Alpha Carter POV
I stand in front of the mirror fixing my tie. Goddess how I hate these events. I am a twenty-six-year-old Alpha and have been coming to these galas since I was eighteen. Eight years of trying to find my mate. Searching the various Packs in our region. Our allies, who are plentiful and still have found nobody.
Either she has died or is not of age yet. I do not want a young she-wolf for a mate. She will not be able to handle my appetites. She will not be confident enough to be a Luna. Regardless of if the Moon Goddess has selected her as my chosen. It cannot go well for either of us. I can only hope that tonight goes as I expect it will … without finding my fated mate. And then I will go about selecting a chosen mate.
My wolf, Max, growls at that thought. He has always held out hope to find our fated mate. He wants his mate. He already loves his mate without knowing who she is. I wish I had his confidence in finding our mate and loving whoever she may be.
My Beta Stan watches me fiddle with my tie. He chuckles as he sees me struggling. “Well, you could help me out, asshole,” I say as he starts to walk towards me. “All you had to do was ask, Alpha,” he smirks as he reaches out and immediately fixes my tie. Stan was all about fashion and looking perfect. He was always making sure our Gamma, me, and him were looking perfect when we went to public meetings or events.
“Are you excited, Alpha?” he taunts knowing full well I was not. I growl at him, and he simply laughs out loud not intimidated by my anger. “Tonight, is the night, I can feel it,” he says as he looks at me. “What do you mean?” I ask him cautiously. “We are both going to find our mates,” he replies confidently.
“You know I have no desire, at this age, to find my mate,” I reply to him. Stan is three years younger than me and still has a strong belief he will find his mate. And he believes in what the mate bond means. Mind you that has not stopped him from fooling around with other she-wolves.
“Once you meet her, you will have no choice but to accept her,” he says to me. I look at him, “I do not have to accept her. I can reject her,” I reply to him. I see a wave of anger cross his face before his manages to get control of his wolf. “Do not even joke about that, Alpha. The Moon Goddess will not look highly on you even joking about rejecting her gift,” he says as if suddenly superstitious.
“I will always do what is best for our Pack,” I remind him as I turn back to the mirror. He sighs and I turn away from the mirror satisfied with what I see. “It is time to go,” he says as he turns away from me. I know he is disappointed in my response, and I feel a little guilty taking away his excitement for the evening.
I frown, before adding, “I will keep an open mind,” I say to his back as he quickly turns to me with a smile. “Promise?” he demands, and I smirk, “Yes, I promise,” I say shaking my head. He really was a romantic at heart.
We walk down the stairs of the Pack house and I feel my wolf, Max, start to yip in my mind. I have no idea what his problem is, but I do not sense any threat. I walk through following my Beta as we walk out into the evening. It is dusk and I can hear the excited chatter from the event hall.
We decide to walk over, making our way through the mass of people who are waiting to enter the building. As with all events, Alphas and Betas are permitted to go to the front of the line. I see Stan sniffing the air excitedly and I cannot help but join him. His excitement is contagious. I hear my wolf growl “We are going the wrong way,” Max says but I continue to ignore him. The party is this way. The wolves are all this way.
We walk through the main doors, and I feel Beta Stan stiffen beside me. “She is here,” he murmurs leaving me at the entrance as he goes off to search for his mate. I cannot help but smile, happy for him to find his mate. I knew she would be the most blessed woman on the planet.
I nod to the Alpha and Luna of the Red Woods Pack. I never cared for them, but they were in the ally of Packs. Their daughter is standing there beside them and her eyes light up at seeing my arrival. Our Pack – Crescent Moon Pack – was the strongest among the Packs in our allyship. It is no secret that to be part of our Pack would be a step up in your ranking. Particularly if you were to be taken as my Luna.
I cannot remember her name, but she holds her hand out expecting me to take it. I shake it briefly and suddenly she is wrapping her arm through mine, “Let me take you around, Alpha Carter,” she says as she tugs me through the throng of people.
I cringe at her scent. Thank the Moon Goddess she is not my mate. The strong perfume she is wearing is mixing poorly with her scent of musk. It smells like a musky mildew to me, and I cannot breathe through my nose as the scent is burning my nostrils. She tugs me around almost as if I am on display with her. I gently remove her hand, “I think I will go get a drink from the bar,” I say to her as I turn away.
She grabs my arm, “I can come with you,” she says breathlessly. “No, that is fine. Do you not have greeting duties with your parents?” I say to her rudely. I cannot keep up pretenses and she does nothing for me. Her smile turns to a frown, “Yes, of course. I will find you later tonight,” she says happily as she turns away from me.
“Not if I see you first,” I mutter under my breath as I turn and head towards the bar.
