Aiden is about to say something, but my beast stirs inside me, waking up, and all of a sudden I am a prisoner in my own mind. My hands jerk away from Aiden's.

Oh no. I don't have my suppression shot with me and all my luggage is probably a part of wreckage now.

I am shifting and the heat of my body drops before vibrations start to shake my body. From the periphery of my vision, I see Aiden looking at me in shock. He must have guessed what is happening but I do not have much time to dwell on this.

I try to focus and take back control, urging my beast to understand, but she does not listen to me. She is all beast now, any semblance to humanity is now tucked in a corner of our mind as she takes over me.

Her animalistic instincts force both of us to look at the moon as she howls at the sky and I realize that it is a full moon day.

Shit. How did I forget? I must have been occupied with all the drama going on in my life that I did not realize. My beast, who is in control now looks at Aiden. She is filled with affection, gazing at him. She says one word that changes my entire life.

Mate

No. This can't be possible. My beast is strange. How can I have a mate? My beast is weird. Abnormal. Abruptly, my body stops shaking from the pull of the shift yet I am not in control of my human body.

My beast is on the forefront of my mind as she swims in euphoria of finding her mate. Just my luck. The moon goddess has paired me with none other than the Alpha king. I try to push my beast back in my mind but to no avail.

She keeps gazing at Aiden and then kneels, submitting to the king. From behind her eyes, I see Aiden keeps looking at me in shock. His shock then turns into anger as his beast flashes in his eyes, and he lets 's out a loud roar that shakes the entire ground before our feet.

My beast submits initially but then feels threatened at being forced to submit. She is a Alpha in her own right and the feeling of forced submission is not something he likes especially when it is her mate that forces her to submit.

She feels as if she is being rejected and that's all it takes for her to reinitiate the shift. I try to push back at her but she is unyielding, more so than usual.

Fur starts to sprout as tingles run up my spine. My body starts vibrating as my bones crack, reorienting themselves. I am powerless.

Aiden's anger has now turned back into shock as he sees my unusual form. My beast rises now; she is at the same level as Aiden now. We have a few inches of height difference in human form but now we are both at the same level.

Aiden doesn't like being stared in the eye and anger rolls off of him in waves. My beast flashes her teeth.

Her move triggers the alpha in Aiden as he snarls at us and in a flash of movement, his hands encircle my throat, squeezing me.

He raises me by his grip on my neck and pushes me against the trunk of a nearby tree and my back crashes against it.

"What the hell are you?" He shouts, his voice echoing through the forest.

The fight has drained out of my beast now as I feel waves of power rolling off Aiden. They crash against me and I am feeling suffocated by his power, both physically and mentally.

My beast, Katherine, does not speak; she only angles her neck more in submission to him. According to her, if her king deems her worthy of death, then she would accept it gladly.

Wait, if my beast is back, I must be able to mind link. I am running out of breath now. His grip becomes tighter. I put all of my effort into linking him.

'Aiden, Please give me a chance to explain. Please.' I plead with him through the link.

He had been glaring at me up until now, but for a split second, his gaze softens and he nods. His grip on my neck tightens for a moment before he loosens his grip on me, lifting off each finger one by one.

His expression still looks suspicious but I don't blame him. His reaction is justified.

I fall to the ground, taking breaths, refilling my lungs with air. My beast's paws clutch at our throat, relieved.

I plead with her for control, and in an unprecedented manner, she agrees. I still stay in my beast form. I try to shift back, but she does not let me. Huh. This is strange.

But I have no time to ponder over this as Aiden is now squatting in front of me. His tone is harsh as he says, "Speak."

'As you can see, this is my wolf. I do not know how but I was born this way. My first shift was when I was four; my hand was transformed. My parents were horrified and did a lot of research about my condition but failed to gather any information that indicated my wolf. My beast shifts forcefully every full moon and I am nothing more than a prisoner inside my own body.'

Aiden remains silent for a moment before clenching his eyes shut. After a few seconds, he opens them again, and this time the hurt reflects in his eyes.

"Did you know I was your mate earlier?"

'No,' I say; my beast is still in control, and she angles her neck once again, whining to him. She then lays her head at his feet. A sign of complete and utter submission.

He looks at me hestitantly for a moment before he stretches his hand and rubs my beast's head in an affectionate manner. His fingers run through our fur, tugging and caressing.

Sparks fly wherever he touches and I am overwhelmed by our feelings. My beast's feelings and mine, put together, form a powerful combination. My beast whines at him and rubs her head against his thigh, spreading her scent over him and marking him the way she can in this form.

"Is this why the blood Mafia is after you?" He asks, his tone is measured now as he stops caressing my head.

'I do not know. But yes, my research is finding out the cause of my abnormality. I am sorry I hid it from you, Aiden Sorry, I mean king.'

