Alpha Talia's POV

A few seconds went by, yet it seemed like a lifetime. I was so overwhelmed by the feelings that were taking over my body that tears began to stream down my face. I loved this man with everything in me. I felt his palm on my cheek as he wiped my tears and drew in close.

"Come here" He tightly grasped me and gave me a vigorous kiss. "You are my life, Talia" he whispered in between kisses. There was a sudden, powerful yearning that conflicted with every aspect of my thoughts regarding the ritual. Even though I intended to do the ritual by myself, I couldn't help but think of the life I might have with him if he was proven to be my true mate. I held in my breath as the lost and forgotten feeling resurfaced.

Hope.

He tenderly fondled my breasts with one hand while gripping my hair with the other. With my legs securely wrapped around him, I pulled him closer craving his penetration. I groaned in frustration at his refusal to finish what he had begun as his cock continued to rub the outer layers of my now soaking wet pussy.

"Fuck me already" I complained. He grinned whilst giving my pussy one final rub before sinking his cock deep.

"You're cute when you're needy" He mumbled, a huge smirk spreading across his face. I gripped his back with my curled fingers as the ecstasy peaked.

"Grrrrr.." he growled, fastening his pace. I tugged his hair back, exposing his neck. I was so in love with him that I wanted to mark him right then and there. I bared my fangs, and with the sole purpose of marking him, I pierced into his neck.

"Mine" I whispered in his ears. As I had anticipated, the mark dissipated as soon as I retracted my fangs but in my heart I strongly believed that I had marked him as mine. And that feeling is something that the curse cannot take away from me.

"Yours" he reciprocated, sending me over the edge. "Come for me, my queen" he breathed into my skin. My electrified body was quickly consumed by the emission of a powerful orgasmic flush. With each thrust that twitched his cock, he came hard inside of me. I collapsed in his arms as fatigue took control.

"Come on baby, let's get you to bed" he said standing straight, carrying me in his arms. My body ignited with pleasure and my legs became numb. My face remained buried in his neck. Our blood-covered bodies gave the impression as if we were engaged in a brawl. But it was a unique conviction that I knew I would never forget as our bodies melded together under the influence of the concoction.

I feigned to close my eyes as he placed me down on the bed, trying not to ponder the fact that I had just told him I loved him. I was gradually regaining my wits as the burning between my legs steadily waned. I couldn't believe he had the gall to trick me into expressing my feelings.

I was most shocked at how vulnerable I had become in the process. However, it felt liberating to finally speak the words I had been holding within for so long. And now that I've said it, I wanted to keep saying it.

He walked away after tucking me into bed. I arched my body up, opened my eyes, feeling incomplete without his presence. He smiled as he turned to face me. "Don't worry, I'm just getting some wet cloth to wipe off the dried blood on your body"

"Oh.. okay" I mumbled, biting my lip as my cheeks began to flush. Why was I suddenly so shy in front of him?

He proceeded towards the bed after dipping a piece of towel in water. The more I avoided his eyes, the wider his smile got. He softly swiped the moist towel over my body. As he rubbed the towel side to side, the veins in his arms bulged, making me gulp silently. The moment the cloth contacted my inner thighs, I was compelled to stifle a little gasp. After a period of silence, he put down the cloth and stared at me.

"How are you getting aroused by this?" My eyes widened at his question. Argh fuck this concoction.

"I'm not" I lied, turning my head away, but I could still feel the sneer on his face. Accepting that I couldn't lie to him anymore, I decided to change my answer "I don't know, it's you . . touching me"

"I didn't know I had such an effect on you, Alpha Talia" he replied coyly, to which I rolled my eyes. He then slid beneath the blanket and leaned in closer to spoon me while I turned my body to the right. I couldn't help but bring my hips closer to him as the feel of his cock brushed against my back. When he kissed my neck from behind, goose bumps rose all over my body.

Even though he showed me nothing but affection, I couldn't help but wonder what was really going through his mind as I recalled our conversation at the summit. He knew I was true- blood. Did that intimidate him? Was he scared of me? Is he frustrated because of my decision about the ritual?

"I thought you were angry with me" I whispered, wanting to clear the air.

"I was angry at the situation, not at you. Never at you" he replied, placing small kisses on my neck.

"I'm still not changing my mind about the ritual, Hugo" I muttered. I knew it would be a hard pill for him to swallow and although I was overcome with emotion, I had to resist letting hope triumph over reality.

"I know." He said confidently.

I was perplexed by his answer. I jerked around to his direction. He appeared more composed than before, as though he had a plan and was carrying it out. Even with the effects of the concoction, it was difficult to interpret his thoughts for the first time.

"So you've finally accepted my decision?" I asked curiously.

"No" he replied with a grin on his face.

"I don't understand, what are you up to now?" I frowned.

"I'm not up to anything. But I don't think going back and forth on this topic is going to make it any better. It's us vs. the problem. Not you vs. me. I have heard your argument but you need to hear mine. And then we shall come to a compromise" He stated.

"How would there be a compromise if it's either you join me in the ritual or you don't? It's a lose-win situation" I muttered.

He rubbed my hair while exhaling deeply. His lips twitched as he halted and gathered his thoughts before speaking. "What if I can prove to you that I'm your true mate?"

"What do you mean?" I asked instantaneously. In the midst of my crumbling despair, there it was once again, hope rising through the ashes. Over the past two years, I've looked into every method I could employ to find my true mate. It would be inaccurate to even infer that I merely skimmed through mother's spell book. I've memorized the entire thing to no avail. Together with her coven members, Frieda continued to search relentlessly for a loophole. But there was no way around it.

