I stared at him, baffled, confused, and in doubt. I knew what mates were. It was a term used for friends and nothing more. My brows crinkled. We were friends—for a minute until I learned he was the one behind biting me and making my life miserable.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still lost and hesitance in my voice.

King was silent once again.

"I wouldn't call us friends." I stared at him, waiting for something. More seconds passed by. I began assuming something else. "Not anymore, right?"

"In our world, male wolves and female wolves are paired to each other by fate. Their souls are tied and once they had found each other, they are destined to be together. Everything works in the motion of bringing two werewolves together and claiming their other halves." He explained to me while running his fingers through his hair, tucking a few strands away from his face. "You—you are my other half."

My eyes widened, "What do you mean?" A small laugh left off me in disbelief. This wasn't child's play. There were no soulmates or mates. We used to believe that when we were children or teenagers, finding our first love and straying away from reality.

"I know it's a lot to take in—"

"No, there is nothing as such."

"In my world, there is. It's almost rare to be paired with a human, especially for someone like me. When I arrived here, I intended on finding my mate among the other packmates." He continued and I remembered his words mentioning that he sought something and as soon as he found it, he was going to leave. "I could not keep up with the romantic relationships in my life as I knew my mate would be my destiny."

I shook my head and pressed my hands over my knees while leaning forward, "I surely cannot be your mate or whatever it is." For the most part, I didn't believe him, I didn't want to. One tragic event and information was enough for a lifetime.

I was a werewolf—I was ready to accept it for the most part. There was a living beyond us, humans, and I was ready to accept that as well but nothing more.

King smiled, "I wasn't aware either. I didn't know who you were at the time I bit you but at the welcoming party at Harden's, I sniffed you from a distance, my wolf recognized you and a great passion hung over me for you. You were the one I was looking for, Eos." As my name rolled off his tongue, something tingled inside me, a nerve—an irritating nerve or kaleidoscope.

I listened to him attentively, trying to make a sense of things. I was going to become a werewolf and I was his mate.

"Fate bought us together," He wrapped his hand around mine and continued the same with the other one. "You were meant to be mine. Just mine."

"I don't understand." I looked at him, dumbfounded and confused than ever. "I don't understand anything." Rather than being angry and rageful, I was quiet and silent, collecting my thoughts and his words and making sense of them.

"You don't have to understand anything. It will take time for you to learn about my world and I'm here to help you. After all, you're my mate." His voice sniped with sway and power, he held my hands tighter as if he was never let me go and I just grew more terrified. "You are paired with me by the greater gods and you're just what I want. What I need." He squeezed my hand and said.

I shuddered in fear, my eyes still wide open. My head turned away from him and my gaze landed over the window. The trees outside in the garden swayed and moved along with the wind while the horror settled in my head.

There was someone out there that had tied my destiny with a man I barely knew—King. I always wondered where the sudden attraction came from and the lust—oh, the lust. I was confused about it for days after having sex with him at the town hall. I felt a great pull to him as everything inside me was desiring him.

Even after everything he said, I didn't scream or panic as deep inside, I found comfort and safety with King. If it were anyone else, I would have been running for my life, trying to save myself from all the monstrosity.

"Does it mean I've to be with you?" I asked him after giving him a long minute of silence.

"It's your choice. However, mates usually feel as if they are tied to one. I won't force you to be with me unless you want to. That's completely up to you, Eos!" His eyes set deep as he continued talking. "I feel all the emotions you are going through, the pain, the confusion, the tension, the frustration—everything."

"But I don't feel anything you are going through." I quirked my brow at him while trying to read his face and even then, I couldn't understand any emotions he was going through.

A small laugh slipped off him and he grinned, "You won't be able to do that until you have accepted me as your mate."

"Does it mean I've to marry you? I don't like the idea of marriage." I moved uncomfortably on the couch. For me, marriages were the end of something, not the beginning.

"Of course not," He quickly gave his head a shake. "We can go as slow as you wish to go. There is so much you need to know about and the last thing I want to do is stress you out about anything."

My eyes stayed on his while his lingered around the room and then back to me. Lowering my gaze, I set them over his lips and remembered the minute they were on me. The sex at the town hall—a great evening. The lust was uncontrollable. My body was craving for him as if he was the perfect dose of nicotine a smoker just needed. That wasn't the end of it, I continued to feel the same emotions even when I needed to be terrified of him.

There were tiny little butterflies in my belly, swarming all around, pushing me to reach for him or for food. Either way, I wanted something down my throat, be it King or a piece of steak.

I took my hands away from him and rubbed my stomach, "I'm hungry."