➳
Matthew woke up, feeling a light weight top of him. Raising his head, he looked down to see his little mate resting her head on his chest, still asleep. He mentally smiled as his hand brushed her chestnut-brown hair away from her face, revealing her pretty features. No matter how many times he had seen her, her beauty always took his breath away.
His smile diminished when he saw traces of dried tears on her face. She almost never cried in front of him anymore, but he would sometimes hear her sniffling during the night or whenever she was alone. It was clear that she missed her brother deeply. As much as he wanted to help her, he knew only time would heal her wounds.
He gently placed her head on the pillow so he could get up. As usual, he had a busy day of work ahead of him today, starting with a meeting with his Beta.
...
"Good morning, Alpha." The Beta bowed his head slightly, before entering his office. He paused for a second, sniffing the air.
"Is something wrong?" Matthew asked.
"You have a human's scent on you." They stared at each other for a moment.
"Yes, a human lives with me."
"Is it sergeant Nathan's 'sister'?" He asked, gesturing quotation marks at the word sister.
"Yes, do you have an issue with that?" The Alpha retort, a hint of irritation in his voice.
He gulped, frantically shaking his head. "No, Alpha."
"Good. Now let's discuss the actually important subjects..."
-----
Several hours later, Matthew decided to check up on his mate. His house was pretty big, and he had not gotten a chance to properly show her around. There were many rooms he did not want her to venture in, and he hoped she hadn't done so yet.
However, he could not feel her presence when he walked into the house. Worry clouded his mind as he went up to his room to find her. Her scent wasn't fresh, suggesting she had left hours ago.
"Madeline?" He called out, going back downstairs. Maybe she was in the kitchen? She loved baking, and a sweet scent was coming from there.
Walking in, he found a platter of sugar cookies on the counter, but no trace of his mate. All of the baking equipment was neatly put back into place, meaning she had time to clean up after making the cookies.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. Where could she be? Did she leave the house? He walked out of the door, trying to track down her vanilla scent.
There she was, sitting at the cemetery and talking to her brother's grave again. He did not like eavesdropping, but he was quite curious as to what she was saying to him.
"I can't believe you left me here alone. I barely know anyone in this Pack, you know? And no one likes me here. Every time I talk to someone, they ignore me or give me weird stares. The only people who are nice to me are Edith and Matthew, but I can barely speak to them because they're always working all day..."
Matthew glowered at her words. He had no idea she felt this way about his Pack. How could people dislike this angel? She was an absolute gem. Even a man like him, who almost never smiled, felt his mood brighten by her mere presence.
Madeline gasped in surprise as she felt someone grab her from behind.
"Oh, it's just you." Her tense muscles relaxed when she realized it was Matthew.
"Why did you leave the house? You had me worried, I was looking everywhere for you." She stood up, brushing the dirt off herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd get worried. Are you angry at me?" He fought back the urge to smile. How can she think he could ever get angry at her?
"I'm not. But next time you want to leave the house, tell me first, alright?" She nodded and said her goodbyes to Nathan's grave, before following Matthew back to the house.
...
"Can I ask you something, Matthew?"
He opened his eyes to see Madeline's face inches away, staring at him intently. They were both laying in bed, ready to fall asleep.
"Hmm?" He responded, too tired to speak.
"Promise you won't lie?"
His muscles stiffened as the air tensed up. Did she find out she was his mate? Or has she heard of the many other secrets he keeps from her?
"What is it?"
"Do you even like my baking?"
That was her question? The heavy feeling in his stomach dwindled; he was getting himself worked up for nothing.
"If you want my honest answer, I've never been a fan of sweets. But I do think you're a good baker." Madeline made a mental note to try and cook more savory foods.
"... Can I ask you something else?"
"Go ahead."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-two." He heard her gasp in surprise.
"Really? I thought you were like, thirty."
...
"What?" He was accustomed to people thinking he was older than he is, but thirty?
"Okay, maybe not thirty. You don't look that old, but you act old. You act like a dad, kind-of. Sorry, am I being rude?"
The corner of his lips curved upwards in amusement, and Madeline froze for a second. This was the first time she had seen him smile. He hardly ever showed any emotion, she felt a bit special to be able to see this rarity.
