Alpha's Chosen Mate

20

CHRISTIAN

F

ive years ago

“Nothing comes for free, Christian,” my father says, kicking a fallen branch in his path. I know what comes next. I’ve heard it all my life. “If you wish to rule the world, you must seize it, not plead for it. Play by the rules, and you’ll forever be a pawn in someone else’s game.”

The humble Blue Moon packhouse comes into view, and curiosity floods me at the sight of children playing tag and wolf. I never had that—a normal childhood. My mother was an omega w***e, and my father was a mated male who’d been trying for months to have a child with his wife. After I was born, he got rid of my mother, and I was raised by a bitter woman who found that her greatest pleasure was abusing a child.

Perhaps she’s why I turned out this way. My stepmother was, after all, my first kill.

Manuel snorts somewhere behind us, chuckling at his wife’s discomfort as he puts his hands in places we all can see. I’d feel sorry for her, but she knew what she was getting into when she married Manuel. He might be wealthy, but he’s a pig.

“Seducing the girl won’t be that hard. From what I hear, she’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.” My father places a hand on my shoulder, and his hard eyes hold mine as he squeezes painfully hard. “Mardoc must believe that you’re enamored with her. This marriage might just be for a treaty, but he’s no fool. He’ll never hand her over unless he truly believes she’ll be safe with us, and trust is not something we share with the Blue Moon Pack.”

Leilani Stone. I’d heard a little about her. She’s a tiny firecracker with more fire than sense. She earned that reputation when she threw herself headfirst into a fight with a man who touched her maid wrong. He was three times her size and she still swung at him, even if she knew nothing about dueling. She broke both fists trying to punch him, and the only reason she hadn’t been killed was because her father’s beta found her in time. A second later, and we’d be seeking different terms for this treaty.

I have as much interest in her as I do my father’s lectures—none. But I needed her if I wanted to rule the wolves one day. Joining the Blue Moon Pack to ours was a brilliant suggestion on my father’s part, but he didn’t see the big picture. Conquering the Dark Fangs and owning the Dark Alpha’s territory was my goal. That was true power. Hiding in the woods, scared of humans making treaties with them that are as fickle as their short lives and memories is pathetic. I want more than this life. More than these small territories and packs have to offer. There’s a hunger within me that spreads every day—for power, for love, for everything I have been deprived of.

Guards stationed at the entrance of the packhouse bow as we approach. An older man stands by the door, his shoulder tense as he watches us. “I am Morris, beta of the Blue Moon pack. The alpha has been expecting you.”

Of course he has. His first and only visit to our pack had ended on an unsure note. He’d extended an olive branch, but my father hadn’t been receptive. Mardoc left displeased, but he kept his word. There were no skirmishes, no attacks, no deaths. My father saw Mardoc’s desire for peace as a weakness and a sign of desperation, and he decided to play with it, using his favorite tool in the process— me.

I ignore the beta, stepping around him as I take in the ground floor. There’s nothing special about it. It’s too simple. Laughter fills the halls. The servants move about loosely, happily. More children run about, squealing joyfully. How…odd. Did Alpha Mardoc not enforce rules in his pack like my father did?

“I will take you to him,” the beta says, and I follow him as he leads us up a series of cramped staircases. The delicious smell of bread and spices carries through the house, and as we approach a small dining hall, I realize that we’ve caught them during breakfast.

“Come on, Dad,” a feminine voice whines from inside. “I’ll be back before midnight. And Georgia will be there!”

A deep masculine voice answers, “No.”

My nostrils flare as I catch a sweet scent. My mouth waters.

I hear a frustrated sigh and an angry stomp. “Mom, please. I’ve never been to a party. Everyone else has. Please let me go, just this once.”

Another sigh, this from another female. “Get off the table, Leilani.”

Morris turns to us. “I’ll inform the alpha that you’re here.”

My blood rushes and my pulse pounds in my ears. I swallow a growl, my senses confused by that intoxicating scent. Heat spreads to my groin, traveling along my skin until my clothes feel too tight. A purr resounds in my mind as my wolf howls with need. My eyes rise to the door, and my fingers itch to tear it off its hinges.

My father, oblivious to the growing turmoil inside me, waves Morris off and smiles, the scar on his bottom lip stretching wider. “That won’t be necessary.” He steps forward and pushes the door open, startling the family inside.

The chair screeches loudly as Mardoc stands abruptly. “Ken,” he says, amber eyes wide with surprise. “To what do I owe this visit?”

But my eyes aren’t on the alpha whose aura wars against mine and my father’s. The reason for my torment sits on the edge of the table, feet dangling above the floor as she scowls at us. Her red hair lights up like fire in the sunlight. Her amber eyes narrow with annoyance. Her full lips twist into a frown as her small nose scrunches up arrogantly, like she smells something foul.

I feel it in the very depths of my soul the moment her eyes meet mine.

She freezes, eyes widening with confusion as her pupils dilate with lust. Color rises to her cheeks, and I notice the faint freckles dusting her nose for the first time. Her lips part as she slides off the table with the gracefulness of a dancer.

Leilani can’t be taller than five foot three inches, an oddity among our kind, and she is dangerously curvy. The baggy slacks don’t hide her hips or ass, and I can almost imagine what lurks underneath that hideous sweatshirt. Her hair is up in a messy bun, stray strands falling over her face and teasing her flushed skin. She blinks once, twice, watching me as intently as I watch her. She reeks of innocence and sincerity. She looks like the kind of woman who’d love you forever after you f****d her once.

I expect a wave of disgust to rise. She isn’t my type of woman. I wasn’t cut out for love or commitment. I’m too damaged for that. Or too selfish, sick in the head, and depraved, as my exes would say. But the destructive need I feel erodes my senses. I look at her and know that I’ll keep her forever, whether she wants me or not. I’ll build her a tower and provide her with everything she needs, so she never leaves. She’ll live for me, exist for me, breathe only for me.

Defiance sparks in the depths of her gaze as she fights the effect of the bond. I don’t like that very much. If she’s my mate, there will be no fighting me. She will submit to me in everything, and obey my every command.

“You’ve met Christian...” My father’s words trail off as he notices the shift in the air. Mardoc looks between me and his daughter, and the beginning of a smile blooms on his mate, Clara’s, lips. She knows what this is. She seems excited for her daughter. She has no idea who or what I am. If she knew what kind of devil the Goddess has shackled her daughter to, she’d be horrified.

Leilani’s chest heaves. Once. Twice. She’s hyperventilating. Panicking. She takes one step in my direction, shakes her head like that will make it stop, and stumbles three steps back, like she doesn’t want to be in the room with me. Is she bothered that I’m the son of her father’s rival? Doesn’t matter. She’ll accept me.

“Mine,” I growl when she takes another step away from me, and her answer comes out in a harsh pant.