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{10}

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, for like the 100th time.

"Stop apologising!" Jay begged, huffing as he plopped on my bed. "Just stop."

I pulled a face as a response. Due to the sudden turn of events, concerning my health condition, the day of the match was delayed to next week. That meant staying here one more week, which none of us wanted.

I felt guilty for being the reason that the time we're staying here had increased. Although no one had complained about it, I knew everyone wanted to be back home already. A wolf cannot stay away from their pack for too long.

We also decided not to inform Kaitlyn and Magnus about my 'respiratory problem'. Not until I got to a hospital and be fully examined. I don't want them worry about me more than they already do. If, God forbid, the problem is serious, then I'll have to tell them. But for now, I'm being quiet about it.

I was getting ready to leave and visit the hospital everyone was talking about. Apparently, their main hospital isn't even in this town but is in another.

Leona was happy to drive me there and keep me company and Julian was coming along because one of three (Alpha, Beta and Gamma) has to be present when escorting outsiders to another town. Of course, Jay insisted on coming, not that I could've convinced him not to come.

"Are you done packing?" Jay asked, watching me stuff more clothes into a bag. I decided to take a big duffle bag that I borrowed from Leona. It seemed more appropriate than taking my whole suitcase.

"Erm." I said, looking around in confusion. "Where did I put my washbag?

Groaning in frustration, I dragged myself to my suitcase, wondering if I packed it in there by accident.

"Is it the little bag with the tampons, toothbrush, toothpaste and stuff?" Jay asked, making me stop in my tracks. I looked back at him to see him unwrapping a tampon he got from none other than my pastel blue washbag.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, diving onto the bed to snatch my washbag. "You don't go through a girl's stuff."

"Too late." He laughed, fiddling with the tampon he unwrapped. "Don't these remind you of tea bags?"

I zipped closed the duffle bag after stuffing the washbag in it. "Tea bags?" I repeated, giving the room a once over. I have a talent in forgetting something important every time I travel.

"I'm not sure I want to ask why you thought that." I continued, shaking my head at him. "Grab your bag and let's go."

We walked out the room and rushed down the stairs where Leona said she'd meet us.

"Tampons look like tea bags, with the string hanging off it and the fact they both are immersed in liquid-"

"Okay, that's where you shut up." I interrupted, shuddering at how much he knew. "Because ew."

"What's ew?" Leona called out, appearing from a room. She also had a duffle bag in one hand and her phone in the other.

Seeing her phone automatically made me reach for my back pocket, where I usually put my phone. Feeling nothing but fabic, I rolled my eyes and sighed. Like I said, I have a talent in forgeting important things like my phone.

"Be right back guys, I forgot my phone upstairs." I announced, turning back and ran up the stairs.

"Not surprised." Jay muttered, loud enough for me to hear with sensitive hearing.

I jogged to my room, got in and found my phone under the pile of unwrapped tampons on my bed. No wonder I didn't see it earlier. Slipping my phone into my back jean pocket, I made my way back to the top of the stairs.

I hadn't expected to see him at the bottom of the stairs, talking to Jay and Leona. I slowly made my way downstairs, wondering why he was here. I mean, why wouldn't he be here? It is his home after all. But I hadn't seen him since the day he took me to the clinic.

Ever since he initiated the mate bond, all I could think of, for the last couple days, was his touch. Why had he voluntarily touched my skin, knowing that deepens the attraction we already had and then not own up to it?

They all looked up at me as I made my way down to them. Theo's gaze seemed to make my heart beat faster. I couldn't help but notice how casually he was dressed. Why did he look good in everything?

From formal attire to casual, he can pull it off. He wore a black hoodie with a long white tee peeking at the bottom. His black jeans were perfectly form fitting, not too baggy and not tight at all. He wore black and white Nike sneakers, exactly like the ones I was wearing. We, unintentially, matched shoes.

"I found it." I said, avoiding eye contact with him. "I'm ready to go now."

Picking up my duffle bag on the step, I walked around Theo to get to the front door. I made sure to ignore the strong pull of the mate bond when I got near him. Maybe it was good that I didn't see him the last couple days, the mate pull is a lot stronger than I anticipated and it's only in it's first stages.

I felt Leona and Jay following me closely behind. I walked towards Leona's second love of her life; her big black Jeep. Leona opened the trunk, shoved in our bags and left it open for, I'm assuming, Julian.

"Shotgun!" Jay exclaimed, sending me a smug smirk. He slid into the passenger seat where he looked out the window to stick his tongue at me.

I rolled my eyes at his childish antics. I usually don't care where I sit in a car, just as long I'm comfortable.

I slid into one of the back seats, watching Leona get into the driver's seat.

"What's taking Julian so long?" I asked Leona, looking out the window. "Actually I've not seen him all morning."

Both Jay and Leona turned around with strange looks on their faces.

"What?" I cautiously asked, my eyes narrowing. "Oh God, do I want to know?"

"Julian is still coming right?!" I then asked, leaning forward.

"No, he can't come." Leona sighed. "He had work come up suddenly."

