His Destined Mate

[HUNTER’s Point-of-View]

Nothing impressed me here.

As we entered the old conventional hall of the Crescent Pack, an absurd feeling made me frown when a middle-aged man with an unpleasant sneer approached me and my Beta, Weston, dragging a tiny lady with him. The she-wolf was shivering terribly, like a cold puppy in heavy rain. I raised one of my eyebrows and gave Weston a quick look from the corner of my eye.

"I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about this man, Alpha Hunter," Weston whispered to me apologetically. "This is Castor. A diplomat from the Dessert Moon Pack."

I never left my eyes on the suspicious man wearing a knee-length silk coat with a gold ornament hanging on his waist and a turban on his head. His face just looked foreign from around this area.

Hmm... Dessert Moon Pack. That group of cowards who had always been neutral between the Black Haw and the Midnight Pack for over a decade. Cunning werewolves who gained a lot of profit from the war that my deranged father started against the Crescent Pack just to gain control over the lands that were never his. But Father’s time was over. And now that I was in control of the Pack, I wanted to make sure this senseless war would cease under my rule. There were more important things I had to take care of than planning destruction.

Like finding my Luna.

My pride in being an Alpha was pleased when Castor from the Dessert Moon Pack bowed his head, acknowledging my power and authority, saying, "I am glad to meet the new Alpha of the Black Haw. As the representative of my Pack, I am honored to show you this girl named Monica—a rare breeder with a marvelous conception rate from the clan of brave, strong warriors known to be brawny, towering, and fierce shifters. She is the best among the ones we have, and we want to endow you with such a prized possession from the Dessert Moon Pack!"

The small girl must be in her twenties. Average-looking with dark hair and a set of hazel-brown eyes. She was wearing a plain old rose dress and was shivering. Cold or fear? Maybe both.

My lips pulled into a smirk as I glared down at the tiny lady in front of me. I couldn’t believe that the Alpha of the Dessert Moon would do something like this to impress me. They prepared pretty well for the occasion, knowing I'd attend for conciliation with the Crescent Pack Alpha.

I was proud to tell everyone that Black Haw was at its peak of growth, far from the depressing state during my father’s reign. What’s missing is an heir of my own flesh and blood who will continue my legacy.

"Tell your Alpha I appreciate his generosity," I uttered with a casual smile, trying not to show the disdain on my face toward the foreign diplomat. I nodded to let him know I was somehow pleased with the gift.

So he could piss out of my way.

I gestured for Weston to take charge of the girl. There was confusion on his face.

He followed me as I proceeded to walk inside the hall. As soon as we were far from the diplomat, Weston, with his unconstrained curiosity, whispered a question to me, "May I know why you accepted the girl, Alpha Hunter? Do you think she can break the curse that seals your ability to connect with your mate?"

I gave him a placid smile.

Weston closed his mouth. He knew I wouldn't answer his question when I made this expression on my face. He must have noticed my repugnance toward that diplomat. And the obvious lack of interest I had for the girl. It was disappointing. But just like before, there was no feeling of bond or any connection with her.

But as an Alpha who must display dominance and power, building an effective relationship with other rulers was just another form of politics for me. Which I should play very carefully.

That dunderhead, sixteen-year-old ignorant boy, who had no idea how life worked, was long gone.

Weston and I sat with the other Alphas on the stage to watch the ascension of the next Alpha of the Midnight Pack. My mind unconsciously wandered until the voice of the previous Alpha sounded distant to my ears. Those tragic times...

My eyes darkened.

Life was never easy for me back then.

At six years old, I tasted betrayal for the first time when my own mother abandoned me for another man. It was confusing. I blamed myself the whole time, thinking maybe I was a horrible son. Then Father married another she-wolf—a woman full of hatred who used to hurt me for no specific reason. She loved to yell obscenities at me, hit me, and not feed me for days until I couldn’t stand anymore on the cold floor of my room, which became my prison.

I grew up full of hatred. Of revenge. And I made sure they knew how much of a monster they had made me.

