"Mate!" her wolf cried, stirring with excitement, warmth flooding her chest.
Her eyes began glowing, the two distinct colours shining brightly. Her heart was beating loudly, from excitement, nervousness, thrill. She noticed the person duck away, hiding behind the tree, so she moved forward, ambling across the flowing water to the other side of the creek.
The scent of her mate only clouded her senses as she moved closer.
Noticing that he had been seen, Ian nervously hid himself from the wolf. He felt stupid hiding but still did it anyway. He listened, hearing the paws of the wolf approach him. So he decided to come out from behind the tree.
But he stood still, stunned, mesmerized by the wolf's heterochromatic eyes; one scarlet, one sapphire. For some reason, he felt drawn to this wolf, a pull he could not explain.
Camelia also paused at seeing him. If she were in her human form, her jaw would have dropped at the moment.
The vampire before her was her mate. Ian was her mate. She felt like her head was rushing with too many thoughts for her to process all at once at that moment. But one thought was louder, one impulse, one voice.
"Mark him now," she heard her wolf growl from within, pushing her to heed its command.
Not wanting her wolf to completely take control of the situation, she shifted back to her human form, her body aching briefly. Both her eyes returned to their usual blue.
She saw utter shock fill Ian's face instantly at seeing that it was her.
"Mate. You're my mate," she said as she stepped forward.
But Ian only took a step back to create some distance between them.
"Is the moon perhaps affecting your head? Who are you calling your mate? Do I look like a male wolf to you?" Ian asked, frowning with irritation.
"But you're my mate. I can feel it. Can't you?" she asked, trying to move closer to him, but she noticed him moving away again.
This time she could hear his heartbeat spiking unnaturally fast.
"You can feel it too. I know you can. If not, why is your heart beating so loudly?" she said, hoping the stubborn man would just admit that she was right.
But Ian had no plans of admitting that she was right. He went around her, striding over to the creek. He bent down, washing the blood off his mouth.
As he did so, Camelia approached him.
"Did you know before now?" she asked.
Ian stilled at her question for a moment before resuming, washing his hands now.
When she called him her mate, she didn't sense surprise from him but annoyance instead, as if he was irritated that she was now aware of the fact that they were mates.
"Yes," he finally replied.
Camelia's eyes widened. He knew all this time and didn't say anything. She felt hurt by this knowledge.
He stood up, raking his wet fingers through his hair.
"Are you satisfied now?" he glanced at her over his shoulder.
"How long. How long have you known, and why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you try to claim me?" she asked, her voice rising at the end in annoyance.
His arrogant attitude was only pissing her off.
Ian faced her, his eyes drifting down, slowly raking over her body. With a clenched jaw, he managed to bring his eyes back up to meet hers.
"Do you really want to have this conversation looking like this, nude and all?" he said, his gaze sweeping over her body again briefly.
Camelia only frowned at his remark. She couldn't care less about her current appearance. Her lips parted, about to speak again, when she heard someone approaching.
She turned toward the direction, but the next second, Ian was in front of her, completely covering her from whoever was coming.
Thomas strode out from the trees, holding Ian's shirt.
"There you are," he said upon seeing Ian, as he strode over. "We should head—"
He immediately stilled when he noticed someone hiding behind Ian. He did not recognize who it was at first, only knowing that the person was a woman.
"My, my. What do we have here. My dear brother already found himself some entertainme—"
His words were cut short when the woman peeked her head out and he recognized who it was.
"Mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" he asked, staring at Camelia with disdain before his eyes moved toward Ian.
Ian glanced at Camelia over his shoulder.
"Go," he ordered.
Camelia glanced at Thomas, then back at Ian, before shifting and sprinting into the cluster of trees behind her, across the creek.
After she left, Ian walked over to Thomas and took his shirt from him, putting it on.
"What were you doing with a naked she-wolf?" Thomas asked, his eyes darting toward where Camelia disappeared, then back at Ian.
Ian glanced his brother's way as he buttoned his shirt. He tilted his head to the side, watching him with intensity, like he was attempting to dissect something.
"What exactly did you hear?" Ian suddenly asked, his eyes back to their vacant look.
"What?" Thomas said.
He looked confused at his brother's question at first, but the next instant, Ian grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
"Don't mess with me, Thomas. You know your tricks never work on me. Now tell me what you heard," Ian said, his voice dark, his still expression making him look even more dangerous.
He knew how his brother used his shadow manipulation ability. While he could use the ability to teleport, he could also use it to hide at close range without being sensed.
"Tch." Thomas clicked his tongue, his once confused face now turning to an amused expression.
"Calm down already, would you. You can't blame a man for overhearing an interesting conversation."
"You heard everything, didn't you?" Ian asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Let me think. If you're asking whether or not I heard her call you mate and the conversation that followed thereafter, then yes, I suppose I did," he said, the edges of his lips stretching into a smile when a thought crossed his mind.
"I wonder what Lucas would say when I tell him what I heard. Father would also love to hear about this. And mother…" he paused, his smile widening into something sinister.
"Wouldn't she be thrilled at the thought of welcoming a new daughter-in-law into the family. Or maybe they might just flay her while you watch."
Ian's eyes darkened, his grip around Thomas's neck tightening dangerously as Thomas began choking.
"Thomas, listen to me carefully. If anyone, anyone at all, finds out that she is my mate, trust me, you'd wish you were dead. Do I make myself clear?" Ian said, his grip loosening slightly.
"Y–Yes," Thomas gasped. "You've made yourself clear."
"Good," Ian said as he put him down.
He turned around and began striding away, leaving Thomas there.
…..
The sound of birds' happy morning chirps filled the woods, from tree to tree. The morning sun's rays peeked through the leaves, landing on Camelia's bare, sleeping form on the ground, lying on dried leaves.
She stirred, her lashes fluttering softly as her eyes slowly opened. She sat up, taking in her surroundings before standing up in almost a haste.
Last night's memories came flooding back instantly. She had found her mate. She could feel her wolf stirring restlessly inside her, with the need to find Ian.
She glanced down at her naked body.
"Clothes first," she muttered, shifting into her wolf form.
The shift felt so easy, making her forget that just a few days ago she wouldn't have been able to shift at all without a full moon.
It took her some time before she found the spot where she had stashed some clothes and other things for emergencies. After shifting back and getting dressed in some shorts and a simple sleeveless shirt, she decided to find her way back to the pack, which wasn't too far from her stash.
Even after shifting back to her human form, she noticed that her senses were still enhanced, not as strong as when she was in her wolf form but equally prominent.
After a bit of walking, the scent of the pack hit her nose. Dart had described to her once what the pack smelled like. It was a woody smell with a small mixture of bitter herbs. Every pack territory had its own specific scent. This was the first time she was picking it up.
Suddenly, a strange, vile scent filled with malicious intent hit her nose. She frowned, halting immediately. Listening closely, she heard a heartbeat.
Someone was stalking her.
She spun around, eyes darting around, alert, until they settled on a specific tree where the heartbeat was coming from.
"Come out," Camelia growled, steadying herself for a fight.
For a moment, it was as if the woods turned quiet.