Chapter 3: Mate

Damian watched as his parents welcomed guests. The room was filled with wolves from different packs.

“Alpha Damian, lovely party” said Raya as she came to stand by his side.

“ Yeah. My mom did a great job. I am still wondering how she managed to pull this off. I mean she was on vacation” said Damian laughing.

“ Well never underestimate the power of a mother” replied Raya grinning. Damien sighed.

“ What is it? Are you still thinking about what elder Maurice said?” she asked him.

“ I just can't get it out of my mind. I mean if my mate will be willing to stay by my side? We are mates, she should be willing to stay by my side. We are meant for each other” said Damian.

“ It's okay. Let's take it one step at a time. We will figure it out” said Raya as she tapped him on his shoulder to comfort him.

“ This party is for unmated wolves. Last I checked, you were mated with a daughter. I hope I don't have to face the wrath of your mate later” said Damian to her. She laughed.

“ Oh come on. Zach is watching over the pack while I am away and besides Lily is keeping him busy. I don't think he has time to start getting jealous” replied Raya. Lily was Raya’s three years old daughter.

“ Alpha Damian. Nice party” said a woman's voice.A beautiful brunette dressed in a blue shimmering gown walked to them.

“ Good evening alpha Raya” said the woman then she turned to Damian and held onto his arm but Damian shook her hands off.

“ Stop it Jesse” said Damian with clenched teeth.

“ Oh come on. It's a party. Loosen up a little” said Jesse as she pouted. Raya scrunched up her nose in disgust before facing Damian.

“ Care to dance with me?” she asked him as she flashed him a dazzling smile. Damian smiled at her silently thanking her for her thoughtfulness.

“ Of course but I don't think your mate will appreciate you smiling at another man like that” said Damian teasingly as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor leaving an angry Jesse behind.

“ I think he can handle it” replied Raya as she swayed to the music.

“She needs to stop. The both of you aren't mates, why does she keep bothering you” said Raya. Damien could see that she was angry. He sighed.

“ It is my fault. I shouldn't have slept with her. I have told her several times that I am waiting for my mate but she refused to listen” said Damian. Raya was about to say something when Damian suddenly stopped moving.

“ What is it?” asked Raya with concern.

“ Nothing. Dark is just restless. He doesn't like these parties” replied Damian. Dark was Damian's wolf.Raya looked into Damian's eyes. They were glowing and his aura suddenly changed. She knew it was dark that was looking at her and not Damian.

“ Dark?” asked Raya.

“ Excuse me. I need to go” said Damian as he walked out of the party. His voice was deeper and held more authority. He turned and caught his parents eyes before leaving the party.He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room. His alpha aura was all over the place. He needed space so that he could calm down. Damien took a deep breath immediately he came out of the party.

“ Feeling better?” he asked Dark.

“ I don't like it when other she wolves touch us especially not that bitch and I hate it when we are surrounded by so many people. Their scemt is irritating” replied Dark angrily.

Damien sighed.

“ I know, but it is something we have to do if we are going to find out mate” replied Damian.

“And we will find her. She is out there. I can feel it and I know you can too” replied Dark. He hoped so. He had been searching for her for so long. He and his wolf yearned to be with her.

“ Let's go for a run. It will help us calm down” said Damian.

He removed his clothes and placed them on a nearby rock. Then he crouched down.

He visualised his wolf and immediately he could feel his bones breaking reconsruct themselves and his skin retracting to be replaced by thick lucious black fur.

His mouth was replaced by a stout. His senses became sharper.

The wolf stood up and shook it’s fur then it howled before taking off.

Damian relinquished control over to Dark and watched as he ran through the woods.

****

King Zedekiah looked at the white pearl in his hand angrily. It was supposed to glow in the presence of ‘the one’ but the pearl retained it's white colour. There were ten girls currently standing before him. All of them had red hair.

King Zedekiah looked at the girls standing before him in disgust. The girls were all shivering in fear. He had ordered all the girls to do magic but non of their hair glowed when they did.

“ Get out!” he bellowed. All the guards and the girls ran out of the room in fear except Kasha. She stood by his side calmly.

“ Are these all the girls?” asked king Zedikiah calmly.

