"That is not like Karam."

My head moved along with each tug from Amelia as she was braiding my hair. I was sitting on the edge of the bed while she was standing behind me.

After Nysa arrived, I couldn't stop letting out the tears of trauma. She suffered me crying like a baby for hours. I was thankful to her for distracting me by asking me to do the routines. I managed to bathe slowly and change into the new clothes that she gave me.

A fitted brown top with broad straps, matched with a brown skirt, just like her blue ones.

Helping me with putting oil on my piercing and moving the nose ring, she promised to bring something to eat for me.

Instead of her, it was Amelia who entered the room. She had freshly bathed. Seeing my bloodshot swollen eyes, she did stare at me for longer. But nothing escaped her mouth until I was done drying my hair with a cloth. She asked to make braids of my hair without any empathy on her face.

Listening to her first words about the episode with Karam, my dried eyes filled up with tears again. Sitting with my legs wrapped around the raised knees, I stared at the faint sunlight pouring inside the room through the open window.

"I know each one of the males to their bones. Only Robin and Anton are full of wrath," she said while doing the hair. "Rest of them are lovers including mine, Misty. Their mates told me. By the cries, one can know if it is rough or not. Karam and Lysar have always been esteemed enough to not beg for a fuck to any of the unmated or widowed females. The females stare at them up and down, begging for them."

I blinked in disbelief. How could they fall for walking bushes of arrogance and threat?

"You must have pulled his leg enough to make his calm tremble. Karam barely gets angry. He is the most patient one," she said, leaving half of my hair down. Beginning the new braid on the left side, she hummed in disagreement. "What did you tell him?"

I stared at the wall blankly. "I told him about kissing two men before I was thrown here."

She stopped her movements for a minute. Her silence made me a little scared. But what worse could she do than he had already did. Slowly, she continued taking my strands in her fingers.

"Must you thank the Goddess, he didn't finish what he had started." She mumbled, making my eyes burn.

I gulped the lump forming in my throat.

"The mate bond gets to the males more than females. Well, their beasts are dominating. Females are born sufferers. They can suffer any pain including the mate bond. Males can not. He has really waited. Roaming the forests, sniffing the space like a madman, he searched for you. Then, you tell him that you have been kissed already."

I looked at the bed in frustration.

"There are two kind of males. One who is irked up all the time. The other who irks up at last after controlling himself for a long time," she said, completing and tying the both together to hang behind on the loose hair. "You managed to irk him up so early."

I kept quiet. Her words were not any lecture for me. For all I could care, I just wanted to stare at the space like a lost person. I wanted to celebrate my misery.

"Do you not feel the mate bond?" She asked calmly, moving fingers through my loose hair, combing them.

I lowered my eyes, remembering the tingles I had felt during the first meet; the rituals too. But this morning, all I could feel was disgust and powerlessness.

"No," I told her, looking back up at the window.

She sat beside me on the bed, making me lower my eyes again. Cupping my wrist, she gave a slight squeeze. "But he does. All the time. His body aches to be with you. His ears craves your words for him, his heart beats for your attention, your eyes on him. He wants more than that. Love and respect. An eternity of togetherness."

I blinked blankly.

"If you talk, you wouldn't be hurt like this again." She said like a mother would, rubbing my wrist slowly.

"Do you care?" I asked, looking at her. "Does it matter to you that I am hurt?"

Her icy blue eyes turned confused.

"You let him enter the room," I told her in a cracking voice. "You are just fake on my face. Behind my back, I am nothing to you. You just want a heir? That's it. You lied to me about having my back. Now, he has the upper hand. He really does."

A tear escaped my eye. I wiped it before it could slide down my cheeks and looked away.

"I grew up in a world, where man and wife are equals. No one dominates. There is a sense of understanding between them. They ask each other. They respect the feelings of others," I said shakily. "There is Gender equality. There is the value of consent. If he has a soul to be respected and loved, I have too. How can he just push me against the wall and threaten to rape me?"

I sobbed softly while looking at her observing my swollen eyes. "My best friend once told me that We are females, Misty. We are invincible."

