Chapter 8

Alpha Ezra POV

I watched my mate leave, completely unaware I was her mate. I knew her family was hiding something, something I was eager to find out. If she wasn't my mate, I might have reconsidered letting them into the pack. Something was amiss; they left the second strongest pack. A pack, her parents built a life with. When I got the request, I was a little shocked but also blinded by the fact I could take them from Jackson. Our feud goes back generations, so given the opportunity, I took it.

Derrick was well respected, and so was his mate Shirley, yet I never heard they had a child, and it made me curious why she was kept a secret. I could smell her strength, her genes strong, but something was off with her, too, despite her potent scent.

"She is your mate, isn't she?" My Beta, Mateo asks. He was my best friend since we were old enough to walk, always stuck by me and I, him.

I sigh, no point lying to him; he knows me better than I know myself half the time.

"Yes, and until she realizes herself, I want to keep it quiet," I tell him, and he nods, his eyes sparkling with mischief and also burning curiosity. Mateo was like an open book. His facial expressions always gave him away. I could tell a mile away something was playing on his mind; I knew him that well.

"What?" I demand as he folds his arms across his chest and leans back, eyeing me.

"Nothing now I know why you refused to come to the whore house with me, she already got you whipped, and she doesn't even know who you are to her," he says before laughing. I glare at him.

"I am not whipped."

"Whatever, man, then why did you knock back Madeline. I saw her running from your room the other night crying,"

"She isn't my mate," I deadpan.

"Never stopped you before."

"Yeah, before I found her, I only want her now. You will understand when you find yours," I tell him. His brows furrow, and he looks anywhere but at me for a second. His lips press into a line before he nods his head once.

"So what's your plan, then? Keep giving her detention?" He asks, looking back at me.

"Well, you ruined that, didn't you? I was hoping to spend time with her," I tell him, annoyed that he lingered when he could clearly see I wanted to be alone with her.

"Why didn't you command her parents to tell you why they really left?"

"Because I don't want to piss her parents off. They have influence over her, and she trusts them. If I start off arguing with them, she will hate me," I tell him, and he sighs.

"Well, what now then?"

"I don't know. I don't really have a reason to hang around her without looking like a creep," I tell him. Mateo seems to think for a second.

"Thursday night?" He says with a shrug.

"Pack run is Friday after school. Most of the Pack kids choose to stay at the packhouse."

"I excused them for the first week," I tell him.

"You are the Alpha, un-excuse them. Tell them Katya has to stay like the rest of the teens."

"Yes, but staying at the packhouse isn't compulsory, only those that want to stay," I tell him.

"Tell them you want to monitor her and see how she gets on with the rest of the pack."

"Hmm, it could work, fine. I will go see her on the field," I tell him. Mateo nods and also gets up.

"You coming?" I ask, and he has a mischievous grin on his face.

"What have you done?"

"Oh nothing, but Angie was pissing me off, so I paired her with Katya for training," He says. I glare at him.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" I tell him.

 I didn't want Angie anywhere near my mate. Her Infatuation with me was the main reason, but it was clear she hated Katya because I was showing interest in her. One thing about Angie was she is actually trained pretty well and has five brothers to compete against that are pack warriors. The girl could hold her own in a fight.

"Come on, Katya is feisty. She can take her," Mateo says.

"You better hope so because if she gets hurt, it's your ass," I tell him and his face falls slightly worried.

"Her mum is one of the best warriors; her father is a Beta. What can go wrong?"

I could think of plenty of things that could go wrong. Angie is competitive, and I know she doesn't fight fair from watching her train amongst the pack. I knew my mate could handle herself in this form. She was fit and had good endurance, but I wasn't so sure about her wolf form, so that would be interesting to see. Plus, I was really excited about meeting her wolf.

Walking down to the fields, I sat in the grandstand overlooking the area and staying out of view. At least, I thought so until I saw Angie wave at me. Mateo sat next to me, and I was annoyed at him for pairing them together. I watch Shirley walk onto the field talking to her daughter or, by the look of her, berating her daughter. Katya looked awfully pale and was sweating profusely.

"Is she alright? She doesn't look too good?" Mateo says, also thinking the same thing. She looked ghastly as she braced her hands on her knees like she was trying to catch her breath. I watch as Katya rushes to the bin, puking in it.

"She seemed fine before?" I told him. Shirley, her mother, is strict. That much was clear; she glared at her daughter before telling her to get back on the field. I watch as my mate does as she is told. Katya waits for her name to be called on the list. Her mother, unable to hide her shock when she is paired against Angie, who was wearing a smug grin at the pairing.

 Jasmine walks over, gripping Katya's arm worriedly. At least she has one friend, and I actually like Jasmine. She gets on with everyone except Angie and her friend's group.

"Get it together, Kat," Shirley calls to her daughter, who nods while waving her off. Katya shakes off Jasmine's arm, telling her to go. Jasmine reluctantly leaves to go to the person she was assigned.

"Something isn't right?" I tell Mateo, who also agrees, leaning forward to watch.

"I don't get it; she was fine. What has changed?" He asks. Walking down the steps, I stand on the edge, looking down as I watch Katya and Angie move into their square. Angie takes a stance while Katya can't seem to catch her breath and is swaying slightly on her feet.

My wolf Maddox howls in my head, watching through my eyes. Angie lunges at Katya, Katya seeing it a little late, but manages to duck but stumbles back, landing on her back.

Angie is about to pounce on her when Katya lifts her leg, kicking her in the face and knocking Angie back. Angie growls loudly, clutching her nose, which is bleeding. Katya got up, and I could see sweat literally dripping off her and drenching her shirt. Something was definitely wrong.

"Wolfsbane," my wolf Maddox growls at me, and I sniff the air. I couldn't smell wolfsbane, but it made sense. It makes you terribly sick and could even kill you in high doses.

"We need to stop this; she can't fight like that. Something is wrong," Mateo says, and I could see he was worried about her getting hurt. His future Luna getting hurt because he paired her with Angie. I nod, about to walk down the stairs, when Angie suddenly shifts.