The Alpha And His Mysterious Mate

Fight

Zane POV

“Mate,” Jax howled in my head as the potion Sage was taking wore off just enough for my wolf to finally sense the bond.

When she left with that club scum to meet Ezra, it took every ounce of my strength to prevent my wolf from completely taking over. I realized joining her would only bring about more chaos.

After waiting for a while, I headed to the nightclub but spotted a trail of blood on my way, leading to the vampire who had taken her. Jax was going wild, clawing at the surface as I lifted the low life from the ground and pushed him against a brick building.

“Where is Sage?” I growled.

“b***h attacked me and ran off; she knew Ezra was pissed with her, and now that she ran, she signed her death warrant.” The vampire laughed as I threw him back to the ground and tried to track her scent.

“You should have left with her,” Jax snapped in my head as I caught her faint scent and then saw the small vial she used to mask her scent on the ground and picked it up.

It was still unclear to me why she hid her true identity, but I was sure her reasons were good, and she may be in more danger now that she does not have the potion.

I mind-linked with my Beta, Alex, asking him to go over to Ezra’s club and get as much information on Sage as he could. I needed to know what trouble she was in.

Jax sensed we knew Sage from the past, and at first, I thought he was crazy since I would remember someone like her, but right before she left, I noticed a small scar on her neck, confirming Jax’s suspicions.

A small girl I considered a friend went by the name of Shadow. She lived in a village bordering my pack. Vampires attacked her village, and Shadow was the only survivor. Many in my pack called her a miracle, while others feared her.

Shadow only had one injury, a deep cut on her neck, but it healed fast, surprising many in my pack since they thought her to be human. I promised I would watch after her and keep her safe when she stayed in our pack, and she quickly became a very close friend.

One day, my father sent Shadow away with several werewolves from another pack, claiming it was not safe for Shadow to be around us, and that was the last time I saw her. I am now confident that Shadow is Sage.

She may look different, but my appearance changed little with age, so it confused me why she did not recognize me, or maybe she did and just hated me for abandoning her.

Sage is wrong; she does not have enemies. I am her friend, and so was my Beta, Alex, when we were children. I was going to find her and remind her of this, and I was going to get her away from this hellhole city.

After several hours of searching and coming up empty-handed, Alex finally mind-linked me. “Sage was spotted in the underground fighting arena,” he said.

A snarl escaped my mouth as I slammed my fist into the side of a building. I heard about that place and was told it was one of the most dangerous areas in the city. Why the hell would she run there?

“Where can I find the entrance?” I asked.

“Why are you still chasing after her, Zane?” Alex asked in reply.

“Sage is Shadow, Alex, and she is my mate,” I responded.

“Meet me at the hotel, Zane, and I will go with you. Sage was spotted with Lord Kendric at the arena. You will need all the help you can get,” Alex informed me.

Lord Kendric was the strongest and most dangerous out of all the Vampire Lords. Sage has to be out of her mind if she went to him. What happened to her all these years we were separated? She was such a happy, loving child.

Shifting into my wolf, I ran to the hotel and met my Beta and several guards we traveled with. “How did you come by the information on Sage?” I asked Alex.

“Lord Ezra, but we had to pay him,” Alex responded as we got into the car he had waiting outside of the hotel.

“Did you learn anything else?” I asked.

“Sage is a mystery to almost everyone we asked. They know she works for most of the Lords in the city and occasionally werewolves. Lord Ezra said Sage used to do a lot of work for Kendric, but he heard that she owed him an enormous debt. Lord Ezra temporarily offered her protection, but that ended when she ran from him today. She did not go to the arena with Lord Kendric willingly,” he explained as I clenched my fist, trying to control my wolf and my anger.

“I don’t understand. I was with her right before she ran and could have helped her, yet she put herself in even more danger.” I hissed.

“Does Sage know she is your mate, Zane? Ezra said she came to this city in pretty terrible shape and claims to have no childhood memories,” Alex asked.

“I don’t think she does; I messed up and kissed her after getting her to let me into her apartment. I should have held back, but I only upset her.” I explained.

Alex laughed. “From the short period Sage sat with us, Zane, it is easy to tell she is not a girl who would take kindly to a stranger kissing her. If we get her back, maybe give the poor girl some space. You can be overbearing.”

“We will get her back; I will not sit idly by knowing that creep of a Lord has my mate,” I snarled.

