Kongar reaching around from behind and covering my eyes had calmed the heat coursing through my body for a moment, but this time, the words he spoke made me tense instead.
"Don't look."
I had just heard Arkan take a growling step forward in response when the door opened and someone entered.
"Alpha, we've placed Luna's new clothes in your room, just as you requested," Soren said.
He bought me clothes?
And why was he putting them in his room?
Pulling Kongar's hand away from my eyes, I turned my gaze toward Arkan.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked before turning to Soren. "And stop calling me Luna."
How many more times was I going to have to say that?
Soren let out a brief growl before finally tearing his gaze away from Kongar. Then he turned to me and exposed his neck.
"Luna, you must accept the fact that you are now this pack's Luna," he said, taking a step toward me. "You marked our Alpha, and very soon you won't be able to stay away from him."
I wanted to argue.
I could absolutely stay away from him... couldn't I?
Besides, if I managed to keep my distance, maybe my body would finally calm down.
"Kayra can do whatever she wants," Kongar said as he stepped in front of me, placing himself between Soren and me.
That was incredibly sweet.
Everyone needed a Kongar who would support them no matter what.
Arkan had quickly pulled on some clothes he'd taken from one of the room's wardrobes. Then he came over to me, crouched down in front of me, and began examining my face carefully.
"How's your nose?" he asked.
"I'm fine. It's nothing," I said, but the moment I touched it, I winced and hissed.
Arkan's brows immediately furrowed.
"Soren, call the pack doctor," he said.
Before I could protest, he placed a hand against my back and gently guided me toward the bed.
"I'm fine, really. I just want to get out of this room already," I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed.
Instead of answering, Arkan sat down beside me. As he gently tucked the strands of hair that had fallen across my face behind my ear, that familiar tingling sensation spread beneath my skin once again. I could still feel it, but for some reason, it wasn't nearly as intense as before.
This whole mate-bond thing was starting to seem far more serious than I'd thought.
"Let the doctor come," Arkan said. "If the doctor clears you, we'll go back to the pack house."
I wasn't sure I wanted to go back there.
The looks from the people... or rather, the werewolves... made me far more uneasy than I wanted to admit.
When I turned toward Kongar, I found him standing by the window, staring outside. He acted as though he hadn't been jealous of Arkan just moments ago.
Or maybe I was wrong.
After all, could beings created through magic even feel emotions like that?
The door clicked open again, pulling my attention away from Kongar.
"Kayra Luna, how are you? I heard your nose was bleeding."
I hadn't expected Alara to approach me with such a warm smile on her face.
Was she my doctor?
"What are you doing here, Alara? Where's the pack doctor?" Arkan asked.
"One of the pups fell off a swing. He's treating him right now," Alara said as she approached and bent down beside me. "I told them not to call him. I'm a doctor too, after all. I'll take care of Luna myself."
This was terrible.
She was beautiful.
And smart.
For a brief moment, I thought she suited Arkan better than I ever could. The instant that thought crossed my mind, my heart sped up. I lightly smacked my own cheek as if trying to snap myself out of it, and the sharp sting in my nose immediately flared again.
"Ah!"
I flinched and grabbed my nose.
"Are you okay, Kayra?" Alara asked.
She looked surprised.
Of course she was surprised.
Lowering my head in embarrassment, I avoided her gaze.
She set the first-aid kit she had been carrying onto the bed, unzipped it, and pulled out some cotton.
"Why would you do that?" Arkan growled.
Believe me, I didn't know either.
As Alara held the cotton up to my nose, her gaze wandered across my face.
"She's jealous of me," she said with a smile, glancing at Arkan.
She had caught me.
No.
I wasn't jealous.
Yet even as that thought crossed my mind, I realized my hands had moved on their own and were holding Alara's face, turning it toward me. The moment I understood what I was doing, I quickly pulled my hands back.
"You need to complete the bond as soon as possible, Arkan," she said. This time, her gaze was fixed directly on me.
Maybe I really was jealous.
I couldn't think of any other logical explanation.
Then again, all of this was the fault of that ridiculous mate-bond nonsense.
