THE BEAST

Drake’s POV

As much as I hated having to wait, I hated having my hands tied even more, and judging by the reactions of the elders around me, they all knew it.

“Please sir, you need a mate.”

“What would the other packs say if you still don’t have a mate?”

Whispers and requests like that have been ringing in my ears for years now. Eventually, I had grown tired of them, and ordered for a girl to be brought to me, any girl.

But somehow, they had chosen her – the cursed girl.

I almost laughed when I learned who they had chosen for me. I could have canceled the ceremony, but I didn’t. For once, I was going to actually go against my better judgment.

So, there I was, standing right at the end of the ceremonial hall, and waiting for a girl who had somehow managed to be ten minutes late to her own mating ceremony.

Around me, hundreds of Dark Thorne wolves filled the enormous hall.

My warriors stood along the walls, while the elders of the pack occupied the front seats. Some of them were clearly pissed about this arrangement, while others had smiles on their faces.

I didn’t care about either faction, all I wanted was for this to be over.

Around me, everything was supposed to be perfect. Well, everything except the bride.

I wasn't nervous, or excited. This marriage was an alliance with a pack, nothing more.

One of the major reasons I had agreed was because I needed the connection to their pack’s lands to protect against my enemies. Love had never been part of the agreement.

Besides, I had never been capable of experiencing the thing everyone else called a mate bond. Why would I when I didn’t even have a wolf?

That had been my curse since birth.

The doors suddenly opened, and everyone’s attention immediately snapped towards them.

The moment my eyes landed on the wolf that was supposed to be my mate, I frowned.

The woman that stepped into the hall, while beautiful, looked … weak and defeated.

She was barefoot, her dress was dirty and snow clung tightly to the fabric of her dress. My eyes only settled on them for a second before moving towards the dark spots that stained the white cloth.

Blood.

My eyes dropped to her feet, which were now completely red. She was bleeding, and she was trembling so badly that I could see it from across the hall.

My expression hardened. Where was her family?

It was customary for the family to be here.

The woman looked up, spotted me and froze. Just like most people, whenever they saw me for the first time, her eyes widened, and she took a couple of steps back in shock.

But she quickly calmed down her emotions, and then, began to walk forward.

Her body was trembling more now, and it wasn’t from pain, but from fear. She lowered her head as she walked.

But I could still spot the fear in her eyes. I knew what she must have heard about me.

To the entire world, I was the Beast. The Broken Alpha. The wolf-less monster.

Over the years, I have seen that look tens of thousands of times. It was enough times that I had even begun to expect it, but somehow, when I saw that expression on her face, it bothered me.

When she got close to me, she stopped and bowed, “Alpha,” she whispered under her breath, her voice trembling almost as bad as her body was.

"Where is your family?" I asked, trying to keep my voice gentle.

I must have failed because the moment I spoke, she visibly flinched.

Then, her gaze grew still, "They …" Her voice broke, but she took a deep breath before she continued, “They left me at the gate,”

My eyes narrowed. That was a disrespect. One that I would certainly punish.

"They left you there?" I asked, “Alone?”

Every time I spoke, she flinched, every time I stared at her, she flinched. And every time she flinched, it felt like a little knife was stabbed right into my heart.

I had no idea why I was feeling this way about a girl I had just met, but it was definitely troubling.

I looked down at her feet, and the blood had already begun to pool around her. Something cold began to settle in my chest. Even if she was going to be my mate, I had no reason to care about her. But yet, I suddenly wanted to beat down both her parents for hurting her.

Finally, I turned around, and nodded at the elder, who straightened and prepared to start the exchange of vows.

“What is your name?” I asked, my gaze still straight,

"Lyra," The girl answered, clearly still afraid of me.

But she found the strength to walk to my side before stopping.

I found myself strangely intrigued by that. Most people either avoided my gaze or challenged me. She did neither. She was clearly still terrified of me, but she was still standing.

That was very impressive.

The elder stepped forward, and when his gaze darted towards Lyra, he didn’t bother to hide the disdain he clearly felt for her.

"Alpha Drake,” he greeted with a patronizing smile on his face, “Perhaps we should postpone the ceremony. The bride is clearly—"

"The ceremony continues." I hissed,

The elder’s lips parted, but a single glare was enough to stop him in his tracks.

Everyone in my pack knew better than to try and talk back to me.

It took about a minute before everyone was prepared, and the ceremony could start. From the corner of my eyes, I spotted my younger brother, Derrick, walking bodily into the hall.

As always, he was late. And as always, he carried himself with the buster of a man who believed he was on top of the world.

He flashed me a grin, and sat down at the front seat.

The elder glanced at him once before turning to face and beginning the ancient vows.

I barely listened as the ceremony went by. The only thought on my mind was about the woman standing right next to me.

When it got to the vows, and the exchange of crest rings, Lyra visibly stiffened.

"Drake Thorne, do you accept Lyra as your mate and Luna?"

I looked at her, and she was trembling, but her gaze was also resolute. She clearly wanted this to go through.

"Yes," I said.

The elder turned to her.

"Lyra, do you accept Drake Thorne as your mate and Alpha?"

She looked at me, and even though fear was still in her gaze. I could also see a new emotion blossoming within her – determination.

"Yes," she answered.

The instant those words left her lips, a sharp pain filled my heart, and I felt something within me break.

I staggered.

And somehow, even though it made no sense, I found myself being more complete than ever.

What the hell just happened?

I wasn’t the only thinking that, because by the time I looked up, everyone in the hall was staring right at me.

But I didn’t care, my eyes were only on Lyra, and she had clearly experienced something similar, but instead of a pained expression like I had expected, she was smiling.