Four

Thalia's POV:

My mind feels like it blasted into pieces as soon as I hear her.

I'm pretty sure I misheard it.

I should've cleaned my ears this morning.

Morning.

Eating pancakes seems like a long time ago.

"Excuse me?" I wanna say that it's a pathetic joke but I doubt the werewolf will like it.

"Oh let's save the good stuff for the end." She squeals, then picks up a pen and the form.

"When would you like to start?"

"I would appreciate a few minutes with my daughter first." My mother interrupts the giddiness Blake voices out.

"ofcourse."

Taking my hand,she leads me to other side of the room.

"I'm so sorry." She confesses and it breaks my heart a little.

"I don't understand mom." I feel so stupid at this point.

Like how everyone knows something except for me.

"I'm so sorry baby, Alpha tone." That is all what she says before she leaves my hands and goes to Aunty Ro.

Nathan walks up to me and gives me a side hug, saying that I'll do good and that we have to chat after the whole process but my stomach is already churning.

I don't want to be alone in the room with a werewolf but I remember everything my dad told taught me.

I sit down on a couch,making sure there is enough space between me and Blake before I reach for the papers.

full name, date of birth, birthplace.

I answer the basic questions quickly.

As I proceed forward however, the questions get weirder.

Favourite colour, hobbies, food?

Why does the university need this?

Several other questions asked if I knew how to swim, if I was interested in cycling, if I would want to play football.

"If you have any boyfriends/exs' or both, name them and the reason why you broke up with them/are with them."

I look up at Blake with a raised eyebrow.

"What does the university need this for?"

She shrugs.

"It's not my place to tell you this but one thing I'll be very clear about. If you lie, they'll know. They always know."

I'm assuming her words were to scare me but I couldn't give two shits right now. I wanted to complete this form to confront my family outside.

I suddenly put the pen down.

"How do I want to be proposed to? Are you sure you've brought the right file? This is not how an application is supposed to be. What about my academic achievements?" I question frustratingly. "This is ridiculous."

The smile drops from Blake's face and her irises begin to glow. She suddenly squeezes her eyes shut, then opens them a few seconds later.

They return back normal.

"That was my wolf." She states and if I wasn't trying to be so tough, I maybe would've physically freaked out.

"She hates when someone disrespects my leaders. All wolves do. Anyways-"

She stops to read my name before continuing.

"Thalia. I know you're confused, but I'll assure you this file is correct and so are the questions. As for your studies, that'll be on page 33."

Fifty pages. That is how long it is.

Half an hour later, my hand itches in pain and my stomach grumbles.

"Can I have something to eat?" The thought of asking for permission in my own house makes me want to break something.

Blake, who didn't keep an eye off me for even a second,nods and gets up.

"What would you like?"

"Anything." I mutter, avoiding eye contact.

I'm contemplating to run outside the room as soon as she disappears, consequences be damned. This shit is making my head pound and I'm pretty sure I'll die of a migraine.

However my thoughts are put to a halt when Blake interrupts them.

"Don't try to run Thalia. I can smell your scent clearly and I can definitely hear you breathe. I'll know and when I do,I won't be so nice."

I suck in a deep breathe, hating this helplessness.

Half an hour later I was back at completing the form, my stomach queasy from the lasagna that I just had. Hours ago it tasted delicious, now I couldn't have more than two bites, it was like chewing rubber.

Question 54: What is your type?

Answer : A broody man who ignores me all the time, curses and is a big grump. Is scared of me 24/7 and thinks foot fetish is awesome. Has 2 scars on his face and lives in a jungle, a reincarnation of Tarzan.

I scribble down angrily.

Two hours is the time it takes me to complete it, without rechecking it.

With a freaking headache, I hand the file over to Blake.

"Anything else?" I force out.

I hated whatever was happening, but it's not like I could take it out on her. She had been nice to me-well as nice as a werewolf could be.

Plus,it wasn't totally her fault. It was the freaking hierarchy.

"Nothing except you'll get your questions answered in a month." She gave me a small smile.

