After the face-off in my room the last time, neither the mate nor the Alpha had shown their faces in the room, and it's already been about a day or two.

I watched the kids gnaw playfully. I started to enjoy how the adults shifted into hairy beasts for their crying toddlers, how the kids stretched out in the fluffy embrace of the shifted mothers. I watched from my window.

Yet no matter how hard I tried, it was difficult to get Alpha Damian's words out of my mind. I shuddered.

I had to make things clear to him. I had to let him understand that I didn't belong here... Yet, deep down I felt hesitant. A tugging feeling pulled me back, but it was difficult to explain what it was I felt.

A gentle knock seeped into the room, pulling me out of my clouded thoughts. The knock sufficed again.

I swallowed. Was that Alpha Damian?

"Hi, Celine, it's Ralph!" The voice whispered.

My ears pricked. The voice struck a chord in my brain. I'd heard that voice somewhere.

In a short gentle stride, I stopped at the door. The lock clicked.

"Hi Celine, it's me." He waved shyly, his lips turning upward as he walked into the room.

"You?" I froze. The third guy from the party.

He looked better. A bandage was wrapped around his legs, but he no longer looked pale and rough. I hadn't seen him since after the attack. His turquoise eyes flickered.

"I stopped by to thank you for not leaving me behind." A small smile played on his lips.

"I should be thanking you, and I'm sorry for not coming to see you." My eyes darted around. "I've been locked up in this room."

He smirked. "I can't help you escape... As a matter of fact, I won't." I felt every weight of his words – slow and hard.

I smiled back, but my eyes betrayed me.

He shifted closer, too close for comfort. I took a step back; he covered the distance.

"Celine, don't let Alpha Damian deceive you. He already has a mate – one who he's bound to."

I paused.

My eyebrow raised. "Why are you telling me all these things?"

"Because you don't belong to him, Celine." His words, like broken glass, tore into my skin. I shivered.

My jaw dropped.

"The first time I saw you in the woods, like a lost sheep. You. I watched with attention as you flipped through every corner of the wood. Your eyes glistened at the sight of squirrels." He folded his lips in. "It was just amazing." His eyes brightened with excitement.

He continued: "I trailed after you until you found your campmates. I stuck around until it was time for you to leave. I felt bad that I couldn't approach you, and when I met you at the mating ceremony, I swore never to let you go again."

I felt the hairs on my body stand. The room temperature died down… I was completely speechless.

The door creaked open. Alpha Damian walked in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His firm voice echoed.

"I... I came to thank her." His speech became slurred; the Alpha's presence threw him off balance.

Alpha Damian glared at him. He shifted. "I was already on my way out." He stammered as his body moved to the door.

But paused, cleared his throat, avoiding the Alpha's gaze. "Umm, she's my mate." He pointed at me.

I stiffened.

He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Alpha Damian's glare lasered at the empty doorway. I swallowed. His gaze landed on me, piercing into my skin. I shivered.

"What is he talking about?" he asked.

My lips parted. "I don't..."

"You are mine. Do you get that?" His gaze hardened.

I sniffled.

"Do you get that?" he barked.

I nodded. A starry tear dropped from my eye.

His gaze softened, lingered on me, and it happened again – blood flowed out of his nose.

My eyes widened.

With his hands over his nose, he walked away.

I sat at the edge of the bed. My mind kept darting back to what happened earlier. Why does he keep bleeding?

The ambience in the room changed. My chest heaved against the weight that pressed on it... I needed some air.

I slowly pushed the doorknob. I stared at the empty doorway. My legs dragged behind me... This was my first time out of this room.

Standing by a fully bloomed garden I had always admired from the window, I felt warm air brush against my skin. I heaved gently. I exhaled loudly.

"I'm guessing you're the Celine who's about to wipe out this pack." The voice once again sounded oddly familiar.

Yet my head, hesitant to look his way, focused on the pink petals of the tulips.

"I'm Beta Guike." His voice drew near.

Little wonder his voice was familiar, I thought, still focused on the tulips. I wasn't ready for my peace to be ruined just yet.

The birds sang. The sound of children playing around rented the air. I almost forgot someone stood next to me.

"By any means, are you Lucia?"

My eyes shifted to him. “For the umpteenth time, I don't even know who Lucia is."

He smiled dryly. "Well, Alpha Damian seems to think that's who you are.” His side eye caught my raised brow.

“Lucia was his mate in his past life, and you look exactly like her…” he paused.

Silence sizzled between us.

“If Alpha Damian doesn't complete the mating ritual with Lily by fortnight, Red Moon Pack will perish.” His gaze was distant but his words, like a sword, pierced my skin.