Alpha's Fated Mate

Chapter 9

The Aldric family was silent, all eyes locked onto Sorin and the small, unconscious pup cradled in his arms. The room was tense with the weight of an unknown but undeniable pull. The pup was an enigma. His delicate form was now cleaned and bandaged, his breathing soft and steady as he rested in Sorin's embrace.

But it wasn't just his fragile appearance that had everyone captivated. No, it was something deeper, something primal in his scent, his aura. Every member of the family felt it. He was no ordinary pup.

Sorin's mother was the first to speak, her voice a mix of concern and curiosity. "Rin," she began, stepping closer. " Who is this boy? Where did you find him?"

He hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the pup, his chest tightening with a sense of protectiveness that he couldn't fully understand. The pup was so small, so helpless. He didn't belong to any pack he knew of. His fur, now clean, had once been matted with blood. His scent, though, was strangely comforting. It almost felt like he belonged here.

"He's Jay. I found him in the woods, He was hurt… alone. I couldn't leave him." Sorin replied, his voice steady but tinged with confusion.

His father, Dorius narrowed his eyes, his stance a little more rigid. "But this boy isn't from any pack near here, is he? He's not some lost pup from another clan?"

Sorin shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of the question. "No, he's not. He's not from anywhere I know." he said, glancing down at the boy again. There was something about him… something about the way he fit so easily in his arms.

The tension in the room thickened as the family exchanged looks. The pup's soft breathing, his vulnerable state, made them all feel something they couldn’t explain. It wasn't just Sorin who was affected. His parents, even the other pack members who had been standing by, felt drawn to the boy in a way they couldn't quite put into words.

Then, as if the room wasn't already heavy enough with uncertainty, the pup stirred. His tiny body shifted in alpha's s arms, his eyes fluttering open. A soft, pained groan escaped his lips before his eyes fully focused.

"Alpha..." The pup’s voice was hoarse, barely audible, as if the effort of speaking took everything out of him. The room went deathly silent, all attention immediately snapping to the boy.

Sorin's heart skipped a beat. Alpha? The word echoed in his mind, but there was no time to think. The pup's fragile form trembled slightly as he tried to sit up, his eyes locked on Sorin's face with something like recognition.

Before anyone could react, the boy mumbled again, the words coming out even weaker. "S-save... them..."

The room froze.

The words hung in the air like an invisible weight, sinking into the very fabric of the room. Sorin's throat tightened as a cold shiver ran down his spine. His heart pounded against his ribs. Them?

Yoona's eyes widened, who just entered, a look of disbelief on her face. "What did he say?" She asked quietly, but no one could seem to comprehend what was happening.

Sorin stood motionless, staring at the boy, who seemed so innocent, so vulnerable. "He… he said save them, The alpha whispered, barely able to breathe. "But that doesn't make sense. He's so young… who does he want to save?"

His voice trailed off as the meaning of the words began to settle in his mind. Mate? The word felt too heavy, too strange. His wolf stirred within him, restless, but not in the way it usually did. The pull wasn't romantic or even sensual, it was protective, possessive. But why?

The boy's eyes blinked up at Sorin, his face filled with confusion and fear. "Alpha… please," he whispered, barely audible, but his voice still strong enough to tug at his heart.

The words hit like a thunderclap, and the air in the room seemed to warp. Sorin swallowed hard, the confusion deepening. Who's he talking about? The boy wasn't making sense and yet there was something in his tone that struck a deep chord.

The pack members exchanged glances, unsure of how to react.Dorius stepped forward with a grim look in his eyes.

"Sorin, you need to be careful. We don't know who or what this boy is. His words...this isn't something to take lightly. We can't just do as he says."

Sorin's gaze never left the pup. His instincts screamed at him to protect him, to shield him from whatever danger he was talking about. But there was still so much unknown.

The boy's breath hitched as he looked up at alpha, his eyes wide and filled with a mixture of fear and desperation. "Alpha, please. "

Sorin took a sharp breath, a knot forming in his stomach. "Who?" he demanded, his voice firm despite the surge of panic. "Who is hurting?"

The boy's face contorted in pain as he forced out the words. "who wants to kill me.. .. It's not safe..."

Sorin's grip tightened around the boy protectively, his mind racing. Danger? For a little pup?

His father stepped forward, his voice laced with authority but also concern. "Sorin, we need to get to the bottom of this. Whoever this pup is, whatever he's talking about, We can't ignore it."

Sorin nodded, though his mind was a whirlpool of confusion. His wolf was uneasy, instincts flaring, but there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him the boy was right. The urgency in his words, the fear in his eyes, it felt real.

"Who did this to you?" Sorin asked again, his voice a little more forceful, but the boy only weakly shook his head.