"Hmm," he says, not letting me know what he is thinking of. His face is a mask of stone, and I can't guess what his reaction is. Does he hate me now?

I try to ask him whether he hates me, but my beast does not let me. According to her, she has relinquished enough control until now and wants to spend time with her mate.

"Is that why you say you are a weresap because you do not want others to know of your unusual form?" his gaze is soft now and I try to answer but my beast does not let me.

"Aurelia?" he asks, after a few moments of no response, but then my beast surprises me by responding to him in my stead.

'It is Katherine, my king.'

This is unusual; she has not done this till now. How can my beast communicate with others? She is using my mindlink. It is unheard of!

At the most, wolves can use their human bodies to speak but communicating through my mindlink is unbelievable!

Now, I think Aiden trusts me, as he now replies me via our link. 'Katherine?'

'yes, I am your mate, my king. Aurelia's wolf. Her beast.'

Katherine says this. Her adoration is evident in her tone and she is all hearts, flowers and balloons for her mate.

'How can you speak?' he asks, astonished.

His brows raise in surprise before furrowing together in confusion. He must be confused.

I am doing no better either.

'I do not know either, my king. This is the first time I have done it. Maybe it's because you are with me.' Her tongue now lolls out of her jaws, panting in a way that dogs do for their masters.

My big, bad beast is now a soft, cuddly toy in Aiden's hands. Just great.

Strange. Unusual. Peculiar. These are the words that come to mind in regards to my beast's behaviour. Usually, when I am force-shifted, she's out on a hunting spree and grandma chains me up to stop her. But today she shows no sign of agitation.

'Can I speak to Aurelia?' Aiden looks at us with doubt etched onto his face.

'No. I want to spend time with you, my dear mate, my king.' she then proceeds to lick his hand.

I am embarrassed by her display of affection while she is basking in his scent.

'So you won't let her talk to me?' Aiden asks, trying to understand my abnormal wolf.

'Noo.' She whines, then rubs her entire body against his legs, circling him.

Ugghh. I am mortified now.

Aiden raises a brow at us in response to our behaviour but then says, "Alright. But I need sleep. You can sleep beside me. Oh, and Katherine, let Aurelia know we have lots to discuss tomorrow."

Aiden then removes his jacket and lays it on the ground, like a bedsheet and lies upon it.

My beast, on the other hand, sits belly down and lays her head on his legs near his ankle. She's trying to sleep. Another unusual act from her.

I try to gain control but fail at it again. As my beast falls asleep, I too go into deep slumber, our eyes closing on their own accord.

...........

The sounds of birds chirping break through my sleep. I try to open my eyes, peeking through them as the sun shines upon me.

I stretch my arms and get up to see the trees around me. I remember the events from yesterday night and my eyes fly open. I am wide awake now.

I look down upon myself. Aiden's jacket covers my chest. He must have covered me with this while I was asleep.

My shirt and jeans hang around my body, torn at various places. My jeans, which covered me to the ankle, now resemble shorts.

For some unknown reason, I wore the shape changing tank top and shorts that reach upto my knee under my regular clothes and I have never ever been more grateful for them.

May the lunar goddess bless the person who invented them. They cover my modesty and I shrug Aiden's jacket on. They will cover my bare arms at least.

As I shrug his jacket on, I fully recognize the scent I encountered earlier.Chocolate and cinnamon.

It reminds me of the day when I was sitting in my usual coffee shop. I look around to find him nowhere near me. He must have left to relieve himself. My bladder, too, calls my attention, and I run to the tree cover.

Thankfully, I don't sense his scent on the path I take. Quickly, I do my usual morning rituals and run back to the lake to wash my face.

I am wiping my face with my jacket's sleeve well, Aiden's jacket sleeve, technically when I feel a presence behind me. My beast keeps tugging at me in that direction. It must be Aiden.

Aiden. My mate.

Who would have thought Aiden would be my mate? Wait, Aiden's my mate. The Alpha King is my mate.

I am overwhelmed by these recent advancements. The fate or the Lunar goddess must be playing jokes on me.

"Good morning, Aurelia. Sleep well, mate?" His words reach me and I take a deep breath, not knowing how to respond to him.

I stand up, straightening and turning around to face him. Somehow, I am not able to meet his eyes. I gaze at his feet.

He must be thinking something, though, as he starts walking towards me. He stops in front of me, and I see his hand raising up. I clench my eyes shut, afraid that he is going to squeeze my neck again.

Even if he does, I won't blame him. I kept secrets from him. He's my only friend. And he's not just my friend; he's my king too.

And my offense will not just be keeping secrets from my friend but hiding myself from the king. From my point of view, it is similar to supernaturals hiding their identity from humans and disguising themselves as they might feel threatened and attack us for no reason.

In my case, the entire supernatural realm are the humans and I am the one disguising myself.

