The whole situation turned up side down when my Mom claimed that I was mated to the beast. For the first time, I saw my parents in a serious mood, they weren't joking or laughing anymore, instead, they were arguing.

"It's not possible, Jessica. We heard the rumors, the beast doesn't lets anyone live." Dad yelled at her, unable to accept that I did see the beast.

Who was he anyway?

"It is. Why would he kill Lilliana? Especially after knowing that she is his mate,"

"I am not!" I blurted out. I didn't want to be. I desired a nice man, someone gentle and sweet to be my mate—not some as a beast.

"Where was the lake house at?" Dad whipped his head at my direction and asked.

"It was in some forest. I don't remember the name," I shrugged and tossed on the couch with panic. Ann told me the name of the forest but I had major memory loss issues.

"Was it the Nation Forest of Blackpool?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger at my Dad. Wait. "How do you know that?" How did my parents know so much? There never told me about the beast or what lived beyond the forest. I had to learn it all through Ann.

"Because that's exactly where the beast reside. Why were you even there?"

"Dad," I pouted, "We were having a vacation at Ann's lake house. And, we had been there a couple times already." I reminded him.

"God," He slapped his hand over his face and groaned. "We all are doomed,"

I was the only one getting doomed in here. If it was the truth and if I was mated to that man in the forest then I was fucked—for life.

"Do you know the beast?"

Mom rushed to Dad before he tried to say something—something important. "Not right now," she whispered.

"Why not? She's mated to him. She deserves to know who he is,"

"Who is he?" I asked, for the second time.

"Not right now, sweetheart. Go get some rest, we will talk later." Mom reached forward and touched my cheeks.

I nodded and quickly got off the couch before scurrying upstairs, not wanting to know anything more. I didn't want to know who he was. I didn't want to be his mate. That man was rough and I could assume that it wasn't just in bed. And, apart from all that, he was old.

But, handsome. My wolf whispered to me as I cleaned up my room to release my fear and anger. She wasn't wrong.

If he appeared in front of me again, I would be wet and because of the mark, I would be burning for his slightest touch over my body.

Literally.

Just the thought of him made my insides tighten with excitement.

During the entire pack meeting, I stayed silent, chewing on my lips and wondering about the night that went by. Thinking about anything else felt like a waste of time except for the beast.

"Lilliana," Alpha Richard called me out, pulling me out of my filthy thoughts.

"Yes, Alpha?" I snapped out the instant moment he said my name.

"The next training session is going to start by weekend. Do you want to be a part of it or are you going to delay it for another month?" He asked, his eyes fixated on mine.

At first, I was too nervous to face my Alpha, in the fear of being caught but hours had passed by, and he hadn't sensed anything.

"Yes, I would like to take part in the training this month." I replied, giving him a warm smile. The warrior rank came with a few attributes and one of them was taking part in the trainings. I had been in most of the trainings except for the last few as life went downhill but now, I was ready to resume back.

"Great!" Alpha Richard turned around to leave but then he stopped. His eyes grew sharp as he faced me again. "Why do you smell eerie? Did you—"

Shit.

"Oh, yes, I had a one-night stand with someone." I cleared the air before he went any further with his assumptions. "So, his scent is still on me."

"Was he wolf?"

"Yes," Clearly. "But, it was just a one-night stand." I wasn't ready to disclose the fact that I had been marked by the beast. Mating with someone outside the pack would bring shame upon me and my family.

"All right. Be careful and don't wander around outside, you don't want to get claimed by someone who isn't one of us." He warned.

"Yes, Alpha." I nodded my head.

Filling up my lungs, I breathed heavily as Alpha Richard walked away. That was way too close. My eyes searched around the house for Cora and Ann and when I found them, I ran to them.

"What was that?" Ann asked, looking over my shoulder. "Did he find about it?"

"No, no, I just told him that I slept with a male outside of this pack and he warned me not too." I replied, smiling. That was a relief.

"Good, God. What did your parents say?"

"Nothing much. They are fine with it, for now. But, I'm suspecting they know more about the beast. Do you know anything? Like, which pack is he from? How old is he?" I was asking the most absurd questions but if he was my mate, I deserved to know more.

"Lily," Ann gave me harsh glare before bursting out with laughter, "I told you, I don't know anything more but my Granny does. Do you want to meet her?"

The eagerness and excitement wore off my face as the picture of Ann's grandmother appeared in front of me. That woman was something out of this world.

"Eh, I would love too but please, tell her to not stuff my mouth with cupcakes and sweet. I get bloated." I begged and Ann nodded.

"Come, let's go visit Granny then. Mind you, she might have something else prepared so don't you dare say no to her food!" She gave me a warning before walking out of Alpha Richard's house.

Cora stopped outside and looked at the sky before praying, "Please, God, not her pasta!"

I released a small chuckle as Ann gave her a punch. "It's good, all right?"

"Yeah, like your burnt cookies were." Cora teased her for a whole minute, insulting her cooking before we got inside the car and drove off to Granny's house.

Ann's Granny lived by the north of the town, far away from the town's square. There were a few great times where I had visited her and during all those visits, I gained a few pounds. She was one of the oldest living werewolves in this town after Alpha Richard who was jumping into his late eighties.

One thing was for sure, Mrs. Pitts knew a lot about wolves, including the beast.