Mate

IMANI’S POV

It had been months and we’ve heard no response from the full moon pack. my people were defeated but I promised to restore them to better glory. So we started rebuilding and though we were attacked, I made sure that we never lost another person again, putting myself on red fire just to make sure another soul wasn't lost.

I would never want to lose another person or have another person lose someone they loved. I still missed Xavier so much and Amelia, the child I saw that day was a wonderful reminder of him, she was turning into someone like him and she was growing well. She will be a year soon and I hope Xavier is happy wherever he is.

My mother once told me, “ If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”

I still missed him. So so much. We had started a new project and all the men were doubling down in the building, but the young women were throwing flowers at them, just to get attention. I laughed at the sight, the men were highly embarrassed and called for my assistance but I pretended not to hear them.

It was too sweet to watch.

“ My Luna,” I was asked one day, “ What if we never get a response, what if an alliance never comes?”

“ We keep waiting.”

And that was why we did, we waited for months to get a reply, a negative or positive one. Any reply. We worked and trained, fed and nurtured, build and repair as we waited.

"My Luna." I turned my head to see one of my messengers, "we have a letter from the full moon pack."

KAYDEN’S POV

I shouted mate the moment I felt the bond hoping she would respond like a game of Marco and polo, it was silent for a while before I heard her voice.

"Mate."

It was calm and relaxed but it was tainted with a drop of excitement, it was beautiful and it had a melodious ring to it. It didn't sound like anything I had heard before. My eyes roamed on her to see the most unusual woman. she was a beautiful chocolate color and not too tall but her facial features were reserved and she looked like the moon Goddess dropped her from the sky.

She was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid my eyes on. She moved closer to me and my body responded by helping her close the distance between us. I was excited deep within my soul and once we were close enough, I asked for her hand and hesitantly she placed her hand in mine.

It was way smaller and softer and then I placed a kiss on it, a small smile covered her lips and I was feeling myself fly through the roof. Her eyes were strange, I'd never seen silver-colored orbs, it made her look like she was blind at first but they were extremely beautiful.

"I've been looking for you." I just had to let her know and her eyes enlarged a little with surprise,

"You have been looking for me?" She didn't believe my words and it made me chuckle,

"For months now." I drew her to a more secluded place in the courtyard for us to get to know each other a bit better. She was so delicate, there was no way she could be a pure wolf, she must be just like Melanie, a hybrid. She didn't look or feel like a pure wolf, she was too beautiful and too serene to be one.

"Well, that is a surprise." She sounded a bit cocky and I couldn't help but smirk. Her being close to me was a boost of power,

'I feel stronger Kay, she is definitely the one. I can't wait to meet her wolf.' Xane chirped like a happy kid who just got candy and it took me everything not to laugh.

"I can't believe you're my mate." She found it hard to accept but I had accepted it the moment I saw her.

"Who knows what the moon Goddess is up to?" My little statement made us both laugh, even her laugh was beautiful, "so what is your name my lovely mate?" I think I was doing too much and embarrassing myself.

She giggled with her eyes closed before flashing her silver orbs at me, "Imani, Imani Andrew, it's a pleasure." I couldn't get enough of her smiling at me like that.

"I'm Kayden West." I took her hand to kiss it again, it made her look away In embarrassment, "oh dear, I'm expecting a visitor and I have no idea if he has arrived by now." I completely forgot about the Alpha, he might be waiting for me in the open side of the courtyard.

"Who is this if I may ask?" She held my hand tighter, not wanting me to leave her side.

"He is the Alpha of a minor pack, the Eclipse pack, he Is wishing to form an alliance with mine." I summarized, I wasn't as interested in the Alpha anymore now that I found my mate.

And it was even more surprising when she bursted into a hysterical laugh, I was taken aback by how powerful it was. There was authority in her voice and I couldn't deny it, maybe she must be a Luna?

"Well…" she still laughed a little before she finally calmed down, "you're speaking to the Alpha of the Eclipse pack." She jested and it made me smirk,

"You're kidding me." I had no clue she was the funny one until her tone became serious,

"I wish I was but I am both the Alpha and the Luna of the Eclipse pack, Luna Imani." She defended her title and realization hit me, I shouldn't have concluded that it was the alpha that was coming,

"I'm sorry." I coughed out and she waved it off,

"It is alright, it is more common to see a man ruling than a woman but I'm the only child of my parents so I need to take up the responsibility of ruling my pack." She moved past me to admire more of the courtyard and I followed her.

"It's the first time I'm hearing of your pack." I moved to her side and we were going to have a walk and talk. I admired the white markings on her body that were barely covered by her royal clothing. It revealed an interesting side of her culture and her clothes revealed more interesting things about her.

"Well we are a minority but we are blessed with powerful wolves, wolves with special abilities." Mischief flashed in her eyes as she caught me staring at her in an inappropriate manner, "our only disadvantage is that we are small in number, and since the last few months, we have been smaller." The last statement, her voice dipped,

"And what could be the cause of that?" I did read the letter but I wanted to hear it from her mouth.

"We were attacked by rogues and they're not ordinary, they possess immense strength and are very difficult to kill. Each rogue has the strength of three wolves and they were numerous, we were only so much…" she took a pause, she was remembering something that took the happiness from her body, "we lost a lot that day and we are currently rebuilding but we need assistance."

She turned to face me, "and that is why I'm here."

This was a lot to take in, I will not lie, I was very attracted to her but she was from a minority and it would be a stain to my name to form an alliance with a minority. If I were taking over her pack then it would be better but an alliance would cause me shame.

"I do understand you and I can help you, but I will have full control over the pack and your people would be under my rule, and that way I could protect them better." I stated my offer down, "and I guess we could be closer to each other." That last part was very smooth and geared toward telling her that I liked her a lot.

"You want to have full control of my pack? I asked for an alliance, not a buy-over." She seemed irritated at my offer and I didn't like that,

"But what other way? This is the best way." I pushed further but it was only angering her,

"Not the best for my people, we are smaller than you are and it's only normal for your people to try to harass mine." She huffed, mouthing words to herself like she was giving herself a pep talk, "we want an alliance, we would share resources and possibly even barriers but I can never give my pack over."

"And what do you have to offer me?" I crossed the line when I said that,

'Kayden, what are you saying? You are making mate angry!' Xane nagged me but I was angry too, what the hell was she trying to do? Does she think she can just have an alliance without giving anything useful to my pack?

"What do you mean?" It looked like she would explode on me but I didn't give a damn about it.

"You heard what I said, what do you have to offer? You're a minority, you don't have what we would need but I'm still trying to make it possible and you're here getting angry." I lashed at her and she stood still, "you don't have enough men or enough resources, what would you give my pack? Women?"

"Enough!” She silenced me, and I felt something tug at my heart and Xane was telling me to stop but I didn't want to listen to him. My so-called mate was very proud and I didn't want to have someone who couldn't reason with me because of an inflated ego.

"Do you see that I am right?"

"The only thing I can see is your pride and your dimwittedness. It is foolishness to insult a Luna because her pack is not as big as yours, not just a Luna, but anyone else. Do not make anyone feel inferior because of what you have that could be lost at any moment."

She had a lot of words in her mouth, but I could put that mouth to good use.

“ pray tell me , dear holy one, are you not inferior? Goddess! How on Earth did I get paired with you?!" Enraged was an understatement, I was also very irritated.

"I have no idea, and I don't want someone like you." She sneered at me.

"It's not like you would get—"

"Kayden West, I Imani of the Eclipse pack reject you. You are no longer my mate." And that was how she rejected me before I could complete my statement.

What kind of a woman is this!?