Capítulo 8: Mate (II)
Elena's POV:
I was on my way to one of the cabins, a place where my father had taken in a group of refugees after a rogue attack. Visiting them had become part of my daily routine, and today, I welcomed the distraction. Anything to take my mind off the fact that Derick, the boy I'd thought would be my mate, was not. He wasn't my destined mate, and worse, he'd rejected his true mate in a desperate attempt to convince me to become his chosen mate. He hadn't loved me for who I was—he wanted to be Alpha, and to him, I was the key to that power. The thought made me sick. All this time, I had believed he truly cared for me.
As I approached the cabin, lost in the swirl of my emotions, I almost walked right into him.
A stranger. A god.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes locked onto him. This man… he looked like something out of a dream. His presence was commanding, magnetic, and I could feel the power rolling off him in waves. His short, dark hair was perfectly tousled, and his jawline—smooth, freshly shaven—only served to heighten the intensity of his deep, brown eyes. Eyes that seemed to see straight through me. My gaze was drawn to the way his muscles moved under his fitted shirt, his broad shoulders and strong arms making my pulse race.
And then there was his scent. Goddess, his scent. It was like the earth after rain, the rich smell of soil mingled with the fresh air and the green essence of nature itself. My favorite scent. It wrapped around me, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe properly. It felt like everything in the world had shifted around me and narrowed down to this moment—just him and me.
Mate. Zena's voice echoed in my mind, her tone full of awe and desire, confirming what I already suspected.
I stumbled, my knees weak, as an overwhelming need surged through me. The connection between us was instant, raw, primal. I'd heard of this feeling, this undeniable pull toward one's mate, but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it. It was like my whole body, my whole being, was suddenly attuned to him. I wanted nothing more than to run to him, to throw myself into his arms, and let him carry me away to wherever he pleased.
But I froze, rooted to the spot. My heart was hammering in my chest, my breath shallow, my wolf pushing against the edges of my control. I had no idea who this man was, yet everything inside me screamed that he was mine. My mate.
"Mine," he growled, his voice hoarse and raw with possessiveness. The single word sent a shiver down my spine, igniting feelings I had never allowed myself to feel. My heart pounded in my chest, my body betraying me with a heat I couldn't ignore. Every inch of me responded to his declaration, and my wolf, Zena, was practically purring in my mind. It was as if the world had fallen away, leaving just the two of us standing there, tethered by some invisible, undeniable force.
But before I could get lost in the moment, the atmosphere was abruptly disrupted by the sound of my mom calling out to me. Her voice sliced through the haze that had taken over my mind, pulling me back to reality. I turned just in time to see her walking toward us, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight of the stranger—my mate. For a split second, she looked genuinely shocked, but then, like a true Alpha's Luna, she composed herself, her expression smoothing into a polite smile. It was a smile most people wouldn't see through, but I knew my mother well. That smile was a mask, concealing the whirlwind of thoughts that were no doubt racing through her mind.
"Alpha Kane," she said, her voice steady but strained, those two words ripping me out of my fantasy like a cruel slap.
Alpha Kane? My heart stopped. No, this couldn't be happening. There was no way. He's the Alpha Kane? The one I had grown up hating, the one who controlled my father's every move, the one who treated him as if he were lesser. The ruthless, cold, arrogant Alpha Kane? No, this had to be a joke—a sick, twisted joke.
I blinked, my mind racing to process the sudden, brutal shift in reality. Everything inside me that had been screaming "mate" just moments ago suddenly collided with the knowledge of who he was. Alpha Kane, the same man I had spent years resenting, was my mate? My mate?
My subconscious was still doing a crazy dance, elated that we had found him, that he was a hunk of a man and more than just the mate I had dreamed of. But now, that dream felt like it was being shattered into a million pieces. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to be mated to someone like him. The tension between our packs, the cold way he treated my father—everything about him was wrong for me.
I looked up at him, searching for any hint of the warm, possessive man I had just glimpsed moments ago. But his eyes had hardened, the softness from before disappearing as soon as my mother had addressed him. The raw, feral attraction between us was still there, humming beneath the surface, but now it felt…complicated.
"Alpha Kane," I repeated his name in disbelief, my voice barely a whisper.
He watched me, his gaze intense, but I could feel the shift in him, too. His face was unreadable, a mask of control slipping over his features, though his body was still taut, as if he was fighting the same war inside that I was.
My mother, ever the composed Luna, stepped forward, breaking the thick tension that clung to the air between us. "What brings you to this particular place, Alpha?" she asked, her tone polite but cautious.
