Alpha's Forbidden Mate.

Selene pov

I opened my eyes, clutching my chest, my breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps.

No... no, this can't be happening.

My vision blurred, but I felt the shift happening in me before I could stop it. My brown irises turned into pure gold ...it was the mark of a wolf sensing her mate for the first time.

The scent hit me next, it was sharp and overwhelming, thick with power and heat.

I could feel him.

Even from this distance, the bond snapped into place like a chain around my neck. His scent clung to the air ...it was, dominant, unmistakably powerful. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever inhaled.

My mate.

Today was my eighteenth birthday ...the day I have been dreading all my life. The year when every wolf comes of age, when the mate bond awakens and the moon goddess chooses for you.

For most, it's a blessing.

But for someone like me ...someone who had survived alone since I was eight,the idea of being shackled to anyone, even by the Moon Goddess herself, was the same as death.

And I wouldn't let that happen.

I was still lost in thought, struggling to steady my breath, when Keisha burst into the room.

"Holy shit..." she whispered, eyes widening as she took one look at me. Her red curls clung to her damp face, wild from running. Her green eyes ...one that always seemed to hold concern just for me ,was fixed on my glowing gold irises.

"Is it happening?" she asked, with a low voice.

I couldn't answer ...I just nodded, clutching my chest as my breathing turned ragged again. My wolf was stirring beneath my skin, pacing, growling, snarling to break free. She could feel him. Our mate. And she was ready to tear down the walls to get to him.

Keisha dropped to her knees in front of me and gently held my face, grounding me with her touch.

"Breathe, Selene. I need you to be calm and listen to me, okay?"

I tried. Goddess, I tried. But the bond had snapped tight around my ribcage like a noose. I was suffocating in it.

"Keisha..." I managed to choke out.

Her expression darkened. "Our scouts just returned. The Northern Pack army is marching this way ...in numbers. It's Blackthorn."

My blood ran cold.

"That can't mean anything good," she continued. "We need to move. Now."

I nodded quickly, panic tightening every muscle in my body. "Yes... I can feel him. He's coming closer. Please, Keisha. Let's go. Now."

We shifted into our wolves and tore through the forest, heading east faster than we'd ever run before.

If we could just cross the border, we could lose them. The army. Him.

Something in my gut told me what I'd been dreading all along ...he's with them. My mate is part of that army. Part of the Northern Pack. Part of the life that destroyed me.

And I'd rather be caught dead than have any connection to Blackthorn ever again.

I pushed harder, my paws pounding the earth, lungs burning as I ignored the intoxicating scent growing stronger with every heartbeat. His scent. It wrapped around my senses, pulled at my instincts like a drug.

But I wouldn't give in.

Keisha ran beside me, her smaller wolf just behind my flank.

"We're close to the border!" she called through the mind-link, hope flickering between us like a spark.

But before I could respond, I heard thudding paws. Dozens of them. closing in on us.

"Shit," I growled, skidding slightly on the forest floor. They'd caught up.

And now his scent was undeniable. It hit me like a tidal wave, and my wolf howled from within, begging to turn around, to find him, to submit.

But I refused.

I kept running, breath ragged, my heart pounding like a war drum ...until something slammed into me from the side, knocking the air clean out of my lungs.

"It's funny you thought you could run from me, little wolf."

His voice was deep, rough with amusement ...and something far darker.

Before I could gather myself, the Alpha command hit me like a thunderclap.

"Shift back to your human form Now."

The words wrapped around my bones and bent my will without mercy.

My limbs trembled as my wolf was forced into retreat. Pain shot through me, it was brief but unbearable ...and then I was naked, my long black hair falling in damp waves around me.

My eyes still glowed gold. His command had weakened my body ...but not the mate bond. Not the power surging between us like a live wire.

I looked up.

And the moment I did, everything inside me broke.

Somewhere behind me, I heard Keisha struggling, snarling in her wolf form, her voice crying out through the mind-link. "We didn't do anything! Let us go! Please...Selene's done nothing wrong!"

But I couldn't answer her.

Because the face in front of me had already knocked the air out of my lungs.

Kael Blackthorn.

My mate.

The very man who banished me from the pack when I was just eight.

The man who turned his back when I screamed for someone..anyone, to believe me.

Who refused to listen when I pleaded, trembling and bloodied from their cruel assaults , that I had no idea what had happened to my sister.

Who looked me in the eye with cold indifference and branded me a traitor.

Kael Blackthorn. My mate.