"What if I can find a way to unlock the Alpha gene my father bestowed to me?" Hugo asked.

His eyes glistened as he awaited for my response. Hope was a deadly emotion as it crept its way expanding itself to mask the inevitable doom headed our way. But knowing that Wolfie had made up his mind to finally tell Hugo what had transpired made me feel relieved. Even though Wolfie felt I was the ideal person to deliver Hugo the news, I sensed deep down that it was healthier for them to work things out together.

"Wolfie finally told you, huh?" I asked and he nodded. He didn't appear startled that I was already aware of it. I sensed his relief instead. I couldn't understand why he was pleased that I knew about it before him.

"I remember a lot about my past now. Who I was. I've let too many people die under my watch, Tal. My entire family. And I'm not about watch you die down the road just because you're afraid for my sake. It's not fair" He muttered.

His argument was valid. But little did he know that there was no down the road to begin with. My days were numbered and I had come to terms with it. I've tried hiding things from him, but he came back for me. And now that I've told him about what the curse entailed of, I still couldn't comprehend his tenacity to stay with me.

"I hear you. To be honest, I didn't think you'd take all this information in the way you did. I thought you'd run for the hills. I keep wanting to give you a million reasons to leave. But yet you choose to stay" I mumbled gazing into his eyes. I didn't deserve him. Not one bit. I kept wanting him to walk out on me because every time he stayed, it made me want to fight this curse. A fight I had already given up on.

"I'm choosing you above everything else, Talia. I chose you the moment I came back to the mansion. I told you, I'm not leaving." His words brought me comfort but terrified me nonetheless.

"But I'm terrified, Hugo. Please try to understand it from my point of view. There's no way to fully know if you are my true mate and without that certainty, I can't let you join the ritual. If something happens to you, I swear I'll burn down this mansion with me in it" I said, truly meaning those words. He pulled me into his chest.

"Yes, but how long do you plan on joining the ritual alone? Until all of your extra lives run out? I don't want to lose you either. Nothing is going to happen to me. And if by any chance something does, you have the permission to taunt me in the afterlife" He muttered with a small chuckle.

"I can't believe you're joking at a time like this" I whispered.

"I can't believe you said you were in love with me, Alpha Talia" He smirked. I bit my lip in embarrassment, but he raised my chin with his fingers and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips.

"What did you expect my answer was going to be?" I questioned.

"I don't know, I thought you were going to confess you liked me" His response made me laugh out loud.

"Did you really think after everything we've been through, that all this time I had a mere crush on you, little claws?" I stroked his hair, drawing him closer to me. I was grateful for his ability to make a tense conversation humorous.

"Well, do you?" He smirked.

"Fine let me revoke my statement earlier, I now have a tiny crush on you, little claws. Tiny." I giggled as he brushed his hands on my belly, tickling me in annoyance.

"Hey, you can't take back what you said. You're mine, Hybrid" He growled, taking me in his arms and pressing his cock firmly between my legs. My body reacted quickly to his response, wanting nothing but him. He gave me a passionate kiss while running his hands over my body, stroking my breasts and caressing my pussy simultaneously.

I couldn't help but moan loudly.

"I'm in love with you, Talia. I'd do anything for you. I want to build a life with you, have a couple of pups and watch them grow up and grow old with you" His words sounded like a dream. A dream that I had a sudden urge to make a reality.

I stared at him while his eyes beamed gazing back at me. I must have done something good in my past life to deserve him. With the full moon this close I felt as though I was deceiving him by concealing the fact that I had no extra lives. That I would die. That he would be alone.

"What's worrying you?" He asked.

"There's just five days left for the ritual" I muttered.

"If my math is right, there is ten days to the ritual. There's just five days left for full moon" He replied.

"Yeah but when the full moon comes, I'll be in heat for five days, I won't be myself. Especially when Frieda has forbade me from using my powers during the heat and save it for the ritual. Which means I can't control my heat pain like I did before and I'll be extra needy" I complained.

"I got you covered on that department. My cock will be inside you at all times" He chuckled, reassuring me.

"I don't doubt that" I smiled, but it was masked with a tinge of pain.

"Okay how about this, if I somehow manage to unlock the Alpha gene within these five days, would you then let me join the ritual?" He asked.

I stared at him as his eyes grew in anticipation. Hope sprang from the ground once more, dispelling the uncertainties that had filled my thoughts. Even if he didn't say it, this conversation was encircled by the word "compromise". It was us vs. the problem. Us against the world. Not us against each other.

"Okay" I replied. Suddenly, the fear disappeared. High volumes of love and optimism had replaced the intolerable amount of dread. If I constantly expected life to throw me curve balls, I couldn't just keep taking them. I have to believe that our story had a happy ending.

"Okay? Really?" He beamed as he embraced me in his arms. "Oh thank you, for being so perfect"

"IF you manage to unlock the Alpha gene, little claws. And that is a BIG IF" I reminded him. With the full moon this close, I was willing to try everything to fight this curse. I was willing to fight for him. Because in my eyes, whether the curse declared it or not, he was my mate.

"Well I now have enough motivation to get me started. But I'll need your help" He responded.

"Anything. Name it" I placed both my hands on his cute face, squeezing his cheeks.

"I want you to fight me" His words brought me to a halt. I gazed at him in confusion.

"Fight?"

"What better way to train than with a true-blood Hybrid?" He smirked.