Chapter II
†Second time Meeting the Alpha†

He was the  Werewolf King. She was his enemy's daughter.

Those were the first thoughts that came to Charlotte's mind as she slowly regained her consciousness. Second was that it was cold. Third that she felt empty. Fourth were the painful grunts and screams all around her.

Strange.

Opening her eyes, she also noticed that it was dark. It took her few moments of repeatedly blinking her eyes to finally adjust to her environment only to gasp when she found out where she was. Pulling herself into the sitting position, she shook her head; not only did her mate reject her before his men, but he also treated her like his enemy.

He had thrown her into a dungeon.

Taking a deep breath, she fought the tears that threatened to fall. She shouldn't have been so surprised, she knew what was to be expected when she realized who her mate is.

Nathaniel Anebeski, the king of all werewolves.

Their kingdom's sworn enemy and the one who hunted her kind to extinction. He probably found out who she was, he was probably planning to kill, no — torture her as well! How long has she been out? Her parents must have been worried. What happened? Did they send a search party already?

No. They probably didn't. Knowing her father, he was a wise man. He probably wanted to keep things down when he noticed her disappearance in order to not make werewolves suspicious in case they still haven't learned her identity.

It was her chance.

If things were like that, than she probably had some odds at survival. She smelled like a human, so they probably assumed that she was one and she had hope...

Who was she trying to trick?

Her mate threw her into dungeon after he violently made her lose her consciousness without even caring to send her to the doctor. Even if he wasn't to learn that she's an Alne, Caine's daughter at that — he could still kill her without batting an eye.

Her entire life she dreamed about having a werewolf mate, someone who would run with her through the forest, yet everyone told her that it won't happen. They killed her hope saying that he won't accept her, her parents never knowing any of that. She knew that everyone meant no harm, but their words stung.

Hurt.

She had to grow up believing that her mate is going to either be a vampire or she won't have any at all. So why? Why was she now crying when it happened? When she was already prepared for it?

She brought her legs to her chest before hugging them, her butt protesting with every movement on the cold floor, her skin itching from the scratches she got when her mate attacked her.

Wait... Why wasn't she healing?

Her eyes widened before she wiped her tears and closed her eyes. Taking deep breaths, she searched for her wolf but all she was met with was emptiness. She tried harder, but it was useless. Not a single growl, snort or yawn to make her know that she was there. Her wolf was gone.

"You took a while to wake up, girl," a strong, masculine voice said making her snap her head at its owner. She didn't need her sight to recognize the one whose voice she heard once as she was met with Nathaniel's judging eyes. Her breathing stopped, mate pull not strong enough to make her want to kiss him, she was still just a child.

For the next six months.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked as she gulped her saliva, trying to water her lips that hurt as she moved them, so she only nodded. No point in lying, his judging eyes would see. His intense ears would notice. He nodded back, acknowledging her answer.

"Good. I believe that you know a lot about me, yet I do not know a single thing about you, except that you're not a human," he said as her eyes widened. How did he know? She smelled like one, "No human would survive that," he answered her unasked question and she nodded again.  Words seemed to fail to leave her mouth as they stood across each other, the only difference was that she was kneeling in exhaustion, he was standing with intent to interrogate.

"Which leads to my question," he continued, she already knew what followed, "What are you?"

Silence. She was relieved, yet she didn't show any sign of it, many years around her father taught her how to manage it. Nathaniel didn't know who she was, with her father keeping things quiet, he probably won't be finding out anytime soon.

"A witch," she fearfully replied, words sounded so strange rolling of her tongue after so many years of telling people that she wasn't one and her wolf's sarcastic snorts. Fear and panic filled her body, not from that lie but from finally realising how numb was she without her inner beast.

"What were you doing at Caine's castle? At night, in that gown?" he asked, his jaw clenching as she finally glanced at her body to see the state it was in before she pushed her body more into the surface of wall. He growled, she whimpered before stopping, her body knowing not to fight him, that she was no match for him.

With her wolf gone, she won't heal as fast as usual, her vampire side could cover up for it as much as possible, but barely without blood. She could feed on both blood and normal food, but with her wolf gone her taste would chose the first if she wanted to use her abilities properly.  Magic won't be a problem, though. With her two uncles, Marcus and Vladimir who were also hybrids, she knew everything she needed to survive on her own.

"Answer me, girl!" his loud voice boomed through the dungeon as she tried not to cry again. Anger and dominance, so much of them as she finally begun to understand why was he called King of Werewolves. She never witnessed it with her father, he'd never yell at her nor his men, he took time patiently listening.

Her mate was the complete opposite.

