Chapter 115

ANASTASIA MULBERRY

Waking up disgruntled and disoriented, Anastasia wasn’t quite sure where she was but her initial instinct was to spring up in bed and yank her arms to her chest. When she realised that the motion was completely possible and that her wrists weren’t chained to the wall, a sigh of relief escaped her and she allowed herself to drop back onto the bed, snuggling up under the covers and burying her face in the pillow.

She didn’t need anyone to tell her that she was in Marcellus’ bed. The musky, woodsy smell of his sheets was enough of a giveaway, not to mention the overall feel of how she felt; safe, sound and secure. When her lips twitched at the corners, she didn’t try to fight it.

Despite how much of a mess their mate situation was and the terrible foot that they had started off on, after everything that she had been through in the past day or so, Anastasia knew that giving up now would be the worst thing that she could ever do. While she had seriously been considering going through with the rejection a few days ago simply because she was afraid that such lingering thoughts of her unworthiness remained on his mind despite his insistence denial of it, he had singe-handedly squashed all her fears and doubts by turning doing all he could to locate her and get her out of the dangerous situation she had somehow managed to land herself in.

Although she had hoped that he would come to save her, Anastasia couldn’t deny the fact that she feared he wouldn’t have bothered for the same reason that he had significantly delayed in telling her that they were mates and then proceeding to play with her feelings while succumbing to council pressure of taking a choice mate.

Anastasia was far from naïve and instead, she was more of a realist than an optimist most of the time, hence she was fully aware that they still had a lot of rocky roads ahead of them however, she was willing to face them all as long as he was by her side.

If he was willing, then she was willing and together, they would nurture and mould this mate bond into the absolute best that it could be but for now, they needed to talk and clear the air before any other misunderstandings tried to pry them further away from each other.

Throwing the covers off, Anastasia threw her legs over the side of the bed and looked down, surprised to see that she was only dressed in a thin cotton shirt that barely covered her ass cheeks. She had no doubt in her mind that her mate had been the one to change her but instead of scowling at the thought and being disgusted by it, she couldn’t help but chuckle as she headed into the bathroom, glad to see that other than a few bruises, scratches and grazed that should all heal completely in a couple of days, there wasn’t nothing much else wrong.

After borrowing a pair of leggings that he had left out for her – which looked suspiciously like a pair she had at home – Anastasia brushed her fingers through her hair and headed out of the bedroom in search of her mate.

Since Marcellus was only ever either in his office or in the kitchen if he wasn’t in his room, she decided to try her luck with the former first. Before Anastasia even reached out for the door handle, she knew that he was in there. Not because she could sense him – simply because she wasn’t a wolf and their mate bond hadn’t come into full affect yet – but because she could hear him as well as a few others talking on the other side of the door.

Upon second thoughts, she let go of the handle in hesitation and instead, raised her hand to knock. If he was busy or in a meeting then she would simply come back another time but they really needed to talk.

“You don’t need to knock, Anastasia.” He called out to her the moment the first knock sounded and before she could tap her knuckles against it for a second time.

Reaching down for the door handle for a second time, she squeezed it gently before pushing opening the door and taking a step into the room. While she wasn’t surprised to see that he was in a meeting, she was surprised to see that there were seven of them in total in his office; including both Marcellus and Dalton.

Nodding in respect and recognition toward the friendly Beta wolf that beamed at her, Anastasia turned her head to lock eyes with her mate whom unsurprisingly, was already watching her. She allowed his hazel eyes to guide her as she walked around the room, only coming to a stop when she reached him.

Standing up from his chair, Marcellus smiled down at her with a soft look on his face as he guided her into his seat, more than willing to remain standing for his mate.

When he glanced down at her with an intense, questioning look in his eyes, she took in a deep breath before nodding her head ever so slightly. While this was something that she had wanted him to do and be honest about from the very beginning, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous now that the situation was presented in front of her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet Anastasia Mulberry.” Marcellus grinned proudly as he introduced her to the five council members – four male and one female – all of them with curious expressions on their faces as they watched her closely; no doubt being able to scent out that she was human. “My mate.”

As an uncomfortable, momentary silence filled the room, Marcellus perched himself on the corner of his desk despite Dalton having offered to get him a chair.

“Mate?” Elder Malachi was the first one to speak up, the evident surprise and shock dripping from his voice as he stared at Anastasia with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Since when do you have a mate?”

Marcellus pursed his lips at the uncomfortable question but before he could answer, Anastasia reached out and placed her hand on his, squeezing gently.

As he turned his head to glance down at her in surprise, having been caught off guard by the gesture, she was quick to take advantage of the situation.

“Since recently but with everything going on, I’m sure Marcellus didn’t have the chance to inform you all about us.” Anastasia lied smoothly with a bright smile on her face; her facial expression not giving anything away.