"Otherwise, you might end up having to complete it in front of everyone at Luna's welcome party this weekend," Alara said, turning her attention back to Arkan. "The heat could start at any moment."
"Ahem..." A short cough escaped me as I straightened up on the bed. "What exactly is that supposed to mean? Am I a dog?"
She was practically insulting me.
Arkan looked like he was about to say something, but Alara took my hand and gently sat me back down.
"In werewolves, marked females enter heat within a few days and begin pressuring their mates to complete the bond," she said. After studying me for a moment, she continued, "And if the bond isn't completed, the scent the female gives off attracts every male around her and causes them to try to mate with her."
Arkan's growl filled the room the moment the words left her mouth.
"Mine."
That single word made my body tremble.
Pressing my legs together, I bit down on my lip to stop the sound that was trying to escape my mouth.
Wait...
Did that mean I would have to mate with him... sleep with him?
What else was this world going to throw at me?
"But I'm not a werewolf," I said.
Yes.
I wasn't a werewolf.
I wasn't.
Before answering, Alara leaned a little closer and took a deep breath.
"Yes," she said. "You're not."
That's it!
I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.
"However..." Alara continued.
My smile vanished instantly.
"...if you didn't have werewolf blood in your veins, you couldn't become fated mates with another werewolf. Especially not with a powerful Alpha."
That explanation only confused me even more.
"Then how did this happen?" I asked, pointing first at myself and then at Arkan.
"One of your parents must have been a werewolf," Alara said.
"Relationships between different species are forbidden," Arkan said. "Who would dare break a law like that?"
"I don't know. But it couldn't have been someone from any pack I know. If it were, I would have heard about it."
One of my parents was a werewolf?
"I grew up in an orphanage," I said.
The moment the words left my mouth, Arkan placed a hand on my back and began stroking it gently. At the same time, I noticed Kongar stepping closer to the bed.
"So I don't know which one of them was one of yours."
A sarcastic smile appeared on my face as I pushed Arkan's arm away from my back.
His touch was strangely comforting.
But at the same time, it was setting my body on fire all over again.
The room fell silent for a few seconds before Arkan stood up.
"Can Kayra be discharged from the hospital?" he asked.
At that question, I immediately lifted my head and looked at Alara.
"Let me finish examining her first," Alara said.
---
After finishing the necessary examinations, Alara said I was free to leave the hospital. They hadn't even bothered consulting the pack doctor who had examined me first.
At some point, Soren had also brought me a set of new clothes. I picked the most comfortable-looking outfit from the pile—a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt.
The rest looked as though they had been chosen for a ball rather than everyday life.
The moment I stepped outside the hospital, I filled my lungs with fresh air. When I lifted my head and looked around, I realized we had exited from one of the curved ends of the crescent-shaped structure. Dense forest surrounded the entire building, though I remembered the city wasn't very far away.
Then again, it wasn't an ordinary city.
It was a werewolf city.
By the time dusk began settling over the sky, we entered the four-story building at the center of the complex. All the structures were connected to one another, so we could have used the indoor corridors instead. But I had insisted on walking outside for a while.
Partly because I wanted fresh air.
Partly because I had hoped to escape the stares.
I was wrong.
Everyone who saw me seemed to stop whatever they were doing and watch as I passed. A few people were even peering out from windows.
I had never liked feeling people's eyes on me.
Most of the time, they either looked at me with pity or disgust.
Once inside, Arkan led me up to the fourth floor. As we climbed the stairs, my attention drifted to the old, ornate paintings hanging along the walls. Many of them looked as though they had been there for decades.
Maybe I would take a closer look at them when I had the chance.
Who knew?
Maybe I could even learn something about Arkan's family.
A moment later, I pushed the thought away.
There was absolutely no reason for me to be curious about Arkan's family.
"We're here."
Arkan's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
He opened an ornate door and smiled at me. The moment I stepped past him and crossed the threshold, his intoxicating scent flooded my senses.
I froze.
This was Arkan's room.
Did he really think I was going to stay in the same room as him?