Chapter One

Why? That's the question that has been running through my head the moment our situation has sunk into my head. I've been crying all night long, thinking about the horrible things I've done in the past for me to deserve this pain I am feeling right now.

I am a total shit today. With messy hair and swollen eyes with dark bags under it. I look like someone who takes drugs and hasn't been sleeping for weeks.

If you ask me why I was crying, the reason is so simple. I was dumped.

My ex-boyfriend and I for 2 years broke up last night after he found his mate. I thought I was gonna be his mate, but turns out I wasn't. Of course, he would choose her. After all, she's his mate. His lifetime partner. 

He apologized, he begged for my forgiveness, but at the end, he still left. I want to pull him to me, to not give him up, to fight for our love. I don't know what happened at that time, but I suddenly lost the will to do so. It felt like all the energy in my body was drained after the revelation unfolded right before my eyes like a book flipping into its next pages. Unfortunately, it stopped right in the middle of a conflict where devastation is slowly killing the character.

I'm a hopeless romantic person. I believe in such true love and hope for a happy ending story. I thought that Derick would be my soul mate and will always be there by my side until I drew my last breath. But guess it wouldn't happen.

"Aurora! Will you stop crying for goodness' sake?! I can hear your whines right here!" I heard my mom complain. She was in the kitchen and probably making our breakfast together. Our house is just small so we can hear each other behind the walls.

I sniffed and wiped my own tears. Ah, it was so embarrassing when I got home last night. My make up was all over my face and I was crying terribly. My mom rushed over to me in my room, asking what happened. I simply told her that my boyfriend and I broke up. She probably understood the situation and she shut up and left me to cry my heart's out.

"Get out of here and have breakfast! You're going to school today!" she said loudly, making my ears bleed early in the morning. I wasn't able to sleep, neither did I even stop crying for a minute or so. 

I was exhausted and mom wants me to go to school? Really? Is she even my mother? How cruel.

I got up and opened the door to my room. I went out, looking so devastated and ugly. Tears kept running on my cheeks.

"Oh, goddess. How horrible is your face, my dear!" mom exclaimed, mortified by my appearance.

She went in front of me and cupped my eyes. My mother's beautiful face greeted my vision.

"Stop crying, m'kay? Now, eat your breakfast. I'm going somewhere today." 

"M-Mom..." My voice shook. I wanted to tell her my problem. I wanted to tell her how painful I was feeling at the moment. I wanted to lash out this feeling in my chest, to pour this out so that this pain would go away. 

But my mother only sent me a gentle yet a knowing smile.

"I already told you that it's gonna be painful once you two find your mates, yet you didn't listen to me," she said softly. "But dear, it is not as painful when your own mate rejected you. So cheer up, okay? Go and grab your breakfast, take a bath, and go to school. It's gonna be okay, I swear." 

That's what she said before kissing my cheek. Wow, what a very helpful advice. As if it was that easy. It's easier said than done.

"I won't go to school..." I murmured as I watched her leaving.

She waved her hand in the air. "It's okay, it's your life. Just don't forget to eat, okay dear? I'll be back later. What do you want me to buy, anyway?"

I shook my head. She smiled and once again, she kissed my cheek.

"Alright, then. Good bye!" 

Then she left.

I sighed as another set of tears escaped my eyes. It's true that my mother has already warned me about getting a heartbreak once Derick or I found out our mates, but I was a stubborn piece of a child who didn't listen to her mother. 

It was because I was so hopeful. I was so in love that I became blinded. But all hopes came crashing down within a matter of seconds. To add it all, it was my best friend's younger sister who got married to my ex-boyfriend. What an unfortunate life.

I went back to my room and looked at the pictures of Derick and I on the wall. I closed my eyes tight and painfully, I removed it all and threw it to the trash bin. There's nothing I can do now, better yet I'll start moving forward and continue my life. Someday, I'm gonna find my own mate, too. And I hope when that day comes, he'll love me with all his heart and will never let me go like Derick did.

