Alpha Carter POV
I scan the crowd, holding my whiskey. I am looking for my Beta. We have been here for over an hour now and I have not scented my mate yet. I knew this would be a waste of time and I am getting fidgety ready to leave.
As I look around, I look towards the dance floor and see Stan dancing with a she-wolf who looks to be close to his age. She is beautiful and he only has eyes for her. I do not want to interrupt his night, so I toss back the contents of my glass, placing the empty cup on the tray of an Omega who walks by me.
Looking around I see the Alpha’s daughter waving and making her way towards me. I quickly look away and make my way out of the hall. I hear her call my name but ignore her acting as if I do not hear her. Making small talk is not my forte and even if I could she would not be someone I would want to talk to.
I walk past the Alpha and Luna as they continue to welcome new arrivals. I smell the air and still find nothing that hints at my mate, so I angrily walk off heading back towards the Pack house.
Before I get there, I feel like I am missing something. Something is agitating my wolf, so I decide that maybe I will go for a run before heading to bed. It helps relax both of us to get a run in before bed, so I move to the cover of the trees, slipping off my tuxedo and leaving it before shifting into my black wolf.
My wolf is massive, befitting of a strong Alpha. As we stretch in wolf form, I turn over control to Max and let him run within the tree line as I get lost in my thoughts.
Beta Carl POV
I look around the event hall, scenting my mate. I am frustrated to know she is here. I look around the room trying to find her. I nod to the Alpha, as I turn and leave the welcoming line. It would be normal to stay; however, I need to follow the scent to the woman who is supposed to be my fated mate.
I suddenly see a woman walking towards me with a dazed look in her eyes. She is acceptable looking for a mate I think critically. A little older than I prefer. Even though I am thirty years old, I prefer younger she-wolves. She comes to stand in front of me. Her scent of coffee and rain entices me.
I touch her hands and feel tingles shoot through my hands. I want to touch her longer, but I remember I have plans for later this evening. Regardless of if I have found my mate, I have an Omega to abuse this evening and I would not settle for anything less.
Conflicted, I take my mate to the dance floor and pull her closely to my body. The sparks bounce between our bodies. I am overwhelmed with the feelings. How can I walk away from this when it is more than I could have hoped for. Shaking my head, I realize I am being caught up in the Moon Goddess’s web.
“What is your name?” I demand as I lean into her ear so she can hear me over the noise surrounding us. “Beta Carrie Matthews,” she replies looking at me breathlessly. “Beta Carl Newton,” I reply satisfied that the Moon Goddess gave me a she-wolf that would be considered my equal. I could not tell if she was a strong wolf. She felt dainty in my arms. I felt a need to protect her, but I also feel a strong desire to take Elizabeth this evening. I had been waiting for so long.
“Do I see you with your mate, Beta?” I hear my Alpha say through our personal mind-link. I shut him out not wanting to reply. I knew finding my mate, would change the opinion of my Alpha in taking Elizabeth. It was always what was best for the Pack with him. Except when it came to the abuse, he doled out on Elizabeth. That was against what he believed, but something always tortured him when it came to her. He had a strong need to curtail any strengths within her.
Elizabeth had to be strong. To have endured all that she had, was incredible. She had a weak wolf. She had never shifted. But she continued to survive the torture. Shaking my head, I had to focus on the woman in front of me. She was my future. Elizabeth was a distraction.
I leaned down and nestled my face into the neck of my fated mate. She smelled divine. I had to focus on her. Could I simply accept my fate and walk away from Elizabeth? Was that possibility within me?
She leans back from me as I see another wolf coming towards us from the corner of my eye. He looks determined as I glance towards him. He has a determination about him that I cannot ignore. The woman in my arms sighs as she recognizes the man coming towards us.
“I am sorry,” she starts to say as I look at her confused with her words. The man arrives, “Carrie, it is time,” he says trying to take her arm from me. “Time for what?” I demand pushing him away from her. He was an Alpha rank; I could tell that from his aura. He was taller than me and had more muscle. His wolf would be bigger than mine. The suit he wore looked custom made. I had no idea who he was, but I knew he came from a rich Pack.
“It is time for her to reject you. I am her chosen mate,” he replies as he manages to take Carrie from my frozen hands. I look at her and see tears in her eyes. I can see the conflict there, but then she shocks me. “I, Beta Carrie Matthews, reject you, Beta Carl Newton as my fated mate,” she says as I fall to my knees in front of her grabbing my chest.
