CHAPTER 69: 69-MY PERFECT MATE

Haiden:

I had received a message from the makeup artist that she had finished her job. So I transferred the money to her bank account, not thinking too much about it. There was so much going on in my mind that I couldn’t focus on anything but looking around and trying to find familiar faces in the crowd, especially among the women who might be around my sister’s age now. Every woman who passed by me, I would stare at her, and I’m pretty sure they thought I was a creep.

I had actually gone to get dressed in the other guest room because it was getting crowded, and I wanted the makeup artist to work in peace. That was when I decided to go back and check if Clementine was ready so we could all head downstairs and attend the party. However, the minute I stepped in, I almost bumped into Ian’s gigantic back before I noticed who he was staring at.

Right before me stood a woman so gorgeous that my heart stopped for a second. All the thoughts and worries left my mind. I couldn’t look away from her beautiful face, not even for a second. She had a little fuller cheeks but still a sleek jaw and a tiny chin. I was glad they hadn’t hidden her freckles because they gave her such a sexy look. Her big, beautiful eyes looked even prettier today. Her rosy cheeks, her puffy red lips, and then her hair—her hair was so curly, shiny, and bouncy that the moment I first saw it, when she took off her hat, I knew she was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. But that day, she looked even more stunning.

And then her figure, I didn’t even want to focus on it, but my eyes kept drifting to her cleavage, then her waist, then to how wide her hips were in contrast to her waist and legs. It was an hourglass figure, but somehow even sexier. I kept staring at her, and I’m pretty sure I was drooling at that point.

I didn’t understand why she always hid herself and looked like a mess. I remembered how she used to wear torn clothes, sometimes with dirt or food stains on them. She would barely even show her fingers. Her oversized sweater sleeves were always pulled down to hide her nails. And then the way she acted, it annoyed everyone. She was just, like I used to call her, a sack of potatoes, because there was no personality to her. She wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t interact. She would barely move. Her gestures were so minimal that sometimes I felt like I was bullying a sack.

But now, watching her, I began to wonder what was going through the Moon Goddess’s mind to make me feel mate bond to her. Was it a punishment? Had I punished an innocent soul? It felt like the Goddess gave me the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but in the back of my mind, I knew I could never have her, not after everything I had done to her.

"What the fuck?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Yorick curse from behind me. I turned to look at him and saw him staring at her with the same expression Ian had. And it gave me so much anxiety. Why the fuck were they looking at her like that?

"That’s enough staring," I finally snapped.

Ian quickly shook his head and started to walk away, pointing at her. "You wasted a lot of makeup and money on this one," he commented, as if I was a fool. Did he not think I was an alpha and a man just like him? I could tell when someone looked at someone with desire or disgust. Of course, Clementine didn’t think that. She didn’t know him well, so she only rolled her eyes at him. But I knew he was fucking ogling her.

And then there was Yorick. He shrugged, walking past me. "What? I have every right to stare at her. She was my ex. Don’t forget that." He pointed at me while walking away, as if that made any sense.

"You, why are you standing there like a statue giving them a good view of yourself?" I was wrong, I know. But the alpha ego and jealousy in me had started to erupt like a volcano. I don’t know what happened to me at that moment. Even though I would never show that kind of reaction to Clementine just to satisfy her, because even then I knew she was a victim herself, I was still kind of at odds with her. We used to bicker a lot, especially after the scar she gave me on my cheek. Every time I looked at it, I hated her.

But that day, I just lunged at her and grabbed her arm. "Come with me," I said, pulling her out of the room like I was afraid someone might steal her.

"Hey, stop it." She yanked her hand away and glared at me with her beautiful, fierce eyes. She had no clue what kind of disaster was happening inside me, and it would have been better for her not to annoy me, or else I might have grabbed her and kissed her lips. I shook my head, trying to avoid those thoughts. I couldn’t even think straight.

"You think I was showing myself to them?" she asked, hands on her waist. She started to talk like herself. But now that I could see her face and her expressions, not just hear her her sharp tone, I found it all very cute. She was such a little goblin.

I started to smile.

"What?" she hissed.

"You look like a goblin," I said. But then I saw her starting to lose her confidence. "No, no, no, no, no. I meant cute, like a goblin." I tried to correct myself, but she walked past me, waving her hand.

"I don’t fucking care how I look. I told you you were wasting money," she hissed. And honestly, I wanted to smack myself, and then Ian, because those were the exact words he had said to her. I didn’t know if she was really that clueless about how perfect she was, or if it was just so we’d keep praising her.

I ended up walking after her like a lost puppy. And the minute we got to the second floor, the floor where the Betas and others stayed, I noticed everyone started to look at her. As she walked past, heads turned all the way around, and I didn’t like it. I sped up, wrapped my arm around her tiny waist, and felt so proud just feeling the warmth of her body.

"We need to act right," I whispered into her ear, making it seem like that was the only reason I was touching her. Otherwise, I knew she would push me away.