Immediately after the driver parked at the side of the road, I grabbed my veil again and covered my head. I handed over to him the sack where I had put the dress and said to him, "Thank you, but I don't have to fall into their trap. I have to go alone from here." I whispered and was trying to open the door when he held my wrist.

I turned to look at him, my breath caught in my throat. "No need for you to leave. We can pass by them without them finding out it was you," he said, his tone was convincing enough, but I had lived all my life trusting no one. "I mean it. I have a mask here that can help."

As he let go of my hand, he opened a part of his car and brought out a little box. I watched as he opened the box and brought out a skin color material from it, and stretched his hand towards me. "If you mask your face with it, they wouldn't know that it was you and would let us pass. I have heard of how brutal the werewolf gammas are, so I think you aren't telling lies against them."

I fumbled my palms together, conflicted. I hadn't ever told lies to anyone except him, and now he was helping me. Maybe it was better to have him know nothing about me. If there was a prize for anyone who found me, he wouldn't hesitate to hand me over if I revealed that I was the one wanted.

He gave a single nod, urging me to take the mask from him. "It doesn't have any side effects," he said with a smile.

I didn't need to waste time any longer, so he didn't change his mind, so I took the mask, and he helped me put it on.

For this kind gesture and understanding, he was indeed a human, because no werewolf would agree to what I had just said.

After putting it on, he allowed me to take a look at my face through the rearview of the car, and I couldn't believe what I looked like. My eyes widened in shock at the new person staring back at me. There was no clue of Annette any longer, but a new, beautiful female face that might not exist in this pack.

"Then we can now go, and they wouldn't find out you were the one," he said and chuckled, then started the car again.

Still, my heart raced in fear. I didn't trust that the mask would do a good thing to hide me very well, not until we passed the border and the gammas let us move on, since they didn't find Annette anymore.

I released a heavy breath that hung in my throat immediately we drove some miles away from them, then I slowly began getting the mask off my face. I hadn't known that such a thing existed until now, but one thing I was scared of was how much the driver would charge me for rendering the help, and if the dress would still serve the purpose.

He handed over the box to me to drop the mask into it, and I did so. I waited patiently for him to mention that my pay had increased, rather he began telling me stories of everything he had encountered as a driver, which made him always have the mask with him in his car.

"If not for this mask, my family would have murdered me a long time ago. I wear it whenever I enter human land, and for my safety, I live in a remote town where no one would ever think of coming," he had stated at the end, and my muscles weakened.

How could families be this cruel? He was an illegitimate child of their father, and this was why the whole family despised him, including his father. He had lost his mother, who had suffered to protect him, and now he was phobic about making a family.

There was no room for me to advise him, because after the hell I passed through in my father's house, and the worst betrayal from my mate, I was certain enough that making a family wasn't for me either. I would only strive to make a living and save enough for my old days.

He told me lots of stories to keep the ride moving, and after several hours of long rides, we entered the lycan clan. It was my first time coming into the clan, and it had taken us over ten hours to enter the clan.

As far as I knew, werewolves do not cooperate with the lycans as much as they do with the humans, so coming after me in the lycan clan was one uneasy thing for them to do.

As the driver said, he drove me to his friend, a female whom he said saved him back in the days when he was homeless and didn't have a dime to sustain himself. "She is a werewolf and would do a good job as a bartender," the driver explained to the woman.

I bowed to her, wearing a slight smile. She was younger than I expected, and looked like she wasn't married.

"My name is Penelope, and I will be your Boss," she stretched out her hand for a greeting, which I accepted with a grin. "You will serve people at the club, and you will choose the best time for you. But if you feel uncomfortable doing it, then there are so many tasks around. Cooking, washing the dishes, cleaning the environment, and so on. There are no werewolves here, too, so you are safe in my hands."

I glanced at the driver, whom I didn't even know his name, and I knew I owed this man. I was so grateful that I thought no amount of money would pay for his kindness.