Beta Carl POV As I crumble in front of my mate, I see the smirk on the Alpha beside her. I feel a rage overcoming me and I leap forward to tackle the male. I know my chances of beating him are limited but a good beating is what I want. I can hear my Alpha yell through our link, and I can feel him coming towards us. The Alpha is caught off guard, so I get a couple good punches in hearing the satisfaction of his nose breaking. My mate is yelling at me, begging me to stop. At this point the Alpha has come around and takes a few good swings at me. I can feel my ribs breaking and I know my jaw is dislocated. I am not worried as I will quickly heal. I wanted him to suffer, but I knew that was futile. Before he can go for a kill shot, my Alpha jumps in between us. “What the hell is going on?” my Alpha yells at us. Everyone around us has remained silenced as they watched everything unfold. “He is stealing my mate,” I say under my breat
Trigger Warning – physical violence; no rapeElizabeth POV The tightening hand around my wrist caught my breath. My wolf, Ashley, growled but that only made the Beta laugh. “Is your wolf going to try and fight me, Omega?” he says with a cold laugh. I try to pull my hand away, but it makes no difference. I am trapped. He pulls me towards his body and slaps my face. My head snaps to the side, and I feel blood leave my mouth and I see it spatter on his suit. He does not care. He pulls be back leaning his face into the spot between my shoulder and my neck. I whimper thinking he would instantly mark me, but he slowly moves away dragging his foul tongue from my shoulder, slowly up my neck and landing at my lips. I keep my lips closed tightly as he runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. He growls when I am not granting him access to my mouth and pushes his lips hard against mine. I fear he will break my teeth, but I do not relent. I cannot h
Alpha Carter POV A growl came out of me I had never heard before. It was enough to distract the wolf from my mate. The wolf I now recognize as the Beta of the Red Woods Pack. He steps back, “This is none of our concern, Alpha,” he growls back to me. I see his hard member hanging out of his pants and look to my mate. She is breathing heavily with tears rolling down her cheeks. I cannot tell if she has been violated but first, I must deal with this threat so I can get her help immediately. I step slowly towards the Beta, “She is my concern,” I reply. “She is my mate,” I add as the Beta looks at me with disgust. “She is my chosen mate. Tell him,” he demands of my mate as he drags her up to a sitting position by the arms he was holding over her head. I could tell she was in shock at the abuse she has endured. I could see the handprints on her face where she was hit. Rage was overtaking Max, he wanted to be let out. “I got this one, Max,” I r
Alpha Carter POV I rushed my mate to the Pack hospital and was appalled at the service we received. While the Alpha did nod to the Pack doctor to assist us, there was no desire to be helpful. They patched up her wounds and left her with machines connected to her. “When will she wake?” I demand of the doctor who was trying to exit the room. “It is hard to say, Alpha. She is a weak Omega,” he replies as he opens the door to exit the room. “Do more for her!” I Alpha command him. “I have done all I am permitted by my Alpha to do,” he murmurs as he closes the door and walks back towards to me. “There are things that have gone on in this Pack. Your mate was abused for many years; she will need more care than I will be allowed to give her. My best recommendation is getting her to your own Pack sooner than later,” he says and walks out the door of my mate’s room. Looking down at the beauty before me, I realize she is very thin and has not
Elizabeth POV I can hear the machines beeping. I am not sure what they are or where I am. I cannot remember everything that happened. Except the last thing I saw was a strong, gorgeous man with beautiful green eyes holding me in his arms. Did he call me his mate? Had I called him my mate? Was it possible that the Moon Goddess had given me a mate? Was it even possible he would want me? Of course not. Look at me. I was a wreck. Scars all over my body. As anyone who spoke to me reminded me, I was thin and ugly. What time is it? I am late. I have to make breakfast for everyone. The punishment I will endure for not being on time with everything. As if on cue, the door slams open and I hear Luna Nancy yelling at me to get my lazy ass out of this bed. I slowly open my eyes trying to adjust my sight, having not opened my eyes yet when I felt her latch onto my arm, and she starts pulling me out of the bed. The machines started goi
Alpha Carter POV “Are you going to reject me?” my mate whispers to me. I feel emotion catch my throat. She has been abused for so long, she feels she has no worth. I realize she is not ready to be my Luna, and maybe she never will be ready. But rejecting her is not an option for me. “Reject you? Why would I reject you?” I ask her. She looks at me with tears in her eyes, “Look at me. I am weak, and ugly. Nobody would want me,” she says as the tears fall from her eyes down her cheeks. I simply stare before replying, “You are far from ugly, my beautiful mate,” I reply before she cuts me off. “Do not lie to me Alpha,” she mutters as she turns away from me once again curling into herself looking away from me. Standing I move to sit beside her in the bed. She startles and I realize she has not had human comfort in a long time. I slowly lift her tiny body and wrap my arms around her. I gently position her body, still sore from the abuse she has
Elizabeth POV I knew I had upset my mate, but I did not want to get into trouble for doing something I was not supposed to do. I know when this fairy tale is over, I will be returned to Alpha Matt and Luna Nancy. I ate a few bites of food much to the disappointment of Carter and the Beta couple. They tried to get me to eat more but I simply could not. I did not have the room in my belly, and I was sorry to disappoint them. Eating made me feel sick, simply because I was not used to eating any amount of food on a daily basis. Carter tells me he must go make a few arrangements to get ready so we can leave for his Pack this afternoon. I am terrified what this means for me. He has promised me that I am going with him, but I wait in perpetual fear anticipating something will change before he can take me away.Suddenly the door bursts open with the Alpha and Luna entering the room with a couple of people I do not recognize. “Omega, you will answer the questions
Elizabeth POV I am being dragged out of the hospital in my johnny shirt. It is barely tied up and the breeze is chilling me instantly. I am crying for help, but nobody is hearing me. The doctor rushes forwards to try and stop them from dragging me off, but the Alpha turns and commands the doctor to mind his own business. As the Elders walk away from us, the Alpha sneers, “You are going to get what is coming to you. Covering for that Alpha was a stupid move, Omega,” he mutters to me as the Luna cackles in delight. I am dragged towards the whipping posts. I cannot breathe as we approach. I had thought I was free from this. I try screaming again but cannot get the words out. I am shaking as my hands are tied to the posts and the shirt I am wearing is opened from the back. I can feel the cool breeze on my bare skin and am mortified. Ashley, my wolf, has been trying to help me but there is a barrier stopping her from coming forward.