Mated To The Beast: Her Hybrid Mate

Claire's POV

They said it was normal to get pre-wedding jitters just before the wedding. You start to doubt everything and question everyone.

Was this really the dress for me?

Did I look fat in it?

Are those the right flowers for me?

And.... Was he the right one for me?

I'm one of the few who didn't go through all that.

It was happening, I was getting married!

Mother patted down on my arm as we walked down the aisle, trying to ease my nerves but it did her more good than it did me. She took a deep breath, controlling her breathing.

She looked stunning in her ash, plunging neck-sleeve sequin dress. With a small smile her way, I stood in front of him.

I had the widest grin on as I looked over at my father wiping off a stray tear with his handkerchief. I was used to it, I'd seen a lot of stray tears and worn-out kerchiefs as he had always been proud of me. "By the power vested in me by the goddess herself, I give to you this drink that your bond may form and you shall become true mates."

He took a dark bowl from the ancient box, the markings were falling off and difficult to read. "The she-wolf goes first." He passed me the mate potion, the potion that made all this real. I'd be mated to Jayden, the pack's beta, and my best friend. We'd rule the pack together and together break the curse.

One quick look at him and I was enchanted, he looked as good as he did yesterday. I might even say better, his usual messy blond strands and his always-covered masculine physique in wore-out tee-shirts and boxers were looking tidy for a change. Covered in a dark suit and his strands over his eyes, I was tempted to push them away so I could stare at those emerald orbs I'd grown to love.

He had the same look I have on, at least I thought so. He choked on a sob, his fist to his mouth as he tried to contain himself.

My eyes dropped to my shaky hands, it suddenly felt real. I drank this and there was no going back whatsoever. I could never go looking for my real mate, never know what he looked like or if he even wanted me. I could never get to know him, get that rush that all she-wolves get when they come in contact with their mate for the first time.

I shook my head, trying to clear the sad thoughts and thought about the positives. I was saving the werewolf world as I knew it. I did this and everyone would be safe and happy and that would make me happy.... I hope.

Bringing the bowl to my lips, I saw my reflection. My face was adorned in the lightest shades of colors to go with my pale skin, a contrast to my full lips coated in a red shade of lipstick. I was as pale in human form as my wolf, Kira.

Kira was nowhere to be found. She was there, just not.... There. She was sad, wailing, and begging to stop this as she wanted her true mate. I was practically forcing the mate bond on her but I needed to do this. I needed to make Father proud, always.

Father nudged me, urging me to hurry. "Go on."

One last look at the crowd and I saw the scared, eager faces. Everyone was here, even the alpha king. It was of one-of-a-kind ceremony, it only made sense that he'd be here to witness it. All alphas from the eleven packs sat in the front row, all except one, alpha of the Red Moon Pack. It's understandable as he was never at events like this.

A figure moved around the corner and my eyes followed instantly. Craning my neck past Jayden I saw nothing but the white curtains, it might have been nothing. Maybe it was nothing and I was just looking for something, anything to stop all that was happening.

Murmurs echoed from within the crowd, the anxiety, and fear eating everyone. Yells and screams came from the middle of the room.

"Drink it already!"

"What are you waiting for?!"

"Do you want us all dead?!"

Fear built up in me suddenly. A warm hand took mine and I trailed it to his eyes, Jayden's eyes. He tried to reassure me with them, they spoke words to me. On a regular day, they'd warm up my inside but today was not the day. I was giving up my life, and my youth to save everyone.

I was suddenly not so sure it was what I wanted.

Thin lips met my full ones in an intimate kiss. The crowd had gone silent now as they watched our tongues intertwine in a sweet, divine battle.

It wasn't my first time kissing him but it felt different. I didn't feel giddy like I usually did and I suddenly didn't like his hands on my lower back tracing the line of my corset.

Why was this happening? Was it because I'd finally come of age? Because I turned eighteen today?

He broke away from the kiss, my hand still in his. He brought mine to his chest and I could feel it beating really fast. I knew I affected him but not that much.

"We'll be fine," he flashed me a smile, his pearly white teeth showing themselves to me.

I nodded.

Taking a deep breath, the cold bowl touched my lips. My eyes fell close and just as the drink was about to touch my lips, it fell from my hands.

I heard gasps around me. I turned to find angry black orbs glaring at me. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he steamed like a get pot on a stove. He looked about ready to throw a punch at my father when he tried intervening.

I needed to step in and I did.

"What do you think you are doing, you are ruining my wedding?!" I walked close to him, almost closing the distance between us. He was only a hair breath away from me now.

