Two days after that, I was transferred to my room in the pack house. Abhay and Ashifa accompanied me to my room. Rest of the day, I spent either by mini heart attacks each now and then expecting the demon or cursing my existence because of my rogue parents, whose whereabouts was still unknown to me.

Around 2 pm, Jai visited me with some calendulas and roses. He gave me information on the death of those two guards. Their body decayed very fast. Just in three-four hours, the poison spread all over their body and the flesh melted awfully. The incident had left everyone in shock. When Jai was about to leave, his eyes glazed over for a couple of seconds. After that, he asked me to dress up and go to the kitchen quickly. Ved was waiting for me downstairs.

"How do you know?" I asked him, flabbergasted.

Jai blinked, confused at first, then his eyes lit up. "Oh right. You don't know."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly before he added, "Werewolves can connect telepathically."

I blinked.

He explained, "Pack members can communicate with each other since their first shift. If you're not a member of the pack, you'll be able to do so once you get accepted into our pack."

"Oh!" I let the information sink in. "How does that happen?"

"Through the exchange of blood. Blood is considered extremely potent in the whole supernatural world. Blood can do anything."

That was a significant information. But I didn't have time to ponder on it. So, after Jai left, I quickly dressed in white dress-top and red slacks. This was the second pair of clothes I had brought with me. The first one got destroyed in the forest which in turn left me with only three more pairs. I sighed, then combed my hair and tied a high ponytail. When I reached downstairs, sure, Ved was waiting for me there.

He saw me then tilted his head slightly. "Feeling alright?"

I only nodded as a response.

"Good. Now eat this quickly. We have works to do." He pointed at the already served food on the dining table.

I stared at his face for a couple of seconds before he came up and grabbed my wrist. "Don't stand there like a statue. Your reflex is too slow."

I didn't know how to respond to that. So, I just kept quiet and complied his orders. There was no reason for me to defy him. Except, I wanted to see his brother more than him at that point. The way Veer stormed out of the room when I told him about Noraak invading my inner space, I had a bad feeling about it.

As I sat down, Ved too, deliberately sat on the opposite side. I raised my eyes just to meet his stare. His eyes bore into mine.

I blinked and broke the eye contact immediately. A blush crept up my cheeks as I asked, "What?"

"You saw Noraak?"

I flinched at the name. I was stupid to think he wouldn't know if his brother already knew about it.

I nodded without looking up.

He sighed, then leaned back in his chair. "Look Urvi. Things... are getting serious. You'll need to be prepared for everything – be it good or bad."

I gazed up. "Why is this happening with me? I never wanted this."

He said nothing for a couple of moments then reached forward and placed his hand on mine gently.

"I don't want to give you false hope. Your origin demands you to face certain circumstances, and... you can't escape your inevitable future."

The more I was listening to him the more I was getting depressed. My eyes wavered and I averted them to the side when he squeezed my hand softly. "Don't be afraid."

"Did you always know my origins since the first time we met?"

"Mn." He hmmed in agreement.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You weren't ready. If I had told you back then, it'd have scared you away. I couldn't risk that."

I glanced at him as he retreated his hand and continued, "Your mother's blood was extremely potent. I'm sure Noraak knows it too. Now you're bearing the same potent blood. How could he possibly let you go if he knows how efficient it'd be to have your blood?"

"But I don't know what my blood can do," I wondered aloud.

"We'll find out soon." Ved pushed the plate towards me. "I have asked Ashifa to examine your blood."

I looked at the plate and my stomach churned. I didn't realize how hungry I was until now.

Ved added, "You still have a lot to learn, Urvi. I hope you know that."

I grabbed the spoon and nodded.

"Good. Then eat up quickly, and get to work," he ordered seriously.

I ate a few spoonsful while overly conscious of the other person's presence. I knew he was observing me. May be taking notes of how I do things. It was making me noticeably uneasy.

I shifted on my seat nervously and ate self-consciously.

A thought crossed my mind. It was a hybrid's blood. A demon-fae hybrid. Who that might be?

