"The reason I am alive is that your Alpha dragged me here." I stated.

"You would've died if he didn't." Eve shook her head.

"And what if I wanted to? What if I would rather die than be here or there?" I quipped.

Rio flinched at my words, as though they burned his very soul. Eve had tensed beside me and I wondered why, but she didn't respond to my question.

"Nothing to say back to that?" I wondered, looking down at her. "Why did my potential persuade the Alpha to save me? Why not feed me to his wolves?"

She sighed, her shoulders relaxing. "I don't have jurisdiction to tell you why."

"Well, I fucking do." Rio snapped. "The Alpha brought you here because you are his mate. So do not go around saying you would rather die."

My sudden confidence died down as though a bucket of cold water had been poured upon me. Rio stared back at me, his face passive and hard as he watched my reaction. Time seemed to stand still as I stared in horror. I was never good at hiding my emotions.

After a moment, I caught my breath and swallowed down the lump in my throat. "I'm his what?"

"You are his mate, his intended. You are his." Rio huffed, standing from the chair.

I could practically feel his anger in the air; it left a bitter taste on my tongue, a twist in my gut. Why I could feel his anger, I wasn't sure, but I didn't like it one bit.

"Rio..." Eve began, but he cut her off with a growl that had me shrink into the bed more.

"No. She needs to know. She cannot spend her days cooped up in here anymore." He growled before turning his steely gaze to me. "This is your life; you need to accept that."

I felt my jaw click. The temptation to snap back at him was too strong. But I conformed and bowed my head in respect. I have learnt to not question an angry man, to agree with what they're saying left me safer than disagreeing. This man was a wolf, a purely instinctual creature that could tear my head from my neck with ease.

With a final grumble, he stomped out of my room; the door closing behind him. I remained silent, staring down at my thumbs with a frown. Eve shifted, and I felt her eyes burning into the side of my face as she waited for my reaction.

"Ailia?"

I sighed, raising my head to stare her in the eye. She was concerned, that much I could tell, as she scanned my face for my emotions. I gritted my jaw at the sad look in her eye, not wanting the motherly attention she will give me. If anything, I have learnt since becoming friendly with Eve, was her uncanny likeness to a mother bear.

"Why couldn't you tell me?" I wondered.

"It was not my place to," She sighed.

"Why not?" I probed, looking back at her.

"I hold no rank in this pack. I work at the hospital and train... as the others do." She grimaced. "I am half-human, and therefore I am lower than the blood born full wolves. It is just how it is. No-one else knows of your importance other than me as your nurse, and the four head wolves."

I acknowledged her confession with a slight nod of my head. She was bound to wolf law, or ranking, or whatever it was. How I looked at it; she was being bribed and condemned to not say anything of importance. She had taught me the little information I needed to know, and that was enough.

"You say, four head wolves?" I wondered.

The corners of her lips quirked, and she turned to me, her thigh falling further onto my mattress. "Yes, four. The Cardinal pack has four head wolves."

"And they are?"

"Alpha Asra, as you know, Beta Rio, too. Then there is Gamma Everett and Delta Caleb. Caleb is mated to Eliza, and they have been happily mated for five years. Gamma Everett just found his human mate on this year's hunt, and her name is Olive."

"There are other humans here?" I asked.

"Of course. The hunt isn't just about needing to find prey. We find mates, remember?"

"I know... I just... I didn't think there were humans living here."

"Well, the full pack tour didn't exactly happen, so I never got to show you." She grinned. "When you are feeling up to it, I will introduce you."

"How many humans are here?"

She frowned, her eyes glazing over in thought. "I believe thirty-eight."

"And how many packs are there? In this world?"

"See, that is where it gets complicated."

"How so?" I wondered.

"There are Continental Alphas and Territorial Alphas. Alpha Asra is a Continental Alpha, which means he has many territorial packs beneath him, forty in fact; a few of the old nations have merged. He oversees the entire continent that your kind called Europe." She explained. "There are seven Continental alphas, and Alpha Asra is the sixth largest in terms of power. He makes the laws and the regimes of this continent and has a lot of responsibility and power because of that."

"So, what you're saying is, he is in charge of a humongous piece of land and can tell everyone what to do? And there are six other Alphas like this?" I wondered.

"Yes. You would've been taught all of this if..."

"I didn't live in a hidden village." I finished, smiling at her.

"Yeah." She breathed a laugh. "Better to learn now, rather than when you are a Luna."

That term again. Rio never said what that was, and I'm meant to be it?

"Luna?" I asked. "The moon?"

She shook her head, grinning. "Luna is the female Alpha term given to the Alpha's mate. It is a very respectful title and relating it to our Goddess is the most honour we can give. A pack is nothing without their Luna."

My lips turned down. "I am a human; I will not be a Luna."

"But you are! Once Alpha has claimed and mated you!"

"I'm sorry, what?" I laughed. "He has to do what?"

She blushed. "Claimed you! All male wolves claim their females. It's a wolf thing."

"Everything is 'a wolf thing'." I rolled my eyes.

"I know, I know." She giggled. "A wolf's claim is an amazing, magical thing."

"How so?" I grumbled, crossing my arms with a huff.

I felt exposed. Eve, and no doubt other wolves, knew I was here, and that the Alpha apparently has some wolfy claim on me. I hope I fall asleep and wake up in a new realm.

"A wolf claims their mate to say that they are theirs." She quirked an eyebrow when I scoffed. "But also, to show the counterpart that they will care for them and always be there for them. It shows the male is strong and shares his strength through the mate bond."

