CHAPTER 154: BAD DAY.

A throaty moan escaped her lips as she lowered her body into the steamy, strawberry-scented, bubbly bath Tristan had drawn for her before going to have one of his own.

She could feel her muscles hum in ecstasy as the heat from the steamy water and its heavenly scent seeped into them, easing away all the tension and constrictions they had accumulated earlier.

After some time of shooting and practicing, her limbs and eyes were beginning to hurt from being held up and squinted for a long time. But she wasn’t ready to leave yet, so Tristan suggested that he showed her around the building.

When they got to one of the numerous gym houses in the building and found it empty, they decided to rest there for a while, conversing. And somehow, along the line, she argued, saying she had skills he didn’t know of, and all, and when he asked her to show him, they had somehow turned it into a "training session".

And man, Tristan really beat her ass up without using up one-quarter of his strength, which weirdly amused her, despite how sore she was.

As a way of apology, he forced her to straddle him all the way to the house. He didn’t let her lift a finger, even to carry out a task as simple as taking her clothes off, or washing her hair.

He washed it for her while she sat on a bench in her shower, secured it in a warm towel, ran her a bath, and left her quietly to settle into it, after promising to place the clothes he wanted her to put on on her bed.

And given the way her muscles were humming in content, his apology was very well accepted.

She wanted to sit longer in the bath, marinating in the sweet-smelling water, but her prancing wolf wasn’t letting her mind rest for even the slightest second.

Every single time she tried shutting her eyes, Maria would nudge her body so hard against the walls of her mind, causing her frontal lobe to ache seriously.

"You really have to stop doing that." She said, sighing.

"Definitely not. Can’t have you falling asleep, risking our trip to that club. Remember, it’s supposed to be a research on something our mates hold dear." Maria responded, the defiance in her tone signalling that she was very pissed.

"I’m not going to fall asleep, Maria. Why would I do that? I’ve been squinting these eyes for hours, and now I’m soaking, you expect me to keep my eyes open the entire time. I have to relax to be able to function properly, Maria. You’re making it look like I’m being nonchalant."

"I didn’t say that, Bethany. And no one needs a soothsayer to know that the warmth from the water is more than enough to lull you to sleep."

"It’s not that strong, Maria," Bethany said, as she massaged her forehead, exhaustion in her tone.

"I don’t want to risk it. " Maria gruffed, turning away from her host.

Bethany sighed, standing up in the tub. She stepped out slowly after finding her footing, plucking the towel that hung not too far from her and wrapping it around her body.

"I know you’re concerned about them and all, but they are my mates as much as yours, Maria, and I’m not stupid. I want to go to that club as well, you’re in my head so you know what I’m talking about. But you chose to ignore it, and that’s not right. We cannot be struggling within ourselves for them. They belong to us equally, as we do to them. Let that sink in your head and stop painting me black." She hissed, shutting the bathroom door behind her as she walked into the bedroom.

Her eyes immediately stopped at the shimmering ebony black gown that lay straight on her bed, three boxes beside it.

She beelined to the bed, running her hand across the luscious fabric, the corners of her lips turning up. She could perceive the deep masculine perfume he always wore emanating from the fabric, causing her to chuckle at the thought of him wanting to smell like him and him alone.

Her eyes moved to the boxes, taking them in. She already knew what they contained, but her stupid heart couldn’t let her wait till she was out of the closet and done with her hair to open them, so she gave in, pulling them closer to her.

Taking a wild guess, she opened the one that contained a bag and lifted off the cover, an involuntary gasp leaving her throat as soon as her eyes settled on the contents of the box.

The bag, like she had guessed, sat in the middle of the box, wrapped in a white soft paper bag and surrounded by thinly cut strips of paper, the typical packaging.

Slowly, she brought her hands to the box, clearing away the strips that surrounded the bag, then took it out slowly, holding it with so much care like it was an incredibly fragile and sensitive thing.

She took it out of the transparent paper bag, her eyes twinkling as she admired the midnight black bag that matched her dress perfectly. Its body was faux, and its handle was wrapped with leather that felt really comfortable to hold.

The bag wasn’t very big. It could easily pass as a small purse as it looked like it could only contain her phone, some cash, her lip gloss, a kerchief, and a tiny bottle of oil perfume.

After admiring and checking out its compartments, she kept it on the side, pulling the one she guessed contained shoes closer to herself.

Swallowing, she opened the box, her eyes widening as she took in the beauty before her. A pair of six-inch heels sat before her in all their glory, the beauty and sophistication that they exuded couldn’t help but cause the contents of her stomach to bubble.

She had never been so thrilled at the sight of heels in her entire life. Stilettos at that.

She picked them slowly into her hands, bringing them closer, letting her eyes check them out.

The heels were slim, golden, and glittering. The main part was basically made up of strings that had a few tiny butterflies, designed on them.

The ends of the strings formed an expanded coil that could go round her calf, stopping just behind her knee.

She turned her gaze from them to the dress lying not too far from her, warm, giddy feelings coursing beneath her skin as she pictured how breathtaking the combination was going to look.

Her tooth collection was on full display as she grinned at the vivid image in her head.

Licking her upper lip, she put the heels down carefully into their box, picking up the last one she could bet her kidneys contained jewelry.

She stared at the small box for a moment, wondering why he got them when he had already filled her closet with so much. She could understand the outfit and the bag. But the jewelry, not so much.

Regardless, she couldn’t deny the excitement that stood incredibly tall against the tiny confusion she felt. The thought of dressing up the way he was definitely going to love, to see a place that displayed something that wasn’t just important to him, but to her other mates as well, did tremendous things within her.

She opened the box in a second, her mind blanking as she took in the jewelry before her.

The pure golden jewelry gleamed before her, exquisite and charming. They were neither bold nor large. Just petite. Petite and powerful. Exactly her style.

She carefully plucked out the golden necklace, holding it up in the light, the corners of her lips rising as she took in the ambiance it radiated.

"You really outdid yourself, Tristan." She muttered, soft light glinting in her eyes.

Letting out a soft, shaky sigh, her body shuddered as reality began to crash on her shoulders like bricks.

She let her eyes wander over the items on her bed, as she put down the jewelry box.

They took in the dress, shoes, bag, and jewelry.

She couldn’t help but feel like she was about to be led into one of the most important parts of the life of the mates Selene had graciously graced her with.

She let out a shaky breath, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.

Blocking out the nervous thoughts, she looked at the items with a softer gaze filled with appreciation and acceptance.

It had finally dawned on her how lucky she was. Not just lucky, but blessed.

Alphas who cared so much for their mates were extremely rare. Not because they couldn’t, but because they felt they had to choose between their mates and their ego. Which was one of the reasons she couldn’t pray for an alpha mate.

But luckily, her mates turned out to be Alphas, the perfect kind. Even though their grandfather, according to history, was one of those crazy alphas, who saw their fated mates as breeding devices and nothing more.

Thinking back, she knew she had done absolutely nothing to deserve them. She wasn’t a leader, wasn’t popular, and wasn’t even regarded by anyone in the pack, except her parents. She didn’t do enough girly stuff to be regarded as a wife or Luna either.