She's all yours

Mate? Damien mused. He let his hands fall from her, but his eyes were still narrowed.

He tried to keep his distance, but he felt some gravity pulling him closer to the girl who seemed no older than eighteen.

She was strange, beautiful, and his mate.

Or so as Cadence believed.

Cadence seemed overly excited within him. He was busy hopping around and howling nonstop in his head as if it was finding his lost love for the first time.

Yes, his wolf was always excited whenever he found their mate, but this excitement was on a different level.

He had never felt Cadence try to pull out of him just by the scent of strangers, but it wanted to do so at this instance.

She tried to run again, but instinctively, Damien nudged her into the tree, not hard enough for it to hurt but enough to catch her off-guard.

He placed his arms above her head while blocking her path with his body.

"You are a she-wolf, are you not?" He asked stupidly. Even though he could smell her being a werewolf, he still asked.

"Why didn't you transform into your wolf to run?" Damien asked.

That was the only sensible thing to do when running away from danger, except the werewolf hadn't gotten a wolf. Shifting would be impossible.

As she remained silent, he asked again, "I asked you a question, little wolf. Transforming could have made you a lot faster if you were trying to escape from me."

Yet, he received no response.

Shit, was she dumb or deaf?

How the fuck had Candence believed she was his mate?

He had nothing against anyone with a disability. At least one would have made an effort to show they didn't understand what he was saying.

Rather, she continued to stare at him; the stubborn set of her chin jutted out, and her lips were pressed together as if she was trying to refrain from saying anything.

Her eyes swam with tears. Had he frightened her? Not that he cared. He would have preferred she was afraid of him and unable to stare him in the eyes than for her to look at him without giving him an answer to the question he sought.

"Alpha!" Roy said from behind him, panting. "I thought I lost you."

Rolling his eyes, Damien turned to Roy.

"Take her to the packhouse. Ensure she doesn't run from you, Roy, else you'll be sorry for not dying along with the others," Damien's voice was stern.

Roy shuddered slightly and gripped the girl's hand.

"Come on, Miss," He said, and Emberlynn resisted.

Where was he taking her to? Her eyes widened as she gazed from the man who had cornered her first to the one currently pulling her.

They were polar opposites. At the same time, the first man exuded pure dominance and arrogance, with the look of a kingly warrior and long, dark, shoulder-length hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.

The fur coat he donned earlier, he had discarded it, and she saw that he was in armor.

An armor? Was he here for a war? Precisely not!

He was only here to come after her, yet he had geared up so much.

The man holding her hand was lanky, tall, and had a strong feature nevertheless. His salt and pepper hair was cropped short, and his blue eyes gazed at her with pity.

Emberlynn could read this man in front of her, but the other man had been unreadable.

Moreover, this werewolf didn't have a strong scent and aura like the first man who commanded obedience, but his scent was still stronger than everyone present in the Lycan's Night Pack aside from her Alpha.

His scent and Vincent's were almost on par, but she knew he wasn't an alpha.

Just how powerful were they? Emberlynn thought.

"Be gentle with her, Roy; the last thing I want is for her to assume we are brutes," Damien muttered, his eyes narrowing on her face that was cast down.

"I'll go search for Mark," He said, leaving her with Roy.

He trusted Roy with her, and he was going to deliver her safely to the pack as he wanted.

***

When Mark finally reached the Village where the alpha was. He noticed he was in some sort of meeting, and he didn't want to disrupt them, but then, he knew how urgent and delicate the matter with Damien wanting to take his mate currently was.

As soon as Damien had run with the girl into the forest, he knew that could only mean one thing.

She was his mate, and he didn't want her to escape from his sight. Also, Mark had smelt her. Her scent was very much different from the others that were present.

She didn't smell like a regular werewolf, which was strange, but then, she was Damien's mate. So, anything could be strange when it comes to Damien.

"You're an alpha, too," Vincent said, sizing Mark up.

"I am," Mark replied, amused. He noticed the Alpha eyeing him. And Mark knew the reason.

It was only Alpha's who could directly have a discussion with another alpha. The others ranking were made to wait for an appointment except for Betas, who had the privilege of Alphas.

It was like a passcode.

When Vincent was summoned, he had thought of who had the nerve to directly call him without an appointment until he saw Mark and perceived his scent.

"To what pleasure do I owe you this visit? You're not from around here, are you?" Vincent stared at the crest on the shirt he wore.

"Correct," Mark nodded. "And that's the reason I can't stay much longer as well. I'll go straight to the point. My friend is here to take his mate who happened to be in your pack, and as per traditions in a pack, I am sensible enough to know you must go through the alpha before taking any."

"Yes, yes," Vincent nodded. "And who might the lucky bitch be?"

"Emberlynn Evergreen is her name," Mark said and waited for the refusal and the long discussion of her being a rare gem and why he couldn't afford to lose her.

Instead, he scrunched up his nose, "Ember? Well, good luck with her. I was hoping to get rid of her tonight as well. You're lucky to come faster."

"We can take her?" Mark asked, stunned.

"Of course, she's all yours. Do as you please with her. If you'll excuse me, I have far more important things to do than be burdened by the little bitch," Vincent said.

Mark was confused. Before coming to the Village to seek the alpha, he had been told she was adopted by him. She was his legally adopted daughter, as he was married to her mother before her death.

But now, seeing as he agreed without even a fight, Mark was curious to know why he was eager to try to get rid of her.

It wasn't like he could sit him down to ask why he was sending his daughter off without a second thought; it wasn't in his place to discuss that.

He had spoken to the alpha, and they could take Emberlynn with them. So, his mission was completed.