Amelia flared her nostrils.

"I said what I said after suffering continuous moments of pain in my wounds. I was thrown here for him. I have been forcefully insulted, ashamed by you all. Only my Gran had seen me naked that even until I turned seven. I starting bathing on my own then. Without my choice, you pierced my nose. All for him. On top of it, he kisses me forcefully. I was angry and upset. Who likes to be touched forcefully? You tell me."

She didn't speak as if thinking about it.

"I hope your daughters never suffers what I did," I choked out, sniffling slowly. "I hope, they find the right person at the right time. . . who respects their words. . . the danger of extreme actions. . ."

She sucked in a breath and released heavily. "They wouldn't kiss anyone but their mates," she said quietly.

My eyes turned blank. "I am a human. We don't have just one choice. I can choose anyone I liked from around the world, from billions of humans. Not just one man that your Goddess has chosen," I explained desperately.

She collected her lips and clenched her jaws. "Do you take pride in kissing two men in front of the human who loves you?"

My lips parted in disbelief. "He could have warned me. He isn't allowed to rape me against jealousy." I said blankly, looking in her eyes. "He touched me by force."

She grimaced. "He is family and you are too. I cannot take sides. All I see is you, complaining about the world you were born to live in," she said it as if it was a simple thing.

Shivers ran down my spine at her words. No. I was born for my own goals which didn't include living in this world.

"Right." I mumbled to myself. "You can't take a side." She started getting up from the bed. "It's my fault that I expected some justice from you. Being a woman, you could have understood my pain better. Guess, you prefer loved ones over the right ones."

She stiffened.

I looked away, weeping to myself while resting my cheek against the forearm.

A hand came slowly to grab my chin. Turning my face to gaze at her, Amelia gave me the blank look.

"You want justice from me?" She asked while I couldn't say anything. "Then, try to refrain from making him jealous again. The ones who love us don't get jealous when we make them, they get apart. It is not funny, for a Lycan who has named his heart for you.

I zigzagged my jaws, feeling speechless at seeing the dead end.

"You make him realize that he cannot force you," she said, looking at me. "King might be the Alpha but on my bed, he is there to please me as equally as I am there for him. He cannot force me when he knows what I like what I do not. Males can do anything for you when they are whipped in love with you. Talk. Karam has seen more life than you. His thoughts are backed by experiences. He will realize and understand. He will be the best lover."

I scoffed mentally. "Experiences of hundred and eighty two years?"

"That's what he said?" She asked, making me look at her in sudden anxiety.

Oh God.

She shook her head and clarified absentmindedly. "Twenty seven years," she said, looking down at me. "He must be loving to scare you like that."

I closed my eyes, controlling the urge to weep more.

The moron lied to me.

"From today, you will do lunch with family. Dinner could be done in your room with your mate, sharing a plate and later, mating too." She said, making me stare at the window hopelessly. "Come."

Would he be there?

The first thought that came to my mind was scary enough. I didn't want to go.

"Here, I can do the justice." She said while caressing my right cheek, looking in my eyes. "Since, he made you cry, I won't let him sit on the table."

I breathed slowly at not understanding her not-so-harsh behavior today. "You will?" I asked. "Won't he be angry?" I asked, hiccuping fearfully on my own.

She noticed it and smiled sadly.

"He might be," she said, nodding slightly. "But I am the Luna, here."

.

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_____

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Amelia's home was a broad house built of the same big black bricks. Her rooms were as big as the one I was staying in. But they had more furniture with extra rooms attached. It looked like the downtown of a high castle. The houses were attached but had different entrances to give privacy.

The doors were thick and vintage. While the yards were green all around with mud lying in between. The pine trees seemed far away like a passing fog from Amelia's doorstep.

When I entered behind her, the table was already filled with the Lycans. My heart started beating faster at the sudden attention of those bearded men and sharp women that I was getting.

Amelia smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me inside after closing the door while all of them noticed me from head to toe.

