Chapter Four
1271 Words
Elenor stood frozen as she stared up at the towering figure before her. She could hardly focus on his looks as she had just stained his expensive shoes. Without thinking, she started wiping his shoes with her hand frantically when she felt something strange, causing her to pause.
The strange man exuded authority, one that she had never felt, not even from Lesley's father, the Alpha. His godlike features shadowed under the dim lights of the hall and his scent!
It wasn't just any scent! It was overwhelming, commanding, intoxicating, and without a doubt….her mate.
Even though Elenor had yet to get her wolf, she could feel something stir within her. Something that told her that he wasn't an ordinary man. There was something about him that made her want to leap toward him but, she shoved the urge aside.
Elenor quickly regained her composure, straightened her back, raised her chin a plastered a smile onto her face as she stood to her feet.
It seemed the moon goddess didn't abandon her after all.
This time, Elenor was not going to let the opportunity slip out of her fingers. She was going to use it to her advantage.
"Mate…." She murmured under her breath as though she was testing the word.
The stranger looked down at her, his gaze sharp and unreadable but, she could tell that he felt whatever she felt. How could he not? The mate bond works both ways so he had to have felt whatever she felt.
Instead of reaching out to her like she expected her mate to do when they finally met, he stepped back, distancing himself as if he had just stumbled into an inconvenience.
Elenor took a sharp breath, masking the pain that his action caused.
'This isn't my first rodeo, stranger. Two can play at this game.'
"Watch your steps, woman!" He said with a low growl, his voice smooth but edged with irritation. Eleanor was about to apologize for running into him but, she quickly stopped herself.
Why was she explaining when he was the rude one?
Instead, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and moved closer. She didn't fail to take notice of how his brows furrowed at her audacity.
"I wouldn't have bumped into you if you were watching so I guess we're both at fault here."
His eyes flickered with amusement but it vanished as quickly as it came. "You're feisty, huh? I like that."
Elenor clenched her fist but calmed herself as she wasn't going to allow him to rile her up further. "Enjoy your evening, Sir." She said in a sweet voice as she brushed past him, the scent of cedarwood lingering in her wake.
As she walked back into the ballroom, she spotted Lesley in the corner with his arm draped over Ava's waist possessively. Elenor felt her chest tighten but she shook it off. She wasn't going to let them win, not tonight. This was her night and she was going to take back her power.
She quickly made her way to Aunt Camilla who seemed to be engaged in a very lively conversation with a group of women.
"I'll be back, Aunt. There's something I have to do." She whispered with a wink which was duly returned.
Elenor turned and scanned the crowd until she spotted him. He was alone, away from the crowd of humans his eyes were sharp as they surveyed the room as though he was weary of the people there.
Something told Elenor that he wasn't one of them but, she waved it off.
With a smirk, Elenor straightened her shoulders and marched towards where he was, leaning casually on a pillar.
"It seems you have no one to keep you company. How about we keep each other company? What do you say, huh?"
His gaze shifted to her, a dark glow in them and for a moment she thought he would refuse but then, with a smirk on his face, he extended his hand. "Who am I to refuse a plea from my mate?" He said, his smirk broadening and Elenor's eyes widened.
He knew!
If he did, why was he being a jerk to her?
Pretending not to have heard him, she placed her hand in his and almost withdrew them from the spark that shot up her arm at his touch.
He was her mate.
She quickly looked up at him to see if he felt it too but, his expression was unreasonable, as usual.
As the stranger led her to the dance floor, she made sure her head was held high and her steps calculated, knowing fully well that Lesly's eyes were on her.
*
*
Lesley watched Eleanor glide across the dance floor with a stranger and he felt his chest tighten with each step they took. He had long forgotten about the woman that was glued to his side. All he could see was his lover in the arms of another man.
"Lesley? Lesley?!" Ava called out, her tone rising as she struggled to get his attention.
"Lesley? What's wrong?" She asked when she saw that his attention which was always on her was now divided.
"Who the f**k is that?" She heard him mutter under his breath without looking at her. She turned, following his gaze, and gasped when she caught sight of Elenor dancing with a man who looked like he had fallen from heaven. If she wasn't already mated to Lesley, she would have walked up to him.
Not that being mated to Lesley stopped anything. She was just going to wait until he was out of sight.
Tearing her gaze off Elenor and the stranger, she forced a scoff out of her lips and shrugged. "He's probably her plaything for the night. We all know that she is heartbroken so, she might be using him…" Ava trailed off, a new idea coming into her head.
"Or, he just might be her lover which she had been hiding. Now that you have a mate she has decided to come out." She said, making up stories to rile Lesley up.
"Don't worry about her," Ava said when she noticed his facial features hardening. "She's not your problem anymore."
Lesley said nothing but deep down he knew that she was his problem…she had always been his problem and she would always be.
*
*
Back at the dance floor, Elenor shifted her gaze from the crowd to her partner, a flirtatious smile glued to her face. "You are a wonderful dancer." She praised.
"That compliment would have had a better meaning if my dance partner wasn't using me as bait." He said with a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Elenor's eyes widened as she faltered but, she quickly recovered. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, shaking her head slowly and the stranger scoffed.
"Don't play coy with me, little wolf. You're trying to make your boyfriend over there jealous. You have been stealing glances at him for a while now." He said, looking slowly in Lesley's direction.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Elenor snapped, her brows furrowing in annoyance.
"Your ex-boyfriend then. I'm guessing he dumped you for that bimbo beside him." He said with a smirk and Elenor glared harshly at him but as soon as she opened her mouth to retort, the song ended and the ballroom emptied slowly.
She said a silent thank you to the moon goddess but before she could leave, he grabbed her hand.
"Not so fast, Little wolf." He said in a serious tone.
"We need to talk…, as mates."
- Writer
