3. Don't-want-the-mate Charm

Learning to defend yourself, to protect yourself, is never a

Waste of time!

-

(Amelia)

Amelia spent the rest of the day, training with the guys, fighting. She had never have much interest in fighting, except some occassional spar with her friend Blaine.

When the other wolves saw her on the ground, they were all very curious to see the Alpha's pampered daughter in the rough. She didn't care.

Once upon another life time, before her death, Amelia would have scoffed and said, "I don't need to learn to fight."

But now, she had learnt her lessons. She needed to fight now, more than before. As she died, she realized she had never properly trained herself or her wolf. She was so powerful, but she was the one who first went down when Colton and Meganne attacked. She was too weak back then, but she couldn't afford to be weak now.

She even dragged Ash to the training with the gamma warriors, even when he tried to get out of it by saying he needed to study.

"You can study at night. Now you need to do this." She told Ash.

"But... Why do I need to learn to fight now? What's the emergency?" Ash sulked.

There had been an emergency and they both had fallen.

If her plans failed, if it came to what it had once been, she wanted to be prepared. She had to be prepared. She should learn to protect herself and her family and Ash had to learn how to defend himself.

Blaine Brooks, one of the warriors of their pack, bowed to her with a smirk. His blonde hair fell to his eyes as he gave her a grin. He was handsome and he was also arrogant, but she loved him.

He had been her friend since they were young and they knew each other very well.

Cilia, Blaine and Amelia had been friend for a long, long time and Amelia would do anything to make sure they would be friends for a long time more. This time, death should wait. This time, Amelia would make sure her people weren't the one who died.

Colton and his people should die!!! She scowled inside as she gave Blaine a soft smile.

“Want to spar, Miss Winters?” He gave her a cheeky smile and gave her a curtsy. “I might even let you win.” He said and Amelia shook her head at him quickly. She didn't want to be coddled, not anymore. She needed a real fight.

“No. I don’t want you to let me win, Blaine. I really, really need to learn to fight. Like really fight. Without any advantage, without you trying to soften your hit..” She said, looking very serious and he narrowed his eyes at her. Knowing her from too young had given him the insight into her moods.

He was also unmated, and he had liked Amelia for quite sometimes, but he wouldn’t act upon it, because he knew he would find his mate one day, just as Amelia would and spoiling their friendship for something transient would be absolutely stupid, so he had never given any second thought about it and they had stayed friends.

“What is wrong, Ame? You look- you look angry and scowling and I can see you are really stiff-” he started, and Amelia waved him off with a hand.

Blaine had died in that bloodshed, too, as he tried to protect Amelia from Meganne’s glancing blows, he was unprotected from the back and another massive dirty brown wolf had slashed his back in a single blow, killing him, leaving him without life.

Her eyes blurred. There was so much blood, so much loss. She wouldn’t let it happen this time around.

“Not the time, Blaine. I will tell you and Cilia about it later. But I really need to graduate in my fighting skills. I need to learn to fight like all of you. You need to teach me everything.” She said with a grim look on her face, her voice urgent, and noticing how unbending she looked, he didn’t ask her anymore questions. He just nodded his head and signalled her to follow him.

“Come on, let’s get you in shape then.” Blaine said and she nodded with a real smile as they walked towards the already sparring Ash and another gamma.

Amelia trained until she was aching everywhere, but she didn’t mind. Blaine pushed her further than he had ever pushed her, and she realized how easy they had all been on her, how easy she had been on herself and that was the reason why she had given up soon in her previous life. That was why her wolf couldn't stand and fight. 

She had to be in her best form, this time.

If worse comes to worst, she wouldn’t be a weakling like she had once been. She wouldn’t just lie down and welcome death with both hands. Not at all.

'Freya? Freya?' Amelia called to her wolf. Freya looking very frail, raised her head up a little. 'You getting better?'

'I am. I will be strong for you. I will be brave for you.'

'And I will be strong for you.' Amelia promised her wolf.

***

Dirty and sweaty, Amelia felt like she had trudged across the hilly terrains for a decade and some, as she walked back to the room.

Cilia was waiting for her with a frown on her face as she took Amelia from head to toe and shook her head with disgust.

“You look like you have just gone on a treasure hunt inside the dumpster.” Cilia grunted. "Do you really need to do this today? It is time for the mating ball and we need to get ready." Cilia gushed and Amelia sighed.

Yeah. If Cilia knew what this mating ball had in store for their pack, and her best friend, she wouldn't even want to go to that!

Amelia looked at the time, and it was already four in the evening. In an hour, they would be leaving for the mating ball.

For the first time, since she woke up, Amelia felt the fear and nervousness. What if it didn’t go according to her plan? What if the charm didn’t work? What if Colton found out who she was and then did the exact same thing he did before?

