CHAPTER 3: The Search For A Mate
1814 Words
5 days ago. NightStar Pack.
~ STEFAN ~
“Stefan!”
Matilda, the Luna of NightStar Pack, growled, her voice echoing off the palace stone walls.
“Mother,” I muttered, keeping my head level and my voice modulated. We’d had many of these meetings, but as always, I played dumb, hoping she might one day call me for a different discussion.
But Matilda never seemed like the type to budge once her mind was made up. And here we go again.
“Is it until I am dead and rotted in the pack burial grounds before you bother to claim a mate?” She pulled out one of her usual lines, her face wearing that practiced look, the one she always saved for such guilt-tripping moments.
“I am getting old, Stefan,” she pushed on, not giving me a chance to respond. “I’d like to see my grandpups, if not carry them myself.”
A dark chuckle almost escaped me, but I forced it down. Matilda might just be surprised to find out that I have no intention of siring offspring if my mate wouldn't want them.
Having seen the terrible ritual and sheer physical trauma female wolves endured to carry a pup… I honestly don't think I can bear to see the woman I love suffer through such pain.
“You speak as though mates are something you summon at will.”
“Do not test my patience with your sarcasm, Alpha!”
Now she was genuinely pissed. The temperature in the throne room seemed to drop in fear as well.
“You've been nothing but a headache since your father left,” she muttered, reaching for her head. A handmaiden made to assist, but she waved her off with a dismissive flick of her wrist.
I knew part of her fear stemmed from me dying without an heir.
She feared a dominant wolf might challenge me for the throne, and since I had no offspring, the takeover would be easier.
“Not all wolves are blessed with a fated mate,” her green eyes flashed coldly. “That's why we were given the option of a chosen mate.” “A lot of wolves have ended up with chosen mates and grown to love them. I don't see why yours would be any different.”
“But, Mother—”
“One week,” she declared, rising to her full 5’5”, her posture commanding and absolute. “If you don't miraculously find your fated mate in one week... I’ll arrange for all the eligible maidens in NightStar Pack to come forth, and you must choose one to be your mate and Luna. And that's final.”
Matilda gathered her gown and turned on her heels, not waiting to know if I consented to her decision or not.
I was still in the throne room when Jace walked in.
“Wow,” he murmured, casting a glance back at the hallway. “The Luna seems particularly pleasant today.”
“Inspirational, isn't she?” I agreed, leaning my head back against the throne.
Jace remained standing at the base of the dais, his back perfectly straight, honoring the protocol of the court, until I flicked two fingers toward the empty armchair opposite me. Only then did he drop his formal guard, sinking into the leather with the ease of a brother.
He was the only person in this entire damned realm I could actually call a friend.
Fortunately, he was my Beta as well.
“Was it about your mate?” he asked cautiously.
I nodded, feeling the pressure behind my eyes intensify.
“Uhm, Alpha,” his eyes darted, the kind that told me he was choosing his words wisely. “I think the Luna might actually have a point this time. You have waited far too long for your fated mate. I don't think...”
“Jace!”
Xavier, my wolf, rose to the surface, my voice thundering through the walls, the padded wood beneath the throne’s armchair groaning under our fist.
“Forgive me, Alpha,” Jace bowed, eyes fixed to the marble tiles. For a moment, none of us spoke. The silence stretched, growing uncomfortable, before I decided to break it.
“I know she's out there,” I said, though a part of me was beginning to believe that conviction.
“I feel the hollow in my chest every full moon.” My hand pressed against my heart. “She's got to be out there somewhere.”
“We have searched every corner of the seventeen allied packs across the entire werewolf realm, Stefan, and...” He didn't dare say what he intended.
“The human world,” I blurted, the thought striking me. “We’ve searched everywhere but there.”
“What?” Jace's eyes snapped wide, his posture rigid. “Humans and werewolves aren't meant to co-exist,” he said matter-of-factly.
“We do business with the humans, so I see no reason why—”
“In disguise, Stefan!” he hissed, losing character. Only he and Mother dared call me by my name. He looked like he was going to apologize but continued. “Humans don't know of our existence, and I definitely don't want them to. Only the Moon Goddess knows what might happen then.”
“That then is now!” Smoke curled from my ears and nostrils as Xavier begged to take control. “I won't settle for a chosen mate until I’ve exhausted all my options.”
