Gabriella felt her head spin as Rocco came to a stop in front of an ancient-looking manor. The beast-man had run with her draped over his shoulder through the thick forest.
The stone-walled estate stood imposingly scary in the moonlight. Crawling Ivy clung to the walls, adding to its already frightful glare. "Where am I?" She asked, following his lead up the stony path. "My home. You will be safe here." Rocco said simply, walking up the stairs and throwing the mahogany doors open with one hand.
The inside of the house was more beautiful than any of the homes she saw on reality TV. Tall ceilings curved above them bathed in the soft glow of lustrous lights. The air was filled with scents of baked goods and meats. Gabriella's cheeks darkened as her stomach growled, reminding her she had yet to have a decent meal since the tuna sandwich.
Rocco smiled at her, leading her to the kitchen, scooping a plate of warm beef stew in front of her. "Eat. You will need your strength after all that running. I will get someone to take a look at your foot as well."
"You can't win me over with food," She protested, taking a bite of the delicious stew, her body giving in to the hunger of the day.
"You are not my prisoner, Gabriella. In fact, I might be your prisoner if we get into the finer details. After all, you are the spell caster in this case." He stated, dark eyes boring into hers as she cleaned off the last bits from her plate.
Gabriella stood, walking around the kitchen island to face him. "I don't know how else to make you understand that I am not this great and powerful witch you think I am? You keep talking about danger and how you need to protect me and calling me your mate! Don't you think I deserve some sort of explanation from the man who I just saw turn into a wolf! If anything, I should be running away from you."
Stepping around her, Rocco walked out of the kitchen, taking the long hallway towards a wooden door.
"Hey!" Gabriella screamed her frustration. "I am talking to you."
He unlocked the door in response, ushering her into the scantily furnished room. "You will stay here until I find better sleeping arrangements for you."
"What does that…"
Bang!
The door slammed shut in her face and Gabriella gasped. Running up, she turned the knob around alarmed to find it locked. She was trapped.
The small room had a single bed, bathroom, mini fridge, and a large bay window overlooking the forest. Said window was housed behind iron bars.
Her hand instinctively reached for her phone and she smacked herself when she came up empty, the lousy device was in her purse, the same purse that was lying at the foot of the tree
Just perfect. The universe must want to get rid of her because it has been one mishap after the other recently. To think she just wanted to prove the man-eating wolves weren't real, and now some shape-shifter man claimed she was a danger to his land and locked her up like some hussy. She should have known nothing good would come out of this move.
She had to escape.
The door pushed open and Gabriella spun around in fright. A tall, slender, pink-haired man stepped inside the room; his frame exuded an air of authority that almost made her cower away from him; it was the same aura of authority she felt around Rocco - but the stranger was quieter, blue eyes calculating as they watched her with interest.
"Who are you?" Gabriella asked, her eyes narrowing.
The man smiled, bowing to her in courtesy. "Pardon my manners, Luna. My name is Dominic Cartwright. I am the pack historian and owner of Moonlight Delights." The man replied smoothly.
Gabriella blinked in confusion. "You make the delicious banana bread? I got some when I came into town. They were delicious."
Dominic smiled, taking long strides towards her as he dropped into a chair hidden behind the curtains, his blue eyes fixed on the locket hanging from her neck. "If you want I can teach you how to bake them. But, first…," His expression turned somber. "We must talk about your locket and also apologize for Rocco's behavior. He is a caring man. It's just… we never expected to run into a Farris after all these years. Even to find out his mate is one of them must be taking a toll on him."
Gabriella scoffed. "Could have fooled me. That beast dragged me here and locked me up like some sort of animal without rights. Kept talking about some magical curse and calling me a witch. Lunatic wolf."
"Our alpha speaks the truth. You might not know it, but that locket is not just any piece of jewelry," he explained, moving closer. "It connects you to Rocco and the curse that plagues our pack. An ancient magic we never thought to see in this lifetime. It is hope and yet, death at the same time."
Her breath caught in her throat. "What do you mean by curse?"
Dominic pulled out a thick book from his back; the leather-bound stationery looked odd against his light blue shirt. "This might answer some of your questions."
Curious but cautious, Gabriella sat at the edge of the bed. "Does that book hold the answers to my questions? Because I could use some explanations right now."
Dominic smiled at her, flipping open the murky pages to explain. "From what you might have seen tonight, we are werewolves. That means we share our soul with an animal half, in this case, a wolf. So we can call upon our other form and communicate with them at will. A wolf's greatest treasure is his mate, the one person they are destined to share the rest of their life with forever."
Gabriella swallowed. "Okay, how does this explain the locket and the weird power that almost killed that wolf guy?"
A ghost of a smile crossed Dominic's lips as he turned the book towards her. "See for yourself."
The book was filled with faded illustrations of figures under a full moon, with features that were part human, part wolf. A drawing of a woman with a locket identical to hers caught Gabriella's eye.
"The witches were mortal enemies of our kind. Not by choice, though; a mistake a long time ago forced us into this hatred. The witches cast spells to separate us from our animal half, and the wolves hunted down the witches to save their lives. That locket was created many centuries ago," Dominic explained. "It was enchanted to protect the descendants of a powerful bloodline - your bloodline. The first wielder of its power was a healer; she stood in the balance between witches, humans, and werefolk. Over the years, men hunted down the wearer of the locket, both werewolves and humans alike. Many wanted its power, and the wielders went into hiding, slowly fading away until one day they were no longer there. With your grandmother gone, we believed the tug-of-war between werewolves and witches was over. Who knew you would carry her gift and be the Alpha's mate at that? Tsk, what a strange world."
Gabriella blinked, struggling to process his words. "Let me get this straight. You think I am related to some ancient healer? And, this glowing locket is like a conductor of magic electricity."
"Oh my gosh," She bent over, laughing at the serious look on his face. "This is perfect. I come home from one disgrace to be told I have "magical powers" and some hocus pocus. No offense to you, Dominic. But, I am not some special great healer. I am plain, boring Gabriella. And this locket," She held up the jewelry around her neck. "It's not going to keep anyone safe from anything. So, just talk to your Alpha leader to let me go and no one will get hurt or exposed."
"Your powers are real, whether you believe them or not. The enchantment is meant to protect you from harm and as Rocco explained, it has bound you to him in a way we have not seen before." Dominic stated bluntly.
Her breath caught in her throat. "You can't be serious. This is a hoax!"
"I am serious." He replied. "The magic you carry is meant to protect you and repel wolves, yet for some reason, it has linked you to Rocco. Maybe your powers recognize him as your mate. Whatever the case, your life is now bound to him, so for your safety, you must remain on pack lands where it is safe. I heard about your emergence in the woods, others must have felt it. They will come looking for you. They will not show mercy."
Just as Gabriella was about to argue, the door suddenly burst open and Rocco entered the room, exuding a powerful presence. He had changed out of his muddy clothes and held what looked like fresh towels and clean clothes in his hands. His dark eyes landed on Dominic. "That is enough with the history lessons. My mate needs to change and rest. Leave us."
"Of course, alpha. I just wanted to give the Luna some insight into our lives. She is part of us now."
Ignoring Dominic, Rocco turned his attention to Gabriella. "So what have you learned from our historian, little mate? Did he perhaps tell you of the consequences of forcibly breaking the mate bond you cast upon us?"
Feeling a knot form in her stomach, Gabriella replied nervously, "What consequences?" her voice shaking despite her attempts to appear strong.
Rocco's jaw clenched and his gaze burned with intensity. "If either of us tries to break this bond, you will die." He deadpanned.