The Alpha's lantern mate

Scarlett

Eighteen. The number was cardinal for all the werewolves. All the werewolves shifted into their wolf forms mostly after turning twelve but that wasn't the case for me. Unfortunately. The pack doctor declared me a lantern on my fifteenth birthday.

It's my eighteenth birthday and my family has thrown a great party. I was waiting for the full moon, I had a hope that on my eighteenth birthday, finally, I would be able to shift and won't be a disguise for my family anymore.

I was deeply buried in my thoughts whilst my sister was applying lipstick on my lips, holding my chin in her hand like a baby. "My baby sister is thinking about drinking wine or her mate?" Rhea mocked, playfully nudging my elbow.

Looking at my shadow in the mirror, I gasped in amazement. "F-ck mate and wine. Is it me?"

"Hmm? Already thinking about f-cking your mate, huh?" Rhea teased me besides that I was already nervous about the shifting process.

"I don't have a wolf and without a wolf, I won't ever be able to find my mate, Rhea." I bit my lower lip guiltily.

Rhea took my hands into hers and stroked them gently. "You have the werewolf genes, you have a wolf. It's just that you're a lantern and your wolf is a lazy ass but you aren't a wolfless werewolf so you'll have a true mate and when he'll kiss you, all your doubts will end," she said in an assuring tone with a sly smirk and a wink.

In my crimson red gown, I was looking like a princess. The diamond tiara on my head, a birthday gift from my father, doing justice with my princess look.

When I was done with staring at myself and fantasizing about my mate, Rhea took me to the blackberry forest where everyone was waiting for her arrival so the feast could start.

As soon as I arrived, Alpha Aiden tossed the champagne and the party started.

My parents, siblings, and friends wished me birthday wishes and they teased me about my mate because according to the pack's doctor, Layla, I would be able to find my mate after my eighteenth birthday.

The party was in full swing, I danced with my friends and cut the cake, and received presents from everyone. And now, everyone was waiting for the full moon's appearance so the howling ceremony could be done.

But I escaped from everyone's gaze and strolled deep into the woods. I had a different plan for my birthday.

Though my pack treated me so well, sometimes I felt suffocated because I was the only lantern in my pack.

Squatting on the coast of the small lake which was my secret place, I closed my eyes and took a few deep relaxing breaths.

A cinnamon and pine scent filled my nostrils, a small gust of wind made me shiver a little, and abruptly, I felt a masculine hand on my arms. Someone embraced me from behind, the contact with a strange male's skin flabbergasted me.

If it would have been someone else, I would have pushed him off and ripped his throat out. After all, I was the daughter of a Gamma and my father had trained me so hard that I was the only female warrior who could win against an Alpha in a duet while training.

But his touch made me feel butterflies in my stomach. "Mate," something in my mind proclaimed. I felt that it was my conscience, my overthinking mind. How could I feel the mating bond without a wolf? I had never heard any voices in my head before.

"Mate," he whispered, exhaling his sharp breaths on my earlobe as he tightened his grip on my waist. His hands slowly moved to my breasts from my waist, giving me goosebumps everywhere.

I held my head back shamelessly, my breathing slowed due to his caressing to the mounds of flesh. "Who are you?" I dared to ask which turned out to be a moan when he started kissing my neck.

His face in the crook of my neck, full moon from the sky, showering silver moonlight on their physiques but they couldn't see how beautiful they looked beside the lake and entangled with each other in solace as they couldn't see each other's face. I thought while he continued worshipping my body with his wet kisses.

"Ain't you feeling the sparks between us?" He murmured in my ear, deliberately biting my ear gently. And I spontaneously nodded my head in response.

Sprawling his legs lazily on the shore, he made me sit on his lap by lifting me with his hand on my waist. I felt his hardened c-ck pressing hard against my body but I didn't react. I was feeling too shy to say or do something.

Cupping my cheeks, he finally made a move to see my face, my aqua blue eyes met his hazel eyes and I felt like I was closer to a Greek God. His eyes burning intensely with desire and piercing through my soul, the thick eyelashes making him look more gorgeous than any man I had glimpsed at ever.

He had a powerful aura that demanded respect and challenged to disobey him. He must be an Alpha, my heart went haywire, just one look of him could make me wet then what would happen when his luscious lips...

