Alpha's Chosen Mate

5

“Scared? Only a couple seconds ago, you came onto me.”

She bares her teeth at me, and I’m hit with the realization that she might be the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on, even more so when she’s mad. “Let go of me right now, or I’ll f*****g scream.” She thrashes against me, but all that does is push her succulent breasts against my chest. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Hilarious, this one. “Many things, princess, but right now? You.”

I let it drop—the mask of gentlemanliness, the soft amused grin, the charm that gets any woman I want into my bed. I let her see years of anger and loathing, the desire for vengeance, the unnerving cold that has eaten into what remains of my heart. I let her see the chasm of darkness lurking under my skin, and a fresh wave of her fear washes over me. “It’s you,” she whispers, voice laced with terror.

She rears forward in a bid to ram her forehead into mine, but I’m faster. I catch her red locks and tug them back harshly. A soft whimper slips past her pretty mouth, and my gut tightens. At this angle, I could easily claim her lips as viciously as I hate her. She submits to the pain while staring up at me with fire raging in her eyes. It makes me hard. f**k knows I’ve lost my mind. “I will do what you asked, Leilani Stone. I will take you away from all of this, and in exchange, your life will be mine. To own. To take.”

The weight of the pistol tucked into my pants presses heavily against my leg. One shot between her eyebrows is all it would take. Just one, and her blood will paint the walls.

But I don’t take out the gun. My body betrays me, and before she can unleash the scream building in her throat, my fingers encircle her neck, cutting off her airflow. She slaps at my hand, gasping for air. “My father…will…find…you.”

Squeezing harder, I mutter, “I’m counting on it.”

Her eyes redden and a single tear slides down her cheek as she rasps, “He’ll…kill…y—” She can’t get the words out before she goes limp in my arms. It would have taken longer if she was sober, but I guess I got lucky.

She topples forward, unconscious, and I catch her. She weighs practically nothing. I peer into her face for longer than I should, reminding myself why I need to do this. She has to die, but with her face pressed against my chest, eyes closed, her breaths slow and her features innocent, I can’t help but think I might be making a mistake.

“f**k, Ash. This wasn’t the plan!” Talon runs his fingers through his hair, and my gamma, Cayden, looks positively ill. “What do we do with her? Mardoc won’t let this slide. Kill her and we’ll head for war as planned. Keep her and…” Talon trails off, staring at me in disbelief. “You’re really thinking about it?”

Fuck if I even know what I’m thinking, but I smooth my expression as I lean back in the chair. “A war would bring bloodshed⁠—”

Talon bares his teeth at me, his brown eyes flaring gold. “We’ve sacrificed everything for this cause. We would die for you, Alpha, if you wished it. You can’t throw away years of preparations for a pretty redhead and her perky t**s!”

A growl of displeasure rumbles in my chest and claws prick at my fingertips, but I maintain a surprisingly calm exterior. “Do not interrupt me again, Talon.” Or else…

His tan skin pales, and he dips his head in submission. Cayden tenses by the wall. I realize my aura has flared. Sighing, I reel it back in. It’s become increasingly difficult to control myself since meeting Leilani Stone. “Mardoc’s daughter is a wild card, I admit, but this is the only way we can win without sacrificing more innocent lives.”

Bleeding profusely, orphaned and broken, I stumbled into the Dark Moon Pack when I was sixteen. It took an entire year for me to be able to speak, and even longer to rid myself of the nightmares and…the darkness that spoke back. Being forced to watch one’s mother and sister get raped and killed by rogues would do that to a child. I still sometimes hear my father’s roars as he lost his sanity and life in that battle. I still hear the screams of rage and despair as they set him on fire. I still see Mallory’s eyes—my eyes—as she screamed for me and Mother, until she couldn’t. Until her throat was ripped out and the light in her eyes died with her.

Ours wasn’t the first pack to be caught in the crossfire of the power struggle. Since there are significantly fewer werewolves than humans, we established our packs beyond the reach of their government. They stayed out of our way, so long as we stayed out of theirs. But that meant we had limited resources. Our ancestors fought for the smallest bit of land, water, and game, creating rivalries that have lasted for generations. But it wasn’t unheard of for smaller packs to form alliances to annihilate bigger threats.

Mardoc Stone and Ken Anderson were the alphas of two packs who allied against us. Their mistake was leaving a survivor behind. Mardoc hesitated to pull the trigger, just long enough for me to escape. He should’ve known it’d spell his doom. I’ve never been a forgiving man.

With the focus of a man starved, I planned for my revenge, and the Dark Moon Pack, which I inherited from my foster father, became my only family. Over the years, we’ve lost a lot, but we’ve also gained unimaginable numbers, placing us at the top of the food chain. It took a never-ending streak of ruthlessness and savage brutality to protect and expand this pack, and my actions have earned me my title of the Dark Alpha—a title I might be on the verge of losing because my wolf wants the wrong woman.

Grinding my jaw, I raise my gaze to Talon. “Send a message to Mardoc Stone. Tell him his precious daughter is in my possession.” To Cayden, I say, “Have Enya make preparations for the mating rite. Nothing lavish.”

Cayden frowns. “Mating rite?”

I drag my teeth across my bottom lip. “What better way to bring Mardoc to his knees than shackle his daughter to me forever?”