"So, you are my mate," Gray commented, his eyes assessing Bethany who was doing the same as well.
They were currently in the garden. Bryce and Marissa were not present as they decided to give them the privacy they needed.
"You are very beautiful, and you match my standards, the Moon Goddess definitely knows what my taste is," Gray joked to lighten up the moment.
"Can you imagine? I've said a lot, yet we haven't exchanged names," Gray slapped his forehead dramatically.
"My name is Gray, and I am the Alpha's younger brother," he introduced himself.
"Bethany, Marissa's best friend," Bethany introduced herself as well.
"So you are my brother's mate's best friend, that makes us family, the Moon Goddess sure is nice," Gray laughed.
"I smelt blood, are you hurt somewhere?" Bethany could not shake off the feeling that he was hurt, and hence, she asked.
Gray's laughter paused at her question.
"How were you able to smell the blood?" Gray asked with a serious tone. He was always able to mask his scent, especially when he was injured.
Only his brother could sense if he was hurt, but now, someone different could sense it, he was shocked.
"When I sensed your presence, I was able to detect a faint smell of blood, it only became intense when I came in contact with you, are you hurt?" Bethany replied honestly.
Gray masked his discomfort with a smile. He thought that he was careful, but she was able to smell it.
"What's wrong?" Bethany asked when she noticed the lost look on his face.
"Nothing much, and I am not hurt," Gray replied with a strange smile.
Bethany nodded, but she didn't believe him. Since she had decided to accept him, she aimed to find out the truth. There was no way he would have the smell of blood on him except he was hurt.
And since he claimed he wasn't hurt, then he must be lying. Except, he truly wasn't hurt, and was bleeding naturally.
When this thought flashed through her mind, Bethany turned to look at Gray with pitiful eyes, surprising the latter.
"Why do you have such a look in your eyes?" Gray asked with a suspicious look.
"I mean… it's just… you smell like blood, and I was wondering if—never mind, it's probably silly," Bethany could not bring herself to utter what was in her mind.
"Come on, you can tell me, I won't judge you," Gray insisted on knowing what was in her mind.
"Do you bleed like normal women do?" Bethany blurted out, her question confused Gray.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked, while scratching his hair.
Bethany had a blush on her face as she explained to him, "normal women have that time of the months where they bleed, do you also experience it?"
Gray's eyes popped open at her question.
"What do you mean by that? I'm a male, I can't bleed in such a way," Gray's face had turned a shade of red as he responded to her question.
Bethany had a baffled look on her face as she thought about what she had smelt.
"I might have probably mixed the scents up," Bethany said while fiddling with her fingers.
"That's it, you might have mixed up the scents," Gray echoed after her.
"But that's wrong, I have never mixed up scents before, you might not know this, but I have been blessed with a sharp sense of smell, even if it is faint, I'd always smell it, Marissa could attest to it," Bethany explained to him.
Gray sighed. He truly wished he could tell her the truth, but he didn't wish to bother her since they just discovered that they were mates.
"It is okay, mistakes happen, you don't need to bother yourself about something so trivial," Gray smiled at her, as he resumed his playfulness.
"How about you tell me about yourself? I would love to know more about my mate," Gray changed the conversation immediately.
_________
"What's on your mind?" Bryce asked once he walked into the room.
Marissa was currently seated on the sofa with a lost look on her face.
Bryce frowned when he noticed that she didn't have a reaction. Thus, he walked to her, and tapped her shoulder.
Marissa jolted out of her thoughts feeling the tap on her shoulder.
"What's wrong with you? You didn't even notice when I came in," Bryce asked, the worry in his eyes was evident.
"Have your seat," Marissa said, and he did as told.
"I'm just worried," she confessed with a sigh.
"Worried about what?" Bryce questioned.
"Rose, I don't know what she is planning, I hate the feeling of the unknown," Marissa exhaled.
"You do not worry about it, I have asked my men to search for her, we will find her, and once we do, we will seek justice for the dead soldiers," Bryce assured her.
Marissa nodded. She trusted that he would get it done.
"I want to resume my training," Marissa announced with a fierce determination.
Bryce was taken aback by her words, but that didn't mean he wasn't proud of her decision.
"That can be arranged, I only need to know what sort of training you have engaged in, and I'll be your trainer," Bryce said, eager to help her out.
"No," Marissa exclaimed.
"Why not?" He inquired.
"I want another trainer, preferably a female, I won't be able to concentrate with you as my trainer," Marissa disclosed while playing with her fingers.
"And besides, you are busy with the pack, I do not want to take up your time," she continued, hoping that her previous excuse won't be used against her.
Bryce parted his lips in astonishment. He never expected that this would be the reason she would reject him as her trainer.
Bryce secretly smiled. He felt proud knowing that his presence could affect her.
"Your wish is my command Mate, I'll look for the best trainer for you," Bryce gave in to her.
"I'll just use the bathroom," he said to her, and rose to his feet, making his way to the bathroom.
"I think you are forgetting about something," Marissa's words stopped Bryce in his tracks.
He turned to look at her with a confused look as he asked, "what do you mean by that?"
"You said you'd tell me about yourself, you still haven't told me about it," Marissa replied with folded arms.
Bryce scratched his hair awkwardly.
"Do you really want to know more about me?" Bryce asked.
"Of course, you are my mate, wouldn't it be a shame if I don't know about you?" Marissa insisted on knowing more about him.
"Well," Bryce started, approaching her with slow strides.
"The thing is, I am a billionaire, I'm sure you have heard about Snow Corps, I'm the brain behind it," Bryce divulged.
Marissa's eyes widened in return as she stared at him. She thought he was a normal werewolf, never would she have thought that he was the CEO of the biggest corporation in the States.
'The elusive CEO of Snow Corps is my mate, I'm speechless,' Marissa thought to herself while still staring at him with disbelief.