Chapter Three: Forbidden Bonds - A Female Wolf's Dilemma.

| CRESCENT EMBER PACK |

"Alpha Jasper instructed us to bring you to his lodge." Blaise, Jasper's Beta, tells Cameron.

Just now, Freya walks up to them.

Jasper's gazes are directed at her, directing Blaise's to her as well.

"As you can see, my girl's right here. So, please leave." Cameron retorts, pulling Freya in for a hug.

"It's an order from the Alpha, Cameron." Blaise insists as Cameron suddenly growls, unevenly pulling off from Freya. Blaise shuts his eyes, breathes in heavily.

Cameron cools down now, "don't let me repeat myself." And then, he leaves.

"Freya, what's new here?" Cameron pats her shoulders, regaining his consciousness once more.

"My mom wants you to see her." Freya delightfully says.

"What's the matter?"

"Just come with me." Freya clips, taking hold of his hands but Cameron stops her.

"Be careful. Don't go out just easily. Midnight Echo Pack, we're not friends with them." Cameron warns.

"She wants to see you - why? Who is your mate?" Freya states, looking professional.

"I-I've told her! I want you as my mate, okay? And no guy…" Cameron whispers back to her. "...no wolf can compete you with me, I'm the Alpha's son and I'm taking over this pack house…very soon."

Alpha Jasper shows up from nowhere, making Cameron and his so-called upcoming mate, Freya, gasp, "I'm not going to die. Just hold on, the position is yours to possess. On the issue of mate, you can't have Freya as your mate. I've been telling you this. Let her go."

"Dad?" Cameron shuts his eyes, maybe it could help him shut his lips too.

"Don't call me. If you want this position truly, you have to listen to the moon goddess." Jasper says as Freya keeps watching them.

"What does the moon goddess say?" Cameron asks.

"9PM, at Jack's?"

Cameron sniffles, "OK."

| MIDNIGHT ECHO PACK |

The leaves rustle, disturbing the readiness of the soldiers who are willing to fight any more rogues trying to sneak into the pack house. Mane takes the lead while Ralph watches them at a distance.

"Another rogue?" Mane asks the one closer to where the sound came from. They hold their swords tighter, waiting for the rogue to come up.

"Wolves don't use sword. Should we be doing this?" One of his warriors questions.

"For these rogues, our claws can't defeat them. Shifting to fight them would defeat them but….at the same time, suck us." Mane explains as Sera comes in view.

"Damn!" He sniffles hard. "Why did you come here?"

"I wanted to know what's going on here and what the…" She retorts, as another rogue comes up against her. She feels her whole body being troubled, as she shakes her head vigorously, stretching to and fro, shifting into her wolf. Mane watches in silence. His other warriors want to fight him but he stops them.

"Let her try her new wolf. Nice try." He chuckles, wondering how she could start fighting without being trained.

Sera's blue wolf growls and pounces on the other rogue. She slides out of it when they switch sides - one on top of another. Sera's wolf growls more vigorously as it scratches the rogue's body, giving it a big scar. She punches the rogue multiple times, thinking she's on the winning side. She turns to face Mane and others, almost shifting back to her human wolf.

Unexpectedly, the wolf regains energy as it sends her to the ground, punching its fists on her chest as it retreats back into the forest, not wanting Mane and others to attack it.

"Sera… Sera, are you okay?" Mane quickly rushes to save her as she shifts back into her wolf swiftly.

She coughs out loud, still wounded on that spot. She looks at the spot, and it heals up immediately. She gasps, wondering how that could be.

"You're a wolf now. It'll heal your wounds." Mane says, pulling her in for a tight hug.

"Oh…well. Emotional Wolves on the battlefield!" Alpha Ralph growls from above, where he is watching them.

Mane pulls out of the hug the second he hears that. He leads her and his warriors back into the pack as they've dealt with the rogues completely.

Sera follows Mane where he goes until she enters his room unknowingly.

