CHAPTER 2

Alpha Asher's POV.

I went back to my seat since Daniel mind linked me that the rouge that crossed our border was a female wolf and she looked dirty and bruised. I guessed that maybe she escaped from an abusive alpha or maybe an evil mate. I have a lot of them here in my pack, starting their life afresh because their mate decided to move mad. Most times when we get female rouges, that's always the case. I mind-linked another female wolf to prepare a room for her and help her feel comfortable till I'm done working then I would come to see her.

I wonder why some males would hit their mates and maltreat them to the point of running away? I guess some people have things and they don't value them. This was my tenth year of being the Alpha King of the werewolf realm and for once I've never gotten a mate. Some are lucky to get another mate after their previous ones died. I've never gotten anyone before, not even one that has had a mate before. It was sad for me because I wanted more. To be loved unconditionally by one person and to be able to return the love without fear.

Something felt unusual and for the first time, since I've been able to contact my wolf and have a relationship with it, I can't decipher what this feeling is. I couldn't concentrate on the work I was trying to finish so I decided I'd had enough work to do for the day. Maybe a run on the tracks and ending it with a visit to the new addition to our pack. I needed to confirm that she wasn't a spy or anything whatsoever. I couldn't deal with that right now.

Stepping out of the pack office, I had a change of mind. The heat was somehow unbearable and I decided to go swimming instead. The water didn't sound like a bad idea and I took the shortcut passing in front of the orphanage, I decided to go in. Those children haven't seen me since last week and I promised them that I would take them for something fun this week. I needed to remind them that the deal was still on if I don't have more paperwork to fill.

I walked in and those children attacked me with hugs. They didn't give me a chance to breathe and I laughed when they successfully pulled me to the floor and they started tickling me. They wanted to hear me laugh and I made sure to frown for them to give up but they weren't having any of it. I finally let go of my facade and I started laughing. Giving a home to these children was some kind of feeling I couldn't get rid of that fast, It was like making sure they didn't end up like me. I kind of like the whole thing, making sure their parent's choices didn't affect their living.

I didn't wake up one morning and decide to be the Alpha king, in fact, I didn't get a pack passed on to me. I built everything from scratch and together with my friends, we built the most formidable pack in the werewolf realm. Daniel, Edna, Shalom, and Tommy were the first set of friends I ever had in my life and the war brought us together.

For over a hundred years, The faeries wanted to take over the werewolf realm and rule over the entire supernatural realm. We were quite young then and soon the effect of the war started to get to the grassroots. Most packs started tossing out their extra members because the food was dwindling and they need to survive, I was the black sheep of my family then and it didn't come as a shock when I got tossed out. Daniel grew up in the monastery and everyone there got tossed out too.

Edna's father had too many children and he tossed out his female children, her sister died before we could finalize our dreams. Together with other rouges who needed a place to call home, we started this pack. We slowly built ourselves and we ended the war, we defeated the faeries. We earned our place in the werewolf realm and since then, the royal pack is open to every harmless rogue who wants a place to call home.

'Is the Alpha in here?" Someone asked from the door and I sat upright, The kids left me alone gradually when they discovered the person looking for me had some serious business for

me. I watched him bow mildly before I waved him off. He cleared his throat before he started speaking.

'Beta Daniel said he has tried mind-linking you several times but you've been distracted and there's a blockage on the pack's link. He said to meet him at the pack clinic because the rogue just fainted and all efforts to revive her are proving difficult." When he finished talking, I sat upright in shock. The last thing I wanted was a dead woman's case in my hands. It could be worse than anyone would think and it could even be a trap to make trouble for the royal pack. He bowed slightly before running in a different direction. My thought became jumbled because what if she was a trap by one of my too many enemies and they wanted to destabilize me. The odds of a bruised woman showing up in this pack is almost sixty percent but a bruised and sick one falls by ten percent.

I walked out of the orphanage and I walked extremely fast. The pack doctor should be able to do something, she is one of our very best. She came from a long generation of healers and she has been taught how to deal with cases like this by her predecessor, they should have. I hastened my footsteps when I felt how worried Daniel sounded in my head. I felt like there was more to this whole thing Like there were a lot of things that were about to change. I could feel it in my guts and my guts don't lie.

