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CHAPTER TWO
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Almost immediately after Atlas warned them of the incoming danger, he lost consciousness, inspiring great panic in his mate.
He was taken to his cabin to be properly cared for. Meanwhile, the pack was filled with confusion, and even Celia could smell the fear laced with the air.
It was contagious. She was getting uneasy. Anyone would after seeing a council member in that state.
She felt a hand slip into hers and squeeze tightly. “Do not fret,” her mother said with calm eyes. “Trust Nicholas. He will protect this pack.”
Celia nodded. It was not Nicholas she trusted. It was her mother.
“Stop your whining and listen up!” Jon yelled, his voice carrying across the center of the settlement where the pack was gathered.
The Beta left the floor for his brother to speak.
“I know you’re worried, but there’s nothing to fear,” Nicholas assured everyone. “This Alpha is a phony. His real ability is inciting fear—”
“Look what he did to Atlas!” someone in the crowd retorted. “How can we be calm after seeing that?!”
Jon glared and took a threatening step towards the man that dared to speak, but Nicholas stopped the Beta, shaking his head in disapproval.
“We have lookouts prowling the perimeter. The moment this threat is sensed, I will take care of it.”
“We are not cowards either!” Sheeva said with an unwavering voice, hand still linked with Celia’s. People gave way, turning their attention to her. “If we must fight, we will!”
There were murmurs of agreement from the pack members. Nicholas, his gaze fixed on Celia’s mother, nodded in acknowledgement, and she nodded back.
“Alright!” the Alpha bellowed. “Round up your pups so they can be protected. Also, I need more people patrolling the—”
Celia caught a whiff of the scent that turned the area quiet, and had heads turning to the foliage that led past the settlement. It was the scent of an unfamiliar werewolf—no, werewolves—trespassing in their territory.
There was a shuffling sound, and someone proceeded out of the bushes, pulling two unconscious bodies with him.
From the opposite direction, two other unfamiliar wolves stepped into view, pulling one unconscious person each.
The people they were pulling were members of Celia’s pack. They had been patrolling the area around the settlement, but not anymore. The trespassers tossed the unconscious lookouts aside.
Aggression set in. Most members of the pack growled, spreading out in a bid to surround the threats. Celia conceded a step back. What was she supposed to do?
Jon looked about ready to spring into action, but Nicholas was assessing the situation calmly.
“I wouldn’t advise taking any action,” someone warned, coming out from a different direction whilst pulling two more members of Celia’s pack.
This trespasser was not unfamiliar. He gently let go of the bodies he had been pulling.
“Darius…” Nicholas called, voice laced with disbelief.
Darius was the Alpha of the Flora settlement pack. He was a dark skinned man with a clean shaved head and full beard.
Jon scoffed. “I told you we couldn’t trust them.”
“What is the meaning of this, Darius?” Nicholas asked, taking steps towards the Alpha. “Are our packs not allies?”
“Your pack members are only unconscious,” Darius informed them. “None are dead, and none have to be. If you haven’t noticed, we’re all Alphas.”
That explained how the trespassers were able to reel in the mid–ranked werewolves without any scratch. Only an Alpha or powerful Beta could pull it off.
“Why would you do this?” Nicholas asked.
Darius shook his head. “I am sorry, my friend. I had no choice, and if you are wise, you will understand that you have no choice either.”
“Even if you are all Alphas, you can’t take on our entire pack and leave here alive,” Jon pointed out.
“I reckon we could,” one of the trespassing Alpha’s said. He folded his arms. “However, we won’t have to.”
On the cusp of his words, someone came through the foliage and took his place beside Darius. Under the moonlight, Celia was certain that this was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
He had coal–black hair falling over his face. His striking features were perfectly symmetrical, his deep set eyes a dull red, and he had just the right amount of stubble to give him a rugged edge.
Celia felt a sharp tug in her chest, but it left as quickly as it came, so she ignored it.
The newcomer surveyed the area till his eyes fell on Nicholas. He smiled. It was both dazzling and sinister. “You’re the Alpha. It’s great to finally meet you.” He slowly strolled towards Nicholas. “I am Marcel.”
