Fated with the enemy pack’s Alpha

The Alpha’s lover

Zara’s POV

I woke up to a tickling sensation on my face and brushed it off with my hand. It was an ant.

“f**k!” I said with disgust, sitting up immediately.

I was still in the woods, he had left me here unconscious? He had to be a really heartless one, or else who would leave a woman in the bush all by herself at that time of night?

I looked up at the sky and guessed it was midnight from the position of the moon overhead.

I stood up and left, going into the compound through a back door.

I entered my room to see my father waiting for me, his back to the bed and examining my mother’s hairpin.

“Do you still remember how your mother used to smile?” He uttered in a low voice without looking back.

“Uhm…” the words stuck in my throat.

Why was he suddenly here in my room, asking about my mum? It was a conversation we used to avoid, him talking about it here and now was starting to make me uncomfortable. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes.

“Zara,” he called out to me as he went to sit on the bed.

“Come sit here,” he said, patting the space beside him.

I went to him and sat.

“My time is almost up. I struggled all my life to give my daughters a befitting life, you especially. I promised your mother that you wouldn’t suffer, and I know that I did everything in my power to keep you safe, especially away from your stepmother,” he continued in his low voice, stopping occasionally to clear his throat. My stepmother, that was another topic that we never talked about.

“I saw what happened tonight, I thought I was planning your life by matchmaking you and Storme from your childhood, but it seems fate has other plans for us…” he adjusted his sitting position to look at me.

“You have to find your mate. He is somewhere out there, probably a member of this pack, and even if it’s not, I hope he’s a member of another respectable pack.

“And if he’s a member of an enemy pack, you know the rules, the bond will have to be broken, and you will go through a bonding ritual with Storme,” he made this last statement with a note of finality and left the room, clutching his walking stick tight.

I knew he meant every word he said.

My father had done his best, truly. I knew his last wish was to see me settled as the Luna of the bloodmoon pack, that was the only way he could rest peacefully. But now that fate had decided to go the other way, what could I do?

My mate in question was a total bastard. He had told me himself that he was the alpha of the vicious howl pack, could it get worse? I didn’t even know his name or what he looked like in broad daylight, all I knew about him was this, and his scent. His damned scent that made me giddy just by remembering it, and I had only known him for one night.

“This is bonkers!” I screamed into my pillow.

*****

I woke up the next morning feeling light. I skipped out of bed and went to open my windows, but one look at the event arena and memories from last night came flooding in.

My shoulders dropped in sadness and guilt, the earlier feeling of lightness all gone and replaced by uncertainty.

I dressed up quietly and went downstairs to see everyone talking in groups of twos and threes. Immediately they saw me, they hushed and went about their activities.

What could be happening? Did they know already?

My stomach sank.

Maya met me all smiles at the foot of the stairs and linked her arms with mine.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Zee darling, what’s it with you?”

“Uhm… nothing,” I lied.

“That’s a lie, ugh! You should practice your lying skills more if you want to be taken seriously,” she rolled her eyes.

“I know you’re disappointed because you didn’t mate with your sweetheart, Storme. But what does that matter? You can always go through a bonding ritual with him, it’s going to be an absolute success. Y’all look too good together,” she said with a tone of encouragement as she led me to the dining table.

Only if she knew. Things would have been better if that was the only issue, but I couldn’t tell her just yet. I would wait for the bond to break and go ahead with Storme. That was the only solution, I wouldn’t say a word to any of them so as not to cause unnecessary drama.

We had breakfast in silence. I looked around and noticed that Storme didn’t come down for breakfast, he was probably still shaken by what had happened yesterday.

I smiled at Maya, who was saying something I couldn’t make out, and made a mental note to go check on Storme immediately after breakfast.

I left the table and went back to my room upstairs.

“What am I even going to say to him if I see him?” I asked myself and flopped down on the bed.

“Maybe I should give him some time,” I said, giving up on the idea.

Was I really in love with Storme? All my life as the good and obedient girl that I was, I had always followed my father’s orders. So when he raised me to be Storme’s mate, I never objected. I had never for once stopped to think or ask myself if Storme and I were ever in love.

“I shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that, my dad knows what’s best for me,” I told myself amd stood up to get some snacks from the bedside drawer.

I suddenly felt a warm liquid seeping down into my panties and quickly ran into the bathroom. My period was just starting.

“Yuck! Not this,” I cried and threw my hands up in frustration. Like I didn’t have enough to deal with already.

I checked my wardrobe and drawers looking for a pad but found none. I went back into the bathroom and folded some tissues into my panties.

“That will do till I get back,” I said, adjusting my jeans.

Quickly, I grabbed my purse and a sweater, went out of my room, downstairs and out of the house.

My destination was the mini mall located two streets away. It was quite a distance, but I decided that walking would be the best option. I needed to exercise my limbs because I would soon be too cramped to even step out of my room.

I got to the mall fifteen minutes later, breathing heavily and pushed the glass door open without looking up.

“What the hell?! Can’t you look where you’re going?” I heard an exclamation from the other side.

I had hit someone with the door.

“Ohh myy…! I’m so sorry I wasn’t looking,” I apologized profusely.

“You again?” The grey eyed stranger asked with an icy look that suggested he didn’t like the sight of me here.

“Well it’s me,” and you are…?” My voice trailed off, expecting him to supply his name.

That was when his scent hit me. Familiar, deep, musky, and earthy.

It was him.

“Lucien,” a red haired lady called from behind him.

“Who’s that and why are you talking to her?” She asked him, going around him to stand in front of me and assessing me with a disapproving expression.

“She is no one important, babe. Let’s go,” he replied to her and they went out of the mall, hand in hand.

I stood there watching as they walked away, mouth agape.

“Miss, you might want to move to the side and let everyone else pass, you’ve been standing there for the past ten minutes looking like a lost puppy. Are you lost?”

I was jolted back to the present by the tiny voice of one of the attendants.

“Uhh, I’m sorry,” I said and hurriedly walked in to get my pads and rushed back home.

I finally knew his name. Lucien.

On the way home, I couldn’t stop thinking, “who was the redhead? And he had called her babe, what was that? I was no one important?”