The night is breezy, bringing with it the scents of the forest ; oak, paterson, mulberry, yew, abis nobilis, acacia dealbata, acer burgerianum, betula pendula Dalecarlica, buxus sempervirens, castanea sativa and so many others, the smell of a small river and the living creatures in the trees ; owl, squirrel, hare, rodent, fox.

There is no sound coming from it and in that moment I know the prey is running from the big bad wolf. I listen to the silence, it's telling me more than any cry would. The absence of noise tells me that the hunting beast is agile and light on its paws, the absence of its scent that it's smart, the fear coming from the forest itself that it's powerful. I stay a while, just listening, hearing the faint crack of a twig, seeing a few flashes of white in the darkness, deep in the woods, smelling the wafts of Nates fresh scent. His wolf is magnificent, like nothing I've ever seen before, and I've seen a lot. The wolf is taller than the average, his muscles stronger, his jaws bigger, deadlier, more powerful. And his fur is so white it seems the Moon herself is shining upon us. I close my eyes.

Divine.

After minutes go by, I finally stir myself away and get inside. I'm about to enter the main lobby when I hear someone whistle. I lazily look up to find a man lying lazily on a white couch in front of a huge screen, his face turned toward me. He's not bad looking, with his long dark hair falling in his brown eyes and I can tell he works out but I'm not interested. Not now, not ever again. Not when I compare him or anyone else to Nate. He's too skinny, his hair too long, his eyes too dull and everything about this man in front of me is average in comparison.

"What do we have here ?" The man asks seductively.

I gag.

"Never seen yah before." He continues, walking towards me.

'Don't let him get close.' My wolf growls.

"And you won't see me again." I reply calmly.

"Feisty." He whistles again.

I don't like that habit of his.

"What's your name Sexy ?"

"None of your business Ugly."

This only wins me a diabolical smile. His indecent stare glazing over my body makes me shiver in discomfort. Like a predator he gets closer and grabs my arm more forcefully than necessary.

"I asked you a question." He says threateningly.

"Am I supposed to be scared ?" I inquire with a smug smile.

His grip tightens around my skin and I growl even though he's not hurting me. Even in a million years he couldn't hurt me.

Poor little puppy.

"Show some respect woman."

His fingers snake to my nape and grab firmly at my hair, his putrid breath blowing over my face.

"How about we both have some fun ?"

I close my eyes disgusted at the thought, my skin burning unpleasantly.

"Look here, Quasimodo, I've been more than patient with you. But I think that's enough." I sigh as I grab his wrist with my other hand and twist it to make it really hurt.

"Let go of me, you dirty mutt." He yells as he jumps and turns to make me let go of him but I only increase the pressure on his arm. Tired and getting hungrier by the second I hit him hard in the back of his leg, making him fall face first. The next moment he's yapping on the floor, my foot in the middle of his back as my hand is pulling at his arm in an awkward angle, almost dislocating it. With a little more force I'll tear it off his body entirely but I'm still pondering on that. That would definitely teach him a lesson on how to address a lady but on the other hand I probably would get in trouble for it.

'You, a lady ? Puh-lease !' My wolf cackles.

"What the... What the hell is going on here ?!" A voice resounds behind us. "Hope, let go of him."

"Not before he apologizes." I seethe as I jolt my hand up again to make it hurt a little more.

"Hope." Nate warns as he gets closer.

"No." I answer, looking down with a sneer.

"Hope, let go of him now." He orders.

"No ! I was minding my own business and he came onto me. I won't be disrespected."

"Dream on, Crazy !" The man on the floor breathes out between two cries.

"Gabe apologize before you lose your arm." Nate orders exasperated.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles.

I let go still unsatisfied. I feel wronged and this wasn't an apology at all.

'I'll kill him.'

Not if I get my hands on him first. I just have to be patient.

"Who's this crazy woman ?" He asks rubbing is arm.

I glare at him.

"You weren't here today so you don't know about Hope but I won't allow this kind of behavior towards one of our guests again. Now go before I let her finish what she started." His sentence ends in a low growl and the man scurries away. I can see his imaginary tail between his legs.

"I want you to know that I never forget a face or a scent." I tell Gabe slowly, the implications crystal clear as he disappears in another room.

I start to fidget now that I am alone with a very angry, very handsome Nate.

"What are you doing out of your room this late at night. Even if you're a guest it's still dangerous to walk alone like this.

I roll my eyes and it seems to irritate him further.

As if I couldn't protect myself.

"Don't do that." He complains.

"In case you didn't notice, I was the one in control here. He was the one on the floor, not the other way around. I can take care of myself."

"Right. Because you're stronger than anyone here." He mocks me, repeating my conversation from earlier with little Jordan.

