Chapter 3

Liam

"Alpha?"

"Yes, Amy?" I call the old woman into my office. She's been our packhouse manager for fifty years and there are few people I trust more. She is a mousy woman, barely five foot with short brown hair and warm brown eyes. She wipes her hands nervously on the white apron she wears over her light blue dress.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the young ones broke another window." I sigh in annoyance and pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Damn teenagers." I mutter to myself when Amy tsks at me.

"Now Alpha Liam don't you forget you were one of those young men not too long ago."

"It feels like a long time ago." She sighs and gives me a concerned look.

"You seem far too troubled for a twenty four year old. You need to relax. Have some fun. Maybe find your mate."

"Agreed, but right now I have a window to fix." She nods and exits my office. I lean back from my large wood desk and stare out the window on the other side. It gives me an excellent view of the training grounds. I open my mind link with my beta as I continue to watch my men train.

'Sam?'

'Yes Alpha?'

'Do you have time to run into town to get a new window for the packhouse? It's supposed to storm good tonight and I want it fixed so no more damage occurs.'

'Damn, did those rowdy punks break another window? Sorry, Alpha I don't have time. I have to lead training in a half hour.'

'What about Callum?'

'His mate is due to give birth at any second. Good luck getting him from Kara's side let alone off pack grounds.'

'Shit, I guess I'll do it myself.' I break the link and grab my keys.

I stop to get a sandwich and a bottle of water from Amy, while also giving my young pack members the evil eye. They all shrink under my gaze and I can nearly guarantee they won't make this mistake again. The nearest town is just over an hour away and I take the time to enjoy the silence.

I reach the store and as I get out of my car, the wind changes and I catch the most amazing smell of strawberries, honey and vanilla. My wolf is chanting in my head

'Mate, mate, mate!'

I look around to see where the smell is coming from and lock eyes on the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Her long blonde hair travels in waves down her back and her eyes are a gorgeous shade of crystal blue. Her short jean shorts let me take in her long, tan legs leading up to a scrumptious ass, lean waist with luscious hips I can't wait to sink my claws into. She turns to face me and I nearly lose my mind. Her pink tank top displays a small amount of cleavage for her ample breasts and her beautiful little mouth smiles back at me. I head in her direction, fully aware of the ridiculous smile on my face as she traces me head to toe with her own eyes.

'Look all you want, sweetheart. I'm all yours.' I think to myself. I lengthen my strides to get to her quicker when she gets the most adorable, confused look on her face. Does she not smell me? Surely she knows I'm her mate. Maybe she didn't want a mate. I get closer to her and inhale deeper.

Then stop in my tracks.

She's human.

"Ah, fuck!" I mutter.

This can't be happening. My entire life I've always said I don't care who my mate is as long as she's not human. I didn't really care about having a mate at all. I mostly just want help with the pack. All of that lovey dovey shit isn't really me. I mean yeah I wouldn't mind having a built in sex buddy and I'll need an heir eventually, but I'm not about to snuggle and tell the girl I love her.

I grab my mate by the arm and start pulling her towards my car. I don't have the time or the patience to sit here and explain what's happening. Threatening to hurt her isn't my finest hour, but we're in a bit of a situation here and I don't need human police involved. This is a shit show enough as it is. The whole way back she's sobbing and shaking which, I can't totally blame her. I'm sure she's scared but, I don't really care right now. My whole life just got a lot harder and I'm honestly not happy with the situation either.

"Where are you taking me?" Her sweet voice travels over to me. At least she's stopped crying. For now.

"To my pack." Her eyes widen and she squishes herself against the car door as far from me as she can get. I figure it's better to rip off the bandaid and get this over with.

"I'm a werewolf. The alpha actually. I'm in charge of the pack and you're my mate, which makes you the Luna. You will come to my pack, be introduced, receive my mark and help me run things."

After my spiel I hazard a glance at her. She's looking at me like I have two heads. Which I do if you count my wolf I guess.

"Of course I would get kidnapped by a psycho cult leader who wants to make me his queen." She murmurs to herself as she starts to shake again.

"Just calm down everything will be fine."

"I highly doubt that." She spits at me with pure contempt. Her disrespect is starting to get on my nerves even if my wolf is fawning over her. I sigh and keep my mouth shut while mind linking my pack to prepare for a meeting.

We pull up to the clearing outside of the packhouse. I exit the car and go around to open her door. The whole pack is there watching. They have set up the small stage we use for these meetings where Sam is standing, waiting for me.

When I open her car door, her eyes are wide and terrified. She takes in the large crowd and cowers away from me. I sigh in annoyance and undo her seat belt. I grab her arm to pull her out of the car when she yanks away from me.

"Don't touch me, asshole." She seethes and I hear sharp gasps from my pack.

No one disrespects me like that.

"Then get your ass out of the car." I growl at her through clenched teeth.

"NO!" She screams at me. The thin thread I've had on my temper up until now snaps and I grab her around the waist, throw her over my shoulder and carry her up to the stage. I set her on her feet next to me and wrap my arm around her waist to keep her from running.

"Hello everyone! Sorry for this last minute meeting but I would like to introduce you all to my mate and your luna!" I realize at that moment I probably should have asked her what her name is. There are a few claps, but most people look at her with confused, concerned eyes.

"She's human?" Sam asks from next to me.

"Yes, rather unfortunate." I respond as she tries to get away from me.

"So you know nothing of our kind?" Sam asks the girl gently. Much gentler than I've been with her this whole time.

"What are you talking about?" She asks. I sigh and look down at her.

"We talked about this. I'm a werewolf. We're all werewolves."

"Oh. So you're all fucking crazy then. Good to know." She rolls her eyes as she tries to pull away from me again.

"Show her, Sam. Shift." He rubs the back of his neck and gives my mate a shy smile.

"Are you sure, Alpha? That will probably freak her out."

"She's already freaked out and she won't believe me until she sees it. Shift." I tell him again. He shrugs and looks at my mate.

"Sorry, Luna" he says apologetically before he shifts into a large brown wolf. I feel my mate go slack next to me and tighten my grip around her waist so she won't fall. She screams and grips onto my shirt, trying to put distance between her and Sam. Her eyes are wide and she starts to cry again.

"It's fine. He won't hurt you. He can't. Every instinct in his body will tell him to protect you. Everyone in this pack will." I lower my voice to try to make it as soothing as possible. She shifts her glance from him to me then back to him again.

She tries to pull away from me again and my wolf has had enough of her trying to get away.

"You need to stop trying to run or I will mark you right here." I warn her.

"Fuck you! I will never stop trying to run. I will NEVER stop trying to get away from you!" She yells at me and I can see clear determination and defiance in her stunning blue eyes.

My wolf takes over and I grab her around the waist and pull her towards me. I thread my fingers through her soft blonde hair and tilt her head to expose her neck. Before I can rein him in, my wolf extends his canines and bites down into the soft flesh of her neck. She let's out a shrill cry that doesn't stop until I feel her go slack in my arms. I pull away to see that she has passed out.

Well, shit.