My eyes met Kingston's and I immediately lowered my gaze. For some reason, I couldn't just see him after Karam gave me the sudden reality check. If the third one was this dangerous, how brutal the elder ones would be. Beside him, another bearded Lycan was sitting. His eyes were just like Kingston, glowing yellow. I am sure they were encircled by blue or black rings.

Nysa was sitting on the opposite side facing the man. Finally, I guessed that he was Robin. He had straight nose just like his brothers. But there were these injury marks on his forehead.

Beside him was sitting Lysar with brown eyes showing me amusement. He smirked when our eyes met. "She walks," he said, making the men chuckle.

I couldn't get the inside joke while Emily came out from the side door with bowls in her hands. She smiled at the sight of me.

Kenny followed her and sat beside Nysa, turning her head to look at me like others. But her expressions were keen.

Another girl walked out from the door, looking at me curiously. She put the bowls on the table while I remembered her name, Stella. Nysa's daughter.

"Well. Well. Please welcome our Karam's bride. Make space. Come on," said Amelia while gesturing at the women.

On Nysa's left side, Denisa who looked like she was eleven or twelve, was sitting. Beside her, was a little girl with two tight braids over her head. She looked so much like Nysa.

"Lucy," said Amelia while gesturing me to put my legs over the bench.

I did hesitatingly, feeling so many eyes on me. My cheeks felt warm at the unnecessary and unwanted attention. While the unsettling fear of these Lycans had settled inside my chest.

"Pups, this your Aunt Misty." Nysa chirped to my utter embarrassment.

Amelia sat on the chair on the side casually, putting her elbows on the table.

"She walks." Lysar mumbled and snickered to himself.

I kept staring at my hands on my lap, afraid of meeting their eyes. I would give anything to be anywhere other than this table.

"Looks like Karam had been bluffing all these years about his dreams," said Lysar, making the elder brothers chuckle too.

I looked up to see Amelia glaring at him. "In front of the pups, you want your buttocks spanked or what?" She growled.

The pups giggled at seeing Lysar's amused face while he nodded at Amelia, pretending to pass a shy smile. "That would be a dream. Won't it be, Amu?" He mimicked her thick voice.

Nysa chuckled beside me while Kingston picked up the white horn that had made me think hard of the medieval times. Emily immediately poured something watery like red wine in there.

"Come on. Begin the feast. I am starving here after all the woods I brought home," said Robin while rubbing his hands. Was it his lashes? Or he had put Kohl? I couldn't decipher. But his narrowed eyebrows did make me feel conscious when he looked at me.

He seemed quite strict by the face. "Where is Karam?"

"He isn't sitting at the table, tonight." Amelia announced loudly.

The pups started whining and asking questions.

"Why?" Kenny asked inmediately. "Is it because of her?"

My heart drowned.

"Uncle Karam!" Lucy whined while patting the table.

"He made a mistake. He won't be allowed to sit here until he is sorry." Amelia said, while looking momentarily at the door from Emily had came.

Kingston and Robin snickered while cheering their filled horns and sipped the wine with the trails going down their chins.

"How the tables have turned," commented Lysar while sipping on his horn.

"Let's begin," said Amelia while holding the cover of the steel bowl. The vessels seemed so old and used. She pulled open the lids along with Nysa who too had started picking up sharp knifes and spoons.

The pups cheered while Kingston and Robin started attacking on the plate right in front of them. Lysar waited for Amelia to serve him the items.

While my head twirled in the sudden fright as I looked at the bacon on the plate. The sharp smell of spices filled my nostrils, twisting my stomach.

Kingston picked up a big piece of some raw meat from another place.

Nysa picked up hers. Robin was sipping on the wine more while Amelia had already served Lysar, his share of the bread and meat curry.

My heart bounced up to my throat as I looked around the table.

Amelia passed me a smile while putting a big piece of cooked meat on the plate in front of me.

My insides moved crazily in the sudden realization. The glimpses of the bowls of soup I had been drinking looked so much like the curry Kingston was sipping on, making a mess by leaving trails on his chin and at the table.

"Here's your share. Tell me how it is," she said, handing me a horn full of the wine.

