Chapter 9 Eric

Chapter 9 Eric

The whole day I had a feeling that something was going to happen, a kind of alert that had been activated since the day started. But what bothered me most about it was that there was no way to decipher whether it was a good feeling or a bad feeling, so I left my father at the cottage with the rest of the men in the pack and set off for home.

The drive back was longer than usual, and for some reason, more people were on the road.

What is going on with you? Are you going crazy?

I ignored my thoughts and kept alert to everything going on around me in case something happened. I started to see enemies where there were none and shadows everywhere. I was paranoid.

I soaked the steering wheel of my car with sweat to the point that it was slippery. I was starting to get worried.

"Sir, sorry I didn’t pick you up before. I didn’t know you were coming so soon," Lucas, my mother’s security guy greeted me.

I got out of the car and felt like I would collapse at any moment. The further I went into the house, the more this feeling intensified.

What the fuck are you trying to tell me, I asked my wolf but received no answer, although I could sense that he was in the same situation as me.

The house was in total silence, and I smelled a familiar scent, one that, no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t associate with anyone else.

I sharpened my hearing and overheard my mother at the end of the hallway, but she was not alone, so I walked quietly and stopped for a moment behind the door to listen for a bit, but they stopped talking.

At this point, my nerves were on edge, whoever was with my mother had the power to influence me in some way, and it was time to stand up to them.

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

My eyes couldn’t believe what they saw. At first, I thought maybe I was going crazy, but I knew I couldn’t imagine such a thing.

Cathy, my mate, was there looking me in the eyes, not saying a word. My body started to burn inside, my pulse was racing, and I was having trouble controlling my breathing.

I wanted to say something, and I wanted to ask her where she had hidden and why she had disappeared from my life.

But then I remembered what happened six years ago, how our meeting ended in an attempt by her father to unite the packs and that by...

Chloe. Then time stopped for me, and I was lost deep in memories I swore to forget.

As soon as I came home from the party six years ago. Chloe, my fiancée, became insistent about the wedding, and her behavior changed completely. She was no longer the cheerful, loving girl. Her words became sharp and loaded with resentment. I attributed it to the accident and the fact that she couldn’t walk again. Seeing her like that made me feel guilty, and I decided to organize the event.

My mother helped me, and my father, who was in recovery, offered to pay for everything, so in less than a week, we had everything arranged, and the big day had arrived.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure about getting married anymore because when I found my mate, being with someone else stopped making sense. But as the future Alpha of the pack, I had to lead by example and keep my promise to marry the woman who once saved my life.

On the day of the wedding, it occurred to me to go to the hotel room where she was getting ready, and although she made it very clear not to go there because of superstitions, I wanted to approach her and give her a hand because only her mother was with her.

Before knocking on the door, I heard Chloe and her mother having a conversation about me and the pack, where she confessed that she was sick of having to pretend to love me and that she wanted to end this affair as soon as possible to get her life back.

I couldn’t believe my ears, so I walked in unannounced and saw Chloe standing fixed in front of the mirror and her mother lying on the bed.

At that moment, my anger overshadowed the rest of my emotions, and I confronted her and made her confess everything. I walked out of there straight to the hall and announced that I was calling off the wedding, and apologized to the guests.

Later my parents, myself, and the elders who were part of the council wanted to question Chloe and her mother, but it was too late. They had escaped. Immediately my father organized a search team, but we could not find them. It was as if they had vanished into thin air, there was no trace of them, nor their scent, and not even the cameras captured the moment of their escape.

I felt betrayed, and I felt as if they played with me and almost got away with it. I didn’t know why Chloe created all that lie, or what motives she and her mother had, or who they worked for.

I began to distrust everyone more, especially women, and I didn’t allow myself to love anyone else.

My mother’s voice brought me out of my trance. She wanted to know why we had reacted that way, and when she asked if we knew each other, Cathy pretended not to know me.

Her answer was cold and calculated, as if the instant she saw me, she decided to pretend I was a complete stranger. She was afraid, and I didn’t know if she was scared of me or what I represented to her.

Being a member of another pack, she shouldn’t be with the Luna of another alone. If my father had been here, this would possibly have been a problem because my father was a man of tradition, and he would have asked for an immediate audience with her father.

