Chapter 2

Allister’ pov

I dodged left and took a claw to the ribs.

The pain was sharp and immediate, but I barely felt it. I was too focused on the three wolves circling me, their teeth bared, their eyes hungry. The practice field was packed with pack members today. They had formed a wide circle around us, their cheers and shouts echoing off the training dummies and weapon racks.

Three against one. My request. My stupidity.

The first wolf lunged. I sidestepped and caught him by the scruff, throwing him into the second wolf. They tumbled together in a heap of fur and snarls. The third wolf tried to come at me from behind, but I heard his paws on the dirt. I spun around and met him head on, slamming my body into his and driving him to the ground.

"Come on," I growled through my wolf's teeth. "Is that all you have?"

The crowd loved it. I could hear them cheering my name, shouting encouragement, whistling through their fingers. But I could also hear the other stuff. The quiet stuff. The mutters that people thought I could not hear.

"Eight years without a Luna. The pack is getting restless."

"He is powerful, but imagine how much stronger he would be with a mate."

"They say he does not even look anymore. Just gave up."

I bit back a snarl that had nothing to do with the fight. The three wolves were getting back to their feet, shaking off the dirt and regrouping. Good. I needed to hit something.

I threw my head back and howled.

The sound ripped through the practice field like a thunderclap. The crowd went silent. The three wolves froze for just a second, and that was all I needed.

I moved faster than they could track. First wolf, I took his legs out from under him and pinned him until he tapped out with his paw. Second wolf, I clamped my jaws gently around his throat and held until he went limp. The third wolf tried to run, but I chased him down and body slammed him into the dirt so hard he saw stars.

All three were down in less than ten seconds.

The crowd erupted. But I was already shifting back.

The change was brutal and fast. Bones cracked. Fur receded. I rose to my feet on two legs, naked and sweating and not caring at all. Let them look. Let them mutter. I was the Alpha of the Moonshine Pack, and I had just taken down three trained guards by myself. I had earned the right to stand here however I wanted.

I scanned the crowd slowly, letting my cold stare drift over the faces of the people who had been muttering. Most of them looked away immediately. A few had the nerve to hold my gaze for a second before dropping their eyes.

Good.

They should be uncomfortable. They should remember who I was.

Anton appeared at my side with a pair of pants and a shirt. My Beta. Dark haired, quiet, loyal to the bone. He did not say anything as I took the clothes and pulled them on. He never said much. That was why I liked him.

"Good fight," Anton said as we walked off the practice field together.

"They were slow today."

"They were afraid of you. It's hard to fight well when you are scared."

I snorted. "Then they need to learn to hide it better."

We walked through the pack house and up the stairs to my office. The halls were busy with pack members going about their day, but they all stepped aside when they saw me coming. No one met my eyes. No one said a word. That was how I liked it.

My name is Allister Rowan. I am twenty four years old, and I am the Alpha of the Moonshine Pack. We are the last line of security for the werewolf royals, which means my pack is one of the most powerful in the region. But power only means so much when you are alone.

I do not have a mate.

I have never had a mate. I have never even caught a hint of her scent, not once in all my adult years. But I have never let myself believe she is dead. If she were, I would have felt it. The bond breaking would have ripped me apart from the inside. I would have known.

She is out there somewhere. I just have not found her yet.

The mutterings at the practice field were about that. Always about that. An Alpha without a Luna is not as powerful as an Alpha with a Luna. It is not just about strength. It is about stability. A mated Alpha thinks clearer, fights harder, rules better. Everyone knows this.

For the last four years, my parents have been trying to fix that little problem. They want me to get married. Choose a Luna. Any Luna, as long as she is from a good family and can produce heirs. They do not care about the mate bond. They care about appearances.

Women get thrown at me constantly. At pack gatherings. At royal events. At random dinners my mother arranges without telling me. I avoid them like a plague. I have never even met my mate, but I am loyal to her. I will not touch another woman. I will not pretend some arranged marriage can replace what fate has planned for me.

Anton closed the office door behind us and took his usual seat across from my desk. He was twenty six, two years older than me, and just as mateless. We did not talk about it much. Some wounds did not need words.

"Security reports," I said, dropping into my chair. "Give me the highlights."

Anton pulled a folded paper from his pocket and flattened it on the desk. "Border patrols are holding steady. No unusual activity from the surrounding packs. The royal family has requested additional guards for the upcoming summit."

"How many?"

"At least twenty."

I rubbed my temples. "We do not have twenty to spare. Tell them we can send ten."

"They will not like that."

"They never like anything."

Anton was about to say something else when the office door burst open. No knock. No warning. Just the door slamming against the wall and my mother sweeping inside like she owned the place.

Which, technically, she did. She was the Luna. But still.

"Allister," my mother said, her voice bright and sharp. "I have someone for you to meet."

She was holding a woman by the hand. Pulling her into the room like a child showing off a new toy. I recognized the woman immediately. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A smile that did not reach her face.