The response I got was a smirk that annoyed me even further.

"That's not any way to treat your mate."

Claire's POV

"What?" My voice was barely above a whisper

He let out a dark chuckle and I watched my mother cower in fear. I felt the same way but I couldn't let him see that. It would ruin everything I set out to do.

"You really thought you could run away from our bond? From me?" He eyed Jayden who remained speechless. I seemed to be the only one calm enough to be articulate.

"I wasn't running from you." I held my head up high as I told the obvious lie. "I didn't even know you existed."

He let out another chuckle. He seemed to love doing that, to rile people up, get under their skin, and probably scare them. Whichever one it was, it was working as my heart dropped to my stomach, and my palms turned warm and sweaty.

"That would be believable if you didn't know about the prophecy." He took a step forward and I instinctively took one back.

"What are you talking about?" I feigned ignorance

He rolled his eyes, pointing at something behind me. "It's right there."

I looked in the direction he was pointing and my eyes widened. We forgot to take it down. The wedding venue being the pack's training field, I took it upon myself to write on the wall to recall what was at stake. It was my everyday motto in case I forgot or felt like giving up.

"One pure, one tainted, and together the world has ended...."

I looked over at him as the words left his lips in his husky, silky voice.

The room fell silent as no one knew what to say. What he wanted remained a mystery to me. He must want peace like the rest of us. Right?

"State your business, what exactly do you want?" Father stepped up like the alpha he was. "We have a wedding to return to."

He took short strides till he got up in Father's face, tsking and being sinister. He really earned his title as The Hideous Beast of the West judging from the multiple scars on his chin. I wasn't too sure about the hideous part but he was definitely a ruthless monster.

"You see..." He trailed off, his gaze averting to me. "That's not going to happen. I'm here to take my mate with me." A gasp filled the dead-silent room. It was from my mom, this conversation wasn't helping her poor heart, she was already frail.

Father's anger was rising, "you can't be serious. You know the prophecy. You need to remain as far as possible from each other!" Father tried to make him see reason but he seemed to have made up his mind.

I watched as my mate walked over to me, sticking his hand over my shoulder. Mother was practically on her dead bed now as she started wailing.

"I don't know what you are talking about. She's my mate and I want her." He smiled, turning my chin to face him. I couldn't help but stare into his dark orbs. They were like nothing I've ever seen, sad? Happy? With a shimmer of.... hope?

Father bellowed with anger, "He's insane! Everyone will die if you try to stay together. That's why we are all here. To sever your bond."

I looked away from him as soon as Father said those words.

His hot lips touched my ear. "And you said you weren't trying to run away from me."

My insides tingled but I didn't let it cloud my better judgment as I looked him dead in the eyes, fear far away from me. "I'm doing everything I have to do to save everyone."

He glanced at Jayden who looked uncomfortable with my mate's arm still on my shoulder. I tried to ignore the rush and spark shooting to the rest of my body.

"And what about you? Don't you want to be with your mate? Your true mate?"

I took a deep breath, taking a step back and his arm dropped from my shoulder. "This is what I want. I want to help people."

He took another step closer. "Even if it means being unhappy?"

"Doing this, being with him," I gave Jayden a reassuring smile. "All this makes me happy," I said it all with as much courage as I could. I hoped he believed me because I couldn't even convince myself.

He leaned back, taking a long look at me before responding, "I guess I have to kill him then."

In the flash of an eye, he was in front of Jayden. Everyone gasped while I gulped. As a wolf, I had super speed, everyone did but we were not that fast. It finally sunk in, he truly was tainted, an abomination and he was here for me!

His large arm wrapped up around Jayden's neck. He was suffocating him!

I rushed over to his side. "What are you doing? Let him go!" I attempted prying his arm away but it was no use.

"You are killing him!"

He responded in the calmest voice, cocking his head a little, "That's the plan, Princess."

I started to sob, "Don't do this, please. He's my best friend, he was only trying to help."

He sneered, his darkened gaze staying on his prey" he tried taking my mate from me. I don't see how that helps."

I rushed out as Jayden was starting to lose color. "That's because I asked him to. He was only doing as I told him."

Jayden had stopped fighting, accepting his fate but I couldn't let that happen. I could never live with myself if he got hurt because of me. I got him into this and I need to get him out. I could only hope he wouldn't hate me after all this.

"Let him go, please. I'll do whatever you want.... Just stop hurting him already, he's dying." My sobs were louder and ran through my body. My body hit the floor as Jayden had gone numb, he looked lifeless.

"You'll do whatever I want either way. You have no choice."

