THE STREETS OF New York City were bright and busy despite the cold so it took Ophelia longer to get home. Around thirty minutes later, she was tiredly stumbling into her apartment and heading straight into her bedroom.

A few boxes were arranged in a pile by the wall. It had been five days and she finally finished packing up all her things. It wasn't clear to her why she stayed this long. Maybe deep down, she was still believing that he would come back to her.

Even though it had been three years, Ophelia wished that somehow Tobias would still come back to her. In those three years, she lived in that apartment, waiting and hoping that he would return.

She kept renewing the rent, saying to herself that she should not go far in case he were to return, then he would find her there.

But every day after coming back from work, hoping to find her boyfriend at home, Ophelia would find that no one was ever waiting for her and it left her disappointed each time.

It took her stumbling on Tobias' pictures with his new girlfriend on Instagram, for her to acknowledge that no one was coming back for her and that was the reality check she needed to realise that she needed to move on with her life.

As if it was a sign, the rent expired last week and so Ophelia decided not to renew the rent.

Fortunately for her, a week before she had to leave, she found and paid for a new apartment uptown. It was cheaper and more convenient for her.

All that remained now was for Ophelia to donate all the furniture and items she and Tobias picked out together to charity.

She looked around and was satisfied that everything belonging to her had already been boxed. With a nod of approval, Ophelia put down the roll of sellotape in her hand and walked into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Her shower took shorter than usual due to exhaustion. Coming out, she waddled to the nearly empty kitchen and fixed herself a plate of cereal.

She would have loved to eat something different but her hands protested in tiredness. A few minutes later, Ophelia collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

~•~°×°~•~

Arriving at Hotel Aqua the next morning in one piece was a miracle. It seemed like Ophelia's lucky streak had ended just before it began.

First, she slept through her alarm and then missed the bus. Usually, it was difficult to find a cab inside her street so she had to walk all the way to the end of the street.

After getting a cab, she had to go through extremely annoying traffic caused by two drivers who wouldn't just agree to give in.

On reaching the hotel, Ophelia stepped out of the car only to fall onto a pile of snow.

As if things were not bad enough, she looked up only to see Darius coming out of the hotel entrance with his eyes set on her, hugging the snow like she was about to build a snow angel.

Never in her life had she ever stood up as quickly as she did at that moment. Ophelia groaned in mortification as Darius rushed over to her.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? Do you need to see the doctor?" Darius rushed out, his green eyes staring down at her with concern swimming in them.

"I-I-I..." Ophelia stuttered but no other words agreed to leave her lips as she gaped at him.

To save herself from further embarrassment, Ophelia took off towards the hotel entrance but slipped and fell quickly to the ground.

Shutting her eyes tight, she mentally prepared herself for the fall. She almost hugged the snow once again when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

BY THE NEXT morning, the Alpha King had everything planned out. The first thing he had to do was find his mate and everything else would follow.

On reaching the front desk, he found only the rude receptionist who greeted him with a grin so wide he was surprised the edges of her lips were still intact.

"Ophelia isn't here yet?" Darius stated but it came out as a question.

She rolled her eyes. "No."

The Earl Delta Captain growled. "Why you little..."

"Let's go," Darius cut in, stopping the murderous Wolf in his tracks. He pulled Samuel away from the front desk and towards the exit.

"She is human!" Darius warned.

"A human whose tongue is sharper than her brain deserves to lose her tongue," Samuel responded murderously.

Darius sighed as the automatic doors slid open. The cold November air greeted him, reminding him that he had nine days left until his birthday.

The scent of his mate hit him in full force as soon as he stepped out. He heard a thump and a yelp and his eyes quickly followed the direction of the scent of his mate only to find her hugging the snow.

He rushed over to her but she was already up before he reached her.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? Do you need to see the doctor?" Darius rushed out, staring down at her in concern.

"I-I-I..." Ophelia stuttered, looking up at him like she couldn't believe he was there.

Before Darius could say another word, Ophelia took off towards the hotel entrance but slipped and fell quickly to the ground.

Darius acted on impulse and sped over to her, catching her this time with his arms wrapped around her small waist. With her eyes closed and her brows scrunched tightly together, Ophelia looked like a frightened kitten.

"Didn't your mother tell you never to run in the snow?"

At his voice, Ophelia peeled her eyes open and once she saw the position they were in, she quickly pushed him away.

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized.

"Are you okay, Ophelia?" He asked once again and she responded with two quick nods.

"Thank you but I have to go in now. My shift has already started." And with that, she walked into the hotel, thankfully not falling this time.

"Did I just see the Luna trip on nothing?" The Earl Delta Captain asked, walking over to the Alpha King.

The King smiled softly, with a nod as he entered the back seat of his new Range Rover sport, while the Captain took the front.

His mate sure was a peculiar one.

"Where to, Alpha?" Sam questioned.

The government of the United States had to be aware of his presence in the state. Darius already made the calls the night before but some things needed to be said in person.

"The Governor's mansion."

{•}

Thank you for reading.