Daughter of the oath

Chapter 7: "Mate" 2

Present day – Conri’s POV

The day of the mating ball has finally arrived. We have spent months planning and preparing for the event and finally it was here. I walked around the pack house, clip board in hand, making sure everything was completely ready. Nelo walked by my side and nodded along as I read out from my list – confirming that everything was ready.

“That’s it then.” I say, laughing nervously “We’re officially ready”

“You did well, Conri” Nelo smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

It’s been a while since I’ve heard Nelo call me by my name. Since the moment I took over as Alpha 5 years ago, my relationships with my friends changed drastically. We went from being really close and spending all our time together, to not even being on a first-name-basis. I was so over-joyed by finally taking my rightful place as Alpha, I didn’t care at the time – I was so focused on what I was gaining, that I didn’t even notice what I lost, at least not at first. I missed the little things, like hanging out with my friends, and hearing Nelo say my name.

I notice Nelo’s hand is still on my shoulder as he looks deep into my eyes, his own eyes filled with concern. I grab his hand and hold it in mine, giving it a light squeeze as I smile down at him. I look down at his hand, before looking back into his eyes – my smile turning brighter till it reaches my eyes.

“Thank you, Nelo.” I say “That really means a lot to me – you mean a lo-“

“Alpha – ” Apollyon walks in the room before quickly stopping in his tracks “I’m sorry... Am I interrupting something?”

He looks from me to Nelo, and before he can notice, I quickly drop Nelo’s hand.

“No no. Not at all” I give him a tight smile “we just went through all the last things on the list, and seems like everything is in order. It’s looking more and more like it will be a successful night. Now we just have to make sure all the security is prepared and well-managed – how’s that going?”

“Yeah, all good” Apollyon nods, still flicking his eyes between us and furrowing his eyebrows before finally resigning - shaking his head and relaxing his expression. “That’s what I was coming to talk to you about. The security is all prepped BUT one of the guards reminded me that the Gamma would normally do the greeting of guests with you – who will do it this time? Surely it won’t be our new Gamma? Wouldn’t be a good way to start off such a big event”

“I’ll do it myself” I answer quickly. “It’s perfect really, there will be guests from all over the kingdom – and even some international guests... It only makes sense that I’m the first face they see.”

“Are you sure?” Nelo pipes in “ I’m happy to greet them with you if you’d like, it can be quite an overwhelming tasks greeting so many guests that will be looking at you so closely.”

“Nope. I’m all good.” I reply, before adding “I wouldn’t want you cramping my style. I’m supposed to search for my mate. Can’t have you c*ck blocking me”

Apollyon and I laugh along as I mock Nelo. Nelo rolls his eyes dismissively, to an untrained eye he looked un-bothered, but through all our years of friendship I’ve learn to notice the small signs and clues that to most went unnoticed. And I could see the hurt in his eyes. Hurting him hurt me, but I had no choice – as an Alpha I couldn’t show weakness by allowing myself to be in tune with my emotions. It was my job to remain cold and dominant.

“So, lads” I say. “ Since everything is all set, shall we leave the omegas to set up the tables while we get dressed for the night?”

“Sounds good to me” Apollyon says, slapping the back of my shoulder “I thought perhaps we can all get ready at my place instead of here – that way we can avoid all the madness of the last minute preparations, and it means we don’t bump into the new Gamma for a little while longer... Elder Cane is bringing her here to get ready a little later on”

“That’s definitely a good idea” I say “I want to avoid meeting her for as long as possible, if we’re in a busy space at least I’ll have more reason to stop myself from losing my sh*t with her”

I shake my head, trying to shake out the thoughts of the friend I lost and the overwhelming urge to avenge him. I couldn’t let others know just how much that’s getting to me.

“You in , Nelo?” I say, looking over at him.

“F*ck it” Nelo shrugs “Why the hell not?”

We all laugh in unison and start gathering our things on our way to Apollyon’s car. It wasn’t far to Apollyon’s place from the pack house, but we had a lot of things we needed to take with us, and we had to make sure our suits didn’t get crinkled in the progress, it wouldn’t bode well with our VIP guests if we were to show up to such a big event looking scruffy.

We were at Apollyon’s place in no time, but it took us far longer to get ready than I initially thought it would, however the end result was worth it. I was wearing a black, silky, 3 piece suit. The blazer had Silvery embellishments and patterns all over, the vest was fully silver with shiny silver buttons, my trousers black with the pockets lined in a silvery material. The buttons and cufflinks were silver too, but the best part was that the suit was tailored perfectly. My muscles remained on show under the thin material, my large arms were sure to impress any potential mate.

To finish off the look I made sure that my hair was freshly cut, as usual I kept it very short – just one step away from a complete buzz cut. My beard was carefully shaped and trimmed, all while ensuring I kept it long enough to go past my chest, even with the braid it was fashioned into. I took one last look in the mirror before the three of us headed back to the pack house, making it to the main reception just seconds before all the guests started arriving.

