Unbound Mate

Prologue: The Beginning

The rogue queen stood in her tent and blocked out the noise of war coming from down the hill. She knew they were protected by her king and their men and no harm would come to them here.

The queen stared down at their new tiny pup in his makeshift bassinet, red-faced and crying as loud as he could. She knew the sounds of swords clashing and screaming coming from outside the tent was the cause. While those men and women were not close, they were still loud.

The dark-haired queen with light brown eyes reached down to pick her howling pup up. She had so very little time left with her baby. So, to calm him, and to ensure he'd always remember her voice, she began to tell him a story.

"Hello little one." She said to him softly, "This story is about a world, where werewolves, vampires, fairies, demons, and humans too, lived among each other abiding by an ancient truce that brought harmony to their lands. Although beast will be beast, and this they all were, peace was not always guaranteed. Murder, war, epic adventures, betrayal, and love were no strangers to these beings. To maintain order, all beasts followed a hierarchy that was absolute." The pup stared at the queen intently, as if he could understand her.

"Betas were all humans and made up the population of most of all the other beasts, male or female. Gammas were generally peaceful beings who lived to serve Alphas. Alphas were men and, more rarely, women who had the power to control the betas and gammas and lead their communities. But then, my little one," She gently rubbed the pup's chubby cheek, "there were the ones who had ultimate power. The ones whose rule was unequivocally and indisputably followed by all. The extremely rare True Alphas."

The pup yawned and she smiled as she continued quietly, "Each land with Alphas, gammas, and betas were all ruled by only one True Alpha, bending their necks to these supreme beings. However, there was a secret, known only to mated True Alphas. True Alphas had a weakness. A weakness that could destroy them but also give them their greatest power." She paused for dramatic effect. "Omegas!" She said proudly.

"Those precious and immensely powerful females who could only be true mates to True Alphas and vice versa. A secret that was meant to protect them both. For omegas were thought to be even weaker than most betas. Fools, all of them." She scoffed.

"Now, while there are many other beings, there is one particular kind that is especially feared by all in the land. They are called rogues. And you, my son, are one of those fearsome creatures." She kissed his head, "A Berserker werewolf that is more powerful, more cunning, and better looking if I do say so myself," she flipped her hair, "than most other beasts, including werewolves. Rogues were led by the mighty rogue king who was himself, a true alpha."

"All beasts were usually led by a true alpha of their kind. But there are many alphas who have taken exception and decided to do something about the uncontested rule of True Alphas."

The rogue queen listened out for the noise of the battle and could hear it moving further away. She hoped it was a good thing.

The queen continued the story, "Alphas were powerful in their own right, and it was not usual for them to bow down or bend the neck to any others. So, they found enough traitors to disrupt the heirarchy and began a terrible war. A war that should have been easily won by the True Alphas. Except, their secret had been found out, and enemies, who were once friends, became a threat no one saw coming."

The queen whispered down to the pup, "What those enemies did not see coming, was a new secret weapon." Before she could finish her story, the rogue king burst through the the flaps of tent, "The witch has come." He said to her in his booming voice.

He was a huge male at seven feet tall and heavily muscled. He had the most gorgeous dark chocolate hair that curled over his heavily lashed green eyes. Their pup was the rogue king's spitting image and she knew he would be just as big as his father one day. Her heart squeezed thinking about it. Their baby had her black eye brows and lashes and tan coloring though. He would be even more handsome than his father, which she hardly believed with him being the most handsomest male she had ever seen.

Behind him followed a few alphas and one other True Alpha, like her king. The Vampire King.

He was as tall as her mate, also heavily muscled, but slightly leaner. It would never do to underestimate this male though. She had all the faith in her mate but she would never want for them to come to blows. She believed her mate would come out the victor but not whole. Not against this male. He fought with them in this war and brought a mighty army with him. He had been betrayed too. Equally devastating for him and his kind as well.

From behind him stepped out a female who was of similar height to her own. The witch.

The queen stood at 5 foot 8 inches but was considered tiny for her kind and compared to these Alphas, especially her mate, she was short. The witch had such a strange aura. The queen tilted her head as she stared at the girl. Could she be an omega as well. Witches were very powerful, those traitors! But this female's power felt...different, in some way.

The witch had met with them many days before. Showing them the betrayal that was to happen, the war that has now come to pass, and the future that no one was prepared for. It had all happened so quickly. The witch said the rogue king and queen's son would be part of what will right what has been wronged. Her king, her mate, did not want to trust another witch. They are the biggest power leading this war. They have turned all allies except the Demons and Vampires against the Rogues and are systematically wiping out all other beings with the help of the werewolves. The fairies were neutral until they were attacked as well and then completely disappeared. Just gone.

She had felt the truth in the vision the witch showed everyone. She knew she could trust the female. But no one else was as trusting. And her mate was reluctant to put the rogues at risk. They all had been. For no one thought that this level of betrayal was possible. And now, it was time to reap the consequences.

The witch stepped forward, "I must place a seal on his true alpha power."

The rogue king cursed, "Will he be able to break through?"

The witch winced but remained calm, "Not at first."

"Will he be in pain?" The queen gasped.

"Yes," The witch said. And the queen cried out in protest.

"But," The witch continued, "his wolf will not allow the seal to remain. He will get stronger while he is hidden and will break through on his own when the time is right."

