Alpha Desmond

***22 years ago***

“This is the dumbest idea you have come up with yet. We are going to get in so much trouble.”

I laughed at one of my buddies, who was crouched behind a tree with the rest of us. There were five of us hiding in trees, looking at the football game that was currently playing.

“They are the ‘Lobos’! How is this not the greatest idea ever? Plus, it’s not like we are going to get caught!” The soon to be Alpha of the New Mexico pack, Felix, chastised his friend.

I smiled. “He’s right though. If your father catches us, not even the goddess could save our asses.”

“Oh come on Des, he can’t do shit to you! You’re already Alpha.”

Shaking my head, we watched the game. The University of New Mexico was not known for their football team, and they were living up to that reputation. However, you wouldn’t know it by how rowdy their fans were being. It was as though they were number one. This was going to top my list of the stupidest things I had ever done.

“Alright. Let’s get ready. It’s almost halftime.”

I took off my shirt and pants as the others did. I placed my boxers on the pile of folded clothed and stretched.

“Goddess Des, you’re a fucking beast.” I raised an eyebrow at Felix, who had his hands on his hips as he stared at me.

“Not all of us have time to slack off. I’ve been Alpha for three years.”

“Yeah and yet here we are…” His friend Ken piped up.

Laughing, I shrugged. “If we don’t get caught, it’s fine.”

There was a roar from the crowd, and we watched the band come out. There were also the cheerleaders and their mascot. I rolled my eyes. Next to me, Felix winked and shifted into his wolf form. He was a brown and black wolf, much like his friends. I took a breath and let my body shift. The bones cracking and separating, readjusting and forming again. My paws hit the ground, and I looked at the boys. They were all smaller than I was, but I knew I stuck out far more because I was the only pure black wolf.

Felix barked and turned around, running toward the football game. We all followed and howled in unison. As we cleared the short fence of the outdoor field, we heard hoots and hollers from the crowd. However, the band and cheerleaders knew this was not part of the halftime show. We looped around the entire field, growling at the opposing team before howling again as we ran on the Lobo’s side. They were all standing and cheering.

We were only supposed to make one pass, then run back into the forest. As I passed the last set of bleachers, I caught a smell and I skidded to a halt. For the first time, I felt my wolf fight me for control. He snapped and howled, pushing against my control. I turned my head and stalked toward the bleachers. The cheerleaders screamed, but I didn’t care. I smelled my mate. The scent was flowery and sweet, my wolf’s eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Felix came over to me and tried to push me away, but I snapped at him. He seemed to back away for a moment, but then pushed me harder. He growled and finally, I turned, not able to find my mate immediately in the crowd. We raced off together, the entire football field erupting in chaos.

“What the fuck, dude?” Felix shifted, and so did I.

“I smelled my mate. Fucking hell, I need to go.” I headed out, but Ken put a hand on me. I growled, and he lifted his hands off.

“Des, you’re naked. The only place you would go is jail.”

He was right, and I turned, grabbing my clothes off the ground. I threw them on and walked past all four of them. The football stadium had all but cleared out. The game cancelled for fear of an attack from wolves. I hopped the fence and stalked over to where I first smelled my mate. They had been sitting near the back of the bleachers.

Following the scent, it looped around back and through the buildings. I followed it and the further I walked, the more I panicked. My wolf was pacing back and forth in my head, also starting to worry. My pace picked up as I followed the scent to the parking lot. Looking around, there were a lot of people mulling around after the game was cancelled. My eyes roamed over every car and I tried to follow the scent, but it was cut off at an empty parking spot. I stared at it, whining.

A hand clasped my shoulder, and I looked up to see Felix. He had a look of pity on his face. Shaking my head, I didn’t want to believe it. They had to be somewhere, had to get out somewhere. My heart was pounding harder, every beat hurting more.

“Maybe they are on the territory?”

I shook my head. “I’ve been all over that territory. I’ve never smelled this before. The sweetness…” My voice hushed, trying to calm my frantic heart.

“I wish I could help more.”

“I’m going to be out for a while. Tell Alpha I’ll speak to him when I get back.” I strode off, not waiting for Felix’s reply.

I couldn’t lose hope. Not yet. They had to be somewhere, had to stop somewhere. I didn’t even know what I was doing. Picking a direction at random, I just ran. Hoping by some miracle I would pick up any trace of the scent. Anything that would lead me to my mate. My mate had been so close that I refused to believe I would lose them simply because of our little stunt.

* * *

“Alpha Desmond!”

It was raining, but I didn’t care. I snapped at the men that surrounded me, my canines elongated. It had been hours. I ran for hours, circling and even expanding my search past just the city. Aamon, my wolf, was close to taking over. My gold eyes reflecting in the eyes of the surrounding werewolves. I snarled at them. They were blocking my way. I had to keep searching; I had to keep looking. My mate couldn’t just be gone.

“Alpha Desmond, I can’t allow you to continue like this. People have started to report you.” The Alpha of the local pack, Alpha Rowen, stepped forward.

I snapped and growled at him, my mind nearly lost to the despair I was drowning in.

“Felix told me what happened. I’m sorry, but they aren’t here anymore. They are gone.”

Stepping forward, I wrapped my claws around his neck, lifting him up. While I was only eighteen, I knew I could overpower him. He didn’t scare me, and neither did the growls of his pack members. His words that spewed out of his mouth couldn’t be true. The moon goddess was not so cruel to waltz my mate in front of me and then let me lose them. I refused to believe that.

“I’m sorry, Desmond.” There it was again, pity.

I threw the Alpha back into his pack and turned, snarling and growling at them. Closing my eyes, I smelled the rain, the desert, the sweat of my body. The scent of flowers, the sweet scent, was gone. It was gone, and I felt Aamon finally retreat. I didn’t want control back, though. It meant that even Aamon had given up. Was that it? I would never meet my mate again? That was our only chance and I let it slip through my fingers?

My canines retracted and I fell to my knees. My hands dug into the ground, my eyes staring through the ground. I wouldn’t cry. I was a fucking Alpha. I was the strongest Alpha of my generation and I had the demon wolf in me. Nothing broke me.

“Dad, come on…” Felix was looking from me to his Alpha father.

“My hands are tied, Felix.” Alpha Rowen walked up to me, and I was well aware of what he was going to say. “Alpha Desmond, you are to leave my pack territory. You are not welcome back after attacking another Alpha.”

My face screwed up in anger and pain. I pushed up off the ground and stood up, looking down at the older Alpha. “No one would want to be on this shit hole territory, anyway.”

“You watch your mouth, Desmond. I’m only kicking you off because I know how much pain you must be in.”

I glared at him, stepping closer. His guards were around him snarling, but not willing to get in between a fight of two Alphas. “You’re lucky I don’t kill you here with my bare hands. I can say whatever the hell I want.”

“Des, come on. There is no need for that.” Felix tried to come forward, but I snapped at him.

“If you wouldn’t have stopped me, I would have them in my arms. If you hadn’t pushed me away…”

Felix stepped back slightly. “You were in wolf form. They would have freaked and you would have never…”

“Never what? Gotten to my mate? Where the fuck am I now?” I stepped back, shaking my head. “You are the reason for this. You and this bullshit territory.”

Exploding into my wolf form, I raced off toward the southwest. It was the closest direction out of this pack territory. I was done. I had lost my mate, and I knew the chances of ever finding them again. My heart broke and everything in my body shook. I was livid. Once I reached the edge of the territory, I jumped across the invisible line, but I didn’t feel any relief. It was the opposite. I felt more pain, and I howled into the night. Howled in despair at losing my one chance at a mate.