The Alpha's Secret Obsession

His enemy, his mate

Kael

The fire in the hearth burned low, casting shadows that danced along the stone walls of my study. Tall shelves on each side of the room stood like they were my fortress. I sat at my desk, pen frozen in my grip, eyes skimming over a page I had already read three times. My mind was elsewhere. It was on the pack, and the strange way the sickness kept spreading like invisible claws through the heart of Greenwillow.

Then, the door creaked. I didn’t look up until the scent of rosemary and smoke reached my nose. I knew it was my seer and adviser, Elder Rowen. The only trusted council member I had.

"Alpha Kael," he said, voice as always, grave and knowing. His presence filled the room like thunderclouds.

"What is it?" I leaned back in the chair, rubbing my temple.

He stepped in fully, dark coat whispering over the floor. His eyes glowed like fire, representing the years of seeing things far beyond the physical. His grey hair illuminated by the light from the fireplace and his frail skin hugging his delicate bones like they were clinging to their last hope of life.

"It’s not getting any better," Rowen said simply.

I stiffened. "The sickness?"

He nodded. "Another two dead. The young twins from the Leinard family."

A curse slipped past my lips. Those boys weren’t even ten. "I’ve done everything. I have sent for the best healers from far and wide. I strengthened the borders and called for the druids. Nothing’s working."

"That’s because it’s not something herbs or wards can fix," he said, approaching my desk. "It’s a divine plague."

My blood ran cold. "You think—?"

"It’s not a thought, Kael. It’s the truth." He paused. "The goddess is punishing us, because the only surviving Lycan has finally come of age."

My heart dropped. I stood so fast my chair scraped behind me.

"No. That’s impossible. I was there, Rowen. The last of them died during the War. I injured the final beast myself."

Rowen’s eyes narrowed. "You injured Krachen, the traitor. You spared his life because he saved yours. Did you ever stop to think what became of him afterward?"

My jaw clenched. No, I hadn't. I had assumed he’d gone into hiding, bled out, or simply vanished.

"If he had a child…" I said slowly.

"She’d be of age now. Eighteen. The curse is already beginning," Rowen said. "The gods are restless. Our bloodline is bound to that of the Lycans. One must die for the other to live."

"She? So, it's a girl. And you’re sure it’s a girl?"

He nodded. "All the gods tell me is that she’s in the South. If I were you, Alpha Kael, I'd be on my way to find her."

I sucked in a breath. That made her easier to find, and easier to track. Being a girl made her easier to kill.

My wolf stirred beneath my skin, prowling, sniffing the air like he could already taste her scent.

"I’ll find her," I said finally, voice like steel. "And end her before she ends us all."

My instincts led me to the human school in the South, nestled in a forest that reeked of dark secrets and ignorance. It didn’t take long for me to locate the building that she stayed in. I stared down at the stone Rowen gave me to help find her. The green stone glowed and hummed faintly as I stood in front of a building that towered before the forest.

I stood outside her window that night, wrapped in the darkness and heavy rain, watching.

That's when I saw her step out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. My breath caught. My wolf growled low in my head.

Her legs were fair and smooth, peeking from the edge of the tiny towel. Her blonde hair was wet and clinging to her neck, dripped water onto her pale shoulders. Her skin glowed in the moonlight, golden and soft, almost unreal. She had curves like a goddess. It was the kind that stirred something primal in my chest.

She turned toward the window for a brief second, head tilted slightly like she sensed something. But then, she walked away.

She was unaware of me. And still, I couldn't move. My wolf didn't want to attack. He wanted to touch and breathe her in.

No. I shook it off. I was here for the pack. One girl didn’t matter. Later that night, I found a man patrolling near the woods in his trainers and sneakers. He held a flashlights and a gun slung over his shoulder as he moved. The poor man never saw me coming.

If I wanted to get close to the surviving Lycan, I needed to get into this school. One way of doing that was to get a job. His job was mine now.

"Who is there?" He swung around, fear making him grab his gun.

I was faster, transforming into my wolf with the speed of lightning before lurching at him. He fell with a yelp that didn't reach beyond the woods.

After I was done, I made it into her dorm unnoticed. I noticed there were two girls in the room. The one I needed was on the right side. One spell and both girls were knocked into a deep slumber.

I stepped further into the room. Cold air blew in from the half-closed window and as I remembered how she had snapped the curtains shut, a smile curled my lips. She was smart. As I stepped closer, her scent hit me like thunder. She smelled like lavender, causing something inside me to stir.

I walked around, eventually going to rummage through her drawers, papers and notebooks, anything that could confirm what she was. But there was nothing that pointed to how she identified as a Lycan.

My eyes landed on the bed.

She lay there, the covers barely holding her frame, golden hair spilling like a halo across her pillow. Her lips were parted, looking soft. A crease between her brows as if she was dreaming.

I stepped closer, my fingers twitching. Just one touch on her fair smooth skin. I reached down and brushed a strand of hair from her face. Her skin was warm. Softer than anything I’d ever touched.

My wolf howled. She shifted, murmured something in her sleep.

I trailed the back of my hand gently down the length of her arm, and that was when I felt a sudden burn.

A red light flared around our wrists, mine and hers, wrapping around like an ancient ribbon of fire. It glowed, pulsing once, twice, then faded. This has never happened.

My mind went still. And then my wolf growled Mate.

I stumbled back, staring at her like she had just become something else entirely.

My mate was the Lycan. The girl I was supposed to kill.