"Go to sleep," He mumbled, shaking his head.
"But I don't want to sleep. I want to talk to you."
"You're going to make me late for work tomorrow."
"Fine, I'll let you sleep. Goodnight."
-----
Rumors began spreading around the Pack quickly. By now, they were all aware that their Alpha was living with another girl.
Alpha Blade turned eighteen over four years ago, and had been looking for his mate ever since. Deep down, they all hoped he would find her soon. They wanted him to be happy. Although he was highly respected and praised across the land, they could tell he was terribly lonely. His Pack eagerly waited for the day he'd meet his mate, and let her melt his ice-cold heart.
But her? She could never be his mate. She was too young, too weak, and most importantly, a human. What could he possibly want from her? They found it hard to believe that such a pure, innocent-looking girl was sleeping around with their Alpha, but what else was there to assume?
When the news reached Edith, she could not believe it. The cute teenager who always helped her with her chores would never do such promiscuous things. Her curiosity got the best of her; she would ask Madeline about it herself next time she had chores at the Alpha's house.
"Darling, may I ask why you live here now?" The two women were in the living room, Edith ironing his clothes while Madeline folded them up.
She shrugged in response. "I don't really know. He wanted me to come here after Nathan died."
"Does he... make you do anything in return?"
Madeline looked over at her innocently. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Alpha's not that kind that he'd let you stay here at no cost..." The young girl furrowed her eyebrows.
"Don't talk about Matthew like that. He's very kind."
The maid couldn't believe her ears. "You call him by his first name? And- You think he's kind?" Alpha Blade had many good qualities, but he was never known for being kind.
"He told me only I'm allowed to call him Matthew," Madeline smiled, turning back to fold his clothes. Edith was speechless. Not even the Beta, his second in command, was allowed to address him by his first name. But this human girl had the permission?
"You know, darling, if you weren't a human, I would've thought you were his mate."
"Huh?"
"I've known him for many years, and I've never seen him treat a girl like this. You two almost seem like a couple."
The young girl's lips parted in shock. A couple? A deep shade of rose swept across her cheeks.
"That's not true," She said, shaking her head. But the more she thought about it, the less sure she was.
"Stop being silly, Maddie. You're just a human, he'll never like you like that," She reproached herself, turning her attention back to the chores.
➳As the weeks went by, Matthew became increasingly impatient. His lovefor his mate grew strongerevery day;he beganto find it hard to control his ardent desires. Each timeshetalked to him, he wanted to taste her lips, and whenever they wouldlayin bed together, he felt like running his hands all over her body.Madeline, on the other hand, was still painfully oblivious tohis feelings. She constantly mistook his displays of affection for friendship. A strange sensation would growin her heart every time he'd hold her close, compliment her, or give her gifts, but she could notunderstand what it was.A smile formed on her lips as she remembered theconversation they had this morning...."Do you like this dress?" She asked, twirling around in his office. Matthew was busy doingpaperwork at his desk."I told you you're not allowed to come in
➳Over the next week, Matthew had been very busy with the merging of the two Packs. At first, the majority ofthe other Pack wasagainst this, but theyslowly realized this new integration would mean morestrengthand better protection. They all began warming up to their new Alpha...especially the females.Their previous Alpha was nowhere near as attractive as Matthew. They all drooled over him, secretly hoping he'd claim one of them as his mate. Whenever he'd train with his new Pack members, he would sense a crowd of females peeking through the windows, gawking at his shirtless, muscular body.He never paid much attention to other women. Sure, he had slept around with some, but he never heldany deeper feelingstowards them; except for Madeline, of course. His lips twitched into a tiny smile as his cute little mate entered his mind.Despite everything that's been going on, he always fo
