MATED TO RUTHLESS ALPHA BROTHERS

GISELLE

I take a deep breath and step into the ruins of the old temple, all my senses alert.

The sun is starting to set at the horizon, and it is getting darker gradually. As far as my ears and nose can tell, there isn't a single soul at this part of the woods.

There can't be a more perfect time than this.

I carefully walk through the ruins, watching my steps in the debris. I continue until I reach the centre of the ruins, where the two pillars stand tall and proud.

Even though most of the structure of the ancient temple has collapsed and withered away due to time and weather, the twin pillars remain standing. Had I come at dawn, I could have seen the sun rising through them at the East. That would have been beautiful to watch, but I've saved that for another day.

The carvings on the pillars are clearer than ever, regardless of all the damage the rest of the structure has suffered. This always makes me wonder about the materials used to erect the pillars. But tonight, my interests are somewhere else.

I am here for something more important, and I need to focus on that.

I stand between the two pillars, facing the vast snow-top mountains. I close my eyes and take several more breaths to calm my body down and focus on my surroundings until I feel myself becoming one with the woods. I feel everything at that moment-the turn of the breeze, the rustle of the leaves, the gentle way they land on the forest floor, and how the small animals and insects move around.

I stand there until I feel like an extension of the woods. It all feels so right at the moment.

This is it!

I start chanting the spells gently, lifting my hands and feeling the night breeze playing with my hair. I can't help but smile at that. It feels so good. I am starting to love it all too much until the breeze stops flowing abruptly.

The woods around me fall silent, or everything freeze- I can't decide.

Everything has been put on pause, and the reason for that is an all-powerful presence that I feel behind me. I want to turn around and see it, but I can't bring myself to.

A shiver runs down my spine when I feel the presence approaching me. I swallow hard.

"Is that you, Mother?" I whisper, on the verge of shaking.

"Why did you summon me, my child?" A voice asks. It is the sweetest and most soothing voice I have ever heard. It instantly puts me at ease, but still, I don't find the courage to turn around and face her.

"Is... is this real? You are real?" I ask, unable to believe my ears that I am talking to the moon goddess.

"I'm as real as everything around us, and tell me, why did you summon me?" She urges, stopping behind me where I can feel her power surging through me with such intensity that it makes me feel weak in my knees.

"Mother..." I lick my lips, feeling anxious all of a sudden. I should've thought about this more but fuck it. I am here, and the moon goddess is waiting for me to speak. I don't feel like wasting her time. I need to be upfront with her about what I want, otherwise, I am never going to get it.

After all, I know well from childhood that closed mouths never get fed.

"I'm looking for a mate," I tell her upfront and received a gentle, amused laugh from her.

"I can guess," I hear the smile in her voice.

"I'm done dating and waiting for my mate to come around. Most wolves find their mates before their twentieth birthday. Don't you think it's a bit too late for me?" I ask her.

"Nine years late, to be precise," She agrees with a gentle smile.

"Exactly..." I sigh. "I'm just tired of waiting. It's hard, especially when I see everyone around me paired up," I whisper, blinking, tears stinging my eyes. I don't want to think about my last boyfriend, Eric. He was like me too- mateless, and I thought I would have him with me for a while until last year when he met his mate.

In that moment, everything changed. He dumped me in the blink of an eye and disappeared with his new mate, leaving me alone again. I had tried my best to move on from that, but it had done the damage. After all, it wasn't the first time that had happened.

I had another boyfriend before Eric. He was way older, but he was mateless. I thought he'd be great for me, but he went out without me one night and found his mate. Just like that and dumped me over a fucking text. It hurt bad then, but I was younger and thought I'd learn to live with it, and then I met Eric.

I should've thought it through. I should've been careful and known better, but no. It shattered me when I got dumped for the second time, especially after dating Eric for almost six years. And now, here I am- mateless, clueless and on the verge of becoming lifeless!

Since Eric dumped me last year, I decided to be celibate and wait for my mate, but... it got too hard. Too fucking lonely. I'm the only mateless person I know. And this time, I don't have it in me to pull myself back again and find someone else, only to be dumped for the third time so fucking brutally.

If I get dumped the third time, then I'll lose it. So I ended up paying a witch heavily for a spell to summon the moon goddess, and now here I am- asking her for my mate.

"I know what you mean, my child, but everyone has their time," she assures me.

"When will mine come?" I ask her, impatient. I don't care how I sound at the moment. I am desperate for a mate- just someone to cling to in this empty life of mine. I have no family and no friends. Only some associates that I work with once in a while. It doesn't help that my work is somewhat solitary.

I am done with this. I need someone, or else I am going to lose myself.

"Soon," the moon goddess assures me.

"How soon?" I press.

"You'll find that out," She speaks. I don't miss how she sounds uncertain about that herself. This almost makes me turn around and look at her.

"Have you not found anyone for me yet?" I ask her.

