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"A re you really going to the club?" Eline asked her friend disbelievingly, from the door.

"Yes," Was all Ismena answered as she stood before the old mirror and sampled another dress.

Eline was sad watching her friend who has been trying to find 'an appropriate dress' for a while now. She'd been cooking in the kitchen when Ismena walked into the house with tears in her eyes, her shoulders drawn in defeatedly.

She'd asked, and the human female had told her that she confirmed with the Alpha King. Indeed, she is his mate, but he rejected her.

Eline had expected to hear that, but still it made her sad hearing it. She consoled Ismena as the human female cried her heart out.

Then, all of a sudden, the woman wiped her tears and declared that she'll be going to the club.

"The Club!? I'm not sure that is such a good idea, Ismena." It is in fact a bad idea, for a lot of reasons.

She'd tried explaining those reasons, but Ismena wouldn't hear of them.

"If he doesn't want to mate with me, that's fine. I know I'm beautiful." She'd stated, raising her wet chin proudly, "I will find another changeling who will be happy to mate with me. "

"But, it doesn't always work like that in every cases, Ismena! You're highly—very highly—compatible with the Alpha King, so he is your mat—"

"I don't care." Ismena cut her off rising from the old couch, she wiped her wet cheeks, "Even if I don't find a mate, I'm going to have fun while I wait for my own death. No way I'm staying here wallowing in self-pity, or crying for a man that hates me."

"But---"

"Are you going to come with me?" Ismena doesn't mind going alone, but she needed her friend with her in such a strange place surrounded by strange people.Especially because most of them have hatred for her and her kind.

Eline bit her lips. She hasn't gone to the club in ages, she does want to leave the house a bit because she will only worry herself to death about Alphose and how he's faring.

Also, she has to look out for Ismena too. The woman is hurt enough for one day. "Okay, I will go with you."

Ismena had given her a smile of gratitude. "Thanks, my friend. Yayy! Let's go and have fun!" She'd hailed, wiping her cheeks dry again.

Now, Ismena picked up yet another dress, placed it in front of her body, and watched the slightly-blurry old mirror. "Shit. I can't seem to find something so clubby here, Eline."

Eline snorted, "Everything there is so clubby.

This is not the non-changeling world, Ismena.

We hardly go half-naked in order to attract our males, even in the club.

Well, some of us do dress like that," she conceded, "but mostly, you will see gowns that covered the whole body.

Just that instead of loose gowns, they wear very tight-fitting gowns, hugging the whole body and showing off your. ..uhm...feminine asserts. "

"Those are the clothes I'm looking for. I can't seem to find anything relatively resembling that description here." She lamented, waving her hands around in frustration.

Eline worried her lips. She has clothes like that, but she's hesitant to show them to Ismena.

What if the Alpha King beheads her in rage because of this? She's already in trouble for agreeing to go to the club with her.

"Eline, pleeeease?"

The cougar female sighed in defeat, "Alright," she mumbled, "Follow me."

Ismena grinned at her retreating back, "You're a sweetheart."

"No, I'm not, but I'll humor you. Heaven knows that the Alpha King will have my head for this."

"No, he wouldn't. The man doesn't care one bit if I go naked on the road or have a hot session with ten men in the club." Ismena added firmly. A pang in her chest.

Eline scoffed, speechless.

Then, she shook her head. Ismena truly doesn't know about Alpha Changelings.

Yes, the Alpha King doesn't want to mate with her, but Eline refused to believe that he does not care about who touches her. She refused to believe that he does not care THAT much.

"Here it is," she announced, opening the wardrobe of the new bedroom she'd led Ismena to. She stepped aside to allow the human female to come forward .

"Woah." Ismena gasped, staring at all sorts of beautiful shiny dresses she would never have thought the 'proper' cougar female will ever have. "Wooooah...!" She swiveled her head and spared Eline a shocked glance.

The woman shrugged, "Well, I was once a rebellious teenager."

Ismena grinned, arching her brow. She began sorting through the clothes enthusiastically likes a child in the midst of Christmas presents.

The scent of the Alpha King clung too much to her skin, Eline wondered if the human female is really aware of how much she smells like her mate already?

No changeling will come near to her at the club. No one who values his life, that is.

