Daryn said softly, "Don't be darling."

They lied beside each other, quiet and in their own thoughts. There was a lot of information for Dawn to process.

​​

Daryn knew that as a neotide, it wouldn't be easy for Dawn. If she were a pure blood, all the customs would have been ingrained in her from childhood. For the pure bloods, this was a natural way of living. They were exposed to them from a young age. But neotides – they were an outcast. Infected. However, if she was willing to open up, then he was there by her side to guide her. He was afraid to say that if she accepted his Rede'vota, he would be forced to mark her – to transform her into his Luna. He had to tell her and not keep her in the dark. So he took a deep breath and said, "There's one more thing I would like to add here, Dawn."

"Hmm?" she asked pensively.

"If you accept my Rede'vota, I will be asked to mark you mandatorily. Although I would love that you accept it, you may decline it. I don't care what the world thinks about us. Staying with you for the rest of my life is the only wish I have."

Dawn nuzzled her head into the side of his chest and kissed him there. "Daryn, let's just take one thing at a time. Let us flow ourselves with the time." She turned to be on her back not wanting to think about what Rede'vota was. Marriage was something that was not on her cards at the moment. She should have been happy for getting the opportunity to be his wife, his Luna – as his father had said. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Yes, my dear. Let's just flow with the time."

Shortly afterwards they slept.

Next morning, when Dawn browsed through the newspaper while having breakfast with Daryn, she was surprised that there was no news about her anywhere, only a big, bold caption that said, "CEO Silver Breaks His Engagement With Maya". The article went on to say that they mutually agreed to cancel the wedding because of their personal problems. Not a single line about her. She checked her phone, the social accounts, the local online news channels, but even there no one mentioned anything about her. All they said was that Daryn Silver and Maya had mutually decided to break off the relationship.

Daryn was buttering his toast while looking at her. He asked, "Why are so amused Dawn?"

"There is no news about how your engagement broke. The drama at Maya's house was so intense, yet not a single mention of that anywhere," she said in a breathy voice, pointing at the newspaper.

Daryn kept the buttered toast in his plate and said in a deep voice, "Do you think that any newspaper would even dare to mention that spectacle?" It was almost like a snarl.

Her mouth fell open. She folded the paper and kept it aside. Then she looked at him. How could she get so lucky? She was awed by his dominating aura. Daryn Silver was one of the most powerful CEOs of the country and a pure blood prince. Destiny worked mysteriously. All the time she was in Bainsburgh, she never met him once. And she met him only when she became a werewolf? Did humans ever become the mates of werewolves? She shook her head and bit her lip. Thank God she was a werewolf.

He gestured to her with his finger to come to him. She got up and walked to him and he pulled her in his lap. As if understanding her thoughts, he wrapped his arms around her and said, "You don't know how lucky I am to have you in my life. Where were all these days? I wish I had met you much earlier." He kissed her on her arm. "I wasted my life on women who I barely knew, whom I barely liked and who only stuck to me for the fame and money."

"I don't think you would have felt any attraction towards me when I was a human," she replied with a sigh and patted his hands.

He laughed. She was so innocent and ignorant.

She looked at him with a frown. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because, my dear little neotide, it wouldn't have mattered even if you were a human. Werewolves have human mates too. If I had met you earlier, we would have felt the same tug for each other."

Her eyes were wide with amusement. "Really?"

"Yes," he replied. What he didn't say was that if he marked her as a human, it was possible that she would have died. He shuddered thinking that and the hair on his neck stood.

Dawn placed her hand on his arms sensing his body trembling and said, "Daryn, are you okay?"

"Yes," he whispered. He held her face in his hands and kissed her softly at first. His kiss deepened and she opened herself for him. He just needed an assurance that she was there with him always. When he finished, he buried his face in her neck.

"Shall we go?"

"No…"

She chuckled. "Mr. CEO, your company needs you today because you are taking two days leave from tomorrow."

He left her reluctantly.

In the office, when they walked together through the lobby, the employees watched them with suspicion. They both heard them saying things like:

"Why did he break his engagement with Maya?"

"Is she the reason?"

"Ever since she has come, she has done some magic on the CEO."

"Why do you blame Dawn? She is too young for our CEO. It is possible that Mr. Silver was attracted by her youth and that is why he dumped Ms. Maya."

"Yes, that could be true. She is only twenty-one, while he is thirty-two."

"She is not twenty-one! She is no more than nineteen!"

"Oh no!"

"The CEO shouldn't have pounced on such a young girl. Tsk, tsk."

"Shut up! She is twenty-three."

Dawn couldn't help but chuckle as she passed the group of employees who all stiffened up when Daryn walked past them. His expressions were cold and dark and he didn't even reply to their greetings. They walked down the corridor towards the elevator. As they waited, she glanced towards him and found that his head was mildly bobbing back and forth as if in excitement.

The elevator arrived and they stepped in. Suddenly, Daryn lunged at her and pushed her against the wall. "Let me show how the CEO of Silver House pounces on a young girl," he growled.

Dawn's breathing accelerated with the way he looked at her and before she could say anything. He pinned her to the wall with his hips and brought his hands to her face. "So I am too old for you?" he asked.

She stared at him with her green eyes and shook her head as she bit her lip. Suddenly, the atmosphere charged and his eyes became dark.

"Shit!" he said and the next moment his lips were on hers with so much intensity that it pained slightly and she groaned. His tongue was in her mouth as he explored her zealously. She let him explore her while slowly moving her tongue to entwine with his. He became hard and pressed her to grind himself. "I want you right here, Dawn."