Four

Axton

Seeing my mate left me stunned and frozen. My mouth hung open, forming a silent "O" of surprise.

She was so damn beautiful. In my twenty-four years of existence, I'd never seen someone so unreal. Her piercing blue crystals locked onto my gaze as if they could see through my soul and her lips, plump, rosy, and puckered, were the exact way I anticipated my mate to be. 

I blessed the moon goddess. She must have been listening to my silent prayers because this woman was captivating in every sense of the word. 

Coming here at this hour was a blessing in disguise. Earlier, Elias, my best friend, and I snuck into my late dad's study in search of a copy of his will.

The Alpha role had been vacant since he died six months ago, causing fierce competition between my brother and me. The wait for the official reading had me on edge and I was dying to know who'd be Alpha. 

Quiet as mice, Elias and I tiptoed through the halls to the study, hoping no one would see us. No one was allowed in there, especially not me or my older brother Xavier, an annoying piece of shit.

  

Although I was four years younger than Xavier, I was born a leader and my dad had been preparing me for this role since I was barely ten years old, teaching me how to plan, balance the needs of the pack, and most importantly, how to protect the pack from our enemies. 

My dad knew Xavier wasn't capable or not and without sentiments, wanted me to rule. Xavier disagreed strongly and felt entitled because he was older.

Elias and I searched for any file or document that might have the answers we want.

"Look in the bookshelf. I'll check the desk," I headed over to the big oak desk, searching through the drawers, the smell of old books and leather filled my nostrils.

Sighing in frustration, there was absolutely nothing that looked like a will.

"Any luck?" 

Elias shook his head while I rummaged through a shelf filled with books about werewolf history and laws.

My heart raced when I found a leather-bound book but after glancing through, I flung it away.

"That's my grandfather's fucking will. Let's get out of here before Xavier finds us."

"Axton, you just have nine days left for the will to be read. Be patient. I'm sure your dad transferred the Alpha position to you "

I scoffed, placing the book back in its position, "Patience isn't a virtue of mine. Xavier is a snake. He wants to catch me off guard but I won't let that happen. He must have bribed that baldhead pack lawyer. "

"Let's go to Madame's Academy. I'm sure some titties and asses will cheer you up," Elias teased. 

Downstairs, my brother noticed my presence and nuzzled his mate's neck, then he shoved his tongue into her mouth. I was used to their PDA knowing he was being spiteful because I hadn't found my mate.

"Someone behind me who'd probably never experience what it's like to have a mate is reeling from jealousy." I heard him say as I walked past them."

With all the shit that came out of my brother's mouth, his ass must be jealous. I disliked him so much that if he was on life support I’d unplug it to charge my lamp.

"Stop teasing your brother," his mate, Imani, said to him, giving me an apologetic smile. I had no issues with her and wondered why she was with such an idiot. I guess love is blind, after all.

"Truth hurts, honey," he kissed her loudly. "Everyone knows Axton's always had his eyes on my position since we were little. Always competing and wanting to be better."

I almost laughed but restrained myself. The last thing I wanted was to go back and forth with Xavier. Instead, I acted like he didn't exist. He was a mean piss of shit pretending to be nice. Only a few people knew the real monster behind the smile.

As kids, whenever our dad yelled at Xavier, he'd retaliate by throwing a ball at my face or doing mean stuff like my seventh birthday, when he pushed me off the bed after my father gave me a gift. Whenever I saw the scar on my forehead, my hatred for him grew.

"Ignore him, let's leave," Elias held onto my arm.

"Elias the loyal dog. Join the winning team. Axton will never be Alpha. Over my dead body will that happen?"

Elias's grip on my arm got tighter as he turned to respond to Xavier. "In that case, get ready to say goodbye to the world."

Imani gasped in shock and Xavier's face turned murderous. I walked away, laughing with Elias as we headed to the van.

Madame's Academy wasn't my favorite place to go, but anything was better than sharing the same space with that psycho. 

Elias and I discovered the brothel when our teenage hormones were raging. Unlike me, Elias hated school. He made me get addicted to the academy where I satisfied my sexual curiosity with older females without feeling any guilt.

Call girls of all shapes and sizes waved from balconies and doorways. Several drunk males looked happy and free in the den of sin. They did nasty stuff they couldn't do with their partners. 

