Alpha's Twisted Fated Mate

Nova

I watched my mate from my bedroom window.

There he was, fixing a plate of food for the female who is carrying his pup in her belly.

I couldn't stand to go to the pack barbecues anymore, not when I was forced to witness something so heinous; The person I'm meant to be with, tending to another she-wolf, one who had his future growing inside of her.

My heart constricted as I peered out the sheer curtain of my bedroom window, watching as he attempted to make her feel at home. The looks other members were giving her was the only thing that brought me a sense of satisfaction.

The Alpha and Luna understood my need to stay away, they allowed it.

Everyone knew about us.

Everyone knew he was mine and I was his. They knew who the pregnant female was to him too.

She had been a one night stand gone wrong.

It was embarrassing at first. The night he arrived home with her in tow, the pack assumed she was his mate.

Never paying her any mind, I had been too enthralled with how his scent called to me, so I approached him. I claimed him as my mate in words alone, and the small crowd erupted into cheers.

The daughter of the Beta and the Alpha's first born, we were family friends since the beginning of time. I could only discover he was mine once I went through my first shift, a night that still haunts my memories to this day.

We would make strong pups, they all said.

Then I noticed the blonde female, standing on the other side of his vehicle. She pursed her lips, her eyes becoming glassy with unshed tears. I knew right then that something was amiss.

Realization set in, my face morphing into shock.

He closed his eyes as his head hung in shame, feeling that wave of guilt coursing through his system.

Manning up, he explained the situation to the pack, but not before we had a private conversation in the driveway. That conversation left me broken, shattered, lying on the gravel driveway as he made his way inside to check on her.

He has a responsibility to do the right thing now, and I'm the one who has to suffer.

I continued to watch as he set her plate down in front of her, her brown eyes squinting as she smiled up at him with happiness. He returned the smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

I know him. Ever since I was a baby, I've known him. That wasn't his happy smile.

That could have been me down there, eating with him.

If he had never gone to our northern allying pack this summer to train, it would be me down there with him.

He's the Alphas first born son, the future Alpha.

Every future alpha is expected to spend their summer at a different allying pack to train with the other warriors and Alphas. They do this to become a strong leader and learn all the different methods there are to being a warrior, making them a supreme Alpha.

He began leaving for the summer when he was eighteen, a year after his first shift. Future Alpha's spend their first year training with their own pack, learning from their own Alpha. This was his third year of training. There was only one more year left until he would be considered ready to take over if anything happened to his father, the current Alpha.

Now the goal of finding his mate, his Luna, had been shattered by the lust that he hadn't managed to restrain.

The one thing every future Alpha dreams of is finding their true, moon-given mate, and that was thrown down the drain for one night of uninhibited passion.

The thought sickens me to my core.

And to think, I saved myself for him, my mate.

Two weeks.

It has been two weeks since he arrived back home.

It's been two weeks since my first shift celebration, the night I discovered he was mine.

Two weeks that I've been broken inside, not healing - staying the same.

He was a full-grown Alpha male. I may be just seventeen, a juvenile, but I could see the love in his sky blue eyes the night he discovered I was his mate.

There was shock written on his face, then happiness, followed by alarm and guilt. He couldn't know what I was to him until I shifted into my own wolf, even after all these years of our families being so closely knit.

Now it was too late.

My soul shattered that night, standing in front of him as we cried together, no one around to hear our words.

He was sorry, but I was broken.

How could my mate be so selfish to have let this happen? How could he have risked this? This one moment, defining of both our lives.

I felt my vision blur, their forms becoming fuzzy as the tears welled up in my eyes.

My breathing became restricted and I clutched my four-day-old t-shirt as the agony propelled itself into my chest. My heart broke, dropping down into my nauseated stomach, causing the millionth wave of tears to be released.

My tears were hot, dropping down cheeks already stained with the natural saline that my eyes seemed to produce every ten minutes or so.

My heart had broken and now there was nothing left inside me to break. Every organ inside my body seemed to whither and die like an orchid that had been thrust out into harsh, cold, winter snow.

Secretly watching them, he gave her food off of his plate. That honor was meant for me. She smiled, taking his hand in hers. A shudder ran through me and I had to fight my wolf to stay down, her emotions becoming too much for me to contain.

A thick lump in my throat formed as I watched their happy display. I wondered briefly what everyone thought, but their eyes said it all as they, too, watched the exchange.

Suddenly, his eyes found mine and my breath hitched, my heart skipping a beat.

