My Alpha's Pain

Note: This series is a darker werewolf series. Be aware of betrayal, violence and loss of loved ones. -Bella- The winter ball was amazing. There were so many people that had come to enjoy the festivities. Eating, drinking, talking, dancing, there were endless things to do, and I loved every second of it, yet I had come with hopes of more than eating and drinking. I was searching for the one person who would make my world spin and my heart beat like crazy. The person my brother had found in his mate, Cara. It had been a year since those two met and got together. I had just turned eighteen three months ago, and I had hoped I would have found him by now. I knew it could easily take a little longer. Dean didn’t find Cara until he was twenty, but I still hoped. I dreamed of finding him, and in my family, I seemed to be the only one missing. Kyle had found his mate in Scarlett, Gavin had found his mate in Zoe and his brother had found a mate among Cara’s warriors too. Even Mary had found someone from another pack, and was planning to move there soon, which meant I would lose my best friend. That made it even more important to find him, then maybe it would be easier to say goodbye to Mary. I was desperately looking around, when my brother came over, handing me a glass of champagne. Cara was at his side, dressed in a golden dress and her hair in a tight ponytail. She had really changed since I met her the first time. She trusted a lot more but was still not one you wanted to mess with. My brother was in a black suit, looking perfect and drawing a lot of female attention, even though he was happily mated to Cara. I wore a long silver dress and shoes. My long white hair was loose and reached down to my waist. “Looking for something?” my brother asked. I smiled at him and shook my head. “Just looking at the party. It’s amazing this year.” “Maybe because you helped prepare it,” my brother teased. I just smiled a bit embarrassed while I took a small sip from my drink. I had gladly helped prepare the winter ball, when my mother asked, and it had been really fun, yet I had looked more forward to the party itself, because I knew a lot of people from outside would come, and that meant maybe my mate would too. “I’m going to go dance with my lovely mate, I’ll find you later, sis,” Dean said, handing me his glass and grabbing Cara’s hand. Cara smiled at me while rolling her eyes, but she was happy to go dance with my brother. She was happy doing anything with him, and all I could think was I wanted that. I wanted a mate that would bring me to the dance floor and spin me around, while joking around and kissing me. I had to admit I was a little jealous, but I knew I had lots of time to find … What was that heavenly scent? I looked around, desperately wanting to find the source. I placed my drinks down on a table nearby, before I moved through the big crowd of people that were in the room. Where was that sweet smell coming from? It was hard to keep track of it with so many people in the room, and in the end, I lost it. No, no, no, no! Where did it go?! I looked around panicked, but the source had disappeared. I felt like crying. What if that had been him, I thought, feeling the tears sting in my eyes, as I turned away from the party and walked outside of the room. As I came outside into a quiet hallway, I placed myself up against a cold wall, burying my head in my hands. How could I just lose track of him like that? What kind of mate I was if I couldn’t even follow a simple scent trail? It was pathetic! “Hey.” I turned my head, as I heard the most beautiful voice speak to me. Mate! I looked into a pair of the most amazing blue-green eyes. They had the sweetest glow and belonged to a very handsome male. He had dark brown hair and was very tall, towering over me. He was well built and looked mouthwatering good in the blue suit he was wearing. “Looking for me?” he asked with a teasing smile. “I-I …” Where on earth were my words? I wasn’t able to form just one sentence, as I faced the most handsome male I had ever laid my eyes on. I simply just didn’t know what to say, as I looked at him. What did you say to your mate when you met them for the first time? That part I had, of course, forgotten to ask my mother about. Then again, I wasn’t entirely sure she could tell me, considering how her and my father met. “I’m Mason,” he said, holding out his hand to me. Like in a trance, I just grabbed his hand, didn’t shake it, I just held onto it, while I stared at him like a crazy person. “Are you going to tell me your name, or am I supposed to guess my own mate’s name?” he joked. That finally did it and brought me out of my stupid and very embarrassing trance. “Sorry … I’m B-Bella,” I said. He laughed at my embarrassing behavior, but I didn’t care. I loved hearing him laugh. I wished I could hear him laugh all the time. It was just heaven. “Bella,” he said, making my heart skip a beat. “Such a beautiful name.” He took a step closer, and then another, and then another, until our bodies were as close as they could get. Then he lifted his hand and ran a finger down my cheek, making me shiver in delight. “Just as beautiful as you,” he whispered, before he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. It set me on fire. Instantly! How could anything like this feel so good, I wondered, as his warm lips moved against mine, before his tongue slipped inside, sweeping over mine and making my core tighten in hunger. “So sweet,” he murmured against my lips. “I want you. Now.” “What?” I asked, drawing back. “Do you not want to become mine?” Oh yes! I wanted to be his. I wanted to make him mine. This was what I had wanted all along. Him and I completely connected, so why did I feel a little hesitant? “I do,” I said. He smiled at me sweetly, before kissing me once, and then grabbing my hand, leading us away from the party and up a big staircase. He led me down a dark hallway looking into a few rooms, before finding a bedroom that wasn’t occupied. He led me inside and closed the door, before coming over to me and kissing me hungrily. “There is a party going on downstairs,” I said, pulling back a little. “And?” “You aren’t worried someone might come up here?” He shook his head. “No, and you shouldn’t be either. There is only you and me,” he said. He kissed his way down my neck, kissing away my thoughts and worries, making me truly think there were only us. *** I was lying in bed, breathing a little heavier from what had just happened. Oh my … I had just had s*x with my mate and I had s*x for the very first time! We still hadn’t marked each other, but this was a part of it. This was one of the ways we would connect. I was smiling from ear to ear, when suddenly I felt Mason move beside me. I looked at his back curiously, as he got up from the bed and started to dress again. “So, when should we tell people?” I asked, not knowing if he wanted to wait a little, until we got to know each other a bit better. Mason had gotten his pants on and his shirt, but hadn’t buttoned it, and when he turned to me I saw that he seemed almost confused about my question. “Tell people what?” he asked. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. What did he mean by that? “About us? That we’re mates,” I said. Mason just smiled, almost cruelly, before shaking his head. “We aren’t mates,” he said. “What?” I asked, sitting up in the bed while making sure the blanket covered me. I held it tightly in my hands, almost digging my nails into it, as I watched Mason getting his jacket on. “I’m rejecting you.” It felt like my world shattered to pieces at his words. I completely stopped breathing and, for a moment, I wasn’t sure if my heart was even beating. Everything just seemed to stop, as I heard his words echo in the dead silent room. “W-What … why?” I asked, feeling the tears sting in my eyes. “W-What did I do wrong?” “I don’t want you,” he said. “I just wanted to f*ck you, and now I have. You were an easy lay and the night was coming to an end.” He was … using me? “B-But … we’re mates,” I whispered. “Not anymore. I reject you.” He didn’t say anything else. He just turned his back to me and left, closing the door behind him. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry so badly and yell, but I had lost my voice … I had lost … my mate.