"Honestly, I am fast cleaner, and do that better. Most times, I make a mistake serving people, but I will never let the surroundings become untidy. So, I would prefer being a cleaner." I said to the lady, and she nodded. But the truth was that I didn't want to be walking around, serving people whom I wasn't sure if they knew me or not.

It was great news that no werewolves were working in the club, so I should also be careful with myself.

"Then I will have to take you from here," Penelope said and gestured to the way I should follow.

I turned to the driver, unsure how to show how happy I was, but after exchanging pleasantries with him, he promised to always show up through Penelope if I needed his help, then I left with the lady.

She took me to the room where I would stay, and according to her, there were about two more females in the room who worked for her. So with me, we would be three, and it looked so much more comfortable compared to where I stayed in my father's house.

"I will have my manager get you some dresses, including your working dress, and other things you would need as a lady. Normally, it's supposed to be deducted from your salary. But because of Cornelius and the condition you came with, I would offer it all for free, and you get your complete salary," the lady narrated.

I couldn't help but get to my knees, yet she rushed and forced me up to my feet. "How do I pay you back?" I asked, tears gathered in my eyes.

She smiled, "Just do a nice job."

-

The next day, I dressed up like every other person and came out for the morning assembly, as they called it. I was introduced to others and then to my fellow cleaners, and for goddess' sake, they were so friendly.

Among us were humans, lycans, and I was the only werewolf. I was assigned to work until 12 pm with another fair human lady, and the others were also assigned their time of work.

Although it was a huge compound and there were so many places to clean, I loved it so much; the peace of mind, how cheerful my colleague was, how the Boss didn't pressure us like back in my father's house. Once it was 12 pm, the next set took over, so I rushed to see the boss and know what I was supposed to do next.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped into her room. She was bleeding from a deep cut, and the healer was doing everything in his power to stop the bleeding.

"Are you done?" she asked, and I nodded. "Then that's it for today. Take a rest for tomorrow."

What was she saying? Would I stay idle until the next day?

I was drawn out of my daze when she winced painfully, her face flushed red and her palms clenched tightly to her sides.

"Can I do it? It's becoming difficult to stop the bleeding, and you would pass out if you lost so much blood." I said, my heart pounding in fear that she would scold me.

I wanted to be a healer, not just because I needed to make money and fame, but because I was born with the gift and grace. I had helped several servants in my father's house heal from their cuts. Some of them I get herbs for, and they heal when they are sick. I had always taken care of myself in that aspect since my family didn't care, so I was sure I could stop the bleeding.

The healer stood and, with a contorted face, asked me, "Where is the proof that you are a certified healer?" I saw a glint of anger and jealousy on his face, and I lowered my head.

I was about to leave when Penelope called me back. "Come and do it, but if you fail, I will report you to the lycan king for playing with my life. And if you stop it, I will make sure to train you until you become a certified healer..."

"Lady?!" the male healer mentioned, his eyes widened in shock.

I bowed slightly and walked closer to Penelope, then squatted before her. "I accept, but could you tell the doctor to share his materials with me? I don't have mine, and going out to get them would take time."

She didn't say a thing but looked up to the healer, and the man dropped his kit before twitching out of the room angrily.

"He's the best healer in this clan, so he is scared that someone might steal his spot," Penelope whispered to me and patted my shoulder.

Deep down, I was frightened. I had always done this, but the wounds aren't always this deep. If I failed, that would be the end of me, because the lycan king was said to be a demon himself...and I would regret not being a mistress or a seventh wife.

Alpha Samson.

Anger surged through my veins, and when I couldn't withstand it, I smacked the glass I held on the wall before me. My eyes enlarged, and blood drained from my face. "How long are you people going to be incompetent? Over two weeks, and this is the feedback you are getting for me?"