***************

"Who knows, I might find another changeling male who I'm compatible with, who I can start fucking and it'll keep me alive.

But even if I don't find another compatible mate, it doesn't matter.

I'm still going to fuck around and fulfill my list while I wait for my death. I'm going to the club tonight."

Wolfariane realized his hands has balled into fists. Again.

For the hundredth time, he unfisted and flexed those fingers. He stood at the window of his bedroom, staring out to the wildness that surrounded his tower.

He has a good night vision even without the eyes of the wolf or the mountain lion, so he can see each tree of the forest, each grass, each pathway. Head raised, he glanced at the sky.

The stars clustered around the half-moon, looking so beautiful and shiny. A shooting star went off, separating itself from the crowd while twinkling stars stood out from the rest. It is indeed a beautiful night .

She is in the club.

Those males are leering at her.

Their eyes are devouring her.

Their eyes are ravishing what belongs to him.

Pain shot through his palms, cutting the raging invading thoughts off instantly. He raised his hands and looked at them.

Blood tripled from his palm. Shit, His hands have balled into fists again and this time around, his claws had slipped out and he cut himself.

Taking a deep breath, he willed his claws to retract and he surveyed his bloodied palm.

It's been hours since Ismena left his tower. Her parting shots had made him restless and placed him in a very bad mood which only get worse as time crawls by. Which gets even worse each time his head processes what she meant by those words.

He'd tried not to think of them. He has no intentions of stopping Ismena from clubbing and being with other men, after all, he'd told her clearly that he doesn't want to be with her.

He wasn't an unreasonable man and he most definitely isn't one of those Alphas that does irrational things because of Mate.

So, he will respect her decision. That is exactly what he planned to do after she'd walked away.

But then again, as time passed, it gets harder to 'respect her decision.' It gets harder to just ignore.

After the mind-blowing orgasm she'd given him, he was supposed to be at his calmest for the rest of the day but he was no more calm than a violent tornado warning.

To keep himself occupied, he'd spent the rest of the evening working behind his desk, in between checking up on Alphose and Nalaila. Then, he'd tried sleeping, but that part was not an easy feat.

Now, as his eyes traced each shooting star, he was doing his very best to control himself. He was trying his damnest not to think of another man crawling towards her, touching her body in a dance, kissing her.

A deep growl tore from his throat. His claws unsheathed again.

"Hell." He muttered. No, this is not helping.

He has to go for a run to calm himself. If he exhausts himself in a run, he wouldn't have to think about the gray-eyed brave, and beautiful woman.

Every unmated Changeling male in the club knew when she entered the club. How wouldn't they know?

The woman is smoking hot.

She was dressed in what can be termed 'the skimpiest gown' in Naturiah standard, but the very normal gown in the non-changeling world.

The gown stopped two inches above her knees, showing off a bit of that white creamy skin of her thighs that has every male either licking their lips, swallowing tightly, or whistling under their breaths in reverence.

Sexy legs in a high heel—a rarity in Naturiah—walked elegantly inside the club and a wild blonde hair like scourging fire rested behind her back which made most of their hands itch to touch that untamable mass of hair.

She was walking beside a very beautiful Eline too, but then again, they all know the 'prim and proper' cougar sentinel, so, they know better than to gawk at the woman. Instead, they all devoured the human female with their eyes. Damn, the woman is extremely beautiful .

Some of these men already began preparing themselves to go to her once she's seated and make a pass at her.

Some of them already imagined taking the small woman home, spread her out on their bed, and fuck her all night.

Some of them imagined prepositioning her and fucking her in the restroom of the club.

Some of them already prepared themselves on how they will fight their fellow male for her, defeat that male, and claim the woman.

But, as the woman passed them in that elegant steps of hers towards the counter, each of their faces changed dramatically because of the scent she carried.

Some faces mirrored shock, some disappointment...surprise...envy...dismay.

The Alpha King's woman. His mate!

Their eyes were filled with questions.

What is she doing in a club!?

What kind of set-up is this?

With a regretful sigh, they all focused on other women. Those drinking faced their drinks again.

They all value their lives.

No way they are risking their lives like that.

No man is coming to her.

Thirty minutes in the club, Ismena came to that realization as she sipped her margaritas in sheer frustration.