Chapter 5

Nicholus's POV:

The shock still lingered inside me long after she was gone. There had been a very few moments in my life that had rendered me speechless and it surely was one of those.

Those eyes. Those big, round eyes, the shade of melted chocolate. The most mesmerizing and surely the most unforgettable.

Today, my mom, the Luna of the pack had arranged The Mating Ball for the unmated wolves of our pack. Many renowned personalities of the North were invited.

The preparations had been going on for more than a month. I had commanded the warriors to maintain strict security, patrol the area, and share the word if anything seemed wrong.

Trouble tonight after that much security was the last thing I had expected.

I was mingling with the guests when my Beta, Darius, opened our mindlink. His worry reached me way before his words did. I had already excused myself and stepped aside when he informed me, "There has been some trouble in the dungeons."

I tried to keep a calm facade in front of the guests, but my insides vibrated with rage, "What are you talking about? What happened?"

He was quick to respond, "I don't know the details yet. I'm on my way to the dungeons. Will inform you as soon as I get to know anything."

I grumbled, "I'm coming," and closed the link. With quick strides, I made my way out of the hall and toward the dungeons.

Boots clicking on the floor, I rushed down to the dungeons. The first peculiar thing I noticed were three guards who were pacing the floor, unbothered by the ruckus happening inside.

I let out a low growl, "What the hell is going on?"

A slight frown marked my brows as my words had zero effect on any of them. The muscles in my jaw twitched as I used my Alpha command.

Three of them jolted out of a trance and frantically looked at their surroundings as if they had just woken up from a deep slumber.

They then looked at each other, "Who was she? Where did she go?"

My frown deepened but I didn't have time to ask what dream they were sharing while sleepwalking.

Throwing a deadly glare at them, I started walking toward the dungeon where the noise was coming from.

Fury seized my insides at the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. Mess. The utter mess was waiting for me in there. All the cells were open, prisoners were roaming free, trying to kill my warriors who were skillfully taking them down but were obviously outnumbered.

Just in time, Darius arrived with more guards to deal with the unrest. Coiling my fists in the tight balls, I turned around and marched back to the guards I met earlier.

My growl echoed around the walls, "Now tell me what exactly happened here."

I waited impatiently as they recalled what happened before they lost their senses.

My brows pinched together in a deep frown. They were hypnotized. But who could own such great power? No one that I've ever heard of before.

More than rage, curiosity took hold of me as I started pacing back to the staircase. I strained my ears, focusing on any sound.

As I reached upstairs, I finally heard the sound of hurried footsteps on the stone floor. Without a second thought, I followed the sound. Quickening my pace, I took a sharp turn.

The first thing I saw were the long strands of wavy brown hair. Acting on instinct, my hand lunged forward and I grabbed her by the elbow.

It was then that it hit me. Hard. And blew my mind.

Beneath the sweet scent of vanilla and caramel wafting from her hair, there was a hint of something else. I sniffed deeply and then all air knocked out of me.

It was the only scent I had ever been attracted to, the one I wanted to drown in. I hadn't seen her face yet but I was already drawn toward her and I wasn't liking that even a little bit. For all I knew, she was the cause of trouble.

Getting hold of my senses, I jerked her around angrily. A sharp gasp escaped her as her body thudded against my chest.

All power to think jumped out of the window as my gaze struck her eyes. Like her hair, they were a shade of brown. As if some delicious melting chocolate was swirling inside them.

What the fuck? Since when exactly had I started liking chocolates?

My eyebrows dipped into a deep frown as I tried to make sense of the whole fucking situation. I willed my body to move, my muscles to work. She was the enemy. I should have probably dragged her to the dungeon by now.

But why was I unable to move? To do what I was supposed to do? Why were those eyes drawing me within themselves?

My wolf, Xoro, was more than happy to answer my whys. But as I wasn't ready for the new discovery, I pushed him to the back of my mind.

I saw her pupils dilating as the realization dawned on her. From such close proximity, I could hear the way her heart was thudding in her chest. Her breathing became rough and irregular. She knew.

I was still processing it when, all of a sudden, I felt the air shifting around us. My frown deepened as I sensed something wrong. Something didn't sit right with me.

Those eyes. They were trouble. I could sense it. In a matter of seconds, I started feeling a bit dizzy as if I was losing control of my senses. I tried to avert my gaze but all I wanted was to absorb into them even further.

The more she stared at me, the more I got curious. Whatever she was doing, it was trying to take control over me.

Who exactly was she? One thing I was sure about was that she was capable of some extraordinary powers. Was that how she hypnotized my guards? Was she now trying to hypnotize me too?

Whatever it was, she wasn't strong enough to outdo me though. I was the fucking King of the North. I wasn't known as the most powerful Alpha for nothing.

Before I could pop her little bubble of delusional power, I heard Darius in the mindlink, "All is under control in the dungeon now. We need to get back to the party before the word gets out."

While I was distracted by Darius, the girl in my arms mistook my distraction as the effect of her hypnotizing power. She wriggled out of my hold and started sprinting into the corridor.

I didn't waver my attention from her though. I heard someone calling me, "Alpha Nicholus."

The girl stopped dead in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. The shock was written all over her features at the mention of my name. She surely had no idea who I was but my title? She was well aware of that.

And yet she decided to break into my castle and cause a ruckus? Was she brave or foolish? I was now curious.

Stopping at the window, she looked back for one last time. Even from the distance, I could see the mesh of questions and confusion swirling in those eyes. I waited for her to say something. Anything. But she simply broke the eye contact and jumped down the window.

I stayed rooted in my spot. Was she really my...?

No. That can't be true.

I heard Darius behind me, "What are you doing here?"

My eyes were still fixed on the window she had jumped down from, "Did you look into it? What went wrong?"

"I have asked security to fetch the CCTV footage. It's just a matter of minutes before we know who was behind this fiasco."

I looked over my shoulder at my Beta, "I want all the details as soon as possible. And make sure the word doesn't get out of the walls of this castle."

He placed a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm on it. You should go and mingle with the guests. We don't want anyone to get suspicious."

I nodded curtly, As he excused himself, my attention drew back to the spot where I last spotted that girl with sinfully beautiful eyes.

I wanted to turn away and chase them out of my mind but what I actually did was start moving in the direction of that window.

The next minute I was already jumping out of the window, all ready to follow that distant scent of the one Fate had chosen for me.

I just couldn't resist chasing her. Her eyes, her scent...it was all driving me crazy.