"Nah, nah, get this damn door open!" She kicks the door hard.

"It won't budge." She complains to Mane. "Mane!"

Mane turns to look at her with a smirk plastered on his chin, "I wasn't planning to rape you." And then his vision turns wildly. Sera watches in wonder.

"The Alpha calls for me. See you soon." And he leaves the room.

Just immediately he leaves, Sera hears a gruff voice. Deep. Just like the speaker is present in the room.

"Sera!" Something ethereal, almost called a phantom - to her, darts towards her direction but obstructs her eyes.

Then she hears a very low voice.

"Sera, Sera, Sera… I can't get out of here. They've chained me. Sera!!"

The knock on the door shuts the voice and bring Sera back to reverie.

"Did your wolf start speaking to you already?" Mane asks. Sera connects that with her recent experience but she's not convinced - what she saw doesn't look like a wolf, it looks more like a ghost - invinsible to all, visible to her.

"Erm…nothing, just…you know, here." She stammers as Mane goes on his knees.

"Sera, ever since I brought you here, I've been wanting you as my mate. I love you with all my heart, would you get mated to me?" Mane proposes as Sera chuckles in surprise.

"Shouldn't moon goddess be in charge of this?" Sera happily questions, though feeling reluctant still.

"Moon goddess doesn't speak, we chose our mates ourselves." Mane retorts, expecting a positive response from her.

"This is…" Sera stammers, covering her lips. "...don't you think it's all too sudden?"

"Yes it is." Alpha Ralph creaks the door open, affirming a statement.

"This is not the proper way to get mated. Sera Moonshade, I'll advise you. Mane got his mate last three weeks but rejected her. I'm definite that you have your own mate from the moon goddess. If you don't like him, then you can come for Mane. I'm saying this so you won't miss your destiny mate." Ralph asserts.

"Noted." Sera says, gulps and forcefully pushes Mane's hands away from hers. She feels bad to do that but she follows the Alpha out of the room, leaving Mane who is burning with anger.

| CRESCENT EMBER PACK |

"Is there a message?" Alpha Jasper turns to look at his Gamma. Gammas are tasked with delivering messages from the pack house to the moon goddess and resolving matters, including those concerning mates.

"The moon goddess has ordered all neighborhood pack houses to have a feast at Moonlit Haven tonight - 8PM. The upcoming Alpha, Cameron, will find his mate there." Ben, the Alpha's Gamma, informs, and takes his leave.

"Come on here. Some sort of goodness maybe." Jasper chuckles, calling him back.

"Tell Felix to make the fliers, and send to the neighbourhood pack houses, let us know their mind." Jasper orders.

"They can't defy the moon goddess' orders, no matter what." Ben retorts.

"Does that stop you from informing Felix to make the fliers!" Jasper grunts as Ben hurriedly leaves his presence.

"Stupid messengers." He comments and walks away.

| MIDNIGHT ECHO PACK |

"Mane, come on, listen to me, Mane!" Sera tries to talk to him but he doesn't stop for her.

"Mane!" An Authoritative Voice calls, sharply. It's his work mate, another Beta for the Alpha.

"The moon goddess has ordered the pack houses around us to a feast. I'm not here to ask if you'd be coming." The Beta informs. "...the Alpha wants to see you soon - 8PM, Moonlit Haven. It's almost time, don't be late." And he takes his leave.

"Okay, Mane. Would you listen to me now?" Sera asks, tears pooling in her eyes already. She feels like she has betrayed someone who saved her when she was banished from her previous pack.

"Sera…I'll only listen to you if you will follow this word." Mane speaks, and moves closer to her, intending to whisper now.

"Don't come to the party. The feast, I mean." He whispers.

"I won't come." Sera affirms.

"I know you. You eventually came to the battlefield even when I told you not to."

"That's true. But I'll be more worked up, now that I have a wolf to train." Sera chuckles, making him believe her words.

