In that moment, I wished that I could spontaneously combust into flames so that I would not have to deal with the embarrassment that was sure to come.

Nolan carried on his phone conversation as he walked in to the hotel room, completely oblivious to me standing in the center with only a towel wrapped around me, "Tell Raegan to take care of it until I-"

He stopped talking the second his eyes landed on me, and instantly every muscle in his body stiffened at the sight.

I could vaguely hear somebody on the other line say something, but Nolan hung up after a second. His eyes seemed to turn a shade darker than before and his broad body began to shake slightly, as if he were about to explode.

I wanted to say something, but I could hardly breathe, let alone speak at the moment.

Nolan was breathing heavily as he slowly turned away from me, both of his hands balled up in to tight fists.

"Charlotte," his voice was strained, "Get dressed." There was clear warning and command in his voice, and he sounded enraged. The air between us was thick and I suddenly felt as if I could no longer breathe.

He reached for the door handle and swung it open, as if there was nothing he wanted more than to get away from me.

I surprised myself by speaking, "Where are you going?"

"Out," he growled before stalking out of the hotel room and slamming the door.

When the walls stopped shaking, I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed with my head buried in my hands.

I mentally cursed myself repeatedly as I relived the mortifying experience in my mind. There was no way anything good could have come out of that, but I did not expect him to get so...angry. Was I disappointed by his reaction?

After a few minutes, my body was completely covered with my clothes and I watched the door anxiously. Was he even going to come back?

It would be easier if he did not come back, then I would not have to deal with the embarrassment. I usually would not have been so affected by something like this, but the way that Alpha Nolan responded made me cringe.

I wanted nothing more than to call my best friend Lizzie to talk to her about this, but it was late and she would never be up.

Finally, I stopped staring at the door and decided to get some sleep. The soft, white bed was surprisingly comfortable and I sighed as I slid under the covers. The remote was nearby, so I switched on the TV to a kids station.

I smiled when a rerun of my old favorite show came on. I was never able to fall asleep to intense or dramatic shows, so Disney Channel was my go-to place.

As I laughed along to a cheesy joke in the show, my stomach growled, interrupting the fun I was having by myself.

I had not eaten in what seemed like forever, and I knew my stomach would never stop pestering me until I satisfied its needs.

I unwillingly slipped out of bed and grabbed my jacket from nearby before rummaging in its pockets for any cash.

When I found a one dollar bill I smiled, remembering a vending machine near the elevator on this floor. I slipped on my jacket and grabbed a key before exiting the room.

My mother had always told me never to walk around a hotel by myself at night, but I disregarded the advice; besides, it was just down the hall and back.

When I reached the vending machine, I took probably too long to decide what to choose. It was between a bag of Doritos or a moon pie. I never had much pride in my healthy eating habits.

As soon as I selected the chips, I heard the elevator ding from beside me.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the elevator, and I attempted to avoid eye-contact with him as much as possible while I grabbed the chips.

When he walked past me, the scent of smoke and alcohol diffused through the air and I bit my lip, realizing that he was wasted and most likely reckless.

I let out a sigh when I saw him walk around the corner without so much as a second glance at me, and, after a few seconds, I began to walk back to my room.

As I rounded the corner, a pair of large, grimy hands grabbed me. One covered my mouth, preventing me from screaming, and the other around my waist, holding me against him tightly.

"Hello beautiful," he muttered and crept his hand down my waist and to my hips and pelvis.

I struggled in vain against his grasp, but he was strong, and I could not even shift. There was a point when I was able to push him against the wall, making a loud thud vibrate through the walls.

He began to drag me down the hall, where his room was undoubtedly waiting, while I continued to fight.

Suddenly, a menacing growl erupted from around the corner, and in a second, the man's roaming hands were pried off of me.

I could hear an even louder crash as the middle-aged man was thrown against the wall with considerable force.

In the process, I was pushed to the ground, and when I looked up, I saw Nolan.

His eyes were the same dark color as before, but he was shaking vigorously. He was having a hard time controlling himself and could have easily turned right then and there.

"What are you doing out here?" I knew he was trying to sound angry, but the concern was breaking through his voice.

"I-I was hungry..." I looked down, suddenly quite ashamed of myself.

"Do you try to get in trouble? Do you purposefully put yourself in danger just so that I have to waste my time saving you?"

His words made me flinch slightly, but instead of backing down, like I should have, I glared at him, "Why not just let the man take me, then? If it is such a waste of time, why do you even bother?"

"I already told you," he growled, "We may not be mates, but my wolf believes that we are." Again, he reminded me that we are not even mates and that this entire situation is a mistake.

"I am glad we are not. I always imagined my mate to be so much more than you..." I spoke through gritted teeth before turning away from him.

I caught sight of Nolan's face before I turned around though. His features were hardened and he looked enraged at my words and disrespect, but there was also a wave of hurt that showed briefly in his eyes.

Before I could get far from him, an exotic man stepped out of his room. His eyes were golden as he looked between Nolan and me, probably wondering why we were being so loud.

