Mates and Surprises

Catching my breath, I feigned courage and spoke up, grabbing the branch of the tree tightly for support. Silence fell instantly, and then a she-wolf came out from the tree, looking at me with an irritated look, huffing before walking away. 

Okay? I know damn well everyone is irritated at me but I kind of do not know the girl..

Just then, the bushes opened and a tall man revealed himself, his black suit and red necktie were messy as his buttons popped open. I sniffed the air and a trace of blood was on his chin. 

I froze, realizing I also do not recognize the man before me. With the woman coming out from where he is standing, his lips all swollen and his suit in a mess, it's so obvious what they were doing there..goodness, I’m alone here, why do they have to do their lovey doggy thing there? I cringed in disgust. 

He looked up at me and formed a smile, acting as if nothing happened. “Oh, did the party already start without me?”

 His deep husky voice asked. He was just questioning but I feel every part of my body churning, my wolf inside cowering in fear at the intimidating aura that excludes his body. 

“Uhm…yes?” I responded unsurely. 

He nodded, buttoning his shirt and grabbing his coat he hung from a nearby branch. 

I quickly took a careful look, my heart pounding, not knowing what to do. He’s clearly not in our pack. What is he doing here? 

Judging from the scar on his face, and his tall stature and deadly charms, I could quickly deduce he’s Alpha Magnus, the man that the two she/wolves just talked about. He is the strongest alpha and has the strongest pack in this country, but I know damn well he is not invited.

Out of all, our alpha may have been kind, but he is competitive as hell and hates Alpha Magnus to the core. He treats him as his rival that he made everyone train…

So this is it. Alpha Magnus is deadly. He may be mischievous and playful to the she-wolves, but one wrong move and you’ll end up dead. I noticed he was alone here. Did he..plan to attack us when all our warriors are in the party? 

I wanted to press the bell that we are under attack, that someone trespassed us but the gorgeous man below me just flashed me a smirk. 

“Normal werewolves have a very calm flow of blood, just like humans…” He sniffed me, and I flinched, feeling a bit embarrassed. 

“You have a unique flow of flood. I could just hear it gushing like a waterfall…” he said, again, closing his eyes as if savoring it. Now that he’s close, I could see the golden specs in his iris that are now turning in red color but groaned, shaking his head to concentrate. 

Is he saying I am different or unique? I couldn’t make sense of it. 

“Well beautiful, can you keep it quiet that I trespassed here?”  He requested softly, I blinked, feeling myself giving in but I shook my head to resist.

I wanted to leave right then and there. Before I had the time to react, he quickly went up to the tree and went in front of me. He stood by the branch, looking at me with a heavy look. 

“Please, beautiful?” His voice was rather sexy and raspy in my ear, and I felt tempted to push my lips to his but I held my breath.

He sniffed the air, “Your heart is racing, sweetheart.” He then looked at my knee, “And you're bleeding.” 

I glanced at my foot to see blood dripping from my ankle. In an instant, he scooped me up and licked my knee. 

I gasped, feeling the warmth from his body and his saliva tingling my sensation. I looked at my wound to see it healing quickly, the blood had disappeared. 

Hmm, he’s not an alpha for nothing. I couldn’t help but feel envy for that super-fast healing they have…if only I was born with it too…

He licked his lips, eyeing me with a smirk and putting me down. “Careful princess.” 

I gulped. Suddenly, I grabbed the rope from the bell and yelled loudly, “We are under attack! Everyone! We are under attack!” 

He quickly covered my mouth to silence me, and I felt this was my last night.  

Goodbye Darian.

Goodbye Valentina. 

I expected his hand to aim at my thin neck but I only felt his strong hands gently removing it from my mouth. 

“You seem to misunderstand me. I am invited here.”

I looked at him suspiciously. He may be drop-dead gorgeous but don’t be deceived. Plus,  He’s dangerous. 

He sighed, “You alpha is stepping down, I have to be there. We are old friends after all.” 

I don’t know if he’s sarcastic or bluffing with me but I cleared my throat. 