'It will work. Samara knows what she is doing.' Freya comforted her. Amelia took in a deep breath as Cilia watched her with a frown.

“There’s something wrong with you, Amey. You look so distracted and you are not your usual sunny self. Something is off.” Cilia said as she looked at Amelia, her eyes searching, confused. “Just- tell me, Amey. I am getting nervous.” Cilia shook her head.

“Not now. Tomorrow, okay. I just need some more time to think it through. It is too much for me and I know... you are just trying to help me, but I need to process this alone for a while. I will tell you and Blaine everything, okay? But just give me a day, okay?” Amelia said and sighed.

Cilia nodded. She trusted Amelia with all her heart and she would do anything for her best friend.

“I will, but just know that I am always here for you, okay?”

“I know, Lia.” Amelia said.

Cilia clapped her hands. “Chop, chop. You need to take a bath. You look like a dirty pig who just had a mud bath. But take no more than five minutes, okay? Hurry up, lazy. We need to get ready.” Cilia was back to her bossy mode.

Amelia walked inside the bathroom, took a warm shower and came out wearing a large T-Shirt and pyjama pants.

“Show me, show me. I can’t wait to see you in the dress.” Cilia clapped her hands. Amelia sighed.

She remembered the original dress she had brought for the mating ball. Little girl's dress. Fairy tale princess dress. It was a soft blue chiffon dress with fitted bodice and a straight skirt that swished whenever she moved.

It was soft, modest and innocent. It was everything Amelia had once been. But Amelia today was not that girl, was she? She was not a fairy tale princess anymore. She didn't believe in them.

“I think… I want to find another dress.”

“In such a short notice?” Cilia asked and Amelia nodded. “Okay. You might not have anything. Come on, let’s look through mine.” Cilia owned the biggest closet.

She was the daughter of the old beta, and her brother Ethan was the current beta.

They walked inside Cilia’s room and Cilia opened the closet with a bang.

Cilia’s lavender dress was already placed on the bed. This was the same dress Cilia had worn for Amelia’s mating ceremony and at the end of the war, there was no hint of lavender in the blood-soaked dress. Amelia’s breathing hitched and she told herself to stop panicking. She couldn’t afford to lose her sight. She couldn’t afford to panic.

“Do you want mine?” Cilia asked when she saw Amelia looking at the dress. That was how great of a friend Cilia was, and Amelia would die before anyone touched Cilia ever again.

She would soon find that massive red wolf and she would send him to his death.

Amelia nodded no. She looked inside the massive closet and grabbed a deep red blood dress. It looked like fire and she felt like fire today. She picked it out and Cilia curiously looked at Amelia.

The red dress was wantonly wild. It was made to tease and tempt a man to commit a sin... and a sin, she wanted to commit. It had a deep plunging neckline, a long slit, and a bare back. Oh, this would be perfect for her plan.

Old Amelia would have never chosen such a wild, seductive dress. She would have felt uncomfortable just looking at the dress. Old Amelia would have chosen the pink one that was hanging next to this wild red dress.

But then… she wasn’t old Amelia, now, was she? Amelia spilled a bitter smile away from Cilia’s eyes.

“You will look gorgeous in it. My sister bought it for me when she came to visit. I haven’t worn it.” Cilia’s sister Erika now lived in another pack, after she was mated with the guy from that pack.

“Oh, then, I can choose something else.” Amelia said as she put it back. Cilia shook her head and grabbed the dress.

“No. No. Take it, you will look spectacular.” Cilia said and after a lot of convincing, Amelia accepted to wear it.

The dress was seductive, it was wanton. It was a woman’s dress. It hugged Amelia in the right places, softly showing her creamy breast more than Amelia would have been comfortable with, but she didn’t mind anymore. The long slit played peak-a-boo with her thighs. She pinned her hair up and looked at herself in the mirror with a glare in her eyes.

This time, Colton… you will look at me.

Meganne had worn a dark blue dress like this during the first ball and Colton’s eyes had never left Meganne’s body, even after he recognized Amelia. He gave her one cursory glance and looked away. He wouldn’t look away, now.

On the way to the ball, Amelia asked Ethan, the beta and Cilia’s brother, who was driving Cilia, Amelia, and his mate Caroline—even mated wolves go to the ball, because it was also the biggest celebration of the year for the wolves to mingle and network with other packs—to the ball to make a stop at Samara’s house.

Cilia was curious as to why Amelia wanted to meet the witch now. Again, Amelia said she would explain it later.

Amelia told Cilia to wait inside the car, as she walked towards Samara’s small stone house.

She knocked on the wooden door, and Samara opened the door with a greeting smile. She whistled as she saw Amelia’s dress. Amelia smiled as she walked inside.

“Here is the charm, darling.” Samara handed Amelia a silver locket. It had a strange engraving on the front. “Add it in your chain, and your mate won’t scent you.”

___