Chapter 4

As I watched the bodies that had been crowded around me part to create a walkway, I stood breathless as the most beautiful man I had ever seen walked straight towards me. He had to be the most enormous man I had ever seen, at a guess I would say he's 6'5. His muscular frame had a warm, sun-kissed glow, and peeping out from his black t-shirt was some form of tribal tattoo that went up to his right bicep and disappeared underneath. I wanted to tear off his shirt and follow where the tattoo lead, tracing every line delicately as I investigated his body further. As my eyes wandered upwards I let out a quiet gasp as I was staring into a pair of the most brilliant emerald green eyes I had ever seen. They shined so brightly, I felt like I could never be lost in the dark so long as I had those eyes next to me. His gaze set me alight, though I was in a crowded nightclub and had just been dancing, I knew the heat radiating from my body was purely from him. I had never felt such a sudden desire towards someone,  I don't recall ever being so drawn to a person in my life, not even to Sean. 

The strangers rich, chocolate brown hair was shorter on the sides and the top of his head looked like a hand had run through it to brush the rest of his hair aside. How I longed for my hands to be the ones to become tangled in his locks. As I continued to let my eyes roam his body, I noticed his once emerald eyes had become dark, almost black. His expression was hard to read as if there was a wall built up that only he could see through. 

"Amara, is this God of a man the source of the scent?", I asked my wolf, though I was almost certain I knew the answer myself. 

"Mate! He is our mate!", Amara howled with pride as she sprinted around excitedly. 

As I turned my attention back towards our mystery mate, I hadn't noticed just how close he had gotten. I had to tilt my head back just to look into his face. His once hard to read eyes were now very clearly showing one emotion, anger. I began to feel sick, had I done something to offend him? Did he find me repulsive? Amara started to whine and curled up into a defensive ball, she too felt the sickening pit of anxiety settle within her. I could feel the heat from his body reaching towards me in waves, his fists clenched at his side as he eyed my already bruised wrists.

"Who dared to put their hands on what is mine", his voice boomed throughout the club as the music had been turned off, everyone's attention was turned towards us. Amara's ears pricked up as the realization had dawned on her, our mate was angry that we had been hurt.

As no one came forward my mate turned to me, his face still a mask of anger, "Who?", he asked. I wondered why the nightclub had such a reaction to what was going on, surely this wasn't the first time mates had been found under its roof, and I was willing to bet good money on there being some sort of altercation here every other night. 

"Laila, tell him who it was! He may be as sexy as Thor himself but I wouldn't want to anger him. I can sense a great deal of power within him". I had to agree with her, this man radiated an aura of power and strength.

I pointed in the direction of where the scumbags were cowering, I could tell they were trying to blend in and act casual, but as soon as they saw me turn their way, they crumbled. 

"We didn't mean anything by it, sir", one of them scrambled to find his words, "Honest, Alpha! We had no idea she meant anything to you". 

"Wait, Alpha?!"

"I knew it, that's why he has such an intense aura. No wonder he has the gaze of everyone in this room", Amara stated proudly. She was on cloud 9 as our mate was not only a walking God but an Alpha too.

"So, regardless of if she were mine or not, you were willing to harm her? To force yourselves upon her?", his eyes were now pitch black, his voice was eerily calm though I could sense the anger behind his cool facade. "Men who are happy to harm a woman, who is willing to tear her down for their own sick pleasure are not welcome in my club, you should know this". 

Two very large, handsome men, I'm assuming they are part of our mates' pack, came out from behind our Alpha mate, they wordlessly escorted the terrified group out from the club and through a door that lead to darkness. Once they were out of view, my mate turned to me. His invisible walls were back, but so too were his breathtaking emerald eyes. "Come with me", he said, as he lead me towards the other side of the club. I quickly grabbed ahold of Marnie's hand and pulled her along with me, she looked as if she had seen a Ghost.

"Laila! Laila, we need to find a way out of here, fast", Marnie called to me through a mind-link.

"What? Why? This guy is my mate, I have to-"

"No I don't think you understand Laila, he's-", before Marnie could finish we were ushered into a quiet VIP area. 

As we walked past a smaller replica of the main bar, my mate stopped. 

"I would like to be left alone", he said. His voice washed through me like a calm summer breeze. It held no notes of malice as it had only a few moments ago. 

Marnie slowly sat into a comfy looking barstool, her face was still pale and her legs wobbled uneasily. I followed suit and plonked myself down into the stool next to her, a soft chuckle escaped my mates lips, it was the most attractive sound I had ever heard, though I was sure in due time he would make plenty more noises that would sound even more enticing.

"You saucy minx", Amara chirped. I could tell she was excited and approved of my slightly racy thoughts.

"Not you", the Alpha said. He reached out to take my hand and as he did, sparks ignited across my whole arm. It was like a pleasant electric current ran through these strange sparks. They were calming and exciting me at the same time as my heart skipped a beat at our first physical contact. I wasn't sure if mate had felt them, for his face still held a passive look. 

Marnie looked across to me, fear written all over her delicate face. 

"Do not worry for your little friend", he spoke to Marnie, "She is safe with me".

Marnie continued to look at me, "Laila, I don't know what to do, I'm so sorry", she called out to me through our mind-link.

"What do you mean? I know I wasn't interested in finding a mate, but look at this guy! And bonus, he isn't from our pack",

"That's what I'm worried about", slowly Marnie began to sink into her seat. Her eyes trained on me as I walked over to a plush looking sofa. 

