C H A P T E R 3

As soon as the wave of enlightenment hit my senses, my arms sprang together in between our bodies' tight proximity. I just got mated to Eligor Koen. I just got mated with a fucking rogue.

I stared at him with contempt. "Did you know what you just did, Eligor?!" I exclaimed.

He continued to inch closer to me while grinning and ignoring my outrage. "In fact, I do not, Asteria. And, I'm giving you the honor to enlighten me," I felt his arms crawl back to my waist, drawing small circles on my skin.

Biting my lower lips, I was secretly preventing myself from falling into his trap once more.

"How could you do this to me, Eligor?! We just marked each other. I don't want to be mated with a rogue, let alone their fucking leader! You are a million far away from what I imagined to be my mate!" I replied furiously.

Eligor let out a husky chuckle. "So what, Asteria? Do you think I would have bitten you if I didn't plan to own you in the first place?" he paused. "You actually caught up pretty late, I thought you wouldn't realize until I fucked you."

My hands immediately raised in an attempt to slap his cheeks. I felt so disgusted and disrespected. I do not fucking deserve this, I am the Alpha's Heiress.

As my palm was about to hit his disgustingly annoying face, he took the opportunity to pin my hands above my head and move closer to the space between my neck and shoulder, exactly where the sharp of his canines just sank. I closed my eyes in annoyance. For some unknown reason, I feel weak when I am with him.

"You are everything but stronger than me, Asteria. You need to keep your hands to yourself if you're not going to use them how I want you to because you don't know what I'm capable of," he whispered, planting small kisses on my neck.

My breathing hitched. "I will never use any part of me for your advantage, Eligor. You can do nothing but dream. " I replied.

Despite what I had just spoken, I felt like melting into his touch as soon as his tongue and lips began sucking into the flesh on my neck. I instantly fought to get free of his hold and succeeded in pushing him away. I don't want to succumb to this mysterious longing once more.

He looked at me in amusement. "I already fucked your cunt with my fingers earlier, Asteria. And now you're pushing me away over a mere hickey?"

My jaw dropped with the vulgarity of his words. "Eligor, I don't understand you at all. You only intended to kill me, and I have no doubt that you still do. Aren't you repulsed by the idea of having me as your mate?"

Eligor laughed. "Didn't you remember what I told you earlier, Asteria? You are mine to kill. Your life is mine to end from the moment that you let me mark you."

…

"Lilith, are you okay?" A voice suddenly called. I heaved a sigh as I laid my eyes on Willow. How could I tell them that Eligor took advantage of me? How could I tell them that the leader of our enemies already marked me? I might as well be thrown into the forest to be a part of them, the rogues.

My father is not someone to mess with. Even I, his daughter, could not compete and be equal to his love and care for the Leuruna Clan. I know him, and though I only know half of his truth, what I am certain of is that he would not hesitate to exile me as soon as he find out that I am now mated to a Koen.

I forced a smile as I tapped Willow's shoulder. "I'm fine, Willow. I was just thinking about the new training program for our young wolves." I replied.

Willow nodded. "You don't need to worry, Lilith. All of our wolves are great fighters. I am sure that even the young of the pack will learn to adapt to the new program soon enough."

"I really hope that you are right, Willow. We need everyone to be able to protect themselves. My father is no longer young and his age is already catching up on him. I'm afraid that he can no longer protect us like he did before." I replied.

"Alpha Declan is an amazing alpha, Lilith. He may not be as physically strong as he was but he still has the wits to outsmart them rogues." A stern voice suddenly uttered.

Willow and I immediately turned our heads. "I didn't realize that you were here, Atticus," Willow said.

Atticus smiled. "Well, what can I say? I suddenly felt like eavesdropping on your conversation." He jokingly replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Did you really want to eavesdrop on us or are you just here to drag us back to the training grounds?"

Willow immediately looked at me, pouting. "I'd rather him eavesdrop, Lilith. I don't want to train yet. My whole body is sore already! Even my wolf is complaining!"

Atticus crossed his arms. "Well, I'm sorry to burst your bubbles ladies, but indeed, I am here to take you back to the training grounds. Your break is over."

As soon as I heard his confirmation, I stood up from the deck and brushed away the dirt on my combat pants. I glared at him and nudged his shoulders. "You call that a break? I barely got any rest. It was 5 minutes."

Atticus laughed but still followed me on the way back to the training grounds.

I was greeted by a young group of wolves, sparring as if their lives depended on it. These kids are only around fourteen to fifteen years old, and it pains my heart to see them this desperate to fight back at such a young age.

"They are good, aren't they?" Atticus whispered, standing behind my back.

I nodded. "Yes, they are. But I hope they won't have to train this much at such a young age. It is so heartbreaking to see young wolves training so hard in fear that the rogues would get to them."

"I feel the same, Lilith. Hopefully, this threat will be all over someday and the pups of our wolves can go back to their old life soon." He replied.

I smiled at him. "Atticus, you're becoming better at consoling people. Are you softening?" I joked.

Atticus raised his brows and is now facing me. "I am not going to get soft in this lifetime, Lilith. Do you want to spar?"

"Well, I can't reject a good fight, can I?" I replied, answering the challenge.

Just in time, Willow caught up.

"Are you guys going to be sparring? I want to watch!" She excitedly exclaimed.

Atticus and I laughed. "We will, Willow. But prepare yourself as you watch because Atticus will be sparring with you next." I said.

