Chapter Four - Not Enemies, We’re Forbidden Mates

Lyra’s POV 

All the fight left my body as I realized where we really were headed. It was the road to the enemy territory, Lucania! 

“Don’t you think it’s too late to back out?” The smirk on his face deepened as he picked up speed! 

“No one will know. I’ll sneak back into my room.” He clenched his jaw as if the thought alone annoyed him a lot. “Please, Leandros!” He steered the car off the road and switched off the ignition to stare at me. A tremor went up my spine when his arctic-blue eyes settled on me, holding my gaze. I could see the mad fury reflected in them. 

“Don’t f*cking play games with me, Lyra. You might have staged the abduction, but face the reality now. I have abducted you! So behave like a prisoner or face the consequences!” Panic settled in my heart. He didn’t mean that, right? 

“I’m not your prisoner. You said I am your mate and you want me to experience the mate bond we apparently share? Was that a lie?” 

He didn’t even glance at me, but started the car and drove on, paying no heed to my plea. I realized now what I had gotten myself into on the spur of the moment. Beside me was a perfect stranger who also was the enemy! How would I stop him if he took out his revenge on me? Even if he spared me, I doubted if his pack members would. To them, I was their enemy! 

“You don’t have a choice, Lyra. You’re going to Lucania as my prisoner! Fighting won’t get you anywhere. So it’s better to accept your fate.” I sighed, gulping down the nervous lump in my throat. 

“You fooled me, Leandros. Now I get it. The mate bond was a lie. All you wanted to do was to take revenge on my uncle for abducting Hera. This was your way to get back at him!” 

“Not completely. There’s no denying the mate bond between us, Lyra. We are fated mates and we will always gravitate towards one another!” 

I frowned at his theory! Were we forbidden mates? A sigh escaped my lips since this wasn’t what I had wanted from life. Why couldn’t I have a normal mate who would love me? A mate whom my uncle would accept and leave me at peace with? Would that dream ever come true? I glanced at him discreetly wondering where this situation would lead us to. Would he claim me as all mates did? I had four long months to spend with him but I was already apprehensive. I knew my uncle wouldn't sit back and wait for my return. What would I do if he really took it out on Hera?

His phone buzzed with an incoming call and he switched it to speaker mode and turned on his microphone to talk. I was all ears to his conversation. “Leandros, where the f*ck are you?” It was a male voice I didn’t recognize. 

“I’m on my way home, Stav! Has Zeph returned yet?” 

“Yes. He and Lena have returned. We’re waiting for you at the packhouse.” I could see the hesitation on his face as he chewed his lips nervously. Was he feeling guilty now? Then why wasn’t he releasing me?

“Bro, I can’t come over to the packhouse now. I mean, I’m not alone!” I gaped at him in disbelief. Was he scared of the guy called Stav? Maybe he was Leandros’s older brother! 

“Not alone? Then who are you with? Did you force Hera to leave the enemy gamma and come home with you?” 

“No, not at all!” cried Leandros, looking lost and giving me a helpless look. Well, he deserved it. I gave him the option of letting me go and saving his *ss! I flashed him a malicious grin to let him know he deserved it. 

“Then who is with you, Leandros? What have you done this time?” growled the guy at the other end. 

“Umm, bro, please don’t get mad at me. I abducted Lyra Andreadis, Felixe’s niece! I’m bringing her home with me!” My grin disappeared when there was a pin-dropped silence at the other end for a split second. 

Then Stav yelled into the phone. “What the f*ck, Leandros? Have you gone out of your mind? Why did you have to abduct her for revenge? Hera is happy there, isn’t she? Now Felixe will take it out on her. Zeph will go crazy if hears of it. I’m sure he’ll not take it well. Heck, I can’t imagine what Felixe will do. What if he kills Hera? After all, he’s a feral wolf!” 

I opened my mouth to comfort him. My uncle might be feral, but he loved Hera more than he loved himself. He could never kill Hera. 

