Contrary to popular belief, Chase never really hated his supposed fated mate.
Selena was one of the few remaining constants from his childhood, long before the title of Alpha of the pack became a heavy burden thrust upon him. He always remembered her as shy, a bit skittish, on the shorter side, and spoke too softly that he just couldn't catch her words. She looked more like a rabbit than a wolf, honestly, though her grip was surprisingly strong whenever she wanted to show him something. And she always wanted to show her something.
He never minded her; he actually liked her presence enough to spend all those times with her as a kid.
And then the duties of being the future alpha of the pack started piling on his plate, and her gaze—once with wide, clear, and curious eyes— started moving her gaze down the ground whenever he as so much as passed by, much like everyone else in this pack, and something in him just hollowed out.
She was just like everyone else.
Boring. Disappointing. Predictable. Weak in that she wouldn’t do anything, no matter what he or anyone does to her.
… And then she's not.
At the very least, the Selena he knew would never have thought of throwing a large instrument to… hmm, what was her name again? Whatever. It was shocking, though it's more amusing to watch everyone, especially the elders, trying to close their mouths. Made him wish for the tuba to fly and hit one of those geezers, at least.
Of course, this just adds more evidence to the ever-growing suspicion he had of her for days, since the Ascension and Shifting ceremonies.
This woman is not Selena.
There is no way the miserable-looking, weak omega would ever think of doing such a thing right in front of a crowd.
" Wow, aren't you prejudiced, Mr. I'm-so-hot-you-should-listen-to-my-words alpha. Really great traits there," Selena drawled after hearing his explanation.
Chase felt something throb in his temple at the woman's mocking tone. She seemed to notice his irritation, too, when she snorted while leaning on her chair. Still… "Aren't you a little too quick in regaining your composure?"
The woman—or Selena, since she insisted it's her name, too—just shrugged. "I'm adaptable. And, in case you're thinking about it, no, I am not some weird spirit or monster spirit that's possessing your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend," Chase quickly blurted. "And I never said anything about you being some ghosts."
"Eh, it's what I'll automatically think when I know my friend's not acting like herself. That or a doppleganger. Or some dark scheme involving plastic surgery. You guys knew what plastic surgery is, right?"
Is this girl an idiot or something? "Why wouldn't I know what plastic surgery is?"
"Hey, just making sure," she muttered as she raised both arms in surrender. "You guys live in the middle of a huge-ass forest. How would I know just how modern everything is here?"
"… Are you saying that you don't belong in this world?" Is that even possible?
"Well, I know I'm not from this world. I think the closest thing that describes me is a transmigrator." She straightened from her seat and faced Chase fully, looking serious and confident. It almost looked weird seeing Selena's face like this. Actually, it feels weird seeing her whole face. When was the last time she had ever looked him straight in the eye like this?
"Before I came here in this world, I had just gotten home to my apartment and was tending to my plants when a truck slammed into my building, and everything turned black. When I came to, I found myself in the world of the novel I last read, which is this world, with Claire dumping a bucket of cold water on me."
Chase blinked. The silence went still like a bated breath until the alpha snorted and laughed. When Selena gave him a flat look, his smile was replaced with a furrowed look.
"Novel. You said novel."
"Yes."
"You just said after you were hit by a truck, you woke up in the world of a novel."
Selena nodded. "That's right."
Not a twitch on her face. "You're serious."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"And you're expecting me to believe it?"
Selena shrugged again. "Well, it's the truth. Take it or leave it, as they say."
Take it or leave… "How the hell are you expecting me to process that?! You've just basically told me that we're all just characters in a story!"
"Don't growl at me!" Selena cried as she stepped away from the irate man. "I didn't ask to be hit by a stupid truck! Much less travelling inside a novel!"
Chase was sure that his eyes were gold now. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, held it for a second or two, and slowly let it out. He repeated it a few more times, air coming in then out, until he could feel the muscles in his shoulders relax. Even so. "And I thought being the alpha of the pack was bad enough."
"Join the club." When it was sure that he was not going to pounce on her, Selena slowly slid back to her seat. "Imagine waking up confused and realizing that you're in an erotica novel."
"… You made it sound like it's worse."
"Because it is."
Chase wondered if he had somehow committed a crime against the Moon Goddess in his previous life. Oh, wait, since, apparently, he's only living inside a novel, there shouldn't be any sort of previous life he could curse on!
And he's still sitting in a library full of fucking books!
"Hey, I can still eat these, right? Even though I'm not your girlfriend?" Selena pointed at the remaining muffins. "Blueberries are my favorite."
"She's not my girlfriend." Chase looked at the woman in the corner of his eye. "And aren't you acting too calm?" He watched as she happily took a bite of the food. He kinda wants to scratch her at that, damn her.
