Chapter two

Arthur POV

Another fight won. Another territory secured for Snow Pack.

The men in the vehicles behind us were silent, drained from hours of combat, but satisfied. Victory did that. For them, war was something to celebrate. For me, it was just another responsibility checked off the endless list that came with being Alpha.

“We won again! The greatest Alpha never disappoints!” 

I didn’t answer. Words were wasted after war.

But then it came. A scent. Faint. Sweet. Wrong. My wolf stirred, restless for the first time in years.

I stopped walking.

“Arthur?” Lucas frowned. “What is it?”

The smell grew stronger. My chest tightened. Something called to me. Something dangerous.

Lucas , my right hand man and also the beta of my pack said lazily. “You’re awfully quiet, Alpha,” he said, glancing at me with that infuriating grin. “Don’t tell me war has stolen your tongue. Or maybe…” “Maybe it’s a mate calling.”

I shot him a glare. “Don’t start, Lucas.”

He chuckled, not remotely fazed. “Oh, come on. I know that face. You’ve been sniffing the air since we crossed the border. Admit it. You smell something.”

He wasn’t wrong.

That strange pull had been gnawing at me since we left the battlefield. A scent, sweet, sharp, unfamiliar- hovered at the edge of my awareness, clawing under my skin. My wolf was restless, pacing, scratching to get out. But I forced it down. I’d lived too long without a mate to believe in miracles now.

I focused back on the road. “It’s nothing.”

It can't be a mate calling, right? I asked myself even though the scent got stronger.

“Sure.“The Alpha who never smiles, the mateless Alpha, suddenly distracted by nothing. Right.” Lucas teased again.

I ignored him, but his words landed heavier than I liked. Mateless Alpha. That was the name they’d whispered behind my back for years. I had ruled battles, secured victories, trained harder than any wolf I knew, but no matter what I achieved, the absence of a mate had always been my failure. The word was poison. I’d lived my life without one, trained my heart into steel. A mateless Alpha. That was who I was. That was why I was strong.

Maybe the Goddess had skipped me. Maybe she decided I didn’t need one. I’d learned to live with that. Or at least, I thought I had.

We rounded a bend, and Lucas suddenly sat upright. “Hold up.”

I slowed, headlights flashing over something sprawled across the roadside mud. At first glance, it looked like roadkill. Small, broken, unmoving. My men pulled over behind us, and I could hear doors slam as weapons were drawn.

Lucas cursed under his breath. “Could be a rogue spy. Or worse, a wild soul left here as bait. Let me end it. I don’t have time to waste.” He reached for his gun.

“Wait.” My voice was sharp, instinctive.

“Arthur….”

“I said wait.”

Silence fell. My men froze. Even Lucas looked thrown by the tone I used. My wolf surge through me, it's losing control for the first in years. The last time it did was the day I lose my parents.

I walked closer and the scent become deeper. It's burning in me like a fire.

Lucas’s voice broke through behind me, hesitant. “Alpha…?”

I ignored him and walked closer. The body was small, fragile. A girl. Blood stained her temple, her dress torn. She barely breathed.

My wolf roared inside me.

MATE.

That alone made me lose it all! 

No. Impossible.

My heart beat faster than normal, I felt my body feeling attached to the lady. What exactly is happening?

Is it truly a mate calling?

At that moment, I felt the urge to grab her close and claim her. I want to feel that scent my whole life.

Lucas lowered his sword slowly. “Arthur… your eyes. They’re glowing.”

I tore my gaze away from the girl, forcing control back into my voice. “She’s not an enemy. She’s coming with us.”

“What?” Lucas blinked. “You’d drag a half-dead omega into your palace? Since when do you take in strays?”

“Since I said so.” My tone was final.

The warriors exchanged uneasy glances. They had seen me slaughter men without hesitation, burn rogues without a second thought. And now here I was, sparing one girl.

No! Not sparing. Claiming.

I bent and lifted her into my arms. She was light, far too light, and her blood soaked into my shirt. She didn’t stir, but her lips moved faintly, as if whispering to someone who wasn’t there.

Something twisted in my chest. Something I didn’t want to name.

“Prepare the clinic,” I ordered. “Get the doctor. Now.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The men scattered instantly.

 Silence emerge, no dare to talk. You talk, you lose your tongue. I don't negotiate nonsense and disobedience.

Two men stepped forward, guiding the front as we headed back. Her blood smeared my jackets, but all I could hear was my wolf’s relentless chant. Mate. Mate. Mate.

The packhouse estate glowed when we arrived, modern glass and steel cutting sharp lines against the night sky. The private clinic inside was already waiting, doctors rushing forward as we carried her in.

“She’s in a coma,” the head doctor told me after what felt like hours. “Too much blood loss, but we’ll do everything we can to stabilize her.”

Coma.

The word tasted like ash.

For three days, I barely moved from her side. Lucas brought food I didn’t touch. He cracked jokes I didn’t laugh at.

 I could hear the murmur going on in the industry; they whispered about me in the halls, the Alpha who was supposed to be unshakable, now rooted to a hospital bed like a desperate man.

Let them whisper.

Every hour, I sat there, staring at her pale face, fighting the thought that she could still slip away. My wolf never stopped pacing, never stopped growling for me to protect her.

You asked for nothing, Arthur, I reminded myself on the second night, my head heavy in my hands. I told myself that I didn’t need a mate. But now I’ve found her, and I will break down if she doesn’t wake up.

I stood at her side, watching every movement, every shallow breath.

 A mate I was never meant to have. And yet, I couldn’t look away.

Three days. That’s how long she stayed unconscious.

I didn’t leave her room. Not once. Not even when Lucas threatened to drag me to the training grounds. I sat by her bed, her scent a constant torment, my wolf pacing like a caged beast.

On the third day, her fingers twitched. Her lips parted. Her eyes blinked open.

Brown. Soft. Terrified..

“Who are you? Please don’t kill me.”

“Mate!” I didn't know how it get out from my mouth. The word ripped from me, raw and uncontrollable. I was out of my chair in an instant, pulling her carefully into my arms. Relief crashed over me so hard I thought my knees might give out.

With the look in her eyes, I want to hold her and kiss her like those characters in the movies. I want to mark her as mine.

However, I'm concerned about her fear. Why would she thought of me as a killer? What exactly is she scared of?

I asked myself different questions but I got no answer. However, I don't care about her past because I'm ready to protect her and make her mine.