There it was again—a pain in her chest, like she was resisting being pulled. Her eyes fixed on Marcel, and when he scanned the crowd, she had the weird sense he felt the same as her.
“You all may leave,” Nicholas said, referring to the trespassing Alphas. “If you leave now, I’ll overlook this treachery.”
Marcel laughed. “And what about me?”
“You’re dead. From the moment you entered my territory, your life was forfeit.”
“I see.” Marcel rubbed his chin. “Didn’t the one–armed werewolf pass my message?” he asked. “Your pack is mine.”
Nicholas roared angrily and sprung into action. He raced for Marcel, and while doing so, he shifted into his wolf form.
The rest of the pack followed his lead, some shifting in preparation to gang up on the trespassing Alphas.
Nicholas and Marcel clashed, but the enemy Alpha didn’t shift. He fought Nicholas as a man, with his hands. His arrogance would get him killed, Celia thought, and that would be better for them.
“Return to the cabin,” Sheeva instructed Celia.
Even though Celia was trembling with fear, she said, “I…have to stay. I have to fight—”
“We can contribute in ways that don’t involve fighting,” Sheeva interjected. “You can protect the pups.”
There was a loud crash, and when they turned to the scene, they found their Alpha had been thrown into a cabin with so much force that the entry was shattered.
Everyone fell silent, and no one from the pack moved in on the other Alphas. They had to be just as surprised as Celia was. The fight between Nicholas and Marcel had just begun.
How did it seem like it was already over?
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“Don’t tell me you’re done yet, Nic!” Marcel called out. There was a growl from within the dark cabin Nicholas had been thrown into, then the Alpha werewolf burst out, leaping a long distance and pouncing on Marcel. They tumbled and rolled, but it was Marcel who came on top, pinning Nicholas. With a clawed hand, the enemy Alpha created a deep gash on Nicholas’ chest. Nicholas roared in pain and flailed his limbs till Marcel was pushed off. The enemy Alpha had also been injured, a glaring claw mark showing beneath his ripped clothes. The difference between both Alphas was, Marcel was already healing. The stronger a werewolf, the quicker their ability to heal. It was getting clearer who would come out the winner of the duel. Jon, who had shifted into his wolf form, started towards the fighting Alphas. Darius and the others moved as well, with the aim of stopping the Beta. Nicholas snarled at his brother. It was a clear instruction. Don’t intervene. Jon obeyed, ducking his head.
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Everyone dispersed as Marcel approached Celia, his lithe body seeming to flow like water as he moved. He was unlike any Alpha— unlike any being Celia had seen. The other Alphas stood by in silence, clearly obedient to him. He had also defeated Nicholas without shifting. How could anyone challenge him? Even Jon had turned his attention to taking care of his gravely wounded mate. This was the man? This was the werewolf someone like her was fated to spend her life with, bound by an invisible bond and all that other crap her mother never stopped talking about? When Marcel was only a few steps away, a powerful figure centered in a humbled pack, Sheeva boldly stepped into his path, standing between him and Celia. He eyed her with a leveled gaze. “Why do you stop me?” Sheeva raised her head proudly. “She is my daughter.” “She is my mate.” Sheeva went still. There was a shift in attention. It was clear everyone had been fixated on Marcel, but at his declaration, all focus was on Celia
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Yeah, right. Celia, Luna? That was about as ridiculous as someone telling her she could touch the moon. She was born weak, ‘fated’ to be alone or be mated to another weak wolf whose strength still far surpassed hers. The last part hadn’t quite turned out that way, but the first part was etched in her being. She was weak—an Omega—and she had never heard of someone like her becoming a Luna. Her mother was wrong, and that was rare. Celia slept on the information, and when she woke a few hours later, she decided to go about her day as usual. Except things weren’t going to be as they were. The pack had a new Alpha. Celia could tell Marcel wasn’t in the area—she wasn’t sure how she knew as it was a faint feeling—but her nose often caught the scent of Marcel’s subdued Alphas, lurking about. It must be the same for the pack. Alphas had strong scents. At the crack of dawn, she set out of her cabin. She would go about her duties like nothing had changed, and everyone else would be wise en