"Uhm-" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Whose blood was it? It wasn't Noraak. Right?"

Ved's brows twitched as he leaned back. His jaws clenched as he turned his hands into fists. Ved stared dead into my eyes for a couple of seconds, scaring the crap out of me. I gulped. If it was possible, my palpitating heart would've leapt out of my chest by now.

Apprehensively, I clutched the spoon tightly causing him to notice my vulnerability.

He took a deep breath and relaxed his fists and placed them flat on the table.

"It's his son."

His clipped response froze me in my place. Noraak's son? Then- then who was his mother?

But I couldn't ask him that question before he arose hastily and came round the table to my side. "Enough talk. It's time for you to experience what world you belong to."

He grabbed my arm and tugged on it causing me to stand up brashly. I didn't have time to react before he led me to a big room and my jaw literally dropped to the floor. It was a gym. Many big gym instruments were lined up neatly.

A few wolves were already there, doing workouts, bare-chested. Warmth crept up my cheeks as I was sure I was blushing scarlet. They all had large and nice physique. I blinked several times, trying to act normal. Inside, I was feeling so hot.

Ved led me to an open large area at the right side of the gym. The ground was totally covered in mat. He went towards the lockers, opened one of them and brought out some clothes. I was dreading the next events that were going to take place in the next couple of hours. Ved turned back and strode towards me with the gym outfits in his hand. As he came, stood a feet away from me, my eyes were bulging with terror.

One thing that I hated the most was doing exercise. I was already in a good shape without exercising, then why bother with all that sweating and mess? Ved raised his right hand forward; a t-shirt and a pair of shorts were dangling from it.

"Change into these," he ordered me while pointing to the changing room.

"Why?"

"From today onwards, you'll train here every day. Your reflex is too slow. It's really uncommon to see a hybrid as slow as you. So, I'll train you."

My mouth fell open. WHAT!

The hell he'd train me! Why did I need to train all of a sudden? Then I remembered, there was a demon trying to hunt me down. So, I just scowled and took the outfits grudgingly.

Thus, it was my first defense class.

After changing when I came out of the changing room, Ved had already changed... into a pair of sweat pants... only! His upper body was uncovered and glistening with sweat as he was weight lifting. His pecks and biceps bulged with each movement. My mouth wouldn't close as I gawked at him in awe. I felt something tingling in my belly. His physique was similar to his twin, but yet unique in some way. Instinctively, I crossed my arms, hiding my bosoms. I was feeling so hot since stepping into the gym, and I had no idea why I was feeling so! I never felt such way in my whole life. It was a given that I was still a virgin.

His eyes darted towards me as he slowly raised his left arm with the weights. My breath hitched in my throat as we made eye contact. He kept on doing the lifting with alternate hands without breaking the eye contact. My senses were suddenly heightened.

My instinct was telling me to run and crash into him right away. It made me so confused. I never felt such way towards any male, and I'm certainly not clingy. In fact, I have always stayed away from the opposite sex. Then, why? What exactly was going on? As if, I was losing my control over my body.

My senses were incredibly drawn towards Ved.

Ved stopped and put the weights down and asked me to step on the mat. I turned around for a quick second to calm my nerves. The next moment, as soon as I stepped on the mat, Ved rushed in before me all of a sudden, spun me around, and pushed me behind abruptly. I fell on my back, flabbergasted. Bam!!

"Ow! What was that for?" I cried out.

"First lesson on defending self." I eyed him up. He held his hand down for me to grab. I wasted no time to take it and get up.

"Okay, now start." He stood in front of me and started instructing as soon as I was standing on my feet. "Never lose your sight from your opponent. The moment you do, you die. Always remember that. Focus on your breathing, never get hyper and always keep calm, even if it's a situation of lose-lose. Okay?"

I rolled my eyes mentally but kept a straight face and nodded curtly. I looked into his eyes, beautiful inhumane colors. They gleamed, piercing right into my soul, and I found myself getting lost in them. Then he slapped me on my head.