Just as my mother told me, I took a bath and dressed myself prettily. I also cleaned my own room and made sure that there is no trace of Derick can be found inside my room. After that, I grabbed my brunch and ate it in the living room while watching an action movie. Though, to be honest, my attention was not focusing on the television, rather I was thinking about my unforgettable memories with Derick from the past years of our relationship.

Tears streamed down on their own. I have no means to stop it even if I want to.

Suddenly, I heard the gate opening up. I just knew it was my mom because I smelled her scent from a distance. I wiped my tears and composed myself before she could see me. 

I faked a smile. "Mom... you're here..." I said weakly. It's already afternoon and she's here with a huge smile on her face.

"Come and get dressed, dear. We'll be attending a dinner," she said excitedly. There was this strange glint in her eyes that I couldn't decipher. She seems excited and nervous at the same time.

"Where?" I asked .

She grinned at me as she held my face. "At your new dad's house."

I blinked my eyes. Who might it be?

Although I am not in the mood to go out, I am also curious who this new man is. Aside from that, I also don't want to stay alone in this house for the rest of the night. Just the thought that I would be alone and lonely makes me already depressed.

I found myself dressing up for tonight's dinner at someone's place. I wore a casual yet elegant dress like how my mother wants me to be. We just have the same taste when it comes to fashion.

After I finished off dressing, my mom and I went to the car and drove off. I put the airpods on and listened to music while she was driving. I am not in the mood to talk.

A few minutes later, the car halted. My brows furrowed when we stopped at a very familiar place.

"Mom?" I asked, but I got no response from her. She unbuckled her seatbelt and went out of the car. I followed suit.

I brushed my hair upwards as I looked up at Alpha's mansion. What are we doing here?

"Come on, dear," my mom said as she entered the mansion's door. I never remembered we went through the gate. 

I took a deep breath and shrugged off my shoulders before I followed after my mother.

"Ana," a familiar voice said. Immediately, my wolf purred inside my head as a submission to its alpha. 

"Good evening, alpha Marlon," I greeted, kinda startled.

He looked at me and flashed a kind yet still an authoritative smile. He has this kind of aura that makes you feel weak in the knees and submit to him without him doing something.

He ushered us towards the dining room. I couldn't help but to roam my eyes around the luxurious mansion. The Alpha family is indeed wealthy. 

"Come, sit," Alpha Marlon said. I was kinda intimidated by his presence so I kind of panicked when he spoke. I helplessly looked at my mother to ask for help, but her eyes were only fixed towards the Alpha. Gosh, she's helpless.

People who work under the alpha family began to serve dishes on the dining table. They prepared a lot, as if there's a feast when in fact, it was my mother and I, their only visitors. 

We began eating. I dare not to ask what's going on because I was busy eating my heart's out. Aside from that, how could I really care about someone else's business when I have some shit dealing with? I'm still brokenhearted as fuck.

"Where's, uhm, your son?" Mom said after a few minutes.

Alpha Marlon wiped the corner of his mouth through the napkin before he spoke. His actions show how elegant and well-mannered he is. "He's on his way."

Ah, I forgot to remember that Alpha Marlon has a son. After the late Luna died 7 years ago, his son went abroad to study. I've never seen him once. I wonder what he looks like? Is he as handsome as his father? 

Oh, well, there's only one way to figure it out. 

I went back to eating, minding my own business while my mom and the alpha talked to each other, but a few moments later, I stopped.

A luring, manly perfume mixed with a natural smell of a mint suddenly lingered in the air. An intimidating yet surprisingly pleasing presence entered the room which sent goosebumps around my skin. 

My wolf purred in the back of my mind and my instinct immediately told me what was going on.

Looking up, my gaze locked with his. A pair of blue eyes met mine. His eyes were similar to the colour of the ocean. It was deep and scary. It was pulling me into its abyss point, drowning me into its mesmerising gaze until I left with nothing but a burning flesh.

"Mate..." that was the thing I first uttered the moment I realised who this very significant person was standing before my eyes. 

A growl left his throat, and that was when I snapped into reality.

Goddamn, he's the alpha's son.