Luna Catalina (ENG)

Chapter 5

-Kayden's P.O.V-

I have been pacing around my room for an hour. I felt like a lion locked in a cage. I couldn't stop going over what had happened a couple of hours earlier. I had met my mate. How was that even possible. After everything that had happened it was clear to me that the Moon Goddess would never grant me a mate. I didn't deserve it. I was already 23 years old and, until today, I hadn't met my mate. That wasn't normal for an Alpha, who usually found their Luna between 18 and 20. But I had never considered why it was taking me so long to find my Luna, because I was aware that I would never have one. A werewolf who had done the terrible things I had done didn't deserve to find any kind of happiness in his life.

So how was it possible that I had found my mate? And not only that, but my mate was the most beautiful creature my eyes had ever seen. 

After arriving at the Full Moon pack my wolf, Zeus, had started to get nervous. He kept howling and fidgeting, restless. I had put this behavior down to the hours in the car with hardly any movement. So, after dropping off my things and having dinner, I had decided to go for a run. I had run for hours. When I finally felt Zeus calmed down, I decided to go back to the packhouse. When I arrived at the house, I noticed a girl sitting on the garden chairs. Without knowing why, I felt a strong urge to get closer to the girl. It was when I got closer that I noticed that the girl had been crying recently. Had someone hurt her? The mere thought that this beautiful creature had been harmed in any way infuriated me like never before. I felt a great desire to kill the cause of that pain. Zeus supported my idea excitedly. 

Suddenly, the girl seemed to notice my presence. She looked at me, and quickly got into an attack position. She wasn't tall. She wasn't very short either but compared to me, she was tiny. She had blonde hair, pulled back in a messy bun. She also had olive skin, which made her green eyes stand out. Her eyes looked like two emeralds. Her face looked as if it had been carved by angels, without any imperfections. I couldn't see his body shape because he was wearing extremely oversized sweatshirt and baggy pajama trousers. 

Any creature in this world who looked at this woman would instantly gasp. 

I couldn't help but notice the tension in her face. She was uncomfortable with the situation. She looked ready to throw a punch at me at any moment. In an attempt to lighten the mood, I decided to transform, as I was sure she would be less intimidated by seeing me in my human form. It was then that I realized I had been holding my breath, so I breathed. And as I breathed, the most intoxicating smell I had ever breathed came to me. It smelled like a mixture of freshly cut grass and lavender. And that's when I knew that this girl was my mate. 

Catalina had told him her name. From the moment we met I had repeated her name over and over in my head. Just hearing her name produced a reaction in my body that I wasn't prepared for. 

I had to reject her; I had no other choice. Never before had something cost me so much. Since what happened I had promised myself that I would reject my mate. I deserved the worst punishment for what I had done, and as I had been told, nothing was worse than turning down your mate, because you were giving up half your soul. But all the stories I had been told fell short. There was no pain equal to what I had experienced that night. And what hurt me the most was the suffering I had seen on Catalina's face. Anyone who would hurt such a beautiful creature should not be forgiven. I was disgusted that I had been the one to cause her such pain. 

Yet she had refused to accept my rejection. Was she crazy? How was it possible that she had been dealt the worst mate in the world and yet she still wouldn't reject him. Something must be wrong in this girl's head. She had asked me for an explanation, and I hadn't been able to give it to her. I hadn't seen myself capable of facing the hatred and disgust that would rise in her eyes after hearing my reasons. 

For the first time in my life, I had been a coward. And now because I was a coward, I found myself in this situation. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I wished the hours would pass so that I could see her again. I wanted to see her in the sunlight, so that I could analyze every feature of her face and body in more detail. But at the same time, I knew I had to get her to reject me. To accept her as my mate would be to condemn her to a miserable life accompanied by a mate without heart or scruples. Catalina didn't deserve that. So right then and there I made a promise to myself: I was going to make Catalina hate me until she rejected me. I would never accept her as my mate. I would kill miself first. 

I checked the time. I showered, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. At the breakfast table was Alpha Marcos with two blond men. The boys looked exactly alike; they must have been twins. Marcos was brown-haired, with brown eyes, just like his Beta. These boys were blond with green eyes. Still, you could see in their features that they were brothers. They looked quite similar. In the kitchen area I could see the Beta, Lucas I think his name was, cooking. They all looked serious. They spoke rapidly among themselves in Spanish, so I couldn't make out what they were saying. 

When they noticed my presence, they instantly shut up.

-"Good morning, Alpha Kayden," the Beta greeted me. -"Can I offer you some breakfast?"- I nodded slightly. He immediately passed me a plate of food. 

