**Amelia**

Despite my request for him to reject me, his face betrayed no sign of anger. Instead, his calm expression suggested this was exactly what he had hoped for. A pang of hurt shot through my chest as he agreed so readily, without hesitation.

I stood there, waiting for him to utter the words I feared. But instead, he reached out and gently stroked my cheek. The instant his fingers touched my skin, I stiffened.

*So this is how the mate bond works,* I thought, feeling the intense pull of his presence, his scent overwhelming me.

"So you really want me to reject you?" His voice was teasing, and I felt the space between us close as he took a step closer, lowering his head toward my cheek as if he was about to kiss me.

I should've stopped him. I should've pushed him away, but I couldn't. My heart hammered in my chest, and my body betrayed me, standing still, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

"You really smile well, mate," he murmured, his face inches from mine. Then, his hot breath against my neck sent a shock of realization through me. *No, he isn't...*

Before I could fully process, I pushed him away, gasping for air. "What the hell were you trying to do?"

His grin only widened. "What every wolf does when he finds his mate," he said, his voice low and smooth. "Since you thought I was going to reject you, I figured I'd show you what I really had in mind. Action speaks louder than words."

I stared at him, my heart racing. "So you wanted to mark me?"

"Of course," he replied, a playful glint in his eyes. "Unless you don't want me to, little mate?"

The words hit me like a punch. I had wanted him to reject me, but a part of me *longed* for the mark, for that connection. My feelings were a tangled mess, and I didn't know what to say.

"Yes... no," I stammered. *What did I want?*

"You're quite indecisive," he remarked, raising an eyebrow. "A few minutes ago, you wanted me to reject you. Now, you want me to mark you, but then you don't. What exactly do you want, Amelia?"

I hesitated for a long moment, my heart pounding. "I don't know," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.

The elevator dinged, halting our conversation. As the doors began to open, he quickly pressed the button for the fifth floor again.

"I'm not rejecting you," he said softly, his voice surprisingly calm. "I never planned to. And I'm not going to mark you, not yet. You're not ready. But I will mark you, Amelia. Soon. You're my fated mate. For now, we'll do things the human way. You get to know me, and I'll get to know you."

I could only nod. Despite my fear, I understood the logic. I needed to see if he was different from Adrian before I made any decisions.

"I'm glad you like the idea," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips. Then, his gaze darkened, and he added, "But one thing-don't try to run away from me again. I hate it when my possessions try to escape."

I froze, a chill running down my spine. "Possession?" I echoed, my voice tinged with disbelief.

"Yes, little mate. You're my possession now. From today on, I'm not letting you out of my sight," he said with a possessive tone, his hand gently cupping my cheek.

Before I could respond, the elevator doors opened, and he stepped out, holding the door for me.

"Shall we return to the ceremony?" he asked, his tone light, though his eyes never left me.

I nodded, too stunned to speak, and followed him into the hallway.

"By the way, I've organized a small party for some of my students after the graduation ceremony. I'd like you to come. It'll be a good chance for us to get to know each other better. Can I count on you to be there?" he asked as we walked toward the hall.

I had no real desire to attend, but I had agreed to give this a chance. "Okay," I replied, forcing a smile. "I'll meet you there after the ceremony."

"Great," he said, his smile returning. "I'm looking forward to it."

As we reached the entrance to the hall, he gave me a quick glance before I walked back to my seat. The ceremony was nearly over, and the tension in the air between us felt unbearable.

Becky turned toward me, an eyebrow raised. "You're back? I thought you said you were sick."

"I was," I replied, giving her a weak smile. "But I took some medicine, and the fever's down a bit. I think I can make it through."

"Well, that's good," she said, her gaze softening. "But I bet today's not your lucky day. Not only did you miss your favorite professor Dr. Edward's speech, but you also missed Dr. Alex Darlington's-your mentor's speech."

I sighed, the weight of it hitting me all over again. "You're right, Becky. Today's not my lucky day."

She tilted her head, but before she could say anything else, I turned my gaze to the front of the hall, my mind racing. Not only had I missed the speeches of the two men who had shaped my life, but one of them-the one I had trusted most-was now my fated mate. And now, he saw me as his "possession."

To be continued...

**Amelia**

Even though I had agreed to follow Dr. Alex Darlington, who was now my mate back home because of the party he organized, deep down I knew I wasn't going to follow him; I had only accepted in order to get him off my back.

