The elevator ride was silent and awkward. The high of the mating bond dispiating. Malachi, or Kai, as he'd told me to call him, stood beside me, face blank.
The hotel was luxurious enough to make my head spin, but when the elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the presidential suite, my breath hitched.
It was massive, larger and luxurious. Everything looked so expensive and Mother would have killed to hire the interior designer for the suite.
"Is this..." I trailed off, unable to find the words.
Kai nodded, coolly, as he tossed his jacket onto a pristine white couch. "Your temporary residence for the night."
"No one gets access to a presidential suite in Saint Hotels. How did you get access?"
His grey-blue eyes flashed slightly, but he said nothing.
"Who are you?" My eyes narrowed at him.
"That's not important as of now." He replied evenly.
An angry laugh echoed in the spacious room. "Fuck you. Tell me who you are or I'll leave."
Kai leaned against the back of the couch, his intense gray-blue eyes locking onto mine. "I'm Malachai."
The way he said it made something finally clicked in my head. Only one Malachi in Celeste City would have access to the top Suite at Saint Hotel. My brows furrowed, eyes widening. "You're Malachi Saint Von Jhering."
Fuck this. He was the Alpha of Blood Moon Pack. The king of all werewolves. My body froze. "What do you want with me?"
Slight irritation ticked in his jaw. "What do you mean what do I want with you? You're my mate or do you have selective memory?"
"Excuse me?" I scoffed just as the reality of what this meant.
The room tilted slightly, my stomach twisting into knots. The idea of Malachi, Kai, being my mate was overwhelming enough. But the Alpha King? The most powerful wolf in the world?
I staggered back a step. "No. No, this can't be happening."
Kai straightened, his expression softening, ever so slightly. "Chloe, breathe. I'm not here to force anything on you."
"I don't believe you," I shot back, my voice trembling. "Oh is that why you sent the pictures of Lucas and Nesta to me? Funny way of showing that, Alpha."
He sneered at me. "Your fiancee was cheating on you. I did you a favor. I don't need to explain myself to you."
"You are a prick, you know that? You can't just upend my life, okay!?"
He sighed, running a hand though his hair. Kai paced before stopping, his walk made me dizzy. "Look, I'm sorry. It doesn't look like it but I want this. I want you. Just believe that I won't hurt you, princess."
I blinked at him. "Princess?"
He shrugged, looking almost sheepish. "Sorry."
"Don't call me that," I muttered, though my cheeks flushed at the endearment. Something hot flowed in my lower belly. The bond pulling me closer, but my brain knew better.
Goddess, how could I trust him? But the again, he was my mate. And very handsome and muscular. His muscles rippled under the black shirt... No! Focus!
"Noted," he said, and his lips twitched so lightly that I thought it was a trick of the light.
Despite myself, I felt a reluctant smile tugging at my lips. But I wasn't ready to let my guard down just yet.
"How long have you known that I was your mate?" I asked. The mate bond kicked in when you were sixteen and if you didn't find your mate before twenty-one, you had to be mated or your wolf would die of immense loneliness at some point then you would follow.
The pain, I heard was unbearable and soul-crushing. I thought I would experience it but the engagement with Lucas gave me some kind of hope but now I was finding out that Kai was my mate?
"Yes, he is, Decker." Cassie, purred feeling happier since the day she emerged to me. I rolled my eyes.
But of course, Malachai would never answer a simple question. Instead be said, "Get some sleep."
Fuck him. I dropped to the bed with a loud groan.
The night passed uneventfully.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee woke me the next morning. Groggily, I sat up to find a tray on the bedside table, piled high with pancakes, fruit, and a steaming cup of coffee.
A note lay next to the tray in neat handwriting:
'Good morning, Princess. Hope the coffee refreshes your memory.'
I smiled at the note. Aww. Wait. Refresh my memory? The nerve of this man!
After breakfast, I showered, only to find a neatly folded outfit waiting for me on the counter. A simple blouse and slacks, but they were my exact size.
"How does he know my size?" I muttered, shaking my head. I checked the full-length mirror and nodded.
My fiery red hair was layered with each layer having bouncy curls with half of the hair resting on my shoulder. My eyes, Golden were covered with black contact lenses.
Grateful nonetheless, I got dressed and headed to work.
The moment I stepped out of my car at Pack High School, I saw Lucas striding toward me. My heart sank.
"We need to talk," he said, his tone clipped.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "We have nothing to talk about. Go talk to your mistress, Nesta."
His jaw tightened, and for a second, I thought he might actually look guilty. But that was wishful thinking.
"You're going to marry me, Decker," he said as if it were a foregone conclusion.
I glared at him. "I'm not marrying a cheat."
"You're meant to be the Luna," he snapped. "So stop acting like a child and accept it. We are supposed to be mates."
I folded my arms, an exasperated sigh leaving my lips. "If you're my mate, then I reject you, a thousand times over. I'd rather die than be with you."
His nostrils flared, "Who the fuck do you think are?" He encroached my personal space, looking down on me." You should be grateful I even accepted you."
"Well then, fuck your kindness." Before I left, I said coldly, "I'm going to be late for my class. Kindly fuck off, Alpha." The word dripped with hatred, and it clearly struck a nerve.
But before I could walk away, Lucas grabbed my arm roughly.
"Let me go," I hissed. "It doesn't look good for the future Alpha to be assaulting pack members."
"You're not worth it, Decker," he spat. "Astra was worth a thousand of you. She was better than you in every way. You killed my mate, and I wish you had died that day instead of her."
His words cut deep, but I refused to let him see the pain. I smiled bitterly. "You and me both, Lucas. But too bad. Look where we are now. So go make Nesta your mate and leave me the fuck alone. I'm actually doing you a favor if you think about it. You should be the one grateful."
Lucas growled, his grip tightening for a moment before he let go.
"Well," he said with a smirk, "you might want to tell that to my parents. They want to see you."
My breath hitched. The Alpha and Luna of the Half Moon pack wanted to see me.
Panic surged through me. I hadn't considered how they would react to me breaking off the marriage.
"You can tell the whole pack why a wolfless bitch like you killed her sister."
No. I didn't kill her. "You're bluffing." However, his gaze made me falter.
He smiled, all teeth like a wolf.
Fuck. What the fuck have I gotten into?