I peek open my eyes into a slit, gazing through it as his hand raises up towards me and brace myself for his harsh treatment of me like yesterday but what he does completely surprises me.

I expect his touch to be harsh but he caresses my neck. His fingers brush against my neck and sparks erupt. I still keep my eyes down, though. His fingers then grip my chin, tilting my head up, making me meet his gaze.

My beast whines, wanting to be close to him but I control her. He is smiling at me, though there are no signs of anger or aggression on his face. I feel remorse washing over me.

"Sorry, Aiden. I mean, sorry, king."

He puts fingers to my lips, shushing me.

"It is, was and always will be Aiden. You do not call me by my title. Never. You are one of my closest friends, Aurelia. Don't forget that. I am angry that you hid your secret from me but I do understand the gravity of your situation. But I am hurt, though, that you didn't tell me. Deem me worthy of sharing your secret."

His words pierce through my fear and I feel a sense of guilt wash over me. But then the rational side of my mind reminds me that I did all of this to keep him away and safe from the Blood Mafia.

"I am sorry. I couldn't tell you. I was protecting myself. It might be selfish but remember, I told you in the plane that the unknown frightens us."

His lips form an "o" as he reminisces about what I said. "So this was what you were referring to?"

"Yes." He is still doubtful, though, looking at me in confusion but then sighs, places his forehead on mine and says one word that cements our relationship.

"Mine." His words echo both verbally and mentally and my beast sighs in satisfaction.

It may be a normal word for humans, but when mates say this to each other, it means they have claimed their mate bond. Acknowledged it as well as accepted it.

No. My secret will only endanger him. More than what when he was just my friend. I step back, breaking our moment."We can't, Aiden."

"We can't what?" Aiden asks, gripping my biceps and pulling me back to him.

"You know what. This. Our mate bond. We just can't." I say, my hands now on his, trying to wrench out his grip.

"No." His words are laced with anger now, his nostrils flaring.

"I will cause danger. To you. Your kingdom. Think about all the weres in the world. They are far more important." My tone is pleading, urging him to understand.

"Yes, they are; so is our bond. Do you know how rare it is to find fate mates? Chosen mates are what weres usually have. Many live lifetimes before they get to meet their fate mates. We are lucky. Are you willing to risk it all? Don't you feel the pull at all?" He snaps at me.

"I do feel the pull. I feel it a lot, but..."

"No buts." He says this, shushing me again. Then suddenly he groans, looking at somewhere in the forest.

"What?" I ask.

"My men. They are here. A mile away at the most. We have to cut our conversation short. But don't think even for a second that we are done or that I agree with you."

I nod at him. It doesn't matter what he thinks. I know what is the right thing to do. My beast whines. She, too, thinks Aiden is right.

Aiden then looks up and down my body and frowns. He then reaches down to the edge of the jacket and zips it up to my neck so that the tattered remains of my shirt are out of sight.

Nothing can be done for my jeans, though. But that's the least of my concerns. His men are here. It means that they can sense me. Sense my power. This is not good.

Sweat starts to form on my forehead and I feel hot under the collar of his jacket.

He must have understood the source of my anxiety, as he says, "No worries. The men who have come here are discrete. They are bound by blood not to speak of any discrepancies, not even to each other."

He gives me a small, reassuring smile and squeezes my left hand. Soon, the men break out of the trees and come to a stop in front of us, bowing in Aiden's direction. I take a step back, flanking his left. He shoots an annoyed glance at me before nodding at the men.

They rise and give me suspicious glances. I see Henry is among them. He looks at me, scanning me from head to toe before furrowing his brows.

One of the men rushes forward, handing Aiden a cold water bottle. He removes the cap and hands it to me. It appears that Aiden will not let me go so easily.

Not to create any scene, I take it from him and drink almost half of the bottle before giving it back to him. He takes it from me, making sure he touches me for a while before finishing the bottle.

"King, we were not able to find any dirt roads here. We will have to travel a few miles by foot."

Aiden appears to think for a bit before looking at me and scrutinising me. Then he turns towards Henry, standing infront of him and says, " We will run in human form. Let's go"

So, he does realise what a conundrum we are in and how the weres would react to it. He then tugs at me, pulling me along with him to the back of the group and starting to run, still holding my hand. I stumble at first but then manage to keep pace with him.

The group makes way for him before following us. As we run, I see Henry flanking his right, while I remain on his left. He looks surprised that I can keep up with Aiden. I mentally pray to the lunar goddess that she lets me keep my secret intact and that Aiden can remain unharmed.

Word Count: 3142

I just couldn't resist not uploading this chapter as this is a major turning point in the story. How was it?

It is not a plot twist or anything but Aiden now knows a lot about Aurelia and this might hinder Aurelia's quest to solve the mystery behind her strange wolf form.

Let me know your views please!

Toodles!