Mate

Valine gulped and inwardly shifted her foot a little closer as the sudden heat crept into her core at the voice that was low and somewhat rough in her ears. Strides can be heard from a distance until a young fellow in a tuxedo emerged from the shadows and strolls onto the stage. The dark brown hair and gray eyes of the man made her frown. She could feel the strong aura of power from the man, but this was not the Alpha King. This man most likely could be Gamma or Delta, but the stink of force he had was practically near typical alphas. The once boisterous and uproarious group fell into quietness and headed out in different directions as the man materialized. He was emotionless and his eyes zeroed in on her. The man stood beside the stairs constructed in front of the platform, stretching out his hand. She hesitantly put her hand on him and ambled down the steps with her brows knitted in confusion. In all her moves toward the rungs, the slit of the dress slides off, exposing her long legs into view of the Alphas. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Alpha Lucian Stone clenching his jaw. She ignored him. When she arrived on the floor, the man guided her away from the area. The bouncers clear a path for them. He discreetly followed the man across the numerous hallways until they halted at a metal door that the man effortlessly opened, making a squeaking sound. The cold gust of wind hit her face and bare skin. She glanced around at the dark forest past the casting light of the lampposts around the tavern. The man proceeded to walk and she silently followed him. However, at each step, she felt her heart beating fast for an unknown reason. Not long after, the smell of freshly cut sandalwood and pine leaves hit her. It was clouding every single of her senses as she continued to step forward. What was that? The smell got increasingly strong as she dawdled, treading on the heels of the man. She was caught up in peering down, analyzing the scent that she didn't realize the man in front of her halted. Fortunately, she halted abruptly in time before she hit her face on the back of the unknown man. But the moment she stood straight and looked in front of her, her world stopped and crumbled into pieces and followed by her wolf whispering to her the words she never thought she would hear tonight or never. She has people in her past that make sure to sink into her mind that she will never be blessed by a mate. Mate! Mate! Mate! Valine ignored her wolf—Amaris, who was happily wagging its tail in fervor. Her wolf was urging her to move her feet and be with the man destined to be with her. In spite of her feeling of dread about overthinking right now, a piece of her heart was loaded up with hope. If she was a mate of the Alpha King, she could finally escape Mistress Rose and be free. A tall man that she was sure would be hovering over her 5'6 figure was standing a few meters away from her. Dark hair that looked to be brushed numerous times. Blue eyes gleamed in the moonlight. The tie on his tuxedo was undone and hanging loose around his neck. The mere sight of the man was enough to cause heat to travel on her body. He was gorgeous. Mass of muscles strained on his black tuxedo. Under the moonlight, the man looked to be sculpted by the moon goddess herself. The wind blows along with the man's scent. It was intoxicating and addicting. Her inner wolf purred and was crying at her head, encouraging her to leap at the man and make him mark her. She could feel her heart hustling against her chest, ringing in her ears that she was afraid these men could hear her. She nibbled her lower lip so hard to feel the pain, to have an assurance this was not a dream. No. This was real. As if her situation was not worse already, the man stared at her more like at her body, making her mind in a frenzy. She could feel his intense gaze burning at her flesh and sending sparks into every part of her body. He was just standing there, without doing anything, but his mere presence was enough to bring wetness between her thighs. Her mind starts playing with images of him between her legs caressing her and making her moan, whimpering under him. But all of a sudden, she felt alarmed. Her gut was telling her something terrible. Her heart unexpectedly races in dread, lips dry, hands clammy. This gathering should be blissful. Briefly, she had a dream of reciting the word mate with him, yet it was gone before she could accept one more breath as she got a quick look at the loathing, rage, and hate in his blue eyes. Unlike the other stories she heard when she was a child when the mates find each other, their eyes would shine with such a lot of bliss. However, what she saw was not one of those heartwarming words or really near that. She could feel the aggravation filling in her from the idea. The idea itself was enough to hurt her. She swallowed hard, pushing back the tears that wanted to form, blinking. Maybe she was wrong? Maybe it was not hate that she saw in his eyes? There was nothing wrong in confirming it, right? she thought, trying to keep the hope in her heart alive. With her trembling legs, she ventured forward, while holding her mate's enchanting gaze against her befuddled one. "Mate—" Before she could complete her sentence, in a matter of seconds, the back of her mate's hand came flying across her face. The smack resounded throughout the dark, eerily quiet forest. The impact of the smack sent her flying to the forest ground, knocking the air out of her. She bit her lip until she could taste a metallic substance to stop herself from screaming from so much pain that it erupted a second after she hit the ground. The sane part of her mind started to ask, even if she screams, will someone help her? She strongly doubted someone would help her for the issues between mates were not to be easily intervened about by many people, especially if it involved the Alpha King. She highly doubts the contract of Madam Petunia will save her either, as she is his mate. With a groan, she painfully sat up, bringing her hand to cup her stinging cheeks. Tears pooled in her eyes as touching it made her flinch. She put her left hand to the ground and pushed herself up, meeting the ice-cold stare of her mate. She glared at him as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Seeing the man that escorted her here just casually standing there with his deadpan face made her shake in such a lot of outrage, yet more coordinated at herself as she realized that between her and his alpha, it was clear who that man would pick however it didn't prevent her poor self from wishing that he would help her. "You are not my mate" he spits the word 'mate' like venom, destroying the hope she had. His tone was cold and indifferent as if he did not just smack her. She could not make sense of what he was thinking from how impassive his expression was. In her painful state, she still finds his voice alluring. The thought disgusted her. "I have no mate as weak as you," he proceeded.