Irene's POV
Even in October, the main city remained scorching hot. The refreshing chill of late autumn could only be fully experienced in the early morning and evening.
I got up early in the morning and made breakfast for my elder sister Emmy and her family. Then I secretly found my ID card in my room and left quietly.
"From now on, let's split our expenses equally, whether it's for daily living or mortgage and car loans. Even Irene should contribute her fair share because she lives with us. What's the point of giving us only 2 thousand dollars a month? It feels like she's just benefiting from us without contributing! And on top of that, Irene, being a werewolf, doesn't even have her own wolf! Don't you think that's quite embarrassing? It seems like you're the only one shameless enough to defend her!"
That was what my brother-in-law John said when he quarreled with Emmy the previous night.
I had to move out of Emmy's house. My name was Irene Graham. By the time I turned 18, most of the werewolves in the pack had their wolves and were capable of shifting. However, I stood out as the sole werewolf who didn't have a wolf.
For so many years, I had gotten used to being humiliated and ridiculed by others. Therefore, I felt nothing after listening to those words.
However, I could not live with the family any longer. There was only one way to make Emmy rest assured. That was to get married.
In a desperate bid to hastily tie the knot, despite not even having a boyfriend, I decided to agree to Elizabeth's request to marry her grandson, Heath. A witch had prophesied a challenging married life for him. By sheer coincidence, I had once rescued Elizabeth and she wanted me to marry Heath.
Twenty minutes later, I got out of the car at the entrance of the mate registration office.
In recent years, to maintain stable relationships between mates, the pack began to learn from human society and set up a mate registration office.
While werewolves were generally known for their loyalty, there were still instances where some werewolves would engage in infidelity, as they were not bound by law. Such werewolves might betray or even harm their mates. Furthermore, some werewolves desired autonomy in choosing their mates instead of being dictated by traditional customs.
For such reasons, the Alpha of our New Moon Pack established the mate registration office. He was also the future heir to the Alpha King.
In our pack, once werewolves identified their mates or desired to select a mate, they would visit the office. There, they would officially register their union, ensuring that their relationship would be safeguarded by the pack law.
I felt that it was a very good rule. Once anything was bound by the law, it would make people more cautious.
"Irene."
As soon as I got out of the car, I heard a familiar voice. It belonged to Elizabeth.
"Mrs. Elizabeth."
I quickly walked over and saw a tall man with a cold expression standing beside Elizabeth. He must be the one I was going to marry.
As I drew nearer, I could clearly see Heath's appearance. I couldn't help but be stunned.
Elizabeth expressed her concern about her eldest grandson, Heath, who was already 22 years old. She noticed that he neither had a mate nor a girlfriend, which caused her considerable worry.
So I always assumed that he was an ugly man.
After all, I heard that he was the leader of a department in the pack, and he had many chances to see the Alpha.
I realized that I had misunderstood when I met him.
Heath possessed a remarkable handsomeness that was accompanied by an icy demeanor. Standing next to Elizabeth, he exuded an air of coolness and melancholy. His aura served as a warning to strangers, urging them to keep their distance.
As I averted my gaze, I noticed a black commercial car parked nearby. It wasn't an extravagant million-dollar luxury vehicle, which made me realize that the social gap between Heath and me wasn't insurmountable.
I opened a bookstore at the gate of Wildwood School with my old classmate and friend, Doris.
When I was free, I would weave some small toys and sell them on the Internet. The sales were not bad.
Every month, my salary settled at a steady amount of over 20 thousand dollars. In the bustling city, my income allowed me to fit into the higher income bracket, enabling me to allocate 5 thousand dollars to Emmy every month to cover her living expenses.
However, my brother-in-law didn't know much about my income. It was because I asked Emmy to save 3 thousand dollars. She could only tell my brother-in-law that I gave them 2 thousand dollars.
"Irene, allow me to introduce my eldest grandson, Heath. He's a 22-year-old young man who hasn't yet had a mate. Despite his somewhat aloof demeanor, he possesses a remarkable level of thoughtfulness. Trust me, I will not introduce a bad grandson to you."
After listening to his grandmother's description of him, Heath glanced at me. His eyes were deep and cold, but he didn't say a word.
It was probably because he had been disdained too many times by Elizabeth that he had developed a certain immunity towards her words.
I knew that Elizabeth had three sons, each of whom gave her three grandchildren. She had nine grandchildren in total, but she didn't have a granddaughter, so she treated me as one.
My face blushed slightly, but I reached out my right hand toward Heath gracefully and introduced myself with a smile. "Mr. Heath, hello. I'm Irene."
Heath's piercing gaze scrutinized me from head to toe, and then back up again. It was only when his grandmother gently cleared her throat that he extended his right hand to shake mine. His voice was equally low and icy as he introduced himself, saying, "Heath."
After our handshake, Heath raised his left hand to glance at his watch. He then addressed me, his tone brusque and to the point, "I have a lot on my plate. Let's wrap this up quickly."
"Sure," I said.
Elizabeth hurriedly said, "You two, go in and get through the formalities. I'll wait for you here."
"Grandma, get in the car. It's hot outside."
Heath helped his grandmother back to the car as he spoke.
Looking at his behavior, I started to believe what Elizabeth said. Heather was indifferent but also considerate.
Although he and I were strangers, Elizabeth revealed that Heath owned a house in his name, which he had fully paid for. If I were to marry him, I would have the opportunity to move out of Emmy's house. This would bring relief to her, as she would no longer endure conflicts with her husband because of me.
