Alpha's reclaimed mate

chapter 2

Those memories plagued Monica day and night since she fled Syzygy Pack.

Life as an Omega in Crescent Pack seemed a lot better. After the final test of loyalty, every stray wolf was given a fair chance to thrive, fully accepted as part of the Crescent Pack.

"...Stop slacking! the salmon needs to be cured on time!"

Maggie's hoarded voice was all it took to snap Monica from her thoughts.

Wearing some gloves, she found a knife from the stand and started work on the pink flesh.

••••

"In the future at the end of five hundred years, in the days of despair, in the days when wolves feed on broken pledges and misdeeds when the wrath of the Outlanders is rekindled against the Lycans. Out of her that possesses the last Gaia blood shall bring forth a threefold cord..." Keegan, the seer kept his gaze on the sacred beads in hand.

"They've been prophecies before, threefold cord?" Axel squinted his gaze at the frail man.

"The elementals?" Aiden, Gamma of Crescent Pack clarified.

"We're in the last days of the five hundred years since the last elementals trampled the soil of the Earth." Keegan pointed out, dropping his gaze on Alpha Bruno.

"Ophelia can't possibly have the last Gaia blood running through her veins." Bruno reasoned absently.

"You rejected her." Axel reminded his best buddy.

"Tell me more about her with the last Gaia blood." Bruno narrowed his gaze at the old seer who was known for his wits and prophecies.

"I regret to say, My Alpha, but the Goddess never revealed these things in the sacred runes."

"Always a damn mystery." Aiden hissed.

"We seize every pack, ask questions, and find clues to the Gaia lineage. We must find her and mate! It's the only option."

"Our Goddess is all about intentions. Let good intentions douse your greed, my Alpha!" Keegan returned the beads to the furry pouch.

"The Goddess sure knows how to joke! First a w***e for a mate, then an unraveled myth, what more can she do?" Bruno snarled.

"A little respect might do for starters!" Axel chuckled.

Keegan shifted uncomfortably at his choice of words. "We allow things to unfold naturally."

"If the Outlanders are smart enough to unravel this mystery, damnation will be the fate of all Lycans, so we don't have time for 'natural'"

"What is it you want me to do, my Alpha?"

"Seek answers to this rune. If need be, trace the Gaia bloodline on your sacred chalice."

•••••

The warriors grunted in combat, beads of perspiration trailed their skin as they trained under the blood moon. It was a ritual to aid their strength, strategies, and defense. Crescent Pack claimed to be the most powerful pack known for their trained warriors that aided other packs against rogues.

"Always outsmart your opponent, get in their head, find their weakness, capitalize on it. The eyes are the gate to a warrior's soul." Alpha Bruno chimed, inspecting the rows of warriors in the hand-to-hand combat. "Sensitivity will be your greatest asset."

Gamma Aiden analyzed the strength of each new warrior.

Through the crack in the wall, Monica watched the combat from her concealed position.

Ray had aided her trace the faint sweet scent of spiced woods which was stronger now amidst the over five hundred men, making it hard to point out which was her second chance mate.

The sound of an intruder alerted him. He could hear their heartbeat. He could sense the fear.

"You okay man?" Axel asked, seeing Bruno's face.

Through the tiniest crack, his eyes met hers in the darkness of the field, hearing her cringe in fear.

"Gamma Aiden, take the reins from here!" He moved towards her by the wall.

To her horror, Alpha Bruno reached her in a fluid motion pinning her against the wall.

Quickly retrieving his hand, stepping a bit further from her. From the electrifying contact. "It's forbidden to spy on the warriors as they train."

"I wasn't spying, I just..." She looked him square in his red eyes. They looked bright and magical in a way matching the moon above them.

"Who are you?" His voice was deeper than intended.

"Monica..."

Ophelia disrupted her response, showing up from nowhere in a pair of cargo pants and combat boots. When her gaze settled on them, she made her way towards them. Towards Alpha Bruno.

"s**t!" He cursed. Pulling Monica close until their faces were just an inch away. Burying his lips in the crook of her neck. feeling her tremble in his arms. Tracing the satiny feel of her skin.

"Alpha Bruno? Training's going well I see!" Ophelia sassed.

Hesitantly, Bruno broke the contact, glaring at Ophelia.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but oh, I see you've got company?"

"Ophelia!" Gamma Aiden joined them, pulling her into a hug.

Monica stood dumbfounded, taking the whole scene in.

"I'll get back to my office, do a great job Aiden and remember girls are forbidden at the rituals."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Come with me!" He commanded.

"Who is she?" Monica heard Ophelia ask Aiden as they moved on.

"What you did tonight is punishable!" He spoke calmly and quietly when they were alone.

"Would Ophelia be punished too?"

"She's the Gamma female."

'What could be dumber than modern-day sexism?!' Ray snorted inside.

"Shut up, Ray!" She shushed.

"Pardon my Alpha, she's all out to fix me!"

"You aren't allies? What color is she?" He chuckled amusedly.

"Never shifted, she hates me! But that's not an excuse to speak presumptuously to the Alpha."

Ray grumbled inwardly but loud enough to be heard through their linked mind.

His phone beeped, staring at it he muttered, "s**t! Come with me!"

"Where are we going?" Monica broke the eerie silence, struggling to keep up with his pace.

