Stealing His Mate

Sebastian

I’d been mistaken to think Alpha James’s daughters were all obedient. Skylar was anything but. She was stubborn, headstrong, and fiercely independent.

When I saw her deliberately hurt her own hands, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. Wasn’t that what I needed in a mate? But I still needed her to submit to me as her alpha, just like all my new pack members had to.

Even the youngest ones, when they came of age, went through the ceremony.

I never turned anyone away. I only asked for complete obedience and loyalty. Just like any king would.

It had taken some time to reclaim the lost territories of my birthright. It wasn’t done yet, but soon I would reveal myself.

All I wanted was to bring her into my pack and make her my mate, my queen.

Couldn’t she see the life of luxury that awaited her? What was holding her back? Most she-wolves would have jumped at the chance to be my mate. I knew her sister would have.

But I didn’t want her sister, or any other she-wolf for that matter. I wanted Skylar. But why?

I couldn’t understand the connection I felt to her. She wasn’t my mate. My mate had been killed after she betrayed me.

If any other wolf had defied me like Skylar, they would be dead. There were times when I wanted to hold her close; other times I wanted to punish her for her defiance. I was torn.

I sat in my office, my head in my hands, unsure of what to do. I was pulled from my thoughts by a knock at the door.

I straightened up.

“Enter,” I growled.

The guard on duty today walked in and bowed.

“Well?” I snapped.

He lifted his head and shook it.

“She refused…again.”

I let out a heavy sigh.

Three days. She had refused food for three days. She was going to starve herself to death.

“Leave,” I growled.

He turned and left the room, but the door didn’t close; instead, Kyrian walked in.

He closed the door behind him.

“What’s going on, Bastian? Why is the rogue girl still alive?”

I glared at him.

“Her name is Skylar,” I hissed.

He shrugged and sighed before sitting in the chair across from my desk.

“What is she, Bastian? Any other rogue would be dead by now. What is she to you? She’s not your mate.”

I took a deep breath and let it out.

I shook my head.

“I don’t know. I feel a connection to her. I felt it the moment I saw her in the window. I won’t kill her, Kyrian, but if things continue like this, it might be out of my hands... she’s refusing to eat.”

Kyrian scratched his head.

“Don’t bite my head off, Bastian, but I think you should pay Lila a visit.”

I glared at him. Even her name got under my skin.

“She’s a liar and a fraud,” I hissed.

Kyrian leaned forward.

“What if she isn’t? What if she wasn’t talking about Ariana, what if she was talking about Skylar?”

I let out a heavy sigh.

Lila was a witch and an oracle, or so she claimed.

The last time I had seen her, she told me that in order to reclaim my title, I would need my fated mate. Ariana was supposed to be my fated mate, but she had betrayed me. She had slept with another wolf after I had claimed her.

True, I hadn’t marked her, but she returned to her former lover. I found them in bed together. I’d rejected her on the spot. My wolf had taken control and killed them both, right then and there.

I’d sworn I wouldn’t take a mate after that, until I found Skylar.

“Skylar isn’t my fated mate, Kyrian. I don’t know what she is, but my fated mate is dead.”

Kyrian looked at me and shrugged.

“What harm could it do? See what she says. Before it’s too late!”

I stared at Kyrian’s back as he left the room. I didn’t fully trust Lila. My father had trusted her, but after my last visit, I wasn’t so sure.

I stood up and looked out of the window. I sighed heavily.

What did I have to lose?

Lila’s cabin was at the foot of the mountains, surrounded by thick forest. No one came here unless they specifically wanted to see Lila.

No one really knew how old she was. My father had known her, and so had my grandfather. I had no reason not to trust her, until the mate incident.

I raised my hand to knock on the door, but it opened before I had a chance.

She stood in the doorway and cackled. She was old and her back was slightly hunched. She stood there, leaning on a gnarled old walking stick.

“I’ve been expecting you, young Alpha.”

She stepped aside, to allow me entry.

I had to bend down to enter the door; otherwise, I would have banged my head.