Anxiety filled my heart while my heart was bouncing in my ears. My mouth watered from the sudden paranoia I had started feeling. My heart was clenching.

"Come on. Taste it," she said, passing a cheerful smile.

Lysar pointed with his spoon. "Do it before someone steals it. The family is a bunch of savages. You will end up staying hungry."

Well, that was written in my fate.

My hands shook while I got up slightly and started taking out my legs from the bench.

"Misty?" Amelia asked, stopping me from getting up from the bench.

Nysa was feeding her pups while Emily's eyes were on me.

My lips trembled and tears slid down my cheeks.

"What's wrong?" asked Amelia while furrowing my eyebrows.

Looking back at the table, my spine chilled at seeing the cooked meat and big pieces going insides mouth. The smiles that appeared on faces afterwards.

My heart jolted as I covered my mouth and slid off the bench.

Amelia's chair fell off as she immediately got up and bent in front of me.

I squeezed my eyes and tried to teach myself that it was the way they lived. It was their diet. It was a living style. It was the necessary diet of their life here. It wasn't a big deal.

But the tears burned my eyes and the heart jolted again.

Before I could even crawl out of the room, my mouth was opened forcefully as I vomited out the contents inside my stomach.

Silence spread in the room while I felt the sudden eyes on me.

Hushed footsteps occurred and Emily vent beside me. "What's wrong, Aunt Misty?"

"Heir!" The drunk Kingston joked, making his brother snicker wildly. "She walks but she gets the babe so soon in her womb. Heir!"

More contents came out of my mouth. My head ached and eyes rolled in the excessive heat that I felt in embarrassment.

"Put that horn in your mouth and stay quiet for the moment!" Amelia growled while looking up at the men. "Misty! What did you do? You ate something!" She asked in a deadly warning.

Tears leaked down my cheeks as I looked up at her, breathing hard. My heart jolted and eyes rolled again. "The soup. . . The meat. . .  I am sorry. . . But I cannot eat. . . I eat vegetables. . ."

The men stopped laughing and the pups stopped their whining and chattering.

Emily widened her eyes. "Why? There are no cattles in your pack?"

The sight of vomit made my stomach churn. I shook my head. "No. I just can't. . . I am sorry. . ." The sobs came out so smooth as J remembered my whole life as a vegan. "I had been sipping on a non-veg soup all this time?" I gasped in shock.

"A food made from a dead animal," I spoke out, making Amelia's lips part in disbelief.

"Are you making a joke?" She growled angrily. "How do you survive without eating flesh!"

I cringed and felt my chest shrinking in guilt. "I do. . ." I told her sobbingly. "I am sorry. I can't. I only eat vegetables. It's not for me. I am sorry!"

"Take her back to her room!" Amelia growled angrily while the doors burst opened and sudden footsteps occurred.

I looked up at the towering male entering the room, panting hard. The white shirt was  fitted loosely while hair were tied in a bun. Those amber eyes observed the vomit and then, my sobbing face.

"She doesn't eat meat!" Amelia growled at him. "As if the Goddess sent us a corpse with outbursts and moods here! Take her back to your room!"

"What is she going to eat, then?" Lysar asked all of a sudden.

Karam breathed worriedly while coming closer to us. Emily scurried away and got up along with her mother. All of them watched as I shuddered visibly when he snaked arms under my body.

I wanted to say that I could walk on my own. But at seeing his blank eyes and face, my mouth shut immediately. Tears stopped and so did the hiccups.

I lowered my eyes and controlled a gasp when he stood up with me in his arms, effortlessly.

"Water!" Amelia answered while kicking the chair beside her. "I had made that curry especially for her!"

I wanted to apologise to her but Karam had already taken me out of the room, walking us out in the muddy ground.

My one hand was forcefully around his neck while he was looking straight ahead, ignoring me.

I too looked away at his room as we had reached already. Kicking the door open, he let me stand but not before his eyes met mine.

My soul shook at the close proximity while the ants started crawling at remembering the episode in the morning.

