Chapter 8

Xavier’s POV

I looked at the frail woman in my arms. Her pale face was ghost-white, and sweat dripped all over her face. She looked delicate, extremely delicate for someone accused of murder.

I couldn't have cared less about the shocked gasps coming from the pack members as I carried her in my arms from the Moonstone ground back to my mansion. 

They can murmur all they want, but they dare not challenge me openly, not unless they are ready to suffer the consequences. 

Kael followed closely behind, his face showing a mixture of confusion and dissatisfaction. I stopped at the entrance to my mansion, turning to him.

"Bring the doctor right now," I ordered, my tone ruling out any form of argument.

"Yes, Alpha," Kael said, bowing as he hurried to do as he was told.

Once getting inside, I laid her on the sofa in the grand living room. She was lighter than I expected, her frame alarmingly slim. I stepped back to look at her pale face.

Marianna, the head maid of the house, came in, a look of curiosity on her face as she saw the unconscious lady. She didn't know what happened at the moonstone ground. 

“Get me some cold water and a towel, Marianna,” I requested as I turned again to look into Hazel's ghost-white face. Her breath was slow and uneven. 

I touched her forehead, she was burning. Her temperature is higher than normal. I checked mine just to be sure and there's much difference. It seems that she's running a fever. 

“Oh dear, she looks bad,” Marianna said as she took a last look at her before making her way back to the servant quarters. 

Soon, she came back with a bowl of cold water and a towel. 

I handed her over to Marianna, who dipped the towel in the cold water and started mopping Hazel's face. 

I crossed over to another chair opposite her and sat down, observing her from afar. I don't know why I'm worried about her. I should have executed her for her crimes, but instead, I defended her in front of the whole pack, and I was even worried about her when she collapsed. 

What is happening to me?

Why does she make me feel this way?

I looked at her as Marianna was dabbing her burning face with the towel soaked in cold water. I didn't have the foggiest idea why I felt drawn towards her. She was nothing like the mate I had imagined.

After some time, Hazel stirred awake. Her eyes fluttered open; she murmured something I didn't quite catch; her voice was frail and broken.

"It's okay dear. You're fine now," Marianna said tenderly, assisting her with sitting up.

She looked around the living room and her eyes grew rounder as she observed the magnificence of my massive mansion. She had a surprised look on her face as she tried to make sense of where she was. 

Her eyes darted around the place for a while and as her eyes met with mine, she froze in shock again and turned pale. It's obvious that she's afraid of me, who wouldn't be?

She quickly averted her gaze, bowing her head to avoid my eyes. 

Kael arrived with the royal doctor, an elderly man with a few decades of experience.

“Greetings to you, Alpha,” he bowed as he calmly moved towards Hazel to check her vitals. She flinched as he took her wrists. 

"Calm down, dear" he coaxed in his usual gentle voice. 

He observed her for a while, his eyes focused on her. 

"She's in shock, but she'll recover. Her injuries, in any case… " He shook his head, looking at the cuts and injuries on her knees. "They're not healing as they ought to. Her wolf energy is excessively low."

"She'll heal gradually then?" I asked impatiently.

"Yes," the doctor affirmed. "Also, it's not only her energy. She's malnourished and dehydrated. She'll need to eat well and rest to completely recover."

I looked at Hazel; her bleak white face sure looked malnourished. She's been in the dungeon now for a few days. Condemned criminals don't get the luxury of food in the dungeon. A meager amount of food is given to them once every two days just to keep them alive till they receive their judgment.

I turned to Marianna. “Show her to her room and tend to her till she's fully recovered.” 

"Yes Alpha" she nodded

As she helped Hazel to her feet, she stole a glance at me, her face showed her confusion. She didn't say a single word, but the questions were written all over her face. 

I left them and went to my office. I paced the floor restlessly as my mind drifted back to what happened in the Coldfire forest. 

I recalled how the guards were dragging her into the Moonstone ground with cruel chains. Even now, my wolf growls in anger as I remember how they smashed her knees into the hard gravel. 

Whenever my eyes met hers, I felt that jolt of current run through me, something I had never felt before. 

I've never been mated to anyone before. I've had numerous lovers and flings, but none of them has ever lasted long enough for me to mark them, nor has any of them come close to being my mate. I've never cared about the mate bond. 

I remembered looking at all the beautifully adorned ladies again to see if perhaps I'd feel something, but no, I felt nothing. 

But whenever I looked at Hazel, I felt it again...the spark.

“Mate”

But why her?

Out of the multitude of ladies in the pack, how could none of them be my mate? Ladies who were strong, poised, and ready for the role of Luna.

Instead, the Moon Goddess chose a weak omega, a traitor's daughter, and a criminal as my mate. 

Why?

What kind of joke is this? 

I, the Alpha of Golden Dawn, mated to a traitor's daughter and murderer? 

Why did the Moon goddess choose her to be my mate? 

I have to find out. Whatever it takes, I will uncover the reason behind this twisted bond.