CHAPTER 9

BRAYANS POV

There was a loud banging on my room door. I opened my eyes and looked around. The girl on my bed was sleeping soundly. I frowned. I thought I asked her to leave. Now I'll have to change the sheets and the bed.

"Brayan i know you're in there" mama shouted from the other side of the door.

I pulled on my pants tossed on the floor and grabbed a shirt while I went to open the door.

"Mama"

"Brayan what the fuck is wrong with you. I've been knocking on your door. Is that? Is that a woman in there?"

"Please don't start"

"When are you going to stop doing all this. Your mate will be coming in four days. You have to stop sleeping around"

I rolled my eyes. I didn't want a mate much less an arranged one.

"A mate that I don't want" I pushed past her and walked down the hallway but she followed me.

"You've not even met her"

"I don't need to meet her to know I don't want her. How do you expect me to tie myself down to a woman that I don't even know"

"She'll be here for a month until the final mating ritual. You can use that as a chance to get to know her"

"You don't get it mama. I don't want her. A month, three years, it won't make a fucking difference" I shouted angrily and she sighed.

"Rejecting the bride is going against the treaty. Your father and his fathers all took mates like this"

"I don't want to be them"

"But you promised your father" I sighed. She had finally resorted to emotional blackmail. Typical of her.

My father knew I would never willingly accept the arranged mating so he slyly made me promise to at least try and get to know the girl.

"I'll try" she smiled brightly and kissed my cheeks.

"I love you when you're not being so difficult. She'll be here in four days. You need to get your room ready for her"

"Wait a minute. She'll be staying in my room? That wasn't part of the agreement"

"Ohhh. I guess your father didn't explain better. She'll be staying in your room to give you a chance to get closer"

"That can happen if she stays in another room"

"You know it won't. I'll send the servants to prepare some space for her in your bedroom. I'll leave you now" she skipped happily away.

I groaned pushing my hand through my hair. I looked over some documents and went to my room. The girl was gone and I entered the bathroom to take a bath.

After dressing, I stepped out of the house.

"Brayan" I heard my mama's voice and I groaned inwardly.

"Where are you going?"

"Out"

"Come on. Tell me where"

"Mama what do you want?"

"Nothing. Take Gannon with you"

"No way"

"Why not?"

"Why the fuck should I? You know how he is. I'm not taking him anywhere"

"That makes me sad" I heard his annoying voice from behind me. Could the day get any worse? I was having a fucking headache already.

Mama will only keep complaining if I don't take him and I was tired of hearing her shout honestly. For a small woman, she had a lot of energy in her but she never bothered to use it on her other children. Just me.

"Get in" I said in a cold voice and climbed into the car. She waved as I drove away.

"Where are we going?"

"Stupid of you to get into the car with me without knowing where I'm going to"

He looked taken aback for a moment but he chuckled.

"Are you trying to scare me? You know it'll never work. Tell me where we are going or I'll keep annoying you until you do"

I knew he would follow through with that threat.

"The human town"

"Fuck finally. I can see her"

He pulled out his phone and made a call while I focused on the road.

"I'll see you today..... where are you going?"

"Pastry shop"

"Yes. The mall. I'll see you soon" he said to who was in the phone and he hung up smiling stupidly.

I knew it was a woman. Gannon loved them too much and the women he slept with disgusted me. He always told them upfront that it would lead to nothing but they were always desperate. I hated those kind of women.

I parked my car at the front of the pastry shop. I loved the pastries made at the shop and I always stopped to get treats from here but I had never met the owner.

The shop was empty when I entered. "Hello" I called out hoping that anyone who was here would hear me.

Humans and their terrible hearing. If it was a wolf, they would have heard the moment I entered. I listened carefully and heard a sniffle. Was someone crying? I followed the sound and pushed the door open. A small woman was bent over with her face buried in her hands as she sobbed.

"Hey"I said softly and she jumped. Her beautiful wide eyes staring at me in confusion.

"Who are you... how did you get here?" She asked while wiping her tears off. I lifted my hands to show her I was harmless.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What can I do for you?"

"Are you sure? You're crying. You can tell me" I don't know why I said that. It should not be my business why she was crying but for some reason, I was eager to know.

Her shoulders slumped and she sat down on the chair. I moved over cautiously and sat beside her. She smelled of cinnamons and sugar. I could get lost in her smell.

"My parents want to send me away"

"Why?"

"They want me to get mated to someone I don't know"

Mated? Was she a wolf?

"You must have heard of the treaty with the beast" she asked and I froze.

"My family was selected and as the oldest daughter, I have to go" she cried harder.

She was the one who was supposed to be sent to me as a mate? It didn't sound like such a bad idea now. She was so beautiful and her aura was calming. Maybe if we got to know each other, I could come to love her.

'But you don't want a mate' my beast reminded me. I'm reconsidering that option.

"What's your name" she looked at me strangely for a while.

"Nevaeh" she said in a soft voice.

"Nevaeh" it was a beautiful name.

She suddenly jumped up. "Do you want you want to het treats?" She was suddenly out of the door and I followed behind her.

"Which one do you want?"

"The strawberry muffins" I said my gaze still on her. She packed them and handed them over to me.

I brought out some money to lay but she stopped me.

"It's on the house"

"Thank you" I smiled at her and she smiled back. Someone e where'd the shop and her attention shifted from me.

Fuck. She was so beautiful. I was going to go home and wait until her arrival. She was worth a try.

I grabbed my phone and called Gannon. No response. He was probably fucking some chick. I sat in the car and tasted the muffin. I groaned as the delicious treat hit my taste buds.

After finishing the treats, I called Gannon again and thankfully, he picked this time.

"Where the fuck are you?"

"Yeah. Just finished. I'll be with you" he said and I hung up.

Five minutes later, he was running towards the car. The moment he entered, I almost choked.

The smell of lavender and rose hung heavy on him.

It was probably the woman he was fucking.

Did he bathe in her perfume? The was not a bad smell but right now, it was excessive and I was having a hard time breathing.

I opened the windows to air out the strong smell as we drove away.