With those words, he snapped Jayden's neckand he dropped beside me, his neck oozing with blood. His eyes turned lifeless.

I couldn't move.

Claire's POV

"What have you done?!" I wailed, dropping to my knees and pulling Jayden to me.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "He had to go. You cared too much about him."

My best friend, almost mate just got killed in front of me, my so-called mate killed him and he was being nonchalant! The fury burned deeply within me.

Something came over me and in the blink of an eye, I was in front of him.

He didn't bat an eye at my angry state. He looked like he expected it as stared at me, waiting for my outburst.

I glared with as much hate as I could muster, not breaking eye contact. "Do you plan on killing everyone I care about."

His callous hand pushed a stray strand away from my face. "If they try to get in the way, yes."

"I'll never love you."

His hand dropped as he laughed, a full belly laugh "You are quite arrogant, aren't you? I don't want your love. I need you by my side."

I was a little embarrassed and slightly hurt but managed to utter, "Why is that?"

"Come with me and you'll find out."

I held my ground. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

He hummed, his eyes turning to my mother. "Your mother looks pretty shaken up, how about I finish her up?" He gave his ugly, evil smirk. I just wished they didn't turn my inside into bubbles.

My eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't dare."

My mother fainted already, not being able to take any more of this and frankly, neither could I.

He looked like he'd had enough as he rolled his eyes, pulling me in a tight grip. "Don't try to test me, Kitten. You won't like me if you do."

"I already don't. You just hurt my best friend." I couldn't look over at Jayden again, the sight had my heart aching.

He frowned. "I'm sorry."

Was he actually apologizing?

"I wish I killed him."

I could not believe my ears. "You are insane!"

He got up in my face, enunciating every word. "He got close to you, touched you in ways I could only dream of."

I spat. "You truly are a beast."

He leaned back, beaming like I offered a compliment and it seemed I did. "And here I thought you didn't know about me. I was wondering how I'd introduce myself."

With a huge grin, he began, "I'm Darien, Alpha of the....

I cut him off, knowing exactly who he was. " I know who you are."

I couldn't possibly be by his side. That would go against everything I planned and believed for the past eighteen years.

"I'll just reject you...

He laughed. He laughed cynically like a maniac. " If it was that easy you wouldn't be here trying to sever the bond. We are mates for a reason, one that I don't care for. I just want pups and you are the only one who can give them to me."

My brows dropped in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes for the third time already. My cheeks turned hot as I felt stupid and embarrassed. I knew I wasn't the sharpest tool in the box if my grades were anything to go by.

"Seeing as you know so much about the prophecy, you must know what I am."

"An abomination." The words echoed in my head or so I thought.

His eyes darkened even more and it was his turn to glare harshly.

It frightened me. It was a contrast from his arrogant, sinister self. He was getting angry. At me. Fear sat deep in my stomach and I subconsciously took a few steps back.

The whispering began again from the crowd.

"Did she just say that?"

"She called him an abomination."

"She's so dead."

He walked into the crowd. I wasn't sure what happened but a couple of heads dropped. I couldn't scream, no one could. You could just be next. The stench of urine filled the air. Someone had peed themselves. For my sake, I hoped it wasn't me.

"Wrong choice of words, Darling." He smirked, walking up to me.

The tension left my shoulders. He wasn't mad, at least not at me.

He picked up the ancient box, checking for something. "Seeing as I'm a hybrid, I can only get my mate pregnant."

I stared blankly. I wasn't sure where he was going and something told me I wouldn't like it and it was right.

I didn't. Not one bit

"That's where you come in, Kitten. All I need is nine months and then you are free to go. I just need to continue my legacy."

I had to admit, his words hurt a lot. He didn't want me, he just needed me to make his offspring. I was only a breeding machine for him, he'll never see me as more than that.

Not letting him see how much his words affected me, I took a different approach and planned to hurt him instead.

"You are as crazy as they claim."

He shrugged. "I guess so. I've been told that a lot, it doesn't bother me."

Seeing as I wasn't getting to him, I decided to drop it. "Forget it. I'm not doing this. I'm not going to your pack to have your pups."

He walked in front of me, his face all up in mine. "Sweetheart, you don't have a choice." I dropped his hands from my chin instantly like he burned me but it was the opposite. I couldn't handle the spark that came with his touch.

"I will not be coerced into something I don't want to do!"

With my tiny frame, I doubt I did as much damage as I planned. His six-foot-four-inch self gave me a one-over. I never felt more inferior than I did at that moment. I was nothing and he knew it. I knew then that I had no choice. I was going to mate with him even if I didn't want to.