1 Chapter 2 The Ceremony

"Forget it, Wilson. Please show me the buffet. I'm so hungry," I said, struggling to stay awake. He was wearing a pair of tight black trousers, a black shirt, and a black coat. No one could resist him.

He turned a deaf ear to my question as he stared at me. After a while, began to pat my head, ruining my hair.

"Are you checking me out?" I mocked with great self-esteem. Men… they always liked deflating a poor woman’s ego, so now was my turn.

Sadly, he wasn't embarrassed. He just smiled, blinked, and said, "It's always been like this."

I gasped as I almost tear up.

‘What the hell? Elizabeth, get yourself together!’

After a moments of silence, he added, "Well, I'll get you something to eat." With that, he took my arm and led me forward. This sudden connection surprised me, but I was not happy about it!

The moment we got close to each other; my heart dramatically beat faster . His body clung to mine and I could feel his breath in my ear. "You look beautiful, Elizabeth."

My face instantly turned red. I looked up to see if he noticed the change in my face, but he didn’t and that’s great. He looked straight ahead and smiled.

I’m trying to hide it but I’m sweating with nervousness.

What's wrong with me? He’s not my boyfriend and all, but he could still make me feel this way.

"T- thanks." My face got hotter as I murmured my lame reply.

Why didn't the moon made Wilson my mate? This was just too cruel.

I took a deep breath and just let Wilson led me to where he had invited me into to get food.

Deep in me, I felt a bit of anger because of that.

Nonetheless, I just ignored it. After all, this was not something I could enjoy every day.

After having two pastas with Wilson, he received a phone call came from David, so he left. I was getting bored so I chose to rummage through my bag and see if it was all in place.

I haven't seen Gabriel yet, so I'm happy. However, when I realized that I had to wait for him to succeed to the throne, my joy disappeared immediately. I hope he wouldn’t see me.

This ceremony was like telling for everyone to wait while they become the Alpha. What’s so exciting about it?

The ceremony was about to start. Mike saw my expression and laughed. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and dragged me to the stage. Beneath, I saw many people flocked into a crowd to see the ceremony.

Four years… Gabriel.

"Aren't you excited?" I asked Mike. After all, they are friends.

I gave him a squeeze on his stomach when he remained silent.

He flinched and made a face at me.

"No, sister." He pinched my nose mischievously.

"If you do that again, I'll smash your ass on the ground."

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. I rolled my eyes and looked around.

Men and women of all ages and status were dressed in black, eager to witness the coronation.

Unmarried girls gave my brother an eager look, hoping to attract his attention.

Only then did I realize that I was in the middle of the crowd. If I didn't want Gabriel to see me, I shouldn’t stay there. I had to leave.

Like…right now.

"Mike, I need to leave..." But I couldn’t say a word.

A strong smell came to my nostrils. A strong desire welled up in my heart, which made my heart beat faster and my entire body tremble. Once again, I wondered why my wolf was being like this. But when I looked up and saw that man on the stage wearing only a pair of white trousers and looking straight at me, I suddenly realized the reason.

I feel like my heart was going to jump out of my throat. My chest jumped up and down and cried out with joy. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Oh shit!

Gabriel was staring at me.

It looked like that the moon goddess was testing both of us.

He looked…very handsome.

For a while, I thought he would be uglier after long years that we didn’t saw each other. I years would be enough time for him to show his true colors, but I guessed wrong.

He was completely different from what I’ve imagined. He became wiser and more experienced. His black hair was wet from the rain, his gray eyes glistened in the moonlight, and his bearded face increased him masculinity. My wolf seemed to want him for her own. She wanted to hide him from the eyes of those woman and bring him home.

I shook my head vigorously. Home? What am I thinking?

He’s not meant for us. We didn’t belong together. I must get myself together. I hate him!

"You don't hate him. For some reason, he's our mate. It is the Moon God who connects us to each other." I ignored my wolf and looked at Gabriel.

He was looking at me blankly. The next moment, his expression suddenly change. Like me, I could see hatred in him.

My "wolf" let out a sad cry. She didn't like how our mate was looking at us with contempt.

"Are you happy now?" I snarled viciously at my wolf.

Gabriel had always been a chump in the past and apparently was still now.

Gabriel didn’t look at us the entire time after that. He had no idea who we were. My wolf sadly retreated at the back of my mind as she didn’t get enough attention she yearned to have from our mate.

"There you are, Liz. I'm glad…" Wilson said triumphantly, calling me by my nickname.

"You sure is having a good time. Is this your nature?’ I silently asked while looking at him.

His face suddenly brightened with a big smile. At this point, his two lovely pear swirls made me gasp.

He looked very sexy, but his appearance obviously couldn’t surpass Gabriel.

Wait… What? What's going on?

"What are you thinking?" Wilson said.

"Excuse me?" I looked up and whispered.

"Miss Elizabeth Bartlett, will you have a dance with this single handsome man?" Wilson blinked as he had one of his arms behind his arm. He was slightly leaning down as he held his other hand towards me.

I laughed.

"Why do you want to dance with me? You don’t have a partner?" I looked around and realized that I had guessed wrong. In fact, it's just for fun.

"Yes, yes, I will." I answered as I let out a smile.

We danced for the entire two songs without saying a words. We stayed just to cause a gossip.

"Do you hear that, Elizabeth?" Wilson held me tight and whispered in my ear. "I want to stay with you," he repeated with his breath fanning on my ears.

I gasped.

A cool breath ran down my spine, and my heart pounded loud inside my chest.