The wrong mate
1259 Words
TESSA
Everything since the announcement has been a blur.
One moment I was standing in that hallway, staring at Kaz Ryker as he pronounced me his future wife. The next, I was being ushered away by the servants, my protests falling on deaf ears. There was no time to process, no time to grieve my father properly, no time to say goodbye.
“You’ll be leaving immediately,” a council member announced. “The Alpha doesn’t like to wait.”
Of course he doesn’t.
I barely grabbed a few belongings before being loaded into a sleek black Mercedes. The door closed with a finality that felt like a coffin being sealed. Marcus stood there watching, his face still ashen and broken, and I wanted to scream at him—to demand answers, to ask how he could just let this happen.
Inside the backseat, I press myself against the far door, as if distance might protect me. It doesn’t. Kaz Ryker’s presence fills the space effortlessly, dominant and oppressive, like the air itself bends to accommodate him.
“You should eat.”
His voice is calm. Thoughtful. Like we’re discussing something mundane.
I glance over despite myself. He’s holding out a small box—real food, not the dry rations handed out during war. The smell alone makes my stomach twist painfully.
“I’m fine,” I say.
It’s a lie. A stupid one. But I won’t take anything from him.
Kaz studies me for a moment, his expression unreadable, then sets the box on the seat between us without another word.
Hours pass in silence thick enough to choke on.
“You’re shaking,” he observes eventually. Not concerned. Merely factual.
“Don’t pretend you care,” I snap.
He finally looks at me then, slow and assessing. “If I didn’t care, you’d be dead.”
The words settle uncomfortably in my chest.
By midday, the Mercedes pulls to a stop at a rest area. The driver gets out to refuel.
Kaz reaches for his door. “We’re stopping for a few minutes. You should stretch your legs.”
I stare out the tinted window. “I’m fine here.”
He studies me for a moment, then opens his door anyway. “Suit yourself.”
The moment he’s gone, I exhale shakily, my hands curling into fists. Being this close to him is unbearable. Worse, I hate that my body notices him—the way he moves with predatory confidence, the quiet danger in his restraint.
He’s attractive in the way storms are attractive.
Deadly if you underestimate them.
But amidst all this, there’s still something I don’t understand. Why me?
It’s rumored that ever since his mate was killed on their wedding day, Kaz has never even looked twice at another female talkless of thinking about taking another bride. So what exactly does he want from me?
Kaz slides back into the car, closing the door. We’re moving again before I realize it.
“Why me?”
The question escapes before I can stop it.
He glances over, one brow lifting slightly. “What?”
“You could’ve taken Marcus’ head,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “Ended it clean. Why didn’t you?”
Silence stretches between us, thick and charged.
“Because I didn’t want his head,” he says at last.
My fingers curl into my palm. “Then what did you want?”
He turns fully toward me then, his gaze locking onto mine with a weight that makes my breath hitch.
“You.”
The word hits hard. Simple. Final.
I look away first, hating the heat rising up my neck, hating that my heart reacts before my mind can catch up.
The Moonscar territory appears on the horizon as dusk settles in, vast and imposing. Stone walls tower overhead. Buildings stretch endlessly inward, training grounds sprawling wider than my entire pack’s land.
Power radiates from every inch of it.
I feel small. Insignificant.
People stop and stare as the car passes through the gates. Curiosity. Suspicion. Something like pity. I lift my chin and stare straight ahead.
They won’t see me break.
Kaz leads me into the heart of the compound, into a stone building warmed by roaring firelight and lined with tapestries that tell stories I don’t know.
“Your room is upstairs,” he says. “Second door on the right. Someone will bring you clothes. Dinner is in two hours.”
I nod once, sharp and distant.
He hesitates, his hand lifting like he might reach for me—then dropping back to his side. Whatever he was about to say, he keeps it to himself before turning and leaving.
The moment the door closes behind me, my legs give out.
I sink onto the edge of the bed, breath coming uneven. My father is dead. My future isn’t mine. And I’m about to marry a man I barely know in a place that feels like a gilded cage.
I don’t know how to survive this.
***
Two hours later, I’m dressed in a gown that fits perfectly—deep emerald green that clings in ways that make me feel exposed—and sitting at a long table in a candlelit dining hall. Ryker sits across from me, out of his armor now and dressed in simple black pants and a white button up shirt that somehow makes him look more dangerous.
“This is a welcome dinner,” he says, pouring wine. “For you.”
“I don’t feel very welcome.”
His mouth twitches. Almost a smile. “You will. Eventually.”
I doubt that.
A servant sets food in front of me—roasted meat, fresh bread, vegetables I don’t recognize. My stomach growls so loud I’m certain he hears it. I force myself to eat slowly, trying to maintain some dignity.
Kaz watches me, attentive in ways that make my skin prickle. “You fought well today,” he says after a moment.
I pause mid-bite, surprised.
“For someone with no formal training, you held your own against wolves twice your size. That takes skill and courage.”
“My brother taught me,” I say, the words rougher than I intend.
“He taught you well.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I say nothing. Just take another bite and avoid his eyes.
The silence stretches.
Then a sharp knock cuts through it.
A guard enters and bows. “Alpha. The Beta has returned.”
Kaz straightens, something like genuine warmth crossing his face. “Ezra’s back?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
He looks at me, excitement clear. “You’ll like him. He’s my Beta. My best friend, actually. Not usually friendly, but I think he’ll like you.”
The door swings open.
And the world stops.
The man who enters is tall, broad, dark-haired, his presence sharp and commanding. Ice-blue eyes sweep the room, and then lock onto me.
The pull is instant.
Violent.
Primal.
My breath leaves me in a rush as heat floods my veins, my wolf surging awake like she’s been waiting her entire life for this moment.
No. No. No—
My fingers dig into the table, wood creaking beneath the pressure as my vision tunnels, my body screaming at me to move toward him.
Not Kaz.
Him.
The Beta’s jaw clenches, his hands curling into fists as he stares at me like he’s just been hit with the same truth.
There’s no denying it.
He’s my mate.
- Writer
