The Rogue Warrior

Chapter Three - Mate

It was midday by now and the hustle and bustle did not cease as I left my room on the second floor of the pack house. The second floor was for the pack's Beta and Gamma and their families. The Alpha and his family lived on the third floor. It was all well decorated with luxury items and flooring. Everything was silver and maroon in color which were our pack colors. Living with always having everything you could need or want at your finger tips was second nature to me. I had unknowingly taken it for granted.

Outside the world was bright and colorful. The summer trees were lush and green. Flowers were speckled throughout the open pasture and even into the forest that surrounded the pack house and its settlements. Pink, red, yellow, purple spots of color danced around on this windy day. The wind was the only thing relief from the summer heat we had.

All the high ranking wolves were standing out in the midday sun in front of the pack house. Everyone was standing with their families as they watched a black limo approach. I sneakily walked up behind my parents and my siblings. I tried my best not to be noticed in hopes I could pretend I had been present the entire time. I lurked behind my father's larger body as if his frame would shield me from being seen. I was hoping to hide my face from everyone as much as possible. He stood there wearing a dress top and dark pants while my mother wore a sundress like I was except hers was a mix of colors like the flowers out in the fields. Alana was much more elegantly. I knew she must be trying to appear as beautiful as she could to impress the visitors. I knew she hoped that one of them would approach her as her mate even though she hadn't turned 18 yet. She certainly was tenacious if nothing else.

Owen was already here, which meant they already saw his face. I wondered what sort of story he told them. At least they wouldn't be too surprised when they saw my face. They must already know about our scuffle.

"Just in time," I heard my father say, but he didn't turn to look at me. I looked up at him, but his gaze remained fixated on the werewolves that were now emerging from the limo.

"We still want to hear what happened from you," I heard my mother say softly. Her hazel eyes were looking back to evaluate any damage.

"She obviously kicked his ass," my father laughed. "Now shhh." I was surprised my his response. I had expected him to be angry with me. That Owen would have told them some sort of lie to make me look bad. There was no time to worry about that now.

My attention had suddenly shifted. Something smelled so delicious. Like hot chocolate on a winter's day. I had to stop myself from salivating. My wolf began to grow more and more anxious in my mind.

"Mate," she said.

"What?!" I replied. There's no way. My mate was from the Blue Moon Pack and he was here?! I felt my heart beat suddenly quicken as the sweet scent grew stronger. Even my palms were already starting to sweat and I hadn't even seen him yet.

"Mate, mate, mate, mate!" My wolf chanted in my mind. Her voice was growing more and more excited and cheerful. "We must go to mate," she insisted. Yet, I remained standing behind my father. For the last few moments of my life I let him be my shield from the rest of the world.

There were 5 werewolves that had arrived from the Blue Moon Pack. They each followed behind their alpha as they walked past the high ranked Full Moon wolves and their families who were lined up to greet them.

Their Alpha halted in front of my father. I couldn't see their facial expressions, but I was growing anxious. I already felt a deep longing inside of me that I couldn't explain, but I managed to hold my ground. I didn't move.

"I'm Alpha Damen Levine," I heard their alpha introduce himself. His powerful voice sent a shiver through my body. It sounded like they were shaking hands.

"I am Gamma Declan Gray," my father introduced himself in return. It was followed by a moment of awkward silence before Alpha Damen spoke again.

"Who is standing behind you?" He asked, but it sounded more like a command. I could feel his alpha aura radiating off of him. A forceful pull that no lower ranked werewolf could ignore.

The rest of the pack was silent. Even though I couldn't see them, I could feel their intense stares on the alpha and I. Was the alpha my mate? No, it must have been one of the other werewolves at his side.

Suddenly, my father stepped aside under the pressure of the alpha's overwhelming aura. Without being told, he knew Alpha Damen was commanding him to move out of the way. I looked up at my father first who looked rather puzzled. I caught a glance of my mother and Alana's faces. Alana was struggling to contain her excited giggles. It was as if she somehow knew all along.

Finally, I looked up at the one known as Alpha Damen. I felt like I could crumble beneath his power. My bright green eyes locked with his mesmerizing gray-blue eyes which stood out against his thick, dark brown hair. His face and body had sharp edges, and oh my he was so tall. Even taller than Alpha Rocco. I felt my heart skip a beat as I stared at him.