Just then my Beta, Ian, appeared. I growled at him. I had been trying to talk to him all morning and there was no way. It was always the same, he must have found some woman to spend the night with and that's why he closed the min-link, our way of communicating mentally. 

-“Someone has got up on the wrong foot by the looks of it,"- commented Ian, as he took the plate of food that Lucas was holding out to him. 

Ian has been my best friend since I was two years old, we are inseparable. And even though he gets on my nerves a lot, he's literally the only person I've ever trusted. After everything we've been through, he's always stuck by my side. He is the most loyal person in the world. As soon as I became Alpha, I made him my Beta, my right-hand man. Since then, he has been by my side, always accompanying me along the way.

"Where were you"- I said to him over the mind-link. "Making the most of the night, what happened?" he said looking at me inquisitively. "Last night I found my mate"- I merely replied. His eyes widened with surprise, "Who is it, where is she?" he asked. It was then that I realized that the Alpha and his brothers were watching us, so I merely replied "later". 

-“We have summoned all the warriors at 7 o'clock at the training camp," Marcos commented, -"As we said on the phone, you can choose as many warriors as you want. The prices are as indicated in the email I sent you. As I said, the only condition is that you respect the pairs. If you want a warrior, you will have to hire his partner as well."

I nodded. Ian had studied the details of the contract and summarized them for me. 

-"Perfect. Lucas and I are going to our office to make sure all the details of the contract are ready to sign after training. Our brothers, Nicolas and Juan, will accompany you to the training camp when you are ready.”

-“Perfect, thank you, Alpha," I heard Ian reply. I just nodded. 

At 7 o'clock we were at the training camp. There were at least 200 warriors. All dressed in the same uniform. A khaki green t-shirt, military trousers of the same color and black military boots. I analyzed them carefully. The truth was that I was curious that such a small pack had such a powerful army. I didn't know them, but Ian had discovered them through a friend of his, and he had convinced me that they were what we needed. 

Our pack was the largest and most feared in the United States. Since I inherited the title of Alpha at the age of 16, I had led my pack with an iron fist. We had become a feared and ruthless pack. My methods were known throughout the country, and there was no place I went that I was not regarded with respect and terror. But my pack adored and respected me. After the incident I had earned their respect, and I knew they would always support me. But power always breeds envy. And that had led several nearby packs to declare war on me with the aim of defeating me. Greedy bastards. Added to that was a growing problem with the rogues. We needed more warriors, better trained, and to develop new tactics within our army. 

Ian had insisted that this was our only solution, and since I had no better option, I had agreed. He had better not have wasted my time or I will make him regret it. 

I looked around among the warriors, but I didn't see her. In our pack we only allowed men into the army. But as far as I could see here, they made no distinction between the sexes. I kept looking among the women. She was definitely not there. Maybe because she was the Alpha's younger sister she had not been allowed to join.

That's good. I thought. Then I won't have to see her again.

Finally, Alpha Marcos and his Beta arrived, and the training began. They did a brief warm-up, after which the warriors began to show off their skills. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Several of these warriors were excellent. They had an agility and strength I had never seen in werewolves that were not Alphas or Betas. Ian was right. I looked at him and saw that he was taking notes. Good. When he wants to, he can be an excellent Beta. 

Suddenly I smelled her. That smell again. I looked to my right and saw Catalina running towards us accompanied by another girl. When they came in front of us, they stopped and bowed their heads, a sign of respect. When she raised her head, I felt my breath catch. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. Her blonde hair was neatly tied back in a braid that fell to the middle of her back. She wore the same uniform as the rest of the warriors, but it looked especially good on her. At last, I could see her body in detail. She was quite slim but defined. I could tell she was in shape. Her breasts were not large, but they were the perfect size. 

My analysis was interrupted when I heard Ian call the other girl mate. I took a closer look at her. She was taller than Catalina, brunette, with curly hair and great curves. Catalina had nothing to envy her. 

I watched as her brother chastised her for being late. With fury in her eyes Catalina confronted her brother, and then started to run with Ian's mate. Everything about her screamed at me to take her right there. Her fierceness had made me more excited than ever. But, remembering the promise I had made to myself earlier that morning, I looked away from Catalina and tried to focus on the warriors. 

Once the training was over, Marcos ordered the warriors to line up in neat rows. 

-“You can choose whichever warriors you want. What is usually done is to choose two or three couples belonging to the elite of the army to lead the training, and then some couples of a lower ranking to help with the patrols and assist in the training," said Alpha Marcos.

I nodded. After talking mentally with Ian, he went over to indicate the 6 couples with a lower ranking that would be used to reinforce our patrols. We then discussed which pairs within the elite corps would be the trainers of our army. We decided to choose a pair that had stood out considerably, consisting of a dark-haired boy and a red-haired boy. The second best was the Alpha twin brothers. We had a hard time deciding on them, as they had Alpha blood in them, and that made them likely to be conflicted people. But we had come to look for the best, and they were the best. So, we finally chose them. 

