Alpha Aiden's POV.
'We've got trespassers,' my Beta, Nick, informed me through our mind link, disturbing me from doing my thing.
I growled as I pushed the female who was grinding above me while kissing me hungrily.
My wolf was so thirsty for sex these days...
This girl on top of me was just one of many that I'd had today. Just as a playtime. A way to ease my raging libido which was too eager to be pleased.
The girl looked at me with a shocked face. Probably puzzled that I pushed her. We'd already fucked a couple of times and I couldn't feel any exhaustion.
I wanted more.
No, it was not the girl I that I wanted but... just sex.
Still, Nick's news couldn't be ignored. I was the Alpha of the strongest pack in this region. It was against my rules to prioritize pleasure over my responsibilities. And whoever trespassed my territory was brave enough to do so. No one dared to set foot on my land unannounced or without my consent—unless they wished to be dead.
Lately, Rogues were having death wishes. They wouldn’t stop coming.
I growled once again when I noticed the girl was still atop me. Her face got pale when I stared at her and she got off my lap.
I sat down and reached out to Nick.
'Rogues?' my inward growls were heard. My wolf was angry. My heat session was interrupted and my wolf's thirst was not sated.
'Yes. What do you like me to do to them?'
I grabbed my clothes and headed out of my room. 'Bring them to the prison. I will kill them.'
***
Getting in my car, I could still feel the libido of my wolf, which made my mood worse than it already was.
And the thought that I would lose some steam by killing some interrupting dogs? Huh. My wolf was pleased and so was I.
I drove to the pack building where the prison was located underground.
'Don't you think killing them is a little harsh, Aiden?' My Beta, being the balancer that he was, made me annoyed by his question.
Beta was supposed to balance the Alpha's decision. They always needed to say what was against the Alpha's resolve to balance the outcome.
Still, it was the Alpha's settlement. Betas are just to balance but not to rule.
And I was the rule.
'I'm your Alpha and I'll do what I want.' My wolf even growled at Nick in our mind link. The way my wolf growled would bend any member's knees.
'Yes, Alpha.'
I parked on my spot in the building and headed inside. I smelled Nick's scent underground. He must have arrived.
I headed to the prison. Two Rogue male wolves were lying on the floor of the cell. Both of them were conscious but too weak to move.
"Alpha," the guards greeted me but I gave no attention to them. My wolf and I were just furious and were too focused on killing the two Rogues.
I went inside the cell and my figure hovered over them. "You weak bastards!" I spat at them. "How dare you enter my territory!?" I growled at them. I felt my guards take a step away from me. Probably scared of me.
They should, as right now was my worst mood.
"Just k-kill us," one of the Rogues said.
I gritted my teeth. My wolf was ready to do so.
'They wished to be dead,' said Nick, trying to reach out in the back of my mind, hoping I would recalculate my decisions.
Too bad. I wouldn't.
I growled again. These idiot Rogues! Every fucking time, they all had the same reason for trespassing my territory. Why did they run to my pack whenever they want to end their miserable pointless lives?
I snarled at them. My canines wanted to come out.
One of the Rogues closed his eyes. Preparing himself for my attack. The other one was just shaking and holding on to dear life. If they were gonna act like this after asking me to kill them, then they were just weak assholes.
And I existed to eliminate the weak.
Just when my claws were out, I slashed through their throats making their heads almost fell off. Their blood splashed on the ground and some in my pants. Two guards came in to dispose of the bodies.
My wolf was cheering with pleasure. I could feel him.
"Ugh," Nick said in disgust. I snapped at him and he stood straight, clearing his throat.
I walked out of the cell. Now my wolf had taken its revenge for disturbing our heat.
"You seem grumpy these days, Alpha Aiden," Nick, who was walking behind me said. Almost mocking me.
Nick never called me Alpha unless we were somewhere formal or in the presence of other packs. And now, him calling me Alpha just meant he was mocking me.
I let out a heavy sigh, letting his mockery slide. "My wolf is not in his usual these days."
I reached my office in the packed building, Nick still with me.
"The sexual extra activeness?"
I sat on my chair, giving my temples a massage. "I'm abnormally thirsty. It's my wolf. I can't control it that well when it comes to sex."
Nick paused for thought. "Maybe you're near to meeting your mate?" he concluded.
I growled more. It never occurred to me that having a mate was helpful for the pack. For me, it was just self-gratitude that Alpha could have an heir. Though I couldn't see the aid of having a Luna in my pack.
"The annual mapping ball is in two days. Maybe you'll meet your mate then." Nick concluded.
I growled at him. "You're not helping. Get out."
Nick did walk away without any more words.
Commonly, the wolf could feel the upcoming arrival of its mate, but I hadn't thought of that before Nick shoved it to my face.
And if Nick was right, then I wouldn't participate in the party this year. I was not interested in having a mate.
Yet.
***
Ashira's POV.