"Mate!" Cyra cried out in my mind while I remained silent. Somehow, I didn't even instinctually downcast my gaze in submission. I never did with Alpha Rocco or Blaze either. Somehow I was always able to resist the power of an Alpha though no one ever knew why. I never thought much of it because Alana could do it, too. I wonder if this was why.

After a moment, I could visibly see him frown. It was then that I remembered that my face looked.... rough. I turned the the swollen side away from him so it was out of sight.

"What is your name?" He asked me.

"Alina Gray," I said, not looking directly at him as if I could still hide my healing injuries. He slowly reached his hand out to touch my face. His fingers ever so gently moving under my chin and cupping it to turn my head to look at him. I obliged without resisting. I felt sparks at his touch and warmth radiating from it. It was almost healing.

"Mate," he said outloud, probably repeating the words his own wolf was telling him. Now there were whispers around me while others smiled and remained silent. Everyone was watching us. Alpha Damen held out his hand and I accepted it.

Oh my goddess! My mate was an Alpha! And I was starting to accept that I would never find my mate. That I would simply become Gamma Alina. In the moment, it didn't even occur to me that I was going to have to leave my pack and my title at Full Moon Pack behind.

"What happened?" He asked, moving his hand to the swollen side on my face. He then trailed his fingers to my throbbing eye. I didn't dare wince in pain while he was watching. My eyes glanced over at Owen and that was all that was needed for Alpha Damen to start to move in his direction.

"It's fine," I said hurriedly, reaching out to grab his arm. Immediately sparks erupted from where our skin touched. He turned to look at me, his eyes black which meant his wolf was trying to take control. He was furious. "I kicked his ass," I told him, gesturing towards Owen who looked away in shame. I knew Owen would want to deny it, but if he did, he risked being injured by Alpha Damen. My brother remained silent.

"You certainly did, little one," he responded still glaring angrily at Owen as if debating on what to do. I linked his arm with mine to try and grab his attention away. As much as Owen angered me, I didn't wish any real harm to him. It seemed to have worked because we began to walk towards Alpha Rocco and Luna Reya. They both looked rather pleased, but also annoyed at the sunlight in their faces.

"Let's go inside. We have much to discuss," Alpha Rocco stated as he led the way back inside the pack house.

"Bring something to drink for our guests please," Luna Reya asked one of the omegas who nodded and then quickly scurried off. Her little feet padding against the tiled floor.

Alpha Rocco led us to the conference room where the high ranked werewolves, and Blaze who weaseled in afterall, gathered for their meeting. We all sat at the large, chestnut wood table. Alpha Damen made sure to place me close to him. He sat me in the chair beside him and even pulled me in closer. He then leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, after this, we will have plenty of time to get to know each other." I felt my face redden and grow hot. I could hardly contain myself and the whirlwind of feelings that were racing through my head. I wondered how Alpha Damen was holding his composure so well.

My eyes trailed off to see Blaze snickering at me. I jokingly narrowed my eyes at him. Alpha Damen noticed our short, playful exchange and growled. His hand reached for me and was placed on my leg in a possessive and jealous manner.

The meeting dragged on for awhile. They mostly spoke of renewing their alliance now that Alpha Damen took over the Blue Moon Pack. They also discussed strange rogue activity and some of their enemy packs. It sounded like there was so much going on outside of Full Moon Pack that I was completely unaware of. Many dangers, but I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. I kept spacing out and wondering how the hell I ended up with an Alpha mate.

After the meeting everyone dined together and finally ate the delicious food I had smelled earlier. It was only after that did I get some alone time with my new found mate. We had slipped off to the pack gardens as the sun was setting. Alpha Damen seemed eager to get to know more about me and wanted to hear how I f****d up my brother so badly. My mate had a good sense of humor. We talked for hours trying to get to know each other while also trying to resist marking each other. I wasn't ready for that yet. It wasn't uncommon for werewolves to mark and mate once they find their mate. But to me he was a stranger despite the mate bond and I was still caught in disbelief.

At the end of the day, he walked me to my room where I insisted on staying the night. He had tried relentlessly to persuade me into staying in the guest room with him. I explained if I was going to go to the Blue Moon Pack with him, I needed some time to say goodbye to my sister. Thankfully, he understood.