Years ago, my stepmother and I argued over something I hardly remember. She followed me up the stairs to my room. She yelled, cursed, and wished for my death. To my horror, she accidentally slipped and tumbled down the staircase, resulting in her miscarriage. They convicted me of ten years in prison after that horrible incident. My father didn’t even give me a chance to plead my case. It was too late when I found out it was all planned so my stepmother could get rid of me and make her firstborn the sole heir of the Pack.

But of course, there’s no way I would let that happen.

I bounced back to reality and heard a couple of people whispering among the crowd. There were those bombastic side-eyed looks while covering their mouth to another person’s ear as if I were not able to hear them.

I knew that kind of judgmental look on their faces. I grew up getting used to them.

"Is he the Alpha from the Black Haw who killed his stepmother?"

"I can’t believe our Alpha invited that man.

"Shhh! He might hear you!"

My lips curled into an evil smile.

Yes! Maybe I killed that evil woman! Not intentionally, though. But I wished I had made her suffer longer. After I got released from prison, that woman felt threatened by my presence in the Pack. She yelled at me that I would never get the title from her son—that I was the son of a demon and I only brought death and destruction wherever I went. She was looking delirious while cursing. Then she froze for seconds and clutched the neckline of her dress.

At first, I was confused about what was happening to her. She begged me to help her. To get the healer. But I didn’t move. I only stood there, watching her suffer until her heart failed her, resulting in her immediate death.

My father was so convinced I killed my stepmother. He was so angry that he challenged me to a duel for the position. But he was already old. And it was clear I was more powerful than my half-brother, whom I threatened not to go back to the Pack after I cast him away to the wasteland in the far North. I had no news about him after that. Maybe he died and was killed by the Rogues. Perhaps he became a slave somewhere. I don’t care.

And so my father was forced to turn over his position to me.

"Pieces of scum," Weston snarled while glaring down at the people of the Crescent Pack down the stage, "Spreading and believing rumors they don’t understand!"

"It’s just a waste of energy getting pissed with those kinds of people, Weston," I uttered calmly, slowly getting bored with the event.

"They have no idea what kind of w*tch that woman was! That you are still suffering because of the curse that forbids you to find your mate!" Weston’s jaw clenched as he hissed the words while glaring at the people in front of us.

"The Moon Goddess provides and guides, Weston. I still believe the Goddess has faith in me. After all those tragic setbacks that happened to me for two decades, I am still here. As the new Alpha of the Black Haw."

Weston’s face and shoulders relaxed, and all the anger in his eyes slowly disappeared. "The Goddess knows you are a good man, Hunter. You saved the Pack. And without you, we will never experience the taste of peace and freedom that your father denied to all of us."

I smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder, always grateful for my best friend/Beta’s loyalty.

"Maybe you should go and lead this girl to our convoy. The attendants will know what to do with her."

The girl’s face was smeared with tears. She was standing next to me, terrified, and she was still shivering. Perhaps she got scared of Weston’s angry reaction against the gossipmongers behind us. Or maybe she is scared of what will be her fate now that she is being sold to me as a breeder and a slave to entertain me on my bed.

I saw that Weston had a soft spot for the girl when he apologized to her, "Please forgive me if my bad character slipped for a second, miss."

She didn’t answer. She just stared at him.

But for the split second that their eyes locked, Weston froze. His eyes were wide while he stared back at the girl.

I frowned. So that was what they called a connection—a bond.

I was glad for my Beta, but deep within me, there was this feeling of envy I couldn’t brush off. A disquieting feeling I hated to feel while being desperate to find out what kind of woman my fated Luna is.

I didn’t wait for Weston to come back when he brought the slave girl to the convoy. But as the minutes passed, I started to feel bored, especially when Alpha Carter declared his chosen Luna.

And then there was this tingling sensation crawling up to my neck, making my heart beat in a rapid, adrenaline-kicking motion. Then a sweet, desirable scent came from the crowd, captivating me with intense emotions I had never experienced before. The melancholic emotions were not mine, which was strange. My eyes started looking, searching for the owner of the scent.

Until my attention was caught by a she-wolf standing in front of the stage, her face cascading with fresh tears while she looked up at Alpha Carter with agony in her eyes...