He felt me watching him.

You always feel the watching eyes of your mate. He had probably felt my eyes on him five minutes ago when I initially peeked out the window, but ignored me, thinking I would go away.

The thought only made it hurt worse inside as the pain swallowed me up. My wolf whimpered inside my mind at the same time she snarled at the thought of that female who didn't belong here.

I held his gaze for a moment as tears rolled down my cheeks, relishing the effect he had over my nerves when he looked at me. It was a calming sensation that soothed my anxiety, a double-edged sword I had to live with until we both marked and mated another.

Letting the curtain drop between our view, I turned away and crumpled onto my bed, sobbing violently. I shouldn't hurt myself worse by watching them - watching their interactions with each other. The pain was all too real, but I couldn't help it. The wolf pushed me to see, she needed to witness this as well.

This female was nothing more to him than a summer fling. She wasn't his everything, that was me.

I'm may be just seventeen and four years his junior, clearly not Luna material yet, but I was meant to be by his side. I'm Luna born, not her.

He wouldn't have waited long to mark me, though. Males can't resist marking their mate once they find her, no matter the age difference. You could only ever find your mate once both were shifted wolves, so seventeen was as young as it went, It wasn't frowned upon.

I saw it in the way he looked at me the night we stood in the driveway. He wanted to mark me, but the thoughts of the pregnant female wouldn't let his wolf ascend to claim me. I'm glad he didn't, I wouldn't want to be stuck in that mess.

He brought her back home with him. She could have stayed in her own pack, but my mate was too much of a gentleman, so he brought her here, never knowing that I would be here waiting.

Another round of sobs wracked my body as hot tears drenched my pillow. My chest felt empty. The place where my heart should be, it ached. He took that with him when he sniffed me out and told me everything that had happened once the pack members went back to the celebration, my first-shift celebration.

No one knew what he'd done that night, but they all recognized I was his. The beta's daughter was their alpha's son's mate. It was a time to rejoice, two strong bloodlines promising strong heirs in the future.

A knock at the door stifled my cry as I hid my face under the blankets, waiting for him to go away.

I could smell Deacon's scent, my best friend, and his younger brother.

"Nova, I know you're in there. Open up, I brought you something." His semi-deep voice called out.

Deacon was my age, seventeen. We had always talked about the 'what if's' if we were mates and prayed to the moon that it wouldn't be so. We were more like siblings than anything, but now I wish it had been different.

I could smell the food permeate through the door, making my stomach roll in a wave of nausea. Food wasn't something I had been indulging in, in the past few weeks. My stomach couldn't deal with the process of breaking down and digesting because that was what my broken heart was currently doing to my soul.

"I'm not hungry, Deacon" my weak voice was hoarse and raspy from crying so long. I couldn't let anyone see me like this, especially him.

I heard him sigh through the door and then the sound of metal jingling before my door popped open. I sat up gaping at him as he walked in with a warm smile, plate in one hand.

"Figured you'd say that, but Dad wants you to eat. He said it's an order." He sat the plate on the nightstand and sat beside me on the bed. I knew I looked and smelled awful, I hadn't been out of my room to even shower in three days.

"Don't look at me like that, Deacon." I glared at his sky blue eyes, which were almost identical to his brother's.

He frowned. "Like what?"

"Like everyone else who sees me looks at me - with pity. Don't feel sorry for me, Deacon, not you. I don't want your pity." I felt a tear slide down my cheek. You'd think I'd be all cried out by now, but there were always more ... There will always be more.

Deacon sighed, taking my face in his hands, forcing Me to look at him. "I don't pity you, Nova. I am angry at my brother. I'm so angry at him for doing this to you, regardless of him not knowing until it was too late. I'm dealing with trying not to wolf out on him and tear him to pieces because of how this is breaking you.

I don't pity you. I pity him. He's the one who messed up and now instead of being happy with my best friend, he's now stuck with the consequences of his decisions

He's missing out on the love of someone so perfect and so special." I was taken aback by his honest words. He wasn't just being nice.

"Thank you." It left my chapped lips in a whisper before he brought me into a big hug, arms locking me into him from behind.

I breathed in the familiar comforting scent, but his scent lingered, layering in between the woven pattern of Deacon's own scent. I couldn't help but pull away as my insides clenched.

"You smell like him." Was all I could say.

Deacon ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, eyes assessing my form.

"You're wasting away in here Nova. You need to eat something - maybe take a shower." The pain in his eyes was evident.