"I've already got days to slowly get used to it, so I'm done with the panic and complaining stage already," she replied as she placed a hand under her chin to catch the crumbs. "And since it looks like I had no other way to get around, might as well accept the fact that it's already my new life. Oh, except the mate part. No offense, but I think you're an asshole. So I'd be really glad if you could do something about it."
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier?" Chase all but growled. "The council of elders will not listen to anything I say!"
"Aren't you supposed to be the alpha of the entire pack?" Her brows were furrowed so deeply that they were almost touching. "That means you're the leader! Why would you need to follow someone else's words on how to run things?"
Chase shook his head, feeling the usual headache pulsing in his temple. "Not everything is as clear and cut from your stupid novels. The elders had been running this pack long before I accepted the role as the alpha of the pack, and they've been doing it without any problems. My presence would have no effect on whatever decisions they deemed necessary, nor would it affect whatever shit they want to prioritize. And right now, that priority was the two of us being fated mates."
Selena's eyes were so wide, and her mouth was slightly agape. "That… all sounded confusing and unnecessarily complicated, but also fascinating. I never thought being a werewolf could be that complex."
"What? Do you think we're some sort of violent barbarians that claw and rip everything in sight?" When she averted her eyes with an awkward smile, Chase felt his mouth gaping. "Wha— Are you actually serious?!"
"Hey, in my defense, from where I came from, we don't really have werewolves!" She scooted back on her chair, hands raised in surrender. "All I know about shifters is what was portrayed in books and media."
Didn't you just say that we're in a novel? But then Chase remembered her mentioning that it's erotica, so he opted to just give her a blank look. The headache was also getting worse. Moon, maybe he could just declare the day over.
"Uh, you okay there? You're not gonna collapse, are you?"
"I'm fine," he gritted out. "Just… stop talking for a minute." He buried his face in his arms. Maybe if he blocked out the world, everything would just tilt right back to how it ought to be.
Amazingly, she listened. Chase could still hear her moving (damn ears), but it sounded like she was trying to be as silent as she could. The thoughtfulness surprisingly helped with his rage, even if the irritation was still present. For a few minutes, it was peaceful, and he could feel the muscles in his back and arms loosening.
"… Are we also fated mates there?"
"Hmmm?"
"In the… novel." Heavens, does this all feel surreal. "Selena and I… are we also fated mates there?" He could feel her looking in his direction, but he didn't look up.
"You were," she answered after a short silence. "The two of you were together, the last time I read. The novel was still ongoing, but you're probably going to end up together still by the end."
That… actually didn't sound so bad for a story.
"I'm still not getting together with you, though." Chase finally looked up and noticed Selena giving him an amused look. "Unlike your girlfriend, I don't have any flattering thoughts about you, so don't get any hopes now."
He just rolled his eyes. "Oh, really? I wouldn't have noticed."
Selena snorted at the sarcastic tone. "No, seriously. I don't care what those elders want, but I don't want to be saddled down in a relationship I don't want. That just sounded… so wrong."
"Guess you're really not from around here, huh?" Chase said as he leaned on his elbows on the table's surface. Selena rolled her eyes.
"Me not being from this world doesn't change the fact that the concepts of fates and fated mates are too stifling and controlling. How can you even be sure if the one fated to be your future partner is not someone you can get along with? Or maybe too toxic? I don't suppose you guys have some written warning system or some sort of checklist on how to spot red flags on a person, do you?"
Chase sighed. This woman is stubborn as hell. "And I've told you, the elders wouldn't take my words seriously."
"So? I still don't like it." She then gave him a narrowed look. "I wasn't joking about not liking you. And I don't plan on having Stockholm Syndrome."
Chase just blinked at her. "Is this some weird side effects of you getting hit by that truck, or are you just born this crazy?" Just what kind of things have been going around inside this woman's head? Is this some 'different culture' type of thing?
"Rude," Selena huffed. "Just answer me: do you want this 'fated mate' thing or not? Because I'm telling you now, I'm not above throwing another tuba at you. I am not submitting myself to whatever r18 shits you like to do in your bed."
“We’re werewolves. Heightened libidos are a natural part of our nature.” Though Chase's gaze moved down the table. The question sounded… unusually heavy, despite Selena's light way of saying it, that it was almost strange. What he wanted… did someone ever ask him that?
Unbiddenly, his mind conjured up an image from the past, one where everything—houses, trees, and people—felt so big and tall, both figuratively and literally. He was never really a tall kid back then. Even so, Selena, as a child, was even smaller, barely reaching past his nose at age seven.
What do you want, Chase? He remembered her asking him that question back then, the first time they met. It was awkward, as most first meetings between kids are, and the little girl asked Chase what he wanted to do while looking like she wanted to flee in the opposite direction. It had been her usual go-to question whenever they met since then. At least until he became the future alpha to her, rather than normal Chase.