I just nodded and raised an eyebrow towards the door,a silent question to if I could leave.

Blake gave me a thumps up and opened it wide.

"NO WOMAN! If I don't see my best friend here in 5 seconds, I'll call the Alpha." A loud noise hit my eardrums as soon as I exit the room.

"Effing hell." Blake mutters loud enough for me to hear, with an eye roll.

"For goodness sake Gabe, I'm totally fine. This girl just took a couple extra minutes." Blake calls her friend, annoyed.

"Thalia." I angrily scoff, hating how she referred me as.

"I've been done since an hour." Gabe defends herself.

Blake gives me with a smile. "Looks like I got a good one then."

Nathan scoffs at this but says nothing, while my mother and aunt just stare at them.

"Anyways thankyou for your time. Goodbye."

I realize a breathe that I didn't even know I was holding in, and as soon as she leaves I turn towards the others.

"What the fuck was that?" I demand.

"Language." My mother scolds me, even in her weary state.

"No, I don't know shit that happened. I had to write on a stack of papers and my hands are about to fall off, I was in the room alone with a she wolf so do not "language" me right now mom." I snap.

Both the sisters settle themselves down on the couch when I say that.

"I just want to know what happened okay?" I plea.

"Okay, but I want you to listen really clearly and not say anything until I'm done explaining stuff."  Mom instructs.

I resist defying and she takes that as a sign to continue.

"You know how the humans used to live under the wolves?"

A rhetorical question.

"It was during the Alpha King Alexander's era. He thought it was something to be proud of when he started to torture our people. It was one of the most brutal times in history. We suffered great losses, gave great sacrifices.For every mistake, whether intentional or not, we were punished in public to stop the others from repeating those acts. We lived crammed in small spaces, with the wolves guarding us like we were animals. Well, not even animals deserve that environment."

I knew all of that but I stayed quiet.

"Then when his son took over after 60 years, something happened." My aunt continued where mom left cause she was on the verge of crying.

These stuff always reminded her of her godparents and she loved them.

"Do you what a mate bond is? In the werewolf world it is something sacrilegious. A mate is your soulmate, your other half. Werewolves cannot live without them once they find their mates and are left devastated and on the brink of death when anything is to happen to them. They are their major strength and weakness. No werewolf wants to live without a mate,honey. And that is why during Xander's reign, the werewolves fell into chaos."

My aunt stopped to take a breathe. I was practically on the sofas end, wanting to hear everything. Storytime was always my favorite but something in the back of my mind told me I wouldn't like this one.

"None of them could find their mates. At first they felt that their senses had reduced but soon they figured out that wasn't the case. The sacred ones prayed to the goddess Selene. Afters weeks and weeks she finally responded.

"Stop treating the humans like trash. Treat them as your equal."

Immediately, the laws were changed, and towns and patterns constructed for the human beings to live in. They were still considered inferior and were still under their rule, yet they began to let them have a life like they wanted to."

Another deep exhale.

"However without a mate, the leaders tend to become weak. This was the case with the Alpha King, who still had no luck finding his mate. Then came the biggest shock. Both to the humans and the werewolves."

I listen attentively to each word leaving out my aunt's mouth but it diverges when my mom takes over.

"A holy priest figured out the reason the King couldn't find his mate. During that time it was extremely rare, a once in a blue moon, chance for anyone to smell theirs.

"Stop treating the humans like trash. Treat them as your equal."

That's what the priest said."

At first I was about to protest because those were Selene's words but then it clicked and I let out a loud gasp.

"Oh my god!" With my mouth on my hand, I resisted the urge to puke.

"Treat them as your equal meant choosing them as your mate." My mother clarified the point.

I clenched my fists.

"Xander took one and his reign flourished. During his time, it started to get well for the wolves. They still couldn't find their mates like they used to, but it became better nonetheless. However, since that time, not once has the Royals found their mates. And since then they've been training the humans to be their equal."

"Training?"

"Honey, the university you just completed the form for,will choose if you're fit for being the Alpha King's mate or not."