Oh. "So, why are we still going?" I asked, my nose scrunched up in confusion. "I know Kobi can't come too."

"But Theo can." Jay added.

Wait, what?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, knowing exactly what he meant. My eyes narrowed at Leona, resulting in getting a sheepish look in return.

"When Julian said he couldn't come, he mentioned Theo had less work to do this week." Jay explained. "Theo said he was cool with coming and is now packing his stuff."

I blinked at Jay and Leona for about a hundred times before sighing. He said he was cool with coming with us? What about me? Am I fine with having my mate, who may or may not want to be with me, accompany us to another town?

"So when did this whole exchange happen?" I questioned, leaning my head against the window. "And why didn't anyone tell me?"

"It all happened when you went upstairs to get your phone." Leona squeaked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"All that happened when I was upstairs? I was upstairs no longer than a second!" I exclaimed, my mouth hung open. "That's why Theo was talking to you guys earlier."

Speaking of the devil, the front door of the Alpha manor opened to reveal Theo. He had a adidas duffle bag in his hand, slung over his shoulder. He wore the same casual outfit, but added what looked to be ray ban sunglasses.

His raven black hair was styled as usual, looking silky and glossy in the sun. He strolled towards the Jeep, unintentially looking like a model, effortlessly threw his bag into the trunk and shut it.

He walked around to open one of the doors and slid into the seat by the window. Thank God for the extra seat inbetween us, or I might've had trouble breathing. His looks are actually other worldly; like, it's not normal to look this good.

Leona sent another sheepish smile through the rearview mirror, a sign of apology.

"Let's get going!" She cheered, trying to reverse the recent change in mood.

~○~

"Are we there yet?" Jay whined, looking out the window desparately.

"For millionth time, no." Leona groaned. "Who decided it was a good idea to have him come with us?"

"Hey!" Jay yelled, appearing to look shocked and insulted. I knew better to think he actually felt insulted. "For your information, I am very needed on this quest."

"Quest?" I joined in. "Really?"

"Just shut up and go along with it." He shot back, making me shake my head at him.

"I am here for support, emotional support." He continued, waving his arms in a dramatic way. "No one can provide support and love to Elisia like I can."

"Preach!" I called out, raising my arms and egging him on.

I stole a glance at Theo, who had been quiet the entire car ride so far. His expression was hidden behind those sunglasses, so it was hard to guess what he was thinking. Not that it had ever been easy in the first place, but still.

Most of the time, he was on his phone or looking out the window...honestly, just like I had been.

"Does anyone have gum?" I asked, feeling like I needed to chew something.

To my surprise, I saw, from my perpheral vision, Theo reach into his pocket when I said that. Was he really reaching for gum, because I asked?

Jay, however, beat him to it by saying, "I got some."

Theo stiffened a little and moved his hand away from his jean pocket.

Jay reached into his left jean pocket, pulled out a packet of gum and...

A tampon?

"Why the hell do you have a tampon?" Leona screeched, laughing so hard.

Jay's face flushed a deep red colour as he stared at the tampon with wide eyes. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.
"I...I must've stuffed one in my pocket when I was unwrapping some of them earlier." He managed to stutter out, making us laugh even harder.

His face turned even more red when he realised what he said. "No, I was unwrapping them because I wanted to see how they looked!"

I burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, making me clutch my sides in effort to stop myself from laughing too hard. Leona, who didn't know where on earth Jay had obtained a tampon, had tears streaming from her eyes.

The car swerved on the road a little because of how hard Leona was laughing.

"Okay!" Jay exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "It wasn't that funny so let's move on."

He passed the packet of gum and the tampon, before looking out the window. I noticed how Theo shifted his head slightly towards my hand where I held the gum and tampon.

An amused snort escaped from him, capturing everyone's attention.

"Did you really just pull out an actual tampon from your pants?" Theo asked, looking very amused.

I raised an eyebrow at Theo, surprised at his teasing.

"Oh, come on!" Jay cried, throwing his hands in the air. "Not you too?"

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we are finally here." Leona announced, still chuckling and wiping her tears of laughter.

I looked out the window, admiring the beautiful landscape and view. When the town finally came into the view, I looked away. I was told it was fine to have the examination tomorrow and I wasn't looking forward to it.

Just as though he could feel the uneasiness oozing out of me, Theo turned around to look at me. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I turned away from him so he doesn't see my face.

I needed to be careful with my emotions now that the initial stage of the mate bond has been done. If I let him, he could feel my strongest emotions, desires and sometimes thoughts. I couldn't imagine completely baring myself to someone.
The next stage of the mate process was to verbally accept your mate. When that happens, the mate bond reaches an even deeper level where the mates would then be able to telepathically mind link each other.

"Where are you driving to?" Theo questioned, his deep husky voice sounding like sweet honey to my ears. Definitely the mate bond, I mentally convinced myself.

"Julian's parents were kind enough to allow us to stay at their place, so we're going there." Leona answered, stopping at a red light.

"There's no need to bother them because my lake house isn't too far from here." He said, looking up from his phone. "We'll stay there instead."