I was about to apologize to him for the disturbance, but before I could he smiled knowingly, "An Alpha and his Luna."

"We aren't mates," I had to say it before Nolan could, and I did not let the fact that this man knew what we were affect me.

The man laughed as I continued to walk away, "You came all this way to see me, and now you are going to leave before I tell you what you need to know?"

I froze in my tracks. This was the witch that Nolan had taken us to see. Of course the man knew that Nolan and I were going to be here; he probably predicted it himself.

"You are Adriano?" Nolan finally spoke up, seeming to have calmed down.

"And you are Alpha Nolan of the Black Lupis Pack, son of the deceased Alpha Mason," something in Nolan's eyes flashed at the mention of his father, but it was gone before I could tell what it was.

Nolan nodded slightly, "Then you know our... situation?"

The man, Adriano, smiled knowingly and nodded, "You wasted your time coming out here. Fate does not lie."

Nolan looked incredibly frustrated, as if this was bad news, "I already have a mate." The tone of his voice made me shiver and look at the ground.

"Had. You already had a mate," Adriano spoke crisply, "And now fate has decided it is time for you to get another."

I did not dare to look up at Nolan for fear of seeing anger or disappointment on his face. Mates, especially fate mates, were supposed to be a one-time thing, and now, just months after his old mate's passing, Nolan has moved on to me.

Nolan shook his head, "No. There can never be another. I love Sarah, not some girl from a different bloodline who can't even shift."

Ouch. His words cut through me like a knife. So he knew that I could not shift –at will-, but I did not think he would respond with so much hatred toward me for it.

"You do not have to love each other. Only lead a pack together. And at a time like this... we need strong leaders," Adriano attempted to calm Nolan. A time like what?

I had remained silent the entire time but I finally found my voice, "Look, I don't like you, and you obviously don't like me. So here goes: I reject you, Alpha Nolan, as my mate."

My voice was strong, much stronger than I felt. I waited for the electrifying bond between Nolan and I to vanish, but nothing happened. Did I do something wrong?

Nolan looked shocked for a moment as I said those words, and he took a few steps toward me as if he wanted me to take them back. After nothing happened, I couldn't help from notice the slight relief on his face.

"You cannot undo a fate mate bond. You are bonded for life until death," Adriano spoke solemnly, as if he was disturbed by the rashness of my decision to reject Nolan.

"We need to leave," Nolan muttered darkly while I rolled my eyes.

He did not even thank Adriano as he stormed past us and toward our room, leaving me in the hallway with Adriano.

"Thank you," I awkwardly mumbled to Adriano before turning to leave.

Adriano's hand on my arm pulled me back, "Charlotte, your role in this war is key to the survival of many. Do not think for a second that this was a mistake. You will know your place in time."

"What?" his words did not make any sense.

"Charlotte," Nolan's menacing, mean voice called from the door, rousing me from my conversation with Adriano and making me hurry to enter the hotel room.

When we were both inside, Nolan instantly grabbed his phone and began to dial someone's number, completely ignoring me.

Unsure of what to do with myself, I slowly walked over to my bed and crawled in side. The sheets were unpleasantly cold because of my absence and I had to toss and turn for several minutes until I got comfortable.

While Nolan was talking quietly on the phone on the other side of the room, I finished watching the last few minutes of my childhood show.

Right as the show ended, Nolan got off of his phone and took off his shoes. In a matter of minutes he was lying in bed with his back facing away from me.

I tried to avoid looking at him while I grabbed the remote from the night stand and attempted to turn the TV off. Of course though, I hit the wrong button and the channel changed to –

Oh God! No! No! No! This is not happening!

The couple on the screen was twined into each other, with nothing between them but the sweat rolling off their bodies. Their moans filled the room and I wanted to pluck my eyes out as I watched their moment of passion unravel before me on the screen.

In my surprise, I had yelped and dropped the remote before it rolled underneath his bed.

A low, deep growl sounded from Nolan's bed as he flipped over and glanced over at the TV while I was scrambling out of bed to search for the fallen remote.

When his eyes saw the Passion play on the TV he immediately stiffened and his eyes turned dark blue. From where I was crawling on the ground to find the remote, I could hear Nolan's breathing deepen and accelerated.

Finally, my fingers found the little black remote and I instantly shut off the TV right as the girl on the screen cried out in... ecstasy?

My entire face felt like it was on fire as I stood up from where I was kneeling in front of his bed. When my eyes met his, I nearly squeaked at the look in his eyes. His intense gaze met mine with such an animal-like hunger that I felt drawn to him in a way that scared me.

His fists were curled up in balls and he gripped the sheets in a way that made my head spin. After a few strained moments between us, his bunched up muscles finally loosened and he quickly turned over so that his back was facing me.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed to say, "I did not mean to-"

"Goodnight Charlotte," his voice was strained and angry, as if he was struggling with an internal battle as he interrupted me.

I let out a ragged sigh before turning to my bed and crawling back inside. When I reached over to turn off the lamp, I was surprised to hear, "Leave it on."