Alpha's Untamed Mate

Nightshade

Aiden sighed heavily as he stared up at the ceiling of their living room. He was exhausted. Getting patched up twice in one day and engaging in intimate activities with his newfound mate had taken its toll on him, but he refused to go to sleep just yet. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to talk to her and learn more about her and where she came from.

"What are you doing?" Asher walked in, glancing around as if searching for something.

"Waiting for her. Did she tell you her name yet?"

"No, she's not with you?" he looked alarmed, "she said she wanted to talk to you."

"When?"

"Thirty minutes ago. I was getting dinner-" he cursed under his breath, "she ran!"

Aiden was on his feet within seconds, forgetting all about his exhaustion with those two words. Why was she so determined to get away from them?

"Hell no!" Aiden growled under his breath, "absolutely not! Let's go get her!"

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Asher asked, concern evident in his eyes regarding his brother's well-being.

"I'd burn down the forest for her and walk through the flames to get her! Yes, I'm up for this s**t! I want a f*****g explanation. Why is she running?"

"I don't know. I mentioned Bella earlier, and that scared her, but-" he shrugged, "I can't answer that. We need to find her and ask her directly. Can you shift?"

"f**k!" Aiden cursed. He couldn't shift without tearing his stitches again.

"I'll get the truck," Ash nodded, understanding his brother perfectly, "and we shouldn't use our mind link right now. She can hear us, and I don't want to warn her that we're coming."

"Oh, if she's smart, she knows we're coming! She's our mate! She should know better!" Aiden sounded upset. Ash could understand his frustration, but he knew that approaching this situation with rage wouldn't help them get their mate back. She was scared of something, running from something. She didn't feel safe with them, and yelling at her wouldn't change that.

"Are you going to stay calm around her? Because scaring her off won't help our situation," Ash reminded his brother, who glared at him. Both came to a sudden stop as the scent of rosemary hit them like a wall. She didn't run?

It took them a moment to locate her, sitting in the shadows of the rusty old truck parked outside the house. Her hair was braided over her shoulder as she stared into the distance.

"Is everything okay?" Asher approached her, but she only responded with a huffed laugh, her hand coming up to wipe away her tears. He hated seeing her cry. He hated seeing her hurt. "What's wrong?" he asked carefully.

"You know," Aiden added, stepping closer, his anger replaced by something that could only be described as guilt, "-the average wolf would be happy to meet their mate. Why aren't you?"

"Because," she sighed, "I am not an average wolf. I am a rogue wolf. I don't have the luxury to be happy about these kinds of things. I wish I could. Happiness comes at a price, and I am terrified to pay."

"That's dark," Aiden frowned at her, "who hurt you to make you believe that you can't be happy?"

"Fate screwed me over one too many times."

"Will you tell us, so we can help? Over dinner?" hope sparked in Asher's voice. She sighed but nodded, taking the hand he offered to lead her back inside the house.

It was a nice house, made of brick and with a pretty wooden interior. It was clearly an old building with walls that could tell many stories. Stories of families who had lived there, packs that came and went, alphas and their mates. But Luna wasn't sure if her story would be added to the building's history.

"What's your name?" Aiden tried for the hundredth time. He was the first to break the awkward silence as they sat around the dinner table that could fit at least ten people.

She looked at him, long and hard. Would her name matter? Whether they knew it or not wouldn't change anything. Not for the better and not for the worse.

"It's Luna," she caved, and a small smile tugged at both brothers' lips.

"That's a beautiful name." She tried to smile, but she failed miserably. It didn't reach her eyes. It made Ash sigh and reach for her hand. She had a feeling that he had a much softer side to him than his brother. Aiden seemed to be a little more impulsive, not in a bad way, but in a way where he acted before he thought.

"Where are you from, Luna?" Aiden continued to question her. She knew this wasn't an interrogation, just genuine curiosity on their end, but she didn't know how to feel about answering. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to tell the truth either.

"A long time ago, my pack was known as the Nightshade Pack."

"Nightshade?" Asher frowned, "they're gone, aren't they? Wasn't it because they betrayed the council?"

"Is that what they're saying?" she huffed, "betrayed the council? They are a bunch of-" She curled her fingers into fists, trying to reign in her anger.

