Taken By Fate

Lucy screamed inside my head.

“MATE!”

The word slammed into my mind with violent force, sharp and overwhelming. Pain ripped through my skull as I stumbled backward, terror gripping every part of me. My legs trembled violently beneath my weight, barely able to hold me upright.

In that moment, everything that had happened that night crashed down on me all at once—the rejection, the humiliation, the fear. My chest tightened as my breathing grew shallow.

Was he going to kill me too?

The thought crept through my mind, fragile and desperate, barely formed before panic swallowed it whole.

My vision blurred.

Darkness slowly crept in from the edges, stealing the world away piece by piece. I could no longer feel the ground beneath my feet as the last of my strength gave out.

The final sensation I registered was the cold night air rushing past me as I fell into unconsciousness.

ALPHA KINGSLEY’S POV

I paced the length of my chambers, my heavy footsteps echoing sharply against the marble floor. Restlessness clung to me like a curse, my thoughts replaying the events of the mating ceremony over and over again in an endless loop.

I hadn’t even planned to attend.

At the last moment, I’d changed my mind—deciding I would simply observe, watch fate bind others while I remained untouched by it.

I never expected destiny to drag me straight into its claws.

“A mate,” I scoffed aloud, the word bitter on my tongue.

How long would she even survive in my world?

I was cursed—doomed to rule without warmth, to carry power without happiness. Loneliness had been my companion for so long that I had accepted it as fate.

Happiness was never meant for me.

So why her?

She wasn’t what anyone would call ideal.

Plus-size.

Plain.

Overlooked.

Yet it wasn’t her appearance that unsettled me.

I had seen enough of the world to know that beauty was a lie—one that often hid the ugliest truths. Thorns always lurked beneath the prettiest roses.

Still… there was something about her.

Something quiet.

Subtle.

Almost distant.

Like a hidden force buried beneath years of pain and neglect.

I couldn’t name it, and that disturbed me far more than I cared to admit.

My wolf stirred.

Argon growled deep within me, tense and alert.

“Mate… danger…”

Before I could process the warning, he surged forward—seizing control.

Power flooded my veins as instinct took over, my body already moving.

I shot into the forest.

The trees blurred past me as I tore through the darkness at blinding speed, leaping over fallen branches and crashing through thick undergrowth without slowing. The night air burned against my skin, urgency driving me harder and faster.

Then I saw her.

Surrounded.

Rogues.

Something inside me snapped.

Rage—raw, violent, uncontrollable—exploded through my chest. Power surged outward in a deadly wave, slamming into the forest and pinning everything in place.

“How dare they touch what is mine,” I thundered, my voice shaking the ground itself.

Argon didn’t wait for permission.

The leader barely had time to scream before his head was ripped clean from his body. Blood sprayed across the forest floor as his lifeless corpse collapsed.

The remaining two turned to flee, terror etched across their faces.

Pathetic.

They didn’t make it far.

Within seconds, their bodies hit the ground—motionless and silent.

I stood there, breathing heavily, fists clenched at my sides.

I might not want her.

I might have accepted her only to secure political power.

But she was still mine.

Turning toward her, anger coiled tightly in my chest as I took in her trembling form.

“Why did you disobey me?” I demanded, fury burning in my eyes.

I hated being defied.

I hated losing control.

She didn’t answer.

She couldn’t.

Fear had hollowed her out completely—her eyes wide and unfocused, her breathing shallow and uneven. One look told me she’d reached her limit.

Her body gave out.

She collapsed.

“Shit,” Argon growled. “You scared her.”

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair as frustration weighed heavily on me.

“Can’t you see what she just went through?” Argon continued. “She nearly died. Be gentle with her. She’s our mate.”

“She brought this upon herself,” I snapped.

Yet as I stared at her unconscious form, uncertainty crept in despite myself.

“What am I supposed to do with her now?” I muttered.

“You carry her back,” Argon replied calmly. “And you take care of our Luna.”

“Shut up, Argon,” I growled. “I haven’t marked her. I only accepted her to secure the council chairmanship. Once that’s done, I’ll discard her. You know the curse—no mate, no happiness.”

“Maybe fate is giving us a chance,” he murmured.

I refused to respond.

Lifting her into my arms, I started back toward the pack. Her body was warm—lighter than I expected—as it rested against my chest.

Conflict churned within me with every step.

Should I take her back to her parents’ home?

Or to mine?

“No,” I muttered. “I’m not walking into her house naked with her unconscious in my arms.”

Gossip never bothered me—but this time was different. Politically, everything was delicate.

I couldn’t afford mistakes.

That was the excuse I gave myself.

Yet a part of me knew the truth.

I didn’t want her to run.

I took her to my pack.

Inside my quarters, I cleaned her carefully and changed her clothes, keeping my movements controlled and restrained. I refused to acknowledge the thoughts threatening to surface, dismissing them as nothing more than the bond interfering with my senses.

Argon wasn’t convinced.

I laid her gently on my bed and sat beside her, exhaustion finally settling into my bones. Her scent lingered in the air—soft, unsettling, addictive.

“Damn this bond,” I muttered.

Control had always been my greatest strength. Losing it, even briefly, made my skin crawl.

Eventually, I lay down beside her, keeping my distance. My fangs ached, pressure building as instinct screamed for me to claim what fate had given.

I forced myself to breathe slowly, deliberately, until sleep finally claimed me.

Yet one thought remained—heavy and unyielding.

I needed to secure the chairmanship.

Quickly.

Once that was done…

I would deal with this bond.

Argon scoffed quietly inside my mind.

And for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong.