The First Warrior Wolf

*Chapter 6: Losing My Mind*

_Alex POV_

The room went dead silent.

Jennifer’s shriek cut off. Allison’s sharp inhale was the only sound.

I’d dropped her. My mate. On the floor. To run to another woman.

It didn’t matter that I was covering Jennifer so Allison wouldn’t have to see her. It didn’t matter that bile rose in my throat at Jennifer’s perfume.

All that mattered was Allison’s face.

No tears. No shouting. Just blank, cold realization. The same look she gave me in high school when Jennifer had her pushed in the pool.

“I see a leopard truly can’t change his spots.”

She said it quiet. Like she’d already decided.

Then she walked out.

And Alaric? He went feral. _‘GET HER BACK GET HER BACK YOU i***t—’_

I spun to Jennifer, yanking the blanket up over her. “What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed, barely controlling my voice. Alaric was pushing to the surface, ready to rip her throat out.

“Alex, baby, I missed you,” she pouted, reaching for me. “You said we’d catch up when you got back. I didn’t know that psycho Omega would—”

_‘You listen to me, tramp.’_ Alaric didn’t let her finish. He surged forward and took control, unleashing his full Alpha aura. _‘I will never reject my mate. I will have no other but her. Stay away from me. If I so much as hear you say anything negative about my mate again, I will rip out your tongue. Now scram, and tell no one of this night!’_

She scrambled out, sobbing, unable to resist the command.

The second the door shut, he threw me back control. My chest hurt. _‘You didn’t have to be so brutal with her,’_ I said.

_‘Shut your mouth. You keep hurting Mate and now you chase her away. Go find her!’_ he barked. _‘You put the wrong she-wolf out. You should’ve made an example of her in the hall.’_

He was right. Goddess, he was right.

I followed Allison’s scent down the hall to her guest room. I knocked. No answer. Knocked again. The door opened to Jessy, arms crossed, eyes ice.

“Is Allison here? I need to talk to her,” I asked.

Her eyes went unfocused for a second — mind link — then she walked past me without a word. Dismissed.

I stepped inside. Allison’s scent was already fading. Panic clawed up my throat. I searched the room. In the closet, I found the wedding dress ripped down the side. Four drops of blood on the floor. From Culim. From the dance.

What kind of life had my mate lived?

A sharp pain clenched my heart. Alaric howled in my head. _‘You hurt Mate. Now she is gone. Find her and fix this, Alex!’_ He receded, leaving me with the silence.

I spent the next hour in the forest, following her trail until it vanished near the eastern ridge. I was about to start a second sweep when Dad appeared, tossing me a pair of sweats. “Shift back, son. You won’t find her out here and you’ll cause a scandal. You’ve done enough damage for one day.”

We walked back in silence. Mom was waiting in my room. Livid. Dad sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap. “Explain. Don’t leave details out.”

I told them everything. The dance. The blood. Jennifer. The command. Allison walking out.

When I finished, disappointment was written all over their faces. Mom got up without a word and came back with fresh bedding. She started stripping the bed as Dad spoke.

“As your parents, we are extremely disappointed. We raised you to show a united front, even when the other was wrong. Yet you couldn’t even choose your mate. Whether you like her or not, she is your mate. Your responsibility is to protect her first. What Alaric did was right — harsh, but right.” Mom nodded, not looking at me.

“As your Alpha, I can’t dictate your private affairs. But you cannot run around the pack looking for your mate. It will give people the wrong idea and cause unrest. So until your mate returns, you stay in your room. Shower. Get cleaned up. And come up with a plan to fix this before she does.”

They left. The door clicked shut.

I stood in the middle of the room that still smelled like Jennifer’s perfume and Allison’s rage.

And I had no idea how to fix this.

So I decided to go have a shower and scrub my skin clean of Jennifer's smell.

There was no way I was going to let Alison come and still smell her on me.

I was lost, but I sure as hell was going to do anything I could fix all this no matter what.

Returning to my room, I poured myself another drink and walked out to my balcony. Looking out over the forest I send a quiet prayer up to the moon goddess to help me figure all this out.