Sitting on a one-seater sofa across from Axel, with his Alphas sitting adjacent to them, Inaaya glanced between the three wolves warily. The couple had changed into sweatpants and t-shirts, much like Axel. The woman's face was now bare of any makeup and her red hair were tied in a bun. Yet, it didn't extract from her natural grace and beauty. For the second time, Inaaya felt unkempt in front of them, decked in Axel's clothes that were two sizes too loose on her.

"Dielle Callan," the woman introduced herself, extending her hand towards Inaaya with a friendly smile.

Inaaya gazed at the extended hand before releasing a breath. She was set to dive headfirst into the matter but alas, that wasn't how things were done here. Introductions needed to be made first. She returned a tight-lipped smile to Dielle, shaking her hand once. "Inaaya Bansal."

Once they let go, Dielle turned towards her counterpart and raised her brows. He glanced at Inaaya briefly then stared back at Dielle. Yet again, Inaaya felt as if they were communicating with each other without needing any words. Suddenly, Dielle gave him a small, amused smile and placed her hand on his arm. "Come on, she's his mate," she whispered aloud but Inaaya heard her anyway.

"Exactly why," the man murmured, shaking his head and giving Dielle a kiss on her forehead. He then turned to Inaaya, extending his hand, his face devoid of any expression. "Eliseo Reuben."

Inaaya pursed her lips as she glanced at his extended hand. "I get the feeling you don't really want to make introductions with me, Mr. Reuben. Well, the feeling is mutual," she told him, not backing down from his stare. Inaaya knew she was probably driving down to the path of her suicide but something gave her the distinct feeling that they won't hurt her. Not for talking back to them at least.

Eliseo's eyes narrowed marginally as he curled his stretched fingers into a fist and brought it to rest on his thigh instead. "How do you want to proceed, Ms. Bansal?" Eliseo asked, his head tilting to the side slightly, as if studying Inaaya. Despite the gravity of the situation, a ghost of a smile threatened to show at Inaaya's lips at the way this foreigner pronounced her surname. She pushed it back, maintaining her detached exterior.

"What do you mean?" Inaaya asked, brows furrowing in dubiety. Inaaya hadn't expected to be sitting across from Axel's Alphas, much less know what this discussion was supposed to be about.

Eliseo leaned back on the loveseat, crossing one leg over the other. "I'm sure by now Axel here would have explained to you what being mates means, as well as he understands it anyway," Eliseo glanced at Axel as he said the words. Axel's jaw clenched and Inaaya noticed his nostrils flaring slightly. However, he kept quiet.

Dielle, on the other hand, gave Eliseo a look, shaking her head almost discreetly. Eliseo sighed, continuing in a politer manner now. "And you know what we are. Werewolves. So, we would like to know what you plan to do next?"

"What I plan to do next?" Inaaya asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice. "Well, Mr. Reuben, till now I didn't even know I had any choice in the matter," she said challengingly, watching Axel from the corner of her eyes. "Whatever has happened so far sure didn't give me that impression."

"We're sorry about that, Inaaya. We're sorry for how things were handled," Dielle said, shooting a pointed glare at Axel and a comforting smile at Inaaya. "You'll always have your choices here, Inaaya."

Inaaya studied the woman for a moment, nodding in acceptance of her apology. She was still sceptic about believing her though. "And what are those? My choices?"

"What do you want to do?" Dielle asked, a kind smile on her face.

"I want to leave."

Axel stood up with a start. She stared at him as he met her gaze with a disapproving frown on his face. When Inaaya didn't retract her words or backed down from his stare, his jaw clenched in annoyance.

"If that is what you really want to do," Dielle said, shrugging. Inaaya brought her attention back towards the red-haired woman, caught by surprise at her words.

"But Alpha—" Axel rushed but Dielle silenced him with a hand.

"Inaaya, you could choose to leave. That will be your choice. But Axel could choose to follow you to your country and court you there. That would be his choice. Inaaya, our mates mean everything to us. You have the right to make your own choice. I only request you to not take away someone's chance at true love in doing so," Dielle said, placing a gentle hand on Inaaya's.

Inaaya's lips pursed as she breathed in deeply. Even the mere thought of Axel following her to India and courting her with her father around caused her to panic. She pulled her hand back from Dielle's, averting her gaze. "So what? The only choices I have are to either be his captive or have him stalk me?" she asked, disguising her distress under the veil of aggravation.

Axel sucked in a sharp breath at Inaaya's words, his eyes focussed solely on her. "Inaaya, you wouldn't be a captive if you choose to stay. And I wouldn't be a stalker if you choose to leave," he said a bit forcefully.

"Inaaya," Dielle began, "I can understand how intrusive this all must appear to you. This must be disrupting your life in ways more than one. But please, stop and think from Axel's perspective for a moment. As werewolves, we are brought up believing that there is one person out there who is meant for us and us alone, who would fill every void in our lives," as she said it, Dielle glanced at Eliseo and gazed back with the same passion and love.

