The Beta's Forbidden Mate

Sam POV It had been a month since Suzette and Alice passed away, leaving a big void in my heart, weakening my soul, and ripping away my mind. Suzette, my younger sister, could really be a b***h. She didn’t learn her lesson very well, not that we lacked in giving her reminders. She had been damned hard-headed when she started crushing on River and Ryder. We didn’t know where she got the idea of her being the twins’ mate. Surely not from me or Dad! She had gone crazy or her wolf was the crazy one. My wolf, Nathan, was always trying to reach out to my sister’s wolf, but could not do so. What a stubborn wolf! Alice. Her name was Alice. My mate. Her name was beautiful, as she was also beautiful. A month ago, I fought in a war headed by River and Ryder, our young alpha princes, and their mate Kimberly, a witch. There was a prophecy that had gotten their lives intertwined. We won against the warlock. However, two of the casualties were my sister and my mate. Alice was Kimberly’s stepsister. I was fighting when I smelled the most amazing smell of cinnamon. At first, I thought it was just a hallucination; that perhaps I was only hungry from the fighting. Little did I know that I had my mate there on the battlefield. It was too late though. The warlock had cheated us and had killed Alice and Suzette right away. I had not even talked to her. There was no chance to tell her that I was her mate and to apologize for not meeting her right away. It was really devastating. With the help of a few warriors, I was able to bring my sister and Alice inside the make-shift infirmary. Too late. It was too late. Someone had tried to help me, but I was told there was nothing they could do, telling me both of them didn’t have the pulse anymore. I was left there to grieve when my wolf howled in my mind. River and Ryder were coming together with Kimberly. Maybe I still have a chance. She was a witch after all and was favored by the Moon Goddess. “Luna.” I could even hear hope in my voice. A bit of pleading could do it. I knew Kimberly would help me and wouldn’t let me down. “Luna, you might be able to do something. Help me. Please. My sister. And my mate. I can’t lose them both.” Kimberly looked at me with solemn eyes. I knew that look. Fuck it! Don’t even say it! “I—I don’t have the power to bring back the dead, Sam. I’m so sorry.” She moved towards me and held me in her arms. I could not help it. I could not believe it. With Luna’s arms around me, I started to cry like a young child. She started crying herself, too. “I f****d up. I f****d up big time.” I felt the breaking of the bond earlier and it was the most painful experience ever. It was more than physical torture. My mind and heart felt like they were being electrocuted. I was still feeling exhausted and would have wanted to bring myself to sleep, if only I could. So, when I wake up in the morning, this would all be a cruel nightmare. However, it was not a nightmare. This was real. And I thought Kimberly could make all the difference. No, she couldn’t help me at all. Is she being selfish? Why would she not help me? “Don’t say that, Sam.” The Luna cupped my face. “We will all get through this.” The f**k! I shook my head before wiping my face with the back of my hand. I wanted so much to question the young Luna. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I will get through this.” I pulled back from them and ran out of the ward, shifted to my wolf and run the to woods. It was only after a week when I went back home. Alice and Suzette were already laid to rest, with me not being able to attend the funeral. I was fortunate that Dad was very understanding of my condition. Nathan, my wolf, just wandered about the woods, not aiming at anything, not knowing where to go. We kept on going in circles, until I had to take control. Still feeling weak, I went back to our pack, and did my work for the next two weeks. Until then, I had decided to drop from pack life and be a lone wolf. I wanted to live like a human, within humans, and let myself die a little each day until I lose myself. I wouldn’t be of any use in any way to the pack. I was weak and vulnerable. I wouldn’t be able to face everyone, especially River and Ryder, and even Kimberly. Kimberly, the Witch Luna, who let me down. Packing my things, I let the twins know of my decision that I could no longer serve them, not actually telling them that I was still feeling hurt that Kimberly did not help me, even when knowing it was her stepsister to whom I was mated to. What was even crazier was that I should have met Alice twice already. I should have known earlier that she was my mate! She was present at River and Ryder’s eighteenth birthday party. I knew I saw her there, but how come I wasn’t able to smell her as my mate? She was also there when River and Ryder celebrated their twenty-second birthday! What was I doing during the party? Why didn’t I see her then? Oh, right! I was busy flirting with another girl outside the ballroom and had decided to finish it off inside my room. Was this my karma then? Taking courage, I set up a meeting with the Alpha King and Queen Luna, with also my Dad in it. I had actually told Dad about my decision, but he was totally against it. He was telling me I could step back for a while but never go permanently. I haven’t heard from the twins yet, who were probably on a honeymoon with Kimberly. Well, wherever they are, I don’t care anymore. In the meeting with the King and Queen, they were trying to persuade me to stay, saying that the twins would need my help, that I had been of great support to the werewolf kingdom. When I asked for their help, did they help me? Eventually, I got their permission to live as a lone wolf, but did not take the role of Beta away from me. For the meantime, my Dad would act as River and Ryder’s Beta. I still had the privilege of being a high-ranking wolf and could use this to benefit me wherever I wanted to go. When I decided to go back, I could still get back to the same position I was in. So, after one month of my fated mate’s death, I would take off and live a lone wolf, going from one to another. But before I could even go, my Dad muttered his prayers to the Moon Goddess. Dad and I were all left of our small family. My mom died many years ago. I would miss my Dad, but I could no longer live the same life I had been accustomed to. “May you protect him and keep him safe from harm. And with your grace, may you present him with his second chance mate.” Psh… second chance mate. Dad must be joking. The Moon Goddess will never give me a second chance mate.