I constantly noticed that Catalina was looking at me, but I avoided looking at her at all times. When I conveyed our decision to the Alpha, he looked at me hesitantly.

-“Is something wrong?" I asked curtly.

"There is a problem with the couple you have chosen, the one formed by Miguel and Luis," -answered the Beta, pointing to the dark-haired boy and the red-haired boy. I shot him a murderous look, I hate being made to waste my time and being told no. I could tell I was starting to get angry. And I could tell he was starting to piss me off. "Luis"- He continued, pointing at the red-haired man-" He's really Cassandra's partner. They just didn't get together because Casandra was late."

I noticed Ian was looking at me. I nodded at him.

-“Casandra and the red-haired boy are coming with us,"- Ian reported. I watched as Casandra smiled broadly and nodded. –“Who is the other boy's partner," Ian asked. 

-“Catalina”.

I was petrified. It couldn't be.

I looked at the dark-haired boy. He was huge. He was about the size of an Alpha. And I had seen him fight. He had spectacular speed and strength. He was one of the best warriors I'd ever seen. I looked at my mate. She was staring defiantly at me with her angelic face. So small and fragile. 

-“It is impossible for this warrior to be the partner of this... kid," I said, emphasizing the word kid. 

Before her brother had time to answer Catalina stepped forward, and without taking her eyes off me, she asked: 

-“Why is it impossible?”

-“It's impossible for someone of your... your size to win against someone of his size," I just answered, looking at her sternly. 

-“Well, you're wrong," she replied. I could beat Miguel, or my brothers Nicolas and Juan with no problem. I could even defeat your Beta".

This girl is definitely crazy. Zeus was drooling at her bravery. But to me it wasn't bravery. There's something wrong with this girl. No one in their right mind would dare stand up to Ian or me. And instead, here she was, saying she could beat Ian with no problem at all. I smirked. 

-“Do you think that's funny?" she asked me angrily.

-“Enough Catalina!!”- I heard Marcos yelling angrily at her, but I gestured for him to shut up. 

-“Prove me wrong," I said, staring at her. 

-“In exchange for what?" she said.

-“Excuse me?!”- I couldn’t believing what I was hearing. 

-“I'm not going to put on a show for you like a monkey at a carnival. I want something in return if I win”.

Never in my life had someone spoken to me with so little respect. If it had been anyone else, I'd be dead by now. No doubt about it. But I don't know why, the situation generated a pleasant amusement for Zeus and me. It was like watching a little kitten trying to pretend to be a tiger. That was my mate. A sweet little kitten. 

"That's her, isn't it? She's your mate." I heard Ian in my head. I didn't answer him. He didn't need an answer. Ian knew perfectly well that no one who spoke to me like that would last more than two seconds alive. She was obviously my mate.

-“All right," I finally replied, "If you manage to beat my Beta, I'll hire the three elite couples and the other six for double the agreed money. Besides, instead of one month, I'll hire you two months"- Catalina nodded, seeming satisfied with the prize- "But, if you lose, I'll hire only two elite couples and the other six, leaving you and your partner excluded. And they will come to train my pack for free.”

Catalina didn't move a muscle in her face. I would have paid to know what was on her mind at the time. 

-“Very well, I accept," she said, staring at me. 

-“Well Thtat’s not you decision to make Catalina”- Marcos said-“If you'll excuse us for a second Alpha Kayden, my Beta and I need to talk to our sister," he said, grabbing Catalina roughly by the arm and pulling her to a secluded spot. 

I noticed how Zeus was trying to take control over my body. He was furious at the way Catalina’s brother had spoken and grabbed her. He wanted to jump up and rip off the hand he was holding her with. I wanted that too, but I couldn't let Zeus take control. No one could know that Catalina was my mate. So, I asserted myself and didn't let him take control. 

I watched as Catalina argued with her brothers. She looked angry, but they looked angrier. The rest of the warriors watched the scene with impassive faces. The twin brothers and Catalina's partner were looking me up and down without disguise. Catalina must have won the argument, because she smiled at her brothers and started walking towards us.

When she reached Ian, she stopped and looked at him: 

-“Shall we go?" she asked him. 

Ian looked at me questioningly, and I nodded. Catalina started walking towards the training ground, and Ian and I followed her.

I smiled to myself. I couldn't have made a better bet. If Ian won this fight, which I had no doubt he would, I would get free training for my pack and on top of that I would get rid of Catalina, since she would have to stay here. 

It was a guaranteed win.