Alpha Henry

Henry's POV

The moment my claws kissed her flesh, I felt something snap inside of me. This was the third mate Chrysantha was making me kill, but something about this one felt different, and it was not due to the fact that I had already impregnated her.

In fact, all of my mates that I had brought into the palace, Chrysantha, had made me lie to them with hopes that they would get pregnant and give her pups, but just seconds after we might have mated, she always insisted that I get rid of them, which I always did.

And why was I with Chrysantha even though she wasn't my mate? One of my rival packs, whom I had been scheming to conquer, belonged to her father.

Chrysantha had presented her father's pack to me on a platter of gold, offering to marry me so I could join the two of our packs together.

That was an offer no Alpha in their right senses would reject.

Chrysantha's father had no male successor, making whoever she gets married to the next in line. So we got married and I succeeded as the alpha of her pack.

And for that, I owe Chrysantha everything.

It wasn't until months after that I realized the moon goddess was against our union. We tried all that we could to make Chrysantha get pregnant for me, but she couldn't because she wasn't my destined mate.

It was Jericho, my beta who suggested that I bring in my mate and get her pregnant for me instead.

I was elated when Chrysantha bought into the idea. But when I finally sniffed out my mate and brought her back to the pack, Chrysantha felt her position would be threatened and told me to kill her.

I tried to convince her that we needed to wait for her to bear my pups first, but Chrysantha was adamant, and I ended up killing my mate just to prove my love for her.

It happened with the first, the second and now...this one is named Elara.

She was beautiful and had unique features. Her eyes were like those of the goddess, and she smelled like lavender.

Her skin was as soft as silk and each time my fingers grazed her skin, I felt a soothing feeling wash over me.

And when I made love to her, it seemed as though my wolf would explode inside of me, it awakened something primal inside of me.

I'd never felt more alive, not ever with Chrysantha, not even with any of my previous mates.

When I walked into that brothel, she had the most beautiful scent on her. It was the only thing that filled my nostrils when I walked in.

I wished Chrysantha had let her last more with me.

"Guards!" I thundered, hovering over her lifeless body.

"Take her to the forest and finish things off," I ordered them before I forcefully tore my gaze from her body and walked away.

"Yes, your majesty!" They chorused as they swooped her body off the floor with ease.

A wide smile was dancing across Chrysantha's face when I returned to her. I won't be granting any of her wishes for the time being and we would just have to seek other ways in sourcing for children.

***Elara's Pov***

Something deep within me awakened the moment my back hit the stony ground, something ancient, primal, and furious.

I couldn't hold back and I let out a loud scream that ripped through the night, not in pain, but in power.

Light exploded from my body, searing brighter than moonfire. My wounds had sealed before blood could spill. A force greater than myself surged through my veins, unlocking powers that had laid dormant since my birth.

And then darkness ensued.

When I opened my eyes next, the scent of pine and earth filled my lungs. I was lying on a bed of leaves, my body was weak but alive.

A shadow was looming over me. Broad shoulders, sharp eyes that glowed like embers in the dark.

"Where.... where am I?" I muttered, trying to get up from the bed.

"Don't! Lay back, you need all the rest you can get." His voice was majestic, sending ripples into my stomach.

"I...I need to eat something." The words escaped my lips, surprising my own self.

"My beta will arrive soon. He's coming along with food for you."

'His beta?' Who was this man, and why was he so.....

I looked up at his face.

His gaze on me held no pity, no hesitation, only curiosity and something that felt dangerously like protectiveness.

I have barely enough words to describe how handsome he was. His face seemed perfectly sculpted, with sharp jaw lines that looked like they could slice through anything. Even a woman's heart.

He crouched down beside me, and the smell of pine grew stronger. I could tell that he had been in the forest for a long while.

"I found you unconscious in the forest. Your body was glowing faintly when I found you."

"My body was glowing faintly?" I repeated, a look of confusion etching across my face.

"My name is Damion, you don't need to be afraid of me." He said and his eyes fell upon the side of my body.

I followed his gaze, only to realize that I was subtly leaning away from him.

"What is your name?" He asked.

I searched my memory before speaking. "Elara."

"Who are you?"

I fell silent.

"It's alright, you don't need to tell me who you are now. As soon as Luca arrives, I'll take you back to my pack so you can be properly treated."

I suspected Luca was the name of his beta. And that meant that I was in the presence of another Alpha.

"Please do not hurt me," I begged.

His gaze on me intensified. There was a brief silence between us.

"You don't realize who you are, do you?”