The Swan Alpha's Mate

AARONNE

[Mate. Mate]

There's a voice that calls me every evening when the sun is down. It is shrill, scary and in distress. It has a certain pull. A certain pull that keeps leading me to the borders of my pack.

I think it wants me to go there.

This has been going on for over a week. I do not tell anyone. I keep it a secret, hoping that it is in my head and would go away, but it never does and today, I am determined to see what it is. 

The stroll leads to the deserted areas where the bear shifters and the fox shifters live. Where the waters are dark and the trees are extremely tall. Where no werewolves apart from warriors dare to enter–the dangerous colony.  

My father had told me bedtime stories of how some wolves have gone there to swim….and they never returned back. 

“My lady, we shouldn't be here,” Anya begs, following behind me at a closer pace now. “Please, rethink your decision. We can still turn back.”

I laugh and turn around to look at her, a gleam in my eyes. “Can you scent that?” I ask her and she gives me a wary look.

“Ow,” I let out softly as my foot is cut by a sharp stone. Anya grabs my arm immediately as she whispers in fear, “My lady, you're hurt.”

“C'mon, I'm fine. It's just a cut,” I argue, pulling my arm away as I begin running farther along the path.

‘Today would be a good day,” I note, inhaling the salty scent of sea which had mixed with the dandelions, blue roses and lilies. 

My companion is now picking her way down behind me having shifted into her wolf form, grey in colour. Due to her small nature, it is easy to note that she is an omega.

She may be an omega. But she is a fierce and cunning one. 

The cliff levels out near the edge, revealing the ocean crashing against the black rocks far below. This cove marks the border of Blue Night Pack territory. For the Alpha’s daughter to be here is an act of reckless defiance.

If father knew, he'd rip my throat out. 

I stretch my arms wide, my long tunic snapping in the wind. The imagery that forms in my head is a bird, flying in the air, free.

“It is reckless to come here, my lady.” Anya’s voice is tense in my mind. 

“Live a little,” I murmur, my back still to her. “You’re beginning to sound like my mother.” 

I hear the soft rustle of her shift behind me. When I glance back, she is human, hurriedly pulling her clothes over herself.

The strange sound keeps calling me, it's pull, stronger than ever. It leads me and I follow. 

Anya's eyes dart to the shaky trees at our back, then to the churning water.  

“The border patrols…”

“Let them come!!”

Anya pauses, coming closer, “But my lady, you know I'll be the one in trouble, not you. Your father will…”

I cut in angrily, turning to stare at her, “What more can he do? He’s already sold my future for an alliance to his friend’s son. A little disobedience wouldn't hurt.”

I reach for the brooches of my tunic, my fingers working quickly. The midnight-blue wool, which carries the crest of my pack, falls to the ground, followed by my breeches. I now only stand in a white transparent short gown with goosebumps all over my skin. 

“Ronnie please,” Anya begs, already shifting back to her wolf. “We should return. You need your rest before the delegation arrives tomorrow."

Sometimes she calls me Ronnie. She does that when she wants to show seriousness. She is my handmaiden but also doubles as my best friend. So, I allow it. 

When I'll be presented to Ronan of Silver Claw pack. He is to be crowned immediately we wed. Our kingdoms will be joined and I will be his trophy Luna. 

I ignore her, starting down the hidden narrow path to the cove below forcing Anya to follow me silently.

I always wondered why people feared this place. It held nothing but towering cliffs and dark waters or so I thought, but suddenly I hear conversations.

Anya's eyes widens and she drags me into the bush. Darn it, we forgot to cloak our scent. Werewolf classes 101.

 Anya and I hold our breath praying that the owners of the voices don't see us and trace our scents to where we are hiding.

Suddenly, a low growl interrupts the silence. 

Was that… A bear?

I freeze, peering into the darkness but I don't see anything. “Did you hear that?!” I whisper.

“We need to get out of here, my lady,” Anya says, watching until the guards were out of sight. I shake my head and 

My eyes hold glee. I want adventure. 

“Now.” She insists.

I shrug. “It is probably a fish.”

Despite the fact that I'm trying to lie to myself, I feel a wave of uneasiness. This cove is supposed to be cursed, avoided by patrols. What if the stories are true? 

The strange sound doesn’t come again and the normalcy in the air makes me feel bold. I need some adrenaline. Something to feel besides the pressure of tomorrow.

“Just a swim.”

“No, my lady please…”

“Only for five minutes,” I plead, diving into the icy water. The cold consumes me but I push forward till I am neck deep. “We will go afterwards. Just hold on.”

I float on my back, wondering why the moon is half today. 

Anya remains on the shore. Being vigilant as ever. She is quiet and angry inside. 

“He’s not cruel, they say,” I talk to myself as I paddle the water. “Ronan, my future husband. He is vain but not cruel. I suppose I shall learn to live with him.”

The words taste so bland in my mouth and I swim towards the shore,closer to Anya. “But Anya, what if he’s not my mate? What if my true mate is out there, and I will be bound to Ronan forever?”

Anya is silent and I know her answer. She probably thinks I'm dumb. The pack’s future is her duty and duty comes first.

Suddenly, a sharp cramp seizes my calf. I gasp, kicking around. It could be the cold water, that’s all. 

“We should go,” Anya says uneasily. Her voice is stern. She steps close to the water, wanting to pull me out. 

“Wait a bit,” I reply, pushing away from the shore and swimming further out to shake the cramps loose. The water here is darker, deeper. The cliff’s shadow swallows the last of the fading light. 

Another cramp hits me. This one is vicious, more evil. It is hot and it tightens around my legs. 

Gulp.

The cramps move higher, attacking my thighs. My muscles lock, twisting. 

“Anya…” My face is red. “Anya, I don't feel good.”

“My lady?” She becomes instantly alert, diving into the water. “Are you okay?”

“It is a cramp. I may see my wolf,’ I stammer. Anya is stunned. Today isn't a full moon. 

The pain multiplies, spreading up my torso. My bones feel like they are softening, bending all wrong. My body is getting violated by something foreign. I am melting. 

“Something’s wrong!!” I scream, as a new agony floods my veins. I trash around the water, disoriented. The world tilts and the half moon shines with a great intensity.

“Hold on!!” Anya is here, close to me. Her face is filled with concern. Her hands grip my shoulders but she grunts, her hold slipping. “You’re changing…I can’t get a grip. Your body…it's slippery!!”

I look down at where her hands struggle to hold me. My arms are not my own. The skin is smooth, seamless, paling to an unnatural white. My fingers stretch, the bones elongating into impossible, thin lines.

A scream lodges in my throat, coming out as a honk!!

White filaments, soft and terrible, push through the skin on my sides. They unfurl, spreading, covering me. My neck stretches, a painful, relentless pull.

"My lady... you've turned into a..." Anya's voice is a whisper of pure horror.

The final transformation hits me. I feel a painful snap that feels like my soul is being folded in half. The world shrinks and expands.

Suddenly, I feel a terrifyingly new sensation.

The struggle stops. The pain dulls to a deep, radiating ache.

I am floating. But not as a woman.

Where my hands should be, slicing through the water are broad, white wings. My vision is different. It is sharper and clearer.  

My body is long, feathered and strange. 

Anya staggers back, waist deep. Her face is filled with shock and terror. She is not looking at her Alpha’s daughter.

She is staring at A VERY LARGE WHITE SWAN!!