"The what bond?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Mate bond. We've been over this."

"You said it's a weird wolfy pull that draws them to each other. You said nothing about power sharing or claiming." I pointed out.

She hummed, a slight frown on her lips as she studied me. "I did. A mate bond draws the soulmates together, a claim and mating completes the bond, and through that kinship, they share power. It is a way to protect the female, or weaker mate."

"So, it is a male thing?" I almost spat with distaste.

She noticed my aversion and glowered at me. "You may not like it, Ailia, but it is a large part of my culture. The bond is sacred! We as females do not go into other men's lives when they are not our soulmate. We must have one partner our whole life and not bed multiple men."

I flinched, feeling like she was insulting me there.

"What are you saying?" I glared at her, sitting up to feel more secure.

Her eyes widened a fraction and dropped back to her lap. She seemed ashamed, but her words hurt, even if she did not direct them at me. If the wolf women were celibate until they mated, then good for them. But it was rather sexist to assume all women and men felt the same.

"I am sorry." She sighed. "It is an old approach to bonds. Not a lot of wolves stick by it anymore and... it makes me bitter to see so many have changed. The pack is full of sex-obsessed, horny wolves and it upsets me. I should not have taken that out on you. I'm sorry."

I remained silent; my jaw better off shut from the words I wanted to hurl at her. Eve could go from happy and content to snappy quickly and I could only assume it was a battle of beast and humanity.

"It is not my place. I am sorry Luna." She sighed.

"Don't call me that." I muttered. "I will not be your Luna."

Her eyes widened, but her head remained dropped, her hands fiddling with the hem of her blouse. She was off work today, most of her time catering to me since I was still healing.

I sighed, trying to diffuse the tension. "What do you know of my life, Eve?"

"What?" She whispered, snapping her head up to me.

"My life. You seem to have a few things in mind. So, indulge me and I will you." I cocked my head.

She licked her lips a few times, a nervous habit I noticed. "Well... I know you are from Evermore, and we found you during the hunt. You like nature and-

"Not the present. What do you think of my past?" I shook my head. "Since we are talking about cultures, I would like to see how you think any of this is much different, because I can assure you not that much better."

She frowned, her mind raking through many thoughts. As well as being overly curious, I was also observational. I knew Eve's quirks and tells by heart already. She sighed, sagging her shoulders, and I knew I won.

"You were bonded to someone. A man, or maybe two."

"Why two?"

She blushed, avoiding looking directly in my eyes. "You, uh, smelt of two men."

I frowned, my eyebrows creasing as I thought over her words. Wolves had an exceptional smell, but I had been around many people the day of the hunt so how has she pinpointed it to... oh, wait. She means sexually.

My mouth parted into a small oh, and I nodded. "I see... But what makes you think I was bonded?"

"You wore a ring. We study human customs as pups, and I know you have something similar to our bonding. A ritual where you link your life with another." She explained.

"Marriage."

"Yes! That's it." She smiled, nodding. "It sounds wonderful."

My nose twitched with a grimace, but I continued. "So, you found my ring, and smelt that I fucked two men?"

The redness of her cheeks deepened, her lower lip disappearing into her mouth as she sucked in a breath. "Ailia..."

"You think that is bad of me? To have two men?" I wondered. "Going by what you believe, you believe it is wrong. I bed two men. Right?"

She stayed silent, and I knew I was being spiteful so I dropped the tone. Man, was it my time of the month or something? Or do I just need sleep? Or food?

Oh wait, no, it's the culture shock for sure...

With a little hunger.

"We have different cultures, you are right. But one thing we have in common is how men seem to think they can rule over us. Force us to bond with them, to live under their roof and never question them." I sighed. "All my life Elders have walked over me, or men. I had my life ripped away in front of me by many people with no say."

"It's not like that here, honest." She shook her head, reaching to place her hand on my knee. "The men respect your space here, respect your privacy. They are very good to us."

I scoffed a laugh. "I would love to see that."

"You will. When you get out of this room and live, you will." She nodded.

I chewed my tongue at the tension of the situation, deciding to drop the subject and nod my head once. Eve's shoulders sagged when she realised I would not take the bait and leave the room today. Maybe I would tomorrow, maybe I would take her word for it and venture out, see what this whole wolf-my-life-in-their-hands situation is more about.

"What are you going to do today, then?" Eve wondered, glancing out of my window. "Or the evening I should say..."

"I'm going to bathe and watch television." I shrugged, and she smiled slightly. "Tomorrow, you can show me around this pack of yours again. But if you take me far, push me in the chair?"

Her lips quirked into a grin, and she jumped up, squealing. "Deal!"

I fought back the smile on my face, happy the tension had dissipated from our opposite point of views. Eve clapped her hands before giving me a quick embrace goodbye. Once the door shut behind her, I settled back into my pillows. Allowing my mind to think about the huge conversation I just had, I found that there were pros and cons of this place.

To be thrust into a new environment, it did not surprise me that I was so tetchy and expected there to be more than one argument already. Humans and wolves are very different, but also alike I had noticed.

Rio was nice. He was a leader with a funny mind, but one who could snap in an instant put me on edge. Then there was the Alpha, with his strange magical touch, and who apparently, I had to bed and be bitten by to become a leader... That was something I needed to ask more of, but I would do that tomorrow, when the tense day had ended.

"It's always good to finish your day on a good note." My father would say, and he was right.

***************

Hallo

I have been sick all week and im fed up of it.

SO

Question of the Day:

Favourite pick-me-up movie or tv series you like?