Before I could contemplate my thoughts, he crashed his lips against mine. He must have smelled my arousal as an Alpha, it was one of his privileges.

Embarrassment plunged in my body and I was damn sure that my cheeks would have deep red blush as the remark of my thoughts.

My hands circled his neck as he deepened the kiss, I forgot everything and focused on him. His touch. His kiss.

His hand was roaming in my hair and pulled me closer. I again felt his hardness but this time, I couldn't hide my response and gasped which allowed him to explore my mouth.

He slowly savored every inch of my mouth and left me breathless with his passionate yet slow kiss.

This was way far better than I had imagined, my first kiss fantasy turned into reality and the moment I looked into his eyes, I wanted nothing but to cling to him.

I had always dreamed of kissing my mate under the moonlight at the shore of this lake, this place was so special to me.

My sister's words echoed in my mind and Rhea was right. All my doubts had ended when he kissed me, I wasn't thinking about the shifting process or my being a lantern when he kissed me.

There was a bond that calmed my anxious mind, a magnetic bond and attraction that pulled me to him.

I kissed him back with the same passion and he smiled against my lips before holding my face in his hands and tracing the jawline with his lips.

Snatching this moment to fill my lungs with the air though his wet kisses were making it hard for me, I almost clung to him when his lips lingered over my marking spot.

Was he going to mark me tonight?

Without even knowing who I was...?

My hands sloped to his lustrous hair and held them tightly into my fists. He licked my marking spot with his tongue, sending chills down my spines.

A sharp shriek of Rhea from the North terrified me and with a jerk, I pushed his body off me. Without even explaining anything to him, I started sprinting towards the north from where the voice came.

A wolf's claw on my shoulder made me halt, his claw tore the fabric of my gown. I could smell, it was a rogue and I was so enraged because he was stopping me from finding my sister.

Before I could punch that rogue, my anonymous mate shifted into his wolf immediately and growled loudly. The rogue raised his hand to attack him but my mate caught his throat and punched him in the guts.

Werewolves don't show mercy to the person who dares to touch or attack their mate. Moreover, he was an Alpha. His protectiveness, powers, and predator were ten times stronger and more than the other werewolves.

I just nodded my head towards him which he reciprocated as a signal to move ahead and I started running again as fast as my legs could make it.

After five minutes of haste, I found Rhea's body coated in her own blood and lying on the dirty lane of the forest.

I immediately ran to her and checked her pulse. The darkness of the night didn't let me see her limbs torn from the middle which I could only see when the moonlight helped me to observe her body.

My knees weakened and collapsed on the rustling and dry leaves lying on the road. She left me alone... she was gone...

"No!" I whined loudly, "no, she can't leave me."

Scarlett

"Hurry up, Letty," Aunt Rachel squealed from downstairs and I sped up dressing up, shoving my head into the white tank top and then, legs into purple hotpants.

I should have helped her in the kitchen, after all, she drove to the Black Moonstone pack so she must be tired but I wasn't feeling like doing anything but just staring at the lavender ceiling of my new room.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped outside of my room and descended the stairs to meet Rachel and Greg waiting for me in the hall. They were wearing matching black workout clothes, the sweet couple thing.

"Good Morning, honey," Rachel pulled me in a warm hug which I returned. "We'll introduce you to the Alpha and his family so you can start being a leader from today only."

I was grateful to her for making efforts to keep me busy so I won't be dwelling upon the memories. Flashing a smile at her, I wished morning to Greg and we strolled to the pack ground where all the pack members were waiting for their warrior trainer. Me.

Sasha, Rachel and Greg's daughter, walked to me with her friends and welcomed me which only reminded me of Rhea and my old friends. If she would have been alive, I wouldn't have been here among almost all the strangers.

My eyes spontaneously closed when I smelled the strong fragrance of pine and cinnamon. I turned my head to find him standing behind me and staring at me furiously.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a panicked state.

Perhaps the pain of separation from my sister wasn't enough so the Moon Goddess gave me a mate who was possibly going to reject me today.

"You'll know soon..." I said, without looking at him.

Swallowing my pain, I followed Rachel and Greg who were standing in front of an old man whom I assumed to be Alpha of this pack.

"Nice to meet you, Scarlett Walkers." He extended his hand to shake and I reciprocated gradually. "Welcome to the Black Moonstone Pack. I'm Alpha Albert Nelson. This is my mate and Luna, Evelyn," he pointed to the raven-haired lady, standing beside him, who offered me a polite smile.

