His Mate's Wound

His Mate's Wound
Myra's chest burned as she struggled to push the furious wolf off her. But Christine was far bigger than her slender frame.
Christine's gaze shone with victory. But she didn't get to enjoy that feeling for long. She heard a howl and the doors almost flew off their hinges, sending waves of dust into the already-suffocating air.
The majestic black wolf came in and the whole room shook with the aura of his fury.
Christine jumped off the princess immediately, her eyes widening, her ears flattening against her skull as fear slipped in. "A-Alpha," her wolf whimpered, head bowed low as she stepped away instinctively.
His aura oozed danger. The Alpha wolf snarled and took a step forward. Its anger rolled off him, thick and hot enough to burn the room.
Christine's head bowed so low it touched the ground. "A-Alpha...." She trembled before him.
But it ignored her, its gaze traveling across the room. It fell on Myra who clutched her bleeding shoulder. Right then, everything else faded.
Seconds stretched into minutes as mate met mate—fury locking with pain.
Myra gazed at him through blurry eyes, still holding onto her wounded shoulder. Her dress was torn and stained with blood, her face smeared with tears and dirt.
Seeing his mate in such disheveled state ignited an inferno within the wolf that couldn't be quenched.
Christine trembled, feeling the air tighten to something unbearable. "A-Alpha," she squeaked out.
The wolf's eyes lingered on Myra for a second longer before snapping back to Christine. With a thunderous roar, it crossed the room in three strides and attacked her.
It knocked her to a wall at the end of the room and jumped on her.
Christine's wolf whimpered in shock as she struggled to escape its furious grip. "A-Alpha... A-Alpha...."
But the wolf was much more stronger, pinning her with one paw while the other sank claws into her fur.
"Ah!" She yelped, twisting in pain.
"Nate. You. Hurt." It growled out in a broken but raw voice. It flung her to the floor.
Christine shifted back to human, scooting away from the black wolf advancing towards her. "Arthur it's me! It's Christine!"
But this wasn't Arthur, the Alpha of cold, calculating control. This was his wolf, his beast, his raw primal nature seeking revenge.
"Arthur she's the one you should attack! She hurt me. She's the witch."
Those words snapped the last thread of sanity in the wolf. It's roar shot through the roof and echoed throughout the palace.
Before Christine could utter another word, the wolf charged at her.
"NO!" She shrieked, raising her arms to shield herself.
Its jaw clamped over her leg—eliciting a scream from her— and threw her over to a corner.
The wolf sizzled with energy driven from his rage. She had hurt his mate, left her on the floor stained with her own blood.
And the years in her eyes drive a nail right through its heart. "Mate. Hurt." It's grumbled its anger through disjointed words, seeing only red as it vaulted towards Christine.
She narrowly dodged its claws. "Arthur it's me, remember? I'm your woman. Your mistress." She said desperately because her confidence had shattered like broken glass.
But the wolf's eyes didn't flicker with recognition. It didn't recognise any loyalty, history or possession she thought she had.
It knew only one truth: its mate was hurt. And the one responsible for that was before him.
When Christine realized her words weren't softening the wolf, she turned and shot Myra a withering glare.
"It's all your fault witch!" She spat, her fear mixing with venom. "You—"
A furious howl cut her off. The wolf was only getting madder.
"Kill," once the word slipped out, the air turned heavy with the murderous aura that seeped out of the wolf.
Christine's eyes grew wide and round. "Arthur you can't do this. Don't do this. She—She provoked me. I'm sorry."
Her plea fell on deaf ears.
And when it really dawned on her that the wolf would kill her, a high-pitched scream escaped her lips.
The wolf's eyes narrowed. But before it could really kill her, sounds of footsteps thundered down the corridor.
And the door flew open the next second.
Lucien barged in first, sweating and looking like he'd just seen a ghost. Behind him was Vincent whose mouth tightened as he took in the sight before him.
Tagging along were some council members whose jaws dropped. Shock couldn't even cover half of what they were feeling at the moment.
"Beta Lucien!" Christine screamed with relief. She started to stand up but one growl from the wolf sent her back to her knees.