I shrug. I don't have the energy to argument this late at night, I'm tired.

"See you." I answer simply, walking towards the kitchens and away from this unbearable magnet of a man.

"Your room is that way." He informs me, jogging to catch up to me.

"I know." I grumble. "Now go away."

"Where are you going ?"

"I'm hungry. I didn't get to hunt outside. So the freezer's stocks will have to do for tonight."

"It's for your own protection." He shrugs. "Rogues aren't allowed to turn in my territory, especially not this close to the pack house... wait. How did you know I was out there."

"Didn't you see me too ?" I ask absentmindedly.

"Of course I did." He replies instantly.

I smile at his admission.

So I'm not the only one being affected here. He notices me.

"But I was hidden behind the trees, you were in plain sight."

I enter the kitchens without answering him and go directly to the fridge. There is nothing edible in there.

"Seriously !" I whine and close it harshly. "Nothing ?!" I ask exasperated, directly looking into his eyes. "I'm starving and nobody cares !"

Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but how can the fridge of a house this big be that empty ?

Nate starts to laugh, his eyes brightening up. And I can't help the blush that creeps up my face. He turns around and heads to the cupboards, I follow suit. My sense of smell is overworking to catch any scent of food. After shuffling around he hands me a box of crackers half empty.

"That's it ?" I weep and he rolls his eyes.

I look at him in shock. He can do that too ? But I can't concentrate on it long, I can feel my energy leaving me. Soon I'll become a corpse...

'Said the immortal being.'

"Just sit somewhere already and wait a minute." He complains.

I observe him as he takes out a pan and tools, boiling water on the cooker and getting pasta out.

"Are you going to cook for me ?" I chock out.

"What does it look like ?"

I close the distance and sit on the kitchen counter with my crackers. His movements are fluid and precise, it feels almost as if he's dancing. I watch him move around fascinated by the show.

He's cooking for me.

I'm elated at the thought.

"Interesting story you told earlier." He starts nonchalantly, stirring the pasta. "Which Emperor was it ?"

Smart.

"Man ! I don't seem to remember !"

He sighs out of patience and I keep munching on my biscuit to annoy him further.

"Name of the Captain ?"

"Now that I think about it, I never asked." I evade the question feigning surprise at my own words.

"Name of the Island ?"

"Never mapped out."

He puts down his spatula and turns to me, his hips brushing my leg.

"There is no Hope Michaels currently living in New York."

His stare is harsh but I can only concentrate on the fact that we are touching each other at the moment.

He's touching me, he's touching me, his hip is touching me. Oh my god he's touching me !

'Will you shut up already !'

I'm blatantly watching his legs and not listening to a word he says. Slowly but firmly his right hand goes up to my jaw and forces me to look directly in his bright yellow eyes.

OH MY GOD HIS HAND IS ON MY FACE !

'For the love of the Sun, will you stop already ?!'

"There is no Hope Michaels in New York." He repeats himself.

"I might have given an other name." I stutter still not in control of my thoughts.

"Which one ?"

"Don't remember, I'm always traveling."

"What about your work ? Which name do you use then ?"

"Can't say. Attorney-client privilege."

"You're not even a lawyer !" He growls exasperated.

"Right. Professional confidentiality."

His left hand shoots to his hair and pulls at it, his eyes close to control his rising temper.

"Name of your parents ?"

"I don't know, I never knew them."

He seems hesitant after hearing that but keeps asking questions anyway, his voice softening.

"Name of your old alpha ?"

Don't have one.

"Don't remember it."

"Why won't you give me anything ?" He pouts and I find it cute.

"I told you my name."

"It's fake."

"No. And for your information only a few people know it. You should feel honored right now." I admit.

"Are you some kind of royalty ?" He laughs.

"Maybe, who knows." I play along.

"So many secrets". He whispers, his eyes traveling to my lips.

Instinctively I lick them and his eyes start to shine. I hold my breath. With me on the counter our faces are at the same height. His minty breath washes over my cheeks. Unlike earlier with Gabe, the sensations now are exquisite. Every inch of my skin is in flames, delicious, tantalizing flames. It's as if someone ignited a warm fire all over my body. My heart starts to jump in my chest as I lean closer to relish every feeling. My arm grabs the front of his shirt of its own accord to pull him even closer and I want to rip it from his chest. His lips are millimeters away from mine and I'm agonizing. This is the most exciting moment of my life and at the same time I can't wait to get past it and finally taste his mouth on mine. I feel my temperature rise and quickly close my eyes before he sees them flash a deep red.

