inside Neema's room as she entered through the conjoined door after feeding and putting her siblings to bed. Sahina gave her no time to dwell over the day and quickly rushed her into the bathroom where a bubble bath was waiting for her. Clothes hung on the doorframe that were not appropriate for bed or for daily use.

"What's going on?" questioned Neema as she eyed Sahina wearily from her perch in the warm bath that she had fallen madly in love with. Submerging her whole body into the tub Neema felt the tension of the day rolling away. Laying in the tub she could almost forget that she was a mate to a wolf. Almost forget that she was not his only one out there.

She did not know how she felt about him, she could not say she was happy to be his mate but at the same time she was not reluctant either, she was almost possessive over him. She was his mate and he was hers no matter how much she disliked his personality, or how much she wished to see Victus again she found herself slowly becoming open to him.

"You are attending a celebratory dinner for khan and your mating, we are running late though" sung Sahina as she tapped a small device in her hand that caused the water to start draining from the bath, forcing Neema to cut her time short.

Wrapping her body in a towel, she headed towards the vanity and began coming her hair as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. her hair curled in long ringlets all the way down to her waist and her skin had begun to deepen from her time in the sun.

Flinging on the red silk dress draped over the doorframe, she twisted her body this way and that to view herself in the mirror, it was one of the first times she had seen herself in good lighting and looking almost pretty. She was still way to skinny but the red dress made her look a lot fuller than she was, it gave her body seductive curves that she did not have.

By the time she was dressed Sahina entered the room with a spray bottle that she sprayed all over Neema's face and shut eyes. When Neema next looked at herself in the mirror she barely recognised herself. The liquid magic in the spray bottle had enhanced Neema's natural skin colour and gave her eyebrows more definition. Her lips looked plum and her eyes looked sultry, with thick lashes and a thin line in the shape of a cat.

"I just gave you a little bit of make-up, to enhance your natural beauty." Sahina mumbled unsurely. At that moment Neema felt bad for all the negative thoughts she had towards Sahina, the female had only been doing her job maybe a bit enthusiastically but she was still a person. She had helped Neema in more ways then she could count and though she was annoying Neema was extremely grateful.

The make-up made her feel like she was a real woman, one who could stand up to the scrutiny she was bound to receive tonight.

"Thank you so much Sahina, for everything" said Neema as she pulled Sahina into a quick her.

"Right, well let us head out" grinned Sahina as she readjusted her clothes and began marched out the door and down the corridors with Neema trailing behind until they reached a large set of doors.

Pushing them open Sahina wished her good luck before she left Neema to enter the room by herself. Neema entered the dinning hall as discreetly as she could and scanned the room to see if she could place a familiar face but ended up getting caught up in the decor. It seemed a human had decorated this room because it was warm and inviting which was something Neema assumed was beyond wolf capabilities. The fireplace was an enticing centrepiece of the room, the diamond chandelier was a classy reminder of their monetary stance and the walls were painted a sultry red. The flicker of the fireplace making it seem as if the walls were on fire. In the middle of the room stood a long table, it was decorated in the full dinner regalia

"Hey Neema, nice to see you again" came the voice of Carson as he sidled up beside her with a wide grin on his jaunt face.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Carson here at the dinner because she assumed that only the higher ups in the pack would be present and due to Carson's condition she never anticipated he would be among them.

Before she was able to reply to him a broad shouldered Khan approached them with eyebrows furrowed in a deep frown and his lips were pursed together, bracing herself for the onslaught she met his gaze head on.

"I see you have already become acquainted with my brother" he declared in a sharp accusatory voice his eyes narrowing in disdain of the two's proximity.

Neema was in absolute shock that they were family, they had no resemblance whatsoever. One was tall, thin and nice while the other was dark, bulky and brooding. Khan had jet black hair and Hazel eyes while Carson was literally the opposite with blondish- copper hair and grey eyes the two couldn't be more far apart then night and day. The only resemblance they bore was their sharp bone structure and wide nose even their skin colour wasn't the same. It was silly of her to assume all siblings looked the same as her siblings had all types of hair colour and eye colour but still Khan and Carson were the complete opposite personality and looks wise.

Khan placed his arm around Neema's waist and dragged her towards him and tucked her small body under his heavy arm.

"I didn't know you were brothers; Carson you didn't mention" mumbled Neema as she attempted to move away from Khan.

Hi eyes were getting wild with every attempt she made to unseat his arms from around her waist and his teeth were making an irritable grating sound, yet Neema put his childish behaviour out of mind. It irked her that he thought to assert his dominance over her and his brother, there was a lot she would accept for the sake of her siblings but his irrational control was not one.

"Umm, yes, I uhh forgot to mention it, sorry" stammered Carson.

He had reverted back to the shy boy who had first approached her at the bench, he was shifting his body weight from foot to foot as he rubbed the back of his neck and a blush had travelled up his skin as his eyes faced the floor.

Khan clearly intimidated his brother and Neema could not stand it.

"Don't worry Carson it's not a problem" she exclaimed as she patted his shoulder in reassurance.