The same boy who exiled me... and the face behind all my nightmares.

And fate, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humor.

now, he stood before me as the Alpha of the army I tried to escape.

"So this is where you've been hiding, Selene," he said, breathing out my name like a sin he fully intended to commit.

A moan slipped from my lips before I could stop it . I curled into myself, clutching my legs as the bond flared inside me, the ache to be claimed spreading like fire under my skin.

No. I refused to give in.

"Take the other one. Head back to the pack," Kael ordered without looking at me, speaking to the tall, broad-shouldered wolf who stepped forward.

He was handsome ,silver-eyed, with a rigid jaw ...and he pointedly kept his gaze off me, as if my naked body disgusted him.

He bent and reached for Keisha.

"Let her go, you bastard!" I snarled. "Leave us alone!"

Kael's gaze finally cut to mine, his lips curling in amusement .

"She's not my problem," he said coolly, as if Keisha were dirt under his boot.

"But you... you are. You're my mate, Selene. And I will never be denied what is rightfully mine."

I forced myself to my feet, trembling . "I'd rather peel the skin off my body piece by piece before I ever belong to you."

His eyes darkened.

"I reject-"

"Finish that sentence," he growled, stepping closer, "and you won't like what happens next."

He circled me like a predator, his voice low and lethal.

"You can't reject me. Not now. Not ever. Even your body betrays you."

"I hate you." The words came out like venom.

Kael's lips curled.

"Are you sure you want to be mated to a murderer?" I asked, my voice low and wicked, "Or have you already forgotten what led to my banishment all those years ago?"

Selene pov

His long black hair was tied back in a sleek ponytail, framing the sharp lines of his almond-shaped face. His lips ...full and pink ...looked almost too soft for someone like him.

His eyes, a piercing shade of green, burned with intensity and cruel amusement.

He looked more feminine than I did, almost delicate even ...but there was nothing soft about the way he stood. His body was muscular, it showed strength. My head barely reached his chest.

Yes, this man was handsome unnaturally so. But all I saw was the devil in disguise.

"Come to me, Selene," he said,

I didn't move. My gaze slid past him, scanning the terrain behind his broad shoulders.

That's when I saw a cliff, not too far off, hidden behind a rise of stone and thickets. My pulse spiked,that was my way out.

I smiled meant to serve as a distraction.

I took one step back.

"You're coming back to Blackthorn with me," he said, voice tightening. "Now."

I tilted my head, my voice low and sultry as I met his gaze. "And if I say no?"

His eyes darkened with interest, but I could feel the caution there too ..he knew I was planning something.

I took another step.

But before I could move again, his hand shot out .. faster than I anticipated ...and yanked me forward, crushing me against his chest.

His arms locked around me like iron bands, and his maddening scent...flooded my senses.

"You're not going anywhere."

I drove my fist into his chest and ducked under his arm, twisting to escape.

But he was faster.

His hand clamped around my waist, lifting me off the ground like I weighed nothing. I gritted my teeth and slammed my forehead into his nose with a sickening crack.

He didn't flinch.

Instead, he snarled and tightened his grip around my neck, spinning me in his arms so my back hit his chest.

I gasped, clawing at his arm as the air was choked from my lungs. Panic shot through me like lightning. My legs kicked uselessly, my nails raking against his skin, but he wouldn't let go.

Tears leaked from my eyes frustrated by my helplessness.

He leaned in, his tongue flicking out to catch the salt on my cheek.

"Ah... I love the taste of your tears," he murmured, voice dark with twisted pleasure.

"You monster," I choked, my voice barely a whisper as I tried to tear his hand from my throat.

In one movement, he shoved me back, pinning me against the nearest tree, the bark digging into my spine. His claws sliced through my dress, the fabric falling away in strips.

I gasped from shock, and from the cold air.

But worse... my wolf purred.

She wanted this. The power. The scent. The domination.

She saw a mate. I saw a monster.

And in that horrifying moment, I realized.. we were no longer on the same side.

He leaned in, his lips latching onto my neck with a force that stole the breath from my lungs. He sucked hard, claiming the space beneath my jaw like it belonged to him... and to my horror, my body responded.

My head tipped back, eyes fluttering shut, a moan slipping out as my vision blurred and my knees weakened.

I hated him.

I hated the way he made me feel. But no matter how much I resisted, my body had already begun to surrender it was worn down by the mate bond, tired of fighting what every cell inside me was screaming to accept.

