Chapter 3 3

Navier's POV

As she slumped into my arms, "I felt a surge of conflicting emotions within me. how could this be?" Bewildered and amazed, I questioned myself." Should I take her back to my pack or leave her here?" My mind raced with confusion.

After the death of my Luna, Cara, I fell into deep grieving, consumed by regret. I couldn't forgive myself for leaving her unprotected in the pack.

That fateful day, I had left the pack for a werewolf summit hosted by the neighboring pack. During the meeting, I felt a painful strain on our mate bond, leaving me on edge as I attempted to reach her through our mate link but failed. I then tried to communicate with the pack delta through the pack link, having left him in charge of the pack, and departed with Ethan, my beta.

Feeling uneasy and anxious, I abruptly left the summit alongside Ethan, I rushed home in my wolf form through the forest, till I felt our mate bond break as I doubled over in pain but I refused to be deterred, I got home to meet, Cara in a pool of blood.

The pain and anguish made me unable to perform my duties as the Alpha. The pack was left unprotected and vulnerable to attacks from rival packs and rogues, just as when my father, the former Alpha, lost my mother, his Luna also in a rogue attack. I had promised the pack I would never let such a thing happen again. I refused to find any second chance mate or agree to an arranged marriage in fear of history repeating itself.

But When the elders insisted I either find my second chance mate or accept an arranged marriage with a female Alpha, from the neighborhood packs, I had agreed to attend tonight's mating ceremony, at the Red Moons pack, where Alphas and other werewolves from different packs came together to find their mate's, because I knew I had to do what's best for my pack.

I had lost all hope when I couldn't find her and went in search of my beta Ethan, to get back to our pack, when caught a whiff of my mate's scent, was disappointed only to find out she was mute and a stealer wolf.

Stealer wolves are omegas with alluring scents. They aren't the type of wolves to have fated mates, since they could be easily claimed by just any wolf, even if the male wolf is mated or unmated.

Mating with stealer wolves would only bring trouble and anguish to their fated mate. Whenever they go into heat or their scents are accidentally released, makes male wolves lose their minds and, would be blinded by lust and force themselves on the unprotected stealer wolf or worse kill them. Was this the type of life I would be subjected to?

I needed a mate who would be my partner and equal, a Luna who would be a source of strength and support, not a mute who wouldn't be able to communicate with me and the pack members, not a weak, pathetic mate, who I'll have to protect and worry about all the time. I couldn't help but wonder as I stood there staring at my unconscious mate in my arms.

Amidst my pondering, my Beta Ethan came rushing into me, and I growled at him in annoyance. "Chill man, I have been looking for you, I got lost at the entrance and I couldn't find you," he said with his hands up in the air, and eyes raised in curiosity, before noticing the girl in my arms. "Wow, who's she? You move fast, you know," he says, winking his eyebrows at me.

"Get the car around." I snapped out in frustration.

"Okay, I will no need to yank my head off," he said, pulling out the keys from his pick as he went in search of the car we parked on the parking grounds.

I was waiting for a while before he came around with the car. I walked towards the car, placed my mate in the backseat, and to the driver's side where Ethan sat, and opened the door.

"What?" he asked, staring at me strangely.

"Get out of the car, I'm driving," I said, pulling him by his shirt, and seated in the driver's seat, making myself comfortable.

"Alright, Alright, you're behaving strangely," he said, murmuring to himself as he walked to the other side of the car by the driver's side and got in. Immediately he entered the car, I drove off at a high speed to the highway, holding the car steering wheel in a tight grip.

"That's enough," I said in my Alpha voice. As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I hated the idea of forcing friends or family members into submission.

"Yes, Alpha," he said in a quiet voice. I could tell that he was hurt by my tone.

Ethan remained silent, making me feel worse than I already was feeling. Ethan is my childhood best friend and my Beta, strong Beta at that, but a cuddly teddy bear at heart. I knew he was there to encourage and make people laugh, even when they were at their lowest.

I took a deep breath, trying to rein in my temper. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

"It's okay, Alpha," he said, but I could still hear the pain in his voice.

As we drove on, Ethan kept glancing occasionally at my mate in the backseat. He looked at me with a mixture of concern and curiosity. I knew he wanted answers, but the Alpha command kept him from asking.

"She's my mate," I said, sighing in defeat.

Ethan's eyes lit up with happiness at the mention of these words, happy at the prospect of the pack having a new Luna.

"Your second chance, mate?" he said, but frowned when he noticed the indifference in my tone.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked, "Why aren't you happy?"

"She's a stealer wolf," I said, rubbing my hand on my face.

"A stealer wolf, wow those are rare," he said, still confused as to why I was sad at the mention of my mate. "I understand a stealer wolf isn't what you need right now, but the pack needs their Luna, to bring unity and peace back to the pack".

"Ethan, you don't understand. She's a goddamn mute."

This struck him silent, and he sputtered his words, "You mean she's mute?"

"How can a werewolf be mute?" He asked, surprised, because it's unheard of. Werewolves don't have disabilities, we don't get sick, or age faster like human beings.

"I plan on rejecting her," I said, in a voice thick with anguish. "She'll only bring shame and disgrace to the pack."

I thought of Miranda, my first mate, who had died in a rogue attack. "She was a strong warrior, not a weakling," I said and felt my throat tighten, I couldn't bear the thought of being with someone else, "I will never accept a weak, mute wolf as a second mate, she doesn't fit the description of a strong Luna."

"But rejecting her is dangerous, and leaves you vulnerable," Ethan said, his eyes full of concern," which is the last thing the pack needs now".

Silence hung heavy between us, broken by the distant howl of the pack guards patrolling the boarders, signaling their greetings to the alpha. As we drove to the front of the pack house.

I threw the keys at one of the pack warriors standing by the door to park the car in the garage and signaled to the other one to come closer.

"Lock her up," I said, walking into the pack house with Ethan trailing after me.