"And that's my son, Klaus, the future Alpha of this pack who will accompany you in training and if you need any help, you can ask him for it." Alpha Albert spoke, and I found Klaus chatting with a group of girls who were swooning over him, trying their best to flirt with him as if there was no tomorrow.

For a second, he looked at me, our eyes locked but I averted my gaze from him.

Ironically, I got to know my mate's name from someone else, not him.

Klaus Nelson.

The man of my dreams, the man with whom I shared my first kiss, the man who was my mate. Luckily. A small smile appeared on my lips as the memories of that night flashed through my mind.

"If you're done with daydreaming, can we start training, now?" With his deep voice, my smile was replaced with a grimace. "I'm sure that we have a lot of things to discuss but we'll do it later," he offered, deciphering the reason behind my grimace.

It's been just one week since my birthday or should I say my sister's death? And my family sent me here to be a warrior trainer or should I say that they didn't want to see my face?

FLASHBACK :

Liam, my brother, hugged me when he saw me kneeling beside my sister. I was in a deep shocked state, and couldn't even cry or express my pain. Liam kept mumbling something, caressing my hair, but my mind was thinking about the memories I had with her.

"If you wouldn't have been in that forest, Rhea wouldn't have gone in search of you, she would have been alive," my mother whined, caressing the blood-covered body of Rhea.

And with that, they took her body for the last rituals, leaving me alone there. I couldn't even say a word or stand up from the ground. My mom's words echoed in my brain, the moonlight simmering on me through the barks of a tree.

She was right, Rhea got killed because of me. I shouldn't have come here, I should have waited there to get the ceremonies done. It was my mistake, the biggest mistake of my life.

"Letty, Letty," Liam kept calling me, rubbing my cheeks and making me look at him.

"I killed her. If I could shift, I would have reached here in time and could have saved her," I muttered to myself, lowering my gaze to the ground where her crimson blood was scattered.

END OF THE FLASHBACK

My vision got blurred due to the tears emerging in my eyes. Biting my lower lip, I fought back my tears and the memories which haunted me. I hated myself. I hated my birthday, now.

"We'll start training tomorrow. All the pack members are obliged to gather here at sharp six in the morning," Greg disclosed, maybe he noticed my tears and gouged my condition of not being able to say anything.

I'll give my intro to the pack members tomorrow. I wanted to steal today for myself so I could get over the pain and bad memories. Turning my head to run away from here, I found Klaus still standing beside me and staring at me with pity.

Aunt Rachel is my father's sister and Greg is her mate and Beta of this pack. She offered me to come with her when she heard my parents blaming me for Rhea's death. I wanted to keep myself busy and her pack needed a warrior trainer so I accepted the offer.

My parents didn't even bother to stop me from leaving. Maybe my face reminded them of Rhea, they needed time to come out of this pain, too.

Greg would handle it here, and with this thought, I galloped to no particular place in my mind. I didn't even know this place but I needed to be away from people. Alone. My plan vanished when his hand circled my waist and stopped me from running.

"I...I'm sorry for your loss," he whispered in my ears and though it sent chills down my spine, still, it excited a part of me, I protested it. I pushed his hands off my body, facing him. The hurt look on his face hurt me, too, but did he care about my heart?

Mates were supposed to share all the pain and be together in every situation.

Did he even try to comfort me when I needed him the most?

No.

He just disappeared from my life as if we never met and today, he behaved like we were strangers.

"I don't need your pity, now. Leave me alone," I said, exactly the opposite of what I had expected from him.

Scarlett

Something in me wanted to hug him, wanted him to soothe me. I wanted his kisses, his raspy voice... A part of me wanted him to share my pain, to open my heart up to him.

That magnetic bond made me cling to him, the bond showing its sparks perfectly between us but his actions didn't make sense to me. Were we really mates? Or was it just me who was feeling the strong attraction and connection between us?

His hazel eyes wanted to say something but his pursed lips did not let him express it. His copper brown locks ruffled due to a gust of wind, the curly locks allotted on his forehead, interrupting me to look into his beautiful eyes.

I hadn't seen a gorgeous man who seemed sculpted by the Moon Goddess herself. His sharp jawline alluring me to touch it and...