Eliseo pecked Dielle's lips and Inaaya turned away, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. She looked at Axel, who unlike her, hadn't turned away from the couple. He watched them with a slight frown. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned to Inaaya. Something in his expression made her feel guilty for not being able to return his feelings.

"Inaaya," Dielle brought their attention back to her, "Axel has spent twenty-seven years of his life waiting for you—"

A snort from Eliseo interrupted Dielle and all eyes turned to him. Axel looked pissed, Dielle appeared reproving while Inaaya became curious. Before Inaaya could ask him about it, Eliseo began speaking, "Ms. Bansal, our mates are more important to us than life itself. They complete us. Trust me when I say, we're fiercely loyal and dedicated to them." He intertwined his fingers with Dielle's, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.

As Inaaya watched the couple exchange cherishing smiles, Eliseo's next words hit a chord in her heart. "Give yourselves a chance to have this love in your lives too," he glanced at her and Axel both as he said the words. "Maybe it'll work out?" He smiled, shrugging a shoulder.

Inaaya looked down at her feet, closing her eyes momentarily to keep her emotions in check. At the age of twenty-three, she craved to share such intimacy with someone. To fall in love with someone and have someone fall in love with her. To not feel so alone anymore.

"How will it work?" she asked quietly, "If I chose to stay..." In a twisted way, fate had given her a way towards what she desired the most. An escape. An escape from her life back at home. She had always imagined what it would be like to not be there, to not live under the same roof as her father. Perhaps giving this thing with Axel a chance would bring along a promise of independence.

Axel released a bated breath causing Inaaya to meet his gaze. He gave her a small smile, his eyes shining with hope. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Where will I live? What will I do to support myself?" she asked, briefly glancing at Dielle and Eliseo before meeting Axel's hopeful eyes again. "If I choose to stay, that is," she added, not wanting to raise his hopes only to let him down later. She wasn't sure if she would have the guts to make this leap of faith when the final moment came.

'But faith on whom? On these strangers?' her conscience asked the questions she didn't want to answer. The questions she had no reasonable answers for.

"You will live here, of course. And you don't have to worry about anything else, I'll take care of your every need," Axel said, giving Inaaya an encouraging nod. "I'll always take care of you."

"And if I don't want to be with you, Axel? What then?" Inaaya asked, furrowing her brows. Her heart wanted to believe him, no questions asked. Yet the saner part of her— her brain, wanted to ask so many. "You cast me aside to fend for myself?" she continued, looking at her feet. "Or I'll be forced to stay with you because I'd have nowhere else to go," she finished in a small, unsure voice. Wasn't that what happened to her mother until death finally freed her?

As crazy as it was, she was considering staying back in this new place amongst these strangers. And if she was going to do that, one thing she would ensure was that this wouldn't be just another place where her life would be controlled and administered.

Axel knelt in front of Inaaya, holding her hands in his. He had a broken expression on his face as he met Inaaya's downcast eyes. "I would never leave you behind or force you to be with me. You staying here wouldn't mean we're together. That will be your choice to make, Inaaya," he said, giving her a sad smile. "All I'm asking of you is to give me a chance. Give us a chance." Inaaya closed her eyes as they pooled with unshed tears.

"Inaaya, if you stay, you can decide every aspect of your life. We all will support you till you find your footing in this city," Dielle said, her voice consoling. "That's the least we can do if you uproot your whole life for one of us."

Inaaya swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She felt Axel squeeze her hands gently and she looked at him. His eyes implored her to say yes. Whether it was his words or the broken look in his grey eyes or the way he held her hands in earnest, Inaaya didn't know. What she did know was that her mind was beginning to succumb too.

"I will... I will think about it," she quickly amended. Her words caused a nervousness to brew inside of her. Never before had she felt her mind yielding to her heart, for her heart had always been reckless. So, to hold on to the unbending constraint she had always maintained in her life, she added, "I'd like to spend the rest of my trip with my family, please."

"Inaaya—" Dielle began to speak but Inaaya interrupted her.

"I promise your existence will remain a secret," she implored. "I swear I'll tell no one." Dielle shared a look with Eliseo before they both nodded. She gave them a small, tight-lipped smile. This distance from Axel would help her think clearer. She turned to Axel, "On the last day of my trip, that is two days from now, come find me."

☾☾◯☽☽

Inaaya straightened the maxi dress at her waist, attempting to cover her thigh properly. Before she had left the castle to go back to her family, Dielle had lent her a v-neck floral maxi dress with thin straps and a long slit around her right thigh. It was the first time Inaaya was wearing something like this. She had loved it ever since she saw her reflection in the mirror.