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Marcel’s fur was a black that seemed to shimmer under the sunlight filtered by the forest canopy. He was massive, even for an Alpha. Nicholas might have had it worse if he had shifted during their fight.Celia wanted to pull back, but found she couldn’t. She was catatonic, held in place by the eyes of her mate who had rejected her mere hours ago. Fate really was unfair, to force her into this. She was certain it knew nothing about matches.Marcel moved, slowly circling her. It was the second time he would do this—circle her. It was uncomfortable, but Celia stayed put. He went out of sight behind her, and when he was back in front of her, he had shifted to his human form.His eyes retained its dull red. His dark hair was scattered, a few front locks long enough that it sat right above his left eye.Oh, the most important detail was that he was naked. That should have been normal. Weres weren’t as conscious about nudity as humans, however, Celia’s reaction was nothing short of humane.I
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Eyes glowing the red of an Alpha’s, the last member of Marcel’s unfaithful entourage lunged down at Celia and Marcel from the fig tree they were under.Well, Celia obviously wasn’t the target. What importance would she be to anyone? The target was Marcel, so being close to him only meant she was in harm's way.Marcel suddenly shoved her aside just before his attacker literally descended on him. The attacking Alpha managed to get only two swipes of his claws at Marcel’s face before he was thrown off with greater strength.Faster than Bronn and Kai could get in the fight, Marcel was on his feet, causing them to hesitate and keep their distance.Blood running down his face from claw marks that were already healing, Marcel sneered at the Alpha who had descended from the tree. “It was a decent effort, Rollin, but it’ll take more than that.”Rollin had thin, short reddish hair and a lean, tall frame. He kept the greatest distance from Marcel and looked like he rued not finishing his opponen
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What an odd occurrence this was. The Beta pair of the pack, as well as a council member and the Alpha of the Flora settlement pack were at the door of Celia and her mother’s cabin.For as long as Celia had lived in the simple wooden construction that was her and Sheeva’s home, she had never known the council to visit. Perhaps the council—even Nicholas—had been more prompted to visit when her father was alive.Farkas Blackwood had been a respected male in the pack before his death, though he hadn’t been a council member. Because he was held highly, so was his mate, Sheeva, but even she didn’t get such visits. At least not before now.Celia swallowed. “My mother is hunting today. She’s left with others.”“We’re not here to see Sheeva,” a one–handed Atlas said. Of average height, Atlas had dark hair and slitted dark eyes, a cloth tied around the stump that was his hand. Celia was sure it wouldn’t be long before he could take off the cloth. However, he was now without a hand.“We would l
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Celia had been battling the idea that she could be Luna of the Knox settlement, but after Atlas’ words, the battle was lost. She had to accept that whether or not Marcel rejected her as his mate—the feeling was mutual—she was Luna of the pack.The next morning, she found herself sitting at a round table in the Alpha’s cabin—a cabin that had once belonged to Nicholas. If she had been told two days ago that she would occupy one of the seats that made decisions for the pack, she would have laughed hard.Yet this was her reality.The table was silent, its seats occupied by Atlas, Jon and Indra. Oh, and Celia. A minute later, Marcel walked out from a room, stretching and yawning as he did. His hair was a mess, his eyes weary, and still that face might charm anyone.“Are meetings always going to be this early?” he asked tiredly as he slipped into a seat.“You can leave if you don’t like it,” Jon, who was sitting across from Marcel dared to say, causing the spectators of that exchange to sti
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“I swear by the moon, mother, that he is the most infuriating male I’ve ever known!” Celia whined as she paced the length of her cabin. Her mother was doing that thing again where she stared at the moon like it was the only thing in existence. She was listening though, because she asked, “I take it the meeting this morning went well?” Celia looked dryly at her mother, and even though Sheeva’s eyes were on the moon, she smirked. Her mother had been out of the settlement for most of the day with a few others, so they only had time to give account of their day now. “He’s a nightmare,” Celia said. “He’s an enigma,” her mother added…or countered. Celia frowned. “You hate him, right? You don’t sound like you hate him. Everyone else does.” “I definitely hate him. He thinks he can break your bond, which is stupid and hurtful, but it is as sure as the moon’s light that he will not break it.” “That’s unfortunate. I’ve found myself rooting for him recently,” Celia said, and her mother turn
