The Cursed Wolf's Beta Mate

CHAPTER 3

Cedric’s POV

“I don’t think this is going to work, Cedric,” the gamma’s nervous voice sounded. He increased his pace to catch up with me and continued, “This Latvia doesn’t mask our scent at all.”

I drew in a deep breath; trying to restrain the irritation that was bubbling within me. There were so many capable members in our pack. Why did Alpha have to choose Justin?

“What if those people find out who we are? What are we going to do then? We should have done a better job of disguising ourselves. We look like the nomadic travelers of the west.”

“That is the whole idea Justin,” I snapped as my steps faltered. I grabbed him by his throat and gritted out, “Put a lock on that long tongue of yours else I will use you as a bait.”

His face turned ashen and he stuttered, “I… I am sorry…. I was just thinking….”

“Leave the thinking to me,” I spat before releasing him. Then, I hurried further along the weather-worn path of the forest. How could someone chatter so much?

The threat worked and I finally found myself relaxing in the quiet of the night. The crunching of the leaves and the occasional hoot set everything to a peaceful rhythm. If everything went well, I could be back home by sunrise.

A sudden gust of wind brought along a faint scent of roses making my steps falter. My eyes closed inadvertently and I drew in a deep breath, letting the scent wash over me. It seeped through me, livening up every pore in my body.

The urge to follow the scent was so strong that it was difficult to resist. It was as if every fiber in my body was driving me towards it.

“Go to the Dorsal Lake and keep an eye on the campers. I will meet you in a while.” I commanded as I hurried in the direction of the scent.

My pace quickened as the scent grew stronger. A few minutes later I found myself close to the grassy meadow where the scent was the most potent. My eyes scanned the surroundings, hungrily looking for the one who had such an enchanting scent.

Something clicked the moment I saw her. My breathing hitched and my heart started pounding in my ears. Her beautiful face glowed in the orange flames and her deep brown eyes held a kind of depth that had me hypnotized.

The word ‘Mate’ popped in my head. My wolf shifted restlessly; urging me to grab her and mark her. My fingers curled into tight fists. I couldn’t do that. I was the Beta of the Bloodfest Pack. I had to find out about her identity and take permission from Alpha Dimon first.

I forced myself to tear my eyes away from her and trotted towards the lake. A strange kind of restlessness settled in the pit of my stomach as I moved away from her; every step was a struggle, and every inch I moved away from her intensified the sense of loss. At one point, I gave in and turned back.

I was about to run towards the meadow when a piercing howl tore through the forest. I recognized the voice immediately. It was Justin. The campers had probably arrived. I shook my head and bounded in the direction of the lake.

My feelings settled once I had put enough distance between her and myself. My conscience nagged me as the gravity of what I had done hit me. I had almost jeopardized the task given by Alpha Dimon. This couldn’t happen again. I would have to keep my emotions under control.

I found Justin waiting for me about a mile from the lake. The mere sight of him made my blood boil. “Have you learned nothing, Justin? I had asked you to signal me; not to announce our presence to the entire world!”

He hung his head and said in a meek voice“I am sorry, Cedric. I will do better next time.” The next moment, he raised his head and said in an excited voice, “I talked to their leader, Denver. They have agreed to let us crash with them for the night.”

My eyebrows raised and I eyed him warily. God knows what he had said to them. I would just have to alter the plan according to the circumstances. I started walking away wordlessly. Talking to him was like banging my head against a rock.

“Denver is a very strict man just like you. I had to use all my skills to make him agree to me.” He chatted enthusiastically as he matched his steps with me. A frustrated sigh escaped my lips. I would probably die of annoyance if I had to stay with him any longer.

“Don’t you think I did a great job?” His words infuriated me to such a level that I felt I would burst. I halted and turned around to face him. I glared at him and spoke; enunciating every word, “So, you want me to praise you for going against my order?”

He opened and closed his mouth several times before stammering, “I didn’t mean to defy your command… I was just trying to help you.”

“Do me a favor and stick to the orders next time,” I snapped before walking away with long, hurried strides. It would have been so much better if I had come alone.