I confessed to knowing her and knew that my mother would listen to what Cathy had to say and let her explain the rest so slowly it all began to fall into place. She was no longer one of the Sith Pack. She had exiled herself and began to forge her own destiny.

Having her in front of my eyes seemed unreal because, after the incident with Chloe, I sent a private investigator to find out everything he could about Cathy, but he didn’t find her. In his report, he said no one in the Sith Pack knew anything about Cathy’s whereabouts. I didn’t give up, and I looked with other investigators, and they all gave me the same answer. That’s when I decided to make my life and forget about her, but no matter how hard I tried, her face always appeared in my dreams, and I woke up at night thinking about her, her scent, her body, and how I made her mine that night.

My mother began to connect the dots and played her moves and started to play cupid. The way she spoke, the way she looked at Cathy, she was considering her to be her successor, and the fact that she was the daughter of an Alpha, made her the perfect candidate for the role.

Neither Cathy nor my mother knew that she was actually my mate, the woman I was destined to share my life with.

My mother did the usual. She made up an excuse to leave us alone. The other times she had done this, I always felt uncomfortable. This time it was different, I longed to be alone with her, and when we finally were, I took the initiative to break the ice to catch up and see if I could win her over.

I knew what I had to do, and I also decided to do it no matter what. She’d be mine, and nothing in this world would stop us from being together.

Cathy had also changed her style. Her hair was shorter, she had gained some weight, and her hips looked rounder. She was a woman that any man would wish to have. She wasn’t the same girl I met at the hotel, but she was still fascinating, but what didn’t change was her character. I could see that inside her was still the sassy, rebellious girl who spoke her mind no matter the consequences.

"I want to ask you out," I said, "It doesn’t have to be a date. It can just be a casual outing to share a little and have some drinks."

"I don’t know if I have time, I have my business, and besides that, I have..." she paused. "other important responsibilities to attend to."

"Then let’s make the most of it while you’re here," I continued.

"I won’t be here for long."

Cathy was turning down all my invitations, and every time I tried to look her in the eye, she looked in another direction.

"I’m going, to be honest," I said, "I want to be with you."

Cathy raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you engaged?"

"No, it’s a long story, but I didn’t get married. Actually, we broke up," I said.

"I get it now; that’s why your mother left us alone," she said assertively. "I’m so sorry you couldn’t get married, but I’m not looking for a relationship right now, let alone with you."

She left me speechless. Did I say something wrong? Did I disrespect her in some way?

"May I know why?"

"It’s nothing personal," she said. "Right now, I’m focusing on my business, and I have a lot to do, and a relationship would be a distraction."

"But having someone to support you can lighten up a bit."

"Do I sound like the kind of woman who needs help... or the woman who dreams of finding her charming prince? No, I’m not," she replied.

She was trying to push me away by treating me like that. It was obvious that she was afraid of something. Maybe it was the commitment or being involved with Werewolves again.

"Let’s start over. I’d like to know you better. What do you like to do in your free time?"

"I don’t have much free time, really, but I enjoy cooking and learning new cooking recipes. It’s like designing perfumes. You add a little of the proper spice, and the food changes taste completely," she said in a flowing manner but then shut down again.

"I like to travel. I find it fascinating to learn about different cultures." I shared.

"Good for you."

Cathy was sitting with one leg bent and shaking it frantically. I couldn’t figure her out. Just by the sheer fact of her sudden mood swings, sometimes she looked nervous, upset, happy, confused, and indifferent. She had a sea of emotions inside her that she could not control. But that aside, she looked stunning. She was the most gorgeous woman there was.

Don’t be an idiot, do something, or she will leave us again. Tell her the truth, my wolf told me.

I wanted to tell her the truth, that she was my mate and that our destiny was sealed. But deep down, I knew it was not the best. She might think I was lying; she couldn’t feel it because she hadn’t awakened her wolf, and if I lost her for that, I would never forgive myself.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked her.

"No!" she answered. "But I don’t want to stay either. I just..."

"Why?"

"I have responsibilities at home, in my business and I also have a life. I can’t just disappear for too long. There are people depending on me," she replied.

"I understand that better than anyone," I said kindly. "It’s just that I wish you wouldn’t leave so soon."

"I can’t do anything for you. I won’t stay more than two days," she exclaimed.

Two days are enough for me. In two days, I’ll make you fall into my arms.