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Celia’s match with Hassan was the first of four fights that would be happening that night. The moment she and Hassan were locked in the steel cage and were atop the raised platform within it, there were murmurs of confusion, and then outright laughter from most people in the crowd of spectators.Her wolf-like hearing could pick up most of the conversations had about her. Summarizing and leaving out profanities, they were saying how it was ludicrous that a female should be in the tournament, much less one so young and petite in body frame.They weren’t so delicate with their words. Some were making it clear where they thought Celia should be—in their beds. Again, they weren’t so delicate with their words.Celia blocked them out, focusing instead on Marcel. She hated to admit that his confidence in her was the reason why she was just a tiny bit okay with being locked in a cage and fighting the man some distance across from her.Marcel was in the arena, moving about. She couldn’t see him
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Night seemed to approach too quickly. When it came, Celia would be fighting Hassan, the human monster. She wasn’t exactly excited about it.Celia and the others were in the room Marcel had paid for at the Inn. Lobo was pacing back and forth the room’s length, Zeeb was drawing something on the floorboard with a claw, Celia was sitting beside Duncan by the door, Indra was silently doing nothing by herself in a corner, Marcel was calmly reading a book on the bed, and Layla had slowly worked her way into sitting beside him, looking at the book but definitely not understanding any of the words written.Everyone was a little on edge. Wolves were not the kind of creatures that liked being cramped together in one room for hours.“You’re nervous,” Duncan said, though it sounded like he was asking.“No. I mean yes, just a bit.”“You’ll be fine. Just one punch and that human will be knocked out.”“No he won’t,” Marcel said without looking up from his book. “You’re greatly overestimating the pow
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The Inn of Marcel’s choosing had two floors, and the one room he had paid for was on the upper floor. It had a soft bed of foam that could fit two people, a lamp that sat on a bedside stool, a window that looked down at a dirty alley, and not much else.The Alpha promptly took off his shoes and laid on the bed, his hands between his head and pillow. “You can all make yourself comfortable on the floor. You’re used to it anyway.”True. The pallets they slept on were barely different from sleeping on the floor, and even then most Weres would prefer sleeping on dirt or the cold wooden floor of their cabins.“No one goes out for any reason,” Marcel declared, eyes shut, the other males quickly claiming territories in the small room.Celia noticed Duncan’s amber eyes suggest the small space he left open by the door, far from the bed and Marcel. She smiled thankfully, but took position in the center of the room. If Layla felt like joining Marcel on the bed, she didn’t act on that feeling.Mar
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“I will lose,” Celia said, deadpan.“No you won’t, little Omega. Despite how weak you are, you are still more powerful than any human in the room.”Her jaw stiffened at being called weak. “You just all but stated a moment ago that any of us would have trouble against the other skilled participants. Considering I’m so weak, why not up your chances and compete yourself?”“She’s right,” Duncan said. “This is a male’s job. I could fight instead, since you’re not up for it.” His words might have come out a little irreverent.Marcel watched the male in silence for a few uncomfortable moments, then finally said, “Did you notice your previous Alpha is dead and the previously highest ranking werewolf in your pack is missing an arm?” No response. “Keep pissing me off and I can guarantee you’ll meet one of those fates, if not one more horrific. I could take off both your arms. You’d be two–legged even in your four–legged form. Let's see you go on runs.”Celia shuddered at the thought. To Duncan’
