Chapter 6: The game!

Selena’s POV

His?!

“Am I your mate?” I asked with a curious frown. It was the only logical conclusion I could come up with. The only time a wolf would ever give a human a second glance would be if she was his mate; and considering he'd let me live despite knowing who my father was, it made sense that I was his mate.

And I didn't know if that brought me comfort or terrified me even more.

“No,” he replied, playing with a lock of my hair. “If you were, that would make things so much easier for me.”

I didn't know what to do with that. I tried to make myself more comfortable in the hospital bed, despite his closeness. But it was hard with his imposing presence.

And the fact that he didn't understand the meaning of "personal space". Because the second I pulled away, he just followed.

Nothing made sense!

If I wasn't his mate, then why did he treat me as if I were?

In a bold tone, he continued speaking, as if he had been reading my thoughts. "I want you," he emphasized. "And I want you to want me back. In order to win you over, I need to think like a human and act accordingly."

Yeah...

Not weird at all!

"You make it sound like a math problem," I remarked.

"Math is easy," he replied, not even phased by the sarcasm in my tone. "Love is very much the opposite."

Wait---WHAT?!

"Love?!" I exclaimed in surprise. But he didn't reply, as the silence hung heavy in the air.

OK then...!

"Do I at least get to ask you 20 questions or something?" I inquired, feeling like he was playing with my mind like a cat with a ball of yarn.

"Ask," he simply said, his expression serious.

"You don’t want to hurt me, you don’t want to have sex with me---" I summarized, mostly for my own benefit, but he cut me off.

"Never said that," he interrupted with a sly grin. "When I say I’m going to make you mine, I mean that in every way possible."

The way he cockily announced that statement had me swallowing thickly. As desperately as I wanted to hide it, I couldn't deny that this man—this wolf!—made me feel all kinds of ways.

Now things made even less sense!

"But I’m not your mate," I exclaimed sharply.

"That's already been established," he responded coolly.

I felt the urge to question him further, to understand his intentions and why I was still alive. But I knew he’d just be the same cryptic prick that he’d been so far, and I refused to engage in his mind games.

"Do we know each other? From before?" I asked cautiously instead, hoping to get some clarity. Or at least some peace of mind.

"We didn’t run in the same circles, no," he answered, his tone enigmatic - which didn't give me much to work with. So we didn't run in the same social circles, but he knew me?! Hell, he even declared that he wanted me in ways that had my body responding in ways I didn't even want to think about.

So where did I go from here?!

"How old are you?"

"Erm, what?" I stammered, surprised by his counter-question.

"If you’re going to ask questions, I want the same privilege," he stated confidently.

"I’m not sure whether those are the rules of this game," I replied, annoyed. I felt like I was stuck in a game where I was forced to play, but no one could be bothered explaining the rules to me.

"I’m a rogue king," he declared with a smirk. A smirk I felt compelled to wipe off his too-handsome face. "I make the rules to be whatever the fuck I want them to be."

"Of course you do," I retorted sarcastically--- and instantly knew I'd made a mistake. I braced myself for pain, expecting a reprimand similar to what I would receive from my father. Instead, to my surprise, Rain chuckled warmly, breaking the tension.

"I like your attitude," he commended, tugging on the lock of hair he was still playing with as punishment. It barely hurt... "Just don’t turn it on me; my wolf can get prickly if he’s in a mood."

"Yeah?" I probed, feeling weirdly off-center with his behavior. I'd met many an alpha wolf, and none had ever taken kindly to any form of attitude...

"What mood is he in now?"

"Playful," he revealed with a hint of amusement before his dark eyes met mine with a hint of a challenge in them. "And you’re good at dodging questions."

Yeah... so?

But I didn't want to push my luck too much. He'd let me off the hook, so to speak, once. I wasn't banking on him feeling gracious twice...

“I’m 23,” I replied to his former question. And because I still had questions that needed answers, I asked: “How old are you?”

“28,” he replied, as if he were on the verge of being bored - if he didn't look so utterly intrigued with every move I made, I would have thought he was.

“What pack did you belong to before?” I asked again, since being under 30 didn't give me much to work with.

“I’m a rogue," he replied without hesitation. Which annoyed me again, because this wasn't exactly new information to me.

“Before you became a rogue?” I clarified through gritted teeth, feeling like I was trying to reason with a wall at that point!

“I was exiled before I came of age," he just casually dropped on me. "I never belonged to a pack.”

I had to force myself not to gape as I processed this information. To be exiled from a pack before a wolf came of age was extremely rare. Typically, wolves weren't fully considered part of the pack until after turning 18. Once a year, usually around Christmas, the alpha would gather all the adolescent wolves to formally welcome them into the pack, opening up his mind to establish the pack mind link. Before this ceremony, they only had their family links.

And now I had to wonder how all this information helped me to identify this mysterious wolf.

“Who exiled you?” I asked, knowing that only the alpha had the authority to do that. If I knew the alpha, perhaps I---

“Your father," he replied with a raised eyebrow as if he expected me to have already realized this.

Which it should!

Realization struck me like a cold slap in the face. So, had he been part of my dad's pack before?

Was that how he knew me?!

Then why couldn't I remember him then? Surely, if there had been another alpha wolf in my father's pack, I would have heard about it...

Or had this been the reason why my father had exiled him?

I could easily imagine my father doing something like that, feeling threatened by even a small child. And he wouldn't have needed any more reason than that either.

But...

Werewolves got their wolves only moments after being born; an hour at most. And they were born with the rank of their wolves, which meant that my father would have known about it intimately.

Had my mom perhaps tried to keep him safe? Has she protected him from my father, and that's how he knew me? Was he trying to repay my mother somehow? I'd heard more than once how I was her spitting image; perhaps he had recognized me?

My father, a powerful figure in the hierarchy of our world, held the esteemed position of the previous king's beta. He was not only the beta but also the alpha of a massive pack, which meant that my mother had to take charge in his absence as he assisted the king. This was the norm in our society, and the pack's loyalty to my mother was unwavering; they adored her deeply.

Tragically, everything changed when my father committed a heinous act - he killed my mother. To mask his brutality, he falsely claimed that she had fallen victim to rogue attacks, deceiving the pack with his lies.

Before I could delve into the complexities of this betrayal, a formidable presence made itself known in the hospital room. A majestic wolf entered, with a coat the color of dusty sand and eyes as piercing and cold as ice, possessing a physical stature that could rival even the rogue king.

Another alpha!

I braced for a conflict, but to my surprise, the man nodded respectfully toward me and Rain, maintaining a submissive posture. "Alpha?" he said with a deep, baritone voice that felt as smooth as velvet. "We have work to do?"

"Yes, I will be there, Elijah," Rain responded, his tone cold. However, the moment his gaze shifted back to me, his voice softened, becoming gentle and caring. "Rest now. I will be by later." He stood and then leveled Elijah with a look that could even put the men of steel six feet under. "Ensure this room is guarded at all times."

So much for not being a prisoner...