His Chosen Mate (Complete- Standalone)

Chapter 31

After waking in a puddle from my own lucid dream. A dream that felt incredibly real- both physically and emotionally. A dream that had Troy whispering, a heartfelt, ‘I never want to wake up’. I was questioning my sanity and my commitment to what the day held.

I wasn’t in a rush to go swear an oath to Full Howl, considering I didn’t even know what I was giving up or what the whole thing entailed. The only thing I was hoping for was a bond broken with my fated mate, so that he could go on to lead a normal life, a life without a curse, to love someone else without consequence. Yeah… that prospect didn’t have me leaping out of bed, ready to take on the day. When I finally looked at my phone, I saw it was just after 10am and I had a dozen text messages waiting for me.

Kingston: Morning beautiful

Kingston: Oath ceremony all set.

Kingston: It's arranged for 5 tonight.

Kingston: Was thinking we could still do lunch or the gym?

Kingston: Just let me know.

A week ago, having someone like Kingston message me would make me swoon. Sh*t even though I’ve been warned off of him and my mind is stuck on Troy. I still can’t help but preen under his attention. Kingston is supermodel gorgeous, he has a classic California surfer look that is universally hot. Without a bond, without Troy, I would consider myself lucky to earn his attention. But I can’t trust him, right? Right.

Nick: Alright then.

Nick: Way to screw me over.

Nick: I mean seriously a text message with no notice?

Nick: Best of luck to you.

Whelp, that went well. I messaged him five days ago and he is just now responding, which sort of speaks to the problem as my immediate supervisor. I had already left the people I cared about in the company when I moved out here. I said my goodbyes. I didn’t care about him, I was making his workload easy, yeah it’s bad taste to give no notice, yeah I had worked for this company for so long and I wasn’t ready to give it up. But him, I could live without ever knowing him, good riddance.

Emily: Is it true you quit?

Emily: Why didn’t you tell me?

I send a quick response to Emily, I don’t want to leave her on read. But I feel like my life is too complicated right now, too hard to give her the full explanation that she deserves. So, I lie some more and play it off, saying I got a job offer and was sick of Nick's s**t. What I really need is to talk to someone who knows wolf culture, who knows about bonds, who knows about Full Howl and what it's like to take the oath. I wonder if someone at this ceremony has insight, who can help me navigate these questions. Cause I feel like I am walking into this without really knowing what I am doing.

That is when I get a call from a number I don’t recognize, it’s from a Southern California area code and my immediate response is excitement, thinking it has to be Troy. It's not. It’s Dr. Nakashima’s office letting me know I am clean with low Vitamin D.

But the interaction makes me think about the whole trip to the doctor’s office, with my cousin and aunt. I wonder if either of them would have any insight on the Full Howl oath and if so, how could I get a hold of them?

This line of thinking has me sending my cousin a message through MyChart asking him to call me. Then after 30 minutes, I call his office and leave a message with the receptionist. Another 30 minutes pass and I decide to get dressed and while I am in the shower, I think about Garth, my friend in Vegas who has a whole crew of rogue wolves. They may have answers, so he is the next on my list to call.

"Smashleigh, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Garth says a bit sarcastically.

"I know, I'm sorry I didn't respond to your last text, I have been busy." We’ve always had a solid relationship but since I moved to Cali my routine has been a bit off. I’ve been bad about keeping in touch. I can tell that annoys Garth, he thinks of me as a little sister type and he likes me to check-in.

"So busy, typing out a whole sentence, just too much of a burden?"

"Yeah kind of. I've been busy starting a pack war." I tease but the drama between Venture and Venice did feel like thats where it was heading.

There is a pause, a deep breath. A whispered swear followed by, "What did you do? What do you need from me?"

“I met a guy.”

“Here we go.” I can feel Garth’s smile in his words.

“I meet a guy, we were just starting out when I met my fated mate.”

“Oh sh*t.”

“The first guy is a member of Full Howl one of those ‘oath sworn, new age’ packs.”

“Yeah I know, the ones. But Ash, unless you are mated to an asshole, a fated pairing is like- a summer thunderstorm, Christmas, fourth of July with a serving of toe-curling org*sms wrapped in a bow. You don’t give that up.”

“Well, my mate has some sort of curse on our bond. It makes him crazy feral.”

“I’ve never heard of something like that.”

“Yeah, same. Obviously.” He sighs again in tandem with me. “I was thinking about joining Full Howl to break the bond, hoping it would break the curse.”

“I like your logic but I am pretty sure fated mate bonds are made of tougher sh*t than some weak new age pack oath.”

“That is not what I wanted to hear.”

“I’m sure you didn’t kiddo.” I can hear him light a cigarette, “I’m asking around real quick. Someone may know something. If you don’t mind, who are the dudes?”

“I don’t know Kingston’s last na-”

“King. Kingston King?” There is shock in Garth’s voice but he also says the name in a whisper.

