Alicia's Fate

'Mate'

'Mate, Mate,' Cole jumped. He was about to take control and claim our mate right there and then, but I held him back. Nothing should go wrong again today. Searching to find the owner of the scent was most important, I reasoned. The hubbub had returned, they were mostly talking about my pack in hushed tones. It was like playing a backdrop of music that was slightly audible as I scanned their faces, the scent kept getting stronger with each passing minute. I think they found us too and are approaching our table.

'Alpha?' Nate called again, but I didn't think he was talking to me.

"Alpha, is something wrong?" someone asked Nate as he noticed we were no longer looking at the podium but at the crowd.

"It's nothing, congratulations once aga..." I could hear Nate keeping up the facade and just then, behind a scantily dressed girl, an amazing small creature holding a tray suddenly walked towards us. Her clothes looked tattered, but her eyes were clear as she came closer. Both my wolf and my brain kept telling me to go to her and claim her, but my feet were rigid and wouldn't obey no matter how much I willed them to.

'Mate!' Cole said, wondering why I didn't have her in my arms yet.

'Hold on,' I said, finally peeling my eyes off her when she got to our table. Her scent was intoxicating, but I restricted myself from reacting. What was more? I am not the alpha today, Nate was. If she knew I was her mate, she didn't react, which was kind of odd and this bothered me, like a lot. Could she be underage? That could explain why she was so small. She walked past me and was about to set the tray down when someone suddenly pushed her so that she spilled the contents on her tray all over our bodies. I could hear someone snickering, but I ignored it, catching her in time before she toppled over. The drinks, however, couldn't be saved and everything splashed on Nate's pants, while Josh escaped by a fraction. Sparks flew from my palm where I held her and for the first time, she looked at me in astonishment. Okay, she just noticed me too.

"Hi," I said after getting her to stand on her feet again. She acted a little shy now as she uttered her thanks. Elsewhere, I could hear a low growl. Was she already taken?

"Clumsy i***t, you can't even serve a simple champagne without spilling it on the guest, now look what you have done," that was the voice of the older alpha, "Apologize this instant and scram," he all but shouted at the girl who started to shiver in fear. That's it, I am done pretending not to be the alpha.

"She is going nowhere," I stated, my tone dangerously nonchalant. I tightened my grip on her hand, a simple, non-verbal reassurance that she was safe. "Besides, I don't see anyone complaining."

​I glanced at Nate, whose pants were completely drenched. Nate, recognizing the shift in my demeanor and the claim I had just made, nodded instantly.

"It's fine, I'm okay," he said in full agreement.

​But the old Alpha was too consumed by his petty fury to notice the danger.

"Of course, it is not fine, she needs to be punished!" he insisted. His immediate demand for punishment made it sickeningly clear how this girl had been treated her entire life.

​I was still wrestling Cole, who was howling with possessiveness, when two hulking guards moved in to physically tear her away from me. I held onto her hand firmly, and one cold, lethal glare from me was enough to make them halt and step backward.

​"So, let me get this straight," I challenged, no longer suppressing my formidable aura. The sheer pressure of my power was visible, but the old man was too daft to realize who he was provoking. "If you are deliberately tripped by someone who clearly wanted you to fall, wouldn't you punish the perpetrator? That's absurd!"

​"We will investigate to find out who pushed her," the new Alpha, James, finally spoke, his eyes blazing with hatred. "But first, look what she has done!" he repeated the stupid complaint, exactly as if I hadn't just demolished his father's argument. It was sickeningly clear he was furious with her for ruining his big moment and wished he could rip her head off himself. ​A new wave of silence crashed over the field, replacing the hubbub. Every single wolf was now paying rapt attention to our confrontation. The moon shone brilliantly, like a giant, illuminating audience, its light casting our dramatically intertwined shadows across the ground. paying rapt attention to our conversation.

​"What has she done?" I asked, my voice deceptively calm, looking James square in the eyes.

​He faltered immediately. "Alpha?" he questioned, his voice dropping below a whisper as his eyes darted nervously between Nate and me, finally realizing the switch.

​"Bingo," I smirked. "You see, I was curious to know how I would be treated here. So, I made my Gamma take my place." There was something about the way he kept staring at my mate, like he expected her to run from my side, that infuriated me. I held onto her hand tightly. Again, that low, proprietary growl could be heard—and this time, I knew it came from the new Alpha, James.

​"Isn't that a little too much, Alpha?" James dared to challenge. "Coming here as someone else is beneath you." He was passionate about his new, pathetic authority, but he had no right to dictate my actions.

​"Yeah, well, you know what they say? I am, after all, just a petty little Alpha. I derive pleasure in strange things," I said, rising to my full height. I towered above him, establishing immediate physical dominance. I needed him to back off.