"Please, finish that sentence," they all looked up at the sound of a new voice. A man in his sixties - still in amazing shape though - walked in.

"Ethan, I told you to leave them alone," a woman with long dark hair, peppered with grey, tried to hold him back. It didn't take much to see that these two were the twins' parents, the senior alphas of this pack, the ones who captured Luna.

"What really happened to your pack?" Ethan, the older alpha, insisted, "I remember them being one of the most powerful packs on the continent. Let me guess-" he sat down opposite her, "they were getting too powerful. They became a threat to the High Court."

Luna stared at him, a fire igniting and a familiar spark in his eyes. The council was supposed to keep peace between all supernatural races. They were supposed to be a neutral party to secure said peace, but all they cared about was power. More and more power.

"Yes," Ethan interpreted her stunned silence, "You were there? How did you survive?"

"My brother and I ran away."

"Where is he? Your brother?" Aiden asked.

"He's gone," she whispered.

"I'm very sorry," Asher gave her hand a little squeeze. She glanced at him, and something inside her snapped. It made her fear turn into something else. Something far more dangerous: hope.

She felt the threads of their bond intertwining, so she turned her hand around under his and curled her fingers around his hand.

"Is that why you lived out there on your own?" the woman standing behind Ethan asked with a gentle tone. Luna nodded slowly. "My god, you poor thing. How did you do it all those years?"

"Did you build that cottage yourself?" Asher asked her, almost surprised, maybe even impressed.

"I had to," she shrugged, "the alternative was living in a cave, which in winter is anything but pleasant."

"Why didn't you come find a new pack?" Aiden asked. "You must have known that we were out here."

"You? Specifically? Or your pack?"

"Well," he shrugged, "both."

"No," she shook her head, "I told you before, I am better off alone."

"It's not in our nature to be alone," Ethan started, while both his sons looked disappointed at her statement.

"I am," she sighed, "I know it's not what you want to hear, but-"

"No!" Aiden interrupted her, anger flashing in his eyes. "I am done listening to this. You are ours! You're bound to us, so no matter what you say or do, you are not alone. Not anymore."

"He's right, you know," their mother agreed. "I thought I was alone too, but I found a home," she smiled at her mate. "Not without some struggle, of course. I was human, after all. The pack didn't trust me, or they talked down to me. It took a while for me to get settled and for this-" she gestured at the house, "-to become my home, but it eventually did." She glanced at her sons. "It gave me everything I could have asked for. You just have to trust the process."

"You could at least try," Asher pleaded with her. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I am aware that having both of us as your mates can be a little overwhelming, but you can't deny that... that it feels good."

Is he referring to them having s*x in the pack's prison cells? It did feel good, but that's not what she was concerned about.

"I agreed to stay for a day, didn't I?"

"That's not enough, Luna," Aiden shook his head. "You know we won't be able to let you go. Somehow, somewhere, we would find you again. You can't run from a bond like this. Your soul and ours need each other to be complete."

"I know," she sighed, "but I am afraid of what that means."

"For us or for you?"

"This will affect your pack. I have lost one before. I can't do that again."

"You won't!" Aiden and Asher said at the same time.

Aiden reached for her other hand. "On the contrary, this pack needs you just as much as we do. We might be Alphas of this pack, but without you, that means nothing."

The council set such rules because mateless Alphas seemed to get easily distracted by the need for more power. Most of them become ruthless and bloodthirsty. So if an Alpha cannot prove they have a mate, the council will eventually step in and force the Alpha to step down.

"The council," she whispered, "they can't know about me. They can't know I'm your mate."

"We have ways to work around them," Ethan said. "We are not on the best terms with them either. You don't have to worry about them. If that is what's keeping you from agreeing to stay. Aiden is right, no matter what, there is no escaping the bond, and they can't be the leaders they are supposed to be if you decide to leave. Instead of leading, they will be chasing after you."

"A waste of time, you think?" she challenged the older Alpha.

He rose from his seat and smiled at her. "Why avoid the inevitable?"

"Because it might be easier," she sighed.

"For who? You? You're a rogue wolf. You may think you're good on your own, but you can't function like that forever. It will kill you."

"I know," she whispered. But no matter which path she was going to take, it seemed that at the end of the trail, death would always be waiting for her in one form or another.