My beta, Berg, got on one of his knees, his head lowered, "We searched the whole pack, in the whole werewolf packs and the human lands, yet didn't find her. The lycans refused us passing their border because we weren't there for business, but I doubted she would be there."

He doubted she would be there? What kinda sense does he even have?

I scoffed and began unbuttoning my shirt. For someone who didn't want to be found, she would head to a place where it would be hard to find her, so the lycan clan could welcome her as one of the masses because she was wolfless and wouldn't be a threat to them.

I flung my shirt to the sofa and walked to the window. The view outside wasn't as fun as before. Her disappearance had caused me more sadness than I thought.

"Berg, you will have to put things together. We should have something to offer the lycans in exchange for searching their clan for my mate. I want her back here, and I will stop at nothing to have her back." I ordered, my voice cold and low.

He stood up, "Yes, alpha!"

I heard the sound of the door shut behind him, then I sighed heavily. I ran my fingers through my hair, panting helplessly and trying so much not to spill those tears I had held back all these days.

Annette was my mate, and losing her was the worst thing to ever happen to me. I thought, as wolfless as she was, she would be grateful that I made her my mistress, but she escaped. I heard that her father arranged a marriage with the prime minister for her since she refused to be my mistress, and that was the reason she escaped from the pack.

I had already told them how much they would lose if I didn't find Annette. They had no right to sell off my mate behind me and scare her away from my pack. I owned her and would do with her what I wanted.

If only she knew my mind and my plans with her, she wouldn't have left. I hadn't ever thought she wouldn't be my luna until nine days before the coronation day, and having her as my mistress was the only option I had to keep us together.

My wolf taunted me for her escape, and he blamed me for what happened, even though he knew the reason behind everything. I refused to reject her, and I had my reasons. But now, she was nowhere to be found, and I felt my world was crumbling.

Soon, the pack ministers would begin pressuring me to produce an heir for the pack. This was one of the reasons I didn't want to reject her and let her go. I needed my mate to give me an heir, and now this was it.

After standing there for quite some time with no alternative to bring her back to myself, I walked back into the room and grabbed the bottle of brandy. I fixed it on my lips until the bottle was empty, then I walked out of the office.

-

I had emptied two bottles of brandy, yet I wasn't drunk enough to sleep off. Recalling that there were no positive outcomes about my mate's whereabouts was giving me a headache, and I had thought drinking myself to a stupor would make me forget it all and doze off.

But it was 2 am at midnight, and I was yet to feel sleepy. My eyes were wide open, and I felt nothing but regret. If I had known this would occur, I would have ordered the guards to lock her up in my bedroom after the coronation. But I thought she would show up by herself, and if she didn't, I would take her the next day...only to get the news of her disappearance.

I grabbed the glass of wine and downed it, then refilled it again.

The door creaked, and when I looked up, it was Isobel, my mate's sister, dressed in her lingerie, and putting on a smile that awakened the demon in me that was asleep.

It was a pity, but she was just a substitute. She was only here to bear the luna title for the sake of my rule, and my mate was the one who was going to give me a pup. Maybe, if my mate were here, I wouldn't hate her as much as I do now.

She strode closer to where I sat, each of her steps made my palm tighten the more around the glass I had grabbed. "Alpha, you hadn't slept, so I thought to stay with you. Mind sharing what the problem is? You've never stayed with me since the day of my coronation."

I didn't even spend that night with her, as the tradition said. I had lodged in a hotel that night, waiting to hear that Annette had shown up at the palace, so I would return and spend the night with her.

When I felt her hand on my shoulder, I gave her a sharp glare, and she took it off instantly, then lowered her face.

"Alpha, did I offend you? I'm your Luna, yet you treat me like I am nothing. It's been over a week since our wedding, but you haven't spent a minute with me. You even ordered that I do not show up in your bedroom...."

I ignored her and sipped from the glass I held.

Did I owe her an explanation? I didn't think so.

