Chapter Three: The Encounter

Sera’s POV

Mating Grounds, Werewoods

As we venture deeper into the woods, everywhere becomes silent. Suddenly, a branch breaks behind us, and we turn to look. Lucian appears from behind an immense tree, a smug look on his face. His sidekicks appear one after the other and surround us in an ambush.

“I promised to make you my mate, didn’t I? Well, I am here to fulfill that promise,” Lucian said. He had a benevolent smile as if he was doing me a favor, but he just wanted my pack to boost his ego further and enlarge his pack.

“A woman need not be an Alpha. Just sit pretty as my Luna and let me take over.” He had a condescending look on his face. “Or I could just kill you and take over your pack.” His gaze changed, and he looked menacing.

Amary stared at Lucian in disdain, a bored look on her face. I had seen her fight only once, and that was enough to tell her prowess in battle. I had been strong since I was a pup, even before I could shift. Although Marc was the older twin and male alpha, I was the stronger twin. I had alpha blood, and my wolf was a rare alpha. Lucian and his men were small fry.

Amary’s disdain angered Lucian. With a look from him, his men surrounded us and shifted. Growls and the sound of bone cracking filled the air. The first one, a medium-sized brown wolf, charged at us with a loud growl. Just as it was about to scratch us, Amary swiped it to the side with a paw.

The rest paused in shock at the sight. I smirked with disdain. Few had seen my wolf in battle since I only shifted a year ago. Stories of the battle had not spread fast enough. I guess Ralf was too embarrassed to expose his behind. I smirk at the thought.

Lucian interrupted my thoughts, exclaiming, “I would handsomely reward whoever captures her!”

Lucian retreated and gave room to his men to face me. I guess my wolf’s strength took him aback. They attacked all at once, hoping to overwhelm my wolf. I scoff at the thought. Amary was a powerful alpha wolf, and such tactics were useless.

Lucian’s men suffered a quick defeat, and his face paled in anger and disbelief.

“Useless! A woman defeated all of you together. Leave it to me to get the job done!” Lucian came forward, looking conceited. He shifted to wolf form; I must admit his wolf was huge. His wolf was grey with narrowed, ruthless, deep blue eyes. Amary and Lucian’s wolf had a stare-down. The actual battle was about to begin!

Lucian’s wolf charged at us, but Amary dodged him. She was on full alert. Although Amary was strong, she was cautious, as Lucian was stronger than the rest. She planned to observe Lucian’s move, defeat him in one fell swoop, and resume enjoying the run.

Lucian’s wolf tried to strike multiple times without success and was getting impatient. In battle, when you are impatient, you become careless. Amary targets his belly, and when he is not paying attention, she slashes at his belly and leaves a fatal wound. Lucian’s wolf howled in pain and stared at us in disbelief.

And that is how you take down a powerful enemy. We ignore Lucian’s team and get on with our run, leaving them with heavy injuries.

As we go deeper into the woods, Amary suddenly becomes restless.

“Amary, what is going on?” I asked. My voice fills with suspicion, and a bad feeling creeps up my heart as I study her. She ignores me as she moves forward with intent.

She suddenly howls in excitement as I glance around in confusion. Suddenly, it hit me. A very woodsy, musky scent hit me, and I was shocked at its potency. An enormous back wolf appears before us, and my wolf’s excitement is plausible. As it approaches us, the wolf has a dangerous look in its grey eyes.

I am frozen in shock as my wolf yells, “Mate!”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I shook my head in disbelief. My mate Dylan was dead. He died a year ago in the battle with Beta Ralf. Who, then, is the wolf before me? Who then is this that Amary called our mate? I was speechless as the wolf approached dangerously close.

I could see the look in his eyes. The murderous look had transformed into what looked like excitement or anticipation. I don’t know, but I don’t intend to find out.

I screamed in my mind. “Amary, run!”

Amary ignored me, as usual. Since I shifted on that fateful day a year ago, Amary has never spoken to me. She had been silent for over a year, only for her first word to be “mate.” A wave of sadness washed over me. How ironic, since my mate died at the hands of my wolf.

Amary wagged her tail in excitement as the enormous wolf drew closer. She was not listening to me. No, I didn’t need a new mate. I am still trying to recover from the damage the last one dealt me. All they ever do is lie to you, use you, and deceive you, and I can’t go through that cycle again.

“Amary, listen to me now and run!” My annoyance was evident in my voice. I regretted giving my wolf complete control. I wanted quiet time, but now I don’t need it. I tried to take back control and discovered Amary wouldn’t let me.

The wolf reached us, cutting short my shock. The two wolves stop and stare at each other, then perform some dance. I was staring at them in confusion when suddenly the wolf pounced on Amary and marked her, to my horror. I felt intense heat from within me as I blacked out.

I suddenly come to, and I am lying on the ground, naked as the day I was born on the mating grounds. My face paled as I remembered the marking. I raise my hands to my neck as I feel a little sting there. There were two holes there, which is evidence of the marking. I moved to get up, and my entire body felt sore. I froze in shock as a glance at my body told me what I needed to know. We had not only marked each other; we had also mated.

My legs fail me as I realize the implications of this. I had found a mate, and we were bonded together.

No, not now that I have met with the Council and officially resumed alpha duties. This would give alphas like Lucian ammunition to take my pack away. And who knows, my so-called mate could also have his eyes on the pack. You never know with these alphas.

My face grew pale at the thought. I clenched my fist tightly. I had to act fast.

I glance to the side to see a male human blacked out there. He had a mark as evidence of the mating. I couldn’t see his face, and I didn’t care. I was going to walk away and pretend this had never happened. Yes, that was it.

I picked a set of clothes from the trees, prepared by the Council for emergency. I was almost done dressing when he showed a sign of waking soon. Putting on my shirt, I dashed away in a hurry.