Bab 26: Mate

Malia wanted to rip her into pieces.

"Malia…" Aila spoke out loud, groaning as she fought over the reins to her own body. It was a tug of war between them, along with immense pain constricting her chest from the scene before her.

Alpha Damon and Lydia… The other day..

"Aila!" Ajax shook her shoulders but released her immediately after seeing her shake.

"Shit, I think she's gonna shift," Finn warned.

Pure rage was coursing through her; fury burned beneath her skin, making her want to rip her clothes off from her feverish state. While Finn and Ajax were wary and talking to each other on what to do, Aila and Malia were arguing.

"She needs to die!" Malia growled once again as she paced against the edges of Aila's mind.

"We can't go around murdering people because they fancy the alpha! He's not ours!"

"Yes, he is!" Malia roared, trying to push through and almost succeeding as Aila felt the skin on her spine rip slightly, some white fur sprouting out.

Aila knew she was losing control over Malia, so she did the only thing that any normal person would do. She stabbed herself in the stomach with her claws. Hunching over from the contact, she gasped from the pain. Malia yelped, and the skin on her back went back to normal as blood dripped to the floor.

"Aila!" Alpha Damon's deep voice reverberated across the hall.

Aila turned around, not meeting his eyes as his long strides went towards her. She retracted her claws before running from the scene while hearing some scuffling noises behind her; she didn't need to look to know that Ajax and Finn were most likely holding him back. A loud growl erupted through the halls, making the walls vibrate. Alpha Damon's frustrations were apparent.

"We can't hold him off for long," Finn gasped through the mind-link. This gave Aila more drive to sprint through the halls; she was thankful to her friends and hoped they wouldn't get too badly injured.

"We need to get out of here," Aila's mind was racing, her emotions conflicting as her heart pounded and clenched in pain. Malia was pacing again in the background, salivating at the thought of shifting and ripping that woman, Lydia, apart.

"No killing," Aila commanded aloud, "otherwise, no shifting!"

"Fine," Malia snapped.

"Aila," Alpha Damon growled through the mind-link, "come back and face me. Don't make me chase you!"

Aila intentionally blocked him out, a power she never knew she had. She could feel him trying to probe her mind for any weakness to enter, but she kept a strong wall up between them. By the time she made it to the patio doors, her shoes and top were flung on the ground behind her. Malia ripped through her skin, shifting and crashing through the patio doors, leaving glass shards on the floor behind them.

"Could you not have waited?" Aila snapped at her wolf.

"NO! You wanted distance. I'm about to put some in between us and that whore."

She lunged forwards and ran so quickly that her strides became long, her paws thudding across the earth as she raced past the trees. A few wolves patrolling stopped and watched her.

"Princess Aila, please-"

Aila blocked the pack mind-link, it was clear their Alpha was trying to get her to see reason, but at the moment, there was none. Shutting them out caused the nearby wolves to whimper at her disregarding them; their cries made her heart clench, which she also could not understand. Putting those thoughts to the back of her mind, she continued through the thickness of the forest.

Her sharp hearing picked up footfall from behind her, catching up with her at a wicked pace. She decided to zig-zag in and out of the trees, changing directions abruptly. Aila knew well after chasing a panther how hard it was to keep up. The footfall fell into the distance then the forest became quiet; the only sounds were from her own paws hitting the wet ground and the birds chirping in the trees.

Aila smiled triumphantly. She just wanted some time alone and where best to do that than the lake. She arrived at the clearing to the lake and sprinted to the other side, closer to the mountains. She turned around so the majestic beauty of them was behind her.

Trotting forwards, she climbed a vast rock that emerged from the ground and out over some of the water. Sitting down, she peeped at Malia to see how she was and felt the anger radiating off of her-

"Pissed off, Aila! I'm pissed off!" Her wolf interrupted her thoughts.

But although she was angry, she knew that Malia would let Aila take the reins back. Her wolf relented and merged to the back of her mind; she felt a little better after letting off some steam from running. Aila sighed and shifted back into human form. She sat back down and brought her legs to her chest while watching the breeze whirl across the lake's surface, distorting the view of the mountain's reflection.

The coolness of the wind made her shiver, but she needed her body temperature to cool down along with her temper. She had no right to feel the way she was feeling. If he was sleeping around, then that was no business of hers, but she was not going to be any part of it, even if she did have this weird attraction to him.

Such a player.

Malia whined in the background; she was having a hard time with it as she was adamant that there was more to their relationship than a brisk in the woods. Her eyes glanced up after hearing footsteps from behind her. She tensed but already guessed who was approaching her; he was, after all, the man she blocked from her mind.

His scent began to wrap around her in a warm cocoon, making her bite her lip at the smell. She stopped herself immediately after easily falling under the spell that was Alpha Damon and the fog that began to invade her mind.

"Go away," Her voice came out strong as her face looked to the side to confirm her words reached him. But she didn't want to see him right now and faced the front again. Not to mention she was sitting naked on a rock.

"Aila, turn around," Alpha Damon's silky voice was soft that tugged at her heartstrings and brought goosebumps to the surface of her skin.

