Marked By The Unmated Alpha

Chapter One Laura, my roommate, always said I was too uptight for my own good. “If you keep living like this,” she told me the previous day, “you’re going to wake up one morning as a forty-year-old virgin with nothing but books for company”. I ignored her. Laura believed every problem in life could be solved with loud music, booze and dancing under flashing lights. According to her, staying at home on a Friday night was practically a crime. Which was exactly why she had promised to drag me to GIllian’s place after work today. Fridays were always packed there, and apparently that made it “the perfect opportunity to finally behave like someone in her twenties.” I love Laura, She has been the closest thing I ever had to a sister. Personally, today I would rather stay at home. It wasn't entirely my fault that I became this uptight. Life has taught me early enough that nothing stayed good forever. I lost my parents when I was eleven years old. A drunk driver crashed into their car while they were on their way to pick me up from school. They died instantly. It was a terrible experience for me, the last thing I remembered was waiting outside the schoolgate long after everyone had gone home, wondering why they were late. Unknown to me I was never going to see them again. After that, life became a blur of foster homes, unfamiliar faces and learning very quickly that survival depended on myself and no one else. By the time I turned eighteen, I had already made myself a promise. I was going to build a life my parents would have been proud of, no matter how long it took. I met Laura four years ago at Maximal group, where we both worked at the front desk. We were complete opposites. Laura was loud, fearless and capable of making friends everywhere she went. Meanwhile, I preferred quiet spaces, and books. Somehow despite our differences, we worked. Today was Friday. We had just returned from work when Laura disappeared into the bathroom, still talking loudly through the running water. “Start getting ready!” She shouted. “ Because I swear to God, Adele, you are not escaping me tonight!” I dropped onto the bed with a tired sigh, already reaching for my phone to read a novel from an app I stumbled on this afternoon while at work. “I’m tired” I called back. “And I have absolutely no interest in rubbing shoulders with drunk people” “Adele!” Laura yelled from the bathroom. “This is exactly why you need saving!” I laughed quietly at myself. Arguing with Laura was pointless once she had made up her mind on something. And apparently, tonight's mission was dragging me to Gillian's place whether I like it or not. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her curls damp and her face glowing from steam. “Your turn” she announced, pointing towards the bathroom door. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my towel and headed inside. By the time I came out, Laura had already scattered clothes across both beds like she was preparing for a fashion emergency. “I picked something for you,” she said proudly. The moment she held it up, I nearly lost my mind. “Laura” “What?” I stared at the tiny black dress in horror.” This is not a dress,” I said flatly. “ This is pure wickedness”. My mother would practically turn over in her grave, if I wore this. Laura ignored me completely. Five minutes later, she was pushing me into a chair in front of the mirror while applying makeup to my face with deep concentration. “Stop moving,” she said. “I can't breathe in this dress” “That's because you have spent your entire life dressing like an exhausted librarian.” I gasped dramatically. “ You’re actually insulting me in my home?” “Our home,” she corrected. She dusted powder across my cheeks before stepping back to admire her work. “Perfect”, Suspiciously, I turned towards the mirror. Then I froze, I could barely recognize myself. The dress hugged my curves perfectly. My curls framed my face softly, and the makeup was light enough that I still looked like me… just a version I wasn't used to seeing. Laura grinned behind me, “There she is.” I looked at myself again and shook myself. Maybe one night wouldn’t hurt. She grabbed my hands and we stepped out into the streets of Paris *******. Diablo’s POV The cold night air of Paris brushed against my skin as I stepped out of the private jet alongside Diego, my Beta, Most people would have admired the glittering city light stretched across the distance but I barely noticed them. My mind was still in Georgia… trapped in that meeting with the council of elders. Find a mate within ninety days. The word replayed in my head like an insult. For fifteen years, I have ruled the pack without failure. Under my leadership, our territory had expanded, our enemies stayed beneath us and our people prospered. Yet none of that seemed to matter to the council. To them I am weak and vulnerable because I am yet to find my mate. “Useless ingrates” I muttered under my breath. They had crossed a line today by daring to give me an ultimatum. If it had been anyone else I would have ripped their throat off for such disrespect. But the council existed long before I was born. “Well,” Diego said beside me as we walked across the private runway. “You look like you are planning a murder”. I shot him a glance, Diego had been beside me long enough to know when not to push too far. Unlike everyone else he didn't fear me. That alone made him useful. “I still think you're over reacting” he continued “The council is desperate, they want stability.” “I am stability”. The words came out colder than I intended. Diego raised both his hands in surrender, “And that's the alphas ego I missed” I ignored him. The truth was part of me understands the council's concern. Having a mate just wasn’t tradition, it was legacy, power, continuation. Without one, people start whispering. And whispers turn into questions then questions turn into rebellion. This was why I had made my decision to make things official with Jenny, she had shared my bed long enough, making her Luna would silence the whispers and would give the council the mate and produce heir they wanted. Emotions wouldn't be involved. As we climbed into the black Tesla waiting for us outside the airport, Diego immediately connected his airpods, nodding along to music while I flipped through the business acquisition document that had brought me to Paris in the first place. The ride to the hotel passed quietly. By the time we arrived, the concierge was already waiting to escort us inside. I was halfway towards the elevator when Diego grabbed my shoulder. “No paperwork tonight” he said firmly. I frowned, “I don’t remember asking you for permission”. ”No,” he replied with a grin. “But you seriously need to stop behaving like a seventy-year-old Alpha trapped inside a young man. I turned slowly and gave Diego a look that would have terrified most people. He just laughed. “There is a place I want us to check out tonight,”he said. “And before you say no, remember we left the pack today so you could actually relax for once. I exhaled quietly, deciding not to argue. The truth was, I actually needed a break from the constant pressure of the council and the pack. And maybe, before I returned home to tie myself to a woman I did not love simply to quiet their gossips. I deserve one night to feel like myself again. By the time we arrived at the club, the place was already packed. Music blasted through the building while lights flashed across crowded bodies pressed tightly together on the dance floor. I glanced sideways at Diego. “How did you even find this place all the way from Georgia?” He smirked proudly. ”I have connections”. I shook my head slightly. Maybe bringing him along hadn’t been a terrible idea after all. We stepped deeper into the club. Then I felt something had changed. My wolf, calm only moments ago, suddenly became alert beneath my skin. I stopped walking. There was a scent in the air. Soft, sweet and addictive. Every instinct in me sharpened immediately. My wolf called out “Mine”. The word hit me hard enough to make my chest tighten. My eyes moved through the crowd, searching instinctively for the source of the scent. Then I saw her. A woman stepped out from the hallway leading to the restroom, completely unaware of the effect she had just caused. The scent hit me harder this time. My wolf surged violently beneath my skin, pushing forward with a force I had never experienced before. Claim her. I clenched my jaw and forced my wolf back under control. Then took another step closer. And froze. Because the woman standing in front of me… was human