Cassandra. My childhood friend. Or rather, the daughter of my father's closest ally. We had grown up together. We played together. Fought together. And then we had grown up, and she had decided she wanted to be Luna.

I hated her.

Not because she was cruel or stupid. She was neither. I hated her because she had tried to climb into my bed at least six times in the last two years. At pack celebrations. At royal balls. At my own birthday party, while my parents were in the next room. She was relentless and she did not take hints.

I did not know why my mother adored her so much.

"Mother," I said flatly. "I am in a meeting."

"This is more important than a meeting." My mother pushed Cassandra forward. "Cassandra and I have been talking, and we think it is time you two had a serious conversation about the future."

Anton caught my eye and raised one eyebrow. I shook my head slightly. He stood up.

"I should go," Anton said.

My mother said, "Definitely, you should leave."

She did not say please. She did not ask. She just stared at Anton until he nodded once and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stop being stubborn." My mother sat down in the chair Anton had vacated. Cassandra hovered behind her, twisting her hands together. "You need a Luna, Allister. The pack needs a Luna. Your father and I will not be here forever."

"You are both perfectly healthy."

"That is not the point. Cassandra is willing. Her family is powerful. It makes sense."

Cassandra tried to smile at me. I looked at her coldly. She dropped her eyes to the floor. She could not hold my gaze. She never could, not since she rejected her own mate bond three years ago.

I knew about that. Everyone knew. Cassandra had found her fated mate, a kind man from a small pack, and she had turned him down because he was not powerful enough for her. She had broken his heart and shattered their bond just so she could keep chasing after me.

I would rather die alone than touch someone like that.

"I am not marrying her," I said.

"Allister…."

"I am not marrying anyone. I have a mate. I will find her when the time is right."

My mother's face hardened. "You have been saying that for years. She is not coming. You need to accept that and move on."

Something inside me snapped.

Not on the outside. On the outside, I stayed still and silent, my face blank. But deep in my chest, my wolf stirred. Lucian. My wolf had always been dormant, quiet, barely a presence in my mind. He rarely spoke to me. Sometimes weeks went by without me hearing a single thought from him.

But now he spoke.

Mate.

Just one word. Soft and certain. Like a bell ringing in the dark.

My heart stopped. Then it started again, faster than before, pounding against my ribs like it wanted to break free.

“Mate”, Lucian said again. “Close. Go.”

I stood up so fast my chair nearly tipped over. My mother's mouth was still open, mid sentence. Cassandra flinched back.

I did not say a word. I just walked to the door, opened it, and sprinted down the hall.

I ran through the pack house. Through the halls. Down the stairs. Out the front door. My legs could not move fast enough. My wolf was screaming at me now, a flood of direction and urgency that I had never felt before. Left. Right. Straight. Faster.

The border.

I ran until I reached the edge of our territory, the place where our land met the wild forest. I stopped and spun in a circle, looking everywhere, searching for her.

Nothing. Just trees and dirt and the setting sun.

"Where?" I shouted at my wolf. "There is no one here!"

Lucian was quiet. I waited, my chest heaving, my heart still racing. Nothing.

I scolded him silently. Fool. Idiot. Getting my hopes up for nothing.

I turned to leave.

Then I smelled it.

Blood. Fresh. And underneath it, something else. Something that made my whole body go through a delicious shock, from the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my feet. A scent. Sweet and wild and warm, like honey and pine and something I could not name.

I dropped to my knees and found the source. Blood on the ground, still wet. And an arrow, broken, the shaft coated in something green.

I picked up the arrow and brought it to my nose.

Lucian lost his mind.

MATE MATE MATE MATE MATE.

He was howling inside my head, pacing, clawing, frantic with joy. I had never heard him make so much noise. I had never felt him so alive.

My mate had been here.

"Guards!" I shouted, my voice carrying across the border. "Border guards, to me now!"

Two guards came running, their faces pale. They must have heard something in my voice. Something that told them this was not a regular summons.

"Alpha," one of them said, bowing his head. "What do you need?"

"What happened here?" I held up the arrow. "Whose blood is this?"

The guards exchanged a glance. The second one spoke. "A group of rogues, Alpha. Five of them. They attacked the eastern weapons storage about an hour ago. We fought them off and took them to the dungeon. They are being interrogated now."

Five rogues.

My mate was a rogue.

I should have been concerned. I should have been asking questions about security breaches and border vulnerabilities. I should have been angry.

Instead, I felt a smile spreading across my face. I could not stop it. I did not want to stop it.

The guards stared at me like I had grown a second head. They had never seen me smile. No one had, not really. Not like this.

"Alpha?" the first guard said carefully.

I stood up, still holding the arrow. I pressed it to my chest, right over my heart.

"Show me to the dungeon," I said.

And then, to Lucian, I thought: Just a few more minutes, bud. We will have her soon.