"I'm enjoying the view," She retorted, refusing to budge from the anger she still felt that mixed with hurt at the thought of him with another woman.

"I did not chase you all this fucking way Aila for you to ignore me and look at the view. TURN AROUND," His voice shook their surroundings, causing the birds to fly out from their nests nearby. Malia whimpered and begun submitting to her Alpha, but Aila was stronger and refused to back down.

"I did not ask you to chase me," Aila said coolly.

The next thing she knew, she was grabbed roughly and spun around on the spot, causing her bum to graze from the hard surface of the rock. She slapped Alpha Damon in the face, earning a growl in return and being flipped onto her back, her arms pinned together against the stone under his weight. Her breasts sprung forwards that made him look down hungrily at them before putting his hand on her waist to hold her down more. She tried to push him off but to no avail. Her crazed eyes then met his and her struggle, her feelings, everything immediately dissipated.

She gasped as she watched his silver eyes seemingly swirl then darken under her gaze. In that single moment, it was almost as if a rubber band pinged into place as a tidal wave of feelings slammed into her at full force. Her eyes were trapped in his thunderous gaze.

"I will not chase my MATE again," His deep voice growled while his eyes gleamed in delight.

Aila relaxed her body, almost melting into the rock; the feel of his heat rolling off of him warmed her. Making her feel safe and protected with his broad shoulders and body covering most of her sight. She couldn't help but appreciate the view of his chiselled chest, muscular arms and, of course, his Greek-god like facial features. Malia howled in the background; she was overcome with joy at finding their mate, almost leaping to the surface of her mind. Impatiently waiting to meet Damon's wolf.

Aila met Damon's eyes again, the silver orbs glinting with amusement as he smirked at her, knowing well the power he had over her. She blushed, realising she was openly ogling at him AGAIN. She moved her head to the side until the hand at her hip gently grabbed her chin and turned her head, so she was looking at him again.

"Don't hide away from me, Aila. I am yours, and you are MINE," An almost animalistic tone merged with his voice. She watched as his silver eyes glowed and became darker, causing her own to shine in return. Their faces were inches apart now as she felt Malia come forwards for a few seconds, then relax and go to the back of her mind again. Their eyes went back to normal, and Aila rested her head against the ground again. Malia was sighing in happiness as she had a glimpse at Damon's wolf.

Damon relaxed his hold on her wrists and brought his hand back down near her waist to hold himself up. In normal circumstances, Aila would have attacked him by now to get him off of her. But these were not normal circumstances. She enjoyed having his body in between her legs; blushing again, she realised just how naked they were. Glancing down, she saw his length on her belly, her eyes widened, both from the size and the predicament she was in. Panic set in, and she glanced to the side, looking at her surroundings.

"I have ordered the pack to stay away. No one will disturb us," Damon answered her unspoken question. She relaxed her head again and looked back up at him, becoming very aware of how their bodies were reacting to the other. Their arousal floated in the air making the sexual tension much harder to ignore.

He chuckled when her wide eyes looked back up at him. His voice calmed her, putting her into a trance. She raised her hand to his face and glided it down his strong jaw. She watched in fascination as his jaw muscles ticked, and a shiver went through him under her touch.

Aila was delighted by the small reaction. She continued to trace her fingers along his features from his lips, nose, eyebrows and then she brought both hands down to his neck. He groaned lightly, then nipped one of her hands playfully, "Keep doing that, and I won't be able to control myself." His husky voice was breathless.

"Maybe I don't want you to control yourself," Aila responded, gazing up from under her eyelashes and meeting his gaze, challenging him to do something.

A growl erupted from his lips, making Aila yelp. His eyes darkened as he brought his face closer to hers. "You should never ask an Alpha to lose control. Even if we are mated," His voice was low with a dangerous edge to it, but it only thrilled her more.

Before she toyed with the idea of trying anything, Damon lowered his face to her neck. She watched as his canines elongated the closer he got to her skin. But instead of pain, she felt the gentlest of kisses above her collarbone, sending shockwaves throughout her body. Her breath hitched, and her heart pounded loudly in anticipation for those canines to bite her.

"Why do I want you to bite me?" She breathed as her mind begun to spin.

"It's a werewolf's way of marking their mate. Once I mark you, the bond will be complete," His voice was gruff as he began trailing his nose along her neck, making her squirm underneath his touch, causing him to smile.

He pulled back abruptly with a sharp intake of breath. His eyes darkened almost to the point of them being black. He slammed his fist next to her face making her jump and becoming confused by his sudden outburst. It also seemed to snap her out of her lust-filled haze and made her very aware of how quick everything was going between them.

"Why do I smell another male on you?" His voice again was animalistic. By now, she guessed it was his wolf as Malia did the same thing to her earlier.

The only man she could think of was Ajax, who put his arm over her. Why was he so pissed?

"It's the equivalent to Lydia touching him," Malia growled, defending their mate.

"That's different. Ajax is a friend. Lydia obviously wants Damon," Aila replied drily.

"It's only Ajax. He is harmless," She responded to Damon, pleading with her eyes for him to calm down.

He brought his face close to hers again.

"No one touches what is MINE!"