"Is there anything particular you're looking for?" She asks me after a pause. That uncertain tone remains in her voice. I tilt my head to the side, thinking.

"Actually, yes," I breath, feeling excited.

"Then tell me, my child. What do you wish to have in your mate? I have made you wait long. I owe this to you," she urges, something dark in her voice. I lick my lips excitedly, ready with a long list. But I wish I had given it some more thought!

There's a reason why they always advice people to be careful what they wish for!

"I would like someone kind and nurturing," I start.

"Kind and nurturing," the moon goddess notes.

"But at the same time, aggressive and ruthless," I imagin. It is contrasting, but oh, it lights up a fire inside me. I hadn't thought about this properly before. This is the first time I am thinking about my likes and dislikes in a person.

Otherwise, I generally dated whoever I found mateless, and that was a minuscule population that was constantly dwindling. So I didn't really ever have a choice. I went with whatever I got, and that always ended up in me being dumped and feeling hurt.

"Aggressive," the moon goddess mutters, a strange infliction in her voice. I don't pay much attention to that and continue.

"I want someone who will treat me like I am the most fragile thing on this earth, but at the same time, I want them to be rough and overly possessive with me.

I want someone who would let me be myself but, at the same time, call me out on my shit and set me straight whenever I cross any line.

I want someone who praises but punishes me, too.

I want someone who yearns for me and at the same time cannot live without me.

I want someone who craves me so much that it'll hurt them to live without me for even one day.

I want someone who sees my best and worst and yet accepts me with an open heart.

I want someone who makes my heart flutter, and pussy ache every time I look at them.

I want someone who supports me no matter what.

I want someone who will follow me to hell if that's the place I wish to go.

I want someone who's so obsessed with me that their only goal in life is to please me, pleasure me, and make me quiver with need every time they touch and look at me because my need for them is their only source of sustenance.

I want someone who makes me laugh every day and makes me cry with pleasure every night for the rest of my life.

I want someone who is generous and giving, but they are greedy when it's their turn to derive pleasure.

I want someone who worships me like their life depends on my blessings but at the same time ravages me like they own every part of me.

I want someone who loves me so much that I feel so full every fucking time!"

I am still surprised to feel the presence of the goddess behind me when I am done speaking. I thought she might have left in the middle because no one has any time for a crying camilla like me, but she is here, listening, and it gives me some sort of comfort.

It will be okay if I don't end up getting what I want, but for once, I am glad that I am able to get it all off my chest instead of just burying it down and only wishing. At least now, I know that I have asked even if I don't end up with it.

"Hmm... that's quite a lot," the moon goddess comments, a hint of something unreadable in her voice. I tilt my head to the side to listen more closely to her. "But I've heard you." she concludes.

"Thanks for listening," I sigh deeply.

"I will see what I can do," she tells me, her voice hardening all of a sudden, "But I have a condition!"

I freeze.

A condition?

Of course. What did I expect? That I could just summon the moon goddess and ask her for a mate, and that will happen all like that? No. Everything comes at a price!

"What condition?" I ask.

"It's simple but might not be easy for you..." she trails off, her voice somewhat unfocused. "Whatever I shall give you, you shall accept without a question." She states firmly.

I find her words strange. Everyone accepts their mates. I have hardly heard of rejections. They happen, yeah, but they are quite rare, and for a moment, this makes me wonder if I will end up being one of those unfortunate selected few who end up getting rejected.

Suddenly, my heart aches. No. I won't be able to take that. Every relationship I've ever had so far has always ended bitterly for me. Whether it be friends, family or my couple of boyfriends. Everyone always left me. What is the guarantee that my mate won't? The idea scares the shit out of me!

Why can't I just catch a break for once? What did I do to deserve such pain and loneliness?

"I will accept my mate," I tell her sternly, earning a mocking laugh from her. At that moment, I wonder if I am doing the right thing by asking her to pair me. I don't miss the cruel tone in her laugh. Is this her way of giving me new sources of pain in my life?

"You must keep your word," She states darkly, taking a step closer to me. A chill runs down my spine. The energies oozing out of her subdue my senses and threaten to overpower me. I feel so weak at that moment that without realising it, I drop to my knees.

"I...I will," I breath, feeling light-headed. In response, she laughs that mocking laugh out loud until the voice echoes throughout the woods. The night air suddenly turns so chilly that it makes me shiver. Black dots are starting to appear in my vision while the rest of my body starts to feel weaker.

I collapse on the floor, my head hitting the ground and pain sears through my head. My body seems to be growing colder with every passing second, but at the same time, it feels like I am burning.

I have never experienced something like this before. As my consciousness continues to fade away, I feel the presence of the moon goddess lingering around me.

"Sleep my child," I hear her whisper as I swim in darkness, "get all the sleep you can before they find you!"

They? Who is she talking about? What does she mean by that? I wish I can ask her that, but it is too late already!