Chapter 3

My breath hitches at my throat and sweat trickles down my forehead. The pair of crystal green eyes owned by a tall, unrealistically gorgeous man stand a few feet away from me, scrutinizing me like I'm a prey. I know that look very well. He is not here to just say 'hi' to me or have cup of coffee. He wants something from me. I hope it's in the goodwill of both of us.

"Your name?" He speaks out,his loud and dominating voice making me tremble in fear.

I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out except air. The man's eyebrows furrow and he growls. Feeling his annoyance I start to form out the letters. "H-hazel."

"Hazel." He whispers the name, his eyes lost in thought. "Hazel, you are a human." He states the obvious, his broad chest deeply contracting and expanding. It tells me that he is not very pleased with having a human mate. I gulp in the lump in my throat and nod my head.

"Come with me." He walks away, leaving me alone in the room. He told me to follow him! Shit! I run to catch up with him but until I reach the corridor he is already gone. I sigh and run to the end of the corridor towards the storeroom where Mazie and I were preparing for the ball. As I walk into the storeroom, I find the man's back facing me.

"Hazel…" he starts saying, making me stand straight in attention. "...I do not wish to get married to a human." Huh? Why is he telling thank to me? Well, it's known that werewolves prefer mates of their species rather than having a human, but what has that to do with me? I don't think this is not going very well.

"Oh." I manage to say a word, it doesn't matter if it's only one. This man's appearance can make the soldiers run for their life. Not that I am claiming to be one. I am worse in terms of that.

He sighs and turns towards me, a tinge of sadness reflecting in his face. And immediately I feel that he is certainly not having a great day. "You are pretty, Hazel. But I don't believe in lies. So I will tell you the truth. I don't want to get married at all. Not especially with a human." His eyes scan me down and I flush. Why do all the werewolves have to make humans feel inferior? "But I do not have a choice. This is my first marriage trial with a human. Your scent attracts me. So I choose you. And…" he walks close to me, making me retreat a few steps. "...I do not wish to marry you."

The line hits like a sharp needle. Not too strong,but it has that pinching effect of pain. It is his way of saying that I am not worthy of him. Just like the other ten werewolves. I don't understand. Do I look so bad?

"But I need to do it. So, I choose you to be my lady." He adds with a straight face. He honestly does not care. I can tell.

I inhale sharply. Whoever this man is, since he chose me, I have to abide by the rules. Fun fact is, my time and efforts are going to be worthless. Again. Like every other werewolf,he would reject me in the end and I would be kicked out of my house. Shit! What will I do then?

"Th-there is something I…" I gulp in the lump in my throat. My vocals tend to not help with voicing my opinions. He looks straight at me, his eyes narrowing down to my trembling lips. "...I need to say."

"Say." He says in a very sharp tone,not a glint of politeness present in it. Sometimes I wonder how they are so cold towards people. If I am cold towards someone and I find it hurting them then I would regret it immediately. Maybe these people just don't care.

I inhale deeply and speak again. "Since you are not going to accept me as your mate, I would be rendered homeless after that." Which is definitely the caee here.

Silence. Cold silence.

His lips move apart an inch. "That is not my concern."

Anger boils in my head but I keep it inside. If I say something reckless like the old times, I will be punished. It's worse than being homeless. All the werewolves are the same. They don't care about anything except their biological mate! Which I am not! But it's not alright to get away without anything. At least I have to try. So I start again. I put my hands together over my chest. At times I should tey to use my mother's tactics on people. The way she can manipulate everyone is unbelievable. "Please, Sir. I will have no place to go after I am rejected. I know that you are kind enough to help me."

He narrows his eyes into a slit. "How do you know? How can you say that I am kind?" His green eyes pierce into me, trying his best to read me.

"I know, Sir. You were kind enough to not drag me from here towards the Acadia even if you could have done that." I try my best to pull out the sympathy and buttering card. Well, some of it is true though. But not all of it. He does not look very kind.

He sighs and stares at me in silence. Oh no! Should I have not said that? "Come with me." He walks out of the door and I follow behind him.

We enter the main hall of the Acadia and everyone stops in their conversation to stare at the giant man walking in front of me with an air of dominance. One of the men wearing a tuxedo steps out of the crowd and approaches him. "Alpha Xavier, you finally came." He smiles and all color drains out of my face.

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