Chosen

Chapter XIX

~ Rain 

I froze in my spot, speechless and unable to think straight. My mind went numb and I just stared blankly at Samuel, not sure how to react. 

It did not even cross my mind that he could have been my mate all this time. Suddenly, a thought popped in my head. I realized something. Now, I understand the reason I was obliged to come here in the first place. It said mates are destined to find each other, on normal circumstances. That was why I agreed to come here in the first place. It started to make sense in my head now. The reason I did not want to leave, why I was tempted by his charm and most importantly, this whole I followed your smell situation. Did he know? It sure does look like it and if he did why would he want hide it? Knowing how possessive mates tend to be of each other, specially the Alphas. It made zero sense to me. He did not seem excited about it at all. All the rumors stated that he was looking for his mate and was desperate to find her. I was very confused at his reaction. He must have a good reason for it. If not... 

"Mate," I whispered. His face was void of emotion as he stared back at me. I was not sure if it was because he was too shook to say anything now that he finally found his mate or because he really did not want me to know anything about it. And the second possibility seemed more sensible to me. But why?

"Mate," I repeated, but still got no emotion out of him. My heart sank at his blank reaction. I expected something else. My shoulders hunched forward a little and I looked down again on his bleeding hand. I took courses in first aid, so I have an idea of what to do in situation like these, when the wolf could not heal itself or when the injury is too severe for it to heal by itself. And by looking at his hand, I can tell that the injury was not no where near severe, in fact, it already it was no longer there. He snatched his hand from mine, shoving it in his pocket. However, it was too late because I already figured out what got in the way of his self healing. He was the one injuring himself. I could clearly see prints in his palm. Obviously, he was digging his nails into his palm as a method of restraining himself. He dug his nails so hard into his hand that it started bleeding uncontrollably, that was when I noticed, only when he took them out that he was able to properly heal. 

"Now you know." He spoke. His voice was not as bright as it used to be. It was low and scary. His face and expression changed from smily and playful to just plain dead. "Now I suppose you realized what your verdict should be." Suddenly, a conclusion popped in my head... 

Now I get it... "I can stop acting nice now that you figured it out." He spoke plainly. 

"Did you know all along?" I asked, quietly, not sure if I was fully conscious at that moment. My head was slightly spinning and my vision was a little blurry. I had to squeeze my eyes for my vision to focus. I waited for his reply, but I got none, so I deduced that it was a 'Yes'. He started walking away. "Why did you hide it?" I asked again, following him wherever he was heading. 

"A brain like yours would not even comprehend." He scoffed, darkly. I could see the sudden change in his personality and I did not like it. I hated it. 

"You can tell me, you know. I will listen." I tried being kind, in hope of getting to him. I was genuinely ready to listen for anything he had to say. I respected the mate concept and saved myself for him all those years. Caleb respected it too, so we stayed pure... 

Maybe I stayed pure... 

"I am tired of acting nice and sweet. Now that you know the truth, complete your verdict and get out of here." He started. "I do not need a mate." His words hurt my feelings, however, I did not let it show. I hid it, pretending that it was okay to say that. 

"What if I say no?" I crossed my hands over my chest, being stubborn. 

"In my book, I do not take no for an answer when I am ask something of you." He paused for a second. "Or anyone else." He completed his statement. 

"Well, you need to write a new book because I will not-" Samuel interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. I pursed my lips, staring blankly at him. 

"Be quiet and follow me." He ordered. One thing I really did not stand, was being ordered around and told what to do. It really got on my nerves. I can put up with almost anything else, but this. I halted suddenly and spoke,

"You know Samuel." I started, biting my lower lip and getting ready to speak my mind. "I've always respected my mate and looked forward to the day that I would meet him. I promised myself that I would all I can for him, to make him happy, but I did not expect someone like you to be my mate. When I first saw you I thought that you would be a perfect mate. I even envied your previous mate a little, but now that I see who you really are. I take it back." I paused for a few seconds, holding back my tears and swallowing the bump that formed in my throat. "You being my mate, does not mean that I am obligated to accept you no matter what. You know, I have standards. If you treat me like a maid because I am your second chance mate and not the actual one, I will have to reject you."