Kael's POV
Laughter echoed around me like jarring, off-key music. Fake smiles of Alphas and their mates made my eyes sore, making me grind my teeth down to nothing. The Werewolf Pairing Gala? What a joke of a tradition! A farce I would cut out readily if it weren't for elders like my grandfather.
Alexander stood beside me, his eyes narrow with age and wisdom. "Get out and mingle, Kael," he advised. "There should be some pairing at the Pairing Gala, no?"
He rested one hand on the cane which supported his declining frame. His grey eyes turned to the pack and zeroed in swiftly on likely recruits. KNowing him well, they were more likely seeking potential mates for me.
"You're the Lycan King. With the position comes responsibility… whether you like it or not."
"Responsibility," I said, putting superfluous pressure on this word with my arms folded. "This Gala is just what I call a comedy show. I'm here to lead, to fight. I don't strut around like some prancing horse for these fawning idiots."
Alexander leaned on his cane and turned towards me. "This is not going for a stroll on a sunny Sunday."
His cane beat out a steady rhythm on the floor to make a point. "It's a necessity. The packs need to stay strong and unified, Kael. And you need a mate to ensure that. You can't be Alpha forever all by yourself."
"I've been able to steer the Lycans for years on my own," I replied with a huff. "Why do I need a mate? I can sleep with any she-wolf I want. It's ridicul—"
"You're wrong!" Alexander growled, stepping before me. "An Alpha's mate is not just a bed partner. She is someone who transforms your destiny. She sticks with you through thick and thin, Kael."
My grandfather lowered his eyes, thinking of the past. "Your father thought he could be Alpha alone, and what was the result? He's six feet under, with enemies at our gates. Don't make the same mistake."
"Father died not because he didn't have a mate," I said through my teeth. "But because he trusted the wrong people. I won't make that error… Not for the sake of tradition." I leaned forward and smiled thinly. "And not for you either."
Alexander let out a frustrated sigh and coughed twice. His hand clenched around his cane as he turned to the crowd and pointed. "Fine. You're stubborn like your father, Kael. Regardless, go and walk among them at the least. You might just bump into something interesting."
"There's nothing here for me," I muttered as I watched an Alpha laugh too loudly under the influence of wine. "Just ugly masks and drunken fools. I'd rather face a rogue pack alone than endure this torture."
Alexander grumbled for a moment like grandfathers do when something pisses them off. His hand reached out to grip my arm. "One night, Kael…that's all I ask. It's your old man's request."
I exhaled sharply as I pulled my arm free with a grunt. "Alright. One night. But don't expect me to play their games, Grandfather. I'm not here for their amusement. The moment anyone gets on my nerves, I'll rip their spines out."
***
Fenris and Delia looked deep into each other's eyes affectionately. Then, the former, slowly, took her by the hand. Together they walked into the crowd with grace and poise. The couple stopped in their tracks when they spotted an important figure. They exchanged furtive glances and traipsed in that direction.
"Kael, isn't it?" a middle-aged voice called out to me. His hand extended in a limp gesture I ignored. "Lord Fenris of the Dusk Pack… honored to meet the Lycan King."
"Save your respects," I jeered, dismissing him as I brushed past, "I'm not here for formalities."
"Sweet as ever," another voice said, a woman this time, as she raised a goblet and took a long swig. She was rather voluptuous and confident of her looks, supported by the fact that other Alphas leered at her from a distance.
"Would you care to dance with me?" she added seductively, showing off her curves in her revealing dress. "I hear you are looking for a mate."
"I'm not!" I growled softly as I turned away from her. "And I don't dance. Look for someone else to flirt with, bitch."
The woman was taken aback and tongue-tied. Embarrassed by the rejection, she retreated into her pack crowd.
I reached the end of the room. "Wasting my time," I muttered to myself, leaning against a nearby column. "Has any of this meaning at all?"
My wolf growled in boredom. "Agreed," I muttered and looked around the room.
