Knock, knock, knock!
"Ioris... let me in. I need to talk to you," pleaded a voice from outside the room and a knock that made me jump in surprise and wake up with cold sweat soaking my forehead and back.
I looked at the nightstand's waker clock; it was seven in the morning. So, was last night's black smoke just a dream? It felt natural, and I saw a man forming from the smoke.
I turned back and stared at the corner where the smoke had been last night. The traces seemed to be there still. So real. I wasn't sure if I was dreaming because all I felt now was emptiness.
The door opened, and Uncle Ray stepped in, sitting on the sofa while I quickly climbed onto the bed and looked away.
"What do you want to talk about? If it's the same as yesterday, blaming me, asking about the news you brought, you'd better get out."
"I have the right to ask that because the one who died in that attack was one of my pack members. You must know how hard it is to be a leader. You are my favorite niece, but the safety of the pack members is also my duty."
"Well, you finally said that. While a few days ago, you treated me like a stranger."
"You're mistaken, Ioris. I have so many things to do that I can't stay by your side all the time. Besides, you've grown up. Soon, you will meet your mate."
"Oh, me? I thought it was you. Is mate talk also on your agenda this time? Let's see what you have to say."
Uncle Ray sighed, looked down, intertwined his ten fingers, and froze awhile.
"All has been decided, Ioris. I was hoping you would be willing to be one of the maids of honor at my wedding."
No, I didn't.
I never wanted to see this day coming.
Uncle Ray should have kept me company and made me his favorite forever. However, what happened was precisely the opposite of my expectations.
The same inauguration night made me the subject of ridicule and slander until now. The Moon Goddess didn't like me enough to give me all this.
Unconsciously, tears slid down my cheeks. My gaze didn't move from Uncle Ray, who didn't seem to dare to return my gaze, and I never knew what he was feeling right now.
This was the worst news I've ever heard, and his words hurt more than Dad's accusations against me last night.
"You lied to me," I said, my chest tight and on the verge of bursting. "You said you'd keep me company."
"Yes, but not at the cost of my future, Ioris. I am a leader. I must have a descendant to be the heir who will carry on my leadership one day."
"But you don't love her, and she's not your mate. Why did you accept her?" I urged. "Didn't you say you wouldn't marry if it weren't your mate? And you said you would wait patiently for your mate to come. Have you forgotten your own words?"
"Ioris... all the elders urged me, the higher-ups including your father and mother urged me. They have the highest position, a king and queen whose every word is a command to me. What can I do? You, too, may soon find a mate; you are already eighteen. You'll be nineteen in a few months, and I can't possibly keep holding you like a puppy."
I wiped the tears away roughly. This wasn't what I wanted to hear to start my day. This was so suffocating.
"My mate can't come. I don't have a wolf, so anyone can't be my mate."
At that instant, after finishing saying the sentence that I thought was a fact, the strange scent that I had smelled a while ago returned and became even stronger.
I turned to Uncle Ray, who had also raised his face and was looking at me.
"What is this scent?" I asked, trying to find something that might be hidden in the room. Uncle Ray did the same.
"Do you smell it, too?" he asked. I nodded. However, neither of us knew the answer until Uncle Ray decided to leave, just like that moment.
And the next few days and beyond were going to be the toughest for me.
Should I obey Mom's wishes and go to boarding school instead?
***
I was reluctant to leave my room, but no matter what, I had to force myself to come to school and finish the rest of the time there well.
I'm already imagining what will happen later, especially after the attack that supposedly killed a member of The Moon Hunter Pack. They would ostracize me even more and accuse me with even more hurtful words.
As I was about to step down, I heard a strange noise from the first floor. I wasn't sure what I heard, but curiosity made me step slowly and carefully.
Mom and Dad weren't home. They usually left early in the morning, leaving only Isaiah and me, while he must still be wandering in dreamland.
I stood still in the living room, my gaze fixed straight on the corner sofa where two wolves, consumed by desire, were struggling, and I still couldn't be sure which one.
No, one of them. Because I knew who the woman was who was there and was enjoying the hip movements of the man on top of her.
"Jeez! Ioris, what are you doing there?" asked the girl, grabbing the clothes that were lying not far from her while the man, who was still very much in the throes of passion, was forced to stop his movements and do the same, covering his lower body.
"So you guys—" I pointed at the two of them in turn. "No wonder you're so defensive of Lyla, Isaiah. Because she's your bitch? I should have guessed that from the start."
Isaiah grabbed my arm suddenly, his face red with anger. His gaze flashed with fangs that began to poke out behind his lips.
No, he wasn't a vampire. Only Isaiah could summon wolf limbs, like a fang for example, even though he was still a human. Its function was to bully, making him the most feared werewolf warrior in The Dawns Pack.
"You should learn to recognize words, sister. There are the words 'mate, mating, marking, and bonding'," he said with a sentence full of affirmation. "Oh, I almost forgot, a wolfless wolf wouldn't understand that."
I was stunned by his words. The Isaiah I knew had never said such a cruel sentence, and when I turned to Lyla, the girl seemed to have a devilish smile that I could see, though she quickly changed her expression.
"Yeah, you're right. I only know the words 'slut, fuck, whore, and dick'. And those are all you two." I shook off Isaiah's grip and pushed his body away before leaving the room.
So... Lyla is Isaiah's mate? Why I didn't like the sound of that. After hearing the news of Uncle Ray getting married in a few days, my twin brother found a mate, and I... still a lowly wolfless wolf.
Thank you, Moon Goddess. You'll see. I'll be making calculations for you later.