Alex sighed as we pulled up to the entrance of the underground fighting arena and nightclub owned by Lord Kendric. It shouldn’t be hard to enter now that I was the casino’s new owner, and everyone wanted to talk business with me.

Two doormen ushered us into a private suite with a good view of the arena once we introduced ourselves and informed us that Lord Kendric would meet with us momentarily.

I rubbed my fingers on my temples and looked at the giant cage in the arena. The two individuals fighting as the stadium cheered. The two people fighting were most likely forced to fight by their masters, all for entertainment and betting purposes.

This place disgusted me even more than Lord Ezra’s nightclub.

“I smell her. She is near, Zane,” my wolf alerted me.

That meant that her potion completely wore off, and it was my fault she did not take an extra dose before running. Her scent made it obvious she was not completely human. I never noticed it when she was a child, but I’m sure her coming of age had something to do with her scent changing.

The door to our suite opened as Kendric walked in with one of his guards. “It is a pleasure to have you at my establishment, Alpha Zane and Beta Alex. What brings you in today? Are you interested in the fights I have lined up?” He asked.

“I’m looking for a human who goes by the name Sage,” I responded, getting right to the point.

“Little Sage seems to be very popular today. What business do you have with her?” He asked.

“Sage is working a job for me and currently under my protection, and I was informed I may find her here,” I answered.

“I’m afraid Sage won’t leave until her fight is done,” he responded.

“Whatever debt she owes, I will pay,” I demanded.

“Tempting, but I will pass. If she survives this fight, you are welcome to take her off my hands for a price, but I arranged for something special to teach her a lesson, so I doubt she will be in good condition,” he laughed.

Jax was snarling inside me as I broke the chair near me.

“Know your place, wolf. You may be an Alpha and own property in this city, but you are far outnumbered in this club,” the Vampire Lord hissed.

“When is her fight?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“Sage is up next, and it will be very entertaining. I will check back in when it is over, but until then, enjoy.” He laughed as he left the suite.

“You’ve got to calm down, Zane,” Alex warned me as I looked out at the arena.

“How am I to do that when my mate is about to be forced to fight?” I snarled.

“Lord Ezra said she is a good fighter, Zane. Sage clearly grew up doing this.” Alex tried to calm me as the crowd went wild in the arena.

I looked out to see Sage being escorted out by several vampires, and she already looked like she was in rough shape.

“Let’s welcome Sage back to the arena and make her first fight back memorable. The triplets will be her opponent, and everything goes in this fight,” the announcer said as the crowd went wild again and three giant werewolves entered the cage.

“There is no f*****g way I am going to allow this,” I snapped.

“We have no choice,” Alex responded, and he was right. No matter how much I wanted to go down there and break her free, they outnumbered us.

“Is she laughing?” Alex asked as he pointed to Sage in the cage.

Despite not being interested in watching, I became strangely fixated on her, and it eventually became clear that what Alex had said was true. Despite the situation, Sage displayed no signs of fear on her face. Instead, she was laughing confidently, as if she had already emerged victorious.

From the very start of the fight, it was evident that Sage possessed an impressive level of agility, as she expertly avoided almost every strike from the triplets and even managed to counter with a few powerful hits. She was handling the fight with more skill and composure than anyone I had ever seen. Despite the pain she was clearly experiencing, Sage remained resolute and unwavering in her determination throughout the fight as the triplets managed to successfully land a few hits on her.

The fight had been going on for a total of ten minutes, and at that point, the only individuals left standing were Sage and one of the triplets. Due to their close combat, visibility was limited. Yet, Sage's unfortunate fate unfolded as a dagger struck her, and she fell to the ground.

As the crowd cheered for the werewolf in triumph, I stood up from my seat and headed down to retrieve her, regardless of the outcome. In the cage, Sage displayed incredible bravery by taking out the dagger from her wound, standing tall, and swiftly driving it into the werewolf’s neck, ultimately causing him to fall to the ground.

“Can’t say I saw that one coming,” Alex muttered as he looked at the stadium, stunned, and the Vampire Lord entered our suite.

“How disappointing. It looks like little Sage survived. I will have her brought up here so we can discuss a price,” he sneered as he looked at one of his guards, and they left for the arena.

With a resolute mindset, I tightly clenched my fist. I took a seat, fully committed to remaining composed despite the circumstances. I needed to act promptly and rescue Sage from this dreadful hellhole. I needed to earn her trust.