PIPER

I woke up to an unknown view, a fancy and high ceiling I didn’t recognize. Under me a comfortable bed that had a scent that was calming but also unknown to me. No. I recognized it, it was his scent. Mate. Our mate’s scent. Memories of what occurred came to me and I was reminded of why I was in this unfamiliar place. My mate. No, that man. He bought me from the auction house, I felt sick just thinking about whatever plans he had for me. He bought me as an item so I was probably going to be treated like that, like a trophy, something you want people to envy you for having. 

‘No, don’t get those ideas, Piper.’ Priya said with a serious tone. ‘He is our mate, our alpha. He wouldn’t treat us like nothing.’

‘How are you so sure?’ I asked him.

‘He treated us right yesterday. You saw it, he touched us with care and also gave us something to cover our body.’ Priya reassured me. ‘He is not a bad person. I know it.’

I wanted to believe him, but deep inside me, I couldn’t. There’s no certainty as to know if a mate is a good person or not. There had been stories in the past of people being treated wrong by their mates and I was probably going to be one of those too. I needed to escape, to get out of here. I took the duvet off me and sat up.

“Oh, you are awake.” Hearing his voice gave me shivers and I looked around the room until my gaze found his. Dovonan, I remembered his name. He was sitting on a chair in one of the corners of the room holding what looked like a folder with some files in it. “Did you sleep well?”

“W-Where am I?” I asked him ignoring his question. He sighed and put the folder down on a table that was next to the chair. Our eyes met again sending shivers down my spine. 

“You are in my house. Well, my room.” He answered not turning his eyes away from me. 

“A-are you going to keep me here? Locked up and treat me like a trophy?” I said stuttering. He noticed how I was feeling and stood, walking closer to me. I put my guard up as I saw him walk. “Or are you going to use my venom and sell it?”

“No, I won’t do any of that.” He said in a serious tone, sitting on the side of the bed. “I won’t harm you, my omega.”

“D-Don’t call me that!” I hissed at him. Showing off my fangs to scare him away from me but he didn’t move.

“I know we had a bad first meeting but I wish you no harm, and I will not use you the way you think.” He said calmly. “I want to court you so we can become mates.”

“W-what? A-are you serious?” I was incredulous. Speechless. Court me? He wants to court me and become mates? ‘I told you. He is not bad.’ Priya said in the back of my mind.

“Yes, I am.” He nodded looking directly at me.

“Then let me go. Let me go back to my home.” I said, my hands turning to fists in the duvet.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He sighed. 

“W-Why?” I asked confused.

“I want to work with the police to take down the people that did this to you, and while I work on that you need to be in a safe place. My house is safe for you.” He explained and it made sense. What if he released me and it happened again? It has happened twice and a third time wouldn’t be impossible. “Until we take them down it’s best you stay here.”

“B-but I have to work. My shop.” I said trembling. I liked working, I loved my shop. I felt tears clouding my view.

“Piper’s Delights. Yes, you have a cute shop, but it’s not safe for you to work. I’ll tell Richard to place a sign to let people know you are on vacation.” He said and I looked at him confused. Did he know about my shop? No, he had money. A lot of money so he probably did a background check on me.

“But…my clients…my partnerships…” I said trying to remember if I had any cake orders and also my partnership with some of the stores in town. 

“It’s okay, we will let them all know.” He said, I felt something warm against my hand that sent tingles all over my body. I saw his hand on mine but I didn’t pull apart. It felt weird but also…nice. “And I promise I will work as fast as I can so you can go back to your normal life.”

“So you will let me go then?” I asked looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Yes, I promise.” He took my hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on it. I felt my cheeks burning.

“I’ll trust you for now,” I said taking away my hand from his grasp and looking the other way. I could still feel the warmth of his kiss against my skin.

“You are free to walk around the house but we need to get you some clothes first.” He said standing up and thinking for a moment. “I could tell Richard to buy some.”

“No, there’s no need for that. I have plenty of clothes in my house. You can go get them.” I said. I didn’t want him to spend more money on me. He already lost a lot from his bid and even if he caught the owners of the auction house, that didn’t guarantee he would get his money back. “There’s a key that I hide under a rock near the door.”

“That would work. I’ll let Richard know.” He said nodding and then my stomach made a funny sound that made me embarrassed. He chuckled. “I’ll tell him to bring you some food as well.” 

“Wait! Where are you going?” I asked as I saw him walk to the door. 

“I have work, but I’ll be back for dinner. Maybe we can eat together then.” He explained turning back to see me standing close to the door.

“Okay,” I said. He worked. He had to work, but he will be back. I calmed down. “Have a nice day…” I said softly.

Donovan gave me a soft smile before walking out of the door and I let myself fall back on the bed again. I could hear my heart beating fast and loud. Fated mates are weird. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about a man that I barely know and also wants to keep me in his house for who knows how long. Thinking about him I realized he was good-looking, handsome.