He tore his eyes away from mine and addressed her, his voice now measured and cool. "Someone. I came to look around." His words were clipped, devoid of any emotion. It was like the man who had growled "mine" just moments ago had been replaced by someone completely different.
My heart sank even further. This wasn't happening. I had finally found my mate, only for him to be the one man I couldn't stand—the one man who didn't belong in my world. I wanted to scream, to run, to do anything but stand there and accept this fate. But I couldn't move. I was trapped between the pull of destiny and the crushing weight of reality.
I barely heard what my mom and Alpha Kane discussed. My mind was spinning, my chest tight with a mix of emotions I didn't know how to handle. Zena, on the other hand, was practically howling in my head, demanding that I claim him, that I accept him, that I take what was ours. But how could I? How could I possibly reconcile this man—this Alpha—with the idea of being my mate? My father's pack had suffered under his dominance, and I had resented him for it for so long. Could I really just…forget all of that?
Suddenly, he glanced back at me, and for a brief moment, I saw something flicker in his eyes. It was there, barely perceptible—hesitation, perhaps? A struggle? But just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, replaced by the cold, authoritative Alpha Kane I had grown to despise from a distance.
My mom finished speaking and turned to me, her face unreadable as she said, "Ella, why don't you go back inside? We'll talk later."
I nodded numbly, my legs carrying me away from them even though every part of me wanted to stay, wanted to demand answers from the universe about how this had happened. As I walked back toward the house, I could still feel his eyes on me, that same possessive gaze from before. It made my skin tingle, made my wolf restless with desire. But I couldn't let myself go there—not yet.
This was all too much. Too soon.
Something New
Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince:Masquerading as aMan
Capítulo 9: Mate (III)
Kane's POV:
So, the daughter of Alpha Samuel was my mate. Of all the possibilities, I hadn't anticipated this. She must have just turned eighteen, allowing me to finally scent her out. The realization hit me hard. I'd known Samuel had a daughter, but I had never involved myself with his family or any of his pack members—except when formalities required it. I wouldn't have recognized the woman calling her name as the Luna if she hadn't stepped forward to speak to me during the first initiation of the contract.
Ella... Elena, I repeated the name in my head. Her name even sounded sweet, like something foreign on my defiled tongue, a name too pure for someone like me.
Seeing her, though, stirred something in me. The moment our eyes met, everything inside me screamed mine. The pull was undeniable. I didn't want her to leave my sight—not yet, not ever. There was this primal fear that she might vanish, disappear as soon as I'd found her. How could I let her walk away?
But I knew better. If she was indeed the daughter of the Luna, then this woman was soon to be my mother-in-law. And no matter how powerful or ruthless I was, there were boundaries to respect. I wasn't going to start off by disrespecting my future family—especially not the mother to my mate.
Yet, watching her walk away felt wrong, like I was allowing something precious to slip through my fingers. The possessiveness surged within me. Every instinct screamed to grab her, pull her back, claim her right there and then. But I was Alpha Kane, not some wild animal incapable of control. Still, the tension was a living thing between us. I could feel her wolf responding, the undeniable pull that only mates could share. Even though her back was turned, I could sense her awareness of me, the way her body seemed to acknowledge mine without words.
But the situation was complicated. Samuel, her father, was indebted to me—bound by a contract that gave me power over his pack. A contract that was not forged out of mutual respect but out of necessity and dominance. I knew how much Elena hated me without even needing to hear it. It was in her eyes, the shock, the disbelief when she realized who I was. I could see the struggle in her, the battle between her desire to acknowledge our bond and the weight of everything she must have heard about me.
And yet, the thought of her being mine—truly mine—was something I couldn't ignore. The very idea that the fiery, beautiful daughter of Alpha Samuel, with her long, flowing hair and defiant spirit, was destined to be mine filled me with an unfamiliar sense of pride and possessiveness. I had expected my mate to be someone who would simply fall in line, someone who would submit. But Elena... she was a challenge. And damn if I didn't want to rise to it.
I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to rein in the overpowering emotions that threatened to consume me. I wanted her now, but I knew this wasn't the time. Rushing things with her would only push her further away, and I couldn't afford that—not when I had just found her.
When I looked back at the Luna , her eyes met mine with a guarded intensity. She wasn't blind to the connection between her daughter and me. She'd noticed how Elena had reacted, and she was probably weighing her options—wondering how to protect her only child from me, the notorious Alpha Kane. Little did she know, there was nothing she could do to break the bond that was already forming. Elena was mine, and I wasn't about to let her go.
