Chapter 3

"Wait for me, mate." 

Right after he sighed upon her ear, Amelia suddenly opened her eyes.

She found herself lying in her teenage bedroom back in her old packhouse. And familiar noises of chatting and laughing were coming from outside the door.

The light in the room was off, but the ceiling could vaguely be seen by the dim light that leaked through the gap under the door. 

She laid there on her bed motionlessly, feeling her heart pounding violently like a drum. 

Her marriage with Ian and the hellish tor/ture in the wheelchair was now flashing back in front of her eyes like the most horrifying nightmares. But Amelia knew it wasn't nightmares but the most realistic life she had just lived in person.

Then what happened?

Why did she suddenly wake up in her teenage bedroom in her old packhouse? And why was she suddenly able to move?

It may sound crazy, but Amelia now indeed felt her fingers. She curled the fingers of both her hands into fists without much effort. And then she slowly propped herself up from the bed, and surprisingly found that she was back to normal.

"Mom! Dad!" She shouted in ecstasy, jumped off her bed, and then rushed out of the door. 

The packhouse was exactly as she remembered, filled with the warm smell of fresh cedars. Those pictures hanging in the hallway, and scratched doors leading to different rooms were exactly the same as in her memories. Even the creaking noises coming from the worn-out floor under her feet were the same.

Amelia rushed into the pack's kitchen on the second floor. She knew her family would gather there at this hour of the night.

"What happened, Amy? Why are you running so hastily?"

The people currently in the kitchen were all surprised by Amelia's sudden appearance. They turned their heads and stared at her with confusion in their eyes. 

The pack's Luna, Amelia's mother Doris, was the first who reacted. She stood up from the chair beside the huge long wooden table in the middle of the kitchen, and then walked towards Amelia with an impatient frown, "You looked pale and sweating. Are you ill?" She then placed the back of her hand on Amelia's forehead to test the temperature.

Amelia was about to speak before she suddenly got a glimpse of a horrifying figure sitting at another side of the table.

It was an extremely handsome male wolf with a pair of deep grey eyes and a head of short black hair. He was smiling at her, looking charming and polite, but Amelia’s heart got wrested under his soulful stare.

It was her gruesome husband, Ian. 

He was right there with her family with a perfectly deceptive smile on his face. His seat was right beside her father because he was the pack's best warrior. Along with him, there was Amalia’s big sister Donna, the Beta couple, and many other important grown-ups of the pack.

This scene somehow was familiar to Amelia like she had seen it before, but Amelia now was too shocked to think deeper about it. The unpredicted appearance of Ian had struck her thrilled heart back to despair. She felt that she was suddenly dropped from heaven down into the most appalling hell.

What’s going on here?

Surely her sudden recovery was strange. But why did Ian appear again in front of her? And why was he here with all of her family, even her already-married big sister?

Was this another evil plot designed by him? Or was this the beginning of another round of cruel and endless tor/ture?

Amelia felt she was on the verge of meltdown. 

"What happened, Amy? You are shaking." 

Noticing Amelia’s weird reaction, Doris asked her daughter with another deep frown. Amelia was a beautiful girl but she couldn't be counted as a real wolf. Doris's patience and love for her were never much. That's why Amelia flinched on telling on Ian.

Ian was an orphan but he had always been Amelia’s father's favorite wolf. Even without marriage with Amelia, he would certainly be the next Alpha. If Amelia accused Ian of drugging her, it wouldn't be convincing without solid evidence, and she was too scared to tell right in front of him.

"Are you okay, Amy?"

Noticing she was in an unusual mood from the fear in her eyes, Ian stood up from the chair and then walked towards her.

He pulled her hands into his and then kissed her beautiful slender fingers. There were genuine worries in his intoxicating deep grey eyes.

Amelia totally froze under his concerned gaze like she was targeted by a vulture.

She knew clearly Ian was faking, but still, she had no idea why he was doing it. Her body couldn't help but shake seeing his fraudulent smile. She  was afraid to find out what Ian would do to her this time.

"Amy must have been worn out because of the preparations for her wedding. It happens to a bride."

Suddenly, another familiar voice came from beside the table, and it was Amelia's big sister, Donna. She folded her arms on the back of her chair, smiling at Amelia with a wicked wink of her beautiful left eye. 

She was younger than Amelia remembered, as before she had her child.

Out of the blue, Amelia recalled, these people, the scene around the table, had already happened once in her life. Amelia remembered clearly it happened on one of the tense nights before her wedding with Ian. 

And she also recalled. At this time, the pack hadn't been attacked by the rogues yet.

So what was happening here? Did she suddenly return to the past? Or was this simply a weird dream, a disgusting, lowly joke?

"Baby, are you tired? Do you need more sleep?" Her facial expression was mixed with fear and confusion, which made her husband-to-be start to worry. Ian whispered to her softly, gently stroking her hair.

That familiar touch of his hand aroused goosebumps all over Amelia's body. She couldn't help but pull away from him. It took all her courage to look at him, and then she asked him with a frightened voice, "We are not married yet?" She was on the verge of collapsing but her question triggered a string of loud laughter in the kitchen.

The audiences were amused by her.

"The bride can't wait!"

"What a lovely couple!"

"They would be so happy together."

Each sentence was like a sharp knife cut right into Amelia's heart. To her surprise, Ian was amused too.

"I have never known you are so eager for me," he bent over, whispering, cold lips brushing through the skin of her delicate ear, "I am eager for you, too, baby. I can't wait for you to be my wife. And then I will do so many unspeakable things…only to you."

Normally, his whisper like that would burn Amelia up with shyness and some ridiculous expectations. But this time, there were only fears creeping into her heart. Tears welled up to the rims of her eyes. Amelia was totally stunned at this unexpected situation.

She was somehow sent back to her 19 to one of those horrifying nights before she married Ian. It may seem like the Moon Goddess had given her a second chance to change her fate, but Amelia knew it wasn’t like that. 

It might only be one of her ridiculous dreams that emerged from her deepest desperation. And even in her dreams, she still feared Ian.

"Let's take you back to your room. It's only three days away from our wedding. I promise the time will pass soon."

Brushing a lock of her hair gently to the back of her ear, Ian held her trembling hand to his and then escorted her back to her bedroom.

The light in the hallway was dim. Amelia kept her head lowered all the way. She saw their shadows overlapping into the most intimate one on the floor. When they arrived at her bedroom door, Ian bent his neck to kiss her lips like he always did when they said goodnight to each other.

Amelia dodged him this time and it was a surprise to her.

She had never had the courage to go against Ian.

Ian was surprised for the same reason. He lifted his brows with displeasure, "What's going on, baby?" He placed his arms beside Amelia's ears, completely locking her into his territory.

Amelia was in a fluster. She was the weakest in the pack and wasn't even a real wolf. Before tonight, she didn’t even dare to think about defying Ian. Still, she somehow mustered her courage this time.

"What if…" She looked up into his deep grey eyes under his intimidating gaze. Tears filled her beautiful brown eyes, "What if…we don't get married?" 

When she said that, her face was pale and her lips were trembling. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes. And her voice was shaking with fear. Ian knew instantly there was something wrong with his future wife, but he was too proud to care.

"There is never an if, baby." He brushed his thumb across her beautiful cheek to wipe off her tears, "You're the love of my life. We are fated to each other. I swear you will never find another husband except for me."

He printed a passionate kiss on her trembling lips and then sent her into the bedroom.

Before closing the door in front of her, he mouthed “good night” to her with a satisfied smile.