His ASSIGNED Mate [REVISITED]

CHAPTER 2: The Blood Bond

HIS ASSIGNED MATE

Chapter 2: The Blood Bond

That poor girl is ...me? I asked myself.

I refused to believe it. Even when everybody looked at me with pity or a scorching glare, I stayed still in my spot as I watched a tall shadow about six inches, get up from the opposite side of the stage.

All eyes turned away from me and turned to look at the alluring man dressed in dark shoes, dark jeans, and a black long-sleeved collared shirt that was uncuffed and rolled messily over to his elbows, showing the line of his veins stretching down to his wrists. I could see the details of this man far from where I sat, hyperventilating.

"He is the most ruthless..."

"Relentless..."

The man finally walked up to the stage and under the glare of the bright golden lights, his dark hair and eyes looked over at the crowd around me as if searching for somebody. About the various scary things I have heard about this man, from his looks he didn't match the mental picture I had in mind. His dark stubble made him look mysterious, his long and straight posture made him look dominating as he interlocked his hands behind his lower back, asserting his confidence and aura over the crowd. What I hadn't imagined was how handsome he would be.

"Some even say that he and his wolf have a raw sexual drive and that he needs a girl in his bed every other night to satisfy himself, but those girls whom he would spend time with would never be seen again. Strange."

Biting down on my bottom lip, I squeezed my eyes shut. This is not real.

"Jasmine Haze," the host repeated my name, and I quickly looked up to see Mike staring at me impatiently, "Any time now," he forced a smile.

I could feel Alpha Liam's eyes on me, but I didn't dare meet his gaze as I stood up on my wobbly feet and walked past other people in my row, almost falling into them in the process but I was quick to regain my posture.

Sucking in a huge gulp of air, I walked down the empty path leading to the stairs beside the stage. Once I reached the end of the stage, I looked across at him, only to see his eyes trained on the ground, but a tick of his jaw was enough to make me assume he was downright annoyed by my slow pace.

Forcing my legs to move faster, I stopped a few inches away from him, my hands clasped together as the host coughed awkwardly. From all the mates I've seen get assigned today, it is nothing compared to how we both stood there refusing to meet each other's eyes.

The other people who came before me at least looked a little interested in their assigned mate, and maybe that's because they have made peace with their random fate, but I guess I still haven't. Mostly because I could feel Nicole's heated gaze on me as if she would rip me into shreds any moment. She is an Alpha's daughter, so who knows if anyone would even stop her.

"Let's let the blood bond begin," Mike finally broke the silence, almost determined to have us proceed.

Sighing softly, I was the first one to build courage and state loud and firmly, "I, Jasmine Haze, accept you, Alpha Reign..." I trailed off, hesitating in the end, "... as my assigned mate."

I watched with lowered eyes when Alpha Liam's hands uncoiled making his veins calm down as he finally turned to look down at me since he was towering over my head. Then without a word, his hand inched forward and grabbed my wrist, sending a buzz down my veins.

The ritual is simple; he must slightly slice a part of my arm, taste my blood, and accept me as his mate. As weird as it may seem, tasting the blood of your assigned mate is supposed to bring greater power to the Alphas and Betas, and since ironically, I am the chosen mate of an Alpha, I have no other way around this ritual. Werewolves of lower ranking are not asked to do it, they may if they want.