“Yeah, I think.” I laugh a little. “I thought that was just a nickname for Instagram.”

“Is he your mate?”

“No, I was just seeing him casually.”

“So, then your fated mate is Troy Venice.” Garth doesn’t ask it like a question, he says it matter-of-factly.

“Yeah…. How?” I say cautiously. How does Garth know Troy?

“King challenged Troy. They fight to the death tomorrow.”

“Excuse me?” Fight to the death? My wolf whimpers. Mate.

“I forget that you don’t know sh*t in the wolf world. Alpha challenges are a big deal. There are only so many packs in the US, so a change in alpha or a war between packs affects the whole of the community, even those of us who live outside packs. And King, sh*t Ash, he has a bad rep. So, does Troy actually. But they are in different leagues of despicable. King killed off his entire blood-born pack. Wiped it off the map, he was known for human trafficking and drugs. His name has cooled off for a few years but when I heard he was challenging Troy, that sh*t is bad news. King is the kind of f*cker who could ruin what we have, for the sake of conquest and power gains. He is unstable as f*ck.”

“Oh. I sure know how to pick 'em.” I laugh nervously.

“Yeah, stay far far away from the guy.”

“He is supposed to take me to the oath ceremony to join Full Howl later tonight.” I admit.

“Of course he is, god d*mnit Ash.” I can hear Garth now, up and moving around. His breath sounds like he may even be running. “You can’t do that tonight. If a bond is severed between mates, it’s like a death blow. If you survive it, it takes time, days, weeks to heal. We are talking in bed, dead on your *ss. Of course, King would have you try to break the bond the night before he challenges him. God d*mnit. You need to get away from him. DO. NOT. JOIN. FULL. HOWL. After the challenge you can try to break the bond, but NOT right now.” I hear more things crash in the background and Garth is swearing under his breath.

“I thought you said the oath can’t break a fated mate bond?”

“Probably not but my guess is King has something else planned, to ensure it works. Why don’t you come out here? Can you do that, can you pack a bag and head out here for a while? Actually, hold on. I have a driver in San Jose.” There is more shuffling on the other end of the call. “Listen Ash, I got a guy 30 minutes out from you. He can get you here safely. You need to get away from King. Pack a bag. We will figure out how to break the bond or curse or whatever if you want after the challenge.”

“Ok, ok.”

“You still on Queensgate Way?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Ok, his name is Pax, he is on his way. He is a big mean-looking f*ck, but he is a gentle giant. You call me when you're in his truck, ok?”

I start throwing stuff in my suitcase, “Ok.” I disconnect the call and I realize I am in a bit of a panic, I’ve known Garth for 8 years, and I’ve never heard him riled up. He is a calm collected dude. How amped and nervous he sounded is making me feel the same. I pack in record speed and then I grab the other important things I think I need from around the apartment. I set my suitcase by the door.

I’m in the bathroom collecting makeup and toiletries when I hear a knock at the door. It's been 18 minutes since the call ended with Garth.

“Pax?” I ask through the door.

“Hey, Ashleigh. Garth sent me to pick you up.”

I swing the door open, “I just need to grab a few other things. I am almost done.” Pax isn’t as mean as I imagined. Garth hangs out with a lot of motorcycle gangs in Vegas, so I was expecting some giant, fully tatted, and covered-in-dirt goliath-looking dude. This guy is attractive, big but not scary or mean-looking at all. Even his smell is a little familiar and pleasant. Subtle for a wolf, like most rogues.

He takes my suitcase as I grab my purse and my other smaller bag. I lock the door behind me and follow Pax to his car. He drives a black Lexus, with darkly tinted windows. Again I was expecting a truck, Garth owns a transportation company. I assumed when he said he had a guy in San Jose, he meant a driver. Didn't he say truck?

“Oh s**t, let me get my phone and charger.” I shake my head at myself. Obviously, I would forget something so essential. I jog back toward the house, grab my stuff, lock the door again and when I am coming back out. I see a purple semi-trailer pulling up. I can’t see the guy inside but I look over at Pax. He is eyeing up the truck just as I am. The truck is idling, not turned off when the driver hops out. He is a big boy, as wide as he is tall, he has prison tattoos, worn jeans, a dirty sweat-stained white shirt, his auburn hair is unkempt, and his scruff days past five o’clock shadow. As I see him hop down, he gives me a wave.

I look at him then I look at the guy who came to my door ten minutes ago. My mouth gapes open. When Pax, the real Pax follows my line of sight to the guy standing next to the Lexus. But its too late, he fires two shots. One into the shoulder and another into the knee of Pax. I instinctively turn back around, running to the door, I fumble with the keys but as I open the door. The first guy is on top of me, he tackles me onto the ground. He hands wrap around my neck, I feel them close in, then a pinch and everything goes black.