"I was working there. I have lived in the castle since I was young," both weren't lies, and he believed in her answer. She did live there since she was a pup, and she occasionally helped out with doctors — as her knowledge about plants and connection to the natural energy saved many. Her parents approved, she was doing something she liked.

"I see. You don't know your parents?" he asked and she bit her lips. Does she lie or say the truth? Could he tell the difference.

"I-I don't..." she started as he growled again interrupting her before he gave her a look that dared her to continue with her lie.

"...But I know who they are. I just never met them. They're dead," she said it and his eyes softened. Thanks to that, he failed to see through her lie as he nodded his head.

"What were you doing four nights ago when we found you?" her eyes widened as his words sunk in. If her wolf were there, she'd jump on all four before howling to the moon and angrily snapping at him for hurting her so much. She shook her head, how could he hurt her to that point that she couldn't wake for days.

"Why?" she couldn't help herself but ask, "Why are you like that? Why did you hurt me? Why did you put me in here? Why are you rejecting me?!" she cried out as he angrily growled back.

"I am the one asking questions here! Do not forget who is in charge, you little witch!" he roared getting closer to the as she couldn't control her scream. His eyes changed their color to gold ones as his body came to a sudden halt, his canines showing, his body convulsing with hesitation.

"No," he whispered, fighting his wolf that threatened to surface, angry with his skin side that he scared and mistreated his female.

"No!" it came out louder as moment of silence passed, his eyes closed, his claws and canines retreating, blood left in their place — signs of forced shift. He shook his head as his eyes turned back to his grey ones. He mentaly cursed, his wolf was fighting him because of some girl; forced shift is something for juveniles who just learnt how to do it, not for a centuries old Alpha King as himself.

"This is not over, girl!" was all he said before he turned on his heels and left as she could only cry in defeat. Her mate had hurt her and abandoned her, clearly rejecting her as his for the second time.

Abandoned.

She was abandoned, left alone in the cell traitors are to be left in or enemies. She was one of them, yet she couldn't tell him because he would kill her if he were to know.

She was his mate, yet he threaten her as if she was nothing to him. He even took away her wolf, it was definitely his fault that her wolf ran away. If he didn't come, if he weren't her mate she could've still hoped that her mate who loved and would gladly accept her existed somewhere.

She could continue to grow hoping that one day she is going to meet the one destinied for her, she could actually look forward to the future.

But with him — him, who didn't even consider giving her a chance, she was good as already dead. Her hiccups almost dissappeared, as her eyes started to gradually close. She found it ironic that she was tired and wanted to sleep after not being awake for so long.

She wasn't strong.

She knew it better than anyone, yet she didn't want to think about anything. She gladly accepted her weakness, not wanting to be strong at all at the moment. For a second she wanted to forget about everything. About who she was. About her having a mate. About Alne and their image. Alne...

Yeah, forget about it.

Alne is the key word.

At that moment, something clicked in her mind. Magic begun to spread from her body, forming a barrier that not even the werewolf guards outside noticed.

Her head lowered as her body started to tremble, stronger with each passing second. It seemed as if she was about to burst out crying, yet her next action was all but indicator to sadness.

Chuckle.

Followed by laughter mixed with tears as she clutched her stomach and rolled on the floor.

"Damn, I'm going to have internal injuries from laughing this hard!" Yet she didn't stop to relax, "Sure enough, I'm not suited for this type of white lotus act, only by wiping out my memory could I fool that crazy dog."

The guards outside didn't hear any of this. To them, the cell was completely silent as her barrier isolated all sounds and vision. To anyone standing outside, her cell would appear as if she was crying silently in a corner.

Charlotte sighed.

She glanced at the little window above her, then on the dusty ground.

"That crazy dog really showed no mercy. A king that's afraid of a weak mate and would resort to violence because he was stuck in self-denial?" She sneered, "Sure enough, arrogant dogs aren't my type at all."

Charlotte was actually not surprised that she's locked in here. She actually knew the future as it was her gift.

Every hybrid had special power, hers was that of a witchcraft. Except, when she was ten years old, Charlotte was suddenly pulled into another world and lived for four more centuries. At first, she was scared and didn't know what to do, but as time passed and she adapted to her new life, she slowly grew up.

Four centuries aren't short. A simple lifetime of eighty years is enough for mind to transform countless times and reach maturity that's almost indifferent to the world's chaos, forget about five times of that.

So she soon forgot everything and lived casual life until that day when she was suddenly brought back to her own world. Not a second passed from her disappearance, yet the ten years old soul was not forty times older. And along with that, a strange book appeared in her mind.

