Chapter Nine
758 Words
Page One:
A letter from Ulric to Maya.
Dear Maya,
I know this seems strange. I know you are scared. But you do not need to be afraid of me.
Why should you trust me? That is a fair question. So let me begin at the beginning.
I am a wolf.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I am a wolf.
And to your kind, that must sound impossible.
Like something from a story told to frighten children.
But we are not stories.
We are real. We exist in the shadows of your world because history has taught us that humans fear what they do not understand.
Secrecy keeps the peace.
Secrecy keeps you safe.
Because despite what you may believe after what you have endured, we are not monsters.
Not all of us.
We are loyal beyond reason. We protect what belongs to us. We defend our own with violence if necessary. And when we love, we love completely. Without hesitation. Without retreat.
Especially when it comes to our mates.
A mate bond is a joining of two souls, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself. It is not affection. It is not convenience. It is not a simple desire.
It is fate.
When fated mates meet, the bond is immediate. Undeniable. Absolute.
I felt it the moment I saw you on that stage.
I did not go there to buy anyone. I do not participate in such filth. But then I saw you.
Bruised.
Frightened.
Still fighting despite your fear.
And something in me snapped.
My soul recognized yours.
You were never meant to belong to that room.
I bought your freedom because I would have killed any man who tried to touch you.
Purchasing you was simply the more controlled decision.
You may find that I value control above most things.
You will also learn that you are the one thing that makes me question it.
I do not expect you to understand this.
You are human.
You cannot feel the bond pulling you toward me the way I feel it pulling me toward you.
You cannot feel the constant awareness of where you are, whether you are safe, whether you are afraid.
It is distracting.
Perhaps that is the Moon Goddess' cruelty toward me. To know you are mine, while you feel nothing at all.
But I am a patient man.
With all of this said:
You are my mate. And I intend to make you my wife.
When we marry, I will inherit the Alpha title from my father. And you will become my Luna.
My equal.
My responsibility.
My greatest strength and my greatest weakness.
You will stand beside me and rule this pack with me. But we must also produce an heir. Strength must continue.
Bloodlines must endure.
And we must not anger my father. He is a difficult man. A man who values perfection and obedience.
In this, we are similar.
Though perhaps I am beginning to understand that perfection is not always strength.
I believe in order. In discipline. In structure. Chaos creates weakness. Rules create safety.
You may come to resent my rules.
You may even come to resent me.
But you will never suffer in my home.
Above all else, I am your Alpha. If you accept me, you will be my Luna. If you refuse, you will remain in my household under my authority as my personal servant.
Either way.
You remain under my protection.
Until you decide, you will be trained as a Luna while serving in my home. You will learn our ways and my expectations as an Alpha.
I will personally oversee your training.
Your behaviour.
Your discipline.
(And your safety, even in the ways you will never see.)
No harm will ever come to you under my watch again. This I promise you.
After reading these rules and expectations, you will have one week to decide.
Will you stand beside me as my wife?
Or remain under my roof as something I must continue to guard but cannot yet claim?
Regardless of your decision, understand this one truth, Maya:
No one will ever hurt you again.
No one will ever take you from me.
And if anyone ever tries, they will learn exactly why wolves are feared.
You are safe now.
You are wanted now.
And this is perhaps the only selfish thing I will ever admit to you
:
I do not regret what fate has done.
Even if you never choose me.
I would still choose you.
Every time.
— Ulric Wolfhart
- Writer
