FORBIDDEN MATES

Tonight is the mating ball; an annual festivity celebrated across all the werewolf Packs during which wolves who have come of age find their mates.

Everyone is expected to grace this occasion, no exception.

While everyone in the pack is over the moon with the approaching mating ball, Kendra is different. She makes it a point to miss the ball. She dreads the idea of being shackled by a mate. There is no room in her heart for love. All she thinks about is having her revenge, but a mate doesn't fit into her agenda.

Twenty years ago, rogues killed Kendra’s family and Pack, and Kendra had dedicated most of her life to finding the rogue who took the life of her parents and getting her revenge.

During the day, she works as a paralegal in a big law firm, and at night, she shades her clothes of justice and dons her hunting clothes, executing justice by herself.

She hunts rogues at night in search of the one who stole everything from her, killing them mercilessly if they wouldn't give her the answers she wants.

Her target has been elusive for years; no one knows where he has been. Everyone thinks the rogue leader Raghnall is dead, but Kendra knows differently.

After Raghnall and his pack of rogues destroyed her pack, the Black Moon Pack, her adopted pack, along with three other Packs, waged a war against the Golden Moon Pack, led by Egon Raghnall, a ruthless and power-hungry rogue who managed to unite rogues under his rule.

Egon had been a beta in his Pack, Red Moon Pack, but because of his greed for power, he challenged his Alpha for his seat and lost. After his loss, Egon was cast out from the Pack, turning him into a rogue.

Everyone believed it to be the end of the beta. For years, no one heard from Egon, and rogue attacks were few to none.

Rogues are mindless wolves ruled by their most basic instincts. Their animal half suppresses their human side and is incapable of reasoning. They spend most of their time in their animal form.

They lack discipline and are unable to organize themselves without fighting each other. There is always a squabble for territory, food, and power until Egon.

Rogue attacks went from rarely happening to occurring every day. At first, they seemed random and small-scale. Everyone ignored them, not seeing the threat that loomed until the Red Moon Pack attack.

It was the most significant rogue attack until the attack on Kendra’s Pack, the White Moon Pack.

The two attacks happened two years apart. Kendra was three years old then. She hadn't understood much, but she could remember the tension and panic that rocked her Pack when the news of Red Moon Pack's destruction reached their Pack.

The destruction alerted the rest of the Packs that something else was happening and that the frequent rogue attacks weren't random. The organization of the attack aroused suspicion of a possible leader for the rogues.

Many didn't believe it because reasoning, rationality, intelligence, and loyalty aren't precisely qualities you would find in rogues.

And that is when rumors of a rogue Alpha began to circulate. It didn't take long for Egon to make himself public. He is a man who thrives on power and fear, and he isn't going to miss the opportunity to rub his newly acquired power into the noses of the other Pack Alphas.

He declared his Packs of rogues the Golden Moon Pack and threatened to subjugate all the Packs under his rule.

Most of the Packs took his threat lightly, deeming it the lofty words of a madman. Sadly, Kendra’s Pack was one of the ones who didn't take Egon seriously until he attacked.

The attack on the White Moon Pack finally opened the eyes of the other Packs, awakening them to the serious threat Egon posed if left unchecked.

Three months later, following the destruction of her Pack, her adoptive father organized his Pack, along with the other Packs, and launched a high-scale attack on the Golden Moon Pack.

It was a serious battle that went on for months, causing casualties on both sides of the fence, but it was brought to a close with the rogues defeated and Egon slithering away, severely injured, with his tails tucked between his legs.

Everyone believes Egon is gone and no longer a threat, so no one is looking for him, but not Kendra. She couldn't forget the glimpse of those crimson orbs, filled with pure evil and madness, she had seen as a child. They torment her dreams and her every waking moment. She would never have peace until she finds the son of a bitch and kills him.

The only way to free herself from the nightmares that torment her is to avenge her parents, but sadly, she hasn't been able to catch wind of Egon. It is as if he has disappeared off the face of the earth.

But that isn't a problem because Kendra will follow him to Hades even if he has gone there.

Kendra pushed back her dark thoughts and moved to the long-mounted mirror on her wall to check her appearance.

