The Alpha's Cursed Mate

Kelly Mason woke with a start. Her small room was cool and dark. She wasn’t quite sure why she had woken up, but then she heard the howls in the distance. Sitting up, she reached for the curtains above her bed and yanked them aside. Light filtered into the room and illuminated a patch on her dark purple comforter. A full moon. How could she have forgotten? The worst night of the month, never fail. That’s what she got for living right on the edge of town and the wolves' territory. If there was a wolf on the north side of town, she usually knew about it. They all seemed to hang out in a cove not too far from her house. Because of this, she rarely slept when a full moon was out. Or at least, she used to. Ever since she had gotten her driver’s license two years ago, she had made sure to leave town on the full moon. Staying wasn’t worth the lack of sleep and the headaches the next day. Carefully, Kelly closed the curtains and then reached for her phone in the pitch black. Holding up her phone, she glanced at the time as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. 11:32 PM. There was still time for her to pack an overnight bag and head out to her parents’ cabin a couple of hours away. She just had to make sure she didn’t run into any members of her adopted pack. Grabbing her backpack, Kelly stuffed a few things inside before throwing it over her shoulder. Quietly, she unlocked her door and headed down the hall. Not that she would wake anyone up. Her adopted parents were probably out themselves. She continued down the hall to the door, where her keys hung on a pushpin on the wall next to the light switch. She grabbed them as she unlocked the door and headed out into the night. It was unusually cold for an October night, especially in Arizona, and she shivered involuntarily. Quietly, he hurried to her car. She didn’t have much time, so she needed to hurry. All she needed was fifteen minutes to make sure she was safe. Just fifteen minutes. Kelly headed down the dark street. The street lamp on the corner flickered ominously. Kelly stared at it for a moment and then she shook her head. She was creeping herself out. She held her breath as she turned onto the road leading out of town, glancing up and down the street to make sure she was the only one there. If she were to be stopped now, she’d be taken to the packhouse, especially since she was out after curfew. How she hated curfew. Alpha Tate had explained that it was there as a way to keep the most vulnerable members of the pack safe from danger. Kelly had scoffed at the explanation. There wasn’t any danger here, at least not for wolves born into the pack. Orphans like Kelly had to watch their backs, though, no matter what time of day it was. The pack-born wolves wouldn’t think twice about ripping an outsider's head off. But if it was one of their own? They wouldn’t even glance in their direction, and if they did, it would be because they were escorting them home. Kelly glanced behind her as she approached the town’s boundary. At first, she didn’t see anything, but then she gasped when she saw two pairs of amber eyes appear from behind the brush and start to quickly approach the car. She was so close to freedom, though. She couldn’t stop, not now. She stomped on the gas pedal and crossed over just as the wolves caught up to the car. Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. The wolves would have to stop. They weren’t allowed to cross the boundary on full moons. That was when they were the most out of control. There was no telling what would happen if they came across an unsuspecting human and there were plenty of human towns in between pack territories. She let out another sigh of relief as she sped away into the dark. Her parents’ one-room cabin was on Silvermoon land or what used to be Silvermoon land. She wasn’t sure who it belonged to now. For a while, it had been part of her adopted pack’s land, the Nightstalkers, but the brutal pack wars had seen the former Silvermoon land change hands a few times. She had witnessed one such changing. The night she had been made an orphan started playing through her mind as she pulled up to the cabin. Turning the car off, she grabbed her bag and headed inside before succumbing to the memories. Kelly crumpled against the wall as she let the memories transport her back in time eight years earlier. She had been in this very cabin, asleep in the loft. Her parents had been on the couch watching TV. She could still hear the theme song to CSI like it was yesterday, even though she hadn’t heard it in years. The scent of buttery popcorn had wafted up to her, leaving her mouth watering. But then the power had gone out, and her dad had gone out to investigate. Her mom had climbed up to the loft to check on her. Not more than five minutes later, they had heard her dad yelling for them to run. It was no use, though. Within minutes, the Nightstalkers had burst into the cabin, blood on their muzzles. Her mom had covered her with another blanket and pushed her as far away from the edge as she could while motioning for her to be silent. Kelly had watched, wide-eyed, as she watched her mom get yanked off the ladder shortly after and the sounds of ripping flesh had filled the room. And then silence. Absolute silence. Young Kelly felt like she had been left forgotten in the loft for what seemed like hours. In reality, she had only been there for maybe 30 minutes before Alpha Newell had found her. She had thought she was going to die right then and there. She had begged for it but Alpha Newell had decided that she was young and innocent enough to spare. He