CHAPTER 003

Unknown’s POV

The engine purred as Owen drove down the dark stretch road leading to the Blackridge Pack’s territory as he hummed some off-key tune just to piss me off. I sat in the backseat, watching the trees blur past, with my arms folded across my chest, and my jaw tight with irritation. Owen was my Beta and unfortunately, my loudest pain in the ass.

“Can’t we just turn this car around?” I muttered.

He snorted. “And miss the glorious transfer of power from one asshole to another? Not a chance.”

I never liked the Blackridge pack, and the only reason why I accepted their invite was because my late father still had a pact alliance with Alpha Cedric, which was signed when his pack faced a massive rogue attack years ago. I was too young to challenge it then but now that I was king, I had no intention of keeping the peace with a scumbag who only built his power by greed and taking out innocent blood.

I didn't need their alliance anymore because after the years I took over as lycan king, our pack tripled in size and we became the largest and wealthiest pack in New York. Alpha Cedric ran his pack like a tyrant, and his son, Derek, was no better than a pampered brat with a silver spoon and a foul attitude. I couldn’t wait to watch him fall flat on his face under the weight of that title.

“Ty, you good?” Owen asked, glancing at me through the rearview.

“I’m fine,” I snapped. “I just need to get this over with.”

The tires crunched over the gravel as the car came to a stop just outside the Blackridge Packhouse. I tapped my fingers slowly against my thigh as my eyes fixed on the glowing, bright lights inside, which were too cheerful for a pack so rotten underneath. The music drifted out through the open doors and everywhere buzzed like a damn hive, all ready for their new Alpha’s big moment.

Owen put off the engine and turned in his seat. “Are you coming, or are you gonna sit there and brood all night?”

I ignored him. I didn’t know why I was hesitating. This wasn’t my first ceremony. I’d walked into hostile territories before. I’d faced Alphas three times my age and twice my size. But something about this place made my skin crawl. With a sharp breath, I opened the door and stepped out with my beta standing beside me and straightening his jacket, his eyes scanning the crowd who were already spilling into the yard.

The moment I walked over to a stand, I could hear some voices rise in recognition as a few heads turned. The ceremony continued in a blur. We gathered and clapped for Derek, the new Alpha. My hands moved, but my applause was forced, just like my interest. I couldn’t care less about their little moment of celebration.

As soon as the speeches were over, the crowd was unleashed like a flood, and I sighted Owen making a beeline for the food table, already stuffing his face with whatever overpriced appetizer he could get his hands on. I seriously wondered how he always gets comfortable in every place he finds himself, unlike me.

I just wandered around. The yard buzzed with fake smiles, forced laughter, and too many eyes watching every step I took. I spoke briefly with a few Alphas I was acquainted with and wolves who were wise to know power didn’t always need to be loud. Some offered advice, warnings, and subtle nudges toward their unmated daughters.

Right. Because this was clearly about mating, not power. The air reeked of desperation and too many hopes hanging in the air by the she-wolves who batted their lashes, showing off their little dignity. I gave polite nods, a smirk here and there, but none of them interested me. I wasn’t here to pick up a Luna from a display shelf.

Owen’s voice suddenly buzzed in my head through the mindlink. “Relax a bit, Alpha. Mingle around with these pretty she-wolves and just maybe you would find your so-called perfect luna amongst them.”

I smiled as I shook my head at his words. I was about to shut him out when it hit me. A strong scent of fresh lavender, Jasmine, and wild mint. And for the very first time that night, I froze mid-step, and my heartbeat grew louder as my wolf, Zess, surged to the surface.

‘Mate.’

The word rang in my head excitedly, and suddenly everything else disappeared.

‘Our mate is here. She’s close,’ he repeated, more urgently and desperately.

I had almost given up on finding my mate since I became King. The only girl I had liked and promised to marry, even though we were still young, died years ago when her pack was massacred in a bloodbath. It was too sudden because I had only met her once and didn't even get her name. But that was in the past.

I just wasn't the kind who would allow just any she-wolf to warm my bed or stand beside me at ceremonies. At least I believed in the one chosen by the moon goddess herself. I’d imagined her in a thousand different ways—strong, wild, kind-eyed. A woman who would challenge me and soften the sharp edges I had grown too comfortable with.

The Elders of my pack had tried to sway me, time and time again, urging me to take a Luna, by forming alliances as they paraded daughters of Alphas in front of me like offerings. I couldn’t do it, no matter the pressure or whispers, because deep down, I always believed she was out there.

My feet moved on their own. I didn’t think and just followed through the crowd, past the noise, straight into the pack mansion and each step I took brought the scent stronger, and with it, a sinking weight in my chest. There was something wrong, and I could already feel the anger bubbling inside from my wolf.

Her sweet smell was being overtaken by something else, but growing stronger. I moved faster, my pulse thundering in my ears. The lights dimmed and the sounds faded behind me. Zess was howling now, demanding I move faster. I was about taking a turn when I saw her.

Crumbled on the floor with her tiny frame trembling as she struggled to stand up, while a she-wolf I didn’t recognize stomped her feet on her like she was a pest.

My vision turned red, and Zess ripped through me with a roar that I think shook the entire packhouse.

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY MATE!” I yelled, my Alpha tone booming so loud. The woman froze, her eyes wide with terror, but I didn’t stop.

In the blink of an eye, I shoved the wolf with so much force against the wall, as she gasped for air. I didn’t give a damn.

My gaze narrowed back to the girl on the floor who was staring wide-eyed at me before she eventually passed out and damn, even in that state, she was the most beautiful she-wolf I’d ever seen. Much better than I had even imagined.

I didn’t care that the blackridge pack wasn't my territory, but they would all pay for what they did to my mate because at that moment, I vowed to protect her even though I had to burn the world down.