CHAPTER TWO

Recap...

As soon as their eyes met, his heart stilled for a moment as the whole world seemed to disappear from his view.

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At the sight of their mate, Sebastien felt so glad that Zale couldn't rein him in, and he surfaced briefly as his eyes flashed a golden hue, and he quietly muttered the word "mine."

His mate looked taken aback and gasped, shocked as she saw his eyes change color. Immediately, her eyes looked confused, and it seemed that they were filled with so many emotions. While she appeared lost in thoughts, Zale deeply inhaled her scent again.

"Hmm, Amethyst and white Rose with the lingering human smell. I love it already." Sebastien said, seemingly pleased. He wished he could soak his entire fur with her smell.

Suddenly, Zale broke through the love-filled haze Sebastien was in. "She's human," He mentioned making Sebastien's fur bristle slightly at the revelation. Zale wondered why he had a human as a mate, which rarely happens. He wouldn't deny that he expected a werewolf as a mate, but he would love and cherish her irrespective of this outcome.

Quietly, his mate stood up from her sitting position on the fountain's base and stared at him from the sole of his shoes before looking at his face again. Zale couldn't help but stare her down, appreciating the beauty that stood in his presence.

Her brown hair looks like it was once blonde, although hidden beneath a transparent white veil with some strands poking out, extending to her lower back. Her eyes were the brightest green orbs he had ever seen, and he felt like he could drown in their depths, she was wearing a long grey gown that covered her legs and sleeves, but that did little to hide how breathtaking she looked.

"I can't wait to ravish that body of hers," Sebastien said, showing Zale different images of what he'd like to do to her.

"Keep it in your fur, you horny dog. Don't be too eager; we barely even know her." Zale reprimanded him.

Sebastien rolled its eyes at him as it stretched its hinds legs. "Well, it's not like it won't happen soon."

"She's human, don't forget. Just keep your thinking to the minimum," he replied sternly.

Shaking out of his lustful conversation with his wolf, he noticed he had moved closer to his mate. Due to their closeness, her scent fully invaded his senses, and he couldn't help but take a big sniff as his wolf made an appearance again, making his eyes change color from grey to golden.

As she saw this fleeting change, her eyes opened wider, she let out a quiet gasp, and immediately she ran away from the fountain, heading deeper into the forest.

Zale smirked, and inwardly his wolf howled, ready for a chase.

Oh! How he loves a chase! He growled out loud as he charged towards the direction his beautiful mate ran to, allowing her scent to serve as a trail he followed.

"She's fast," Sebastien purred as they eagerly chased after her, noticing she left a considerable distance between them. Soon Zale halted in front of three paths as her scent seemed to be all over. Her scent appeared in all three tracks, and he couldn't sniff which one was more prominent in his human form, making him growl out in frustration.

"Let me take control, and I'll sniff her out better." Sebastien huffed, snapping at the barrier Zale set up to rein him in.

"I don't trust you and what you'll do to her when we eventually find her," Zale replied sternly as he furrowed his eyes and continued sniffing the air to get her exact scent. Still, her scent trail appeared in a haphazard direction, making him mentally applaud his mate for pulling such an intelligent move.

Sebastien kept pacing and was fighting for control. "Give me control already. I've had enough of your damn talk, and I won't waste precious time talking to you while our mate is there." It replied, growling and snapping harshly at Zale.

Reluctantly, Zale gave in and felt the control slip from him as Sebastien broke through the mental barrier he had created. In a few seconds, the transformation ended as soon as it began as a giant black wolf stood where Zale was seconds ago, and he could feel his senses enhanced due to his wolf form.

Sebastien shook out its smooth and shimmering black fur, golden eyes gleamed with determination, and its paws crouched in anticipation as it let out a ferocious growl that shook the trees.

"Let the chase begin," it said to Zale as it lunged forward.

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Zuri left the cathedral to clear her head and racing thoughts after her encounter with Mother Superior. She had a very serene spot that she discovered when she first got to the cathedral after leaving her home. The site hid within the park that led to the woods that surrounded the cathedral. It was a water fountain adorned with draping vines and colorful flowers that was serene and made her clear her thoughts every time she went there.