"If you want, we can go down to the lake, just me and you, like old times. We can get in the canoe and just go. We can talk, or we can just be silent, but I want you out of this house today."

His tone gave me no room for argument. I knew he was right, but my heart just wasn't into it. All I wanted to do was lay in bed and cry, that's it.

"Eat. Alpha's orders" he pointed at the plate on my nightstand.

I took the plate, eyes scanning over the barbecued ribs.

The same ribs he put on his pregnant female's plate.

"I can't." The tears welled in my eyes once again.

Trying to fight off the distraught loneliness that was crushing me into bits, I covered it back with the foil.

Deacon snatched the plate out of my hands, ripped off the foil and filled a fork with potato salad.

Thank you for not choosing the ribs.

He held the fork to my lips expectantly. Giving into his hardened gaze, I opened my mouth, allowing him to place the food in and I took the bite.

Forcing myself to chew, I felt saliva pool in my mouth as my taste buds relished in the deliciousness of the potato salad with mayo, dill pickles, onion, and celery salt. My favorite.

"Good girl." He grinned without showing his teeth while patting my head.

I managed to swallow and my stomach thanked me. Still tensed up, It managed to let the food settle.

I allowed him to feed me the rest of the potato salad and a few bites of baked beans, refusing the barbecued ribs. My stomach was full, more full than it had been in two weeks.

"Come on, get up and go get a shower. I'll change your sheets and clean up this...." He looked around my room at all the used tissues overflowing the waste basket. "Mess..."

I stood on wobbling legs. My pajama shorts were large on me now and my T-shirt sagged in places that used to be tight. I've lost too much weight being locked away in my room, dying of a broken heart.

I walked into my ensuite, silently thanking the moon that I was fortunate enough to be the beta's daughter. Only the beta's family and the alpha's family had ensuite bathrooms in their rooms. I couldn't stand having to go to the communal shower. I just couldn't cope with the thought of anyone seeing me like this, or seeing the pity in their eyes, it was too much.

Closing the door behind me, I turned on the shower and stripped down, getting into the ice cold water before it had the chance to heat up. I was numb anyway, I didn't even feel the shock.

I sank down to the shower floor and let the sobs wrack my body. Not knowing what the future holds, just knowing the present, it kills me inside. I don't know her, I just know she stole something from me that was supposed to be my happy ending - My life.

She stole my life, and I can't even fight her for him because she's carrying his future, the future that was meant for me.

This was my fate.

Nova

Deacon finally managed to drag me out of the shower. I had given up on showering once my hair was washed. I had exerted myself to the point of exhaustion, just by washing my hair. I was weak from the malnourishment my body was going through.

That's when I had felt strong hands pull me up. I looked up, seeing Deacons light blue eyes and mess of dark hair, my mind playing tricks on me, thinking it was him, his brother.

I can't even think his name.

Once I was dried off, I managed to dress while Deacon turned away, giving me privacy, even though he's seen me thousands of times. It's how wolves are. We are used to it, but it's different when it's just the two of us and no other wolves.

I let him drag me outside into the late summer warmth, the hot, humid air surrounding me, caressing my skin every now and then with a breeze.

Deacon made sure to lead us through the woods beside the enormous Pack House, so we wouldn't run into anyone at the barbecue, which was still in full swing in the back yard.

He knew I didn't want to be seen.

I followed him meekly, my small hand in his large one. He had always been my rock in times of despair, always holding me up when I felt like falling. As we walked, I noticed how tall he had gotten over the years. I'd never really paid attention, but Deacon had really grown in the past two years. He wasn't as tall as his brother, but he was close, he would be a full-grown adult male before too long.

"Nova." Deacon's voice, deeper than ever, jolted me out of my thoughts. I realized I had been looking out at the large spans of water, deep in thought. Something hypnotic about how the surface of the lake reflected the deep blue sky above us, while the ripples made it seem like a lake of glass, sparkling in the light. I had been on autopilot this whole time, not even realizing we had arrived at the dock, I was lost in my mind.

No, I was loosing my mind.

Moments later we were in the canoe, floating across the warm water of the lake. We used to take the boats out all the time, just laughing, joking, having our moments. I have so many fond memories of it, but these days, I don't feel so happy.

Deacon and I have always been best friends. I didn't have many female friends because I just didn't like them, all they ever thought about were males and how much they looked forward to finding their mates.

Now here I was, wishing I hadn't found mine.

