My Mate

Kian's pov

I was anxious to be home. I hadn't been here for a whole year because it was my last year at Alpha Training Academy, where we were trained to be the strongest and best Alphas. I wanted to lock in and give it my all, and I did. I became the best of the best, and now, there was a possibility that I would be Alpha supreme. 

"Your son was the most advanced student of mine, Kebby. Congratulations," my instructor, Merek, tells my father. My mother's eyes shine with happy tears. 

"It isn't a surprise, after all. He's the only alpha in the whole realm to shift into his wolf at the young age of ten," Dad boasts, clapping my shoulder.

When I go to the packhouse. There is a party in my honor. The she-wolves keep throwing themselves at me, and the males keep offering me drinks.

I want to go to my suite and pass out. But I keep being dragged into a conversation. I catch sight of my best friend and beta, Max. He is chatting up a few women. He is the biggest playboy I know. I approach him, and the number of women doubles.

"We have a meeting early in the morning with the outgoing officials. We should retire for bed."

"C'mon, man, don't leave, and let's enjoy ourselves. You look stiff," he slurs his words, cupping my face.

A she-wolf wraps her arms around me, but I move away, not wanting to be touched. I ignore Max and go inside.

A familiar scent of roses catches my nose. I stiffen, recognizing it. It belongs to Nara. She is the reason I stayed away from the pack.

I discovered she was my mate when I turned eighteen three years ago.

However, she had not yet turned eighteen, so she didn't feel the bond, but I did. It was fucking strong enough to mess me up. Each time I saw her, I wanted to hold her and kiss her. I wanted to be buried inside me and scream to everyone she was my mate. But I couldn't do that. Accepting the mad Alpha's daughter as my mate and Luna would cause chaos in the pack. 

I saw Nara in the lounge area earlier today. She hasn't changed much, except that her black hair is longer, her heart-shaped face is slimmer, and she's ... stunning.

I was stalking her as she worked, but I didn't have the bravado to speak to her because she hated me.

Once upon a time, she was my friend, but we were younger. When she came to this pack, I was her protector because she couldn't defend herself. I didn't believe in punishing children for their parents' sins.

She smiled more and started fighting back against her bullies. I even gave her a nickname, little butterfly. Nara stopped attempting to escape the Lake Moon pack. She even stopped crying for her parents and her cat that died in the attack. But years into our friendship, my father ordered me to end it.

However, I couldn't stay away from her, so I became rude to her. It would be way easier if she were the one to stay away.

I became the person I hated most. The person who made her look at me with fear instead of trust.

Every cruel word I said destroyed a little piece of the friendship we had built.

But I told myself it was necessary. It sucked, but I had to put the pack's needs before our friendship. Nara resented me, but I didn't mind, as long as I'd be Alpha Supreme and protect all the packs better.

I ignore the intoxicating scent and continue walking upstairs, but I hear a commotion in the kitchen, so I detour to check what's happening. What I see makes me go crazy. Trisha, Lang, and that fucker Karl are beating someone. My mate! My wolf goes wild and growls, making them stop.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" My body is shaking with rage, my eyes glowing. I want to roar, to order them to get the fuck away from my mate. But I couldn’t say anything.

Claiming Nara Adalwolf as my mate would change everything. The pack would question me. The factions would see my choice as weakness.

They would never see the girl I knew. They would only see the bloodline she carried.

And I wasn’t willing to gamble with our future so I stayed away.

'But she's our mate! The most important person to us!' my wolf roars.

Even as Trisha is saying all her stupid excuses, I'm still seeing red. Nara tries to get up from the floor, covered in injuries, but she stumbles, and I find myself holding her before she falls to the ground.

She lifts her gaze to look at me, and time stops.

Her beautiful hazel eyes are wide with surprise as she sees me holding her. Her lips part, and for a second, I think she understands. I think she knows.

Then her eyes roll back and she collapses in my arms. 

I carry her, taking her to the pack infirmary, but stop in my tracks. I look back at the three morons who were hitting her. "I'll deal with you later," I growl and run to the clinic.

"Here, Alpha. Please put her on the stretcher," The nurse instructs. I do as she says, and two nurses, male and female, take her away in a hurry.

"What happened?" Dr. Guy asks. He has been the pack doctor for years and was damn good at his job.

"They were hitting her, and she fainted in my arms," I explain. There is a tremble in my voice.

"I'll treat her and run tests. Don't worry, Alpha, you can go home to rest. I know you had a long day," he says, but I shake my head. I won't leave. I want to ensure she is treated. In the past, the nurses refused to offer their services to her until I threatened them, who knows what might happen if I leave her alone.

"I'll wait." The tone of my voice tells him not to argue. He nods and goes into the room where they took Nara. I sit on the couch in the hallway, running a hand through my hair.

"Nara isn't allowed to get treated here, you know that, right?" the most irritating shrieking voice says. I glare at her. She looks smug. "She's a bitch who doesn't-" I don't let her finish her words. I have her in a chokehold. I lean closer to her ear.

"Listen to me and listen carefully, Trisha. Next time you lay a finger on Nara, that's the day you die, and if you're lucky, the day you are banished from my pack, am I clear?" I asked. She is struggling and crying, but I don't release her. She nods frantically, and that is when I let her fall to the ground.

"Kian, why would you attack a pack member for that girl? Who is she to you?" A fierce voice booms.