They hug each other tightly.

Till the other Beta returns.

"Mane!" He screams, Mane pulls out of the hug at once. He's scared to see Alpha Ralph standing as well.

"It's time. Let's go." Ralphs shrugs and says with a smirk. Mane scoots over to their side.

"Is your little pup coming with us?" Ralph asks.

"No." Mane replies, before Sera could say a word. She starts to see a reason why she should not be present there - her former pack, would have been invited too and she shouldn't meet with the likes of Logan and his Alpha again. But, she stops Alpha Ralph.

"Alpha!" She raises her voice and he stops, turning to look at her. She runs over to him and whispers to his ears.

"Mane doesn't want me there. Command your warriors and make arrangements for me. I saved your Beta, remember." She says, and swiftly gives him a peck. No one notices it.

The Alpha nods his head affirmatively and they all leave, without Sera.

| FEAST AT MOONLIT HAVEN |

Three pack houses report at the haven while two other packs refuse to come.

A lady walks up to the altar with an unbelievable speed - an obvious feature of a vampire.

"Let's recognize the presence of the Alphas here." She smiles, as each Alpha is guided to an official seat with their Betas standing behind them. At this minute, Sera creeps inside the haven. The lady on the altar notices it but she believes she wouldn't have been able to do that, if she weren't allowed inside the haven. There's enough security so someone in Authority must have made the arrangements.

"Alpha Ralph of Midnight Echo Pack!"

"Alpha Jasper of Crescent Ember Pack!"

She calls the names of the Alphas present as some other attendants serve the drink around and music starts to play, making everywhere lively. Sera crawls to a seat and someone grabs her hand immediately. She gasps, almost slipping back to the ground - She crawled beside Mane.

"Hey you!" Mane points his finger at her. "You still came?"

"I'm sorry - I couldn't have avoided it. I-I wanted to…"

"Why did you lie to me?"

The lively aura from the lady resumes as she starts to speak again.

"We also recognize the presence of Alpha Regulus of Velvet Shadows Pack!" She hollers and the whole audience jam their hands together, making the celebration of his presence more superb.

"In short, this mandate was given by our leader, the moon goddess, and approved by her instructor who is absent here, Logan." She says as Sera's eyes widen in shock - Logan is Regulus' main security Wolf, how come the instructor for the moon goddess now?

"It's not the Logan you know." She corrects on time. "They're just namesakes."

Sera heaves a sigh of relief.

"This feast is to bring us together, make us friendly towards one another. Let no pack hate another. Let wolves see vampires as their people." The lady affirms, the haven is quiet but Sera scoffs at what she said.

"And most importantly, to let the son of the present Alpha, Cameron Hartwell, get to see his mate." She asserts as the whole haven is struck with shock, except for Crescent Ember Pack who's already aware.

"Does this look like a trap?" Mane objects, rising to his feet. "We were deceived, we need to go." And then he grabs Sera, planning to run out of the haven.

"It's actually not a trap, nor a bait. It's more of a surprise and gladly, you can't leave the premises until we're done." She says as a guard releases Sera from her.

Sera walks back to her seat, but through a longer journey - she almost missed her way.

She greets Alpha Jasper, Alpha Ralph and his son, while she ignores Alpha Regulus. Their gazes lock, but she forcefully averts her eyes from him.

"Want a drink?" Jasper invites and she takes her seat.

"Oh, thank you." She says. She grabs the glass cup, and just as it wants to reach her lips, she smashes it to the ground, spilling the wine, unintentionally. She starts to act weird as Mane hurries to meet her but guards stop him.

Coincidentally, Cameron starts to act same way until both of them stop, at same time.

"Mate, mate!" Sera's wolf screams happily within her. "Mate!"

"Mate…" Cameron slowly calls, pulling her in for a hug, not minding that she's from his enemy pack.

Everyone else watches them in shock as Cameron finds his mate, Sera.