Alpha's Chosen Mate

LEILANI “C hris? I got the rings!” My voice echoes across the sitting room. A smile blooms on my lips as I catch the scent of sandalwood and hear running water. He’s in the shower. Shutting the door quietly behind me, I shrug off my brown leather jacket and toss it on the couch. Next to go are my boots, skirt, and shirt, until I’m left wearing only the hot pink lingerie he loves. A naughty smirk plays on my lips as I tiptoe to the master bedroom of my mate’s private residence, holding the ring box between my teeth as if it were a flower. I am usually more reserved in my…desires, I promise, but I’m happy today. In a few hours, I will be Leilani Anderson, Luna of the Black Fangs Pack and Alpha Christian’s wife. The thought of having his last name makes me so giddy I might as well be a teenage wolf in heat. The Blue Moon Pack and Black Fangs have been at each other’s throats for far too long. It started with little skirmishes, but those turned into a conflict nearly as potent as the one all of the packs share with the Dark Moon Pack and its ruthless alpha, whose joy depends solely on our misery. The desire for peace led my father to Alpha Ken’s doorstep, where I found Christian, my mate. He was half-drunk at the start of the peace talks, but still sober enough to growl “mine” from across the room. Our bond is Goddess-sent, my stepmother often says to my father. The woman rarely compliments or speaks nicely of me, but she worships the ground Chris walks on. According to her, he’s either too good for me, or I’m one lucky b***h. I do think I’m lucky to have a man like Christian as my mate. He is loving, understanding, and kind. While I’ve never really been picky about the kind of man I want in my life, Christian quickly became everything I could have wished for and more. He’d been ready to have the mating rite only a month into properly courting me, but our parents came to an agreement instead. The rite would happen only after Christian took the mantle of alpha when his father was ready to step down. But that did nothing to stop the romance blossoming between Christian and me. The kisses were never enough, the shy touches did nothing but increase the ravaging hunger, and my first orgasm was a spark that ignited a burning flame inside me. He was my first kiss, my first everything. Christian became my life, and now…I’m addicted to him. The shower is running when I slip silently into the bedroom and lay on the bed, legs parted, fingers playing with the straps of my bra. Chris steps out of the bathroom almost immediately, but he pauses at the door when he sees me. “You’re early.” Dropping my head back on his pillow, I let my finger trail the curve of my breast through the bra, and his green eyes track the movement. “I rushed the fitting. I couldn’t wait to see you.” The shower stops running and light footsteps pad toward the bathroom door. I jerk up into a sitting position as a familiar voice says, “I’m too sore to walk.” Dread tightens my gut, accompanied by something more violent as the doorknob twists. Half a second later, an arm wraps around Christian’s torso, a ring glinting on her finger in the soft light. “When will you tell Lei that the wedding isn’t happening? I almost feel sorry for her.” My wolf’s rage dulls my hearing. My teeth ache for violence. My vision turns red. My eyes rise to meet Chris’s. His vivid green eyes lack their usual warmth today. The sharp lines of his face make his beauty deadlier than any weapon, drawing my gaze to the lips that have kissed me and professed love to me every night since we discovered we were mates. He smells like another woman. He smells like s*x. I know what this is, but it can’t be happening to me. “What is this?” I ask, my voice shaky. The woman—my best friend, Georgia—stiffens, and the smell of her fear reaches me. I ignore her as I slide off the sheets, standing on wobbly feet and putting distance between us, because I don’t trust myself not to kill her. I blink back the stinging in my eyes. “How long?” Christian stares at me intensely, like he wants to take me apart and watch my heart shatter. I barely recognize him, standing across the room in the arms of a woman who isn’t me. Worse? His green eyes are cold, amused. “Our first fight.” I hate that he delivers those poisonous words in the same intimate tone he uses when he’s inside me. Our first fight had been our last. It happened years ago. We were both under a lot of pressure after getting brutally attacked by the Dark Moon Pack. The casualties were great. I lost my mother, and I couldn’t get over the grief for a long time. He was understanding at first, giving me as much space as I needed, but there was only so long a wolf could stay away from his mate without lashing out. I said no, but it didn’t matter. His wolf wanted me, and he lost control. He apologized for days afterward, and I forgave him. “I was grieving and you were—Goddess, you were screwing Georgia!” Tears well up in my eyes. “Why?” Chris’s lips tighten as every trace of amusement vanishes from his face. “She’ll make a better luna. You’re too fragile.” A sob threatens to escape my throat. I look from him to Georgia and back again. There’s a finality in his eyes that I don’t understand until he says, “I, Christian Anderson⁠—” “Don’t you f*****g dare⁠—” “Alpha of the Black Fangs…” I take one step forward as his last words hit me: “…reject you.” Pain cuts through me like a lance and I scream, reaching out desperately for something, anything, to anchor me, because I’m suddenly falling into a chasm so dark and bottomless, I’ll die if no one catches me. Christian does, and his hands lifting me off the ground and holding me close to his steady heartbeat is the last thing I remember. I awake to a different kind of darkness—complete emptiness. I can’t feel Fiona’s usual presence in my mind. When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is my father’s disapproving glare. His full mouth—my mouth—moves, and it takes a while before his words make sense to me. “How could you?”