The males were a mix of middle-class businessmen and merchants, crazies, criminals, and bandits who stole from dark alleys. 

"Alpha Axton," Madame arrived at the brothel's doorway, her plump, red lips curved into a smile. 

Heavily rouged, she looked clown-like. She was a good decade older than the girls here but twice as experienced. Her hand perched on my shoulder like a fat pink spider.

"It's always a pleasure to see you here. You can have your pick of girls - or boys."

I gave her a nod and walked past her, hearing girlish squeals and drunken laughter from the bar. 

As usual, the ladies stuck to me like bees to honey. I didn't know what it was about me but everyone said I had an almost irresistible appeal and I made even old women blush and good women steal.

 I was a bad boy through and through and I didn't bother to hide it. The world didn't need nice people who'd get cheated on, like Grandpa Willy, who was stupidly nice to his killers. 

 "Alpha Axton! Alpha Axton! Alpha Axton," my pack mates chanted, their voices rising above the clink of glasses and the thump of the music. The rivalry between Xavier and I had caused a division but it seemed a lot of my followers were here. 

"How does it feel to be the star of the show?" Elias teased and I rolled my eyes, making my way through the throngs of people. Their eyes were watching my every move with a mix of excitement and anticipation.

"Drinks on me," I announced, and the cheers that followed nearly lifted the roof off the building. 

We sat in a dimly lit bar and Elias ordered Vodka."You should have some. You need to let out some steam."

"Nah, I'll pass. A glass of milk will do."

Elias couldn't contain his amusement and started laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. I whistled for the barman, who looked puzzled at the request for liquid milk.

Elias choked with laughter at the bewildered expression on the barman's face.

"Do you have a problem with my request?" I snapped at the barman, pretending to be annoyed. He left at once.

"You act like you're suffering a health malady and you're doing it all wrong. Who the fuck orders milk in a bar?" 

 "Milk is good for the bones. No matter how seedy the bar is, I'm sure they have a bottle somewhere."

 "What are you? A baby? I'll stick to my vodka."

I ignored Elias and watched some girls making their way onto the small dance floor in the center of the room, gyrating and swinging their hips. 

"We should move closer and tap some asses. You know you have such a large - ahem fan club.

A scent hit me on our way. It intoxicated my wolf and heightened my senses. Searching for the source of the strangely beautiful scent, I almost ran wild. 

My mate was here. 

My eyes scanned the room, trying to identify the female responsible for the alluring fragrance. I felt a strange pull, almost like an animalistic urge, drawing me towards the owner.

Elias seemed restless as well but that was the least of my worries. I rushed to the window and the scent enveloped me in its heady aroma. 

One of the girls looked directly at me, a playful smile on her lips. I made my way toward her, but as I got closer, I frowned. 

It wasn't her. 

 Her face fell when I walked past her. The scent lingered in the air and I was getting desperate. When I found her, my mouth slackened in shock.

I felt like I was standing in front of a goddess. She was like a dream with a complexion two shades lighter than ours, not-so-small boobs, and a tiny waist.

When her almost transparent eyes held mine, I felt a chill run down my spine.

They looked haunted as if she was staring into my soul. I restrained myself from falling at her feet and give myself away to her.

Mine.

"What's going on?" Elias asked beside me but he wasn't looking at me. He was eyeing a beautiful, slim girl with the same shade of hair and eyes as the other female.

"Mate?" I closed the space between us and wanted to bury my face in her hair and nuzzle her neck and tell her how wonderful and intoxicating she smelled. 

"Wh- what? What are you doing?"She took a step back and I stopped myself, stunned that she was rejecting me.

I wanted to scream at her. To force her to bow to me. But something about her was calling out to me. It was so strong and I found myself fighting against the compulsion to crawl at her feet.

My heart raced as I watched my mate flee, her figure growing smaller and smaller.

 Panic surged through me as I realized that I may not see her again. After all, she looked different from us and was a foreigner. 

Without thinking, I rushed after her, my boots pounding on the linoleum floor as I tried to catch up. A hundred pairs of eyes were on me and the music and conversation in the bar fell silent as they watched the drama unfold.

"Please, just leave me alone," she flinched like I was the most disgusting piece of shit when I grabbed her arm. "You're making a mistake. I can never be your mate."