In the same way, her father told me that he owed no one an explanation on why they treated my mate like an outsider; this was the case here. If I hadn't met them privately, they wouldn't spill that secret to me. And she expected me to regard her? I had far more important things to take care of than giving her my time.

I didn't want to order her out, so I simply sealed the bottle of wine that was about half, then stood and began leaving the room.

"Alpha, it's midnight and....

I walked away and slammed the door with a thud behind me, then went down to the garage and drove off the pack house. I went back to the lodge where I always stayed to sort out lots of things with my men, and it was far better than the bedroom I had just left.

Although I couldn't sleep too well, not perceiving the scent of a female that wasn't my mate made me feel better.

The next morning, Berg showed up and showed me the acceptance letter I got from the lycan clan. I felt a little relieved, because at least there would be a way to search the lycan clan. If this time she wasn't found, I would have no mercy for her parents and that prime minister.

I looked at my beta, putting a long face, "Make sure to search every nook and cranny..."

The door was flung wide open, and my parents barged in. How did they get the passcode of my lodge? Their expression showed that I messed up big time, but I seriously wasn't in the mood to listen to them.

Berg exited the room immediately, and I stood immobile, with my arms crossed against my chest, and my eyes affixed on my parents standing some feet away from me.

My mother walked to the sofa and got seated, then asked me, "I would love you to explain why you did not bond with Isobel on the night of the coronation, and why you are searching for the wolfless thing when she already left the pack."

"Didn't we agree that she would be banished? Why then did you make her your mistress, and is even searching for her after she left?" my father raged in anger.

I bit my lower lip and turned my back on them. They had gone for their treatment in the human land and couldn't make it on the coronation day with my siblings. When I even arranged a to-and-fro flight for them, they insisted their presence wasn't needed that much since it was just crowning my Luna.

But they had the guts to show up and ask questions, then expecting a detailed explanation from the puppet alpha king that they had installed on the throne, right?

Maybe it was time to show them that I wasn't a puppet any longer and would rule with my command, whether they liked it or not.

Annette.

SIX YEARS LATER.

I sat at the corner, watching as others were walking around, gisting and doing all sorts of things with their friends. I'd stayed in this clan for six years, yet hardly made a friend, because every one of them could backstab me like my sister, Isobel, always did.

It was better I stayed alone, without a male or female friend and just focused on my career.

The whole recently graduated healers of the Summit Clan had just gathered for a get-together before each of us left for the various clans that we would work in. In these six years, I had already made a name for myself and was well known all over the Summit Clan.

Aunt Penelope was like a parent to me. She had trained me singlehandedly until I graduated as she had promised, and being famous among the others also made it possible for her to get so much attention from people who hadn't neared her club for once.

While I was studying, I was already a healer, and my patients came to my home to take treatments. Aunt Penelope rented an apartment for me once she was sure of what I was capable of, and since then, I had made more money than I thought, yet she didn't let me spend a dime to train myself in school.

I grabbed the glass of juice I had poured for myself, which I emptied, would go home because I needed a rest. But two ladies walked to where I sat and took a seat too, yet chatting all to themselves.

I pretended not to even see them, not knowing that they really wanted to be seen by me.

"Hey, I'm talking to you..." came the voice of the first lady, drawing my attention away from the couples dancing. When I met her eyes, I made an expression that asked what it was. I do not make a show amid them, because I was a werewolf and don't even have a wolf. "Aren't you the one hitting on Prince Dylan?"

My brows drew together. Are they being serious or what?

"Prince Dylan is finally ignoring his mate because of you. So why do all the high-ranking men not get their eyes off you once they see you? Care to share the kinda spell you're using on them?" the other lady said, and with her looks, it really tasted funny on her tongue.

I stared at them for so long and looked away, pretending I didn't hear any of them.

But as I got my hand on the glass again, it was snatched away from me...and the next was a liquid rushing down my face, down to my body.

