Chapter 3

Alex was beyond stunned to see that his newfound interest was right where he would have loved to have her.

She was looking different; she had cleaner clothes, and her face was a bit more relaxed than the last time he had seen her.

He looked at the shivering girl before him as he tied his towel around his waist. He could tell she was terrified of him, and while a little part of him wanted to assure her that she had nothing to fear.

The other part was more concerned with teasing her, playing with her emotions just as she had unknowingly done to him since he first set eyes on her.

With his height towering over her, he took gentle strands around her like a predator caging in his prey.

"I'm sorry," Ashley mumbled from her confused and troubled mind.

She wondered why he hadn't ordered the guards to come to get her to punish her or execute her.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked as he kept circling her.

"I'm sorry for..." Ashley gulped down the words that were about to slip from her lips. She couldn't say it even if she wanted to, for it was too sinful, too abominable.

He noticed Somehow, Ashley couldn't bring herself to say what he wanted to hear.

She was naive and innocent, and that mere fact about her drove him insane, drove his wolf crazy. But how could he be so fascinated by someone who is not his mate? he pondered.

"What's your name?" he asked her in his hoarse voice.

"Ashley," she replied calmly, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Ashley," he said, the name as if tasting it on his lips.

"So, Ashley, what are we going to do about what you just saw?" he questioned her seductively. ensuring that his breath tickles the skin around her neckline.

"I'm sorry," she said pleadingly. Her eyes were down the entire time.

"Sorry does not cut it, Ashley. You have seen me naked and it's only fair that I see you too," he said, subconsciously running his hand through his wet hair after suddenly realizing what he had just said.

He sounded too desperate for his good. He knew he was overstepping his boundaries and all that makes him who he is.

Alphas don't intimidate girls or take them without their consent, and he, in particular, has never been in the habit of chasing girls. But with this girl, he felt different, like she was the oxygen that he needed to survive.

But again, what if this is a trap, just like so many that he has recently passed through? He took a final look at her and noticed how peaceful her aura was.

Just then, he heard footsteps coming toward his room. From the sound, he could tell who the person was, and even though he hated the fact that he was going to have to dismiss Ashley, he had no option.

"Leave now," he ordered her out, and as she made to go out, she bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry," she said and didn't bother looking up to see who or what she was as she hurried out of the room.

"You clumsy fool, "Are you blind?" Jessica spurred after Ashley angrily.

Alex did not understand why, but he felt hurt by the words that Jessica had used on Ashley, but he did so well not to show his irritation.

"What's this mess on the floor?" Jessica asked as she stared at the floor disgustingly.

"The maid spilled the medicine she was supposed to give me," Alex said nonchalantly.

"And you let her go?" Jessica asked, surprised at her best friend's behavior towards his maid.

Jessica is known to be a proud and arrogant badass bitch in the pack. She is very demanding and controlling of her maids and servants.

She doesn't live in the same building as Alex; she was in the building next to his.

Alex's parents lived in the main house before their deaths, and as such, he wants to keep the old family tradition.

He plans on staying in the main house with his supposed mate when they

"You can ask any of the cleaners to get it cleaned up," he said to Jessica, for whom he didn't understand why she was rather upset.

"What was that?" Jessica asked in disgust as she brought her gaze back to Alex, who by now had walked over to his closet to pick up a shirt.

"What was that?" Alex asked just to muse on how ridiculous she looked whenever she was angry.

"What is a slave girl doing in your room?" Jessica asked, unable to hide her jealousy.

She brought me medicine sent by Grace, "Alex said while buttoning his shirt.

"And she saw you like that?" Jessica asked, as her eyes roamed around Alex's well-toned body.

Alex, pretending not to know what she was talking about, pretended not to understand what she was talking about as he looked at her innocently confused.

"Now I know why she was clumsy," Jessica said, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"What do you want?" Alex asked, after some time of noticing how Jessica was drooling over him.

"I thought you would be bored and might want some company," she said suggestively as she walked closer to Alex.

