His Chosen Mate (Complete- Standalone)

Chapter 13

I shifted and took off running. These were the packlands I grew up in, everything felt like I remembered, I darted between the trees and the forest felt alive, reacting to my movements. But it was just my clear memory, every log, tree, ditch, was exactly how I had left it. I felt a sense of nostalgia running on these lands. I ran towards one of my favorite spots in these woods, a lake that I often found solace in as a kid. I jumped in swimming down to the very bottom. The rocks I had placed at the bottom in a big peace symbol were still where I had left them, probably 18 years ago. Oliver and I had found sanctuary by playing at the bottom of the lake, practicing holding our breath. I swam up to the surface, making my way to the shore, looking for the big tree we had carved our names in. When I found it, so many memories came flooding back. Good and bad.

I hated pack life, I hated the rules, I hated the hierarchy, I hated the misogyny. Here I was decades removed from it all, sucked right back in. I don’t know why I trusted my Uncle. I’ve only ever known him to be a deceitful, aggressive, jerk. I was so mad at letting my guard down. How was I going to get out of this situation?

Ashleigh? Ashleigh? I heard Oliver in my mind.

Oliver? I questioned the voice in my head.

Where are you? He asked.

I'm at peace lake. I answered. Completely shocked to be hearing him via mindlink.

Oh my gosh. Travis just told everyone about you being mated with Troy Venice. I could sense his remorse through mindlink. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able but I wanted to try to reach you.

Yeah. My Uncle is handing me over to ensure a peaceful alliance continues or something.

Have they told you about him? He asked. Have they told you about Troy?

Sort of, everyone seems scared of him.

Ashleigh, it's terrible. He is terrible. He has dwindled both the she-wolf populations of his and our pack. The only reason they were able to negotiate a peace treaty was because the packs numbers are so small. He was challenged three times last year for Alpha. There aren’t a lot of strong wolves left in his pack and no she-wolves. The parents of the girls coming of age are terrified for their daughters in our pack.

That's terrible. I thought. That is why everyone must be so eager to send me off.

Oliver continued via mindlink. Him and Daemon were cut from the same cloth, they got into this gruesome war, it started right around the time you left and didn't end till about five years ago.

What was it about?

It was over Daemon’s mate. She was from the Venice pack, she had just come of age and Troy r***d her and killed her instead of handing her over. Both packs suffered from the war that followed. Daemon started taking Venice she wolves and doing the same to them. Then Troy responded in the same manner.

That's horrific. I said. I got a bad vibe from him but didn’t realize he was a psycho.

Your Uncle challenged Daeman after he had been severely injured. It was an attack coordinated between Ventura and some members of Venice. Not everyone in that pack is a psycho like Troy.

Do you know which members? I asked, thinking maybe if I had some idea of who I could ally with in the pack, it would be easier to escape.

No, I have no idea. Your Uncle killed Daeman, signed a peace alliance with Venice and moved the pack further away from the city in hopes of rebuilding. I have actually heard rumors of them trying to bring you back here. You’ve got Alpha blood, they’ve been wondering if you would have been mated with anyone in the pack. Oliver again sounded sad.

My mom mentioned my Uncle had been inquiring about me. I didn’t realize how prized my uterus was to the pack.

I’m sorry this is our first time talking in like what, ten years, and all I got is bad news. I missed you. Oliver said.

I know. I missed you. I am sorry this is the reason we are finally getting to talk. It's crazy that you mindlinked me just now. I was at the bottom of Peace lake and when I came up, I found our tree.

I run through the old packlands pretty often. I'll have to stop by our lake next time. Oliver said.

You got any advice for me? What would you do in my position? I asked.

I don’t know. I think if you run he’d go after your family, your mom, and I am sure it would start a war if he found out we helped you. But I certainly wouldn’t want to give myself over willingly.

Mac seems to think because we are fated, he will treat me better. I told him.

I don’t want to be morbid, but him choosing to breed with someone was like a death sentence. Since you guys are fated, I imagine hurting you would cause him pain. Isn’t that how it works? Oliver spoke unsure of that information. Truth is I didn't know either, we both assumed that is how it worked.

I don’t know, he didn’t seem super violent when I spent time with him. He was respectful of my wishes. Just a little possessive and dominating. But isn't that typical for an Alpha?

Alpha's even the good ones are still possessive and dominating. Oliver chuckled through our shared mind link. It was so nice to hear, it distracted me a bit from the situation at hand.

I was surprised to see a massive wolf approach me. He was a beautiful silvery with some black coloring. His muzzle and chest were covered in white, on instict I knew it was Kingston, his eyes as blue in his human form. He came down to me and put his head against mine.

Hey Oliver, I gotta go. Talk soon. I closed our mindlink. He shifted and so did I.

“Your wolf is beautiful. I’ve never seen a pure white wolf before.” Kingston said to me. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Neither do I.” I answered honestly. “The only way I see getting out of this, is with him dead.”

“I could challenge him.” Kingston offered.

“No, no, no. This isn’t your mess. It's bad enough that I am involved in this. I don’t want you or your pack involved. When you first agreed to come down, I didn’t realize the depths of this drama, there is a lot between our packs. You should head back home. I don’t want you or your pack to be involved with this at all. You know when you told me I needed to communicate my needs. Here it is. I have to take care of this alone. I can’t have you be involved in this. I need time to figure it out for myself.” As much as it hurt to say. I wanted Kingston far from this bullshit and even though this wasn't my pack drama, it was tied to me. Being born to an alpha had always meant something.

Kingston didn’t know how to respond. I knew he wanted to help but there weren’t many solutions to this problem. His eyes began to fill with tears. “I know I’ve only known you a brief time but I care about you."

"I care about you too, which is why... you gotta keep yourself safe. Troy is unhinged. I think I need to just go along with everything till I can find a time to take him out."

"Ashleigh, that is so unfair, so unsafe."

"I can't run, I can't hide. My pack would help him track me down. They are as invested in handing me over, as he is in having me. My family wouldn't be safe. It's just not worth it."

He wrapped me up in his arms as we both began to cry. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest, I was grieving the loss of him even though he was standing right in front of me. But we both knew what this fate could mean for me.

"You are strong, you will get through this." He was planting kisses on my forehead, stroking my hair. "Please, please make your way back to me."