"Ow!" I reacted reflexively by reaching up and rubbing my head. "What was that for?"

"Don't lose your focus."

"Then, close your eyes," I mumbled and looked away.

"What?" His eyebrows creased into confusion.

I shook my head immediately to cover up the situation. "Nothing."

Then the game began. He kept attacking me. Although his face remained stoic, his attacks gradually became aggressive. It was becoming more difficult to cope with his attacks.

I was getting beaten on and on until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop! Stop!" I panted furiously and held up my hands. "I can't... do it... anymore!"

He listened and stopped attacking for a moment. "If you want to be alive, then keep practicing. Your killer won't stop from killing you even if you beg him to death!"

I made a face. "But this is my first-time training. How can I become efficient right on the first day?"

"There is nothing called first-time for werewolves. It's all about instinct. You're a hybrid. You also have this wolf-instinct. Just reckon and utilize it."

"I can't!" I yelled. "See, you are making me bruise everywhere." Literally, there were bruises everywhere on my body – my arms, legs, thighs, even abdomen.

"They'll go away in a couple of hours," he said stoically. "Now, stop whining and get to work."

That was enough. I couldn't take this humiliation anymore. "Stop treating me like the beast that you are!" The words slipped my mouth before I could think what I was saying. As soon as the words left my mouth, my eyes widened at the realization. I covered my mouth and shook my head in horror. I didn't mean it. I definitely didn't. But it was too late.

His expression never changed but his eyes flickered for a quick second and I noticed them changing colors. It went a shade lighter, almost like jade. He took some long strides towards me and grabbed at the base of my neck. I was already scared crap-load. So, I failed dodging his attack and stood there panicked, holding his wrist with both of my hands.

"Stop doing it!" He gritted his teeth.

I felt panicked and confused at the same time. I couldn't grasp what he meant. "Stop doing what?"

"Stop provoking the wolf. You're doing it since you got inside the gym."

What? What did he mean by that? What the fuck did I do? "I didn't do anything."

He pulled my face closer making me gulp in fear. "V-Ved... p-please! I- I didn't do anything. I promise."

"You're secreting pheromones. When is your heat?"

WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE TALKING? WHAT WAS HEAT NOW? I screamed inside my head while trying to pry loosen his hold on my neck. And failed miserably.

"I don't know heat. I don't know pheromones. What are you talking about?"

He scoffed. "You don't know. Right. Then tell me what are you feeling right now?"

The soon his words left his mouth, a strong scent of clove and peppermint hit my nostrils and I felt the same tingling sensation in my belly which had now extended to my private parts. What the fuck? What was he doing?

"Tell me you felt nothing."

"I- I-" I wanted to force myself into telling I didn't feel anything. But instead, an unexpected whine left me unostentatiously. I bit my lip in order to stop myself.

"I can tell what you're feeling," he murmured, dangerously close to my ear that it left goosebumps all over my skin.

That was all it took to break my composure. My eyes drooped low as I took a step forward closing the gap between us. "Then do what needs to be done. Make it stop."

Next thing, a pair of wet, warm lips crashed down on mine. I was at a loss for a couple of seconds. But the clove and peppermint took over my senses and left me unable to think straight. I responded and felt the tingling in my belly growing.

A moment later, I heard a squeal of joy.

'Mani?'

My wolf giggled. Although, she didn't respond, but I could tell she was practically wagging her tail and jumping in glee.

'What's going on?' I asked again.

Mani didn't answer, and I didn't get another chance to ask her either. As abruptly as it happened, it ended too. Ved released me and took a couple of steps back. A scowl formed in his face. It looked out of place in his otherwise stoic face. I panted heavily placing my hands one on my chest, and other on my lips.

What just happened?

"That's enough for today," he declared, looking anywhere but at me. "We'll practice again tomorrow."

I nodded awkwardly. I didn't know how to respond.

"Get- get changed. You'll accompany me to the office tonight."

Perhaps, it was for the first time, I'd seen him disconcerted like this. He even stuttered. Well, it was new.