BOUND BY FATE-The Alpha's King Warrior Mate

The electric thrill and tension in the air were palpable and hurtfully sweet to the senses as I inhaled deeply while keeping my eyes on the parade route, where the crowd pulsates with excitement. The crowd murmured as waves ripple on a pond, all eyes focused on the road, waiting for him-The Alpha King of the Dark Crescent Pack. As the very sleek car began to draw nearer, the muscle memory came to devastate me. Having spent over a year on the Council of Royalty as the King's security detail, it had become automatic to tense when he approached. The job was often mind-numbing, boring even, but a split second of distraction could very well prove fatal. "There he is!" yelled a person from the crowd. "Alpha King!" I adjusted my black hat and began taking in the scene, watching in dismay as women in the crowd screamed for his attention, to which he responded with a cursory wave—typical of a man seemingly discomforted by public appearances, as much so if they were with women. Gods, he was gorgeous—no denying that. Those sharp angles on his face and the presence that could command a room. But I knew better than most what was beneath that flawless skin. A merciless ruler who viewed mercy as weakness. Cross him, and dying was the least you could wish for. "My King!" The frenzy in the crowd was delirious. I had witnessed his brutality firsthand, watching him rend asunder foes on the battlefield as though they were nothing more than paper dolls; his wrath, roused, reminiscent of something ancient and unfathomable. And even after all these years of service, he was still something of an enigma to me. The man behind the crown remained locked away in some part of his world, and it was my job to keep it that way. As the car sped past, I turned on my heels and melted into the shadows of the forest in the West. A chill ran through my spine: someone was watching me. I walked faster, my fingers becoming fists as I headed deeper into the maze of trees. The wind whipped through the branches as I pursued my target, every nerve in my body screaming a warning. There-a dark silhouette dashing across the pack border like a thief in the night. Rookie move. He was about to learn the hard way that this time, he couldn't shake me. I ghosted through the trees, my footsteps barely touching the ground, fast closing in on him. In one fluid motion, I propelled myself up and down, crashing onto his back and throwing him down on the forest floor. "Damn it!" he snarled and lashed around against me. I savored the moment, relishing his fuming. He was fighting, but my grip was iron. "Let's make this easy," I hissed into his ear. "Who are you, and why are you following the Alpha King?" He twisted his head toward me and flashed a cocky grin that made my blood boil. "Sweetheart, you're wasting your breath." "Last chance," I warned, pushing harder on his arms. "Say something, or it's going to get nasty." His only response was a dark laugh, which was cut short as all hell broke loose around us. Arrows zipped through the air in scorching rain. Instinct kicked in and I rolled, narrowly avoiding them as they struck the earth where I had been standing just heartbeats before. A whirlwind of confusion: my prisoner broke free and vanished into the shadows of the forest. "Dammit!" I spat, going after him again, but another celestial of arrows jumped past me. The realization of how far I had strayed from pack lands hit me like a gut. Having found no option, I turned around, anger simmering under my skin. Threats against the Alpha King grew more, and I couldn't afford another misstep. After all, Damien Hilton was not just my king; he was a puzzle I had vowed to defend, a man whose true face hid behind a mask he had created so well. But discouraged was the question at the back of my mind—why didn't he have a mate? Was he too burdened with betrayal like me? Did he carry the weight of a lost love that he could not move on from? An agonizing stab penetrated my chest, anchoring me. My breath rattled, and unbearable pain wrote through my body like wildfire across the veins. With gritted teeth, I fought against that scream clawing to burst from my throat. I was well aware of what was causing my agony. The Moon Goddess gave to werewolves the gift of soulmates-a bond supposed to guarantee everlasting love and happiness for the werewolves-if in return it came with that curse since not all soulmates were meant to be with each other. The most merciless of fates was rejection. The moment one-fanged rejection hits, pain becomes overwhelming for the wolf; it sees his soul breaking. The very bond that would join their hearts has been severed, leaving the one rejected all alone and cut off from all feelings relating to the least. To bear the rejection fangs is to suffer with the pain most unbearable. The blade of betrayal dives deeper, crushing hope with an excruciating longing, heavy against those ribs. Like forwarding the movie of betrayal all over again, seeing one's mate with someone else simply tortures that poor wolf. I had always questioned my worth. Was I not good enough? I never needed anyone to back me up-I