And that book told a tale about a fragile princess that was destined mate to a pitiful king who was raised in hatred and arrogance. It was a sad story about abuse, love and salvation, ending with a happy ending for the two that finally overcome their differences and got together.

Like hell!

What kind of dog happiness is it when she alone is abused to the point of insanity and had to kneel down to that useless dog of a king? She refused to accept that identity and future, as she didn't live four centuries only to submit to someone unworthy. Her parents didn't give birth to her so that she would be harmed by others, so what right did that man have to disregard her existence?

"Ha... Even after almost eight years, I still feel rage when I think about it." Charlotte was not a good person. Since the dog refused to accept her and tried to kill her, then she would also repay this enmity. In the other world, she could walk sideways without fearing anyone, so why be trapped for a man over here?

"My life is mine to control," so if anyone tried to take it from her, she would kindly get rid of them.

Originally, she didn't even want to get involved with Nathaniel.

But leaving this dangerous enemy alone was too dangerous for her family. In fact, her parents were never meant to have another child in that book, only her. And because Nathaniel took her, he would abuse and use her existence in order to harm her father and mother who were too worried about their only daughter, sending countless vampires to their death in the war that would ensue.

And original Charlotte would still forgive that dog in the end of the book, because they were destined mates.

Just because of that, all the suffering should be written off?

She sneered again.

How could Charlotte allow that mutt to harm her family that treasured her from the day she was born? Although her parents did make Charlotte want to blast spells at them from time to time, she still loved them, despite their some... Endless cons.

So she made sure that they got another cub before the actual story in the book started and allowed herself to get kidnapped with ease.

But... "How could this ancestor of magic act like a naive 17 years old witch afraid of uncertain future?" Forget about seventeen, she couldn't even act as ten years-old at first. So at the time she went to her father, told him that she lived for the next few years because of some spell, and returned to present and he bought it.

Anyway, her father was a decent love-brain with enormous eye filter for his family, so he bought it and accepted that his daughter was suddenly much older than her own mother. So he went to pester her mother instead and after six more years, he got another cub to raise.

He was happy, Charlotte was happy, only her mother that was forced to give birth again wanted to kill her father, but anyway — someone needs to be sacrificed for collective happiness anyway.

Thinking about it, she wrote a short message on the dusty floor next to her. "Bat father, I'm okay... I'll be going into enemy ranks to play and cause mayhem. Take care of wolf mother. Love, the best mutt~"

Alright, he should understand this much, no? As she passed her palms over the text, it floated as if detaching itself from the ground, turning into a small shallow and jumping on the open cell window.

"Go on, let father continue to indulge and be at ease." The shallow twitched and then took off, flying into distance.

"Now, then..." Uh, she still needs to pretend for a while, until she's seen as harmless enough to leave the dungeon. "Let's just sleep."

With that, she once again used magic to knock herself out while retrieving the barrier around her. Let the guards think that she fainted from exhaustion and sadness.

'Tch. I must return this kick to that dog man in future. My ribs still hurt, ah.'

The wolf inside her that should have been gone perked its ears. If if could speak, it would be something like: "The stupid skin side forgot about me! Who will soothe my wounded heart, awoo!?"

THE NEXT time she woke up, something didn't add up. Charlotte expected a cold, hard ground under her body but was instead met with rather warm, silky matress and equally soft pillow. Her eyes slowly opened and she was met with warm, yellow room and the alluring smell she couldn't quite put where she knew from.

Blinking few times to adjust them to the light — knowing that for some reason she was supposed to be met with completely opposite surroundings, she noticed that she was in large room...

Not hers. That, she immediately knew.

"I have decided. I have no use of you as my mate, but you know the castle of vampires inside-out, you lived there since you were little as you said. You are also a witch, and so far only nine are known to exist, making you the tenth one, and they are all really powerful. Which leads me to believe that there is some use of you, girl." Nathaniel, who spewed excuse and excuse, didn't know what he looked like at the moment in her eyes — yet his voice remained confident as if he was certain that would not disobey him.

"..." Charlotte quickly lowered her head and trembled as if she was afraid.

"You will be my key to taking down Caine and his filthy female. Your sorcery will be the key to our victory," She could not face the owner of that voice she knew from somewhere, but couldn't put a finger on where from.

His grit his teeth making her feel like she was reliving a deja vu, his masculine and strong frame standing at the corner of the room as he regarded her without emotions, pure poker face.

Silence fell between them.

Her lips wanted to move as he awaited for her answer, but what he heard after wasn't what he expected at all.

"Who are you? And who am I?"

__________________________

Sure enough, I also prefer villains. And yes, the book that Charlotte got and read was meant to be original version of this story from five years ago haha~

What are you waiting for,then?
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