We all glanced at him in surprise but said nothing. After Theo gave Leona the directions, we ended up pulling up to a large white house. It had decorative pearly white pillars standing tall and supporting the house. It looked so grand and beautiful, it almost took my breath away.

"Are we in Olympus or something?" Jay commented, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Before I could say anything sarcastic, Theo beat me to it.

"No, we're at The White House."

I cleared my throat in effort to stifle my laughter. Who knew he was capable of sarcasm?

We all unloaded the trunk of the Jeep and waited for Theo to open the door. Leona done a quick phone call to Julian's parents, telling them where we were staying instead. Stepping into the lobby, it was safe to say that the interior of the lake house is just as stunning as the exterior.

"The whole top floor belongs to me. You guys can choose whichever room you'd like on the other floors." Theo said, already going up the stairs.

I watched him jog up the stairs when Leona and Jay started to walk deeper into the house.

"Let's explore!" Leona squealed, clapping her hands together. Her bright eyes were shining with excitement; her happy attitude was really contagious.

"You've never been here before?" I asked, smiling at her.

Leona shook her head as she walked into the closest room. Jay and I followed her into what looked like a library.

The room was covered in shelves that were filled with books. The shelves actually reached the top of the ceiling and had numerous rolling ladders. There were a few large black leather seats placed around the room with a large dark, wooden oak table in front of the window.

"Wow, a library in a lake house?" Jay commented. "It's so extra, but I kind of like it."

Leona shrugged and left the room with Jay. I was about to leave too when something caught my eye.

There was a picture on the wooden table, making me walk towards it in curiosity. The Alpha Manor seemed very impersonal due to the lack of pictures. It was too neat and tidy to actually feel like a home. I've only been in one room in this lake house, but it already felt homely.

I sat on the leather chair behind the desk and observed the picture carefully.

It was a family photo; a family of three. The father was standing on the left, the mother on the right and their young boy was in front of them. They were all dressed smartly with the man and boy wearing suits and the woman wearing a conservative dress.

Staring at the boy, it was easy to recognise him as Theo. He had the same striking dark blue eyes and jet black hair. Judging from the photo, he must've inherited the dark hair from his father and his blue eyes from his mother.

It seemed to be an ordinary photo until I looked even closer. Weirdly enough, the mother seemed to lean away from her husband. Her face, although she looked beautiful, looked a bit off. Like she was uncomfortable and cringing, but forced herself to smile for the picture.

Looking at the father, he also didn't look particularly happy but still forced a smile. He looked stiff and had strong facial features. He looked straight into the camera, which made me feel like he was looking straight at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, staring right back at him. Something about him creeped me out and made me shiver. Of course, he is the Mad Alpha after all.

My gaze moved onto the boy, Theo. He looked to be around ten years old, really young. He had his hands hanging by his sides and stood up straight, facing the camera. I gasped a little when I noticed something else. His eyes seemed to be glassed over and reflecting light, as though he held unshed tears. His brow was furrowed a little in concentration and his bottom lip was pouting. Was he fighting tears back in the photo?

I held up the photo and stared at it for a few moments more. Why does such an ordinary photo contain so many things that raise questions?

Deep in thought, I put the photo down and decided to leave it where I found it. Standing up, a drawer underneath the desk came into view.

Actually, I'll just put it away. It seemed to be misplaced when it was on the table. Carefully opening the drawer, I picked up the photo and placed it on top of papers.

I was about to close the drawer, when something on a letter caught my attention.

The MoonKnight Pack?

What?

I've never heard of that pack before. I stared at the name, trying to think of any time I've heard of anything remotely like it. Maybe it's a European pack? But since when do American packs interact with international packs?

Without thinking, I reached for the letter and opened it. The handwriting was slanted and hard to read, but seemed to be written in English. Straining my eyes, I tried to make out what it said.

To Maxwell Hunter,

This was addressed to Maxwell Hunter? The Mad Alpha? Theo's father?

The termination of the MoonKnight pack needs to be confirmed by you, The Alpha of the BlackShadowed pack. I have recieved information that their Luna, Lily, has given birth. We need comfirmation before we can attack.

What the fuck am I reading?

I started to feel uneasy, knowing I was reading something really bad.

I skipped to the end, wanting to see who wrote and sent the letter.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours sincerely,

Leader, The Rogue Force.

I dropped the letter like it was scalding hot, and clamped my hands over my mouth in shock.

I knew the Mad Alpha did things like cooperate with The Rogue Force. It is one of the reasons why The BlackShadowed Pack has the reputation it has now. The Rogue Force is a 'pack' made up of only rogues, who are more than happy to carry out evil deeds for money.

But terminating a whole pack is unheard of! Ms Williams' words came into mind at that point. Didn't she say her pack was attacked? Is this her pack?

Wait.

Looking back at the letter, I skimmed to find something.

'I have recieved information that their Luna, Lily, has given birth.'

So the MoonKnight Pack's Luna is called Lily.

Is it the same Lily Ms Williams mistook me for?

-------------------------------------------

Wow, it's getting a lot to take in right?

I promise the story thickens, so stay around to see it ;)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT ♡