The leader introduced himself as Johan, and then he commanded everyone in the territory to come closer and plead their loyalty to me. It turned out that Selene’s Mom was a respected figure in the territory, and she was referred as a Goddess.
When they called me a Goddess, Luke smirked as if he found it to be funny as well. It was really funny though but I couldn’t hurt their feelings by telling them they couldn’t call me like that. Then, a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes came after she was ordered to lead us into the guest room.

"Just call us if you need something, Goddess.”
Luke laughed when he wasn’t able to hold it back. I also found it weird but I just had to let them. When I looked back, I found the people who had high regard of me, so I couldn’t laugh along with Luke. I just smiled at them and then I followed the girl who led us to the guest room.
As soon as we were inside the room, Luke continued laughing because he found it outrageous that those people called me Goddess. When he wouldn’t stop laughing, I was offended because it felt like he was looking down at me.
“A Goddess? Are those people members of a certain cult or something?” Luke asked in the middle of making fun of me.
“Shut up, Luke!”
“So are you planning to find the mate he mentioned earlier? Someone who is so powerful?” he asked but there was a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“No. I have more important things to do than find someone who doesn’t even exist. But wait, why do you sound angry?” I responded with a question but then he hugged me and suddenly grabbed me closer toward him.
Then, without further ado, he conquered my mouth, and he was like a hungry wolf trying to devour me. However, before he could deepen the kiss, we heard a knock outside. Luke groaned in frustration, and I chuckled.
“Don’t be disappointed, Luke. We still have a lot of chance to do it when we get home,” I assured him.
“Maybe, but I don’t think we can keep hiding from your Dad, Isabella. He had to know,” he proposed.

“I have no problem discussing it with him, Luke. I can even ask him to let me live with you,” I said because I knew Dad wouldn’t say no to my request.
I couldn’t explain it but after meeting him in my second life, I was drawn to the mystery that surrounded him. His aloofness seemed like a puzzle and sooner or later, I knew I would be able to solve it.
After sharing a meal with the people in the nameless pack, one of them accompanied us back to the designated parking area, and then, Luke and I were bound to get home.
Throughout the ride, I was happy just being beside him, but when we got back to the pack, a piece of terrible news awaited for us. Dad was furious, and Mom was nervous. I wondered what caused them to be in distress.
“Dad,” I mumbled when I faced him.
“We got a problem, Isabella,” he mentioned even if Luke was there and listening.
“And what does it have to do with me?”
“Because you are the only one who can help us with this, darling,” Mom said to support Dad.
“I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“The marriage. It must happen as soon as possible,” he told me.
“What marriage?”
“Your marriage,” he replied and the expression on his face was grave. Something about the way he looked at me sent a shiver down my spine. Then, he took a deep breath. “I believe we should expedite it,” he told me and my heart dropped at the news.
When I glanced at Luke, he was expressionless and speechless. He just stood frozen like a real guard who didn’t give a fuck to our conversation, but I knew he was also shocked. I wanted to go to him, to confront him, and to assure him that everything would be alright.
“Is there something you are hiding from me, Dad? Why do you look so scared? You said my fiance is just a billionaire from the city, so why do you look afraid?”
“I am not scared of your fiance, Isabella, but I am terrified of his Uncle. The man was aggressively scary, and I don’t want to be on the losing end of this bargain.”
“What bargain? What did you do?”
“I’m sorry dear, but I made a mistake,” he admitted, and I frowned at his statement because he didn’t make sense.
My eyes darted to my Mom as I tried to ask for help and she looked at me with apologetic eyes. “Mom, I don’t get it. Why the rush? I thought I had the final say on this marriage!”
“I lied, my dear. I’m sorry.”
“Dad, I still don’t understand.”
“I was in the casino before and I lost a huge sum of money while gaming. Then, I met this guy. He offered a drink, and we had a serious talk. Then, in the middle of our drinking session, we talked about you, and his nephew who is also single.”
“And you told him that I am available for marriage. Dad, if it’s just about money, we can just pay him off! How much did you owe from this guy?”
“We can’t pay it, Isabella. I’m sorry dear but Pembroke is currently not in a situation to have lots of cash,” he told me.
“It’s because of your gambling Dad. Mom, you should have told him to stop gambling in the casino because it wasn’t becoming for an Alpha to squander a fortune,” I complained, but then I realized something when I recalled that something similar happened in the past.
When Dad learned about my relationship with Aric, he rushed the wedding, just like he was telling me now to rush it. Did he also do it to salvage the financial crisis that Pembroke was facing?
I was so insensitive about the real situation of the pack that I didn’t notice we were losing money, or even becoming broke. I sighed in disbelief as I tried to analyze the situation because I didn’t want to get married to anyone else.
I had grown up spoiled and never had to worry about money. The idea of financial struggles was foreign to me, and I lived a life of excess. But now, as my Dad talked me while being frustrated at the situation, I couldn’t just ignore him.
Actually, I noticed there were slight changes before I left home, yet, I remained disconnected from the reality of our situation. I continued living as if nothing had changed, and I was oblivious to the storm brewing around me.
I sighed and my shoulders slumped as I tried to find a solution to our problem without marrying that man. Then, Vanessa came and I wondered if she was eavesdropping on our conversation. When I looked at her, I promised I saw her smirk.
Was she celebrating that my parents were becoming poor?
“Hmmm Dad, can I ask something that’s not related to the marriage?” I asked and Dad was frowning as he looked at me.
“What is it?”
“Have you heard about witches? I heard that there were several witches in the past but they are endangered now,” I mentioned while looking at Vanessa, and I observed her facial expression while waiting for Dad’s explanation.
“There’s no more witches now, Isabelle. We burned them!”
“You did?”
“Yeah. It’s a long story but I was once part of a group that hunted witches. It was troublesome, especially the witch named Alessa,” he said. “I have been nice to her, let her stay here in the pack without knowing her evil intentions. She’s the reincarnation of the devil. Thankfully, I caught her, and now Pembroke is all good when she’s gone,” he explained, and when I glanced at Vanessa once more, she was glaring at Dad.
“Vanessa, is there something wrong?” I asked to get her attention and then she immediately smiled to mask her true feelings.