A traitor's heat pooled between my legs as my wolf purred in the back of my mind.

He wedged his thigh between mine, raising it until the hard muscle pressed against the ache pulsing at my core...right against my clit. My hips jerked in response, betraying me again.

No.

I bit down on my lip to stop another sound from escaping, forcing my head to the side.

"I hate you," I hissed, voice trembling.

He smiled against my skin,

His fingers pushed into me without warning ...two thick fingers invaded my cunt stretching me.

The shock of it sent a jolt through me, my back arching against the tree as a ragged moan tore from my lips. My hands flew to his hair, fingers tangling in the silky strands, clutching him like an anchor in a storm I couldn't escape.

"For someone who claims to hate me," he murmured darkly, "you sure do moan beautifully."

I wanted to curse him. Spit in his face. Deny him everything.

But my body betrayed me again and again, grinding against his hand like it had already surrendered. My wolf was howling, desperate, and pleased.

I didn't know how long he held me there ...pinned to the tree, fingers deep inside me, pulling cries I didn't know I could make. At some point, the words left my mouth before I could stop them:

"Please... just claim me."

That was when the pain hit.

It was Sharp and Burning. Searing into the side of my neck.

I screamed.

"That's to mark you," he whispered against my skin. "So no one forgets your scent. So no one touches what's mine."

The world blurred around me. My legs gave out.

Just before darkness took me, I heard him whisper again, his voice thick with possession.

"You're mine now, rogue."

Then everything went black.

My head throbbed like it had been split open.

Groggy and disoriented, I blinked into the blinding light, the low hum of murmuring voices filling my ears. At first, I thought it was in my head ...a leftover hallucination from the fainted but then I turned, and my blood ran cold.

I stumbled back, nearly falling.

No. No. No.

My worst nightmare had come to life.

I was standing on a raised platform, dressed in a white ceremonial mating dress, thin and laced in gold. My feet were bare, my hair combed and adorned with silver threads.

The entire Blackthorn Pack was gathered before me.

I clutched my chest, struggling to breathe against my hammering heart.

"What is going on?" I gasped, looking around, begging for answers ..for mercy ...from no one in particular.

A voice answered from the steps of the platform.

"What do you think is going on?" Kael's voice rolled over the crowd . He ascended the steps, every inch the Alpha, his purple hair tied back in regal defiance. "I'm about to claim my mate in front of the pack, as per tradition."

"I never agreed to this!" I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation.

A hush fell over the crowd . The murmurs turned to sharp silence.

"Who are you to talk back to the Alpha?" a voice snapped from the crowd.

A man stepped forward ...one I recognized faintly from the fog of my childhood. His face was older now, harder, but the sneer was familiar.it was the alpha chief adviser.

Before I could react, his hand struck my cheek with a loud crack, snapping my head to the side.

"You filthy rogue. Murderer. You're lucky the Alpha even wants-"

His words were cut off by the sickening sound of flesh tearing.

Blood sprayed across my face.

The man staggered back with wide eyes.. before collapsing in a heap at my feet.

Kael stood behind him, his claws soaked in red.

His gaze locked on mine ..

"No one touches what's mine."

I gasped, unable to tear my eyes away from the body sprawled at my feet.

Blood pooled beneath him, warm and bright against the ceremonial white of my dress.

He was dead.

Killed without hesitation. Because of me.

"Now... shall we continue?" Kael asked, his voice calm. He stepped over the body like it was nothing more than a stain on the ground, his eyes fixed on me with dark finality.

He turned to face the crowd, then looked back at me as if this was just a formality.

"I, Alpha Kael Blackthorn, accept and claim rogue Selene as my mate."

His voice rang out through the crowd like a verdict.

He turned to me fully, and his tone dropped low, edged in command.

"Now do the same. I command you."

Tears slipped silently down my cheeks. My body trembled, my heart cracked wide open.

Every instinct screamed to run, to scream, to fight ...but the Alpha command coiled around my soul like chains.

I swallowed the sob rising in my throat, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I... Selene... accept Alpha Kael as my mate."

The moment the words left my lips, the crowd roared .. but I barely heard them.

Kael moved in an instant.

His mouth latched onto the curve of my neck, and then..he bit down Hard.

I screamed as his canines sank into my flesh, pain flaring like wildfire through my body. Blood spilled down my shoulder, marking me in front of everyone.

But I wasn't going to let him be the only one to leave a scar.