"Can we leave him with a letter?" The queen asked.

"You may not." Solemnly said the witch.

The queen continued desperately, " Not anything?! Will he even know his name?!" She cried out.

The witch pinched her lips together, averting her eyes. Unwilling to cause anymore pain. The queen knew this was easy on no one but this was her baby. Her only child. She had such hopes and dreams of loving him and watching him grow alongside his father. And it has all come to this.

"He won't know who he is. He won't understand his power and what will be happening to him," the rogue queen began crying.

The rogue king wrapped his bloody arm around his wife and child, "He will know, my heart," he said with conviction, "he is our son and is meant to be a True Alpha like me."

"But he'll be in so much pain." Tears began falling down her cheeks faster. She was trying to be strong but this was tearing her heart apart. She could barely breathe. She did not want to give her baby she just gave birth to, not even a day ago, away. She went to squeeze her eyes close but snapped them open to stare as long as she could at his tiny face. "He looks just like you, my love."

The rogue king kissed the top of her head and she could feel him smiling when he said, "Let's hope he is as stubborn as you. For he will need the strength of will to do what needs to be done."

She looked up at the waiting witch, "He will come back to us won't he?"

"He will," the witch said. "As I showed you in the vision, if he stays he will die. But if he is hidden from everyone, you will be reunited again. Although he will be a man grown by then. He will have come into his own and he will be as you both predict. But you will not see him as a child again."

The rogue queen looked at the witch and could see the haunted look on her face and the tears in her eye. She could feel the compassion and the sadness rolling off of her. A part of the queen's gift was she could feel the emotions of every one and thing surrounding her. And she could feel the witch was sincere in all that she said and felt. But she knew there was more the witch was leaving out. She did not know what or if it was even relevant. But she knew this thing needed to be done.

The witch must have seen something in her eyes, maybe her extreme reluctance to give over her baby to a stranger, especially one who is telling her she will not see her child again until full grown.

The witch spoke so softly that even with the queen's heightened hearing, she still had to strain to listen, "You understand you have been betrayed. You ALL," she said with emphasis, "have been horribly betrayed. That is why this war has begun and that is why you will not win." The king began to growl in anger but she laid her hand on his chest to quiet him and his protective instinct as the fearless witch went on, "Not today. Not tomorrow, not for a very, very long time." The witch continued ominously, "The world you know is about to change and may possibly never be the same again. There are many species of beings who are currently being wiped out. To ensure yours do not, and that your son has a fighting chance, you must help your Alpha. But doing so will result in the death of your son, if he stays." The witch says even more quietly as she lowers her eye, "I have seen it."

The queen held her baby close as he began to cry again. The rogue king bent down to kiss his head and softly said to her, "It is time, my heart."

The queen softly sobbed as she began unwrapping his embroidered swaddling blanket.

"No," said the witch, " you may leave the blanket."

"The queen frowned, "But you said we could not leave him with anything. This has his initials on it."

"That will be alright. If there is to be a connection between the three of you then it can be this."

The queen looked back down at the sniffling baby, "My little love." Whispering his name softly. But the witch heard and the queen could see her smiling at the name. She reached over to hand her pup to the witch.

"I will protect him with my life." The witch stated with conviction, "I know a family who will love him and guide him into the Alpha he is meant to be," The beautiful witch concluded before turning and walking out of the tent behind the vampire king. The rogue king took her hand and followed behind them. The queen had no idea where the witch was taking him but had already made her decision to trust her. The witch was to make this journey on her own and promised they would not be stopped or harmed by anyone or thing. They walked a little past the vampire king, as he too watched the witch crest the hill and disappear on the other side. The war was taking place behind them and thought she would be safe just as a huge explosion went off right over the hill. Exactly where the witch had gone. Her vision went black and her ears began ringing as she heard two males roaring in outrage and denial. She saw her mate and the vampire kind running to get over the hill and she followed.

She caught up to them at the top of the hill and found what they were staring at.

The space where the witch and her baby must have been before the explosion. There was a huge crater sized hole and nothing else was left. She dropped to her knees and screamed her pain and rage at what just happened. She felt waves of energy rolling off of her but could not stop the absolute despair from completely consuming her. Her mate picked her up and cradled her.

"My heart. My queen. Please..." She didn't want him calming her. She wanted to kill them all for what they have done.

"Then lets kill them all." The rogue king heard through their mind link. And she quieted. Coldness spread through her heart and veins as she stood on her own two feet. She was made to believe she would see her son again. She was given such a small amount of hope. Even still, she was unable to let go of that tiny bit of hope. But for now, she was filled beyond the brim with murderous wrath. And she would do what her king suggested they do.

"Yes. Let's kill them all."

And they both turned, the vampire king forgotten about, and proceeded to make their enemies pay.

They fought non-stop for weeks, months, years. But the power of the witches had grown out of control and there was no stopping the inevitable.

However, the armies led by the True Alphas, with or without their omegas, were still an unstoppable and devastating force. So the enemies came up with a plan to create a powerful seal that would lock away all true alphas, and their armies, for eternity. A seal that was meant to be impenetrable to ensure the prisoners never escaped. For if they did, they would reap horrifying vengeance the likes of which could wipe out all beast-kind.