The temperature in the room dropped and it became freezing. Kasha knew she had to choose her words carefully. She could loose her life if she gave the wrong answer. She came to his front and knelt down.

“No my lord. There are a few camps we haven't raided” she held her breath as she replied.

“ What are you waiting for? Do I need to remind you what is at stake?. I expect good news the next time you stand before me. For your own sake” he said to her coldly.

Kasha immediately got up and bowed to him then walked out.

****

Marissa groaned as she opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was in a moving vehicle and it was day time. She winced from the pain in her head when she tried to get up. She looked around and saw that there were about six people in the vehicle. All of them were girls. There were other vehicles following them from behind. Marissa knew that she had been kidnapped by wolves and she was about to be sold out.

“ You are awake” said a voice. Marissa turned and a faced the girl.

“ Where are they taking us?” she asked the girl. The girl shrugged.

“ I don't know. I was out in the forest picking herbs when I was caught” replied the girl.

Marissa looked at the other girls. Some of them had deep wounds on their bodies and were unconscious.The only conscious person was Theresa. Marissa crawled towards the entrance of the vehicle and raised the blind covering it.

“ What are you doing? You will be killed if you try to escape” whispered Theresa. Marissa didn't care.

She didn't want to become a slave to anyone. She would rather be caught escaping than sitting there doing nothing.

She needed to think about how to escape.

She will definitely pass out after using her powers and she wished there was something she could do to prevent that.

She got an idea when they passed through the forest.

Marissa was a nature witch.

Her powers are enhanced when she is around nature. If she channels the powers from the surrounding trees, it could give her a boost and prolong the time she will be awake.

She must have escaped and gotten far before passing out. She closed her eyes and began to chant. Her hair started to glow. Her surroundings started to glow and she could feel her powers getting stronger as she chanted.

There was a strong wind and the trees started moving together and formed a barricade in front of them. There were shouts every where. Theresa gasped.

“ You are a nature witch and your hair, why is it glowing?” she asked dumbfounded.

Marissa understood her suprise. Nature witches were rare and extremely powerful.

The vehicle suddenly came to a stop and Marissa used that as an opportunity and jumped out of the vehicle then sprinted into the bush.

She could hear voices shouting behind her and the sound of bones breaking but she didn't dare to look back. She ran like never before.

She was already getting weak and losing consciousness. She knew she will be done for if she was caught. She saw a thick canopy of trees ahead of her and ran towards that direction.

She could hear the sounds of paws pounding on the floor behind. She crawled into the trees and hid and tried to steady her breathing.

She took sand from the soil and missed it with leaves to hide her scent. She held her breath as she heard bones shifting and the voices of her pursuers.

They were standing close to the trees. They were a total of four men. One of them raised his nose and sniffed the air.

“ Did you get anything?” asked another.

“ No. All i can smell is the smell of the forest” replied the man. They had been following her scent and all of a sudden, it disappeared.

“ Where could she be?. I mean she couldn’t have gotten far” asked one of the men.

“I always knew that bitch was something.

We need to find her. She is a rare gem.

Think of all the money we will get if we deliver her to the boss” said another man.

“ Come on” said another as they started moving. Marissa released her breath as she fell unconscious.

****

Damian got up from his bed and changed into his workout clothes. He rubbed his eyes. They were red and sore. Ever since he came back from the supernatural council, he hasn't been sleeping well.

He stepped out of his house and started jogging. He had a lot on his mind.

He needed a place to think and clear his mind. He slowed down as he heard the sound of water. There was a small stream nearby. It was where he usually goes to when he wants to be alone.

He sat on a rock close to the stream and closed his eyes. He did not know what to do. They haven't seen any dead body recently.

He should be happy but what the two elders said kept on playing in his mind.

What did he mean by if his mate is willing to stand by his side? and who is this dark lord that he will have to fight?.

Nothing made sense. He looked up to the sky as if he will find his answers there.

“ I am sure it is nothing. She is our mate. Ours. There is no way she wouldn't want us” said Dark.

“ What if she rejects us?” asked Damian.

He was afraid that she will not want to be with them when they finally find her. The thought alone already broke him.

“ She doesn't have a choice. There is no way we are letting her go. She belongs to us whether she likes it or not” replied Dark.