My wolf surged forward and before I could think, I lunged at him, sinking my teeth into the side of his neck, he grunted in surprise as I drew blood. The taste of him flooded my mouth .

The bond pulsed violently between us, golden light flashing for a heartbeat as our blood mingled in the open air.

It was done.

We were mated.

But as I pulled away, my eyes locked on his with hatred.

And a silent vow

This isn't over.

Selene pov

Days shifted into weeks, and my schedule remained the same. I wasn't allowed to leave the Pack House, wasn't allowed to go anywhere unsupervised. I kept to myself, completely, pretending not to hear all the insults thrown at me like daggers.

I was taking my daily walk around the Pack House when the head maid approached me, her steps brisk and eyes sharp.

"The Alpha requests your presence," she said curtly.

I gave a small nod and turned to follow her, but she didn't move. Instead, she stared at me with a look that could've soured milk .Disgust written all over her face.

"Don't tell me you're going to see the Alpha looking and smelling like that."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked, staring straight at the maid.

Shock flashed across her face. She clearly wasn't expecting me to respond.

I might be a rogue, but what they don't know is I was trained to run a household but the woman who took me in ..I and Keisha learned all the proper etiquette needed of a noble.

These fools don't know much about me at all.

She quickly masked her surprise, her lips curling into a sneer as she folded her arms.

"You may not care much about your looks, but you are still the Luna of this park .

I suggest you start looking like one, or you'll remain nothing more than a rejected Luna, sitting at the Alpha's feet like the dog you are," she spat, breathing hard.

Normally, the guards are supposed to step in at this point to maintain order, stop the disrespect being shown to their Luna .

But they didn't move.

They just stood there... watching the spectacle unfold.

Turning around, I realized the loud voice of the head maid had already attracted a crowd. A quiet cluster of pack members .. warriors, omegas, and servants ...stood scattered in the hallway, eyes glued to us.

I glanced down at myself.

I wore a plain black dress. My hair was tied in a messy bun at the top of my head.i wore no jewelry and absolutely no makeup.

Then I looked at her ...And I smiled softly.

"Thank you."

She blinked.

"What?"

"I didn't realize how much weight my presence carries. That even the head maid worries about how I represent this house." I stepped forward slightly,my voice calm but firm. "I may not have been raised here, but I know what it means to lead a home.

Respect is earned... not demanded."

Her face twitched, her certainty cracking.

"And I respect you," I added simply. "Because no one keeps a house like this running without being strong, smart, and just a little terrifying."

A quiet chuckle rippled through the crowd. But I kept my gaze on her.

"If you think I'm falling short, then I am open to learning . Not just for him"...i tilted my head toward the Alpha's wing"but for this household. For the people watching us now."

Silence hung thick in the air.

Then, slowly, the maid stepped back and bowed her head ...not in defeat, but in something closer to reluctant acceptance.

"Very well, Luna. I'll go and prepare a change of clothes " she said quietly waking out.

After that the crowd dispersed quickly.

Clap. Clap.

I turned sharply,my eyes narrowing at the sound.

A tall, strikingly handsome werewolf emerged from the shadows of the corridor, his slow, deliberate applause echoing down the hall as he walked toward me with a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Impressive."

He stopped a few feet away, with his arms crossed casually.

"Very impressive, Luna. The way you handled your maid... that was something to watch."

I straightened, shoulders tense.

"Who are you?"

His grin widened.

"Who am I?" he repeated, as if amused by the question.

He took another step forward, lowering his voice just enough to make my wolf bristle.

"Let's just say... I'm an acquaintance of your mate."

"Nice to meet you," he said, raising my hand to his lips.

I was startled by how quickly he'd closed the distance between us. One moment he was across the corridor ...the next, his warm breath touched my skin.

But before I could react further, a deep growl shattered the air, it was sharp and feral, sending fear racing down my spine.

"Touch my mate again and I'll kill you."

Kael's voice was unmistakable.

Sylvester, however, didn't flinch. He smiled, slowly and unbothered, and gently released my hand.

"Nice to see you again, Alpha Kael."

Kael's eyes were murderous.

"I can't say the same for you, Sylvester."

Sylvester turned back to me, his eyes glinting like polished sea glass ...a piercing blue that almost looked silver in the light.

His skin was dark and smooth, his sea-blue hair falling in waves to his shoulders, making him look almost... unreal. Like something out of an old storybook. A beautiful danger.

"I'll see you later," he said softly, his gaze lingering on mine before he turned and disappeared down the corridor.