But I had to be smart about this. "I'll be back to finalize this situation as you have noticed that your daughter is my mate, Luna," I said, my voice low but filled with the authority that came naturally to me.
She nodded, her expression unreadable, and I turned to leave. But my mind was already on Elena, wondering how I would approach her next. She was my mate, and that meant sooner or later, she'd have to accept it, no matter how much she fought it now.
I turned away from where Elena and her mother had disappeared, my mind still reeling from the unexpected turn of events. The woman I had just scented as my mate—Alpha Samuel's daughter. A part of me couldn't believe it, but the pull was undeniable. Fate had finally thrown me a curveball I hadn't expected, but I wasn't one to walk away from a challenge.
I headed back to where I had left Luke, my beta, waiting by the trees outside the pack house. As I approached, I could see him standing exactly where I told him to stay, ever the loyal soldier. His sharp eyes locked on mine, and I could already tell he was curious. The look on my face must have given everything away.
"Plans have changed," I said, stopping a few feet in front of him.
His eyebrow raised slightly, but he kept his silence, waiting for me to explain.
"I've found my mate."
For the first time, I saw real shock cross his usually composed face. Luke had been with me through thick and thin—he knew everything about me, including how I'd stopped waiting for a mate years ago. His eyes widened slightly as if he was trying to process what I'd just said. "You... found her?"
I gave him a nod, letting the realization sink in for both of us.
"And she's Samuel's daughter," I added, watching his expression go from shock to a mixture of surprise and understanding. He let out a low whistle.
"The daughter of Alpha Samuel," he repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "Does this mean… the contract's going to be suspended?" he asked cautiously.
I chuckled darkly at that. "You know how I operate, Luke. That contract doesn't change just because I've found my mate. They're still indebted to me, even if Samuel's going to be my father-in-law." The thought of that made me chuckle even more. Fate had a twisted sense of humor, but I wasn't complaining.
Luke gave a small nod, understanding my position completely. "You're not leaving without her, are you?"
"No," I growled low in my throat, the possessiveness rising in me again. "I'm not leaving without my mate."
I turned to look back at the path that led to the cabins, the place where I had just met her. Every part of me itched to go after her, to claim her right now and take her back to my pack where she belonged. But I wasn't a fool. Elena wasn't going to be an easy conquest—she had fire, and that only made me want her more. I would have to play this carefully. She hated me, that much was clear. I could see it in the way her eyes widened in disbelief when she realized who I was. But that didn't matter. She was mine, and no amount of resistance would change that.
I turned back to Luke. "You head back to our pack. Set things straight. Make sure everything is in order," I commanded.
Luke gave a respectful nod, though his gaze still held some amusement. "I'll handle things. And Kane—good luck with wooing her. Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you."
I chuckled. "She's going to be a challenge, but I've never backed down from one before, have I?"
"No, you haven't," Luke said with a grin.
With that, Luke shifted into his wolf, disappearing into the forest as he made his way back to our pack. I stayed behind, my mind already plotting my next move. Elena wasn't just any woman. She was my mate. But more than that, she was the daughter of the alpha who owed me everything. Her stubbornness and the hatred she undoubtedly harbored toward me would only make things more interesting.
There was no point in delaying the inevitable. I was going to get her, and I wasn't going to leave without her. She could try to resist, but it would only be a matter of time before she realized the truth. Mates were bound by fate, and no amount of denial could change that.
I started walking back toward the pack house, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me. Ash was just as eager as I was to claim our mate, but I had to keep a lid on my urges. There was a delicate balance here. Samuel and his pack were still indebted to me, and despite how much I wanted to storm in and take what was mine, I couldn't afford to play recklessly. Not yet.
As I neared the pack house, I spotted a few of the pack members glancing my way, clearly aware of who I was. They kept their distance, and I couldn't help but smirk. Fear and respect—two things I had earned over the years, and they served me well in situations like this.
I was Alpha Kane, after all. And I wasn't just here to play nice. I was here to collect my mate, and I'd be damned if anyone stood in my way.
I could almost see her in my mind's eye, the way her eyes had widened when we locked gazes, the way her breath had caught as the realization hit her. She knew, even if she wasn't ready to admit it yet. She felt the pull, just like I did.
This was only the beginning. Soon enough, Elena would be mine. And when that day came, there would be no going back.
Something New
Claimed by the Alpha and the Vampire Prince:Masquerading as aMan
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