She was theirs. Once they find her, there will be no letting her go. He felt someone trying to push through the mindlink. He gave them access. It was Klara.

“ Good morning alpha. We are ready” said Klara.

“ I am on my way” replied Damian as he closed off the link. He was training the wolves today along with Klara. He got up and jogged back.

****

Anyan looked at king Zedikiah calmly as he questioned her.

“ We have been trying to get her but we haven't been able to, can't you do a locator spell to locate her?” he asked her.

Anyan smiled before answering him.

“ Patience my king. You will get what you seek. That I am sure of” she replied him.

“ When? Time is running out. You said it yourself, every moment i waste, she is getting closer to her mate. Just do a locator spell and let's get this over with” said king Zedikiah impatiently.

“ My king, there are things that we can't change or force. I will take my leave now” she said to him as she bowed.

****

Damian was doing some work in his office when there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in” he said as he continued what he was doing. His parents entered hand in hand. Damian smiled. From the time he was a kid to now, his parents has always been inseparable. He hoped he will have such a bond with his mate. He stood up.

“ Good morning mom, dad” he greeted them as they sat down. They smiled at him.

His mother Luna Sonia was a vibrant and lovely woman who always smiled while his father alpha Christopher was a calm and calculative man. A most needed trait in an alpha. He took a seat opposite them. His father cleared his throat before speaking.

“ Son, is everything okay? We saw you leaving the party early” asked his father.

Damian sighed. He knew his parents were worried about him. He shouldn't have left the party the way he did but he couldn't help it. He needed to tell them about what the elders told him.

“There has been a series of attacks along the pack boarders” said Damian.

“ Do you know who is responsible?” asked his father.

“The elders called him a dark lord” replied Damian. His father and mother looked at each other surprised.

“ A dark lord?” asked his mother.

“ Yes. They also said my mate is the key to defeating him. That is if she is willing to stay by my side” explained Damian.

“ What does that mean?” asked his father.

“ I don't know. I asked them but they did not give me further information” said

Damian as he rubbed his temples tiredly. His mother walked up to him then sat down by his side.

She took his face in her hands and caressed it lovingly while looking into his eyes.

“ It's okay. We will figure it out. Don't worry” said his mother. Damian closed his eyes and leaned into his mother's touch.

“ And we will be with you every step of the way. We are in this together” said his father.

The phone on his desk rang. Damian stood up and went to answer the phone. He perched on the edge of his table while receiving the call. Few minutes later, he dropped the receiver and faced his parents.

“ What is it son?” asked his father.

“That was alpha Israel” said Damian.

“ What did he say?” asked his father.

“ Young female witches are missing” replied Damian as he went to sit down in his chair.

“ This is not the first time witches are being kidnapped. What makes this different?” asked his mother.

“ There is a pattern. Only female witches with red hair within the ages of nineteen and twenty- five years has been kidnapped so far” replied Damian. His parents were silent as they contemplated the meaning.

“ We need to find out what is going on. What is your next plan?” asked his father.

“ A meeting of the alphas have been scheduled tomorrow. We will meet and discuss our next move” replied Damian.

“ Okay. Let us know if there is anything we can help you with” said his mother before they stood up and left the room. Damian rested his head on his chair and closed his eyes. Is the kidnapping of witches and the killings of wolves related? and why is it only female witches with red hair and within a certain age range that are being kidnapped? And what role has he got to play in all of this? he wished he new the answers.

****

Marissa groaned as she opened her eyes. She held her head as she stood up. It was aching so much that she felt that she was hit on her head with a brick.

She crawled out of the trees and looked at her surroundings. She was surrounded by trees.

She crouched on the ground and looked at the footprints. They were from the men that captured her.

Marissa turned and walked the opposite way away from the footprints. She was thirsty and hungry. She needed to find a way out of the forest.

Damian sat on a rock close to the stream. He closed his eyes as the sound of water calmed his troubled mind.

Today was the alpha’s meeting and he will be leaving in a few hours.

He stopped as his nose perceived the most alluring scent he has ever perceived in his entire life.

His world stopped when his wolf said that one word he has been dying to hear all his life. Mate.

He looked in the direction of the scent and saw a figure crouched down while drinking water from the stream.

He walked in her direction and stood in front of her.

“ Mate” he said out loud.