My wolf started pacing aggressively in my head, I was trying to communicate but he keeps wanting to jump out of my head. I wasn't going to let him out because one Language Cypher understood was violence. I'm the nicer one out of the two of us and if I was being honest, Cypher makes a lot of rash decisions on his own. I let him out on rare occasions and at wars, Cypher is always unstoppable, many feared him more than they feared me. Something huge was about to happen to us and I could feel it too. I'm sure he could too, there was this rush of adrenaline pumping through me.

I broke into a jog towards the pack clinic because I can't keep calm and keep walking again. I wanted to do something more. Arriving at the pack clinic, Daniel was standing outside already waiting for me. He waved his hands and I turned to walk towards him. Cypher's pacing became more aggressive and the adrenalin pump was so high. I literally want to break into a run and run for hours along the borders of my pack but something was keeping me rooted here. I was being energy high and I wanted to do a lot of things while finding what to do too.

That was when it hit me, the enchanting lavender smell. Walking closer to Daniel he had it splattered all over his body. I could smell it so well. Daniel can't even be my mate, the goddess dare not play a trick on us. Cypher was almost growling in my head but I couldn't pick up what he was saying. My whole body was on fire and my thought scattered all over the place. Did Daniel come in contact with my mate before me? I had no doubt about this and Cypher didn't like it one bit that Daniel had touched our mate before us and her scent was scattered all over his body.

'My Alpha, is there something wrong? You look a little unsettled. Scratch that, you look restless." Daniel said and I took another breath. I was an adult and I can definitely deal with this in a proper manner. I took short deep breaths in quick succession before I turned to look at him. The scent had reduced and I sighed in relief. Daniel wasn't my mate but he had come in contact with my mate. Cypher kept up with the pacing and he wasn't pleased one but that Daniel came in contact with our mate before us.

'There's a weird scent coming from you. It's not there before. Did you touch anyone else?" I asked with a low voice and he nodded slowly. He was lost at first and when everything started to come back to him, his mouth rounded in an "O" and he beckoned me to follow him.

He walked hastily into the pack clinic and I followed him. The scent was becoming stronger and as I walked closer to the roll of rooms, the smell became stronger. The adrenalin rush was still there and I was close to tears, I was finally getting a mate. After so many years, The moon goddess finally took pity on my lonely self.

I was finally going to have a mate to call mine, I was finally going to see someone to call mine and spend the rest of my life with. We were going to start our own little family and we would be happy forever. I couldn't wait but for some reason, I started having cold feet. What if she doesn't want me as her mate? What if she has fallen in love with someone else, or what if she has a thing against her chosen mates? I don't even want to go down that lane at all.

As if Daniel could read my mind, he slowed down a bit before he grabbed my hand, it was some kind of reassurance, and I'm thankful that I have this man in my corner. He's always so understanding and in moments when I can say what's going on; it's as if he can read my thoughts. I'm happy to have him as a friend and as my beta.

When we got to the entrance of the room, the scent intensified and it was clouding my senses. I pushed the door open gently and I walked in with hope. I hope whoever the Moon Goddess picked for me, would be perfect for me in my own way. She would complete me in ways no one else had. I couldn't wait to meet her. I never had any expectations for my mate because I wanted to love her as she is, I only prayed she was perfect for me.

When I got into the room, nothing prepared me for what I saw next. I saw my mate on the bed, with a tube connected to her body. No doubt bringing fluids to her body. I wanted to cry or worse do something to whoever made her like this. No human deserves to look this frail and malnourished. No human deserves whatever my mate has been through. Her whole body looked like she hasn't had a meal in days. While I wasn't comfortable with the fact that she was wearing Daniel's outfit, her exposed legs showed marks and marks. Some looked older than the rest but whatever the case is, I'm glad she is out of there. She was here with me now, she is mine now. I wanted to find whoever did this to her, find them one after the other, and make their lives hell.

She turned in her sleep and a soft sigh escaped her lips. I was enthralled by her whole features, even with the scars, she looked like she wasn't made for this realm. Each time people say that be calm, your mate would be perfect. I never believed it till now. She was perfect and the scars didn't make her any less than perfect.

Her soft breaths filled the room and she looked like she had no care in the world. She looked like she was finally at peace. That alone brought me peace, looking at her sleeping peacefully and without a care in the world. This was how she was going to be sleeping forever, he was going to protect her at all cost.