Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The moon hung over the territory, letting the pack and its people shine under its light. The sound of laughter and chatter echoed through the ground as people spent the night smiling into cohesiveness.

"Alpha, thank you so much for this beautiful evening." A man from the crowd spoke.

"Truly, it's always a lovely time when the entire pack comes together." A woman added with a light smile on her face.

And among the huge crowd stood the centre of the attention, the receptent of these compliments – Aiden Vale.

"Don't worry about it; please enjoy the evening," Aiden said as he walked away from the crowd to his beta.

To some packs in this world, this may have seemed like the most unusual behaviour, but to The Blackwood Pack, it was like a part of their everyday life. The Blackwood Pack wasn't just the strongest in the world; it was also the most peaceful. The Pack members all loved each other and lived together like a community, always helping and supporting each other. And the star of their community was the Alpha – Aiden Vale. With blonde hair, sharp features and piercing green eyes, he was one of the most gorgeous specimens this world had ever seen, but that was not the sole reason as to why he was a part of every discussion. He was a strong leader, and despite being the alpha for only 2 years, he had already made some of the most impeccable changes in the pack, including the introduction of pack gatherings every once in a while. Pack gatherings were the time when the entire pack came together, eating together, and celebrating, having a good time together. It was a time full of laughter and smiles – a meet where all the pack members got to know each other a little better and came together as a community.

"Busy collecting all the compliments, alphaaa?" Julian, the beta of the pack and Aiden's best friend, asked, sarcastically stretching the title.

Although according to the traditional hierarchy, Julian came below Aiden, their relationship was much more than that. They were best friends since childhood and truly loved each other like brothers. They respected the traditional structure but cared more about their friendship.

"Cut the drama, Jul," Aiden said, taking a sip from his drink.

Julian laughed, wrapping his left arm around Aiden's shoulder. "I can hear all the talk about your mate. Do they not realise the power of wolf hearing or what?"

Aiden sighed, "Let it be."Julian cracked another cheeky smile.

"Aww, does our great Alpha really hate not having met his mate yet?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow in his defence,"Anyone would. I know you act like you don't care, but you are waiting too."

"Oh please—" Julian started, but their conversation was cut short with a gatekeeper running towards them.

"Alpha, beta" The gatekeeper said, slightly bowing down as a sign of respect. "We have detected a trespasser near the north border. Their identity is not yet identified, but they are heavily wounded." When you are the largest and the strongest pack, trespassing was a common event, but still something about this news did not sit right with the alpha – he just didn’t know why.

"Let's go check it." Aiden saidJulian could sense his best friend's unusual anxiety, but he decided to not ask about it and simply nodded.

Both the men ran through the huge crowd, towards the forest.

Many pack members wanted to approach their alpha and beta and have a conversation, but the look on Aiden's and Julian's faces was like a warning to stay away from them.

Aiden wasn't sure why he felt anxious. This wounded trespasser could be anyone, including an enemy. He couldn't rule that possibility out, but something in him knew this anxiety wasn’t for his pack's safety; it was about that person. He didn't know who they were, but he had a strange feeling about it.

Julian, on the other hand, could not understand his alpha. After being friends for almost their whole lives and working together as a team for so long, now the two had come to a point where they could read each other's faces, and in this situation, Julian didn't understand the anxiety on Aiden's face. Aiden seemed scared, and that was strange. For a fact, Aiden didn't even know who the person was. What was it that made his best friend look like that?

Soon, the duo reached the outskirts of the forest and quickly changed into their wolves. The two wolves ran with great speed, and it didn't take them much time to reach the border.

As soon as the border came close, an unfamiliar scent hit Aiden's nose. The smell of sea salt and pistachios wrapped him like a warm, comforting hug. He felt bewitched by it – his senses suddenly felt heightened, and all he cared about in that moment was the scent and its owner.

The guy shifted back into their human form as they approached the lifeless body which was lying on the ground, surrounded by a group of guards and medics.

Aiden's wolf howled as the scent grew stronger. It was getting difficult to keep himself steady.

When the trespasser's face finally came into Aiden's view, his wolf became crazy, and it also finally made sense.

Mate