Leandros glanced in my direction and hesitated, realizing I had overheard his conversation. “Umm, I’ll see you later. It’s done, bro. I can’t undo it! Punish me if you have to!” He disconnected the call and switched off his phone as he drove. 

The deep scowl on his face told a different story. Gone was his smirk and non-stop banter. He parked in front of a convenience store and ushered me out. “Why are we here, Leandros?” 

“We can leave if you don’t need food and clothes!” I kept mum from realizing his shitty mood. What had I done to him? He wasn’t a child that he gave in to my suggestion blindly. I gave him a choice to release me, but he didn’t! Then who was at fault here? How would I know he would accept the challenge so readily? 

I just tagged along as he dumped food items, clothes, and other necessities into the shopping cart. How the f*ck would he pay for the entire shop? Wasn’t he a poor gamma of the Luceres Pack? 

“Are we buying four months’ stuff right now?” I asked, gaping at the two trolleys filled with stuff. Strangely, there were suitcases, too. It seemed we were setting up a household! 

“Oh! What will we do with three suitcases? Are we going on a vacation?” 

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Shut the f*ck up, Lyra!” I gaped at the foul-mouthed creature! If he was my mate, how would I tolerate him for four months, let alone forever? How could the Moon Goddess make such a ridiculous pair? Well, I shut up just as he had asked me to and allowed him to go bankrupt. 

It would be fun to watch him get insulted when he couldn’t pay! I tagged along, watching him buy his own stuff, too. Did he go to Yellowknife and then to Hay River without luggage? 

“Well, I need a phone. I left mine at home. Can you afford it, Leandros?” I flashed a grin at him while his jaws dropped with surprise. 

“Obviously I can afford it, but I won’t buy one for you. Remember, you’re my prisoner! You’re not supposed to have a phone.” I groaned, muttering curses at him. Wasn’t he taking this too far?

“Now I seriously doubt if you’re my mate. You’re behaving like my enemy!” I grumbled, but it irked him more. He stopped and turned to face me. 

“Which enemy takes you shopping? They tie you up and beat you into a pulp. Am I doing that to you?” 

“You will once we reach your house!” he scoffed and went towards the billing counter. 

“No, I don’t torture underage wolves!” He pursed his lips as he took out his bank card and paid for everything we bought. 

“Mr. Vasiliou, thank you for shopping with us. We’ll load them in your car, sir,” said the eager counter staff. 

While they loaded, Leandros opened the car door and waited for me to get in. Then he walked away to check. I watched them help Leandros as if he was a big-shot celebrity here! How did he pay for so much? Wasn’t he a poor gamma? 

He wrapped it up and gave the staff some cash tips and got into the car. I looked out, not to show how confused I was. He steered the vehicle away from the road that led to his village! Were we not going to Lucania now?

“Why aren’t we going to Lucania?” With my village on the other side of the Astral Mountains, I had spent my childhood in these areas. I knew the place even with my eyes closed. 

“Do you want to be captured and punished by the pack?” He gave me an annoyed look. It was enough to shut me up. 

“You can release me and gain freedom!” 

“That’s out of the question, Lyra. Stop harping on the same thing. I’ve captured you and you’re mine for life!” I gaped at the guy. 

“Nope! Only for four months. If you can’t prove the mate bond between us, I’ll leave after four months!” I was a free-spirited female. Would four months be enough for me to discover my wolf? 

“Try escaping me, Lyra! It’s an impossible feat!” I rolled my eyes because it seemed he didn’t know me yet. 

“Impossible is a word in a fool’s dictionary, Leandros, and I’m no fool. Don’t underestimate my power!” He smiled as if I were some immature teenager. 

“Nice dialogues! Let’s see you try! I’ll bring you back every time.” His threat rang in the small confines of the car. It set my heart on fire! I knew what my heart wanted! 

To challenge him and his motive!