Breaking the Bond

Fated Mate

The woman in front of him seemed unphased by the fact that she had put her life at risk to save a werewolf. He didn’t know whether to be annoyed or concerned about her lack of awareness that she had put herself in such a dangerous situation, a dead human was a headache he did not need right now. Observing the human, he noticed how her thick brown hair brushed the top of her shoulders and her big brown eyes wondered curiously. She looked young, maybe in her teens but there was some darkness around her eyes. As if she had experienced pain. His wolf noticed and became wilder, being somewhat uncontrollable since he picked up the humans scent in the other cabin. Clawing to be free, wanting to comfort his mate.

Wait. What.

“Mate?”

The word had haunted him since he was 18 years old, his wolf wanting to find his mate; he even searched for a couple of years. He had pushed his wolf down into the darkest part of his subconscious not wanting to believe that after 8 years of wondering about his fated mate she turned out to be a weak human.

A fated mate.

A wonderful gift given by the moon goddess. It had become extremely rare to find your fated mate these days. Wolves kept to their own territories and hardly ever traveled, you had to hope that your fated mate was a member of your own pack. Some wolves had left the security of their packs to scour the earth for their one true love. A small amount had gone insane, as the years past wolves had to adapt and found bond mates. 

A chosen mate.

His plan was to hunt down the one that betrayed him and kill them all. Then an overwhelming feeling hit him like a speed train. He may have had weaker senses but his wolf was aroused and clawing to break free, at first he didn’t understand the foreign feeling. She smelled of fresh morning dew after a night of rainfall on the forest around his pack, it reminded him of his younger days as a pup without a care in the world.

Now he knew why, now he knew he couldn’t or wouldn’t let her out of his sight. He didn’t want to lose the opportunity to know his fated mate, even to just be in her presence.  He wanted to know everything about her, wanted her to tell him about her life, wanted to make sure she was happy and destroy everything that made her sad or afraid. Most of all he yearned to touch her. To bury his head in the croak of her neck and stay there for hours. The emotions overwhelmed him. Yet when he realised she was human, his logic took over. How did the moon goddess pair the strongest Alpha in the city with a mere human. His murderous aura escaped him, what had shocked him the most was she sat there unaffected, as if he was just another man, not a tyrant Alpha. He remained still on the shabby couch, perplexed by the fact that this had never happen to him before. Even the human hunters were unable to make eye when he let his aura slip. Not even the drug had stopped the effect. That drug. Another issue he now had to deal with. 

He hated those Hunters.

He needed to get the delicious human to his pack without explaining why, his wolf continued to fight him to tell her his identity, an internal war that he had never experienced before. Man and beast were always so in sync. After a few minutes he could faintly smell her fear, telling her he was an Alpha should have terrified her yet she looked more curious than afraid. Again, surprising him. Then she had to mention vampires. Those filthy blood suckers were just everywhere. He knew that his fated mate was a bad judge of character when she called one of them her friend. Baal city had been werewolf territory since his grandfather was Alpha. This was a no vampire zone, the purebloods didn’t like it as the City was thriving and everyone wanted a piece of the wealth, vamps were unable to stay or settle in the City and the purebloods were too smart to take on the packs head on. No one wanted a bloody war. Any lone vampires that entered the city were stalked constantly and shunned, the werewolves making it impossible for the vampire to make the City its home. Even the humans refused to assist the vamp guest, if they ran the possibility of becoming a prier from their community and some packs revoking all their werewolf privileges. It was clear that the werewolves primarily ran the city and no one no one dared to go against them. The werewolves were not stupid though. Humans were powerful allies and adversaries. They had proved to be efficient business partners and they could cause great problems for the werewolves. Wolves and humans lived in a sort of agreed harmony. The City was peaceful and beaming with wealth, attracting more humans and werewolves alike. Each species lived together but somewhat separate, never fully understanding each other, neither wanting too. Except on the Jade Moon pack, no human resided there only traveled in for work. It was a common misconception that the Alpha had banned humans from his territory, they were just afraid to settle there.

He continued to eye his fated mate with curiosity. She was undoubtedly beautiful. Did she know about mates since she seemed to know far too much already. Again he cursed those blood suckers. They had no doubt blackened her mind against werewolves. His stoic face gave nothing away as he started to formulate a plan to get her on his territory. Then he would trap her there until he figured out his next move. One thing was certain, there was no way he was letting her out of his sight now that there was a real threat to him and his pack. If those Hunters managed to catch wind that she was his fated mate they would use her against him. He needed to figure out why the Hunters were targeting his pack, this was new. The silly pretty human was already making him weaker. She was not fit to be his mate or Luna. No matter how much courage she had to save him or stupidity to walk into such a dangerous situation, she was still a weak human. Even the other packs would see this as a weakness. He would not risk his pack and their lives for a human. Even if his fated mate hated him, his wolf howled with sadness.

