Irregular Mates

She Has No Pulse

It was a boring winter night. The snow storm outside was the only excitement at the castle. Omegas locked their doors and cuddled in for the night. The busiest part of the castle was the keep, the housing area for the ranked pack members and the training hall.

    ick picked at his fingernails and watched as Marsi whacked one of the trainees in the shin with a long wooden stick. That’s what the Beta female did for fun, beat the s**t out of the warriors in training. Nick smiled to himself.

    He snuck behind a white stone column, undressed himself, and shifted into Flint, his wolf counterpart. Flint enjoyed the pranks they pulled on his sister. 

    He growled lowly, which was a mistake because Marsi shifted at the sound. 

    Dammit, Nick cussed. Now she’s expecting it. 

    Flint began running full speed at Marsi’s wolf. She turned her head and saw him, bracing for his attack. They tumbled together in a puff of black and gray fur. Raven snipped at Flint. He lunged off her in a huff. 

    You know, you are terrible at surprise attacks. What kind of Alpha are you? Raven poked fun at him in their mind link.

    I’ll get you one of these days, Flint huffed and ran behind the column.

    Nick emerged fully dressed in grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He patted Marsi on the back, who was standing there naked. Shock was plain on her face. She immediately ran for her room. 

    “You know, you should probably stop doing that unless you really want to see her naked every time.”

    Nick turned to see Harmon, his best friend and pack Beta, looking at him with amusement and slight judgement. “Flint was just begging to attack her. I didn’t expect him to growl and give us away so she could shift.” 

    “You’ll get her one day.” 

    Nick just nodded and went back to looking at the warriors train. He spent some time thinking to himself, then his curiosity got the best of him and he had to ask. 

    “Harmon, what is it like finding your mate?” 

    He turned to look at Nick, an expression of worry on his face but he felt obliged to answer, even if it was Nick’s sister he was mated to. 

    “At first, you just smell something wonderful. Something that makes you crave the source. Once you find it, your wolf goes crazy. When they touch you, you feel like your skin is on fire, but in a good way. Kinda like the most pleasurable feeling in the world. 

    “Then you just fall for them instantly. After that, there is no going back. They are yours and you’ll want nothing more than to spend an eternity in their arms,” he shifted awkwardly. 

    Nick just nodded again with tears in his eyes. I wonder when I’ll find my mate, he thought to himself. 

    Nick had been mateless since he matured at 16 eight years ago. He wanted nothing more than to find that one wolf that completed him. The mate bond was once in a lifetime. That one person who is perfect for you in every way. Who wouldn’t want that? 

    Harmon and Nick sat in silence for a while while the warriors trained. Marsi came back fully dressed in a sweat suit and went back to beating the s**t out of the newbies. Harmon enjoyed the view as much as Nick enjoyed pranking his sister, even if he lost. 

    Training was interrupted when the warning bells in the south tower sounded. The ringing deafened them for a moment before worry and fear took over. Everyone in the lower training hall of the keep shifted in a single beat. Torn clothes littered the floor as they all used their giant paws to race to the tower. 

    Nina was there when they arrived. She began barking orders at the warriors. “You five, out to the border! The witch ran through the threshold. You three, get the survivors out of the tower! Nick!” 

    “Mom, what happened?” Nick questioned ferociously. 

    “Eve,” was all it took for Nick to roar in his alpha voice and run off to catch up with his Beta’s and the three warriors with them. He was faster than them so it took no time at all before he was head of the pack. 

    They all sniffed the air, smelling the witches lingering scent. Her smell led them to the small town about five miles from the pack castle. They slowed down but didn’t pause. The snow storm kept the humans in their little houses. They passed a few roads when the scent led them to Main Street. 

    Suddenly, Nick was caught with the most amazing scent. It drifted lazily over him, engulfing him in the sweetest aroma.. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slowed down but kept running in the direction of the witch. 

    Marsi felt him pull from the pack a bit. She signaled for them to slow down and stop at the tree line. Nick kept going. The aroma was pulling him forward. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, stop until he found it.

    Then he slammed full force into a human and tumbled into the snow, leaving his group in the tree line. Fear broke his concentration and he lost the scent. 

    Great, that’s all I need. Damage control on a dead human. He thought worriedly. 

    He heard her move. Thank god. He stood, towering over her, getting ready to use his wolf to make her forget what happened here. Then his nostrils were filled with that amazing smell again. This time stronger. He took a deep breath at the same time the little human did. 

    “How the hell are you still alive?” he was surprised. Knocking into a human at full wolf speed would instantly kill one. She looked as if she was gulping for air. “You don’t smell human,” he said more to himself than her. Oh, he thought. She’s a werewolf too. 

    She tried standing, the snow under her caked in blood. She was wobbly but her wounds healed almost instantly. Nick didn’t think, he just put his paw on her shoulder to steady her. 

    She jerked under his touch. The soft pad under his paw felt fuzzy, as if it tingled in anticipation. Her eyes met his and he got lost in their oceanic blue. The depth of them swallowed him and he was unable to speak for a moment. She seemed to be just as lost as him. 

