The Tripartite Mate Bond Chapter 13: CHAPTER THIRTEEN

This morning felt different. I had never been catered to in this way before and I was confused at first.

Ares' housekeeper came into my room with some ladies and they opened the blinds. This woke me up abruptly.

“Good morning” I greeted them, confused at the intrusion.

They nodded in response and began working.

I was hoping to still hide under the very comfortable duvet but seeing them walking about the room, taking out clothes and cleaning the whole place made me feel uneasy.

“Luna, your bath is ready,” one of the girls said to me.

What was it with that name they kept calling? Maybe it was the woman Ares was in love with. I banished the jealousy from my mind. He wasn't mine to obsess over, he already had someone else. The thought hurt more than I was willing to admit, but I was used to rejection and difficulty. I wasn't gonna let this one overwhelm me.

I went to the bathroom and I began to undress.

I went to the huge mirror on top of the vanity to look at my face

I looked tired and sleep deprived. My eyes were puffy and swollen like I hadn't slept in days so I splashed some water on my face.

I was about to turn back to the mirror and head into the bathtub but I noticed something. I don't even know how I missed it earlier.

Was that a tattoo on my neck? I thought as I noticed something on my collar bone which stretched all the way to my neck.

I peered closer, it was an intricate drawing of a… a dragon? It couldn't be! I know I didn't get any tattoo, I had never done anything for myself that father didn't approve of and the thought of a tattoo was so outlandish it never crossed my mind.

Also, the way it was drawn was so perfect, I almost fell in love with it. The wings were spread, covering my collar bone, its head on my neck and as I looked closer, I realized it opened its mouth to pour out blue fire.

Someone knocked on the bathroom door, shaking me out of my shock.

“Luna, please hurry up. We are already late” I heard from the door.

I decided to put the tattoo in the box of the many things I'll deal with later and proceeded to take my bath.

When I got out, they had set breakfast for me and only the older woman and one of the girls remained, and their eyes went straight to my neck.

“I know, right? So many strange things are happening to me these days” I said to them, trying to break the ice.

Well, the only thing that broke was my nail as I kept biting it out of nervousness. There was no response, only awkward stares.

I ate and got dressed in a lovely beige sundress, its waist cinched, and the arm was short with floral ruffles.

The gown exposed the tattoo in a way that screamed “look at me!”, making me wish I had control over my choice of outfit, but the housekeeper didn't look like she enjoyed being questioned, so I let it be.

They led me out of the house and I felt a shiver even though the sun was already out.

It appeared as though I was being watched.

I looked around me, feeling like I was being watched but I ascribed it to the many hateful gazes I felt from the pack. I hated how much I wanted them to accept me, it felt pathetic.

But then, something felt odd about whatever that was, like an evil eye syndrome but I ignored it. My mind must be playing games with me.

I knew I was terrified but I didn't want it to show so I plastered a smile on my face as we walked the distance between the house Ares lived in to the houses where the rest of the pack lived.

The silence was very loud, I was brimming with questions, but these women didn't even bat an eyelid or make any attempt to be friendly. Their hate for humans must run deep which was crazy considering that they lived among us.

I hoped to find someone here who would be willing to tell me anything about this world that I was dumped into by whoever is controlling my fate.

I noticed people all over the place, some were training and others carrying baskets of fruits and then mothers were taking their children to school.

But they all looked at me in a way that suggested they definitely didn't want me here. Some even stopped to stare, unable to hide their feelings about me.

“They are all staring at me," I whispered to the woman. "Is it the dress? Maybe it's too revealing.”

“You don't need to bother about that for now. I'm taking you to the Beta’s wife. You can ask her these questions as she teaches you how to do your job” she replied, the hostility in her voice palpable and that shut me up effectively.

We turned to the last tall, four-storey building and walked inside.

We got into the elevator and she pressed the button for the last floor.

The entire journey made me question if I should just find a way to run away. I could find a way to survive out there; father was no longer after my life. But then, I doubt they'd let me.

I was in the type of prison where they treated you well, but it was still a prison, regardless of the hot men guarding the gates.

The elevator opened and we stepped into a lavish lobby with many people milling about, engaged in different things.

“This is the pack office. Everything that goes into running the pack happens here. The other storeys are for several other things and the floor after this is the penthouse which is for the Alphas. You are not allowed in there," she warned, giving me a look that iriitated me.

Walking a bit further down the hallway, she pointed to an office door, "Here is the office of the Beta's mate, we'll leave you to it as we need to do other things. We will come get you later."

“Okay, but you didn't tell me your name,” I replied, looking her in the eye.

“Hm. You can call me Margaret,”

“Okay Maggie, thank you for everything” I said with a smile as she quickly left.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The door opened and I was shocked to see a very familiar face.

“Juno?”

“I knew it was you! I can't believe this. You have got to be kidding me. Come in, come in, take a seat” she replied.

“Oh my goodness! You are a werewolf? How?” I asked in shock.

Juno was my course mate at school. She was the only person that spoke to me as I was quite a recluse.

She didn't mind how much I distanced myself from everyone and all activities, she still tried to get in touch.

But when I graduated, I was forced to delete all the contacts on my phone and I didn't pick her calls until she gave up.

“What happened to you, Aurora? I was so scared you had gotten kidnapped or something” she asked, taking her seat as well.

“Um, it's a long story and I don't think I'm ready to go into all that right now," I replied sadly, "You look amazing, well, you've always looked amazing” I said, making us laugh.

“It's the genes, it makes everything better, no offense to your human nature”

“Well, that might be a bit inaccurate. There's been incidents that suggest I may not be human after all. And to make the whole thing worse, I slept last night and woke up with this huge tattoo of a dragon on my neck” I explained, feeling so excited to finally have someone to talk to.

She focused on it and came closer, examining it.

“This is strange. I have a theory but it's too bizarre. It can't be” she said, sitting back down.

“You are confusing me, June. What are you thinking?”

“Well, like I said, it is outlandish. It's just a shot in the dark but from my studies, that is the mark of a dragon.” She said and my eyes widened. “Which is ridiculous because those badasses have been extinct, unfortunately” she explained

“I don't think I can have any connection to dragons. You're right, it's impossible. I was told I need to learn stuff from you?” I changed the topic, uncomfortable with the whole situation.

“Oh, yea. You are going to be our Luna and you need to learn the ropes. The pack are not so comfortable with the whole situation surrounding your mate bond, and you kind of need to prove yourself to them so we have a lot to cover” she said, leafing through the papers on her desk.

I wasn't one to shy away from a challenge but this one was scary as hell; anyways, I took a deep breath as began to talk.