Lucien stepped forward cautiously, quickly assessing the situation. "Alpha!" He called out.
But this wasn't the Alpha. This was the wolf.
"Alpha control yourself. Step away from Christine."
The wolf didn't even move an inch. It stayed right where it was, baring his fangs to everyone.
Lucien realized the wolf was beyond reasoning. Its gaze was deadly as it stared at him, saliva dripping from its fangs.
"Alpha can you hear me?"
Not even a flicker of response.
Lucien was totally lost. He looked like a captain in a sinking boat. "Alpha, I need you to step away from Christine, and shift back to your human form."
"Mate. She. Hurt." It replied, startling everyone.
Lucien's brows furrowed. "Mate?" What the hell was it talking about? What mate? The Alpha hadn't found his mate yet.
Unless......
"It's her! That witch cast a spell on him!" Christine pointed a trembling finger at Myra.
That was when Lucien noticed the princess sitting in a corner, smeared with blood and dirt. She cradled a bleeding shoulder, looking frightened as all eyes turned to her.
And it was also then Lucien's gaze caught a dark mark sitting above her collarbone. His body stiffened and his gaze returned to the wolf.
Slowly, his face hardened with realisation. "What is that?" He asked the wolf.
But the wolf remained unfazed, giving him a cold, unblinking stare.
"She's not his mate. She's a Witch!" Christine cried out.
The wolf snapped his gaze to her and grumbled, "Mate." It walked towards her.
Christine was terrified. She looked to Lucien for help.
His jaw ticked. He turned to Myra and bellowed, "What the hell did you do to him?"
She flinched but remained silent.
Lucien lost his cool. "I'm talking to you woman! Answer me before I come over there and rip the words out of you myself. What did you do to our Alpha?"
Her response was a small whimper as she curled into a ball.
That sounds changed everything. The wolf turned to look at her, the golden fury in its eyes dimming to softness.
It forgot Christine and everyone else, and carefully padded towards her, as if afraid its very presence might scare her further.
Lucien moved forward immediately, getting in its way. "Alpha, hold on a minute. What are you—"
The wolf snarled, enraged he was in its way. It swiped its claws at Lucien who jumped back in time.
"Fuck he's gone mad!" Lucien hissed, shooting a glare at the princess, wondering what she had done to reduce the Alpha to this senseless beast.
"What did you do?"
Myra didn't talk. She couldn't. Not when the wolves were practically shooting daggers through their glares. They thought she'd poisoned the Alpha or cast a spell as Christine had said.
The wolf returned its gaze to her, its anger momentarily forgotten.
It strode over to her with a gentle aura that didn't match the blazing fury it had minutes ago.
"Stay away," Myra whispered, shifting away.
The wolf whined softly as if her words were a dagger. But it didn't pause its stride.
It walked to her, holding her gaze. Its eyes carried warmth that was unusual for its vicious nature.
Myra didn't want it to come closer. She wanted to run away. She wanted to shout or curse, but her body was frozen as the wolf came closer.
Her fear shone in her early gaze but the mate bond burned hotter. The wolf could hear every tremor in her heartbeat, sense every doubt and uneasiness she felt.
When it was close enough, it held her gaze for some seconds then gently bent its hear and muzzled her neck, right on the mark it had left on her.
Myra held her breath and stayed still. Tears filled her eyes and she didn't know if it was from pain or the wolf's presence.
It pressed its muzzle on her neck, breathing in her scent.
"Leave me alone," she murmured, closing her eyes. She didn't want this. She didn't want anything to do with him.
The wolf whined again and went on to lick her wounds, apparently trying to soothe her.
"Sorry." Its voice was muffled against her skin.
Everyone was rendered speechless at the sight before them.
The mighty black wolf that ruled Silvercrest was looking docile, burying its face in her neck.
The atmosphere was quiet enough for one to hear a bird's heartbeat. No one, not even Christine or Lucien, dared to ruin this moment.
The council members exchanged horrified glances.
The truth settled slowly: the princess, the slave, the enemy.... was the Alpha's mate.