The Noble Heiress & Her Ancient Foe

Chapter 7

*Alina’s POV*

Although he was broken, Dad gathered himself and wore a stone-cold expression as he walked me to the front gate. Mom decided not to accompany me to the car because she was too distraught. I turned to look at my house and my father one last time. Both of us knew that the decision I made was filled with so many unknowns. But, like my father, I made myself strong and wore an expressionless look on my face as I turned toward the front gate and walked towards the range rover. A man with curly dark brown hair, a full beard, and green eyes stood near the vehicle. He was wearing a three-piece brown suit. He bowed his head when I walked up to him, “Luna” he greeted me as he opened the back door for me to enter. I gave him a small smile as I entered the vehicle. After he loaded my belongings in the vehicle, he got in the driver’s seat. “My name is Zafar,” he said 10 minutes after we started driving. “I’m the Beta of the Dark Moon pack,” he continued. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I replied. “I’m Ali-”, “Alina Akkad, daughter of Alpha Daniyal Akkad, sole-heiress of the Gold Crescent pack, and now future Luna of the Dark Moon pack,” he said with a grin. I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head, at his behavior, he seemed really light-hearted. I had a feeling that we would get along. “Do you mind if I put on the radio?” he asked after another few minutes. “No, go ahead,” I said. 

Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding started to play. It’s my favorite song. I always played it on the loudest volume in my AirPods when I went for a run. I always imagined how it would be when I found my mate whenever I heard this song. Mate. Suddenly, I remembered that before this whole chaotic episode, my wolf picked up on my mate’s presence at the ball. Now I lost my chance to meet him. I was sad at this thought, but I couldn’t help but wonder why Lux felt so calm. She should be as upset as me, at the prospect of losing the opportunity to meet our mate. “That’s because we are going to meet him soon,” Lux purred at me. “You’re mad,” I replied mentally to her, “we are going to the Dark Moon pack, we won’t be seeing our mate.” “No,” she replied, “he’s waiting for us.” I mentally willed Lux away when she kept going on about our mate. She’s delusional. 

I spent the next few hours looking out at the scenery of the country-side. Suddenly, I notice a field of lilacs, just like in my dream. A few yards away, was this huge castle-like manor. The gray bricks on the exterior glittered in the afternoon sun. We pulled up to the castle, and I immediately felt butterflies begin to dance in my stomach again. “Welcome to Noir Manor, the Dark Moon packhouse, and your new residence Luna,” Zafar said as he opened the door for me to get out. I couldn’t help but stare all the way up at the castle. It was about 5 stories high. It had about 4 tall towers as well. I could already see that the front of the house had a huge window where a gigantic crystal chandelier was showcased. The doors below were made of oak, and they were huge, about 15 feet tall. There were three balconies in the front as well. I noticed that Zafar finished unloading my luggage, a few servants came forward to take my luggage inside. 

As we approached the castle there was a man standing below the front steps, studying me. He had dirty blond hair and was clean-shaven. His dark brown eyes seemed so cold. Could this be the Alpha? I thought quietly to myself. “I’m not the one you’re looking for,” he said to me. “I am.” A deep, bold, and husky voice said. His voice sent chills through my entire body. I looked to see a man wearing a white button-down shirt and black slacks, his blue eyes were piercing through my eyes. His dark hair was neatly combed to one side, he had a full stubble beard, and his mouth was curled up into a smirk. His sleeves were rolled half-way up to his elbows, and the top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned to reveal a bare, well-defined chest. Power and confidence came off him in waves and each one that hit me made me almost weak at the knees. I didn’t even realize that I had walked up to him, standing only a foot away from him. He approached me, and took my right hand in his, he never broke eye contact with me as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. The touch of his lips made me shiver, “MATE!” Lux yelled. I was shocked, and I pulled my hand away from him immediately, pulling it close to my chest as I turned away from him. Everyone left, and only the two of us were standing there. I couldn’t understand what was happening. This man was my mate? Is he the Alpha? THE ALPHA IS MY FREAKIN MATE?? 

I didn’t even realize when he approached me from behind. He placed both of his hands on my shoulders, and I had a sort of deja-vu moment. This happened before. Where did this happen? “You are so much more beautiful in real life, my mate,” he said as he pulled me into his chest. He then bent down to my right ear, and whispered: “I have been visiting you in dreams, but I had enough of that.” He forced me to turn and face him. I kept my head down, focusing on his chest. I didn’t want to gaze into his eyes again. One look at him and I felt strange sensations throughout my body. He placed a finger under my chin and forced me to look up at him. When our eyes met, I recognized him as the wolf/man from my dreams. He was my mate. I stared at him, studying his face, looking for any resemblance of the younger Armaan that I remembered. I found that he looked sterner than I remembered. Stern, and dangerously handsome. “That’s better,” he said as he ran his gaze over my face from my eyes down to my lips. “I am your mate, Armaan Malik, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack.” I wiggled away from his grasp and backed away from him. His eyes went from affectionate to angry in a few seconds at my actions. 

“You will never back away from me like that again!” He growled as he wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me towards him. I felt scared for a moment, but suddenly I found my strength. I looked him dead in his eyes and returned his glare. He started to smile as if amused by my behavior. “Unless you plan on standing outside here, like this forever, do you mind letting go?” I asked as I glared at him, with an eyebrow raised. He let out a chuckle as if someone just made a joke. To my surprise, he loosened his grip on me, a little, but what he said next made my blood boil. “Don’t worry, I will let you go for now because I have the rest of my life to hold you, kiss you, touch you, mark you, and make you mine.” I felt my cheeks heat up at his remarks. He let out a low growl as I pushed him away. I walked directly into the packhouse, without sparing him a second glance. This man brings up so many mixed emotions in me. I want to kill him for touching me without my permission, and then again, I never want him to let me go. “I didn’t mind if he held us all day, '' Lux said to me as she let out a low sultry howl. I can’t believe it. At least my beast counterpart was enjoying this crap.