Secrets of his Mate

Twenty

Roman

    Something was wrong. There was no way Alessandro was leaving me in this room unharmed. It was completely out of his character. The fact that he wants me at the burial is beyond suspicious. I wondered what he had up his sleeve.

    I tugged at the handcuffs keeping me attached to the hospital bed just as Eric walked in with two guards. "Don't bother," he stated in a serious tone. "Those cuffs are laced with wolfs bane. You should know that."

    Of course I knew. It's the only thing that could weaken any wolf and keep them from shifting. I still needed to try to fight against it. The longer it absorbed into my system, the longer it took to regain my wolf's full strength. I knew I already had been chained since I passed out during the fight last night.

    I studied Eric as he approached me with no expression on his face. "What are you doing here?" I questioned.

    "Alpha Alessandro wants you to get ready." He jingled a set of keys before he released my wrists from the handcuffs. "I don't know how you did it," he suddenly said. "How you're not dead right now is shocking to say the least."

    I smirked causing him to give an irate look at me. "What can I say? That boy has a soft spot for me."

    He rolled his eyes then. He turned to the guards in the room watching silently. "Take him to his room to get dressed immediately. We're ready to start."

    Both guards nodded then escorted me out, with one at each side. When we made it up the stairs, my ears perked at the sounds coming out of Alessandro's room. I could hear the water from the shower running, but what got my attention was Elana's sweet moans. I couldn't believe it. After everything that happened, she was having s*x with him again? I was truly shocked and disgusted. He didn't deserve her. She should be mine.

    I sped to my room and quickly got dressed with the guards inside watching my every move. I trimmed my beard and ran gel through my curly hair then wore black slacks and a black jacket over a black turtleneck shirt. Satisfied with my look, I followed the guards outside as I tried to avoid any more noises coming from Alessandro's room.

    Once outside, I stood in place along side Eric who held his mouth shut tight. I watched as the entire day pack were all ready for the ceremony to begin. Some were murmuring small talk, some were sobbing, a few crying hysterically. All of us awaiting the Alpha and Luna to begin.

    Suddenly they appeared holding hands as they walked down the aisle. Alessandro wore a black suit with his hair brushed back smoothly. Elana was radiant in a long, black flowing dress with a v-neck. Her hair was down and she had smokey eye makeup with a nude lipstick. She was perfection. It was obvious everyone thought so as well.

    The ceremony went by fairly quickly. I stole glances at Elana during Alessandro's speech and she returned them with a sympathetic smile. She had no idea what just one smile from her did to me. It was enough for me to face whatever punishment Alessandro was going to dish out to me.

    Before I knew it, the three bodies were being lowered into their graves. Each pack member began howling in mourning. The sound was as beautiful as it was heartbreaking. When it finally ended, everyone began socializing and eating from the massive buffet the cooks made on tables located near the pack house.

    As things quieted down, Bianca suddenly stood, cleared her throat, and tapped on her glass getting everyone's attention. The voices fell silent as they waited for her to speak.

    "I know today is a sad as some of my closest friends are no longer with us," she began. "We all here," she pointed at all of us at the head table, "appreciate each and every one of you for being here. Not just tonight, but every single day you dedicate yourselves to this pack, even though I'm with Jarred now," she giggled with a few chuckles from people listening. "I will always cherish each of you as much as my new pack. With that said, I wanted to share some good news with all of you." Everyone waited with anticipation for her next words. "Jarred and I are having a baby!"

    Cheers erupted then. Alessandro stood and hugged his sister as she shed a few tears of joy. I took the chance to peek at Elana who had an evil smirk tugging her lips. When her eyes connected with mine, her smirk disappeared. She changed it to a genuine smile making me want to feel her lips one more time.

    As time went on, everyone continued to mourn and celebrate. Then, Alessandro took Elana's hand and kissed the back as he stood getting everyone's attention. "I hate to interrupt the ceremony, but I need to do this before it gets late. I'm sure there are rumors going around right now with so much happening at once in this pack." He turned and glared at me. I swallowed hard. My punishment was coming.

    "I just want to say," he continued. "I have been betrayed in one of the worst ways by someone who I thought was the most loyal to me. Not only did my Beta lie to my face, he wants to steal my mate!" He paused, allowing the shocks and gasps break through the air. "This is something I will never tolerate from anyone including him. That is why I decided to do what I'm about to do."

    Alessandro took a moment to send me death glares before speaking again. "I, Alpha Alessandro Moreno, expel you, Roman Black, from the Silver Moon pack."

    My eyes widened in surprise. He was making me a rogue, one of the worst things for a lifelong werewolf living in a pack. They were often seen as lower than garbage and usually killed at first sight if they came across a pack. I felt my body burning as I felt the pack bond breaking. Each second was torture. My wolf was no help as the wolf bane was still in my system.

    Alessandro looked at the guards behind me. "Get him out of here."