To her utter surprise, while she was there thinking about what her parents might have in store for her and how she could try to avoid them, she felt a presence interrupt her peaceful moment. She was shocked as since she discovered this place, no one had ventured near, and she heard from the locals that the park and wood were safe; hence she wasn't scared of coming across any wild animals while in the woods.

Usually, she would have dashed away from the scene and avoided staying there for much longer as it could be anyone or at most someone her parents sent to her. Still, a part of her was hesitant, and that part overpowered her entire sense of reasoning as she found herself unable to move from her spot and oddly curious about who the stranger was.

As the stranger got closer, she was anxious and thought of dashing into the woods for her safety, yet she was deeply rooted in her position on the fountain's base. As the stranger stood behind her, she raised her head to look at the intruder out of curiosity, and at that moment, it felt like she was in a trance, and the entire environment she was surrounded by vanished from her view. He was beautiful and not like any man she had ever seen. He had a peculiar aura surrounding him that she couldn't put her finger on to decipher what it was. Suddenly she noticed his eyes change color from bright grey with flecks of blue to a golden hue briefly, and they went back to their usual color as it had never happened. A sudden gasp left her mouth, and she wondered if what she saw happened or if it was a figment of her imagination.

She slowly stood up from her position and stared up at the man who stood in front of her, from the polished Italian shoes on his feet to his broad shoulders and finally, his face. At that moment, she knew God took his time with this one.

She was still staring at his face trying to see if she recognized him from anywhere, as there was an unrecognizable pull that wanted to draw her closer to the man in front of her. One thing that she was still curious about was his eyes which changed color immediately their eyes met, and the fact that he said the word 'mine' when he saw her baffled her greatly.

That's very unusual for a regular and random person to do. Considering she barely knows the stranger standing in her presence and a normal situation, she would have left as soon as she heard someone coming her way for her safety; instead, she is deeply rooted in her spot.

"Unless he isn't human," her subconscious stated, and immediately, she chided herself for letting the fantasy books she read to get into her head.

Still lost in her thoughts, she decided to overlook it, and she noticed it seemed he was having an internal argument. While she had an internal debate, she didn't realize he had gotten closer to her, and when she did, she saw he opened his eyes, and they changed from their bright grey orbs into a golden hue.

Suddenly, he sniffed her, and at that moment, she realized that his actions didn't seem human at all. She let out a quiet gasp as her flight instincts kicked in, and she tried to get away from the stranger as much as possible. It dawned on her that no human can act the way the stranger did, and as much as she would hate to admit it, he did show similarities between him and a werewolf, even though she tried not to let the books she read cloud her judgment.

Zuri ran through the woods like her life depended on it, as cold shivers ran down her spine. Leaves and little branches gnawed at her dress as she was running, and luckily she was accustomed to the terrain and knew the shortest path that led to the back of the cathedral.

She ran so hard and didn't stop until she got to a trail split into three paths. The three paths stood out, and she knew if she went through one of the paths, she would be easily caught due to the stranger's speed. She knew which path was the shortest, but she decided to go through all three to confuse the stranger that chased her. Still debating on her sudden decision, she heard a growl, making her spring into action.

She ran haphazardly through the paths, entering each and coming out through another while praying she still had enough time before the stranger got to her. After her third attempt, she decided to follow the middle path, which was the shortest.

Zuri continued running without looking back till she could see the cathedral upfront. She silently prayed to reach it in one piece when she suddenly heard a ferocious growl which was louder and closer than before. She nearly sighed in relief when she saw the cathedral gates, which made her increase her pace as adrenalin coursed through her veins.

She could hear large paws hitting the ground as fear coursed through her. She became terrified at that moment when she knew her suspicion was correct as she left behind a man and could hear the sound of an animal chasing her. She knew the beast was near.

When she got to the gate, she nearly raised her hands to thank the heavens, but her happiness was short-lived when she discovered that the gate was locked.

In frustration, she groaned aloud as this was the same gate she had passed through earlier when she decided to go to the park, and she almost cursed whoever locked it.