The day all She-Wolves had been waiting for would be tomorrow.
Since the Prime pack was six hours away from our pack, I needed to get off today to head there.
We were six in total, me and the five other girls from our pack who had their mates in the Prime pack as per the mapping.
We'd depart at noon, riding in a van. The rest of the She-Wolves would do the same but at different times. Some already left days ago since the pack they needed to settle in would take a day or more. Some She-Wolves from another pack also came to our days before and until now. They'd already settled themselves here with the pack accommodating their stay.
We'd arrive at Prime Pack a day early but that was alright since we'd need to be familiar with the place first.
Once done packing, I went to Ophelia who was in the kitchen and sat down in a chair, facing her. I watched her cook, though I was not sure what she was making.
"Regretting that you never attend my cooking lessons?" She grinned at me.
She always invited me to join her in cooking but it was not my style. I would rather learn everything about the pack system, but I never did like burning the kitchen.
Partly, I had no gifts for cooking.
I snorted and Ophelia laughed hard.
These past few days, after the mapping, I never went out of the house. I took Eric's advice seriously. Not blending in with the crowd. A grieving wolf for its dead mate was the last thing I'd like to come across.
"Did you pack the dress I bought you?" she asked.
I rolled my eyes. I was not really into a dress. If it was not a tradition for the Mapping to wear that white dress, I wouldn't have. "I did."
"Be sure to wear them at the ball, Ashi. It's a pack tradition. I'm already scared you'll wear jeans tomorrow when I'm not in sight." Her voice sounded joking but I know she was sad somehow. I was too. When she spoke the last words, they were like daggers in my chest.
"It dawned on me that this may be the last day I'll be here," I said, changing the topic as I watched her cook. Giving her a small smile. I could feel my eyes burning. It saddened me that I did not gave them goodbye talks. I was so close to tears now.
If ever I found my mate tomorrow at the ball, then there was no coming back here.
She mirrored my smile which made me feel dejected more. "I'll miss you, too," she said, responding to the meaning of my words exactly. Her voice almost cracked, I knew she was about to burst into tears but she was holding it in. I was too.
I cleared my throat as I felt a slump stuck in it. I was on the edge of crying. "I.. uh, thank you so much for taking me in. I..." I cleared my throat once again. Saying these things was so hard. "I felt how you treat me like a family."
"Aw. You are family. We loved you and will always will. Don't forget that, chicken." She tapped my nose with her finger and I chuckled.
She loved calling me chicken since I always backed out from a fight when I first came here and they first had me. Ophelia helped me, though. Her teasing made me want to be strong.
I had no chance to say goodbye to Eric since he was off with the Alpha doing pack works. Cruz, on the other hand, purposely left the house to avoid seeing me leave. Ophelia told me, "He loves you so much it hurts him."
I decided to leave a note. One for each of them. We could communicate through phone, though I was being more sentimental and still wrote to them the old way.
Eric told the Alpha about my case. Alpha David immediately agreed to Ophelia's plan that I should find my mate first.
Upon little research and I found that a Stealer was rare to exist. Sometimes it was decades before you spotted one. And some wolves kept looking for someone like that. Some who'd lost their mates that wanted themselves to feel complete again kept searching for a stealer.
There were also Alphas who'd lost their mates, who desired my kind. It was understandable since an Alpha cannot continue its legacy once the bloodline was cut. The position would be handed over to the strongest in the pack which often was the Beta.
For me, it didn't matter who I'd be with. I could start making my own family with whoever I chose, and also I was not interested in having a family of my own.
But a part of me was feeling the guilt and pain when that some had found their true mates, and I'd be left behind.
A war between wolves fighting to have me was also far from my objectives. I might end up dead from it.
And accepting a mateless wolf was also fine, but thinking that I was a rebound mad made feel meh. Nope. Not interested.
So technically, I was just giving my wolf the chance to find its own. A way to be in much less trouble.
On my way to where the van was parked, I waited for the rest of the passengers. A mini suitcase in my hand, and the other hand was what I used to slide the door open.
I saw the five other girls who would be with me on my journey to the Prime pack. Three of them gave me the 'look' that I'd been getting ever since I set foot in this pack.
For some, I would never belong. I came from nowhere. I may have the blood of a traitor for all they knew.
Only one girl from the group smiled at me. The seat beside her was vacant and I decided to sit next to her.
"Hi!" she beamingly greeted me. I smiled back and say hi.
"My name's Ava. What's yours?"
"Ashira," I said, settling in as I sat.
The van started moving while Ava and I talked. All I hear from her was how excited she was in meeting her mate. Mostly what I had been hearing from Lucy.
For the rest of the drive, I was sleeping.
It was dark when we reached the pack. I was woken up by a loud gasp of amusement from the girls with me.
The van dropped us in a clearing in front of what I think was the pack building. A guy was standing there, waiting for our arrival. He was tall and lean with a huge smile on his face. Almost welcoming.