"Could you shut the f**k up? You're starting to be annoying." He rounded the corner of the pack house, and walked through the hallway, easing himself into the elevator.

Without hesitation, Monica filed up in front of him. He pressed 'p' obviously for the penthouse.

Stepping into his vast office, Kiara was waiting on the couch. Waiting to end the day.

"Kiara, return the girl there's an alternative!" He said to his waiting secretary. Who nodded curtly exiting the office.

"Take a seat, I'll explain!" He waved her to the couch.

She settled onto the off-white leather couch in the middle of the office.

"Coffee?" He asked out of sheer politeness.

"No thanks, Ray's pretty allergic to creme. Water is fine."

She silently watched him now in the brightness while he dispensed water for her. Redhaired as he was rumored to be.

"Does your wolf have any allergies?" She asked in a sick attempt of killing the awkward silence that was stretching between them.

"You said you've never shifted?" He asked instead, setting the glass of water before her on the coffee table.

"I wish I could say no. It's the hardest way to live as a werewolf. I hear her only in my head, we talk and fight all the time."

"I have a task for her. You're going to help me with the task." His eyes turned another shade of red.

'What am I? Wonder Woman?' Ray murmured unintelligibly.

"What if I say no?" Monica tactfully asked.

"That would be a crime too great to forgive." He shrugged, his eyes not leaving hers.

'It's a f*****g no!' Ray snorted.

"Yes! It's a yes! Pardon her, she's too persistent to block out sometimes."

Bruno scowled, "One more f*****g comment from her I'll silent her with a silver ringlet!"

"It would never get to that."

The silence lingered, Bruno poured himself a glass of water and emptied the glass in one gulp.

"Let's get on with it then!" He moved to the inner room, took out a leather jacket, and draped it over his shoulders. Taking his keys, he asked, "Shall we?"

Monica silently followed him to his parked car. She watched him through her peripherals as he drove. His chiseled jaw clenched. A smirk twitched on his lips, his gaze on the windshield.

"Like what you see?"

"What? I was staring out the window!" She flushed.

"Hmm! Sexy crooked smile indeed!"

She blushed at his sarcasm, feeling embarrassed to have her mind read.

Bruno walked through the old gate, Monica struggled to keep up with his large strides.

"Not everyone is six feet tall!" She huffed in frustration, trying to catch her breath.

"What are you? Five feets?"

Keegan led them to the temple lit up with colored candles.

"What's this?" She asked him.

"It's a ritual to seek answers from the Goddess!" Keegan answered.

"To meet the Goddess a child must be pure. I am not pure!" Monica was infuriated.

"I'd imagined that!" Bruno scorned.

"Purity is the soul, not the flesh. The wolf that hasn't trodden the soil can attain the height and seek answers to the questions about the prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Her gaze fell on Bruno.

"That is not your place to find out!"

"If I'll be risking my life to this then it's fair enough I get to know the first dip."

"It's not like you have a choice here. Consider it a punishment for spying on the warriors."

"I supposed every defaulter in Crescent Pack gets punished this way?"

"You're welcome!"

'Asshole!' Ray muttered.

If Bruno heard it, he didn't show. Ray needed a long lesson on who an Alpha was, mate or not.

Monica stretched on the marked spot as commanded.

Bruno watched as Keegan began his spells.

"That was insane!" Monica said on their way back, watching the night sky.

Bruno kept his eyes on the road as they drove his thoughts distant.

"Want to grab something to eat?"

The fries were the last food left, and Bruno ate absently. "So f****d up!" He hissed for the hundredth time that night.

"Sometimes the answer finds us. Just be open-minded, who knows if the Goddess is giving you a clue to the prophecy, and you're blinded by your desires."

"Have you ever wanted something so badly that you can't sleep at night?" He held her gaze.

"My mate. Oh, ex-mate. Dated him for a few months, found out he was my mate and then he rejected me." She looked down at her meal, "All I'm saying is, sometimes the answers we seek break us in ways we never imagined. Yes, I so much wanted him to love me but my cousin Brianna was his better option. That broke me. "

"Where is he?" His voice was cold.

"My ex-mate? He's now the Gamma of the Syzygy Pack. Where all the terrible things happened."

"Not as terrible as your best friend's girl becoming your mate. "

"Ophelia?"

"Shut your fat mouth!" His mood suddenly took another turn.

"I thought we were unwinding. Sorry!" She looked down on her meal. She was becoming way too brave for her good, speaking so boldly to the Alpha, "Forgive my boldness my Alpha!"

"Sometimes I enjoy a candid conversation." His soft side was out again.

"Obviously!" She grimaced.

"Did you shut her in?"

"Ray?"

"Haven't heard from her since we left Keegan's."

"It's better off this way."

"Pretty feisty thing!" He chuckled.

The moon peered from a lone cloud in the night sky, watching over them, it seemed as they left the restaurant towards the parked car.

Bruno was always confident and relaxed with his women, yet he seemed unsure of what to do tonight.

Monica paused by the car door, her eyes caught his.

"Thank you!" Casting him a smile.

"For?"

"Waving off the spy thing."

His hand reached out, pulling her near. He couldn't imagine letting his mate without brushing his lips across hers. And as he did so, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, allowing the kiss to deepen.

With great reluctance, he broke the kiss long enough to whisper into her ear, "Come home with me."