The Mate I Never Wanted

Kael

I couldn’t believe it.

Out of all the cruel jokes the Moon Goddess could have played on me, this had to be the worst one yet.

Nine years.

Nine fucking years of waiting for the woman destined to stand beside me as Luna.

My fated mate.

And now that I had finally found her…

She was wolfless.

The realization slammed into me again as I stared at the woman standing in front of me.

Lyra Vale… my wolfless mate.

The word itself disgusted me.

“How is that even possible?” Asher, my wolf, growled furiously inside my head.

Margaret and Gregory Vale were both powerful wolves. Gregory especially had once been respected throughout several territories for his strength and intelligence before abandoning pack life entirely.

So how the hell did they give birth to someone like this? Someone worse than an omega?

“You’re wolfless?” I repeated coldly.

The girl flinched slightly beneath my stare. Her fingers tightened around the hem of her dress, and for a brief moment, I noticed how exhausted she looked.

Her eyes were swollen from crying, her face pale beneath the warm lights of my study. Still, none of it changed the truth.

“I… I didn’t get my wolf when I turned eighteen… four years ago,” she admitted softly.

The confirmation fueled my anger instantly. Unbelievable.

“You cannot be serious,” I muttered darkly.

Her brows furrowed slightly as confusion flashed across her face.

“Alpha Kael…”

“You’re wolfless,” I snapped again, harsher this time.

Her lips parted slightly as though she wanted to say something else, but no words came out.

Good. Because I honestly didn’t want to hear them. A wolfless Luna?

Stormfang was one of the most powerful packs in the entire region. I had spent years rebuilding its reputation after my father’s death. Every alliance, every territory expansion, every ounce of respect this pack possessed now—I earned it.

I fought for every piece of power I held.

And now fate expected me to place a weak wolfless woman beside me as Luna?

Impossible.

Her innocent-looking eyes lifted toward me again, and for one dangerous second, my chest tightened strangely.

Fuck.

Those eyes were distracting.

Too soft. Too expressive.

There was something painfully pure about the way she looked at me that made it difficult to fully maintain my irritation.

If she wasn’t Gregory’s daughter… if Gregory hadn’t once saved my father’s life years ago… if I didn’t owe that family a debt… I would never have allowed her into Stormfang territory.

Having her as my mate meant trouble.

The elders would never accept her. Stormfang’s enemies would see her as an opening.

A vulnerability… and vulnerabilities got people killed.

“But she’s our mate,” Asher suddenly muttered lowly inside my head. “She belongs to us.”

“She is not worthy of being Luna,” I shot back coldly.

Asher growled in disagreement.

“You felt it too.”

Of course I felt it. How could I not?

The mate bond slammed into me the moment she walked into my study.

Her scent alone nearly drove me insane.

Even now, standing several feet away from her, I could still smell her. And fuck, she smelled incredible.

I watched her nervously shift beneath my stare, and suddenly my anger became mixed with something far more dangerous.

Desire.

My eyes drifted down her body slowly before I could stop myself. The cream-colored dress she wore fit loosely against her figure, but it didn’t hide her curves completely.

Long legs, soft skin, small waist.

And those lips…

Asher stirred instantly.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured approvingly.

But then her scent drifted toward me again, stronger this time, and before I realized what I was doing, I found myself walking closer to her.

Lyra stiffened slightly as I stopped directly in front of her.

She looked up at me nervously.

My hand moved almost instinctively toward her face. The moment my fingers touched her skin, warmth spread through me instantly.

Her cheek was unbelievably soft beneath my palm, and when she leaned into my touch again, something inside me snapped.

Mine.

The possessive thought echoed violently through my chest.

I traced my thumb slowly across her lower lip, watching the way her breath caught softly.

Her lips looked sinful… soft and full.

A dark thought suddenly crossed my mind. How would those lips feel wrapped around my cock?

Fuck.

Her scent deepened suddenly, mixing with nervousness and something sweetly feminine that nearly destroyed my restraint completely.

I leaned closer without thinking.

Her breathing became uneven instantly.

Heat flushed across her cheeks and ears as our faces moved dangerously close together.

I could practically hear her heartbeat speeding up. Then I inhaled her scent again, and my control shattered completely.

Before I could stop myself, I crashed my lips against hers. A soft moan escaped her instantly.

And fuck… that sound nearly ruined me.

My hand tightened around her waist as I kissed her harder, deeper, greedier.

She tasted even better than I imagined.

Sweet. Warm. Addictive.

It felt like I could spend hours devouring her mouth and still not get enough.

She made another small sound against my lips, and my entire body reacted immediately.

Desire slammed into me violently.

I wanted more. Needed more.

I wanted to push her against the nearest wall and lose myself completely in her scent and taste.

My mind instantly betrayed me with dangerous images.

Lyra beneath me, with those long legs wrapped around my waist. Her soft lips parted breathlessly while she begged for more.

My cock hardened painfully at the thoughts.

I imagined kissing down her throat, biting her neck and marking her, making her mine. Spreading her thighs apart while she trembled beneath me and…

“Asher!”

I snarled furiously inside my head.

That fucking mutt. He was the one projecting these images into my head.

Asher chuckled darkly.

“You enjoyed that.”

“Shut up.”

“You liked the way she tasted.”

I immediately blocked him out before he made things worse.

Because the problem was, he wasn’t wrong. I had lost control for a moment, and that was unacceptable.

I pulled away from Lyra abruptly and took several steps back, trying to regain control over myself.

She looked just as affected as I felt.

Her lips were swollen from the kiss, her breathing uneven, and her wide eyes stared at me in complete confusion.

The sight almost dragged me back toward her again.

I forced myself to focus and think logically. That was what separated me from weaker men.

Logic. Control. Discipline.

The appearance of Lyra Vale in my life would change everything.

She would become my weakness, and I spent years making sure I had none. After my father’s death, I learned quickly what weakness did to powerful men.

It destroyed them.

And if my enemies discovered that my mate was a weak wolfless woman… I couldn’t allow that.

For the safety of my pack…

And maybe even for her own safety…

This bond needed to end immediately.

I hardened my expression completely and stared directly into her shocked eyes.

“I, Alpha Kael Draven of Stormfang Pack, reject you, Lyra Vale, as my Luna and fated mate.”