‘He’s invited. Let him in’

I heard a familiar deep commanding voice in my head. Oh. It’s Darian’s father, our alpha. He may have sensed Alpha Magnus’s scent so he informed me. Oh…so the ceremony still hasn’t taken place? I felt a bit happy knowing I might be able to not miss the chance of his night. 

But I felt a bit embarrassed, knowing I made a mistake in front of Alpha Magnus but scared for my life, knowing I would be dead soon. 

“Alpha Magnus. We could have escorted you.” I said with respect, bowing a bit. 

“There’s no need. My beta came already before me, I want to come along and explore your pack.” his eyes darted to me, “You have more beauties here, I should have lived here.” He added. 

I almost choked on my own spit but tried to hide it. 

“Oh by the way, why are you here? Aren't you joining the party?” He asked. I bit my lip, wanting him to leave now so I could guard in peace. That was a false alarm. 

“I'm on duty, Alpha Magnus,” I replied. 

He looked at me pityingly, “That’s a bummer. Tell your alpha not to worry. It’s a party, everyone should be included, and you are alone guarding here. It must have been so hard for you.” 

 I felt a bit surprised. I expected him to be uptight, commanding aloha but he seems to chill. His aura is not as intimidating as our alpha, but with the way he calmly leans back, as if nothing could even faze him, he sure is strong as hell.

Is he controlling it? His aura? 

Just then, he was about to jump down the tree when the tree branch snapped and I yelled in horror, seeing the ground closer as my head was falling down first. I felt a sharp pain in my back and I cursed under my breath. I didn’t have time to brace for the impact! 

I could feel my shoulder dislocated now, my right hand strained.

I glared at Aloha Magnus, knowing the tee broke because of his heavyweight. He’s 6’2, of course, he’d be heavy. 

I kind of somehow expected him to help me from the landing but he didn't care, 

“You didn't jump on time.” He stated, looking surprised. “The  omegas in my pack can even lift a whole tree.” 

I winced in pain, “I apologize, I’m too weak that my abilities are so weak.” 

“Not surprising.” He commented, looking at my weak body, and I took it as an insult. So he might not be the intimidating type of alpha, but he can be so degrading with his words. 

“It was your fault tho,” I spoke up. Well, I wasn’t scared of him. 

 “Feisty.” He commented again. “I see that I’m responsible for this so I’ll take you to your pack doctor then.” He said, offering to carry me. 

I shook my head, grabbing my arm and yelping a bit. 

“I’ll walk. I experience pain every day anyway, this is no big deal.” 

It is a big deal. I just lied to keep my face and dignity. No way in hell I would surrender and be treated so pity.

But with one sweep of motion, I felt him scooping me up in a bridal style. I held my breath, stunned at this. This is my first time being carried like this, other than Darian. I could smell earth's scent, a nice mix of lavender. 

I wanted to complain but I shut my mouth as I saw his jaw clenching, his eyes in deep thought. He was very fast in running, much faster than Darian, and in no time was on the packhouse. He let me down gently and looked around. 

Some wolves surrounded us, giggling at the sight of Aloha Magnus while glaring at me and giving confused looks, and whispering to each other. 

Great. Another reason for them to bully me.

“I’m not late, am I?” Alpha Magnus asked as our Alpha came to greet him. 

I watched the two of them, kind of strange for two alpha’s to be on good terms, much more to these two who had been on bad terms…

“Kamilah!” I heard someone yelling, and it was Darian. 

I broke into a grin, “Have I missed the good part?”

He shook his head, “No, the moon is just appearing.”

The ceremony then started as everyone settled in. We watched as Darian took his oath. I couldn’t help but glance at Alpha Magnus who was watching everything with no emotion. 

When it was complete, I could hear Darian’s mind link to me and he grinned in my direction. I blushed a bit but was happy for him. The red color of the moon somehow escaped from the window, letting us know that it was time. Time for mates.

I glanced at Darian nervously and closed my eyes, praying one more for him to be mine. And when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

He was walking in Valentina's direction, his eyes completely mesmerized. Valentina gulped and grinned as Darian was on her hands. She looked in my direction and smirked.

I halted, feeling everything pausing before me and nothing else was there except Darian and Valentina, my friends. I looked at the red moon again and cursed it. 

Darian…is not my mate.