She gestured to a seat at the table.

“Tea?” she questioned.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not here for refreshment,” I growled. “Let’s just get on with it.”

She chuckled and sat down opposite me.

“Always so impatient.”

Then she scowled.

“You’ve come to talk about Skylar, haven’t you?”

I glared at her.

How the hell did she know her name?

She smirked.

“I know many things, young Alpha. I see many things. I knew this day would come.”

I folded my arms across my chest.

“Tell me. What is she? How do you know her?”

Lila smiled.

“I knew her mother. A sad story if ever I heard one.”

I frowned.

“Sad? Why?”

Lila sighed heavily.

“Her father is the alpha of Moonstone Pack…”

I rolled my eyes; I wanted something I didn’t know already.

Lila glared at me.

I raised my hands and sighed.

“Go on, I’m listening.”

She stood up and walked across to the stove, where she began to make tea.

“Her mom wasn’t the luna. Actually, her mom didn’t even meet the alpha until his first kid was already two.”

I watched as she opened the cabinet, pulling out two mugs.

“I’m not following. If he already had a mate and a kid…”

Lila set the mugs on the counter and filled them with tea. She slid one in front of me before sitting back down.

“Alpha James wasn’t the eldest son of the previous Alpha. He wasn’t meant to be alpha.”

I nodded, understanding.

He’d always seemed weak to me. I was about to learn just how weak.

Lila went on.

“His older brother was killed in a rogue attack. He had no choice but to step up as alpha. His brother’s wife was heartbroken over the loss of her mate.

“James offered comfort to the grieving luna. James hadn’t found a mate yet, and the pack needed a luna and an heir.”

I stared at her, shocked.

“He mated with his dead brother’s wife!”

She nodded.

“Skylar’s mom was a rogue.

“She stumbled into Moonstone territory. The moment she showed up, he knew she was his fated mate. He couldn’t reject her, but he didn’t want her as the pack’s luna either.

“The current luna was strong, his fated mate was just a rogue, an omega. He wanted it all,” she huffed.

I shook my head, disbelief washing over me.

I was known for being harsh and merciless; that’s what the other packs and alphas thought of me, but even I wouldn’t sink that low.

“What happened to her mom?” I asked.

Lila huffed.

“Nobody really knows. They say she was killed in a rogue attack, but a rogue rarely kills just one person and runs.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You know something, don’t you?” I pushed.

Lila took a sip of her tea and nodded.

“James must have felt some guilt because he insisted that Skylar be raised as his own. He moved her into the pack house, much to the luna’s displeasure.

“Somehow James discovered that the luna had planned his fated mate’s death. Not long after Skylar’s mom died, the luna also passed away.”

Lila sighed.

“The selfish man ended up with nothing, no mate, and no male heir.”

She smiled.

“But that’s not why you’re here, is it? Young Alpha?”

I shook my head.

“Why do I feel a connection to her? Why do I feel the need to protect her one minute, then want to punish her the next?”

Lila cackled.

“Because, young Alpha, she’s your mate.”

I glared at her.

“That’s not possible. I don’t feel the mate bond. My wolf isn’t drawn to her scent. In fact, it’s barely there. There are no sparks when we touch.”

Lila sighed.

“That’s because she’s your second chance mate. You feel something because your first mate is dead.

“Skylar, on the other hand, doesn’t feel anything because her first chance mate is still alive. They just haven’t met. If he dies, or if he marks another wolf, you will both feel the mate pull.”

I stood up.

“I have to find her mate and kill him, then,” I declared.

Lila looked at me and shook her head.

“That’s one way to go about it, or you could try doing it the old-fashioned way. You could try winning her over, make her fall in love with you.

“Let nature take its course. Once you mark her, her other mate won’t matter.”

I rolled my eyes.

“She hates me. I took her from her family. She’s currently wasting away in my dungeon, refusing to eat.”

Lila cackled.

“Then you better make things right, young Alpha. My first prediction still stands. You won’t fully reclaim your birthright unless you have your mate by your side.”