Chapter 6: I Found Her

⋅ ⋅ ♛ MASON'S POINT OF VIEW ♛ ⋅ ⋅

I had spent my life searching for my true mate, though there were times when I doubted I would ever be granted one.

I wondered if I would ever get the chance to hold her, but the desperate need for a soulmate burned like an endless fire in my chest.

My late father never believed in the sacred bond of fated mates. He cruelly rejected his own true mate—my mother—leaving her to wither in heart-wrenching agony while he married the daughter of his father's Beta.

He reduced my mother to a secret mistress, hiding her away in shame, until his Luna proved unable to bear him a child.

He ripped me from her arms the moment I was born and raised me strictly as his blood heir.

He cared for nothing except his status as the Alpha King and his desire to rule over the largest, most powerful, and wealthiest pack in the realm.

Under his ruthless rule, our pack remained the most powerful and wealthiest in the realm, but the palace was a fortress built on blood and broken bonds.

I became the Alpha King just a few years ago, when my sickly father finally took his last breath. Because I had been locked away training or managing affairs during his reign, that's why perhaps Alexia had no idea who I was.

But unlike my father, I vowed I would never make the same mistake.

The only woman I ever wanted by my side—and in my bed—was my true mate.

Yet, as the years stretched on, pressure from the elders mounted, and duty pressed hard against my throat. I had resolved that if I couldn't find my mate by the turn of the year, I would accept the council's choice and marry Heather, the daughter of our former Beta.

She was poised, refined, and well-suited to the role of Luna. I didn't love her, but love had never been part of the arrangement. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for the stability and future of my pack.

At least, that was what I had believed.

Then, everything changed the moment I laid eyes on Alexia.

I found her.

The undeniable, electric soul-bond snapped into place the second I touched her.

She was my mate.

My wolf erupted inside me with a possessive howl.

Yet, to my confusion, she seemed completely oblivious to it—as if her own wolf was dormant or suppressed deep within her, hiding her true nature.

The morning after our night together, I lay awake in the dim light, watching her sleep peacefully in my arms. Of all the women who had ever been placed before me, none possessed her fierce beauty.

Every touch had awakened something savage inside me. Taking her, marking her skin, and feeling her yield beneath me had satisfied every possessive instinct within my blood, yet it wasn't enough.

I didn't simply want her beneath me.

I wanted her beside me.

I wanted to wake up with her every morning, hear her voice, earn her trust, and bring her into my world as my Luna.

But a small, unwelcome fear lingered in the back of my mind.

What if she woke up and wanted nothing to do with me?

I pushed the thought away.

She was my mate, and I would find a way to make her understand.

I was waiting for her to wake so I could tell her the truth—that she was my fated—and ask her to come home with me.

But before she stirred, my mind-link shattered with a message from my Beta, Zarek.

“Alpha King! An army of rogues is breaching our northern territory. They're burning the villages!”

I had no choice. I couldn't wake her in a panic and drag her into a warzone.

My first instinct was to stay.

My duty demanded otherwise.

I stared down at her sleeping face, knowing that leaving her unprotected went against every instinct screaming inside me. I didn't know when I would return, and I couldn't shake the fear that someone might discover what she was to me while I was gone.

My wolf was already frantic at the thought of leaving her behind.

So I made a decision.

I pressed a permanent Luna mark into the side of her soft neck.

The moment my teeth broke her skin, the bond flared between us, sealing her to me. I knew it was a possessive act—one she hadn't agreed to and didn't yet understand—but I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

Not when the alternative was leaving my mate vulnerable.

The mark would protect her from anyone who dared lay a hand on her. It would announce to every wolf who caught her scent that she belonged to the Alpha King.

I brushed my fingers gently over her cheek one last time before forcing myself away.

“Wait for me,” I whispered.

Then I rushed into the morning mist.

Quelling the rogue rebellion and fixing the resulting chaos took weeks of relentless work. Villages had to be rebuilt, borders reinforced, and wounded wolves cared for.

Meetings with neighboring packs consumed what little time remained.

Every day, my thoughts returned to Alexia.

I wanted to send word to her, but the war had severed several communication routes between our territories. With our northern borders still unstable, messengers couldn't travel safely, and my own duties kept me trapped within my territory.

Still, I trusted that she was safe.

She was my mate.

She had my mark.

The moment the dust finally settled, Zarek, my guards, and I rode at full speed back into Alexia's pack to bring my Luna home.

But the moment I barged into the pack house, I found Drake and Lena sitting together. They instantly scrambled to their feet, their faces draining of all color.

They had every reason to be terrified. If I didn't find my woman, I would burn their territory to ash, because I wasn't leaving without my mate.

“Where is Alexia?” I demanded, my deep voice rumbling through the room.

“W-Welcome, Alpha King Mason,” Drake stammered, his posture bowing submissively as he tried to act respectful. “We are honored by your—”

“I said, where is Alexia?” I repeated, my tone dropping to a whisper that carried far more danger than a shout.

I didn't repeat myself twice for anyone. I didn't need to. They knew better than to test my patience.

Lena's expression shifted for the briefest moment before she composed herself.

“Alexia?” she asked, her brows drawing together as though genuinely confused. “Why would the Alpha King be looking for her?”

Something about her tone made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

She was too calm.

Too careful.

Then her lips curled into a faint, almost sympathetic smile. “Surely you don't believe whatever lies that wolfless parasite has been spreading. She has always been desperate for attention.”

Drake's face tightened.

“Lena,” he warned quietly.

But she continued, her voice gaining an edge.

“She used you for a quick lay to ruin my engagement, Alpha King. Then she lied to the entire pack, claiming—”

Drake snapped his head toward her, glaring at her to shut her mouth before looking back at me with trembling lips. “She’s... she’s in the dungeons.”

The dungeon?

The word slammed into me.

My mate had been in a dungeon.

While I had been fighting to protect my kingdom, Alexia had been locked away beneath the very pack I had trusted to keep her safe.

My wolf snarled, furious and desperate, clawing at my insides.

I tore through the pack house, my boots pounding against the ground as I followed the faint, sweet scent that belonged solely to my mate.

Zarek and the guards sprinted right behind me, weapons drawn, as we descended into the dark depths of the prison, tracking her scent straight to the deepest cell.

I threw open the iron door, but the sight inside made my heart stop.

Alexia was gone.

Blood stained the floor where my mate had been kept.

“No...” I breathed, my Alpha aura bursting out of me with such force that the walls cracked around us.

Elongated black claws ripped through the skin of my knuckles as my fangs extended past my lips.

Zarek stepped up behind me, surveying the bloody scene.

“What are your orders, Alpha King?”

“Capture them,” I growled, my voice vibrating with dark, monstrous power as I squeezed my fists tight, my claws digging deep into my palms, hot blood dripping onto the floor. “Bring Drake and Lena to their knees in chains. And have our best trackers find out where my mate went.”

I raised my head, my glowing eyes burning with ruthless intent.

For weeks, I had fought to protect my people, believing my mate was safe. Now, there was blood on the floor where she had been kept.

If Alexia was hurt because I had left her behind, I would never forgive myself. Whoever had done this would have no mercy.

“Find her,” I growled, my voice shaking with barely contained fury. “Find my mate.”

My claws curled into my palms as my gaze swept across the bloodstained cell.

“And if anyone in this pack harmed her...” I let the threat hang in the air. “They will learn exactly what happens when someone hurts what belongs to me.”