Chapter 63 : Scent of Betrothal

Karenina

Sitting in front of the mirror, Karenina did not pay much attention to her own reflection, focusing instead on Helga's nimble hands as she wrapped fresh bandages around her body after cleaning and washing her wounds. Lifting her gaze, she noticed Helga's worried expression, her eyebrows knit together in a deep frown on her forehead, her sad brown eyes, her pursed lips.

Then Karen raised her right hand to grasp her friend's clawed hand, instantly drawing Helga's attention as those troubled brown eyes stared intently at her. "I'm fine, Helga, really. It's not as bad as it looks, and it healed faster than it would have without Xavier's help."

Although the wound on her shoulder was still deep, it was not what it used to be. She was amazed and surprised by the healing process. Today is the fifth day since Karen accidentally entered Xavier's mate selection competition, where she was attacked and eventually injured. She has a long but fortunately not too serious laceration on her back where a she-wolf attacked her from behind, but the most worrisome is her left shoulder. More claws tore into her flesh, leaving four deep gashes.

Out of sheer willpower, Karen had forced herself to keep aiming her bow with her shattered and useless shoulder, but what choice did she have but to die if she didn't fight?

Actually, she was still not happy with the situation, but was it his fault? Honestly, no. Because Xavier had created a barrier around the fighting arena for his competition, to protect the willing she-wolves while giving them a chance to fight for the right to be his mate, a barrier that only one she-wolf could enter. How could Xavier have known about the strange scent aura inside her - thanks to the Moonlight Stone - or that she would be drawn to his call; although Karen still didn't know how that could happen.

None of the she-wolves had been forced to compete. It was all of their own free will. Except for her. Her participation was an accident.

Moreover, no one, including herself, knew about the powerful and strange Wolf Lord energy that seemed to swirl deep within her. Until now. The thought that the aura of the wolf lord's power was inside her along with her spiritual energy worried her. How could that be possible? How could two opposing energies live in one body at the same time?

It shouldn't have been possible, but here she was, in Xavier's pack house, trying to convince her servant that the same powerful aura energy she shouldn't have was healing her fragile body with incredible speed. The wound on her shoulder alone should have taken months to heal completely, but instead it was almost completely healed in less than a week. Under the light, the scar seemed to glow a dark pink where it had already closed. Only in the middle, the deeper part of the wound, was there still a reddish brown scar.

She wondered with some concern if there would be any scars left after the healing was complete, or if her tiny body would remain as smooth as ever?

Meanwhile, speaking of Xavier, she let go of Helga, who nodded in understanding, but still did not look happy about what she considered to be a very long healing process, and asked, "Helga, do you know about the competition Xavier had when he was trying to decide who to mate with, I mean the real Luna?"

"Of course, Luna Karen," Helga replied without hesitation. "Alpha Xavier is young, but he has a job to do, to provide offspring, to make sure his family remains in control of the Westwood Pack territory should anything happen to him. It's no secret that many Alphas and others, both high and low, have promised to mate with their daughters, but he has always refused. It's a good thing he finally chose a mate."

After Helga finished tying the bandages, she moved to help Karen dress. As she moved naturally, Karen asked in a low whisper, "Do you know who his mate is?"

Earlier, Xavier had revealed to her that she was his mate because she had somehow won that barbaric competition, but she was a hybrid with human blood! Surely she would not be accepted no matter how much power she had in her body. Karen wasn't even an Omega, and she was pretty sure that someone of his rank wouldn't want to commit himself forever to someone who wasn't a purebred wolf, no matter what he wanted. He was an Alpha, after all. He had duties and rules to follow. Wasn't that so?

Meanwhile, Karenina watched Helga through the mirror as she tied the straps of her dress and saw that she hesitated and felt that her hands stopped moving.

"Helga?" she asked after a full minute of silence, anxiety making her heart race.

Her fingers moved again, Helga's answer very tentative. "Of course. It must be you, Luna Karenina. I can smell the scent of betrothal on you, even if only faintly. I haven't heard any news among the members of the pack or in the pack house itself, so I'm not sure if it's widely known."

******

Helga

Shockingly, she was confused by the girl's lack of information. How could she not know that she was Alpha Xavier's future mate? Yes, she was a hybrid and half-human, but hadn't she fought to be at his side? Wasn't that why she had these injuries?

Then Helga felt a shiver run down her spine. Or was Karen unhappy because it was no secret that she was Alpha Xavier's future mate? Or maybe she was unhappy because the scent of their betrothal bond was not complete? Then her next question brought Helga out of her anxious thoughts.

"How can you smell it on me? What is the 'scent of betrothal'?"

Surprisingly, Helga knew immediately that the girl didn't realize that their bond wasn't complete. Did that mean she had to tell her? In horror, Helga wondered what the girl's reaction would be. Would she be angry? It wasn't unreasonable for her to react that way, for what woman would want to be in such a difficult position between the promise of mating but no real claim without a true declaration through the scent of betrothal? Even now, the bond of betrothal was not binding because Alpha Xavier had not declared his intentions by thrusting his penis into the girl's body and binding their auras.

When the mating ceremony begins, both parties exchange blood, combine their scents and essences, and bear the mating mark on their bodies, most commonly on the neck. Though it is not uncommon for a she-wolf to mark her mate on his chest.

"Helga?" Karen asked, turning to her friend, who was the same height as she was, making it easy to stare into her beautiful brown eyes. They both looked tense and cautious. Before she could get too excited and demand an answer, there was a knock on the door that stopped her.

With a small relief, Helga respectfully asked permission to go to the door and opened it to another servant who handed her a message sealed with Alpha Xavier's scent without saying a word as to who it was from.

Without exchanging words, the two servants nodded meaningfully at each other, then she closed the door again and approached the girl inside with the letter in her hand.

"This is for you," Helga said as she handed the letter to Luna. After Karen accepted it without a word, Helga asked her to sit down again so that she could comb her long, beautiful dark brown hair.