The dress made her take a pitiful walk down the memory lane. It reminded her of how her peers used to wear elegant dresses like this all the time back home but Inaaya couldn't. Her father disapproved. Which was why she stood there now, fidgeting with the cloth to make it as decent as possible for her father.

She had considered returning the dress to Dielle and asking for jeans and t-shirt but she didn't want to appear fussy. And coming back to her father in Axel's clothes was definitely not an option. So, she had put on the dress and braced herself for her father's impending reproach.

She inhaled a deep breath as she saw Talisa, the vampire, walk towards her and Axel. The woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, was clad in a biker chick outfit. She was a stunning black woman with gorgeous dark hair and a curvaceous figure. The innocence of her face contrasted with the mischievousness of her dark brown eyes.

Talisa looked bored as she stopped in front of Inaaya and Axel. "I've reminded your father and your brother of your existence and made them believe that you went for a college tour today in this city, as requested," she said to Inaaya before turning to Axel. "You owe me big time. Do you know how much work it is to make someone forget of their daughter's twenty-three years of existence and then remind them of everything again? I told you it would have been better had we—"

Axel interrupted her, "What's done is done, Talisa. This is what Inaaya wanted," he said firmly, gesturing towards Inaaya. "We don't need to discuss that incident further," Axel finished through gritted teeth.

Talisa's eyes narrowed at Axel. They engaged in a brief staring contest but Inaaya was too anxious and restless to care. "It's really alright, Talisa. I do wish you hadn't been so careless with your choice about my life but as Axel said, what's done is done."

Fleeting shock crossed Talisa's features as she turned to Axel with a pissed expression. Feeling as if Inaaya might have created unnecessary trouble for Axel with her candid words, she attempted to lighten the mood. "Thank you for taking care of it now, Talisa. Though, I don't think I'd want you to ever hypnotise them again for me," Inaaya joked, giving a small smile before asking the question she so impatiently wanted to ask. "At what time did you tell them I was coming back?"

Talisa clenched her jaw, giving Axel one last disgusted look then glancing at her watch. "Five minutes from now," she answered with gritted teeth.

Inaaya breathed in deeply, nodding and preparing herself to rush inside. "Thanks. Goodbye," she murmured, hurrying towards the doors of the hotel. Axel called out to her but she didn't stop. She needed to be away from Axel and Talisa before her father found her. She knew him well enough to know that he'd be on his way by now to receive her at the entrance of the hotel.

Inaaya breathed a sigh of relief when she had almost reached the hotel doors. She waited as the automatic doors opened only to reveal her father and brother standing on the other side. Inaaya stopped abruptly, not being able to move. Her father's displeased expression turned into a livid one as he took in the outfit Inaaya wore. Her father stepped closer and her brother followed.

"Papa..." she whispered, glancing over her shoulder to find Axel and Talisa staring at them.

"Inaaya!" her father yelled, causing her to jump and turn back to him. She cast her gaze down, not wanting to face the anger reflected in his eyes. "First, you go to that stupid college without my approval. Then you spend a night away from your family alone. And you have the audacity to return in such indecent clothes? What is this, Inaaya? Have you no shame?" he gritted out in a low voice but in the short time she had spent with Axel, she knew he would be able to hear them perfectly. She only hoped he or Talisa wouldn't interrupt.

Fidgeting, she looked over her shoulder at them, shaking her head slightly as her eyes pleaded for Axel to not cause a scene with her father. Talisa seemed to get her silent plea as she held Axel's arm and said something to him.

"Papa can we go inside and talk, please?" Inaaya pleaded, wanting to be out of Axel's sight.

"Why?" her father yelled again, the whites of his eyes marred with angry red lines. "Now you're embarrassed?"

Tears pooled in her eyes as she tried again, "Papa, please."

"Papa," Ashwin, her older brother, intermediated, placing a hand on their father's shoulder. "Everyone's looking. Let's go inside and talk." Their father glanced at Ashwin, nodding and grabbing Inaaya's arm in a painfully tight grip as he dragged her inside the hotel and straight towards their connecting rooms.

A/N:

We met some new characters today. Some whom we had seen before but officially got introduced to today and some completely new. Dielle, Eliseo, Talisa and Inaaya's father, and brother Ashish.

How well do you think Inaaya handled herself in the meeting with Axel's Alphas?

Eliseo seems to dislike Axel, rather strongly. What do you think of him? And of Dielle and Talisa?

Here's a pic of the dress Inaaya wore.

Pretty elegant, right? Apparently, Inaaya's father didn't think so. Any thoughts on him?

Do let me know in the comments below!

Dedication: This chapter goes to Quill_Fritz for reading, for voting, for commenting and simply, for sticking with this story. You're one of the first few of my readers that I know of and have interacted with and I'm so grateful for you. You reading this story means a lot to me. 💖