Alpha Carter POV I scan the crowd, holding my whiskey. I am looking for my Beta. We have been here for over an hour now and I have not scented my mate yet. I knew this would be a waste of time and I am getting fidgety ready to leave. As I look around, I look towards the dance floor and see Stan dancing with a she-wolf who looks to be close to his age. She is beautiful and he only has eyes for her. I do not want to interrupt his night, so I toss back the contents of my glass, placing the empty cup on the tray of an Omega who walks by me. Looking around I see the Alpha’s daughter waving and making her way towards me. I quickly look away and make my way out of the hall. I hear her call my name but ignore her acting as if I do not hear her. Making small talk is not my forte and even if I could she would not be someone I would want to talk to. I walk past the Alpha and Luna as they continue to welcome new arrivals. I smell the air an
Beta Carl POV As I crumble in front of my mate, I see the smirk on the Alpha beside her. I feel a rage overcoming me and I leap forward to tackle the male. I know my chances of beating him are limited but a good beating is what I want. I can hear my Alpha yell through our link, and I can feel him coming towards us. The Alpha is caught off guard, so I get a couple good punches in hearing the satisfaction of his nose breaking. My mate is yelling at me, begging me to stop. At this point the Alpha has come around and takes a few good swings at me. I can feel my ribs breaking and I know my jaw is dislocated. I am not worried as I will quickly heal. I wanted him to suffer, but I knew that was futile. Before he can go for a kill shot, my Alpha jumps in between us. “What the hell is going on?” my Alpha yells at us. Everyone around us has remained silenced as they watched everything unfold. “He is stealing my mate,” I say under my breat
Trigger Warning – physical violence; no rapeElizabeth POV The tightening hand around my wrist caught my breath. My wolf, Ashley, growled but that only made the Beta laugh. “Is your wolf going to try and fight me, Omega?” he says with a cold laugh. I try to pull my hand away, but it makes no difference. I am trapped. He pulls me towards his body and slaps my face. My head snaps to the side, and I feel blood leave my mouth and I see it spatter on his suit. He does not care. He pulls be back leaning his face into the spot between my shoulder and my neck. I whimper thinking he would instantly mark me, but he slowly moves away dragging his foul tongue from my shoulder, slowly up my neck and landing at my lips. I keep my lips closed tightly as he runs his tongue along the seam of my lips. He growls when I am not granting him access to my mouth and pushes his lips hard against mine. I fear he will break my teeth, but I do not relent. I cannot h
Alpha Carter POV A growl came out of me I had never heard before. It was enough to distract the wolf from my mate. The wolf I now recognize as the Beta of the Red Woods Pack. He steps back, “This is none of our concern, Alpha,” he growls back to me. I see his hard member hanging out of his pants and look to my mate. She is breathing heavily with tears rolling down her cheeks. I cannot tell if she has been violated but first, I must deal with this threat so I can get her help immediately. I step slowly towards the Beta, “She is my concern,” I reply. “She is my mate,” I add as the Beta looks at me with disgust. “She is my chosen mate. Tell him,” he demands of my mate as he drags her up to a sitting position by the arms he was holding over her head. I could tell she was in shock at the abuse she has endured. I could see the handprints on her face where she was hit. Rage was overtaking Max, he wanted to be let out. “I got this one, Max,” I r
Alpha Carter POV I rushed my mate to the Pack hospital and was appalled at the service we received. While the Alpha did nod to the Pack doctor to assist us, there was no desire to be helpful. They patched up her wounds and left her with machines connected to her. “When will she wake?” I demand of the doctor who was trying to exit the room. “It is hard to say, Alpha. She is a weak Omega,” he replies as he opens the door to exit the room. “Do more for her!” I Alpha command him. “I have done all I am permitted by my Alpha to do,” he murmurs as he closes the door and walks back towards to me. “There are things that have gone on in this Pack. Your mate was abused for many years; she will need more care than I will be allowed to give her. My best recommendation is getting her to your own Pack sooner than later,” he says and walks out the door of my mate’s room. Looking down at the beauty before me, I realize she is very thin and has not
Elizabeth POV I can hear the machines beeping. I am not sure what they are or where I am. I cannot remember everything that happened. Except the last thing I saw was a strong, gorgeous man with beautiful green eyes holding me in his arms. Did he call me his mate? Had I called him my mate? Was it possible that the Moon Goddess had given me a mate? Was it even possible he would want me? Of course not. Look at me. I was a wreck. Scars all over my body. As anyone who spoke to me reminded me, I was thin and ugly. What time is it? I am late. I have to make breakfast for everyone. The punishment I will endure for not being on time with everything. As if on cue, the door slams open and I hear Luna Nancy yelling at me to get my lazy ass out of this bed. I slowly open my eyes trying to adjust my sight, having not opened my eyes yet when I felt her latch onto my arm, and she starts pulling me out of the bed. The machines started goi
Alpha Carter POV “Are you going to reject me?” my mate whispers to me. I feel emotion catch my throat. She has been abused for so long, she feels she has no worth. I realize she is not ready to be my Luna, and maybe she never will be ready. But rejecting her is not an option for me. “Reject you? Why would I reject you?” I ask her. She looks at me with tears in her eyes, “Look at me. I am weak, and ugly. Nobody would want me,” she says as the tears fall from her eyes down her cheeks. I simply stare before replying, “You are far from ugly, my beautiful mate,” I reply before she cuts me off. “Do not lie to me Alpha,” she mutters as she turns away from me once again curling into herself looking away from me. Standing I move to sit beside her in the bed. She startles and I realize she has not had human comfort in a long time. I slowly lift her tiny body and wrap my arms around her. I gently position her body, still sore from the abuse she has
Elizabeth POV I knew I had upset my mate, but I did not want to get into trouble for doing something I was not supposed to do. I know when this fairy tale is over, I will be returned to Alpha Matt and Luna Nancy. I ate a few bites of food much to the disappointment of Carter and the Beta couple. They tried to get me to eat more but I simply could not. I did not have the room in my belly, and I was sorry to disappoint them. Eating made me feel sick, simply because I was not used to eating any amount of food on a daily basis. Carter tells me he must go make a few arrangements to get ready so we can leave for his Pack this afternoon. I am terrified what this means for me. He has promised me that I am going with him, but I wait in perpetual fear anticipating something will change before he can take me away.Suddenly the door bursts open with the Alpha and Luna entering the room with a couple of people I do not recognize. “Omega, you will answer the questions