After collecting my certificate, I bade goodbye to Becky, who was busy discussing with some of her friends and taking selfies with them, and with that, I started heading to the exit while praying deep down that I wouldn't encounter Dr. Alex Darlington again because all I wanted to do was to go home and get some rest and to also think about what I was going to do next, whether to stick with Dr. Alex Darlington, who was now my mate, or whether to do to him the same thing I did with Adrian, which was escaping and going to somewhere very far where he would never find me.

With these thoughts running through my mind, I walked out of the school and made my way to the parking lot, but immediately I got to the parking lot, I halted in my steps as I saw the last person I had wanted to see leaning on my car while smiling handsomely at me.

'What the hell, is he stalking me or what?' I thought inwardly while staring at him.

"Little mate, trying to run away again?" Dr. Alex Darlington asked me with a warm and charming smile, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"No, I wasn't," I said to him as I walked towards my car.

"Really?" He asked me with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, I wasn't trying to run away," I said to him with a firm tone, even though deep down I knew that I was lying.

"Okay then, it seems like you are done with the graduation, can we start going now?" He asked me as I unlocked my car.

"Yes," I said to him after some minutes of hesitation.

"What about your car?" I asked him, knowing that someone as rich as he was wouldn't come to such an event without a car.

"Ooh, I asked my driver to head back home without me," he said to me, and immediately I furrowed my brows at him.

"And how will you be heading back home?" I asked him with a furrowed brow.

"I will join you in your car; why should I bother following my driver while I can simply follow my mate and get the chance to spend some time with her even though she doesn't want me anywhere near her?" he said to me, and immediately I rolled my eyes at him.

"I never said that," I said to him before opening the car and getting inside.

"Well, you don't need to say it before I know it; remember what I told you earlier: actions speak louder than words," he said to me as he got into the car with me.

"Well, that still doesn't change the fact that I didn't open my mouth to say that, and unless I do, every other thing you will say will be nothing but mere insinuations," I said to him with a defensive tone.

"Really?" He asked me before stretching out his hand to touch me, but I immediately flinched back.

"And that's exactly what I'm talking about," he said to me before withdrawing his hand and pulling out his phone and typing some things before handing it to me.

"That's my address," he said to me after handing me the phone.

Without uttering a single word, I ignited the car and drove off following the address he sent me.

"So from which pack are you from?" He asked me, breaking the silent atmosphere in the car.

"I'm not from any pack. I grew up in the human world," I said to him, not wanting to reveal to him anything about the pack I came from, which might also lead to me telling him about Adrian.

"Really?" He asked me with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, what about you?" I asked him.

"Moonstone Pack," he said to me, taking me aback.

"What?" I asked him with a surprised tone, as I wasn't expecting him to be from the same pack I came from.

It's true that I'm not originally from Moonstone Pack; I was only brought to the pack after our Pack Silver Moon Pack was destroyed and my parents died in the process, but until I left the pack, I had never set my eyes on him.

"Yes, I'm from Moonstone Pack, but I also grew up here in the human world," he said to me, and I nodded in reply.

"But why do you look surprised when I told you from which Pack I came from?" He asked me with a furrowed brow.

"Nothing, I had thought that a doctor who is as famous as you are in the human world had grown up in a werewolf pack," I said to him at the same time his phone started beeping, signaling that we were close to the destination.

After driving for some minutes, I pulled over in front of a big mansion as his phone signaled that we had gotten to our destination.

"Wow, is this your house?" I asked him while admiring the huge mansion right in front of me.

"Yes it is. Do you like it?" He asked me with a warm smile.

"Yes, I do; from the outside, one could already tell that it's a beautiful mansion," I said to him while admiring the mansion.

"Well, I'm glad that you like it, because soon it's going to be your home too, and also where we are going to do everything together," he said to me while leading me inside, and with that I furrowed my brows at him.

"Things like what?" I asked him with an inquisitive look, and with that, he grinned at me.

"You will find out soon, little mate," he said to me before patting my head.

"By the way, the party has already begun, so wait for me here; let me put on something casual, and I will take you to the hall where the party is taking place," he said to me as we got to the sitting room.

"Okay," I said to him, and with that, he blew a kiss at me before walking away.

Once he left, I sighed heavily before sitting down on one of the sofas, and at the same time, my gaze fell on the image that was hanging on the wall. Taking a proper look at it, I was surprised to see some familiar faces in the image.

'What the hell' I muttered as I stood up from the sofa and walked towards the image to l make sure that my eyes weren't playing games on me.

As I got closer, my heart skipped thousands of times as it dawned on me that my eyes weren't actually playing games on me; on the image hanging on the wall was Adrian, Dr. Alex Darlington, and Alpha Darlington, who was Adrian's father, and a lady who I assumed was Dr. Alex Darlington's mother.

To be continued...