Then there was Natalie. He had to come up with a plan, he needed time. He needed to get control of the situation.

“Well not that you asked, my name is Lexi”.  She avoided his eyes but didn’t look down. She looked agitated, even annoyed.

“Lexi”. Her name rolled off his tongue as if he had been calling her name all his life. “We need to get out of here”.

Lexi. Lexi. Lexi. His wolf chanted.

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Nodding her head, she agreed. They needed to move. Pulling out her map, she needed to figure out how to get to his pack moving through the City undetected.  

“We don’t need a map. I know where to go and where to avoid”. The Alpha stood in all his magnificent glory, bare chest and demi god like. His pure mass took over the cabins living area making it feel as if the room had actually shrunk. Only now Lexi could see how tall he stood, almost touching the ceiling. Clearly a foot taller then her, towering over in an impressive manner.

Lexi tilted her head “Oh. So you don’t need me then?”

His eyes went wide of a millisecond and had she blinked it would have been missed. An emotion she could not understand, fear or loss.

“I mean. You're a werewolf. You basically run half the city, you don’t need my help. Unless you want to go back and stick with your original plan of pretending to be captured, i'll sweep up the window and lock he door”.

He needed to think fast. He was losing her. She was slipping away. Everything ran through his mind. Barbaric thoughts of k********g and locking her away, tying her to his bed. Could he live with the fact that his fated mate despised him because he already sensed she would if he even stepped a foot on that dark path, yet that path was so familiar to him. Nope, at this point he did not care if his mate hated him, as long as she never left him. His wolf's claws scraping down his mind. Like nails on a chalk board. Urging him to tell her the truth. Mate. Mate will understand but pride took over.

“No I need your scent to cover mine as we move through the City on pack borders without permission”. A little white lie. He could mask his own scent just like his aura. A power only he found out he had when he was 15 years old. No other wolf had managed to harness it like him. He was a master and he knew that no one would recognise him even though he was one of the most powerful werewolf's in the city. Many would suspect  that he was an Alpha just by his menacing look, yet they would never believe it to be the famous Alpha Ryan. Being the owner of many large businesses and even the modern hospital that lay in the centre of his territory, known for innovative medicine to both the supernatural and the humans, should have made his image popular but in truth he hated the networking side of business. His youngest brother was the face of the businesses. He was fresh and people seemed to be able to approach him without crying. Ryan had yet to master this, no matter how much he tried. The murderous aura flowed from him. Dark and wicked. Felt by all the species. Developed as layer of protection when he was only 17 years old but that was a story for another day.

“Oh. Ok. How long will it take us to get to your pack? I need to be at the New theatre by 9am in Tuesday”.

“Hhmm. It will only take us tonight to get to my pack”. That was his first error. He could have lied and told her longer. Give them more time to be alone together.

“Great. Plenty of time for me to get back. I'll find another place to stay”. Lexi smiled at their plan, she felt safe moving across the City with an Alpha.

“No need. You can stay on the pack lands and then someone will drive you to the New Theatre”. Another lie, not so pure and nice. She was never going to meet whoever she needed to meet, a few days wasn't enough for him. The Alpha had made up his mind. She was his.

“Mine”. He whispered.

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Lexi gathered her suitcase and backpack, unaware of Ryan’s declaration of possession over her. Her life neatly folded into two bags. They left the cabin and walked into the chill of the night. Now that she was on the run with a big bad werewolf, the early morning became more chilling. The sun was just breaking through the darkness, making the sky glow. Carrying both bags made Lexis breathing laboured and her steps slow. This did not go unnoticed by the scary Alpha who continued to stride down the dirt path deeper into the darkness of the forest. His wolf abilities made his path as clear as day. If only Lexi had the same capability, she could do with some of his strength as well. She wondered how the Alpha could just strut through the forest without a care. Then again, he was probably the scariest thing in there.  

After stumbling and cursing under her breath, she stopped in her tracks, sweat covering her forehead. She felt sticky and horrible. They had been walking for almost 30 minutes. Her bags weighed her down, making their journey slower. Guess the Alpha found it beneath him to help the poor girl out. She didn’t hold it against him. She was used to not receiving help, carrying her own weight, holding her own. She powered forward wanting to prove her own strength. 