➳"Do I seriously have to fight a female?" The Beta asked derisively, holding up a punching bag whileMatthew repeatedly hit it. The twostood at the fighting grounds, waiting for the Beta female. Since she was taking rather long to show up, they took this time to do some physical training."She won't leave me alone until I letyou fight her. I doubt she's strong enough to hurt you, just hold her down or something," Matthew replied, his attention focused on the punching bag.A feminine voice echoed through the room. "I am strong enough to hurt him. Don't go easy on me."The two males turned their heads towards the entrance to look at her."Finally, you're here. I don't have much time, so start whenever you're ready," Matthew spoke in an uninterested tone. He glancedback athis Beta, only to see him gawking at the woman with wide eyes and a gaping mouth."Mate."The Alpha sta
➳Matthew glanced at his watch impatiently."Is sheready yet?"A ball wastakingplace this day to celebrate the integration of the two Packs and bring them closer. He was not fond of such large parties, but being the Alpha, he was obliged to attend."Sorry for making you wait, Alpha." The stylist hurriedly pushed Madeline out the bedroom, giving some final touches to her hair.His jaw almost dropped when caught a glimpse of her. She wore a stunning, strapless blue gown, her hair styledin an elegant up-do. She warmlythanked the stylist, before steppingdown the stairs, being careful to not trip over the gown. Matthew kept his eyes on her the entire time, not blinking as she approached him.She lookeddown at her gown, smoothing it with her hands."Do you like it? I've never worn a dress this pretty before."Taking a step closer, he softly tipped up her chin, locking their ga
➳Madeline froze in place, her eyes wide, as Matthew gently moved his lips against hers. Her headache disappeared right away,replaced by euphoric sensations all across her mind. Her entire body tingled with the intensity ofthe feeling.She wasn't kissing back at all; her senses had gone numb, she couldn't even breathe.He could hear her heart thundering in her chest, andrealized she had stopped breathing. Although he didn't want to, he finally pulled away from the kiss, letting her get some air.A myriad of emotions soared through her head;joy, love, shock, fear, confusion, and... Resentment."Stop messing with me like this!" She tried to push him away, but her strength could noteven budge him. His brows furrowed in bemusementwhenhe saw tears welling up in her eyes."Why are you upset? I thought you liked me.""You keep being so romantic, it's only making my fe
➳"Just kill usalready, you monster."Matthew's lips curved into a smirk, whilehe slowly paced around his victims. "But that wouldn't be any fun for me, would it?""You're horrible. This is why direwolves must be eradicated and-" He was interrupted by a loud crack. A howl of pain echoed through the room as Matthew pulled back the whip.The Alpha felt a rush of pleasure at theircries. He knew it was sadistic, but torturing his captivesfilled him with unbearable satisfaction. All of his confined emotions were taken out on them;it was a thrilling experience for him."I'm horrible? Yet you are the ones who had my entire family killed." Rage flowed through his body like lava as he remembered what happened to his kin."Direwolves are demons. They all deserved to die, and you'll be next-"Crack."I suffer every single day because of you," Crack."Thi
➳"Why are you here?"He could feel her trembling as he staredinto her ocean eyes. Thosesame eyes that previously looked at him with love were now filled with nothing but fear. He glanced down atthe cat in her arms, then back at her face.His jaw clenched in anger. She haddisobeyed him three times thisnight; going outside without his permission, bringing that damncat in his house, and comingdown to the basement.Madeline hesitantly opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She was far too terrified. Was this really who Matthew was? He hid he fact that he was a direwolf, he hidthe fact that he was a cruel torturer who kept men chained up in his basement, what other secrets is he keeping from her?"Answer me." His gaze was menacing. She began scolding herself for coming down here. "Youshould've just stayed in bed, you idiot. Everything would've been fine."
➳"Have you ever met your biological parents?" Matthew asked, his eyes focused on the road before him. Madeline sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the window boredly."No. I don't even know who they are.""They just left you in a forest?""Yeah, that's what everyonetold me."He was suddenly very interested in knowing more about his mate. "What was your life like before I brought you here?""Hmm... It wasn't that interesting.I hadschool, but I hated it and skipped class most days. I spent a lot of timebaking things, whenever there was an event, the Pack would always ask me to make a cake for them. And sometimes, Nathan would take me to the city and we'd meet other humans." She looked over to him. "What was your life like?""My life?""I talked about mine, now it's your turn.""Well...I was bornfar up north. My family would move around from Pack to Pack pretty o