Some would think that he was just being nice and warm to us as their guests but since I knew how the pack worked, I know he was being cautious with outsiders to their pack. Which was us.
"Welcome, ladies!" His voice was even cheerful. "I'm Anton, the one in charge of your group. If you'll follow me, please?"
He turned his back on us and took a step before facing us again. Caught us off guard.
We all looked confused, questioning his behavior.
"Just checking if one of you is mine." He smiled sheepishly. He was a joker.
The girls from my pack laughed at his remorse. He did, too before leading us the way again.
We walked away from their pack building and led us to another building, not too far from where we were dropped off.
"This is the guesthouse. Prime pack prepared a room for each of you, ladies."
Ava, the girl with us, put her hands up.
"Yes?" said Anton, smiling at her.
"I'm just curious. How do you know how many ladies you'll have as a guest?"
I shrugged off her question. That made sense; since I never took an interest in this mate topic, I had no clue about it.
"Oh. Pack reaches out to each other for that. We'll inform you how many of ours will come to yours after the mapping, and they do the same. Every pack does," he humbly explained and continued once no one has any follow-up questions.
We reached the lobby of the guesthouse. Our pack had a guesthouse as well for events like this or if other Alphas needed a meeting visit. But Prime Pack's guesthouse was way bigger, triple the size of ours.
"Everyone is to fill out these forms." He handed a piece of paper to us. "We'll pass that information you'll provide to the pack office once you've met your mate. For official purposes only."
"And if we won't meet our mate at the ball?" It was Ava again.
Her questions were informative to me. I knew less about mates than I should, but I didn't think I had the guts to ask like that. I was quite thankful for her curiosity, feeding mine as well.
"That's rare to happen here at Prime Pack but IF, we'll send you home the same way you arrive."
"Does that mean we won't meet our mates forever?" I was surprised I asked. I was bothered by what he said, considering that in my case, it was almost a mission to find my mate.
And his answer just disturbed what I was aiming for.
"It depends. If you ladies missed your chance this year, you'll participate in the mapping again next year and repeat the process."
"What part of that applies the 'depends' part?"
"Well, if the mapping shows your mate had died, it's entirely different then, wouldn't it?" Anton smirked. Now I had the feeling that those warm smiles were for a show.
He had a point. A year-wait was long. Anything could happen within a year and if we missed this chance, then it would be like risking our fate.
We finished filling out the forms and hand them over to our guide. He gave each of us a card with the number of rooms were assigned to. Mine was 512, which was the top floor of the building. As I said, the guesthouse was extravagantly huge.
"You can roam around the pack tonight and tomorrow before the ball. There were shops within the pack temporarily available only for the event. No one is to leave the pack land or even set foot outside our territory. That's an ultimate rule so it's best to remember it. Once you're with a mate, that rule will not apply. Good luck, ladies!" He waved us goodbye and left.
Since I didn't belong to our group, I decided to find my room alone. The rest of them were still talking, complimenting everything their eyes saw.
After settling in my room, I took a bath. The warm water calmed my nerves and I already felt sleepy. I slipped on my tank top and shorts and lay down on the bed, tucking myself on the blankets. I was ready to be drowned in my deep sleep when I felt someone looking at me.
I opened my eyes and looked around. Steadying my eyes on the window.
No one was there.
What should I expect? I was five floors above the ground. No one could sneak a peek at this high.
But my wolf was calling to me. She was asking me to look outside the window. I tried shutting her down. I badly needed sleep from the exhaustion of the ride but my wolf was resisting. And it was persistent. She wanted me to open the window and let it stay open.
I was growling as I stood and walked towards the window. I clicked open the locks and pulled up the window. I saw no one outside. Practically, nothing.
My window was facing the forest and it was dark out. I growled when I couldn’t hear my wolf now. A minute and she wanted me to open the damned window and when I did, she hung up on me? I closed it again, not liking the idea that some mateless wolf would come barging in on my sleep. I sighed in relief when my wolf didn't argue when I closed it.
As I went to bed, a loud howl was heard all over the pack.
I was stunned. The howl seemed frustrated, irritated, and longing. The thought of some mateless wolf, finding my scent, made me pale. I forgot that pack guesthouses were soundproof and in our case, smell-proof.
It was made that way to prevent our mates from smelling us and breaking the purpose of the pack tradition. Also, if another Alpha came for a meeting visit, overall privacy should apply to them.
Someone must have caught my scent as I open the window. Probably lost me when I closed it again.
Was it my mate? Was it a mateless wolf? I cringed at the last part.
'What have you done?' I angrily said to my wolf.
'Just a tease, that's all,' my wolf playfully said. I growled at her and shut her up. She did not seem aware of the danger her abnormality could cause!
That loud howl from a wolf was scary. It made my knees weak like jelly. Whoever it was, I needed to be careful before the ball.