The moment I walked through the front door, the most beautiful scent caught my attention. It was unlike anything I’ve ever smelt before – it was indescribable, the closest I could come to a description was “Star dust”. And I know that doesn’t make sense, but it was kind of like those candles you get with ridiculous names such as “Sweet summers dream” and when you smell them, they smell precisely like the name describes. That’s what this scent was like, unique, light and delicate. It reminded me of nights spent stargazing, and the excitement of wishing upon a falling star. Nelo appears to have noticed the change in my demeanour and he looked at me with concern, mistaking the change for anxiety.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Nelo asked

“Jesus f*cking Christ, Nelo” Apollyon huffed, “he’s a f*****g Alpha, the Alpha of the most powerful mother pack known in the modern age. He’ll be fine”

Nelo took a look at me, searching my face for any sign of stress or anxiety.

“You heard the man, Nelo” I say confidently. “I’ll be fine”

Nelo hesitated for a brief moment, before putting on a tight smile and bowing his head respectfully.

“Yes Alpha”

And just like that, it seemed that we were again no longer on a first name basis. I wish I could somehow maintain balance between my friends and my duties as an Alpha – but that will have to be a dilemma for another day – because right now, I had to focus on welcoming guests and attempting to find my mate amongst the masses of common, un-unique faces. All while the entirety of my attention was getting pulled towards the scent that now filled my lungs and made me light headed.

I smiled and nodded, trying very hard to not reveal just how fake my smile was, all the while the beautiful scent tortured me, making my lungs hurt and my heart drum against my chest. I was willing myself to focus on the task at hand, but the scent was making it hard to cling onto my sanity, and very quickly it started getting closer. My wolf was trying to tear through the veil separating me and him, and suddenly I heard him scream:

“MATE!” he yelled in my head, my own lips parting and whispering the word again and again.

Finally.

I have found my mate.

I have waited for so long.

I never thought this day would come, but here it was at last. I turned towards the direction of the scent, looking up at the staircase towards the most stunning woman in the room, her looks as unique as her scent. Her outfit appeared to match mine perfectly and I couldn’t help but grin as I saw her legs peek out from the slits in the black dress that accentuated her curves perfectly, her silvery heels were clicking steadily against the marble floor. She was a she-wolf worthy of an Alpha, with full lips and large grey eyes that matched her thick silvery hair.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and stood before me with wide eyes – full of confusion. I puffed out my chest in pride, looking at the woman the moon goddess picked out for me, I try to choke out a hello, but with my wolf fighting for control, I can only muster 1 word:

“Mate” I say, a stupidly big grin on my face

I wait, expecting her expression to reflect mine, but instead hers turns to one of terror. She starts shaking her head, backing away before screaming out a “No” and barging past me to get out the door and run off into the night.

I stand there.

Stunned.

Unable to move.

“Alpha, what was that about?” Apollo walks over, noticing the commotion and when I don’t answer he adds with a grin “did the Gamma f**k up already? Good. We’ll be rid of her faster than I thought.”

“What are you talking about?” I say, shaking my head and furrowing my brows quizzically. “The Gamma?”

“Umm... Yes. That was her” Apollyon says, pointing at the door my mate just run out of “The woman you were with just then? The one that bolted out the door faster than the speed of light? What did you say to her to make her call it quits so soon? God knows I tried to make her give up, but she isn’t easy to scare.”

I stare at Apollyon in horror as the realization sinks in.

“She’s... She’s my mate” I whisper, nauseousness kicking in. As the words leave my mouth, Apollyon’s face paled to an unnatural shade.

“We should go inside your office to discuss this” Apollyon whispered back, looking around to make sure no one heard.

I follow him into my office, biting my nails as my mind raced, trying to make sense of what just happened. She’s the new Gamma? It can’t be. What the f*ck am I going to do? I pace back and forth for a little while, trying to come up with a decent solution. Then it hit me. This wasn’t a problem – it was a solution, it was perfect! A big smile starts to spread across my face and I start laughing to myself – the moon goddess knew exactly what she was doing with this one.

“Alpha, with all due respect...” Apollyon begins “but what the hell are you laughing at? This isn’t a laughing matter, this is serious”

“I just had a phenomenal realization, Apollyon “ I say. “This whole thing is NOT a problem. This is perfect. We were looking for a way to get rid of her as Gamma, if she’s my Luna she can’t be a Gamma. It’s killing 2 birds with 1 stone – I finally get a mate and we get rid of her as Gamma!”

“That... That’s actually f*cking brilliant” Apollyon says. “I’ll send someone to go get her and bring her back immediately!”

I watch as Apollyon barks out an order to some of the guards, a couple of them leave shortly after. We sit in silence for a few minutes, both anxious for our pack’s problems to be resolved, the relief slowly sinking in now that the answer seemingly fell in our laps. As the seconds tick by, the minutes seem to turn to hours, until at last one of the main guards returns into my office, I smile with anticipation – however my smile is quickly wiped from my face when I see the guards expression.

“What is it” I say, looking around and wondering why my mate wasn’t with him. “Where is she?”

“I’m sorry Alpha,” the guard whispers, lowering his gaze. “She’s gone. She’s nowhere to be found”.

"what the f**k do you mean" I say, trying hard not to lose my s**t. Which becomes increasingly difficult when I hear his answer.

"I think she run away"