Chapter 4:His Scent
633 Words
Craig's POV
Fear.
I could smell it long before I entered the sacred valley.
It clung to the air like smoke.
The other Alphas tried to hide it behind forced smiles and confident greetings, but their scents betrayed them.
Good.
It reminded them to stay in line.
"Alpha Craig."
An elderly Alpha bowed his head as I passed.
"It is an honor to have you here."
I didn't answer.
Honor had nothing to do with it.
The Blood Moon Gathering wasn't a celebration for me.
It was an obligation.
One I intended to leave as soon as the Moon Goddess's ceremony ended.
"Alpha."
My Beta, Mason, fell into step beside me.
"The eastern packs have been asking for an alliance."
"They can keep asking."
"And the Northern Ridge Alpha?"
"No."
He sighed.
"I figured."
Mason had been with me since we were boys.
He was one of the few people who wasn't intimidated by my silence.
"You know," he said with a grin, "one of these days you're going to have to stop scaring everyone."
"They're alive because they're scared."
He chuckled.
"I can't argue with that."
As we approached the Moon Tree, the elders began preparing the ceremony.
Every unmated wolf was expected to stand beneath its silver branches.
I remained where I was.
"You're not participating?" Mason asked.
"I've already told you."
"I don't need a mate."
"But the Moon Goddess—"
"I don't care what she wants."
He looked at me carefully.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
It had to be.
A mate deserved warmth.
Peace.
A future.
I could offer none of those things.
Not with the darkness living inside me.
Not with the secret that had followed the Rhodes bloodline for generations.
No.
I would never bind an innocent woman to my curse.
Never.
A cool breeze swept through the valley.
Then...
Everything changed.
A scent drifted across the wind.
Soft.
Like fresh rain after a storm.
Wildflowers.
And something else...
Moonlight.
My body went completely still.
"What is it?" Mason asked.
I didn't answer.
The scent hit me again.
Stronger this time.
My wolf slammed against the walls of my mind.
Mate.
The single word echoed through every part of me.
"No."
I clenched my fists.
Not now.
Not ever.
Find her.
"No."
She is ours.
"I said no."
Mason stared at me.
"Craig..."
I ignored him.
My eyes searched the crowd.
Thousands of wolves.
Hundreds of scents.
But only one mattered.
Then I saw her.
A young woman in a faded gray dress stood near the edge of the Silver Crest delegation.
Her head was lowered.
Her shoulders slumped as if she carried the weight of the world.
There was nothing remarkable about her appearance.
Nothing that should have drawn my attention.
Except...
Her scent.
It wrapped around me like an invisible chain.
Impossible.
She looked so... fragile.
Broken.
My wolf growled.
Go to her.
"No."
She is our mate.
"I reject this."
The words left my mouth in a whisper.
For a heartbeat...
The wind died.
The Moon Tree shivered.
A strange pressure settled over the valley before disappearing as quickly as it had come.
Mason's eyes widened.
"What did you just do?"
"Nothing."
"You tried to reject the bond before claiming your mate."
I looked away from the girl.
"I won't accept her."
"You don't even know who she is."
"I don't need to."
My voice hardened.
"The farther she stays from me..."
I turned toward the ceremonial platform.
"...the longer she'll live."
Behind me, my wolf roared in fury.
For the first time in years...
I wasn't afraid of the enemies outside my pack.
I was afraid of the fate waiting for me beneath the same moon.
And I had the unsettling feeling that fate wasn't finished with me yet.
- Writer