As soon as I sat down I was fully aware of how close I was to my Alpha mate. His scent and proximity alone were driving Amara crazy, she was clawing at the front of my mind begging to come out and claim her mate. I squirmed as I struggled to compose myself, this caught the attention of mate. His eyes roamed my body once again hungrily before settling on my eyes. 

"Do you know who I am?", he asked.

"No", my voice came out as nothing more than a soft whisper. I was both anxious at disappointing him with my lack of knowledge, considering everyone else here knew who he was, I was also anxious as I had only just met him, yet my soul yearned to touch his, to combine as one together. My response brought a smirk to his face,

"I am Alpha Grayson, of the Dark Moon pack". 

Suddenly my world stopped again, but this time there was no pleasant scent, no warm rush of excitement, I was dead cold. Fear tingled down my spine as I looked toward Marnie, it made sense to me now why she was so anxious to leave. I could feel my hands become clammy and a small bead of sweat rolled down my temple. I tried to remain as calm and composed as I could, any wrong move and I'm dead.

"MATE IS OUR ENEMY!", Amara cried, I could feel her heart sink as she howled in agony. How could we ever tell him the truth? How could Goddess pair me with the very man I am trained to fight against? 

As he sat waiting for me to respond I slowly nodded my head. I had to calculate each movement and sound I made from here on out. And as much as it pained me to think, I had to find a way out of here, mate or not, I wasn't safe here. It seemed ironic that after all my resistance to the idea of finding my mate, it now brought a sad, chaotic sinking feeling to my entire being. Sad at the realization that I couldn't have this beautiful man, sad that I would have to hurt him when I rejected him, and sad that I would have to flee my home. I knew he would hunt me down when I escaped, my pack wouldn't be safe if I returned. 

"And you?", he asked, a strange look tried to settle on his face before the walls quickly shut it back out, "What is your name?" .

I considered lying, but what would be the point. I would be gone as soon as I got a chance, the least I could do was tell him my name.

"Laila," I managed to find my voice, "My name is Laila". 

"Laila", my name rolled off his tongue, it was almost as if he were tasting it. This caused a shiver to run down my spine, though this time it was pure pleasure. The sound of him saying my name warmed me, and for a moment I forgot who we both were, the only thing I knew was that I wanted him. I knew it was the mate bond beginning to form, but at that moment I didn't care. 

One of the men who escorted the dirtbags out approached Alpha Grayson, he didn't have a single hair out of place. That meant he either let the guys go free or, he's a skilled fighter. I honestly didn't know which scenario I would prefer. A scowl formed on my mates' perfect face, he turned to me to excuse himself.

"This is it!" Marnie yelled through our mind-link, "This is our chance, while he's busy", but just as quickly as the Alpha had gotten up, the man who interrupted us stood nearby, shielding me away from view. 

I could feel the disappointment in Marnie as our minds were still linked, I had no idea how we were going to get out from here. Amara was no help as she was mourning the loss of our mate already. I could feel my heart racing at the thought of Alpha Greyson finding out my identity, what if he already knew? Perhaps someone had noticed I wasn't a local and pieced it together, that's why he was gone and I was being guarded. As I started to lose myself Marnie popped into my head again, "Laila just breathe, we can find a way out of here, we just need to keep calm". Calm, it was hard to remain calm at a time like this, I am literally in the den of my enemy and have no way out. I needed water, ice cold water. Whenever I was sick or anxious, ice cold water was my cure. 

"I have an idea", I called out to Marnie, "Just follow my lead". I stood from the sofa and gestured towards Marnie as the giant of a man looked down at me. He walked me over to her and I asked the bartender for a cup of cold water. I gulped greedily as I continued to tell Marnie my plan, "Once I finish this drink we are going to excuse ourselves to the toilet and escape out of the bathroom window". It wasn't my finest idea, but it was all we had. Marnie agreed eagerly, she just wanted to get out. We told the guard that we had to use the bathroom, he seemed disinterested in the idea but lead us to a black oak door. As soon as the door shut behind me I twisted the lock quietly, my survival instincts were kicking in as I searched frantically for another way out. The elegant bathroom had no windows, and the only vent was placed on the very high ceiling. Even on top of Marnie's shoulders, we had no chance of reaching it. 

"Damnit", Marnie hissed, she was pacing around the bathroom trying to keep it together, but I could tell she was holding onto the last of her strength. As her pacing began to slow, Marnie fell to the floor, tears streaming silently down her pink cheeks. "Laila, I am so sorry for bringing you here. I had no idea this would happen! I just wanted a fun night out, and instead I've sentenced us to die in a nightclub bathroom". As she sobbed I cradled her to my chest, "Hey, we're going to be ok. Surely Alpha Grayson wouldn't kill the Alpha's daughter and the Beta's mate. The worst-case scenario is he will use us as pawns against our pack, best case scenario is he's actually a lovely guy and will let us go with nothing more than a smack on the bottom". Though I was trying to lighten the mood and relax my sobbing best friend, I couldn't help but imagine the Alpha smacking my behind. The thought sent a warm wave throughout my body, I had to get a grip and remember what my current situation is; I am sitting on a bathroom floor comforting my best friend who is terrified of my mate killing us, who I am also slightly worried about. 

A short knock on the door shook us from our thoughts. I stood Marnie up and wiped her tear-stained face, holding on tight to each other's hands we opened the door and walked back into the lion's den.