was strong, capable, a fighter in my own sense. But even being strong, nothing ever dulled the pain of rejection. I fell to the wet earth as silent tears rolled down my cheeks. This was not mere sorrow. It was all-consuming agony, an internal fire that threatened to burn me from the inside out. I would burn. With a strangled cry, I went down, my legs trembling, breath coming in ragged gasps, my heart not beating anymore but echoing. Pain had no ending. I wept inwardly, my true wolf quieted. Selene mourned while I could only summon the bitter memory of that awful day when Axel rejected me. Launching an exasperated stare toward nothing, my body physically felt each sensation, a howl of anguish surfacing from within. "Another day, Amara, one more day..." With my hand clutched over my heart, pain surged within me. The pain grew worse, my body plummeting into torturous agony. My legs were on fire. Blades of excruciating heat pierced from my skin through my muscles and bones, as if my leg were frozen and lightning struck through me from head to toe, obliterating every single thought from my mind. It was the same icy feeling-my stomach churned, and I kept on howling. "Sick of being like this? Wanna hang around forever like this?" "I don't know, Selene," I said weakly. Her voice was soft, yet it held a tone of finality as she said, "That is enough, Amara. Let him go. I know you have loved him for a long time, but he loves his power more than you. Why can't you just accept rejection and wait for another chance?" A bitter, deep chuckle escaped my lips. "Second chance? For what? To love?" "Better to hope than to be in this despair." I stopped and thought. "Am I selfish, Selene? I know I am hurting you by staying with me. Are you tired?" Barely audible, she replied, "Yes." Wings of guilt flapped painfully in my chest. Somehow, I felt that Selene was tired, even if I didn't want to ask her. I would never forgive myself if she would have to endure any longer because of me. I don't remember how long I sat there with my jagged breathing and eyes glistening with water, not moving an inch. I looked up at the full moon that sat high in the sky like a mother gazing down at her child. The ethereal glow piercingly brightened all around; it felt as though the moon was trying to convey something that I couldn't quite comprehend. Tears streamed from my eyes down to the grass beneath me as if the whole earth was sharing my pain: the gentle whine of the summer insects, the soft tunes of the night birds were lying around me... Was it time to let him go? "Moon Goddess," I called out, my voice echoing through the dark. "Why did you bring him into my life if he wasn't meant to stay?” A puzzle and in disarray were these thoughts, clashing against one another as I weighed the odds of the situation I found myself inside of. Surely fate could have been kinder? I had made a name for myself as a warrior, giving myself up completely to protect the Alpha. My strength had never failed me in battle; really, no one dared stand any kind of chance against my skill. And here I was: Love. Now that would do the trick. The irony was that I could face down anything in this world except for the ache in my heart. "Amara," Selene's mild yet stern voice was inside my head. "Life has its own way of teaching us lessons. Sometimes we need to stop looking back and start walking forward." A ghost of a smile grazed my oval face; my wolf, my partner through thick and thin. She was much, much more than just an animal spirit. She was my counterpart and my guiding light. She held me when I was ladling in raucous emotion, and I would do everything to honor that bond between us. My thoughts drifted toward Axel Hawkins-groom-to-be of GreyHound Pack. I had loved him before I had any appreciation for what the mating call meant, before I had any idea what it could accomplish. When the time came, however, he chose Rhea Wilson, leaving me only with the shattered echo of what could have been. The questions pursued me like restless spirits. Was it her Alpha bloodline to attract him? Was there something in hers that I lacked? Would their pups be stronger? The relentless thoughts encircled, gradually eroding what was left of the connection between us like water smooths out stone. The winter air slapped against my skin as I inhaled deeply. I steeled myself and closed my eyes, thinking of all the things I needed to do. Words I had practiced a thousand times in my head felt heavier on my tongue than any mountain as I spoke. "I, Amara Dale," I faltered, but held my ground, "accept the rejection of my mate, Axel Hawkins. Our bond ends here, and I accept this truth with all that I am." The moment the words escaped my lips, something shifted in the very deep corner of my soul. The strong pull toward Axel—as I had known for so long—began to loosen like a thread being pulled from a tapestry. Finally, the burden of his rejection over the years of loving him (whom I couldn't have) started to lift. The night suddenly felt sharp and cold. I pulled myself against the icy chill that seeped into my bones. My vision was blurring, losing grip on reality, fading into blackness