“ ARRRGGHHHH!!!!!” Lexi had no idea what was happening, all she knew was the floor was becoming increasingly closer to her face. She squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the impact, her arms out in front of her. 

Waiting. 

Waiting.

She peeked through her one eye wondering why she had yet to face plant the floor. The ground was clearly in her eye line but she stayed there suspended. The Alpha had grabbed her backpack, saving her from the fall. His large arm snaked around her waist with a hand flat on her stomach above her hoodie as he pulled her up straight in front of him.

Lexi craned her neck to look up at him. He looked angry, livid, his eyes as black as coal. The sight was spectacular. She knew she should be frightened. This was the face of death. Her hand instantly raised on its own accord, heading straight to his face. The need to touch him came from somewhere deep in her stomach. His hand grabbed her arm and pulled her closer into his body, his hands on her waist. Her chest raised enough for her breasts to brush against his hard chest, the friction making her n*****s pebble. Her breathing deepened as she tried to stifle a moan. The overwhelming feeling of needing to be closer to his body coursed through her veins, she wanted her flesh on his. It felt like nothing else matter in the world apart from the two of them, in this moment. Ryan leaned forward, his face just inches away. Lexi could feel his breath on her gaping lips. A shiver ran down her spine and she could no longer hold her herself together as a soft moan filled the forest air. Ryan froze. His back straightened as he stepped away from Lexi. The lack of proximity made her whimper. As her face flushed a dark red and she lowered her eyes. What had she done wrong, was it the moan. Was that not normal, she tried to stop herself. This feeling was new to her and her own actions made her embarrassed. She couldn't understand her own behavior.

Ryan looked at her with a mixture of emotions but she only recognised disgust, an emotion she had become face with constantly so became familiar. Did he think that little of her? She shook her head, why would a beautiful Alpha Werewolf be interested in her. Even for a human she didn’t think she was attractive. Her hair too dark for her pale skin made her look ill most of the time and the bags of worry under her eyes could not be hidden by any amount of make up, even if she owned any. Lowering her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath, holding back her tears of rejection and reprimanding herself for her foolish behaviour, even if she had no control over her body. Why did she feel like this?

“Thank you”. Her voice tremored just a little. Ryan c****d his eyebrow observing her. She felt his eyes roam over her face, making her blush even more. “Thank you for saving me from falling, must have tripped over something”. She searched the ground trying to find the culprit but the path was fairly flat. She had tripped over her own suitcase.

“tsk”. Ryan stepped forward and yanked the suitcase from her hand, almost taking her with it. “Keep moving”. She now had a spectacular view of has broad bare back and the flex on his muscles seemed to sooth her. Not having to worry about falling over her suitcase, Lexi removed her hoodie and scanned the forest. On the right she noticed there were on the edge of the small town on the outskirts of the City.

They continued to walk for what seemed like hours, Lexi enjoying the beauty of the forest as she sneaked glimpses at Ryan. They had abruptly stopped a few times, Ryan turning with a finger over his lips signalling for her to be quiet. Lexi soon caught on that Ryan must have heard others in the forest. She assumed they werewolves. Suddenly, Ryan took a sharp left where small paths lead to a street and they walked from the forest right out into the City. The area completely run down. The street filled with boarded up houses or unstable shacks, covered in graffiti. The street smelled of stale urine and rubbish. A fine layer of moss covered the cobble road. Pavements were cracked and full of holes. Shouting and crying could be heard coming from the rundown buildings. A man covered in dirt, his top torn and his hair in disarray, slept slummed between a black bag and a steel door. A bottle rested on his rotund belly, his snores the only indicator of life.

“Where are we?” Lexi hadn’t expected to see such a sight in the City.

“The Delta quadrant”. Ryan slowed his pace, glimpsing back at Lexi who couldn’t stop looking at her surroundings. The area seemed so sad and desperate. Frown lines appeared on her face and a look for concern for the drunken sleeping man. “This is one of the no man’s land; the place is probably one of the most dangerous slums in the City. Don’t come here alone. Ever”. Lexi nodded her head, both confused by the sudden display of concern and Lexi focused her eyes back on Ryan who continued to stride through the slum. It didn’t go unnoticed that people on the street hurried into their buildings once they spotted the Alpha approaching. Those who were unable to flee lowered their eyes and backed up against the walls, as if trying to blend into the solid structure.

