Chapter 2

➳

Madeline shifted her weight from one foot to another, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his overt gaze. Running back upstairs was a possible recourse, but she didn't want to seem rude to the guest.

"Hello," She greeted him, giving him a smile. His heart did a somersault; as if she wasn't pretty enough, she looked a million times more beautiful while smiling. He felt a strong desire to hold her tightly in his arms and never let go.

The Alpha's attention turned to her scent; indeed, she smelled wonderful, but there was something unusual about it. It was evident she was a different species.

"You're not a wolf," He remarked, narrowing his eyes at her. Her smile faltered. This was nothing new to her, werewolves always spoke to her condescendingly when they would find out she was a human. Of course, a strong Alpha would be no different.

Nathan felt Madeline's unease and spoke up: "Yes, she's a human. But she's been living here since she was a baby." 

"Did you say she's your sister?" The Alpha said, turning his attention to him.

"Well, not biologically. My family adopted her."

"And you both live here alone?" The thought of his mate living alone with another male stirred up his jealousy, even if they considered each other siblings.

"After the death of our parents, yes." The Alpha pondered for a bit. He could not leave this girl here, she would have to somehow be brought to his Pack. Yet he also could not tell anyone that she was his mate, or his biggest secret would be revealed.

There was a moment of silence, before he continued. "She seems young and weak. You're going to leave her here by herself?"

Nathan scratched his neck, unsure of how to answer. Why did the Alpha seem to care so much about his sister? People always said he was cold-hearted and unsympathetic. Nathan found this very strange, but replied to the question anyway:

"I was a bit worried, but our other Pack members live nearby. They'll protect her from anything. Besides, we haven't had any attacks or danger in years. I think she's safe here-"

"Bring her with you."

Madeline and Nathan's eyes both widened at the Alpha's order.

"I... I can bring her?" Nathan smiled brightly at the idea of taking his sister with him.

Contrarily, a look of concern swept over Madeline’s face. This place was all she had ever known; she lived here all her life. It took years to gain the trust and love of her Pack members, and if she moved, she would have to do it all again. Would another Pack even accept her? Mystic Moon was filled with powerful, aggressive wolves; a human could never fit in there.

Nathan frowned at her anxious expression. "Maddie? Don't you want to come with me?" She timidly shook her head, subconsciously taking a step back.

"I'll be okay here. Don't worry about me." She smiled at her brother, displaying her little cheek dimples.

Normally, Alpha Blade would be furious if somebody tried to disobey his orders, but for this girl, it was different. Her face held so much innocence and delicacy, he couldn't get angry at her even if he tried. "This must be what they mean when they say your mate is your weakness," He thought to himself. "I will not allow her to make me weak. Mate or not, nobody disobeys me. If she won't come herself, I'll take her by force."

"You will bring her," He told her brother, looking straight into his eyes. Nathan gulped; his gaze was so threatening, he couldn't decline. He wanted to ask why he wanted his sister to come so badly, but the word refused to come out his mouth.

"... Yes, Alpha. Maddie, you should pack your things."

The human sulked at her brother. "I can't just leave. Our Alpha's son's birthday is coming up, and he wanted me to make his cake. And I have so many other things to do, you should just go without me."

Nathan was staggered at how she could refuse the Alpha's orders. Her human senses were not as advanced as werewolves. She could not sense his dangerously powerful aura, hence she wasn't instinctively afraid of him as others were. Although he wanted to respect her wishes, Alpha Blade's menacing stare was impossible to defy.

"I can get her to come, but it'll take a few days to convince her," He whispered to the Alpha.

"Then I'll come to get you in a week." The Alpha got up from his seat, walking towards the exit.

"Goodbye!" He heard Madeline's sweet voice say, making his heart skip a beat. "Why is she so cute?" Just the sound of her voice could lighten up his mood. He did not respond to her, keeping his expression stoic and making his way to his car.

Nathan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the car finally drove off. He was vexed; he couldn't understand why he demanded Madeline to leave her home and move into the Mystic Moon pack. "I'll ask him about it later. For now, I need to somehow convince her to move there." He thought, turning to his sister. She was clearing up the dining table, picking up the used plates to wash them.

"Maddie..." He started off. "I told you he's one of the strongest Alphas in the world. You know what he does to people who disobey him?" Nathan has heard many stories of people who have been tortured and had their entire family killed for going against Alpha Blade. The mere thought of it sent a shiver down his spine.

"No. What does he do?" Madeline asked innocently.

Her brother sighed. "You really don't know anything about him, do you? Anyway, please move there with me. I swear I'll buy you anything you want if you do."

"I don't want you to buy me anything. Why do I have to go there too?"

"I really don't know, he never mentioned that I'd have to bring you until today."

"I don't want to move to a new Pack. Everyone is going to hate me for years, they always hate humans."

Nathan brooded over his sister's words. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone do anything to you."

"But you're going to be training or fighting all the time. You won't be able to spend time with me."

"I'll try to spend as much time as possible with you. And if someone starts picking on you, just tell me, and I'll rip them to pieces."

Madeline flinched at his gruesome assertion. "Violence is not good. I don't want you to hurt anyone, no matter how mean they are to me." 

A small smile crept onto Nathan's face. She really was too kind and gentle; but that's what made him so protective of her.

-----

Convincing Madeline turned out to be rather easy. After a few days, Nathan was pleased to see her packing her things. She was almost ready to leave by the next week. They had already visited all their pack members to say their final goodbyes, but Madeline still had something to do before leaving.

"Let's go now," Nathan ordered, tapping his foot impatiently. His sister frowned at him.

"But aren't we going to visit mom and dad's graves one last time before we go?"

"The Alpha's coming in ten minutes."

Madeline grabbed the bouquet of flowers she picked earlier and slipped on her shoes. "Then let's go quick!" She rushed out the door, running in the direction of the graveyard. Nathan followed closely behind. The two offered their parents the flowers, and Madeline began sharing everything that was going on with them.

She was very talkative, even to gravestones. In her mind, dead people were very lonely, and she wanted to keep them company.

"He's probably waiting for us, come on," Nathan murmured, grabbing his sister's hand. She said her last goodbyes to her parents before they walked back to their house. As expected, Alpha Blade's car was already there.

"Sorry we're late, Alpha. I'll grab our stuff and be right back." Nathan ran inside to pick up their bags, before returning to put them all in the trunk. Alpha Blade stepped out of the car to open to backdoor for Madeline.

"Thank you." She gave him a warm smile and got inside. Although he was a complete stranger, she found it easy to trust him. Then again, she always trusted people too easily. As soon as Nathan got into the passenger's seat, the Alpha drove off.

He felt quite accomplished with himself; this girl was sitting in the back of his car, on the way to his Pack, and no one knew she was his mate yet. He decided that it would be best to not let anyone know. Not only would it disclose his entire identity, but he also knew that many wolves liked to target their enemies' mates. There were countless stories of Alphas getting their mates kidnapped, going insane, then surrendering to their enemies, and he had a lot of enemies, so for Madeline's safety, he wanted to keep it confidential... At least for now.