The Alpha's Secret Mate

chapter 6

Kyle

“Mate!”

my wolf roared inside my head, the word striking like thunder.

Rage exploded through me.

There, sprawled across the floor like something discarded, lay my mate.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands trembling as I reached out. Her clothes were torn, hanging loosely from bruised skin. Fear still lingered in her eyes, wide and glassy, as if whatever had happened had only just ended moments ago.

A savage growl ripped from my throat.

Too late.

I was too damn late.

I had arrived at the Crimson Pack days behind schedule, and it had taken another three hours and fifty seconds to reach the Alpha’s mansion. Three hours and fifty seconds too long.

I never wanted this marriage.

Not because I distrusted the girl Mason had chosen for me. Mason never moved without reason, and I knew he must have had one.

No.

The truth was colder than that.

I accepted the deal for one thing only—

The Alpha’s crown.

He had promised that the moment I signed those marriage papers, the title of Alpha of Blackwood would be mine.

I came to one simple conclusion—spending the rest of my life tied to an irritating girl was a small price to pay for control over everyone in Blackwood.

Still, one question gnawed at me.

What could have made him force me into marriage?

Then the answer struck like lightning.

An alliance.

He had traded my future for the strength of the Crimson Pack.

A slow smirk almost touched my lips. In the end, it changed nothing. If this arrangement placed me in an Alpha’s seat, then I had no reason to complain. I was not the sort of man who cried over a ruined personal life because of a mate.

Love had never impressed me.

Relationships were games people played when they had nothing better to chase. Women were prizes others fought over, nothing more.

Emotions were weaknesses dressed in pretty lies.

Even if my wolf accepts her as my mate, it meant little to me.

My wolf, Drake, never stopped growling the same nonsense in my head—that one day we would meet our true mate, and the moment my eyes landed on her, I would be powerless against the pull of the bond.

I almost laughed.

There was no woman alive who could ever have that kind of hold over me.

I never thought that his words would come true, not this fast . The girl I'm married to, Luana Smith happened to be my mate, such a coincidence.

I never gave a listening ear to my instincts but today felt different, it kept screaming and causing my thoughts to linger on finding my mate. My wolf,Drake, has been restless all through persuading me hard to find her. There was no way I could end my wolf so I decided to snub him instead.

The moment I stepped into Alpha Smith’s estate, everything inside me shifted. I felt it deep in my bones, sharp and electric, as though lightning had struck straight through my body. Every nerve awakened at once. My wolf surged forward, wild with anticipation.

Then it came.

A delicate scent of vanilla drifted through the southern breeze—soft, subtle, yet powerful enough to drag the breath from my lungs. It wrapped around me like temptation itself.

My wolf sprang to life, pacing furiously beneath my skin.

Mine.

The word thundered through me as my pulse roared in my ears. Someone here was calling to every savage part of me.

There was a haunting rarity to the things that could truly make me lose myself. Usually, it was the pull of a violin—a beautiful, melancholic ache of a melody. But this sensation was different; it didn’t just hang in the air, it reached deep into the cavity of my chest and took hold.

Alpha Smith’s voice, currently droning through a practiced welcome speech, faded into a dull hum. As I moved through the pristine foyer, the sound of my own heart rose to meet my ears, thudding with the heavy, rhythmic violence of a war drum. It wasn’t just the scent that unsettled me. It was the sudden, suffocating wash of fear and pain that began to crawl across my skin like a thousand spiders.

I knew something was wrong the second I felt her presence.

Smith had been adamant: there would be no ceremony for our wedding. At first, I’d welcomed the decision—it was efficient, a way to reclaim time I didn't want to waste. But the logic had always felt fragile. What kind of father refuses to celebrate the marriage of his "precious" daughter? Smith certainly wasn't hurting for funds, yet he hadn't lifted a finger to arrange so much as a toast.

Standing there in the cold quiet of the foyer, the pieces finally clicked. It all made sense now.

As I walked through the manor's silent, antiseptic white corridors in search of my mate, Smith appeared. At his side stood a brunette who bore his unmistakable features. She was his daughter, certainly, but she wasn't the one my soul was screaming for.

"Um, hello? Is 'manners' a foreign concept in the North?" she snapped, her voice hitting a shrill, grating note as she crossed her arms across her chest. "You just blew past the Alpha and marched into our home like you own the place. Who the hell do you think you are?"

A brat, through and through. Had she any idea of my true identity, she wouldn't have possessed the courage to even meet my gaze, let alone lecture me.

Smith held up a hand, a silent command for his daughter to hold her tongue.

"Now, now, there’s no need for such hostility," he purred.

"After all, this is your brother-in-law." A thin, sharp smile pulled at his mouth—the kind of smile that didn't reach his eyes, hiding a well of malice and a hidden agenda.

Shock flickered across the girl's face, wide and naked, before it was quickly replaced by a shimmering glint of mockery.

"I see. You must be here to take my dear sister."

The word 'sister' left her mouth with a jagged edge, the feigned sweetness of her tone failing to mask the sudden surge of resentment. I didn’t have the patience for her games or her talks..

"Where is she?" I demanded, my voice like a grinding stone. My irritation was rising with every wasted second, a low-thrumming pressure behind my ribs.

"My, my. In such a hurry to see her already?" She let out a dry, hollow laugh, her expression shifting with practiced ease into a mask of faux curiosity. "Tell me, though—why the mask? Is it a shield for your ego, or are you simply hiding your ugliness from the world?"

I narrowed my eyes, the air between us thickening with an unspoken threat.

"Michelle, do stop insulting our guests," Smith interjected. It was a scolding in name only; his voice was flat, devoid of any real caution. He wasn't the least bit bothered by her insolence—in fact, he seemed to find it entertaining.

I looked at them both, a cold disdain settling in. The people of the Southern Pack clearly had a few screws loose if they truly believed they stood on higher ground than us.