She started thinking of how she would get in as the nearest opening to the cathedral was at the front of the cathedral, which was far from where she was. She was confident that the beast would get to her before she got there, and suddenly she heard a very powerful snarl, and like a cat caught in headlights, she slowly turned around and came face to face with a huge midnight black wolf with golden eyes towering over her and staring intensely at her.

All color drained from Zuri's face, and it felt like her blood ran dry to be in the presence of such a beast. Oddly, she was expecting a dirty and scrawny looking monster but was surprised to find a huge, well-defined wolf with shiny midnight fur that looked well-groomed, bright golden eyes that seemed to stare into her soul, and long and sharp canines that extended from the wolf's mouth as it huffed. She was already reciting prayers to God if this would be her last day.

The wolf slowly walked up to her, and she stood deathly still, unable to move any inch of her body due to fear. It walked around her, slowly sniffing me, and then stopped in front of her, standing still as it stared intently at her.

How was she going to get out of this without being eaten alive? Zuri thought as she silently prayed.

Then an idea came to her as she realized the wolf wasn't showing signs of consuming her, yet she decided to conjure up a plan. She slowly stretched out her left hand towards the giant beast, and it lowered its eyes towards her hand and stared at it, seeming surprised at the gesture as it slightly cocked its head to the left, mirroring her actions.

Noticing that she had distracted it, Zuri took a deep breath, and in seconds she turned around so fast that she nearly got whiplash and jumped on the gate, trying to climb over the large metal gate.

The wolf seeing her deceit, snarled loudly and stormed over to the gate, throwing its entire weight against it hoping to make her lose her balance and fall, but the tall, heavy gates seemed resistant to its force.

Aggressively, it started pulling at her garment, trying to drag her down while snarling and growling; in the process, it ripped a piece of her apparel away, leaving her socks and right leg exposed.

Angrily, Zuri began to continuously hit its snout with her shoes to let it lose its chances of climbing the gate. As she managed to climb to the top of the tall gates and ungraciously fell to the floor within the cathedral's compound, she weakly stood up, pleased that she was safe within the compound of the cathedral.

Her joy was almost cut short as she saw the wolf jump hard at the gate and tried climbing over it to get to her. However, it seemed to be visibly struggling to move as if there was some barrier keeping it away from the cathedral.

Huffing and growling lowly, it gave up and landed down outside the cathedral as it transformed into the man from earlier, except this time he was without clothes and entirely bare. Immediately, Zuri averted her eyes, and she felt relieved and grateful she didn't see anything more than his bare chest as her cheeks turned a deep shade of red at the thought.

"Wo,w his chest is so defined," she thought subconsciously and mentally scolded herself, asking for purification of the mind.

Suddenly, the stranger spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. "That was quite a chase, and I loved it, mate. You are lucky we couldn't get our hands on you due to the barrier." Zuri couldn't deny how soft and commanding his voice sounded. He spoke gently, yet it had a tinge of authority, and she did not know why she felt involuntary shivers when he spoke.

"Is that why the wolf couldn't climb over when it had the strength to. " Zuri thought, confused as she furrowed her gaze. Her breaths still coming out in pants due to the way she ran.

Zale turned to move towards the direction of the forest where he came from, but he hesitated and briefly turned to look at Zuri, etching her face into his mind as she looked solely at his face.

"Goodbye, Mate," Zale said with a determined look, and Zuri knew she would definitely be seeing this man again.

Just as Zale turned to leave finally, he turned to her once more, and this time, Zuri gasped. Instead of grey eyes, she saw golden ones as a smirk appeared on his face.

"This isn't the last time we'll be seeing. I'd be coming for what's mine soon," he said in a deep husky voice, and with that, Zale turned and ran towards the forest with inhuman speed.

Zuri was left standing rooted to her position as different waves of emotions hit her at once, with the strongest being fear and anxiety. Slowly, she turned towards the cathedral and headed towards the large building as she tried to calm her racing heart.

Unknown to her, someone who had watched the entire scene unfold angrily closed the curtains of the window they stood behind and dashed out of the room where they hid.