Chapter 1 Mated to the Enemy
"Damn it."
Calix stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror, ignoring the shards of glass scattered in the sink in front of him. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling with seething anger begging to be unleashed. He ignored the blood on his right hand, oozing slowly from his torn knuckles.
"Stupid," he muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with anger. "Everyone is stupid."
Today was the day he had been avoiding the most for the past two years. The day he had to go through the ritual of asking the Moon Goddess, begging to be shown who his mate was, the one destined for him.
"What do they know about a suitable mate for me?! Only I know what is best and what I want." Calix growled.
Since becoming an Alpha after his father's death, he had twice refused the ritual. But this time, there were no more excuses he could use. The pack elders had threatened, his reputation as a leader was at stake because the position of Luna, or queen, in the Silverpaw Pack had been vacant for too long, even since the previous Alpha, the position was vacant.
The vacancy reminded Calix of the fact that he grew up without a mother.
"Destiny. The best? Nonsense. What if she meets someone even better? Then choose to leave." He muttered, "I hate this system. I can choose my own partner, the one I love."
Old memories came rushing back to him. His mother, the woman who was supposed to be his father's lifelong partner, left him for another man shortly after giving birth to him. He remembered his father's broken face, the shame that shone in his father's eyes every time they went out.
The fated mate? There was nothing he hated more than that concept now.
Calix growled, his fist raised again as if to smash the mirror completely. However, someone suddenly knocked on the bathroom door.
"Calix," Orion's voice came from behind the door. "We must leave now, the elders will be angry. This ritual must be done before 12 p.m."
Calix snorted softly. "I know," he replied, his deep voice still filled with an angry tone.
The bathroom door finally opened slowly, and in the doorway stood Orion, his Beta and also an old friend from the academy. But this time, it wasn't just Orion who came. Next to him, Calix saw a woman with long, wavy hair standing with her arms folded, her eyes looking straight at Calix's hands. Rubina Watts, Orion's younger sister.
"Stop coming into my room without permission." Calix said, walking past the two of them.
Rubina's eyes fixed on Calix's injured hand, she immediately stepped forward with a face full of worry.
"Wait! You can't leave like that." Rubina ran up to Calix and confronted him, "I know you're strong, but this is an important ritual, why do you have to hurt yourself like this?!" She took a deep breath as she looked at the blood still flowing from his hands.
"It's nothing, Ruby," Calix replied nonchalantly, dismissing her hand when Rubina tried to grab it. "My wound healed faster, it'll be better by tomorrow morning."
"It still has to be treated, you idiot. A wound is a wound, no matter how small." Rubina said quickly, grabbing Calix's hand, "Let me take care of it. It's impossible to perform the ritual with a hand like this."
"No need." Calix tried to pull away, but Rubina remained adamant.
"I don't care if you're an Alpha or not. Blood is blood, Calix. Infection can happen at any time, especially with the ritual you're about to undergo. We can't take any chances."
Orion, who had been merely observing, stepped forward with a small grin. "You know she won't give up, Calix. If I were you, I'd do as she asks. You just need to sit back and let my sister treat you. She's loved you since we were kids, you know that."
Calix snorted in annoyance, but he knew his friend was right. Rubina was stubborn, and since they were kids, he had always looked up to Rubina as his own sister until she was now 24 years old, five years younger than him.
"Alright." Calix finally gave up, he sat on the chair and let Rubina tend to his wounds. "But hurry, I want this ritual nonsense to be over soon."
Rubina smiled a little, her eyes showing a hint of triumph. She quickly went to find the first aid kit, unable to waste any more time as the ritual was about to begin.
The moonlight highlighted Calix sitting on a rock right in the center of the ancestral cave. Around him, the elders began placing a basin of water in front of him. Everyone looked enthusiastic and impatient to find out who was destined to be their Alpha mate. Except for Calix himself. Calix still didn't understand why it was so important to find a mate as soon as possible, when he himself didn't mind ending up alone.
"Give me your hand, Alpha." Calix obediently gave his left hand, as his right hand was injured. "This ritual requires your blood, let me cut your palm a little."
"Go ahead."
Rubina, who witnessed the ritual, was the most enthusiastic one and couldn't wait to hear the result.
"Rion, my name will come out, and you will be the brother-in-law of an Alpha." She whispered to her older brother, Beta Orion.
"Of course, I've asked that old twit to carve your name into that clay basin." Orion said carefully. He had known for a long time that his little sister liked Alpha Calix as more than just her brother's friend, but as a man. "Finally Calix will be able to unleash his lust."
Suddenly, the clay basin containing the water cracked, causing the blood-soaked water inside to spill out. Those who were there were surprised and amazed at the same time because the crack happened by itself. Unlike the ritual on the previous Alpha, Calix's father.
"What's going on? Why did it break?" Calix wondered.
The elder who led the ritual also looked surprised for a moment, then tried to regain his composure and put on a smile, "That... that's a sign that the ritual was successful."
The elder turned to Orion briefly, but the man didn't understand what was happening either. The most important thing to Orion was that his sister's name was mentioned as Alpha Calix's mate, as per the agreement with the elder.
Calix vaguely saw the name scratched into the bottom of the clay basin. The name was indeed there, messily etched but still legible. Damn, it's real, he thought to himself.
"Very well, it is time to announce the name that the moon goddess has bestowed to be Alpha Calix's mate, as well as Luna to our great Silverpaw pack!" The elder exclaimed to the enthusiasm of those watching.
The elder looked into the clay basin, and instantly his eyes bulged as the name on it was different from the one he had carved earlier.
"How is this? How did this happen? I'm sure I carved Rubina's name with my own hands." The elder's mind was in turmoil. Usually he never fails to make someone into Luna, but this time it was so strange that the basin cracked on its own.
Seeing the elder just standing there like a dazed person, Calix grabbed the basin and read it himself.
"Ru..." Calix's brow furrowed, then stopped for a moment.
Rubina smiled happily, the two letters that were spoken also started her name.
Calix looked at the elder, "Who is Ruella? Ruella Xiomara?"
Ruella?
They started whispering to each other, and of course Rubina was very disappointed, as was Orion, who had paid the elder handsomely just so his sister could become Luna.
"What a scammer. Did he get paid more from anyone else?" Orion growled angrily.
One of the witnesses to the ritual process called out, an exclamation that startled everyone. It might even shake the entire pack tomorrow.
"Xiomara? Isn't that the last name of the enemy pack's Alpha? Yuto Xiomara! Perhaps..."
"Our Alpha Mate is the daughter of the culprit who triggered the war in the past?!" The others exclaimed, and the uproar began.
Calix froze in place, trying to digest what was happening.
"I even hate this kind of stupid ritual, and now I'm fated to this girl from the enemy pack? Seriously!" Calix smiled blandly.
Bruaakh!
Calix slammed the clay basin into pieces, then left in a rage.