"I… I can't... it's not safe…" His voice was weak, barely a whisper.

Sorin felt his heart racing as the weight of the situation finally hit him. The pup was more than just some lost, injured child. There was something more going on here something far beyond their understanding.

Sorin took a deep breath, looking at his family. "We have to find out who is behind this,"he said, his voice unwavering. "Whatever it takes. We will protect you."

His father gave a firm nod, his jaw set. "We'll get to the bottom of it, son. But for now, we'll take care of him."

Sorin looked back at the boy, the pup’s frightened eyes still trained on him. He had no idea what was coming, but one thing was clear... No one can touch what belongs to Sorin Aldric whether it's his family or his pack .

"Alpha, please take me to my pack?"

Sorin's chain of thoughts was abruptly shattered by the soft, broken voice of the boy, and his gaze snapped down to the little pup. The boy's eyes fluttered open for a moment, his lips moving in a whisper that was barely audible.

"To which pack do you belong to, little one? I didn't find your scent familiar."

Sorin asked, his voice softer now, but still rough from the emotion that had been building up inside him. His hand instinctively tightened around the boy, and he shifted the pup gently in his arms, trying to offer some comfort.

The pup's eyes flickered with recognition, a faint glimmer of consciousness breaking through the haze of his pain.

"I'm from Silver Moon Pack... Alpha,"

Chp

"To which pack do you belong to, little one? I didn't find your scent familiar."

"I'm from Silver Moon Pack... Alpha,"

Jay mumbled weakly, his voice barely more than a whisper, yet the weight of his words hit the room like a thunderclap.

Mention of Silver Moon Pack made everyone in the room freeze. The air grew thick with tension as everyone exchanged glances, the shock visible in their eyes.

The Silver Moon Pack was legendary. It's leader Jake Vale, the Alpha, was known throughout the wolf world as the wisest among them all, a strategist whose mind was as sharp as the lightning of thunderbolt. His pack was untouchable, his territory impenetrable.

Sorin's expression hardened, but his protective instincts surged. He looked down at the little pup again, his heart aching for the boy. There was no way this child should have ended up so battered and broken.

Jay's voice was weak, yet it echoed through the room, causing even the strongest wolves in the Aldric family to pause.

"Silver Moon," Sorin murmured, trying to keep his voice even, but the realization hit him like a fist to the gut. "That's a long way from here. How did you end up so far from your pack? How old are you, pup?"

Jay's eyes shifted to meet Sorin's briefly before he spoke again, his voice trembled, his lips quivering as he fought to keep his composure. The words spilled out, each syllable heavy with the weight of his memories, the pain that still haunted him.

Sorin's grip on the boy’s shoulder tightened, as if willing himself to absorb every word Jay was speaking.

"I-im 8 years old"Jay began, his eyes unfocused as the memory took hold of him, dragging him back to the horrifying night. "We were playing around, Chan hyung... he said he wanted to see Elsa Forest. It's this mysterious place, everyone knows it's u-untouched by most of the packs.We all wanted to go, just for fun. You know, to escape from the pack for a while. B-Beakie hyung decided to come along too, because, well, we always had each other's backs." His voice broke, eyes flickering with grief as he recalled his fallen friends.

His breath came in shallow gasps, like the weight of his words was suffocating him. Sorin's heart pounded in his chest, the protectiveness he felt for this boy growing stronger with each passing second.

"I... I told them I had to come along too. They didn't want me to, but I said, If you don't take me, I'll tell my father." Jay's face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and the raw vulnerability of his youth. "They didn't really have a choice, so they took me with them. We were supposed to have fun, but... but on the way back, we... we didn't expect them."

His voice caught again, and his eyes glazed over, lost in the memory. Sorin leaned forward, not daring to break the silence. He could see the fear still lingering in the boy's eyes, the trauma still fresh.

"They... they knew our presence," Jay murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "It was like they were waiting for us, alpha. Wolves, Alpha wolves... much stronger than us. We couldn’t defend ourselves. I could smell it, death was in the air. They attacked us without warning, like we were nothing. Beakie hyung tried to fight back, but..." His breath hitched, and he squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to block out the images.

Sorin's fists clenched at his sides, his chest tightening as his mind raced. His instincts screamed at him, but he stayed silent, allowing Jay the space to speak, to release whatever he could.

Dorius was trying to console his mate who was crying silently after listening to the little pup.

Yoona was much more composed than anyone in the room or maybe that's what she's showing them by her expressionless face.

"We were so outmatched," Jay continued, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and sorrow. "They were ruthless. I... I could hear Chan hyung's screams, his howl of pain. They... they killed them, one by one. I couldn’t do anything. I tried to fight, but I was too weak, too small. It was like they were hunting us for sport, like we were prey... not wolves. Not even worth their time.”