​"Let the girl go, Alpha," James insisted, mistakenly believing I wanted to punish her myself. "I promise to reprimand her most satisfactorily." He reached out, attempting to pull her away from me, but I shoved her firmly behind my back. I despised everything about this so-called Alpha, particularly the predatory way he kept staring at my mate.

​"What if I say no?" I challenged, staring him down pointedly.

​"What?" he stammered, surprised I would take the girl's side. "Oh, that's okay," he added nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "But she still has so much work to do, isn't that right?" He tried to peek around me, addressing my mate directly, but she remained silent. For a second, I worried that the abuse had rendered her mute.

​"I am taking her with me, if that is okay with you," I said, inspecting my neat fingernails with exaggerated care. I didn't need his permission, but I wanted to appear like a level-headed wolf to my mate.

​"You can't be serious! She belongs to the Crescent Moon Pack! She can't go with you!" he shouted vehemently.

​"If the Alpha fancies her, I think he should have her," the retiring Alpha interjected, clearly exhausted by the escalating tension.

​"No!" James roared, finally using his Alpha tone. The crowd immediately bowed in submission. The little Alpha was trying to play tough. "She belongs in my pack and can't go with you," he repeated.

​My two men, Nate and Josh who hadn't seen me defend anyone before, were ready to fight. But they heard the words that followed and knew exactly what they must do.

​"That's where you are wrong," I stated, my voice cutting through the silence. "This little wolf here is my mate, and I intend to take her back to my pack whether you like it or not." I raised our interlocked hands high for the entire gathering to witness the undeniable, sparkling mate bond.

​"That's not possible," James fumbled, his face draining of color.

​The red-headed she-wolf who had been fawning over James, looked utterly puzzled before speaking up: "Why not? She is bound to go with him," she said, her tone indicating she couldn't wait to be rid of the pack slave.

​"No, she can't," James repeated for the third time, his voice rising in panic. I was genuinely concerned he might have lost his mind, stuck in a loop of denial.

​"I can, and I will," my mate finally spoke. Her voice was soft, melodic, the most beautiful sound I had heard all day. I wish she would say more.

​"No, you won't! You can't believe this stranger over me! He could be telling another lie!" James’s desperation was repulsive. Facing me, he stammered, "You just admitted to lying about who you are! Claiming she was your mate could be another lie now just to cause trouble!"

​"I don't think I need to explain the concept of finding a fated mate to you, do I?" I asked tiredly.

​"She is too important in this pack to be your mate. I don't believe you," concluded the James guy, and I felt like punching him hard in the face, but somehow, my violent streak was at bay today, probably because I was holding on to my mate's delicate hand.

​"You can't stop us from taking our Luna home," Nate interjected defensively, positioning himself behind us to protect our backs.

​"You can't take her away!" James insisted, grabbing wildly at the last of his tattered authority.

​Without waiting for another annoying protest, I guided the girl towards our van. James followed, still shouting.

​"She is good for nothing! Why are you being attached to someone you ought to have discarded long ago?" The redhead, shouted, trying to restrain him.

​"She can't leave with them!" James cried out like a petulant, spoiled child.

​"Whyever not?" She demanded, glaring at him.

​"Yes, Alpha, why not?" I asked, turning to face him, my expression one of mocking curiosity.

​"Because... because she is my mate!" James confessed shamelessly, the words tumbling out in a rush. Now I understood the growling. Cole roared in my head, begging for immediate release. 'I won't share my mate with some stupid nonentity!' Cole spat.

'I will make them reject each other.' I declared to my wolf

​"No, I am not," my mate stated softly beside me, before I even said anything.

​My joy was immediate and immense. She rejected him!

"Alicia, don't be like that," James pleaded, using her name, Alicia. I can't wait to use that name.

​"What do you mean she is your mate?" the redhead demanded, asking the question on everyone's mind. "Even if she was, would you choose that stinking girl over me?"

​"Watch it," Josh warned, ready to initiate a m******e.

​"Let's get this straight," Nate said, his calm voice cutting through the chaos. "She is your mate, but you already have a chosen mate for Luna," turning around, he faced my mate and asked a simple question, "Are you still mated with this guy?" he asked, pointing his finger rudely at the alpha.

"No," she said ever so softly, shaking her head, "he rejected me," she said, and before James could think of any more ridiculous reasons why she couldn't go with us, she added, "And I accepted his rejection, we have nothing to do with each other," She looked up at me, a silent question in her clear eyes, seeking validation. ​She is free.

​I tightened my grip on her hand. I am going to enjoy her company for sure, but I am not done here.

​Who pushed her? The thought struck me with satisfying clarity. Should I reward them or punish them for pushing my mate into my arms and forcing my hand?