BAM

I jump out of my skin and scream scaring myself more than anything. Nate's alpha blood kicks in, his body angling to protecting anyone from danger, in occurrence me. His eyes are a dangerous yellow and his canines stick out of his mouth. He growls loudly as we both look around the kitchen to find a frozen Jared. His hands empty while the white lino floor is covered in food, his plate splattered around his feet.

Back to stupid-soon-to-be-dead-crazy beta then.

"Jared ?" Nate asks in wonder.

As soon as he realizes that no one is in immediate danger his whole body relaxes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude, I just came to... well." He stammers back his eyes everywhere but on us.

"Right." Nate answers without really listening, his eyes going from me to Jared and back to me.

"I have to go actually. Jared, would you mind accompanying Hope back to her room with her food ?"

"Yeah, sure."

He's gone before his beta answers and I feel my body boil hotter than the water on the cooker.

"You just earned yourself the first place on my 'to kill' list Balto." I glare.

"How many people are on that list?" He jokes.

I take the time to count on my fingers while he fills a plate with the pasta and adds home cooked tomato sauce he found in the fridge. My list as become quite exhaustive the last couple of decades.

"That much ?" He gulps before pulling himself together. I'm sure he felt my threat to his core and something deep inside warned him not to cross me. However as a beta he can't afford to show fear, especially in front of a girl. And a rogue at that.

I take the plate from him and sit on a stool. He mimics me and I roll my eyes.

"I can go back on my own, you don't need to babysit me. Aren't you supposed to be in bed by now ?"

"He asked me to stay." He says with a frown.

I roll my eyes again.

"Your alpha just wanted an excuse to flee."

"Watch it." He warns but I'm too aggravated to care.

I stab at my food in anger.

"Look, I'm sorry I interrupted whatever this was."

"Are you trying to go down the list ?" I smirk.

"I'm not that bad." He mumbles.

"Of course you are. Ever since I won the race you've been on my case."

"I don't like rogues."

"Really ? Never would have guessed." I mock, my tone full of sarcasm.

"They killed my mate." He whispers and a pang of pain in my chest throws me off guard.

"That sucks."

"I should have been there for her, protected her."

"I know from experience that sometimes things happened without a reason. Life is cruel."

"That's not helping." He laughs dryly.

"What happened ?" I inquire.

"We sensed rogues up north so the fighters went there to see what was going on. There was another team waiting east. They attacked the pack house and killed every one they came across. Some stayed to fight in the forest and others went back but..." His voice dies down. "We weren't fast enough. I was the first to arrive. It was insane, blood everywhere, corpses lying down in every direction. And the stench.." He shudders. "Nate was home that day. He fought them alone. Killed them all." He spats. "We found him covered in blood. There were no traces of white on him, he was completely drenched in red. He didn't recognized his own wolves, his eyes were crazy, glazed. He was ready to bounce at anyone who would pose a threat. He was protecting the dead body of a small pup. I've never been so scared in my life and we were on the same side."

I get it. His wolf was in complete control and he was protecting his pack, putting his life on the line.

'He's also a white wolf' My wolf reminds me.

"We lost our alpha too that day, he died in the forest."

"And your mate ?"

"One of the firsts to die. Nothing we could have done. At least she died quickly."

I nod silently.

"Anyway, since then we're more careful."

"I noticed."

"So, that's it, you know my sad, miserable story."

"Do you think you could like someone else ?" I ask, really intrigued.

Could Nate like me ? Even though I'm not his mate.

"I don't know. But it won't be the same. She was my soul mate. She completed me, calmed me. No one else can. Not like that."

"Sometimes I find it unfair that we can't choose who to love." I confess.

"What do you mean ? The moon knows who's meant for us. That's why she created the bond."

"But that's it isn't it ? Without the bond do you think we wouldn't be as happy, find someone we'd love ? It's like she's telling us not to think on our own."

'What are you talking about ? Of course we only have one mate.' My wolf growls.

"As if we don't have the right to choose." I continue nonetheless.

He ponders on it for a while and I nip at my food not hungry anymore.

Do I have to fall in love with Nate ? Even though he will never love me back ? Can't I make a different choice ? Take a different path ?

"I don't know." He finally answers and glances my way. "But Nate is waiting for his mate. He always will." He reminds me gently.

I am relieved he's not judging me. Only giving me the facts.

"It's engraved in our bones right ?" I smile sadly.

"You'll find your mate too someday, and then you'll see, all of this will seem silly to you."

I shake my head, my smile brighter at the thought that he's trying to comfort me.

"I won't but it's okay."

"Why not ?" He frowns.

"Ah... it's a secret between the Sun, the Moon and me." I whisper in a tone of confidence.

"What.."

"I'm going to bed. Thanks for the food." I interrupt him and run back to my room without a sound.