In order to survive, Darius, the Alpha King, requires his mate. He will perish if he does not unite with her by the next full moon. After searching for days, Darius finally finds her but she is not who he thinks her to be.
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BREATHING OUT AN exasperated sigh, Samuel started speaking again.
"A mate's mark is given to both mates to signify belonging and union. It's equivalent to the wedding rings humans wear.
"It's a bite that is placed on a specific spot on the neck of your mate. Since you are human, the Alpha would be the only one to deliver the mark.
"It would show that you belong to him alone and him to you. You would share some of his abilities and his scent-"
On hearing his last sentence, Ophelia quickly cut him off. "Wait, are you trying to tell me that I'll be able to turn into a wolf?"
Samuel quickly shook his head.
"Not at all, Luna. You won't be able to shift but you will be quicker, stronger and more agile. You will live as long as Alpha does because your life will be linked to his."
Ophelia's lips parted slightly as she voiced out her realisation. "Oh. "
Although she wouldn't mind having superhuman abilities, she wasn't sure how she felt about living for so long but at the moment, she had just one concern.
"Would it hurt?"
Samuel instantly went red in the face. "Not as much as you probably think, Luna. It's... er... um, it's... mostly pleasurable."
Seeing as she was going to ask another question, he quickly added. "Please do not make me explain further, Luna. The Alpha will have my head and that of my family members if he knows I talked to you further about this."
"Darius wouldn't do that," Ophelia defended instantly.
Samuel said nothing more to support his words but Ophelia knew it was just to pacify her. No other words were said concerning that but it was far from over. Ophelia would have to ask Darius about it herself.
"So, regarding the wolf prime curse I told you about earlier, as long as the mates haven't been marked and mated, they would not be exempted from the curse.
"Although you're human, you'll still feel some pain if you didn't meet the Alpha till his prime. Fortunately for you, it'll pass after a while. The Alpha on the other hand will have it differently.
"The Alpha never wanted you to know this but I had no other choice. He grows weaker by the day and is now prone to headaches and fevers like any other human.
"We now have to be careful with the food he eats and where he goes so he doesn't contract anything.
"If this persists till his birthday and he remains unmated, I'm afraid his wolf would give in and... You know the rest," Samuel said, shutting his eyes before opening them again.
No other words were needed for Ophelia to understand that Darius was probably going to die. Ophelia stood up and walked towards the bed. The same place she found out that she was the soulmate of the King of all Werewolves.
She tried to recall everything Darius told her that day and realised that he mentioned nothing about the curse. She hadn't expected Darius to be going through so much and keeping so much from her.
"Why didn't he tell me? Was it because he didn't trust me?" Ophelia asked, the last question came out with more pain.
"No, you've got it wrong, Luna. The Alpha trusts and loves you the most in this world. He did it for you," Samuel said, as he stood up.
"For me?"
"Yes. The reason he tried to make himself look like he's in good health is because he didn't want to make you feel guilty and influence your decision.
"The Alpha wanted the choice to be yours. If you decide to be with him, he wished for it to be because you wanted to and not because you pitied him."
"What if I still refused to be with him?" Ophelia asked with a frown.
"Then the Alpha was prepared to die without burdening you with the guilt of his death," Samuel said.
Ophelia rubbed her forehead, feeling annoyed for some reason. "What about the Kingdom? His family?"
"The Alpha had already decided to hand over the kingdom to Duke Beta Noriel," Samuel replied.
From what Ophelia understood from books, a Beta was like the second in command to the Alpha. She initially thought that was Samuel, but now after hearing what he said she realised was wrong.
"Did he ever consider that I might actually understand everything if he just told me? Or that I might be mad at him if I found out how he was keeping me in the dark?"
"You've got the Alpha wrong, Luna. He only wanted you to live your life without guilt if he ended up dying.
"He wanted you to choose or reject him without being under duress caused by consideration or pity. This is the reason the Alpha didn't tell you everything," Samuel said quickly.
In all her life, Ophelia had never seen anyone more selfless. She wasn't sure how to feel about it.
She knew what Samuel and probably all the wolves in Darius's kingdom needed her to do but Ophelia wasn't sure if she could be that selfless.
But as she sat on the cold bed that smelled of Darius, she couldn't see another reason why she should be selfish. She asked herself if she could risk the future of an entire kingdom because of her hesitation.
All her life, only her aunt had ever helped her selflessly and wholeheartedly. Although she understood they were mates, she couldn't understand why he was willing to sacrifice so much for her. She would have to ask him about it in person.
With that thought in mind, she turned back to Samuel who was patiently standing and waiting for her response.
"How long does Darius have left?"
The question felt heavy on her tongue but she needed to know.
"Barely eight days, Luna. The Alpha was born on November twenty-fourth and today is the sixteenth day of November. "
Ophelia sighed. It was indeed eight days.
"And where is he now?"
"White Lake reserve where he took you last time. After an exposure to Vampire's blood last night, the Alpha's wolf became extremely restless.
"Normally, the Alpha wouldn't mind it but since he started losing strength, he isn't as tolerant as he used to be."
"Is there really no other way to save him?"
"I'm afraid not, Luna."
Ophelia nodded. "You may go now, Samuel. I'll wait here for Darius."
With a nod, Samuel left the room, leaving Ophelia to her thoughts, but every thought coming to her mind was as embarrassing as the last.
The worst that would happen is that Darius would turn her away. If that happened, Ophelia would surely crawl into a ditch and hide there.
Despite her reservations, Ophelia knew that there was only one way out of this, and that she had to do it for the people who were probably counting on her to save their King.