My marriage was just for convenience.
Soon, Heath went back to me and said to me, "Let's go."
I agreed and followed him into the mate registration office silently.
Before the registration, Heather reminded me, "Miss Irene, if you don't want to, you can go back on your word. You don't have to care about what my grandma said. Marriage is a big deal and can't be treated like child's play. Once we become mates, we have to be responsible for each other."
I could tell that he wanted me to go back on my word.
I guessed that he did not want to marry a woman he had just met.
Nobody wanted that, right?
I sighed. "Since I agreed, I won't go back on my word."
I had thought about it for a few days. Since I had decided, I would not go back on my word.
However, thinking of my current situation, I decided to confess to Heath before we formally registered our marriage. I didn't want to lie to him.
"I have something to tell you."
"What?" Heath asked.
"As a werewolf, I don't have a wolf. It's perplexing why I couldn't shift when I turned 18. I even went for a medical examination, but the doctor found no issues with my physical health. My wolf may appear at any time, or it may never appear." To be honest, I was very nervous when I said that.
A werewolf without a wolf was really a difficult thing to deal with. No one wanted to have such a mate.
At least John could not accept it.
Yet, I did not want to hide it from Heath. After all, we would live together in the future. If I hid such an important thing from him, he would be very angry in the future and even suspect that I was deceiving him intentionally to get married.
Of course, I was actually afraid that Heath would go back on his word. However, if he knew about my situation and reneged on his promise, I would not blame him.
As I expected, Heath frowned after hearing what I said. He suddenly closed his eyes and should be communicating with his wolf.
After a long time, he finally opened his eyes, took out his documents, and put them in front of the staff.
"Grandma has told me that, and I knew about it. Maybe your wolf will come out in a while. Don't worry. I won't regret it."
I heaved a sigh of relief. Then, I took out my documents and placed them in front of the staff.
Heath glanced at the name on my ID card and spoke after a short while.
"I, Heath Bolton, choose Irene Graham to be my mate."
"I, Irene Graham, choose Heath Bolton to become my mate."
Once our vows were exchanged, a curious sensation enveloped me, despite lacking a wolf like the man standing before me. It was as if an invisible thread had woven between us, allowing me to almost feel his presence in the air. Moreover, an inexplicable bond formed within me, forging a profound attachment to him from the depths of my heart.
However, the feeling was not very strong without a wolf.
I couldn't help but replay the feeling in my mind. Was it the bond between mates? Then, when I crossed paths with my true mate, the one handpicked for me by the Moon Goddess, would I experience a sensation even stronger than what I had just felt?
Yes, I did not have a wolf, so I had not found my mate so far. Perhaps he had already appeared beside me, but I could not sense his existence because I did not have a wolf.
We quickly completed the process, and it took less than ten minutes.
After I took the marriage papers from the staff member, Heath took out a bunch of keys from his trouser pocket and handed them to me. He said, "The house I bought is near the garden in the west of the main city. I heard from my grandmother that you own a bookstore in front of Wildwood School. My house is not far from your place. If you take the bus, you will arrive in ten minutes.
"Do you have a driver's license? With a driver's license, you can purchase a car. I can pay the down payment for you. You can pay the car loan in monthly installments. With a car, it will be convenient for you to get to and from work.
"I'm very busy with my work. I go out early and go home late. Sometimes, I also go on business trips. You just need to take care of yourself. Don't worry about me. I'll transfer the family expenses to you on the 10th of each month.
"Also, in order not to cause any trouble, let's keep our marriage a secret temporarily."
Heath might have gotten used to giving orders in the pack. He didn't even wait for me to speak before saying a series of words.
I had a flash marriage because I did not want Emmy to quarrel with John for me. I needed to move out of her house. Only then could Emmy be at ease.
Heath took the initiative to give me the key to his house, so I took it without hesitation.
"I have a driver's license, but I don't need to buy a car for the time being. I usually ride an electric motorcycle. It's a pity if I don't ride it especially since I just changed a new battery.
"Besides, Mr. Heath, do we need to split our bills equally?"
Emmy and John were in love, but John brought up the idea of dividing the bills evenly. He held the belief that Emmy had been benefiting unfairly from him.
Only God knew the extent of effort required to care for a child, purchase groceries, cook meals, and maintain a tidy home. Men who had never experienced it themselves often believed that their wives, who stayed home to care for the children and handle household chores, had an easy time of it.
I was getting married to Heath in a flash. I hadn't even seen him before, so I felt that splitting our bills equally would make things more comfortable.
Without hesitation, Heath said in a deep voice, "Since I've married you, I can support you and our family, so we don't need to split our bills evenly."
I smiled. "Then let's do as you say."
I would not just take advantage of him.
I would pay for what we needed since I lived in his house.
After all, I was spared from paying rent.
Only through mutual efforts and understanding of each other could we continue on together.
Heath glanced at his wrist to check the time and then informed me, "I'm quite occupied at the moment. I need to return to the pack first. You can use my car or take a taxi home. I'll cover the expenses. Later on, I'll send my grandma to my brother's house later.
"By the way, let's swap contact information so that we can easily get in touch with each other."
I took out my phone and exchanged contacts with Heath, then I said, "I'll take a taxi. Go ahead and do your work."
"Okay. Contact me if anything happens."
Before leaving, Heather gave me 200 dollars to take a taxi. I didn't want to take it, but he glared at me, so I subconsciously took the money.