"Why should a wolfless thing like you ignore a beta lycan like me? Are you nuts? You think being a healer makes us of the same rank?" the first lady burst, her eyes shining with rage. "Oh, I even forgot that the lycan king had just appointed you the healer personally for the royal family. So with that, you think no one is of your grade in this clan, huh?"

I didn't even find my words and simply stood up after I had dried up the juices the way I could.

"Trying to leave because I just mentioned how you are using spells in treating patients? There's no way a wolfless thing like you will have that ability, so you're probably using some spells to make a living. But could you just let go of Prince Dylan? Thats the lycan prince of this clan and should have nothing to do with you." Her voice rose so high that the attention of others was drawn to us, which was what I was avoiding.

I had gotten tired of explaining that I had nothing to do with Prince Dylan and had even warned the prince to reconcile with his mate instead of using me as a refugee and confusing people.

A lot of people thought we were dating, and even though his family heard of it, they didn't care.

"It takes years for one to be capable of seeing the lycan king as a healer, yet you did that after a year of stepping your feet into this clan. What exactly are you if not a witch?"

I got fed up and wanted to leave, so I stretched my hand to take my handbag from the table...but the lady was fast enough to grab it, and she flung it against my face, causing me to lose balance.

"You fool! Want to leave when I'm not done talking to you?" she cussed and threw my handbag at me. "I will make you regret ever stepping your feet into this clan at first if you don't let the clan know how you spellbound men, including the prince...and must let him go now."

I squatted and picked up my handbag from the ground. Only the moon goddess knew how long they had been planning to do this, because I did well to dodge such a thing happening, even though I knew how much they gossiped behind me.

At that moment, I noticed how the others were beginning to gather around us. I was so scared of what they would do to me, because aside from my healing power, I had no other strength for a werewolf.

"Start talking already!! Olivia had always been in tears because of you diverting her mate's attention, and here you are flaunting your fake skills. I swear you won't bewitch me like you did others who believed that your ability is real. How many lycans have such, that a wolfless thing like you have one?" The lady kept ranting, and the others picked up interest to hear me speak, which was the last thing I would do.

One of the men said from the crowd, "If she doesn't, then she will learn her lessons here and have no reason to stay behind in this clan. My dad's a healer, and now I am. Neither of us is as famous as you are, and you're the one who stole my dad's spotlight," the man said, pointing fingers at my face.

They found it all fun, some laughing while the others whispered.

The gathering that was supposed to be merry was one they turned into bullying.

I was trembling deep down, holding myself together with my head lowered. If I weren't present, they would tag me proud. But now that I did, I regretted not being tagged as proud instead of this.

Someone yanked my hair from the back, sending chills down my spine as I screamed out in pain. "Talk already and stop wasting our time..." the lady growled and pushed me to my knees.

My chest was on the verge of exploding. I felt as though my soul had already left my body.

"What's going on here?" I heard someone ask, but my head was beginning to throb already to recognise who the person was.

When I tried to look up, I saw that the circle formed by them had been ditched to both sides, and walking towards me was the lycan prince.

I should have rejected his help, too, but I was so weak and helpless at that moment that I needed someone to take me away.

"My prince, you shouldn't be here when Olivia is hospitalised," I heard the voice of that first lady, sounding all sweet, that one wouldn't believe she started all those. "We were just trying to help the clan by exposing her...

"What right do you have to tell me where to be?" Prince Dylan scolded her while helping me stand. "And do you all realise you could lose your five years of intensive training because of this?"

They all got to their knees, all heads lowered.

He turned around to me, "An emergency just came up in the clan's infirmary, and the whole healers there are all useless. He's an alpha king and would give up if you don't follow me now."

I bit my lower lip. Why would he call healers useless? They must have tried their best, too.

So I could become useless too if the alpha was just destined not to be saved, huh?

"My prince...

"Just follow me!" he ordered and began leaving, so I had no choice but to trail behind him.