Chase studied Selena's face. The Selena he knew from then, and the one sitting here, has the same face shape and body. Same large round eyes, same shade of brown, same small lips, same length in arms and legs. But at the same time, it almost looked different. This Selena sitting in front of him didn't bow her head. She also didn't slouch, so she looked almost taller. Her steps were wider and louder, and her eyes… be it fear, confusion, or amusement, it was as clear as day. He never thought Selena's eyes could hold such obvious emotion in them.
"You are Selena," he told her, causing the girl to blink, slightly surprised. "You were the one the Moon Goddess chose to be my fated partner. The omega that’s perfect for my alpha. My mate. However…" he paused, looking her in the eyes. Selena never broke away from the gaze. "You're not the Selena I know."
He wouldn't have minded having Selena as a mate. But this woman… she's not her.
He watched as Selena's mouth opened, closed, and opened again, her eyes wide. "What the fuck… that actually sounded almost romantic."
"It wasn't a compliment."
The woman snorted. "I know. Still, that's enough for me."
Chase crossed his arms. "Maybe to you. The elders still won't accept that as a valid reason to break the bond."
She hummed as she pulled her notes close, tapping at the bulleted lists. "Well," she then said, and something in her voice made him think that whatever she was thinking was a bad idea . "What about we convince them that it's the best option there is?"
"… And we do that how?"
Selena smiled, and for the first time in a very long while, Chase actually felt scared.
"You know what, I take it back," Chase hissed. "You're not crazy. You're insane. "
The two of them were standing close to the clearing where a few handful of people were finishing up cleaning the space after the duel. It wouldn't have taken this long for a clean-up, usually, but the fight between Selena and that sister of hers had become quite the hot topic over the days.
Chase couldn't really blame them; it had been the most unusual fights he'd ever witnessed.
Unfortunately, Selena thought it was the perfect setting for her plan.
"Okay." Selena slapped her cheeks. "Ready?"
"This will never work."
"It will. Just trust."
"In what part of your brain did you pull out the dumb idea that pissing off the elders will make them change their minds about us fully bonding as fated mates?!"
"We're not pissing anyone off," Selena said with an eye roll—she actually had the gall to roll her eyes at him!— "We're just showing them that the two of us will never work as a mated pair fighting each other so much that they'll be begging for us to be separated."
"Yes. Which is dumb . What makes you think it'll even work?!"
Selena smiled that dangerous smile again, and the next thing Chase knew, his head was whipped to the side and his right cheek was stinging.
"So this is what you're really thinking, huh? Some great alpha you are!" Selena shouted so loudly that all of the workers had their eyes on them.
Chase's head slowly turned to look at Selena. "Did you just slap me?"
Something in his face must have shown, because something akin to fear passed through Selena's eyes before returning to faux anger. "And so what? Are you going to hurt me? Use your alpha powers on me until I'm blindly following your every word? Go ahead! I dare you! After all, that's all you're good at!"
The only reason Chase hadn't torn this woman's throat out was the knowledge that it's all part of the plan. But dear goddess of the night, is he holding himself back in a fucking thread .
"Watch your mouth, omega ." He tried to keep his growl from showing too much. He's barely successful. "You being my fated mate doesn't excuse you from acting disrespectfully to me. I am the alpha of this pack, and you will respect me."
Selena's brow twitched, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Good. Chase didn't care what brainhaired scheme she cooked up; he refused to be a laughingstock in front of everyone.
"Respect is earned, alpha, " she said to his face as she stepped closer, almost hissing the last word. "And I'm not in the business of giving it away for free. "
By now, a crowd was slowly gathering around them, but their eyes barely moved from each other's faces. Selena's words from yesterday rose to the forefront of her mind.
"Besides," she tilted her head. "Don't you want to try to, I don't know, act a little unhinged in front of them? Just slightly unhinged? Who knows, it might help you let off a bit of steam. You look like you need it, anyway."
The insane woman's right, it is kinda fun . Even if he does want to bare his fangs in her face.
"Fine then," Chase all but growled, eyes now glowing gold. "Then let's make this official, shall we? I, Chase Dreyfar, reject you, Selena Maysien, as my mate, and declare our bond be severed!"
Chase heard the gathered crowd gasp. And when Selena laughed loudly instead of falling into despair as they probably expected, he could have sworn that a couple of people fainted. He hoped at least one of them was a member of the elders' council.
"Great! That's great! Thank you! At least now, I don't have to pretend to follow everyone's opinions anymore! I, Selena Maysien, accept your rejection and hereby declare our bond severed!"
And since Chase was the pack's alpha, every member felt the moment the bond between the pair snapped.