Khan clasped Neema's waist tightly in his hand as he abruptly led an unsuspecting Neema away from his brother, pulling her towards the large dinner table and forcing her down into a seat beside him.

Khan's hands clenched and unclenched on top of the table as his stared Neema down, a battle was going on behind his eyes but she was not sure what had caused it. Placing her hand over his she began smoothing over his knuckles making small circular motions over one clenched hand before she moved to the next.

"I don't know why Carson makes you angry, but he needs a friend just as I do" she whispered.

Clasping his relaxed hands in hers she moved his hand to his lap, disjoining their fingers so she could put hers back on her lap.

"You are my female" he deadpanned.

Before turning his body away from hers and engaging with the people who began taking seats, the words were intended as more of a confirmation for himself and not really for Neema.

//--//

The dinner was a long and tedious affair just as she expected, Khan was too busy discussing pack politics with the same man who had stood on the stage while they were being punished. She assumed he was Khan's father or some sort of family, the resemblance was uncanny as they both had hazel eyes, a similar skin tone and body frame. Also they both carried a similar kind of aura that just screamed alpha dominance. He had such an intimidating face Neema did not want to stare at him to long just in case he took offence.

Due to khan's occupation with what she believed was the alpha of this compound, she was left to eat dinner in absolute silence.

.

Neema looked around the room trying to catch a smiling face, Carson sat at the opposite side of the table but he refused to look at anyone, his sole focus was his food. The majority of the people at the table that she could see were wolves with only a small number of humans, but neither of them paid her much attention.

Accept for one male towards the end of the table who caused her heart to beat erratically in her chest. His frame was one that she would never forget as where those beautiful soulful eyes, she had wondered what had happened to him and had feared he had been killed but all this time he had been in the same compound as her. His mouth tilted up into a smile as his eyes bore into her with so much heat she felt sweat gathering at her brow. She hoped that Khan was not a witness to this mans stare because he would surely accuse her of cheating, hell she felt as if she was.

The way he looked spoke of an intimacy neither had shared, it was a whispered promise that met Neema in the blatant light of her mate and his closest wolves. She felt dirty under his gaze but found that she liked it, she was conflicted.

His stare was too much for her to hold any longer, she had to look away as much as it hurt her to break the stare of her friend, her Victus.

"So Khan it seems you have a gutter rat of your own, mine seems to be enamoured with yours. I am not so sure why as she is absolutely revolting and lacks any basic manners. Do you not know its rude to ogle what is not yours little bitch?" growled a red haired female who sat beside Victus, her long nails dug into his arm causing him to grimace in pain.

Her bellow carried throughout the room, causing a harsh clatter of cutlery and an abrupt silence to fall across the table, her insult of Neema was more than just that it was a direct insult to Khan and his family. It was a challenge to Neema, which automatically challenged Khan and his position to society. If he could not control his mate then how could he maintain the order to society, he could not and a wolf who could not create security for his wolves was undeserving of being the alpha.

"I am not one to argue over humans, they only have one purpose but I will not take your disrespect. Your male may humiliate you Sara, but you will not ridicule my female. It is your mate who looks at my female with lust, I can scent his desire from here but I smell none from mine."

His statement was followed by a long sniff at Neema's neck and soft nip to her collarbone before he sat back up in his seat and faced the angry female.

"If you ever call my female anything outside of her name I will slit your throat and feed you to the wilds and if your male looks at my mate one more time I will hack out his eyes and force you to eat them. Do I make myself clear?" He growled his voice vibrating across the room as his body began to shift slightly, hair growing along his arms as his shoulders began to broaden and his nails elongate.

Baring his teeth Khan unexpectedly leaped across table and gripped them both by their necks, he dragged Victus across the room and carried the female in the air. The female's legs swung in the air as she tried to kick khan away from her body and Victus tried to pry his hand from around his neck. His feet causing friction as he tried to fight the deranged wolf. Nothing deterred Khan from chocking them to within an inch of their life before he chucked them threw the door and commanded sentinel wolves to take them away.

When they had been separated from the splintered wood, the sentinels escorted them away and Khan retuned to the table, he placed his hand around the back of Neema's neck, clenching it once in warning and then placing it back on the table.

"Does anybody else have anything to say against my mate" Khan asked calmly as he stared down every man and woman at the table, no one dared to make a sound or to meet his eyes. There would be no more challenges this night.

"We can never have a celebration without my son fighting somebody" grinned the bald male as he laughed heartily, it was enough to defuse the situation and to get everyone to resume back to their meals.

Neema was lost for words, the way Khan had dealt with situation had scared and aroused her, His display of brute force showed her how much of a male he really was, he defended Neema's virtue without drawing any blood. At the same time, he scared her because if he could physically move two people, one who weighed double if not triple her size, there was no telling what he would do to her when he was angry and boy was he angry. His hands did not stray from Neema's shoulder as he shovelled food into his mouth, viciously ripping at the chicken as if it were Victus' heart, the heart she had surely broken.

There was no conversing with Khan now, his father spoke but no one else dared to and they did not respect a response either, all they got were grunts and nods. He had become too primal to function as a human would, he was all wolf now, behind the skin he

was a wolf and that part of him never seemed to disappear. Never.