Chapter 39

Eline was practicing with her bow and arrow in her backyard when she scented the Alpha King in her home.

Her heart went up to her throat, immediately. What is the Alpha King doing in her home? Is the council meeting over already? Has she done something wrong?

Quickly, she discarded her bow and arrow, removed the cloak, and straightened invisible wrinkles from her garments before she made her way back into her home.

"Good day, Alpha King. To what do I owe this—" she cut off suddenly when she saw that it wasn't the Alpha King, but her human roommate. "Ismena?"

"That will be me, Eline." Ismena let out a nervous laugh, trying to calm her own raging heart. 

Damn, for a moment, she'd thought Wolfariane had walked through that door behind her.

"Wait. Why do you carry the Alpha King's scent? You do not have this scent a few days ago." Eline's confusion was blatant on her pixie face. She isn't an Alpha, so her scent is limited...not as enhanced as an Alpha's.

What the...? The woman knows she'd been hanging out with their Alpha King because she smells like him. 

Wait, how does she smell like him? She'd bathed pretty well before coming out.

"Unless you had séxual intimacies with the Alpha King!?" Her eyes went as wide as saucers, "Wait. He had séx with you!? That doesn't seem possible, he has absolutely no liking for humans. Absolutely none."

"Séx!? No!" Ismena shrieked, a blush creeping to her cheeks, "No way, I didn't have séx with—"

"But, wait. Even if you had séx with him, you aren't supposed to smell like him." The changeling female's head was working, "Females don't carry on the scents of their intimate partners at all. Well, maybe for an hour or two after intimacy, especially if the male released inside the female or he bit her during the intercourse."

Ismena's cheeks flamed hotter.

She continued without pausing, barely sparing her another glance. "The Alpha King has been in the Meeting Hall for more than four hours now, so that cancels off recent intimacy. It is impossible that you will scent like him. Unless... unless—" 

Ismena was already halfway across the sitting room towards the kitchen to take a glass of water, but the way Eline's words came to an abrupt halt interested her. She didn't stop as she asked, "Unless what?"

Eline's eyes went wider. All the blood drained from her face as the only reasonable reason came to her mind. "No... But, that is not possible."

"What is not possible?" Ismena threw from the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water and downing it instantly.

Eline followed her to the kitchen, her brows knitted thoroughly in a thoughtful frown. "A human? Is that even possible? For a man like the Alpha King who doesn't have one beast-form but two?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She poured herself another glass of water.

Eline looked her straight in the eyes, "You truly do not know that you are the Alpha King's mate?"

*****************

Wolfariane Daminor Throne said nothing, just watching all of them silently. His only reaction is his two fingers rubbing the gashes on his left cheek thoughtfully—gashes that have healed miraculously, by the way.

The council raged and raged about the person that made the ring go into the wrong hands. Chaos and their angry shouts rose higher in the air until the turmoil started to get further out of hand.

"Enough." He let out calmly, finally.

Everywhere quieted instantly. Even those that had angry words spewing from their mouth stopped mid-rant and glanced at their Alpha King.

He leaned forward in his seat and met the eyes of each and every council member. "First of all, let me get some things straight." He paused, "Yes, it is not a Changeling that compromised the ring into the hands of the enemies but a human. However, it is not a human male but a female. A small female." 

Surprised gasps filled the air, and some muttered curses. 

For Changelings, gender means everything. Their females are well-protected by them at all costs, and unless a female's crime was too hideous, they find it extremely hard to hurt females. Females should be protected, not hurt.

None of them were surprised at their own muttered curses of frustration either. If it was a male, they go toe to toe, fight and tear him apart. But it's a defenseless small female.

"Shit!" Head Sentinel Rodarh muttered in furious frustration, "But still, it doesn't matter. The gender shouldn't matter in this case, Alpha King. She put us all in danger. She should be brought before the council and punished extensively. Don't you all agree?"

Some nodded their consent, the others sighed warily.

"I'm as angry as you are, Rodarh, we all are." Alpha Zane spoke up for the first time. The leader and council representative of the Jaguar Clan. "But, I do not support punishing a female the council way, even if she is human and evil."

"She is not evil. That is what I have been trying to let us all know, but we were letting out anger get the better of us." Alpha Alphose finally got his words across.

"She isn't? Then, why did she hand the ring over to the enemies?" Ratinus, the Rat Alpha snapped angrily. "I say we tie her up and—"

"She is my mate." 





Wolfariane never wanted to say those words, but as it made its way out of his mouth in a growl he couldn't restrain, he didn't even try to hold it back. He couldn't.

The man is irritated at the council's anger for the small woman with the body of a goddess and the smile of a wicked angel. But, if the man is irked, it's nothing compared to the way his wolf was feeling. "She is my mate."

Shocked silence. 
The quietness was so thick and tensed in the air, with only the bombshell of the Alpha King's calmly but fiercely spoken words hovering over them.

"Hell." Head Sentinel Rodarh muttered out loud, at last. No matter what they expected to hear, it wasn't that.

"She is my mate." The growl tore from his mouth. Again. "You all want to harm my mate?"