The females who wanted to be my friend knew I was friends with Deacon and that was the sole reason they came to me with their fake smiles of friendship. Either that or they wanted to befriend me to get close to the males in my family.

Eden was the only female that I kept as a friend, I really wished she was here right now. There were a few females that I talked to, but I would never consider them friends.

We rowed lazily, listening to the stirring of the water and the drip from our paddles. The canoe bobbed slightly, reminding me not to wiggle. The sun had sunk into the western part of the sky, yielding a beautiful, pink horizon in the distance which gradually turned into the deep cerulean blue that hung overhead.

Like his eyes.

I shook the thoughts out of my head. I wasn't going to let him have that hold over me, not today.

"Stop. Let's rest" Deacon's voice brought me out of my thoughts once more, I wondered if I was annoying him by not paying attention.

Since we had come from the docks in the woods, further down from the Pack House, we wound up behind a line of trees that crowded the shore, blocking the bright evening sun. We were obscured from the wolves' line of sight as the barbecue went on, Deacon and I just hanging out like we always did.

Looking up at Deacon, I felt a pain in my heart I couldn't describe, looking in eyes that were similar to his brother's. I didn't want to talk about anything to do with my 'mate' situation. Deacon, however, wanted to talk about it, I knew he would.

"Nova. Say something." He urged.

"Something," I whispered, dipping my hand in the water, avoiding his gaze.

He chuckled, dipping his own hand in the water and flicking it up, splashing me with its warmth.

"Hey!" I narrowed my eyes at him.

A smirk played at his lips before cracking into a full-blown grin, flashing his brilliant white teeth.

"Hay is for horses." His smirk was still there.

Sighing, I flicked him with water. "I know what you're doing."

He shrugged. "Is it working?"

I shook my head, looking out at my reflection over the side of the canoe. If 'tragedy' had a picture beside it in the dictionary, it would be of me.

"Nova... Have you talked to him? Has he told you if he was going to mark her or not?"

Lifting my gaze to his, I frowned. "No. What would it matter? I'm sure he will. She's having his pup. Your brother is a gentleman, unfortunately." I grumbled the last, pouting over the fact that my mate was too busy worrying about doing the 'right thing' rather than doing right by me.

I willed myself not to cry. He was such a good wolf to stay by her side because of his mistake and it killed me that he had to go and do the right thing by this she-wolf. He wouldn't let her be without honor...

But he'd let me be humiliated. It was too late to go back on his word to her now, she was already here.

"Nova. What exactly did you and my brother talk about the night he came home? What did he say?" Deacon leaned forward, taking my hands in his, probing for answers with sincerity in those blue eyes.

I remembered that night well, it haunted my dreams. The day a wolf finds their mate is supposed to be magical, but this night was one I wanted to forget.

It was the night of my shift-celebration. My seventeenth birthday had been last week and I had shifted successfully, my wolf making her appearance after hours of bones snapping and moving, realigning to fit my wolf. Alpha Blake had thrown a shift-party for me like he does with all newly shifted wolves, everyone in the pack was invited.

I was having so much fun with Deacon and my family at the party when Deacon's brother pulled up. He had just arrived home from his summer away at Blue Moon territory and the entire pack had wandered to the front yard to greet him, he's the Alpha's son after all, and Crescent Moon's future Alpha.

I knew he was coming home that night because Luna Penelope had told me and I was feeling excited to see him and show him my wolf.

I had always had a crush on him. Deacon and I were joined at the hip, but his brother was the one that had always caught my eye, even at such a young age.

When I had made it to the front yard with Deacon, I watched as his brother got out of the truck, his frame larger than it once was. He had packed on muscle this summer while training and he looked good.

That was when it hit me and the world tilted on its axis.

His scent.

It was intoxicating, making my wolf go crazy inside my head, howling and pawing at my mind. My heart rate picked up and right away, I knew.

His head snapped up, eyes wide with knowing, taking the air into his lungs as he searched the crowd. His gaze locked onto mine, his sky-blue eyes focused onto my grass-green ones and it was like fireworks going off on the fourth of July.

The first emotion evident on his face was the shock, mirroring my own. How could it be that we grew up together, part of each other's family, never knowing we were mates? There were no clues aside from the fact that I harbored a crush on him.

Then, a smile began to creep onto his lips and I found myself returning it. How could I be so lucky to find my mate so quickly and it being someone I already knew, someone in my own pack who I had memories with?