Chapter 5 New life

Mia

I sat on the bed, listening to the trickling sound of the running water in the bathroom. Edward was in the bathroom having a shower and he had strictly told me to stay awake for when he would come out. Lying on the bed would knock me out so I decided to sit instead.

Vincent had given us the guest room suite to spend the night before our journey to Phoenix pack at dawn. I almost wished I could spend the night in my bedroom and on my bed for just one night, but no one was going to have that. It was custom to mark your mate on the night of the mating ceremony and to have sex also to seal the mate bond.

We weren't real mates so I don't know if the rules apply to us too. However, werewolves get mated to choice mates but they are always in love. My case was the worst mate relationship ever.

The bathroom door slid open and I quickly laid down, wanting the whole thing to be less romantic as it already was.

"Good thing you're still awake." He said and I held my breath.

"Let's get this over with." I managed to say in a weak voice, my eyes on the ceiling. His mere presence alone overwhelmed me. His voice made my knees weak but thank goodness I was sitting.

"Sit up." He commanded in an icy tone and I frowned.

"Look, we don't have to go through the process mates in love get to do. Like, I said... let's get this over with." I was drained from the ceremony and longed for a good night's sleep.

"Sit. Up." His tone was drier and lacked patience. I did as I was told immediately, fearing what may come if I didn't.

"That's it there. You're afraid of me." A small smile creased his face, surprising me.

"I... I... I don't..." I stammered, not even knowing what to say.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me." He came to sit beside me and I moved back a bit, hoping it wasn't obvious. His hair was wet and was stuck to his face. He was also shirtless and only a towel covered his lower body. I looked away, resisting the urge to check out his forearms and bicep.

"I don't back down on promises I make, so I won't back down on something as serious as a vow between mates."

His words brought me relief but not completely. There were still unanswered questions that weighed down on my mind.

I summoned up courage and looked into his eyes for this. "Why me? You could have chosen any other female wolf in the pack. I'm a latent wolf. And a wolfless Luna. Ever heard of that before? There's nothing I can bring to the table, so why choose me?"

"Really? That shouldn't be a question. You're pretty, Mia and impossible to ignore. Now go to bed, we have a long journey tomorrow." He yawned and laid on his side of the bed.

For the first time, I wasn't flustered for being called pretty. Yes, I was beautiful but it couldn't be the reason. There were lots of pretty wolves in the pack and he could have made his choice from the strongest not a weak wolf like me.

A soft snore got me glancing at his sleeping figure. No attempt to form a bond with me and from his attitude, he wasn't ready to mark me or consummate the mate bond.

As I laid down to sleep, I couldn't shake out the feeling that Edward was hiding something and was on a mission. It's not everyday a powerful Alpha chooses the weakest of wolves as mates.

***

We left early in the morning when most of the pack members in the house were still asleep. Edward bade farewell to the Alpha who had come out to see us off. My father didn't even glance at me twice and it hurt more than I'd ever thought. I grew up not knowing what parental love meant. My own father blamed me for the death of my mother. She died while giving birth to me and it ruined my father. He loathed me for killing his mate and had said openly to me one day that I was supposed to die instead of her.

The cool morning air kissed my face and I longed for a run through the woods.

I dialed Bella's number but it rang to the end without an answer. The same with Lewis. The after morning effect of alcohol I guess. I was at the brink of breaking down in tears but I couldn't do that. My father would glare at me and show his disappointment. Besides, I'm now the Luna of a powerful pack and it was an error to show weakness through tears.

"Let's go." Edward took his hand in mine after a brief discussion with my father and we walked to an Aston Martin that was parked in front behind a convoy. Electricity ran through my hands at the skin contact. I stole a glance at him, wondering if he felt that too.

"This is Stewart, my beta." Edward introduced the guy that held the door open for us as we slid into the backseat. I attempted a warm smile and he winked at me.

Not a single word was said between us as we drove out of Gyde's pack borders. It was goodbye to my friends and to the life I've lived there. Maybe Phoenix would give me the life I've always dreamt of. But with the Alpha of the pack sitting next to me and typing furiously on his phone with a scowl on his face, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. His dismissal from last night was unexpected and it got me thinking if he had mated me for a completely different reason.

The car screeched to a stop and I jerked up in panic to see what had gone wrong.

"What's the matter?" Edward pocketed his phone.

"A log is blocking our part." Stewart replied. He was behind the wheels and another guy that wasn't introduced to me sat in the passenger's seat next to him.

"That's not good. Alert the others behind us."

My eyes widened in terror as I looked around. Everywhere was still dark and I could barely see the trees from the window.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a whisper.

Edward began unbuttoning his shirt, his face set in a frown. "Stay here in the car. Whatever that happens, don't come..." he was cut short with a loud bang from behind us.

He fled out of the car within a second followed by Stewart. Only the guy in the passenger's seat was left. Keeping watch of me I presumed.

I watched as Edward shifted into a black large wolf. A dozen wolves ran into us from the woods and a fight began.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness." I muttered softly as I wrapped my hands over my chest as I struggled to breath properly. The sight before me was too gruesome to watch.

Who were the attackers, and why did they attack us?

Ear splitting screams filled my ears as wolves were laid to waste on the ground. I don't know if Edward's team was winning or losing.

Suddenly, a wolf jumped on the windscreen and stared right at me with burning red eyes.

I screamed so loud as it broke the windscreen followed by the guy's neck that was keeping watch of me. He growled in satisfaction and began pulling me out of the car. Panic seized me as I grew overwhelmed with all that was going on.

"Edward!!!" I yelled out his name with every ounce of strength I could muster, but my attacker hit me hard on the head and everything went black.