When I remembered how he left me alone to deal with my pain, I couldn't bear how he abandoned me when I was at my worst and lonely. The tears started streaming down my cheeks and I didn't bother hiding them.

We stood there, facing each other. A lot of complaints in my mind, unbearable pain in my heart, and his face seemed pained by my harsh words. I couldn't stand here and cry like a weak person.

Just when I made a move to leave, he grabbed my wrist and hugged me from behind like he did that night.

"I'm sorry, I..." instead of finishing his sentence, he turned to face me and pulled me to his chest. I heard his heart drumming against his ribcage. His heart beating so fast and playing a romantic melody that I wanted to listen to forever.

My height was too short that I could reach only his shoulder which came off beneficial as I could be closer to his heart.

Despite having a lot of questions, I just stayed there silently, letting his touch comfort me. His pine and cinnamon scent filled my nostrils and relaxed my tense nerves.

"I don't believe in the mating concept, our pack is different from the other packs. We don't give priority to the mating bond but the feelings and power. You'll soon realize," he proclaimed in a gentle voice.

His words didn't make sense to me.

Was he trying to reject me?

Or was he denying the bond...?

Didn't he have a wolf to sense the mating bond?

"Are you rejecting me as your mate?" I spoke to my mind and pulled myself away from him.

He licked his lips nervously before speaking, "I don't believe in this bullshit, then, how can I reject you?"

I couldn't believe he was saying this despite being a werewolf. "All the werewolves believe in mating bonds, the Moon Goddess mates us to each other. I don't understand what you're trying to say."

Exhaling a deep breath, he held my hand and walked us to a garden. We sat on the green grass and I looked at him, demanding an explanation.

"Look, I don't believe in these childish stories. We have just heard about the mating bond and Moon Goddess in the stories from our elders. Have we ever seen the Moon Goddess or is there any proof that all this bullshit is true? Is there any book which states that all these things are true?"

His greenish-brown eyes looked at me in surprise, as if he expected me to believe him or understand him.

"Then what the fu-k are you doing here?! If I'm not your mate, what are you doing here? If you don't believe in mating bonds, why are you comforting me? Why are you saying sorry to me?" I couldn't hold my anger anymore. I shouted out all my questions.

His facial expression turned into a deep frown as if I was the one uttering bullshit. It was him who was behaving abnormally.

Standing up from the ground, he shrugged, casting a despondent look at me. "Why do girls have to be clingy all the time? Can't you just move on from a guy? It was just a kiss, after all," he said in a mocking manner which hurt my feelings and pride.

If he wanted to deny the bond and keep playing around like a playboy. I won't stop him. I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to. The girls already swooned over him and with the way they were flirting with him, he must have slept with all those girls.

"Fine. We part our ways from here, then. I'm not a clingy girl like those who were flirting with you," I hid the pain that was caused by his words and said it casually.

"That's great. I bet no one would have kissed you like me. I'm the best kisser, they say," he asserted in an arrogant voice, smirking arrogantly.

I smirked and got up from the grassy surface. "Trust me, you're the worst kisser." Accepting the fact that I haven't kissed anyone except him would make him feel triumphant so I decided to lie.

"Hmm. That's why you weren't getting over me huh?" He took a step closer, trying to find the truth in my eyes but I stole his glance.

I would not let him see the truth, my feelings, my pain, my expectations, nothing. He didn't deserve it, he was just a playboy who was trying to get a chance with me that day. That's it. I'll move on from that jerk of a mate.

"You and I, that's not happening. You are a jerk, an asshole, who was messing with me," I said ruefully, taking a step ahead towards him and letting him see that I wasn't afraid of him.

"Yeah," he agreed, lowering his gaze. "You and I, it won't ever happen." The emotions in his eyes changed from playful to mournful for a second and before I could reach the depth of those emotions, he averted his eyes from me.

"Ever," I promised him with so much hatred in my heart.

For a while, I felt like he was really sorry for whatever happened and for not showing up when I needed him but it wasn't a regret. It was... maybe pity... or maybe nothing. I was trying to understand him but now, there was no need to do so.

Klaus Nelson. I hate you. I wished I could say it aloud but it'll only amuse him more.

Rolling my eyes at his nasty smirk, I started taking small steps in the opposite direction. I had to control my moron heart who still wanted to have a last look at him before departing, who still wanted to kiss him.