    I turned to Elana one last time. She didn't bother looking at me. She only held a well composed look of indifference. It made the pain worse. Almost as if I was being rejected. I thought we were going to run off together. I thought she wanted Alessandro gone. Why is she being this way towards me now?

    The guards dragged me out of the pack premise into the woods where they flung my aching body across the property line. That's when the pack bond snapped entirely like a twig. I felt it hard in my chest.

    "You better start running. If we ever see you on our premise again, we've gotten the okay to kill you on sight," one of the guards said. It was bitter, but I knew they were only doing they're job.

    I was going to swallow my pride and take my punishment as a man. I started walking without looking back. Minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days. I walked so much my legs were giving out. My stomach grumbled in hunger. I hadn't eaten since the day I was banished. I refused to hunt down an animal to eat. I wasn't a feral dog. I needed a properly cooked meal.

    Unfortunately, I was starving. There was a rabbit a few yards ahead of me that was looking more and more mouthwatering as I stared at it. If I weren't so weak, I could use my wolf speed to easily catch it and eat it. My stomach rumbled again and I was determined to catch the gray fuzz ball. I needed to digest something, but as I tried to take a step, I collapsed and everything went black.

    When I woke up, I had a bad headache. I rubbed my temples and looked around. I was in a small room. The walls were wooden with no decorations. I was lying on a soft, tiny bed. My shoes and jacket were off. I couldn't help but wonder how did I get here? I couldn't remember a thing besides a gray rabbit. Just then I could hear my stomach due to the memory.

    As if on cue, a petite young woman walked through the door with a tray of food. My wolf began to wake up and I could sense the excitement. She had shoulder length brown hair with matching almond eyes and pouty red lips. She was the most gorgeous woman I laid my eyes on. Without realizing, my mouth opened and I said, "Mate."

    The mystery woman looked at me and smiled sweetly. "You're finally awake," she said softly. "You must be starving."

    I couldn't help but nod. I was at a lost for words. Her beauty was breathtaking. I sniffed the air. She didn't smell like a werewolf, but she certainly wasn't human.

    "I'm a witch," she stated casually. She spoke again when I gave her a confused look. "I saw you sniffing. I'm not a werewolf, I'm a witch... and your mate." She smiled innocently.

    I was still amazed just seeing her standing there. Her voice was delicate and melodic. And she was my mate. I couldn't believe it. I finally found my mate. "I don't understand. How did I get here?"

    "I found you on the ground passed out. I was really worried about you." She handed me a bowl and spoon. It smelled almost as delicious as her. "It's just soup, but should help. We need to get something in your belly."

    "Thank you," I replied sincerely. "How long was I out?"

    She shrugged. "A few hours since I found you. I'm not sure before that." She chewed at her bottom lip deep in thought. "What were you doing out there?"

    I was already almost finished the soup. With one last slurp, I answered her. "Honestly? I was exiled from my pack a few days ago." I figured I should be completely honest with my mate.

    She gasped. "Why?"

    "Well," I swallowed. "I thought I was in love with the Alpha's mate." I regretted telling her that information. Her face hardened for a moment. "I swear I feel absolutely nothing now that I've met you." That part was true. I had even forgotten about Elana as soon as I met this woman.

    "I see," was all she said. "What's your name?

    I smiled at her. "Roman. Roman Black."

    "I'm Liliana Stonebrook, but you can call me Lily. What pack were you from?"

    "It's called the Silver Moon pack. The Alpha is named Alessandro. His mate is named Elana." Weird. Even saying her name has absolutely no effect on me.

    "Did you just say Elana? As in Elana Ivy?" she questioned with a serious look on her face.

    I arched an eyebrow. "Yeah. Did you know her?"

    She shook her head. "Don't tell me you don't know."

    "Don't know what?"

    "How is it that none of these werewolf packs know about her?" she mumbled mostly to herself. "They think she's looking for a particular wolf. She gathers information then destroys everything in her path. That woman has slaughtered three packs within the past few months. She leaves a few alive to clean up the mess, but she is ruthless."

    "What how can that be? She's just a human."

    Lily darted her eyes at me. "She is not human! That woman is pure evil." She thought hard for a moment. "At least you don't have to worry about her anymore."

    I was still confused, but managed a smile at her. As she reached for the bowl, I took ahold of her hand. Instantly, a burst of pleasing shock shot through us. Our eyes were locked on each other until my lips were on hers. It was the best kiss I've ever had. When we finally separated, we tried to catch our breaths.

    "What were you dreaming of?" she asked suddenly.

    "Oh, it was nothing. Just a dream," I tried to lie.

    "I don't think it was nothing. You were mumbling about how he stole your Alpha position and murdered your father. I'm assuming you were talking about Alessandro. Is that true?"

    I wasn't sure how to answer so I simply nodded.

    "Well," Lily went on. "Then I guess you just have to take it all back from him. And I'm going to help you."