She was so beautiful even when already in her mid fifties.

"Hello, dear! I'm Suzie. Who might you be, pretty ladybug?" I giggled softly, a bit flattered that she called me pretty.

"I'm Yzavel, but you can call me Yzav or Yz."

Just then, Storm came out of the mysterious room with some papers in hand. He saw Suzie and smiled, "Suz, just the person I was looking for."

"You called, Alpha?" He nodded and proceeded to sit on the edge of the table.

"Can you show Yzavel around? I would do it, if not for the unexpected load of work I have to catch up on."

Her eyes twinkled as she stared back at me with a charming smile, "Of course!" She motioned a hand to follow her and I reluctantly got up, not wanting to leave Storm.

He was already seated in his chair and was immersed with his work, so I just followed Suzie out.
______________

We had already covered the pack house and some important areas around the territory, so Suzie decided we go get eat ice cream in town.

"I swear they make the best ice cream that I've ever tasted, dear!" She encouraged. The door had a bell attached to it, signaling our arrival.

A man came to the register and greeted us with kind eyes, "And who might this be, Suzie?"

Suzie giggled and I noticed the faint blush dawning on her cheeks. I think there's a budding romance between these two.

"Oh, Malcolm, this is Yzavel. She was with Alpha Storm when they arrived," Malcolm was about to ask more, but the amount of customers - human- who suddenly entered stopped him from doing so.

Suzie found an unoccupied booth and we sat there, "So dear, where are you from?"

"I'm from Pennsylvania; the Stekre Pack," I politely answered.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "My younger sister moved to Stekre because she found her mate there. Pray tell, do you know of a Jena?" I gasped and nodded.

"Yes, Jenarie! She's very sweet and makes the most delicious cakes ever! She actually baked my birthday cake on my 18th."  She laughed and we then talked about life on both packs.

Our orders came and we started to dig in. "So, you're here in search of your mate, then?" My spoon fell out of clumsiness, but I managed to say a quick 'no' before reaching down to retrieve it.

"I already found my mate, actually. It's your Alpha," I said in between savoring the delicious cup of milk and cream. I closed my eyes in bliss, and opened them to see Suzie's face all scrunched up in disbelief.

"How?" She whispered. I explained to her of the events that transpired on my birthday party in Pennsylvania.

"But... Alpha Storm already has a mate?"

My heart clenched at her words.

______________

I was worried. Restless. And very confused.

What did Suzie mean by Storm already having a mate? I was so sure I felt the pull of the mate bond that night. So why did she say that he already has one?

My wolf was seething at the idea of the supposed other mate of Alpha Zakharov. She wanted to break into his office and demand answers.

Right now, I was pacing back and forth in my room. Suzie was kind enough to escort me here, but her halfhearted smile didn't go unnoticed.

My brain was hurting from the overload of questions and worries. I wanted to cry in frustration. A knock was heard at the door and I said a quiet, "Come in."

It turned out a grinning Khal was the one behind the door, "Hello, Yzav, I-"

"Does Alpha Storm have a mate?" He pales and his grin quickly turned to a grim frown.

"Where did you hear this?"

"So he has?" Then what am I? And why the hell did he bring me here?

Khal didn't know what to say at first, but when he did, it unnerved me, "It's not my story to tell, Yzavel."

"Oh, come on, Khal! Don't you think it's unfair for me to not know about this? My mind is in chaos! Please," I bursted out, tears threatening to slip down my eyes.

He gaped at my helplessness and tried to calm me down, but I was already a blubbering mess of tears and brokenheartedness.

Khal sighed and finally yielded, "Storm, he... He did have a mate." I stopped crying and look at him with question.

"What do you mean?"

"She died."

• •

Welp, were you expecting that?

Tune in for more next chap! Love you 💕

And you got this book to #110 on the Storm tags! How even 🥺❤️