Jessica has always had a thing for Alex. She was more than heartbroken when she discovered that she wasn't his mate.

He felt awkward that Jessica couldn't control herself around him. He had known her for years and they started as very good friends.

But he started noticing she had a certain interest in him. He had even tried pushing himself to see if he could like her, you know, accept her so as not to break her heart. But, he noticed, that the harder he tried, he just couldn't love her. He has tried explaining several times that what she wants is not on his menu, but she is having none of it.

Nevertheless, she was going to continually try her luck till he found out just how much she wanted him.

Alex could see from the mirror that she was moving sluttingly toward him, and he knew he needed to think of how to break free from her before she gets upset with him.

"Jessica, as you can see, I am getting dressed to go out. I have a meeting with my uncle..." he was saying to snap her out of whatever was going on in her mind.

"Can I come along?" she asked before he could finish saying what he had to say.

He thought for a brief second about his next reply. Even if he turned her down, he knew she would persist and nag him nuts.

"Please," she said, with puppy eyes.

"Yeah, why not?" Alex shuddered.

***

They soon got to his uncle's mansion, and he noticed how Jessica removed her hands from his as soon as they entered the mansion.

Even though he found it a bit odd that Jessica would do that, he did not bother himself as he too felt relieved from her excess holding earlier on.

"Look who we have here," Uncle Derrick called as soon as he saw Alex walk into his apartment.

He appeared to be excited to have seen his nephew, but deep down he despised the mere thought that Alex was the only one stopping him from becoming the Alpha king.

"Good morning, uncle," Alex said politely as he made himself comfortable on a chair.

The uncle seems a bit slighted as to Alex's carefree attitude and not waiting first to be asked to sit down before doing so.

"What do I owe this visit?" he asked, looking suspiciously at Alex and Jessica.

"Uncle, I am here to tell you about the welfare of our warriors." Most of them have been badly injured, and we have lost a lot of men in battle. "I want to plead that we reduce the number of wars we bring on ourselves," Alex said calmly.

Derrick let out a half-hearted laugh as he stared unbelievably at Alex.

"Are you, by any means, indicating that I am the one imposing the war on us, or have you grown too soft to defend your pack?" he questioned angrily.

It was evident from his tone that he had picked offense and that didn't surprise Alex.

Derrick has always felt he knew more than everyone else. His pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness were some of the reasons he lost the throne to Alex's father in the first place.

"Uncle, I didn't...."

Of course, I know you didn't mean it. That's why you need to get yourself a mate so you can become the alpha and make the decisions you think are best for the pack. But till then, don't you ever question my authority as to how I decide to run the pack. Your father left me in charge and one would expect that you are busy looking for a way to find your mate. Instead, you are bothering yourself about irrelevant things. "And just a reminder, you have less than four months to get yourself a mate, or you will become a slave or better still, banished from this pack," he said provocatively.

Alex was angry, but he tried his best to remain calm all the while his uncle spoke.

No, he wasn't scared of Uncle Derrick. Derrick was no match for him. But he respected his father's last wish, and that was the only reason he had kept quiet all this time.

He stood up and walked out of his uncle's mansion and ran into the woods to calm down his already bruised ego. When he had run to his satisfaction, he sat down and began to think about why he was so unfortunate.

He was yet to get a mate at almost twenty-two when others were getting theirs at sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen.

He may not need a mate, but he sure deserves to have one if others are getting one. He has done his very best to ensure that his pack is safe from rogues and hoodlums.

What else does he need to do to please the moon goddess so she can bless him with a mate?

Leaving the pack leadership to Uncle Derrick is a no-go area as Derrick will not rest till he destroys all that Alex's father took years to build.

He wondered why having a mate had to be a criterion before becoming the Alpha king.

His mind slowly drifted to the slave girl for a minute. He didn't understand his feelings toward her.

His wolf didn't claim her as a mate, and as such, he can't claim her. She does not even have what it takes to be a pack, Luna.

He knew he had to find a mate sooner rather than later, if for nothing else but to protect his right to the throne.