Chapter 4 Chapter 4
Ethan’s POV
“Enough already! Can we please stop discussing the potential of a selected Mate!”
More than once I had to endure listening to this pack whine at me repeatedly at every damn meeting with the Elders.
I've told them over and over again that I won't select a 'compatible Luna' from the potential mates they keep throwing at me.
Everyone warned me not to do it, but I was determined to stay single till my true mate showed up. I did not care what “status” or “rank” this whoever-was-her mate was.
I slammed the door shut on my way out
and my Beta, Max, opened the car door for me, his eyes warm as he looked at me and tried to reassure me.
"Ethan, calm down. You don’t need to be so angry at those old relics, we still have to get the party going at the Shadowmoon Pack, now we’re behind schedule, “he added, “We’re already running late.”
"I don’t know why you’re all whiny. It’s not like I turned the table over or anything, Max.
At least I showed up to the damn meeting."
The car moved steadily toward its destination at the Shadowmoo Pack, and thanks to the exhausting day I had suffered, I drifted off to sleep in the back seat.
Without warning, my wolf let out a feral, wild, roar and the amount of power that radiated through my body was so intense that it frightened our driver and the car lurched violently to the side, scraping the curb before he was able to bring the car back under control. Max glanced at me in terror from the passenger seat.
I was about to question Jax what the hell is happening when the image of a beautiful person materialized suddenly in my mind.
Her long hair flowed like a waterfall down her back, the elegant dress that she wore hugged her figure perfectly and the purple orbs that she possessed seemed to beckon me forward with their mysteries, temptations and allure.
My heart was pounding so fast I thought it was going to pop out of my chest.
Who was this woman?
"Ethan! It’s our mate!"
“Mate?” I asked, suddenly on edge because of what the glimmer of that word meant.
I looked out of the car window as we entered the Shadowmoon Pack’s Territory and I knew right then and there that my mate was here somewhere.
We came to a stop at the guardhouse, and I let them know who I was, and they waved us through without incident. I asked Max to see where Alpha Marcus was before we drove through.
It wasn’t long before Alpha Marcus met us. He was accompanied by a petite woman who bore no resemblance to Luna from the way she was dressed and the two of them clearly froze when they looked at me.
"Ethan Stormridge! Well, I must say, it's a pleasure to have you here! I'm terribly sorry though, something awful happened at the banquet and we had to finish early." Marcus greeted me, bowing respectfully as he did so.
"You should call me Alpha, Marcus," I reminded him as I glanced at the girl behind him. She had obviously been startled by my tone as she ducked behind Marcus as if wanting to hide from me.
I cocked my head curiously...there was a strange scent coming from that girl and I couldn't put my finger on what it was.
"My apologies, Alpha Ethan." Marcus said hastily as he bowed again and turned to try and reassure the petite girl behind him.
"My mate is somewhere in this pack," I announced, "Find her and bring her to me."
"This... Alpha Ethan, I'm sorry, that's not possible..." Marcus grimaced.
"You have five minutes and I want to see every one of your pack's females," I growled.
All I wanted to do was find my mate and something told me that she wasn't in a good place right now. I needed to see her so that I could make sure that she was safe.
"Very well,Alpha Ethan," Marcus consented reluctantly as he instructed his Beta to gather everyone as quickly as possible.
I witnessed as a pack of she-wolves materialized before me and strolled past me one by one, exposing their necks and bowing in submission as they saluted me.
I closed my eyes and breathed in each and every one of their odors that intermittently encircled in their own circles, but not one of them smelled right.
No, my mate was not here. Where is she?
I opened the car door and at once went to Marcus where he was standing, my eyes turning golden with the fury of my wolf, as I wrap my hands around his neck and I lift him off the floor.
"I told you to bring all of your females out to me." I snarled furiously.
The gathered females cowered in terror, and the frailer ones dropped to the ground, shaking in fear as what I can only describe as my Alpha aura overtook them.
There was only one female standing shaking violently. “Your Highness, we are all the pack’s females.We’re all here..” she says fearfully.
“Alpha Ethan, please, let go of me,” Marcus protested as he tried to break free.
I curled my lip and secured my grip on his neck, slamming him into the wall. “How the fuck are you going to stop me with your pathetic strength, Marcus?”
Ethan! Please!”
“I’ve told you to call me Alpha, Marcus! Don’t make me repeat myself!” I roared, pitching him to the ground.
"Luna..Our Luna! She's locked away in the dungeon!" One of the maids suddenly spoke up from where she cowered on the floor.
I had to find my mate quickly and as far as Marcus wasting my time went, I would see to that later.
"She's my Luna! What the fuck are you going to do about it?!" Marcus roared behind me.
I straightened up my suit and glanced at him and the woman who clung to him like a leech and had been terrified from the first moment she had seen me.
"Your Luna? You put YOUR LUNA in the dungeon?"
I shared a look with Max before I left the area and smirked to myself as Marcus's angry voice followed me out.
"What are you doing?! Stop him!"
Even with the pathetic intervention of the guards as they tried in vain to stop the Alpha of the Embermoon Pack, I had no issue fighting them off.
I sneered as I vanished from their view and made my way to the dungeons. As I went deeper and deeper, the pain I felt in my mate's soul grew stronger.
What had exactly been done to my mate to
make her feel this way? I had no idea what could have done that, so all I could do was hurry as I searched each cell for her.
The dungeon was damp and dark but at length through the barred windows I beheld the woman which had so suddenly risen in my mind.
The bright moonlight poured in through the
window and bathed her in an angelic glow. Her stylish clothes had already been dirtied by the cell’s grime, but they still molded to her figure beautifully.
Our eyes roved over the cascade of chestnut hair before coming to rest on her delicate tear-streaked face.
Our eyes met and my heart pounded as her mere sight took away my breath for how could I breathe normally in front of such an angelic woman.
I have at last found you my mate.