Willow scrunched her nose. "Fine, fine! It wouldn't hurt to see Atticus falling down on my grace, after all."

Atticus only shrugged his eyes before taking me towards a less congested area of the pack's training grounds, leading Willow to follow us as a spectator.

Guess I'd have to beat the Beta of the Leuruna Clan.

…

Atticus started by running towards me, in an attempt to stun and attack me. It was not far when I saw his fist targeting what seemed to be my abdomen. I immediately dodged his attack, went behind his back, and kicked his legs to make him fall over.

Though I did deliver a lethal blow, Atticus is not easily tripped. He maintained his posture and faced me, preparing to deliver an uppercut that I was unable to defend. I felt his fist plunge into my gut, inflicting pain, one that I did not let faze me. Sparring is a test of endurance and pain tolerance. It is the essence of war.

I caught his arms as he raised them away from my stomach and used them to roll Atticus onto his back. He groaned. "That kinda hurts, Lilith." He said, standing up.

"Well, you did punch me, Atticus. You just gotta take when you give." I smirked.

Atticus smiled. "Fair enough."

When he recovered his stance, he made his way toward me and immediately attacked me in my calves. I stumbled quite a bit but I still managed to stay still and land a punch on his face.

Atticus spitted, but still returned the attack and caught my arms to flip me on my back, replicating my move from earlier. He unfortunately caught me off guard and I wasn't able to keep myself off the ground.

"Where's the Gentleman Atticus now, huh?" I asked, mocking him.

Atticus raised a brow. "It's not like you're a gentlewoman either, Lilith."

True.

I rose from the ground, took advantage of his vulnerability, and walked behind his back to use my arms to lock his neck. Atticus was taken by surprise, which I used to force him to kneel on the ground by kicking the back of his knees, a maneuver that would easily cause you to fall over if you weren't paying attention.

I smiled. "I won, Atticus," I whispered in his ear from behind.

Atticus chuckled. "Fine, you outdid me on this one, Lilith."

As soon as he admitted defeat, I heard a round of applause from the wolves that I didn't even know were watching. Willow also stood up and tapped my shoulders.

"You're really such a great fighter, Lilith." She said.

I let Atticus go and fixed my clothes. "Atticus was great too. My back hurts from getting flipped over his shoulders." I complained.

"Well, you're the one that won anyway." She replied.

I smiled at Willow then tapped Atticus' shoulders. "Great fight, Beta."

He nodded. "Right back at you, Heiress."

After the session, I made my way back to my room in order to change my clothes which are now covered with dirt, a trail that our training left from earlier.

I immediately got to the shower and started washing myself as I drifted back to pondering about my current situation. I guess I need to talk to Dusk about that rogue.

"Dusk?" I called.

Not even a second later, I heard a response. "Finally, Lilith. Are you ready to talk about our mate now?" She replied.

I sighed. "That's exactly why I want to talk to you, Dusk. I don't know what to do, now that I forcibly became his mate."

In the back of my head, I heard Dusk letting out a sarcastic laugh. "But was it truly by force, Lilith? You weren't influenced by anything when you marked each other… aside from lust, I guess." Dusk said.

My forehead creased in annoyance. "You know it yourself, Dusk. From our first encounter itself, you experienced how our body reacts when he is near. I can't resist him, even if I want to."

"So maybe you did not become mates by force, Lilith. He had that effect on us, which means that he's probably the mate that was given to you by the moon goddess." My wolf replied.

But how is it even possible? I know matched folks who can't stay away from their mates at all. They sense each other's anguish, require constant companionship, and may even speak through mate links.

"I don't feel any connection with him, Dusk. I probably have a real mate somewhere. If he was really the mate that the moon goddess gave me, I should have been going crazy right now and craving him, but I don't. He only has an impact on me when he is in close proximity."

Dusk heaved a sigh. "You do have a point, Lilith. Mated wolves cannot stay away from each other for a long time, and I, myself, do not feel a pull and a need towards his wolf. In normal circumstances, I should be miserably missing them right now."

Dusk and I are completely rattled and confused. We both do not know what connection we have with Eligor. We don't feel the mate bond that every other mated wolf feels. I only yearn for him when he is close. That is not what a mate bond is at all. It's like all that I feel for him is motivated by the lust he inflicts on me.

"But aren't I practically mated to him now, Dusk? We marked each other while we were both unmated with our real mates. That just means that we are the chosen mates of each other… my real mate could be suffering somewhere as we speak." I asked, confused.

Though I could not see Dusk, I could imagine her nodding. "You're marked by him, Lilith. It's no doubt that you are now mated with Eligor. But I guess, it's not a completely done deal because you realized what was happening before you've even done the deed. At the end of the day, it's one of the most important parts of the mating process."

I stopped the shower from running and reached out to the towel hanging beside me. "I will never do the deed with him in this lifetime, Dusk. I will resist as much as I can, so please promise me that you won't falter for his wolf too," I paused. "Cause once that we both do, we are over. The mating process will be completed and I will be nothing but a traitor to our pack."

I left the shower with a heavy heart after my discussion with Dusk.

Little did I know, the man that we were talking about was just right behind the bathroom door, smirking and lusting over my barely covered body with his eyes.

"Eligor?!" I exclaimed.

He greeted me with a grin.

"Hello, Lilith. I was craving for you, so I thought I'd drop by to have a little taste."