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Wearing a cheerful smile, Madeline strolled around the neck of the woods. It was the Mystic Moon's annual Fighter Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the strength and courage of the Pack's warriors.

The pavements around the territory were decorated with banners and graceful archways, blooming flowers of all colors were planted all around the land, and a joyful aura flowed through the atmosphere. The men engaged in friendly fights to refine their skills, while children ran and played together in the distance.

A tug on her skirt made her turn around. Behind her stood a little boy, his hands grasping the fabric of her clothes.

"Hello," He uttered, grinning adorably. "Are those cupcakes?"

Madeline crouched down to meet the boy's height, her smile widening. "Do you want one?"

He nodded eagerly and reached to grab the confection. "Thank you, Miss."

"Noah! Get back here." A woman ordered, rushing over to pull her son away. "Why are you speaking to the human?"

"She gave me a cupcake." He beamed, with icing smeared on his lips. The woman gave Madeline a snide glare, before picking up the boy in her arms and walking past her.

Although she did not say anything, her expression was enough to quell the young girl's gleeful spirit. Throughout her entire life, Madeline had received demeaning stares from werewolves, as if she were an alien of some sort. Perhaps she should have been used to it by now, but she couldn't help but feel hurt every time.

As they walked away, she could faintly hear the discussions between the boy and his mother.

"Why can't I speak to her?"

"She doesn't belong here with us. Humans are weak and..." Madeline did not hear the rest as she was too far at that point, but it was clear the woman was reviling her species.

Loud cheers broke her away from her thoughts. In the middle of a crowd, Matthew stood on a raised platform, fighting three werewolves at once.

By now, the entire Pack was aware he was a direwolf. But instead of feeling hostility towards him like other Packs have in the past, they respected him even more and praised his enhanced abilities.

"Go Alpha!"

"This is too easy for him."

"He's so strong!"

The crowd clapped in admiration as the last man fell to the ground, defeated, while Matthew wiped off the sweat from his forehead. Even after that intense fight, he hardly seemed tired.

Usually, Madeline would have been cheering with the others, but seeing her mate's incredible strength daunted her even more. If werewolves saw humans as weak, a direwolf would no doubt see them as even less.

She watched as another fight started. Within seconds, Matthew's opponent was on the ground, groaning in pain while the crowd applauded their Alpha.

The noise suddenly felt insufferable. Turning around, she pushed her way through the audience, wishing to be somewhere quiet. The woman's words from earlier clouded her mind.

She doesn't belong here with us.

Was it true? For as long as she's known, Madeline was surrounded by wolves. They could communicate telepathically via their mind-link, sense each other's emotions, and do so many more things she was completely excluded from.

But then again, she had also been separated from her own species her entire life. She knew next to nothing about human cultures. "Seriously, what the hell is a 'credit score' or a 'mortgage'?"

The serene setting of her garden calmed her down as she padded through the flowerbeds. The turquoise river flowed steadily in the distance, its soothing sound compelling her to move closer.

She stood in front of the water, staring at her distorted reflection.

"Maybe I just don't belong anywhere."

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Finishing his last fight, Matthew jumped off the platform. The crowd began to disperse as the sun subsided behind the horizon.

The direwolf's eyes scanned his surroundings, in search of a particular girl. "She's not here. The mate-bond would've sensed her presence if she were nearby."

Following his intuition, he set out to the garden. She loved to spend her time there, and it greatly pleased him to see that she enjoyed the place he built for her.

There she was, laying down by the river. Her hand was dipped in the water as she played with the stream, unaware that someone stood behind her.

"Here's my princess." He sat down, making her turn around in surprise. His mood promptly dropped when he saw her puffy eyes and soaked eyelashes; she had been crying. "What happened?"

Reaching her arms up, she hugged him tightly and hid her tear-stained face in his neck. "Nothing."

He resisted a scoff at her blatant lie. "Something must've happened to make you cry."

"... Do you actually love me?"

They stayed quiet for a moment, listening to the gentle sound of the river flowing beside them.

"Look around you. I built this entire garden and planted hundreds of roses all for you, and you're still questioning my love?"

Her gaze drifted to the heart-shaped rose bed. "That's not what I meant." She slowly removed herself from his neck, clasping her hands on her lap. "You didn't choose me. You were already pre-destined to love me, right?"

"Well, yes, that is how the mate-bond works."

"Would you still want to be with me even if you didn't feel the mate-bond?"

He stilled for a second, thinking about her question. "To being honest, if I could choose my own mate, a human teenager would probably not have been my first choice..."

Anguish submerged her like a flood. "Of course he wouldn't have picked you. Who would want to be with a human?" She felt tears brimming her eyes once more as she looked down at her lap, trying to stop them from spilling out.

"... But that's why I'm glad I didn't get to choose my mate. Or else I wouldn't have ended up with this cute little angel."

Her eyes slowly looked up to meet his. Though his face rarely ever displayed emotion, there was a perceptible fondness in his eyes whenever he looked at her; anyone could tell that he was deeply in love with the girl before him.

"Wouldn't you rather be with a wolf instead of a human?"

Matthew tilted his head to the side, studying her with a curious stare. "I see... So that's what's been bothering you."

A faint tinge of red appeared on her cheeks; he had read her like an open book.

"I'll love you no matter what, Madeline. You do not have to worry about these silly things-"

"They're not 'silly things'. Werewolves hates humans. Nobody in this Pack wants me here. If I wasn't your mate, you probably would have hated me too."

He frowned. "My entire life, my family and I have been harmed and persecuted for being direwolves. I know what it's like to be condemned for being a different species, so why would I do the same to another species?"

The realization finally seeped in her head. Matthew had been through a lot worse than she could ever endure; how foolish of her to think he did not understand her struggle. It was perhaps their shared experience that made him so protective of her.

By now, the sun had fully set. The moon stood prominently in the sky, and in the gleaming twilight, Matthew could not help but admire the breathtaking beauty of his mate. The brilliance of the moon beamed on her smooth skin; she almost seemed to be glowing.

Forgetting what they were talking about, his hand reached out to gently brush her hair away from her face. "You really are a doll. I have to thank the Moon Goddess for creating such a perfect girl just for me."

She blushed at the unexpected compliment, though secretly, she was thinking the same about him.

"Matthew?"

"Hmm?"

"... Can I kiss you?"

The corners of his lips curved up. After all these months, she was still as innocent as the day they met.

"I'm all yours, princess. You can do anything you want to me."

Seconds later, all he could focus on was the feeling of her soft lips on his. Her hands found their way to his hair while he pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss. The cool breeze of the night flowed through the air, picking up fallen rose petals and showering them down onto the couple.

In the midst of the colorful flowers, a tuft of white and black fur watched them from a distance.

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