Standing in front of the mirror, she adjusted the collar of her tailored black suit. Her icy blue eyes stared back at her, void of warmth. Her striking androgynous features were commanding, but there was no trace of softness in her reflection. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d genuinely smiled.

Probably never.

Living with the loss of her parents had been very difficult. It didn't matter that her adoptive parents loved her so much and gave her everything she ever needed; the void left behind by the death of her parents remained unfulfilled.

She had been angry, rebellious, and destructive as a teenager, anything to stop the agony and pain consuming her alive. Still, nothing worked until she started her vigilante campaign.

Hunting down rogues gave her a purpose and helped keep her demons at bay. Every rogue she kills brings her one step closer to her target.

Tonight is the first time Kendra is attending the mating ball. She didn't bother attending hers when she was eighteen; instead, she had gone out drinking and clubbing. She woke up the following day with a raging headache and two women sandwiching her.

This time, though, is different. It is her sister’s turn, and her father wants her there to support her little sister.

The thought of her sister caused a weird pang in Kendra’s heart, a mixture of sadness and guilt. She hasn't been the best sister. Her anger and resentment toward the world caused her to keep everyone at arm's length, including her sister.

Though it wasn't just her trauma that caused the rift between her and her sister, she couldn't stand the blonde’s chirpy personality. Her sister isn't just beautiful; she is friendly and has a sunny personality—qualities that make Kendra want to barf.

She resented her sister for being happy and having everything she had been denied—loving parents and a Pack that adored her. Honestly, her adoptive parents did their best to make her feel part of the family, even though she hadn't been the easiest person to love. Yet their affections couldn't replace those of her parents.

Satisfied that she looked passable for the occasion, Kendra left her room and apartment for the building’s garage, where her car was Parked.

She doesn't live with her family anymore; she left when she turned twenty-one. The condo she lives in is a gift from her parents.

She entered her army-green Chrysler SRT 8 and drove off toward the venue of the ball. It is happening in one of the best hotels in the city.

Walking into the ballroom, Kendra was greeted by neon flashing lights, music, and chatter from the mini crowd. Everyone was dressed tastefully: men in their various colors of tuxedos, mostly Black, though, rocking their pristine white shirts and ties, and the ladies stunningly dressed in their myriad colors of dinner gowns and looking splendid.

Kendra is one of the few ladies in the room who opted for a suit instead of a dress, and her impressive, tall figure made her even more dashing in it than most men.

Kendra’s stunning androgenic features make her a magnet for both male and female attention, which she immediately picked up as she transversed the room in search of her parents.

She spotted them in a deep discussion with the Alpha of Gray Moon Pack, Silver Moon Pack, and their spouses, and approached them.

Her mother noticed her first, breaking into a radiant smile.

Kendra, darling, try not to look so grim. You’re at a ball, not a funeral,” the petite blonde teased, her green eyes sparkling.

Kendra bared her teeth in mock irritation. “How’s this?” she quipped through a forced smile.

“Worse,” her mother retorted, rolling her eyes, before opening her arms to Kendra. “Come here, you big dork.”

Kendra walked into her mother’s embrace. “Hello, mother,” she greeted softly while taking in her mother's familiar lavender scent.

It was a scent that had anchored her all these years.

“Your mother was worried that you wouldn't show, her father commented when she pulled back from her mother, his piercing gray eyes meeting hers.

Kendra shrugged her slender shoulders. Honestly, she was tempted. “I wanted to be here for Adira,” she said, holding her father's eyes briefly, then looking away to avoid his wolf mistaking her stare as a challenge.

Kendra loves her adoptive father, but he reminded her so much of her father, who had been her best friend, and she couldn't handle the constant reminder, which strained their relationship.

“Where is Adira?” Kendra asked. She hadn't seen her sister in five years because she had made it a point to avoid the younger blonde. She wondered how much the little girl she knew had grown.

“Right behind you,” came a sweet, familiar voice.

Kendra turned slowly, her breath catching as her icy blue eyes locked with vibrant green ones. Time seemed to stand still. Her wolf surged forward, howling one word that sent shockwaves through her being.

“Mate!”