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"Have you ever met your biological parents?" Matthew asked, his eyes focused on the road before him. Madeline sat in the passenger's seat, staring out the window boredly.

"No. I don't even know who they are."

"They just left you in a forest?"

"Yeah, that's what everyone told me."

He was suddenly very interested in knowing more about his mate. "What was your life like before I brought you here?"

"Hmm... It wasn't that interesting. I had school, but I hated it and skipped class most days. I spent a lot of time baking things, whenever there was an event, the Pack would always ask me to make a cake for them. And sometimes, Nathan would take me to the city and we'd meet other humans." She looked over to him. "What was your life like?"

"My life?"

"I talked about mine, now it's your turn."

"Well... I was born far up north. My family would move around from Pack to Pack pretty often, since whenever werewolves found out we were direwolves, they'd either kick us out or try to kill us. And... You know, one day, they killed my entire family. After that, I roamed around the land alone as a rogue, pretending I'm a werewolf and becoming stronger to not get myself killed."

"Why do werewolves want to kill you?"

He shrugged. "I guess they feel threatened by us, since we're much stronger than them. They seem to think we're all evil and that we're trying to rule over them."

The car fell in silence for a moment. Madeline had a burning question on her mind. She bit her tongue, hesitating to ask him, but ultimately could not wait any longer:

"Did you ever have a girlfriend?"

His eyes glanced at her, their gaze briefly locking, before looking back at the road. He was not sure how to answer her question; he had fooled around with many women, especially during his young adulthood, but they were nothing more than brief flings.

"I've had a few."

Her heart sank to her stomach. "He's twenty-two, what did you expect Maddie?" She thought to herself, trying to lift her spirits. He noticed the change in her mood and reached over to grab her small hand, intertwining their fingers.

"... But nobody has ever made me feel the way you do. You are my mate, no other woman compares to you." A small smile instantly formed on her face as she held his hand tightly, all her trivial worries fading away.

"Are you still going to keep this a secret from everyone?"

"They'll find out soon enough, some of them might've already figured it out. But I doubt my Pack will try to kill me when they realize I'm a direwolf, I've been their Alpha for years."

"How did you even become an Alpha? Weren't you a rogue?"

"Yes. When I was around sixteen, I ran into this Pack. The previous Alpha challenged me to a fight to death, and I won. I was too young to be an Alpha, but the rule of this Pack is the strongest should be first in command, so they had no choice but to give me his position."

Madeline gawked at him, in awe of his story. "You became Alpha when you were sixteen? I'm sixteen now and can't even sleep in the dark by myself." He smiled at her foolishness. "Speaking of me being sixteen... I can legally drive now. Can you teach me?"

He gave her a doubtful glance. "You'll get us killed if you tried to drive. You get distracted too easily."

"That's not true. I promise I'll stay focused."

Parking into the driveway, he stepped out of the car. His mate followed him closely behind as he entered the house, ignoring her pleadings.

"I really want to learn, driving looks so fun. Teach me, please?" She implored, moving in front of him to block his path. Matthew was getting a bit irritated, until a witty idea popped into his head.

He had to lean down quite a bit to match her height; she was a lot smaller than him.

"Hmm... Maybe if you give me a kiss."

Madeline felt her cheeks burn up at his request. Her gaze fell to his lips, before looking away shyly.

"But... I don't know how to kiss." Her innocence only elevated his desire.

"You can practice with me as much as you need to." He smirked, closing his eyes in anticipation. Hesitantly, she leaned closer.

He felt her soft lips on his cheek, giving him a tiny peck. She stepped away, putting her hand over her mouth to suppress her giggle when he glared at her, annoyed. They hadn't had another kiss since their first one, and even that one wasn't very intense. He craved the feeling badly, but she hardly seemed interested in kissing. Sighing, he walked past her.

"So are you going to teach me?" She asked again, closely following him behind.

"I'm too busy right now."

The young girl sulked, but resolved to stop bothering him. "Okay then. Also, do you know what happened to the maid? Edith hasn't been here in days."

"I was told she fell sick. Someone else will be replacing her for a while, I don't know who. Now go, I have to get back to work," He ushered, closing the door to his office.

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Ding-dong.

Excited to meet the new maid, Madeline rushed to open the door. But instead of a woman, she was greeted with a teenage boy.

"Hi! Oh, it's you again." She flashed him a smile, recognizing him; it was the butler from the ball.

"Hello, great to see you again Miss," He replied, displaying his pearly white teeth as he returned the smile.

"You're replacing the maid?"

He nodded. "She got really sick, so I was sent to help with this house until she recovers. But I'll gladly work here forever if I get to see such a beautiful girl every day."

Her cheeks heated up at the compliment, but for some reason, it didn't feel the same as Matthew's compliments. "Thank you. Come in," She stepped aside from the doorway to welcome him.

The two teenagers spent the afternoon together in the kitchen, with Madeline being mesmerized by his proficient cooking skills. The way he dextrously used the knife, added each ingredient without needing to measure, and gracefully plated the dish fascinated her. He prepared italian cappelletti, stuffed with chicken and served with a broth soup, while she made mini chocolate lava cakes for dessert.

He moaned in pleasure while taking a bite out of her cake. "You're a great chef, you know?" He commented, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

She laughed as he savored the dish. "Dessert is supposed to be eaten after dinner."

"But it looked so good, I just couldn't wait. Have some." He scooped up a piece with his spoon and brought it to her mouth.

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Matthew let out a deep sigh; he finally finished his work for the day. A mouthwatering smell wafted from the kitchen, and hours of work left him quite hungry. On his way, he tensed up when he heard a male voice, followed by the unmistakable sound of his mate's laughter.

Turning around the corner, he saw Madeline and a young boy, who both did not notice him. The Alpha watched as he spoon-fed her a piece of cake, making her hum in delight.

While she happily ate the cake, the boy reached up to her face, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Matthew did not fail to notice the fondness in his eyes while he looked at the human in front of him. His fist clenched, aggravated by another male being so close to his mate.

He cleared his throat, making the two turn around abruptly as they suddenly became aware of his presence.