the sword in battle. Men like him would rather shape-shift and fight in wolf form. As the man approached me, I realized who it was.

Alpha Maxwell.

I began to wonder what he sought here. Had he also come to visit someone at the grave?

But as he got closer, I was hit with an overwhelming feeling. Breathing suddenly became hard and I thought I was going to lose balance. I did.

But Alpha Maxwell was quick to catch me. The moment our bodies came into contact, I felt a surge of electricity hit me. It spread to my heart and I could almost swear that I saw sparks fly.

“Mate!” we both chorused.

Maxwell widened his eyes at me. “Never! It cannot be you! You’re way below my standards! It will be a shame to show the world that you’re my mate!” he exclaimed and began to walk away.

Then he came back. “I hereby reject you as my mate!” he roared.

All I could do was stare in stupefaction.