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Explaining that they would understand what he meant when they saw it, Marcel led the group out of the forest edge, and into a human settlement.It was Celia’s first time being in a place inhabited by the other species, but not her first time encountering humans. She had once encountered them with her father at a very young age. It had not been pleasant.The settlement was big. Too big. She reckoned she could only see everything if she had a bird’s eye view. Flaming lanterns hung from lines that were tied from one wooden pole to another, illuminating the part of the settlement they were at. Humans milled about, some dressed in clothes much finer than Marcel’s, and others dressed in clothes as shabby as the rest of Celia’s group.They conversed and spared them nothing but a glance as they moved about. Cabins flanked the roads, and other structures that seemed less for living and more for business.Like the one Celia immediately swiveled her head to find. The aroma of intertwined and hea
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Werewolves liked to live deep in forested areas because humans never went that far for fear of animals that were too dangerous, or more importantly, for fear of encountering a werewolf.For this reason, the nearest human settlement was nearly a day’s run in wolf form, and longer if they went on two legs. Marcel was a bit frustrated when the group had to stop later after noon to rest by a slow–moving stream.The group, which numbered seven, included himself, Celia, Indra, Duncan, Lobo, Zeeb, and Layla, making four males and three females.Marcel had clearly been holding back for their sake. Celia thought he could cover the journey in some hours if he wanted to. She, on the other hand, had been struggling to keep up with everyone.She was slumped against a tree in human form, dreading the entire day and how much she had to exert herself. The others were certainly worn out from the running so far, but they could keep going once Marcel gave the order to continue.Celia thought she might d
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Marcel began walking away. “Why would I divulge my reasons to you?”Celia followed him, wondering that as well. “Because maybe a good reason would make you seem less like a power–hungry maniac.”Marcel smirked. “Maybe I am a power–hungry maniac.”This bastard is playing with me. “If that were true, I imagine you’d have been making us build a castle like the humans do.”“You know, little Omega, that’s a good idea.”“It’s Celia, and I’m being serious here. Or at least I’m trying to be.”Marcel stopped and fixed her in place with his eyes. “My reasons are mine, and you must fancy yourself special if you think I’d confide in you. Is it supposed to be some privilege of being my mate?”“I’m not your mate. I’m just a member of the council.”His brows shot up in surprise. “Won’t force the issue then? None of that ‘fate binds us’ crap that the old ones won’t shut up about?”“None of it. In fact, you couldn’t want this ‘mate’ thing over as much as I do, so I hope you weren’t joking about breaki
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“I swear by the moon, mother, that he is the most infuriating male I’ve ever known!” Celia whined as she paced the length of her cabin. Her mother was doing that thing again where she stared at the moon like it was the only thing in existence. She was listening though, because she asked, “I take it the meeting this morning went well?” Celia looked dryly at her mother, and even though Sheeva’s eyes were on the moon, she smirked. Her mother had been out of the settlement for most of the day with a few others, so they only had time to give account of their day now. “He’s a nightmare,” Celia said. “He’s an enigma,” her mother added…or countered. Celia frowned. “You hate him, right? You don’t sound like you hate him. Everyone else does.” “I definitely hate him. He thinks he can break your bond, which is stupid and hurtful, but it is as sure as the moon’s light that he will not break it.” “That’s unfortunate. I’ve found myself rooting for him recently,” Celia said, and her mother turn
Her Mate Is The Villain CHAPTER NINE
Celia had been battling the idea that she could be Luna of the Knox settlement, but after Atlas’ words, the battle was lost. She had to accept that whether or not Marcel rejected her as his mate—the feeling was mutual—she was Luna of the pack.The next morning, she found herself sitting at a round table in the Alpha’s cabin—a cabin that had once belonged to Nicholas. If she had been told two days ago that she would occupy one of the seats that made decisions for the pack, she would have laughed hard.Yet this was her reality.The table was silent, its seats occupied by Atlas, Jon and Indra. Oh, and Celia. A minute later, Marcel walked out from a room, stretching and yawning as he did. His hair was a mess, his eyes weary, and still that face might charm anyone.“Are meetings always going to be this early?” he asked tiredly as he slipped into a seat.“You can leave if you don’t like it,” Jon, who was sitting across from Marcel dared to say, causing the spectators of that exchange to sti
