Mated with My Ruthless Bully

Chapter 2

Lucas' POV

“This is unacceptable, Lucas.”

My father, Alpha Victor Kane, didn’t raise his voice but he didn’t need to.. the growl rumbling beneath his words was a threat all its own.

“The council expects a certain level of control from their future Alpha. You failed to provide it today.”

I kept my eyes lowered in a show of respect that was pure survival instinct.

“I understand, Father.”

“Do you?” He leaned forward, his massive frame dominating his desk. “And what of the other matter? Your wolf is of age. Where is your mate?”

The question was like a knife twist. It was the one failure I couldn’t fight, couldn’t train for and couldn’t control. My wolf in a restless snarling presence in my chest, paced with the same frustration.

“I haven’t found her,” I said, the words tasting like ash.

“This hesitation makes you look weak.” His tone was final, leaving no room for argument. “If you do not find your fated mate by the next moon, we will proceed with the arrangement with Serena Langford. Her lineage is impeccable. She will make a suitable Luna, chosen or not.”

My head snapped up.

“A chosen mate? You would relegate me to a political pairing?”

“I will secure the future of this pack,” he stated coldly. “With or without your romantic notions. Do not test me on this, Lucas.”

The dismissal in his voice was clear. I gave a stiff nod, my jaw clenched so tight it ached and left the study without another word.

***

“Dude, you need to seriously chill,” Tyler, my best friend, said, shoving a drink into my hand later that night.

The bass from the speakers thumped through the floor of the bar, a bar the pack owned. The place was packed with a birthday party thrown in my honor but it felt like a mockery.

“Chill? How?” I snarled, the whiskey in my glass barely taking the edge off. “My father wants to auction me off to the highest bidder like I’m prize livestock.”

Tyler grinned, clapping me on the back.

“Forget that for one night. Look around! Look at the selection. Big ass, pretty faces. You’re the birthday boy. Just pick one and blow off some steam.”

I followed his gaze across the crowded room. He was right. There were plenty of girls, all smiles and inviting looks. But my wolf was agitated and unsatisfied. None of them sparked even a flicker of interest. They all smelled the same... of desperation.

I was about to drain my glass and leave when a new scent hit me.

It was faint, cutting through the smell of the bar like a lightning strike. So sweet and innocent. My entire body went rigid.

“What is it?” Tyler asked, noticing the change.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My wolf was roaring to life, pushing me forward, dragging me through the crowd on pure instinct. This was it.. the pull. The one thing every werewolf waits for!

My heart pounded as I zeroed in on the source.. a girl, tucked into a shadowy corner booth like she was trying to disappear. She was small, hunched over a physics textbook of all things looking completely lost. Her hair fell around her face and her eyes… they were perhaps the most beautiful I'd ever seen.

Under the dim party lights, she looked… cute, different and fragile. Not my type at all but my wolf didn’t care about type. It only recognized one thing.. Mate!

I slid into the booth, my voice dropping to a murmur I knew affected girls.

One thing led to another and pushed by my wolf's restlessness, I kissed her..! As if that wasn't enough, I invited her to the VIP rooms upstairs.

She hesitated but nodded with her eyes dazed and I led her upstairs to the private VIP rooms with my arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close and breathing her in.

The moment we got in, it was all in a frenzy of limbs and skin. I kissed her, touched her and lost myself in the feel of her.

My wolf was ecstatic, thrashing with joy and urging me to mark her, to bite her shoulder and bind her to me forever..

No, I fought against the instinct with my human side wrestling for control.. not yet.. not like this but the urge was painful, a burning need I had to clench my teeth against.

I focused on the s*x, on the way her body arched against mine, on the soft sounds she made and it was intense, overpowering and the most connected I’d ever felt to anyone. But the fight to hold back the mark made it a desperate almost angry union.

***

Sunlight stabbed at my eyes when I woke up with a groan, my head pounding. The events of last night came rushing back almost immediately.

A slow smile touched my lips as I rolled over, expecting to see the beautiful girl fate had chosen for me.

The smile died.

There she was.. the quiet mousy physics girl from school..! Sophia Ellis or whatever.. The biggest nerd on campus!

She was sleeping with her face peaceful and in the harsh morning light, she looked… ordinary.. It was then it dawned on me. She was.. human..!

Disgust washed over me. This couldn’t be right. My fated mate? Her? A human who didn’t even know our world existed? A weak fragile creature who would never understand what it means to be a Luna, to be my equal.

She stirred, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw me, confusion turned to fear.

I was out of the bed in a second, pulling on my jeans.

“Get up,” I snapped, my voice cold.

“Lucas, I…” she stammered, pulling the sheet around herself.

“Listen to me,” I said, looming over her, putting every bit of Alpha command I could into my words without shifting. “Last night never happened. You don’t speak to me. You don’t look at me. You tell no one. Do you understand?”

She shrunk back with her eyes wide with terror.

“I… I understand.”

A sharp inexplicable pain lanced through my chest at the sight of her fear and my wolf whined in protest but I shoved it down. This was for the best.

“Good. Now get out!”

I turned my back as she scrambled to get dressed, my hands clenched into fists. The moment the door clicked shut behind her, I slammed my fist into the wall, the plaster cracking under the force.

I felt anger, annoyance and a deep profound shame.. this was my destiny?! A human nobody?!

***

I found Tyler later, not mentioning a word of what really happened. Just the thought of telling him I’d slept with... and was apparently mated to... Sophia Ellis made me feel sick with embarrassment.

“Maybe your old man has a point,” Tyler said as we idled away at his porch. “I mean, Serena Langford? She’s seriously hot. And she’s a wolf. She gets it. It could be worse.”

Before I could reply, my phone buzzed. It was my father.

“Come home. Now. There is someone you need to meet.”

Great.. more demands.

***

I pushed open the front door of our estate with the opulence feeling more like a gilded cage than ever. My father was in the sitting room with a rare, almost pleasant smile on his face.

“Lucas. Good. Come in.”

I had barely entered when a knock came at the door and my father rushed to open. Standing there was a woman I’d never seen before. She had a kind face but her scent was unmistakably human.

“Lucas, this is Laura,” my father beamed. “My fiancée.”

I stared with my brain short-circuiting. Fiancée? A human? After he just threatened me with a political match? The hypocrisy was staggering!

“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you, Lucas,” Laura gushed. “I’ve heard so much! I actually have a daughter about your age. She goes to Everbrook too! She’s just..” She turned behind her. “Sweetheart! Come here now! No one's gonna bite.”

I forced a stiff smile with my mind reeling. I could play along. I could tolerate my father’s human pet for his sake. How bad could his daughter be?

A new scent drifted through the door.. the scent that had haunted me all day. The scent that belonged to my mate!

My blood ran cold, my wolf sat up alert and yearning.

Footsteps sounded on the porch and I turned slowly with dread and a traitorous thread of hope warring inside me.

There she was.. standing beside her mother with her eyes wide with the same terror they’d held this morning and her face pale as a ghost.

Sophia?!

No. This wasn’t happening! It couldn’t be!

Our eyes locked and inside, my wolf howled in triumphant victory.

Oh, f**k no…!