My mind was distracted and I walked headlong into the camp. Four pairs of eyes stared at me with suspicion.

“Who are you?” the middle-aged man questioned, taking a step toward me. My body became stiff as my eyes swept around, assessing their body profiles. I could take the four of them easily but the throbbing of heartbeats from the tent indicated that there were at least twenty of them inside. Carrying out such a large-scale m******e would alert Alpha Elliot.

“Lucent, he is the cousin I told you about,” Justin said as he came up to me and took hold of my hand. My fists clenched tightly but I plastered a smile on my face and greeted, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Lucent. You did us a great favor by letting us stay with you.”

“It’s nothing. We are on the same side after all,” he said as he led us to the tent where food was arranged for us.

We sat on small wooden stools while Lucent lit up a small stove and heated the food; bacon, eggs, and braised meat. When he offered us some food, I refused politely but Austin… he attacked the meat as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

Not eating anything offered by strangers was the absolute law. I couldn’t help but wonder how he had managed to stay alive till now. The conversation flowed smoothly throughout the dinner. We touched on various topics: life in the wilderness, the recent rift between the Royal Lycan brothers, and powerplay in the region.

After a few drinks, Hudson opened up and started talking freely. I was contemplating how to bring up the topic of Alpha Elliot when Justin spoke up, “Alpha Dimon is so cruel and arrogant. I so wish someone would teach him a lesson.”

My face flushed with anger and I glared at him. How could he say something like that? I would have kicked his guts out if we were alone.

“Don’t worry about that moron….” Hudson slurred as he took a large gulp from his cask. “Alpha Elliot has already made the move.”

“Alpha Elliot? What can he do? Isn’t he like the weakest Alpha?” I questioned, leaning forward.

“He is weak, yes… but Man, Is he ambitious! He has managed to gather the support of ten packs.” His eyes twinkled with pride as he explained. “I am sure he can defeat anyone with such huge backing.” His voice dropped to a low whisper as he continued, “I have heard that they have amassed a battalion of one hundred thousand wolves.”

Deep lines formed on my forehead. Alpha Elliot seemed to have garnered huge support, “Who are the Alphas who have joined hands with Alpha Elliot?” Sensing Lucent’s suspicion, I added, “I just wanted to ask them to recruit me.”

“I don’t know…. That bastard wouldn’t even tell me,” he slurred as he tried to bring his shaking hands to his mouth. He took a large swig and then the cask dropped to the ground with a thud.

“Alpha Dimon!” he snorted before bursting into a peal of a taunting chuckle. “I will tell my friend to hand him over to me. I will keep him as my personal servant.”

His words threw me into a furious frenzy, Before I could realize what I was doing, I had grabbed his head and snapped off his neck. Thud! His lifeless body dropped to the ground.

Justin’s jaws hung open and his hands flew to his mouth, “What the holy f***! You killed him just like that!”

“Don’t worry, I got the confirmation I needed,” I said in a nonchalant voice and made my way to the exit. But, before I could open the flap of the tent, Justin blocked my way. He seemed angry, “Did you f*****g have to kill him? He had already given us the information.”

“He had to be punished for insulting our Alpha.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and continued in a low voice, “When you are the Beta of such a powerful pack, you have to make harsh decisions.”

The fingers of my right hand curled into a tight fist and I punched him hard on his face. He bowled over in pain and crouched to the ground.

“What was that for?” He asked in an agonized voice, raising his head to look up at me. Blood trickled down like a stream from his bruised nose and dripped to the floor, leaving huge blotches on the canvas.

I gave him a long hard look, “Don’t ever insult Alpha Dimon…. Even if it is for getting out information.

“I wasn’t really talking ill about our Alpha… Moreover, we got what we wanted.” Justin showed no remorse or regret. This enraged me further and I stormed out of the tent. Without waiting for him to show up, I turned into my wolf form and bounded into the forest.

I didn’t care if Justin was attacked by the campers or if he got killed. A powerful pack like ours deserved a better gamma….