Jace swallowed. “Forgive me, your highness,” his voice lowered in submission.
It took me a minute to steady my breathing.
“Mother gave me one week,” I said, already intrigued by the idea of leaving the werewolf realm. “We leave tomorrow.”
Jace's lips parted. I could tell he expected me to laugh and clap him on the shoulder and say it was a cruel joke.
“What about the Luna and Pack Elders?” he asked, finally coming to terms with his new reality as my Beta. “They will never authorize an official cross-realm hunting expedition for any wolf, especially not the Alpha.”
“And who's gonna tell them?” I turned to him with a cocky smile.
“All they need to know is this: we are going mate hunting, and we’ll be back in seven days. Now get the bags.”
I paused, a secondary thought locking in.
“Besides, isn't that human executive, the one raising the prices of stocks without permission, living in the human world?”
Jace nodded, though his expression remained unenthusiastic. “You are correct, Alpha, but we have divisions of Pack enforcers, specially trained to handle such matters.”
“Now where's the fun in that?” My eyes glowed.
“Very well, Stefan.” He bowed sluggishly. “Your wish is my command.”
“Good,” my lips curled into a grim smile. “Let's take down two problems with one strike.” I said, even though I didn't think my mate a problem.
Jace looked miserable, but he was blood-bound by command and couldn't do otherwise. “And what happens if we don't find her in seven days?”
“Let's be optimistic, Jace.”
---
It's been four days since we arrived in the human world, and I couldn't agree more with Jace. His earlier warnings had merit.
Humans were one twisted exhausting species.
They were fragile, loud, and reckless, skinny creatures who consume the most bizarre things.
I couldn't help but notice how Xavier paced violently beneath my skin every time blood scent hit the air. It was becoming extremely difficult to stay put with each passing day.
I’d given up the mate hunt, deciding to settle with whichever she-wolf Matilda deemed worthy, and resolved to deal with that unfaithful human who thought he could double-cross me and go scot-free. My intel had it that he was on wedding leave and wouldn't resume until a few days. How convenient.
On the fifth night, I walked into the bar Jace worked at. He’d refused to join me in the office, claiming the paperwork and buzzing machines drove his wolf insane.
So he settled for the bar.
In Jace's words, “the bar’s where humans spill secrets when drunk.”
I was simply there to pick him up so we could start preparing for our transit back to our realm. I certainly didn't expect to get drawn in the process. The moment the doors closed behind me, my entire body went rigid.
The air didn't smell like alcohol or humans as it usually would. I picked up a scent, intoxicating yet inviting. Ember and cypress.
A growl tore through my throat, heat rising in my chest. My senses heightened as I traced it. Up ahead, Jace’s voice erupted in irritation, and I followed the sound blindly.
Just when I had given up all hope. When I had imagined the worst of things that might have happened to her. Just when I had started to believe I was cursed. When I had finally accepted my fate…
And then, there she was.
That little woman. That dainty, delicate creature who had made me hold my breath in anticipation searching through the entire universe. That woman now lay on the floor, her hair a tangled mess of brown waves, eyelids puffy and swollen, cheeks pale.
To any ordinary eye, she might look a debacle. But beneath that surface wreckage lay the heart of the woman who made mine stop.
“What kind of human walks into a place like this without a cell phone or purse?” Jace hissed as I stepped forward, pulling her securely against my chest. My eyes stayed glued to the mass of brown hair cascading over my arm, her whole body radiating a deep frequency of emotional pain.
Xavier's golden eyes overshadowed mine, reacting with a terrifying, possessive violence I had never seen in him before.
I consciously loosened my grip, afraid I might break her, even while a dark part of my mind demanded I find whoever had put her in this state and tear them to pieces.
“Please don't bother yourself with this human, Alpha,” Jace muttered, clearing the glasses and tumblers. He tried to mask it, but I smelled the anger rising in him. “Her people will come looking.”
“Mate!” I growled.
One of the glasses he held dropped.
“What?”
“She’s my mate.”
“A human?” His voice pitched, incredulous.
I didn't intend to sound amusing, but… “We never came into the human world hunting for coyotes or vampires, did we?”
“Get the car ready,” I commanded, turning to the exit, when another glass he held fell with uncontrolled grace.
- Writer