    “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. Concern heavy in his voice. 

    She seemed almost dazed, but then again he did knock her on her ass. “Uh-huh, yea, I’m good,” she cleared her throat. Her voice was like warm honey filling his head. “What the f**k were you doing that made you in such a hurry to knock me on my ass?” she yelled.

    He was taken aback by her tone. Such anger in a beautiful tiny package. He stepped back a bit and shifted back into his human form. Flint whimpered and pouted at being dismissed but Nick pushed him back. 

     “My pack and I were chasing someone, but they got away,” he spat in frustration. She looked confused for a moment as she turned her head around. 

    “Your pack…” her voice drifted off as she made eye contact with the wolves in the trees. Nick signaled for Marsi to shift. She did and yelled, “Nick! Get back here before that human has a panic attack!” 

    Harmon shifted as well and Nick could vaguely hear them as he said “Marsi, use your nose for once in your life. Off,” he signaled to the other three warriors and they ran back towards the pack house. They walked over to Nick hand in hand. 

    Nick noticed the girl looking at them all naked, trying her best not to look at his nether regions. He covered himself with both hands, although the thought of her looking at him like that wasn’t too off-putting. 

    “You’re right, Harmon. Her smell is so faint.” Marsi sniffed deeply and smiled in satisfaction. 

    “Keep smelling, Marsi. Smell beyond her.” He dropped Marsi’s hand and she did circles around the girl, smelling her every few steps. The girl looked beyond uncomfortable. Marsi’s eye widened in what appeared to be fear. 

    “Oh no,” her voice shook. Then her lips turned up in a joyous smile and she took the girls hand in hers and dropped to her knees as she said, “Luna, my apologies.” 

    The girl's face turned quizzical. “Luna?”  The Alpha and Beta stared at her. She seemed lost in thought. 

    “Luna, are you okay?” Marsi asked with care. Nick couldn’t believe that his sister could actually show concern for another wolf. She normally just beat the f**k out of them. The wind whipped more snow around them in a frenzy. 

    “I am not a luna, I’m no better than a rogue,” the girl said almost sadly. 

    “Nick?” Harmon bit his lip in worry and looked Nick in the eyes. A rogue cannot be Luna. He shrugged and grabbed her hand in the same way Marsi and Harmon did. 

    “Come with us,” he demanded, ignoring Flint throwing a fit in the back of his mind. She gripped his hand back. Electricity sparked them. Nick took her through the trees. He was too lost in thought to speak. When they reached the clearing, they could see the castle lit brightly except the girl. She looked around in wonder. 

    “Nick?” Nina was up in the tower with the drawbridge. She looked over the strange new girl, expecting her to be held prisoner. Nick only held her hand in a possessive manner. Well, this obviously wasn’t the attacker. 

    Nina sniffed the air and was lost for words. She never knew it would happen now. These strange occurrences could only be coincidence. They didn’t mean anything. At least that’s what she was hoping they would believe. 

    Nick could tell his mother smelled it. The bond. “Yea, yea, lets just get past this. Accept her, please.” 

    “As you request, Alpha,” she reached for the stones in the wall and shifted them, the creaking vibrating through the forest. 

    “Thank you, Nina,” Nick said as they stepped forward onto the castle grounds. He was almost dragging the girl behind him. They made it to the drawbridge and he signaled for them to drop it. 

    He took her past the frame and she wobbled in. He felt the shift at the same time the rest of the pack did. They all immediately stopped to admire the new arrival, who looked as if she was about to pass out. 

    Her eyelids fluttered shut and she fell to the ground. Nick caught her on the way down and in his booming Alpha voice he yelled for the medic. 

    What is going on? He asked Flint.

    Mate is not just a wolf… 

    Not just a wolf? Well what the f**k is she?

    Flint was silent. He wasn’t going to reveal any more information. f*****g bastard. 

    They rushed her to a hospital room and set her up with an IV. All Nick could do is watch as they tried to get his mate to wake up. 

    The doctor, McCoy, shook his head as he checked her pulse. Nick began to fear the worst. “What’s wrong, McCoy? What happened to her?” 

    “She has no pulse,” he said with deep sorrow. “I have no explanation for what happened. I’m sorry, Alpha. She’s lost.” 

    Nick’s eyes filled with tears. She doesn’t look dead! She looks like she’s just sleeping peacefully. Her lips are still pink and plump. Her skin is still pale with a lively softness. She’s even warm. Actually, she was abnormally warm. Almost as if she’s on fire. 

    “McCoy?” he pointed to her skin. “She’s on fire!” 

    The doctor felt her skin. He frowned and furrowed his brows. He whipped out a thermometer and scanned her forehead. It beeped. He frowned and scanned again. Beep. His frown deepened.  Beep. He scanned again, and again, and again. His face was almost hollow. 

    “Her body is getting hotter and hotter. The thermometer can no longer read it.” 

    Nick tapped on her hand and his flesh sizzled. Her skin was hot enough to burn him.