Beloved

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kristen's POV

As Emanual explained every inch of the werewolf history and way of living, I was getting more and more surprised. It was unbelievable, and if it wasn't for me seeing him shift form, I wouldn't have believed a word from his mouth. He described the way wolf and mankind had lived side by side forever. Of course, it completely freaked me out. But I still wanted to know the rest. The whole truth.

"Just ask me if you don't understand something. I get that this could be sort of overwhelming for you." I nodded but didn't say a word. I wanted him to continue explaining this hidden, supernatural world.

"Okay, well, like I told you before, there's an Alpha, Beta and Third in Command in every pack. They're the leaders." His eyes strongly held my gaze, as to see if I was with him. I spoke a small "yeah," for him to continue.

"I'm the Alpha of this pack." Emanual slowly spoke. My eyes widened at his statement.

"Oh."

"Yeah," the woods fell silent after his reply, while my mind buzzed with thoughts. My eyes stayed on some strands of grass, moving as a small breeze ran through the area. To think the man next to me was able to turn into a wolf was insane and like a fairytale. This was not realistic. My mind could simply not wrap itself around this abnormality.

"Are you okay?" My gaze shifted over to him. He had a worrying expression on his face and I answered with a nod.

"This is just a lot to take in, you know?" I sighed before continuing. "When I asked for an explanation, this isn't what I expected."

"There's still some left." I nodded again. All of this still didn't explain why he pulled me away from the normal world and locked me in a house in the woods.

"Being a werewolf comes with more than just being able to change form. We also have 'mates', which are like soulmates." He looked almost cautious, when he told me, repeatedly searching for my eyes to see if I understood. I urged him to continue with a shake of my head. Where was he going with this?

"We're destined to meet somebody one day, who fits us completely. They're like our second half, the only person in the whole world, who can make us truly happy. We depend on that other person with our lives." He spoke quicker and quicker, while rubbing his palms against each other. My forehead creased when I tried to make out what he was going to tell me. It must be important if he is this nervous.

"You're my mate."

My mouth suddenly felt completely parched and I shook my head. The state of pure shock hid every word on my tongue and I was stuck in silence.

"I'm not a part of this. I can't be your mate." I finally found the words. My head continued shaking "no" softly, while I stood up from the ground.

"You are." Emanual quickly got up, too, and grabbed my hand, instantly warming up my cold skin.

"Can't you feel how your body reacts to me; to us?" I shook my head once again and pulled my hand out of his grip. This was all too much.

"I need to get away from here," I stated quietly, so quietly that he shouldn't have heard me. He did, though.

"Don't even say that." His voice got deeper, close to animalistic, but I wasn't scared. If I was his other half, I should be safe from his strength and anger.

"This place is making me crazy. I can't think logically when you're here." Things were slowly settling in my mind, and I could think somewhat clearly.

"Wait," I spoke again, a frown appearing between my brows. My eyes were set firm on his face.

"You kidnapped me because of this?" As as I finished my question, guilt washed over his face.

"Well..."

"Well, what? You did, didn't you?" Tears were welling up my eyes, and I didn't even know why.

"I did. It was in the heat of the moment, I just wanted you with me as soon as possible."

"You're fucking crazy." Surprisingly, I wasn't yelling. But I was fighting for my voice not to break.

"Kristen," he started, but nothing followed. I knew he was trying to find the right words to say, but I shook my head at him.

"Let me go home." My eyes didn't flicker away from his. Instead, they rested in his gaze.

"Fine."

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Oooh what's gonna happen? I actually made a slight change of plans in this story, but nothing major. (sorry for such a short chapter, but you'll get more soon!)

Hope you all are having a great summer! I thought I'd be able to write a lot on my break but I actually write better on school days, it's weird. Oh well.

And of course, THANK YOU FOR 50k READS! It's unbelievable and I'm so grateful. I get so happy when I see people voting and commenting on this story, it really keeps me motivated. Thank you my babies!

-M.