For once, my eyes met his while he still hadn't removed his hands off my back. Tears filled up and he gave me a sad smile.

"My mate cries for the death of animals I prey on," he said, observing my face and hairstyle. He looked so surprised and curious. "What am I going to do with such Innocence?"

The hatred for him was too much to keep looking at him. I lowered my gaze and leaned back. So he could understand that I wanted his hands away from me.

To my distaste, he chuckled humorlessly.

"My mate is too upset to even meet my eyes," he exclaimed softly. Pushing a thin strand behind my ear, making me stop breathing in fear of the unknown, he lowered down his gaze on my trembling lips. "Now, you must realize that it is only my love you can handle. Not my wrath."

"Love? By threatening to rape me?" I asked, hiccuping in hurt. "By lying to me that you are centuries older when you're just twenty seven."

A brief chuckle escaped him. "Those twenty seven years felt like centuries waiting for you, my beautiful mate."

I stiffened, closing my eyes and breathing hard. "I won't be able to return your love, ever." I told him, squeaking out the words while opening my eyes to observe his tight lips.

He looked in my eyes, flaring his nostrils. "We won't be needing it. My love for you will be enough for us. But talking about other men—"

"I won't!" I told him, desperately through sobs. "I was angry. Okay? It's all about you and you. Your world. Your rituals. Your shit. While me? They humiliated me by keeping me naked. Pierced my nose and then, you force on me. I am away from my family for you. Do you realize that?" I choked out. "No. You don't."

Hi eyebrows narrowed as if he was disturbed. "I won't let you feel their absence if you agree to be loyal to my love," he whispered softly. "How would I know about your world when you wouldn't even talk to me? You overlook my advances."

I lowered my head in sudden thoughts. "In my world, no one forces their mate to behave or threaten to rape them. Mates are equals. They respect each other's want to touch, kiss or more. They understand each other's physical and mental pain. They make them feel valued. Not overlook their tears. You manhandled me and molested me. They don't do that. You scared me," I sobbed wholeheartedly.

He clenched his jaws and glared at me. "Do they talk about other men—"

"I won't do it again, Karam." I mumbled helplessly while lowering my eyes.

He turned quiet and released my hand from his hold. The silence engulfed and only the pounding hearts were audible. "Does my mate speaks the truth?" He asked softly.

I nodded with my eyes still down. Raising my head, I looked up at him.

"She does."

A sudden calmness spread on his face and he said, "Then, I will not scare my mate again."

Relief filled my chest while he played with the ends of my hair on the back. Looking in my eyes with his amber ones, he smiled in amusement.

"But I cannot say the truth about touching my mate. Her touch makes me feel alive," he said slowly, making my lips part in blankness. Taking my hand, he cupped his cheeks with my palm, giving me tingles down my knees.

I gulped hard.

"I want to sleep every night with her in my arms and wake up with her legs entangled in mine."

The nausea crawled my spine again while he rubbed his thumb against my knuckles. His beard brushed against my palm.

"I run fingers through her silk hair, rubs her soft back while she puts her head on my chest and sleep deeply."

He blinked apologetically. "If my mate gets the lesson, I will not scare her anymore."

Sleep like that with him? Clearly, not happening!

His jaws clenched suddenly.

"Or I will find the bastards who kissed you!" He growled on my face madly, making me startled. "And bathe you in their blood to avenge my breaking heart."

My legs shook while I hurriedly moved my hand over his cheek. His lips parted at my little act and he closed his eyes.

"Of course," I said, gulping hard. "We are mates and mates sleep together."

He grinned, opening his eyes.

"What could be more melodious than such words coming out from my Misty's mouth?"

My heart stopped beating for a moment at his loving voice.

He turned around and walked out of the room, leaving me alone.

Collecting the courage, I flared my nostrils and let out the angry breaths. Gritting my teeth, I wiped my angry tears from the corner of my eyes.

Males can do anything for you when they are whipped in love with you.

I smirked humorlessly, clenching my jaws. This thrill felt better than the helplessness I felt in the morning.

Karam's reverse counting starts now.

_____

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