‘Sexy.’ Priya added to my list of adjectives for Donovan. ‘No. Priya no.’ 

‘Why not? He really is. I can’t wait to mate with him.’ Priya said with a mischievous tone.

‘Nope. No.’ I said shutting my eyes wanting to forget what my animal self said.

~oOoOo~

Donovan didn’t lie, the man he had mentioned before, Richard arrived with food and also with my clothes. The alpha even brought my phone with him but when I checked the screen was broken and it was not turning on. ‘Great.’ And with nothing else to do, I decided to take my time eating, taking a long bath, and finally putting on some clothes. I looked at the forgotten blazer that belonged to Donovan on the bed. Taking it in my hands I took a sniff, Donovan’s scent was mixed with mine and I…liked it? Priya for sure did. I had to block him from my mind because he kept talking about wanting to do obscenities with our mate. 

A knock came from the door and shocked I threw the blazer away. I didn’t want the person behind the door to think I was a creep for smelling someone else's clothes. 

“Yes?” I said in a soft voice.

“I’m here to escort you to the dining room. Master Donovan is waiting for you to have dinner.” I heard the person behind the door say, it was a woman. By the tone of her voice, I could tell she was older. 

“Yes, I’ll be right outside,” I said and looked at myself in the mirror fixing my hair not to look bad. Wait… What was I doing? Fixing my hair so I don’t look bad for Donovan? I must be going crazy.

Once I got outside my predictions were right. An older woman was standing there with a soft and kind smile. She introduced herself as Genevith and then led the way to the dining room. I was impressed with how big and beautiful Donovan’s house was, and even more when we walked into the dining room. The big and long dining table was full of food and everything looked so good. 

“Hello Piper, take a seat,” Donovan said and our eyes met. He was smiling softly at the end of the large table and I looked around wondering where I should sit. Hopefully, Genevith pointed a chair to me, the one that was close to Donovan. 

“Hi. Uhm, how was work?” I said awkwardly while sitting down and then looked at the food on the table. I wanted a bit of everything. 

“It was okay as usual. No problems.” He said taking a sip of a glass that by the looks of its content I assumed was wine.

“I see. So it was a nice day?” I asked grabbing some of the food and placing it on my plate.

“It was but something was missing.” He said with a deep sigh.

“What?” I asked confused.

“You.” He said with a flirty smile looking into my eyes. I blushed hard. My face burning by his comment. ‘He is so smooth. I so want to ride him.’ Priya said in a needy tone. 

“No!” I said out loud and not on my mind, earning a confused look on Donovan’s face. “Sorry, that was not meant for you.” 

“Then for who?” He asked taking a sip of his glass again.

“My serpent self, Priya.” I confessed a bit embarrassed.

“Oh…What did he say?” He asked, curiosity filling his eyes.

“Nothing important.” ‘Many things I want to do with you, babe.’ Priya said and I blushed some more, blocking him again.

Dinner continued smoothly after that, the food was indeed delicious. I wanted to learn all these recipes, maybe I could get in the kitchen tomorrow and ask. I got to talk more with Donovan and get to know more about him. I learned that he worked at his family's company and he had a sister. He is an eagle and so were the other members of the house, this was his flock and his animal self was named Dorian. He likes to collect things and that’s what led him to the auction house I was at. He promised to show me his collection one day because it was in a private museum in the city. 

I also shared some facts about myself. About my likes and hobbies. I even talked about my grandmother, but I didn’t tell him about the circus. I was not ready to open that much to him yet. I knew I could but I didn’t want to spoil the mood. Hours passed and it was time to rest, Donovan as the gentleman he was walked with me to the bedroom and wished me goodnight but I was confused.

“But this is your room. Where are you going to sleep?” I asked him before he could leave.

“I’m sleeping in one of the guestrooms.” He answered with a smile.

“But I can do that, you can sleep here,” I said still confused as to why he would give me his room.

“No, don’t worry. My room is more comfortable and I want you to sleep here.” He explained.

“I don’t get it but okay, I will,” I said pouting with furrowed brows. I felt his finger brushing my lips and I let out a gasp at his touch. 

I saw the way he looked at me with need. He wanted me and it might sound crazy, but I was ready for a kiss but it never happened. 

“Sleep well, Piper,” Donovan said with a soft smile and I nodded watching him walk away in the corridor. 

I walked inside the room and rushed to the bed jumping on it. I turned and saw Donovan’s blazer next to me. I forgot I threw it back on the bed when I left for dinner. My hands reached it and then I hugged it. Sniffing and taking the scent in my nostrils. When I realized what I was doing I felt embarrassed. 

Fated mates are weird. Why am I falling for someone I just met?