had taken her back to the Night Stalkers packhouse where she had stayed until he had found a family to adopt her. Life in the packhouse had been hell. Those six months she had been there had been scarred into her memory. Tate, Alpha Newell’s son, had just turned 18 when she had been brought back to the packhouse. She remembered Alpha Newell turning her over to him and letting him take care of the outsider orphan. Tate hadn’t been cruel, but he hadn’t been nice either. He had put her in a small room with three other orphans. They had to share everything. Food, clothes, toiletries, toys. There was nothing there that she could call her own. Then, because she was an outsider, she had to do most of the chores. She had never done a chore before coming to the packhouse. She had been beaten a number of times for not knowing how to do something or doing a chore poorly. Six long months later, she had been placed in the care of a pupless couple. Trembling, Kelly stood up and headed up to the loft where she laid down on the fluffy mattress and stared at the ceiling, trying to calm down. Slowly, while focusing on steadying her breathing, Kelly’s eyes drifted shut. Not even fifteen minutes after Kelly had fallen asleep, her phone went off. Grumbling, Kelly reached over and declined the call, not even looking to see who it was. She rolled over onto her other side, snuggled into the pillow, and pulled the comforter over her shoulder. Again, her phone went off. This time she ignored it. It could go to voicemail for all she cared. It was 3 o’clock in the morning. She just wanted some sleep. Isn’t that why she had come out here after all? The third time it went off, she sat up, grabbed the phone, and sighed when she saw who was calling. Colleen. “Hi mom,” Kelly said sleepily. “Kelly, where are you?” Colleen asked sharply. “Where I am every full moon,” Kelly answered in confusion. She could hear the tension in Colleen’s voice. “Why?” “Alpha Tate wants to see you,” Colleen replied. “What?” Kelly asked, alarmed. “Why? I didn’t do anything…” “Someone saw you leave after curfew and told him,” Colleen explained, her voice strained. Kelly hesitated. Well, damn. She should have gotten a better look at the wolves who had tried to stop her. “Can I just see him in the morning or do I really have to drive back now?” Kelly asked finally, anxiety starting to set in as she thought about meeting with Alpha Tate. She didn't want to come face-to-face with one of her former abusers. “I let him know that you like to stay at your parents’ old cabin when you feel down and that you are about two hours away, but he doesn’t seem to care,” Colleen said. “He wants to see you now. You can call him yourself and try to explain, but I don’t think it will matter much. He’s quite upset that you broke curfew.” “I… I see,” Kelly stammered, her heart pounding. “I guess I’ll give him a call to let him know that I’m on my way." “Good girl,” Colleen sighed. “Please be careful, sweetie. Alpha Tate isn’t the kindest man in the world, you know. If you want me to be there with you, call me and let me know when you are about five minutes away from town.” “Will do,” Kelly choked. “Thanks, mom.” Kelly hung up and threw the bed on the phone. She was f****d. Growling, she re-stuffed everything back into her backpack and headed down the ladder to the main floor. Stalking into the kitchen, she opened the fridge and grabbed a cold coke from the back. If she was going to be up all night, she’d need some sort of caffeine to keep her going. As she popped the tab, she unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Finding Alpha Tate's number, she hesitated before pushing the button to call him. She really didn’t want to deal with his conceited ass. Taking a deep breath, she hit dial while reminding herself to just keep it simple. He couldn't do anything to her over the phone. “Kelly,” a low growl answered before the phone had even rung once. “Where the hell are you?” “At my cabin, sir,” Kelly said, a little taken aback at the intensity of his voice. “I come here every full moon.” “Is that the cabin up near Silver Lake?” Alpha Tate asked sharply. “Yes.” “Stay where you are.” “But… but my mother told me that you wanted to see me, so I had better get my ass home,” Kelly stammered in confusion. “I was just about to head out the door.” “I do want to see you, Kelly,” Alpha Tate replied, his voice tense. “However, there have been some issues with the Blackfurs. If they had seen you… If they even know you’re there….” “I didn’t realize,” Kelly said apologetically. “I’m so sorry.” “Save it,” Alpha Tate snapped. “I’m less than twenty minutes away. Keep the door locked until I get there. Do you understand?” “I understand,” Kelly replied. “But why do you care so much? I’m an outsider. You’ve never seemed to care this much before?” “Kelly…” Alpha Tate grumbled hesitantly. “Not now. We’ll talk about this later.” “Fine,” Kelly sighed as the line went dead. She tossed the phone onto the couch and then went to lock the door. Stalking back to the kitchen, she grabbed some beef jerky out of the cupboard. Leaning against the counter, heart pounding, she wondered if Alpha Tate would kick her out of the pack. It would save her some trouble if he did. She was already planning on leaving as soon as she had the funds and she really didn't want to be connected to this pack longer than she had to. Unfortunately, that connection would only get stronger when she went through the change for the first time, and now that she was 18, it was only a matter of time. She really didn’t want to stay connected to a pack that had been responsible for her parents’ death.