But then, just then, something strange happened. An exotic, intoxicating scent became airborne, cutting through the smell of perfume and wine. It was a fragrance that made my heart skip a beat. My crouching wolf was suddenly brought to life, on its paws.
"What—what is that?" I inhaled as my body became rigid and every muscle tensed. My feet moved by themselves, as I moved toward the source step by step.
My wolf growled, alert and excited. 'Mate.'
The word reverberated in my brain. "Mate?" I repeated to myself, following the bewitching scent. "Impossible….Impossible."
I finally traced that sweet smell to its origin. My feet screeched to a standstill.
She was on her knees, crying, breaking down. It was only a girl with disheveled copper hair, being taunted and humiliated by the crowd.
"Wolfless filth," one muttered.
"It doesn't belong here," added another.
'She is my mate?' I growled under my breath as I stared at the girl in disbelief.
My wolf howled in response, again confirming it to be true. I clenched my fists, considering the repercussions.
The thought of being shackled to her, a weakened outcast without a wolf, filled me with an incandescent rage that I couldn't control.
'She's nothing,' I told myself. 'Everything I've worked so hard to build will be degraded by her!'
Regardless, I felt a pull I could not ignore. As I took a step closer, my eyes locked on her slight figure.
Conflicting emotions battled within me. I turned away from her, snarling to myself. 'I won't take her. She's a liability… nothing but trouble and shame."
My wolf rumbled in a fury, preventing me from walking away. I tried hard to keep my eyes off the girl, but an overpowering urge rooted me to the spot. The veins in my throat throbbed wildly, threatening to burst.
I couldn't look at her, a werewolf of such lowly pedigree, a bottom dweller. She reeked of weakness and incompetence. The girl took humiliation as if she deserved it.
She could not be my fated mate. If our lives were truly linked, then this had to be stopped before it went any further. I started to leave the gathering.
"You shameless bitch! Look, how you're humbling your father," a wolf snapped at her.
There was a struggle and her screams rang in my ears. Something snapped in me.
Fury boiled up inside me as I turned back towards the helpless girl, being dragged away by her male captor.
She shook free of him and bolted towards me. She was clearly blind as she struck my chest full-on. The girl stumbled before falling in a heap and lying motionless for some time. Silence fell over the crowd as soon as word spread that I had arrived.
I didn't think twice before going down on one knee next to her. "Get up," I urged her gently.
She hesitated. There was shock and pain written on her face. Her hands trembled as she took my support and rose from the floor. My hands steadied her as she staggered to regain balance. The crowd watched on with hanging jaws.
As I drew the girl close, her scent filled my senses and my wolf growled at me, telling me she was mine. "I… I'm... Sorry," she began weakly, hands clutching my arm nervously.
I reached out and gently touched her cheek, wiping a tear and drawing my thumb lightly over her lips. "Don't apologize," my voice came out thick and affectionate.
In a heartbeat, our eyes locked as if drawn by an invisible thread. I could feel her jittery breath against my skin, and my wolf's excitement made me bare my fangs for a moment. Madness had begun to seep into my mind.
Holding her in my arms, I felt like I was in the middle of an emotional storm. A mighty Alpha like me was frozen in place by an outcast like her.
My heart raged with a storm of feelings. Was it anger? No, it was something I didn't know what to call. Even the fiercest of battles couldn't stir me so much.
She was so small, so delicate. My wolf howled within me, urging me to take her, protect her, not let her go. The want consumed my senses.
But then, I couldn't... I wouldn't let it happen.
She had no wolf, she was weak, a social pariah... Letting my destiny be entwined with her would be a nightmare that could ruin all that I had worked for. Everything that I was striving to keep together as Lycan King would fall apart.
My reputation, my power, the empire I had established... They would be ruined.
Yet as I held her, I felt something true for the first time in my life. I could not deny it, a connection beyond sense and reason. She had penetrated my armor and reached my heart. She was my mate.