As they walked further, the buildings started to change, there was more life. The City started to look a bit healthier. They cut down a small alley way and Lexi could hear cars, laughter and general chit chatter. They emerged onto another street and Lexi gasped. The buildings were a mixture of red brick on one side containing different shops at the lower levels and on the other side, huge glass skyscrapers littered the block, as far as the eye could see on her right and her left, magnificently styled buildings. She had never been in a city before and the tallest building in her home down was the Manor that had five floors. She could smell sweet pastries and freshly brewed coffee. The place wasn’t as busy as what she expected. Lexi had been too busy taking in the new sight that she didn’t realise that Ryan was impatiently waiting for her until his hand grabbed her bare arm.

Sparks. 

Tingling sparks.

A shot of pleasurable electricity flowed from her arm right to the juncture between her legs, awaking her, making her thighs clench together. Her eyes met the coal black eyes of the Alpha and the City fell away. Second, minutes or hours could have past but she was cemented in her place. She wanted him, lusted over him. What was this feeling. Why couldn't she control herself. She blushed as she felt her fanny flutter.

Someone cleared their throat bring her back to the street.

“Alpha Ryan. What an honour. Alpha Jack is not expecting you, especially heading from the East. May I ask what you are doing on the border of the Eclipse pack”. Lexi continued to be transfixed by the Alphas eyes as they turned from black to moss green. The other man’s voice laced with contempt.

“Tell Alpha Jack I am passing through his territory to mine. Now”. Only when Ryan turned did Lexi realise that five huge men stood in front of them. The one that spoke wearing a tank top and long denim shorts, his thick arms covered in tattoos and his hair shaved completely off. His blue eyes looked between Lexi and the very imposing Alpha. His eyes scanned her face then went down to her chest, lingering at her legs in her shorts. A growl made the street stand still and Ryan stepped forward. Lexi could sense that his aura had been cranked up as the five men in front of them whimpered and lowered their heads baring their neck in some sort of submissive stance.

“I won’t cause any problems and I cannot see why this pack would jeopardise our alliance by being hostile towards me or my…. Guest. Is there a problem Theo?” Lexi could see that the tattooed wanted to fight but Ryan was too strong an Alpha, his presence weighing to heavy on the wolves. There was no way the five wolves could even touch the Alpha let alone stop or hurt him. They stepped aside, most of them shifted into their wolf form. That was a wonderful sight for Lexi. Who would have thought such dangerous machines could be so beautiful. They looked fierce yet majestic, bigger than she had imagined. One or two even taller than her. She couldn’t take her eyes off them as they walked through the city. Cars pulled to the side of the road to let us pass, onlookers backed away. 

A rumble came from Ryan’s chest, “stop looking at them”. He hissed. Lexi lowered her eyes for the rest of the walk thinking she had caused some disrespect. Whispers could be heard, yet she dared to look up. After walking about 8 blocks the escort stopped as the Alpha and a very tired Lexi trenched forward.

Just as if she stepped over an invisible line, a strange wave of fear washed over her. She could only explain it as a feeling of being trapped. Like something bad was about to happen. She tried to push it down but it churned in her stomach making her feel nauseous. She didn’t hear the car approach or the sound of car doors opening. She certainly didn’t see Ryan stop as her face collided with his hard back.

"Ouch". She rubbed her nose.

“Brother, where the hell have you been?” A tall young man walked towards them. Lexi could see a small resemblance, guessing they may be related. The younger having a similar strikingly handsome face as the older Alpha but he was fairer, his blonde hair cut shorter than Ryan’s. His smile was not forced when he held his arms open to embrace the Alpha and there was no darkness in his features. What startled Lexi were his moss green eyes, an exact replica of Ryan’s and equally as captivating.

They shared a back slapping hug, when the young mans eyes held on to Lexi’s. “Brother, who is this pretty little thing?” He smiled showing all his white pearly teeth making Lexi slightly blush and smile back.

Ryan turned to face Lexi, dropping the suitcase. “Take her to my apartment; lock her in my room while I call a pack meeting. Make sure she stays there until I get back.” The young werewolf looked over the Alpha confused, yet he did not argue or question is brother.

“What……hey…..wait….lock me in!!!!!!! HEY”. Lexi shouted as Ryan stormed off and two strong arms wrapped around her shoulders before she could retreat. The blood drained from her face. She had made a grave error coming here.

“Don’t struggle little star, then I won’t hurt you”. The smile plastered on the young mans face now seem sinister and scary.

“Please, let me go”.