The true mate

"The alpha's waiting for your arrival," an omega said as she walked into the room twenty minutes later. "The ceremony's going to begin soon and people are waiting. How long is it going to take for you?"

I wanted to run, far away from here, and take my mother or my brother with me. But how could I?

My father and Alpha Killian will still find us.

"Just a minute." I wiped the tears off my cheek and ran my tongue through my lips. It felt like I could taste blood in my mouth even when there was none.

The omega closed the door on her way out. I gave myself another minute before leaving the room. The dress was heavy, at least a few pounds, and I had to carry it myself. I killed the sobs rising in my throat as I stepped down the stairs and into the grand ballroom where the wedding was being held.

I could hear everyone in the distance, chattering and laughing as I walked into a lifetime of misery. No body cared and no one could do a thing about it.

Silence spread through the crowd as I entered. My sight blurred with fear. I saw nothing but my doom standing ahead, waiting for me.

There weren’t many people in the ballroom, just a few , less than a hundred. I had never imagined I would get married like this. I never thought I would.

My body turned colder as I walked across the aisle, alone.

I felt like I was in a dream, and I was going to snap awake at any moment. But what if I wasn’t? My fingers tightened around the dress as my thoughts rushed. One thing spread a faint smile across my face when I thought about my mother's words.

Maybe one day I will find my mate and he will help me run away from this cursed Alpha.

I let out a sigh and wrapped my hand around the alpha’s before stepping onto the stage. But what if I couldn’t escape?

He was an alpha, after all. He could do anything to me, maybe even kill me when he gets tired of me, like I suspected he had killed his other wives.

When the priest started talking, I didn’t hear him. Everything was a blur. My breaths quickened, and my head began to weaken, almost as if I was going to pass out right there on the stage.

"-do you take him as your husband?" the priest asked for the second time after I failed to respond.

It took me a moment.

I'm sorry, my future mate.

"Yes." I choked out, my voice breaking.

I didn’t look at the alpha, not even for a minute, as I took him as my husband and he took me as his wife. The priest continued, but I heard nothing, only the howls from a distance.

It wasn’t a cheer.

It was something else.

The alpha placed his hand on the back of my head, stiffly holding my neck before lowering his mouth near mine. But before he could kiss me, we heard something.

"Code red! There’s an attack from the pack. The wolves are from the north, Alpha!" A man rushed into the ballroom, screaming at the top of his lungs and disturbing the entire ceremony.

The alpha’s hands dropped away from me, and he pulled back at the revelation. Chaos spread quickly and engulfed the ballroom. People rose from their seats and began rushing out. My eyes widened as everything unfolded before me.

An attack?

I couldn’t think of anything but my mother and my brother. If there was an attack on the pack, there would be an attack all over the town, and I was too far from them.

I had to leave.

I tossed the bouquet aside and fell onto the ground before scrambling down the stairs. Just as I was about to head out, the alpha grabbed my elbow and forced me back onto the stage.

"Where do you think you’re going?" he growled.

Rage hid behind his eyes as he tried to comprehend what was happening. "You’re not going anywhere. Go up to your room and prepare for me."

His free hand reached for the buttons of his coat and he started loosening them before removing it.

"No, I have to go home. My mother and brother didn't-" I tried to explain, but he didn’t listen.

"Shut up."

Most of the crowd cleared out, but soon screams echoed across the pack house. Blood began to splatter on the white walls of the ballroom as wolves from the rival pack forced their way in and ripped people to shreds. I gasped at the horror unfolding before me and stepped back.

The alpha’s hand on my elbow was stern. He wasn’t letting me go anywhere.

"Go upstairs!" he snapped.

His men surrounded him, protecting him, the coward that he was but the wolves continued to make their way into the ballroom, tearing anyone apart, innocent or not.

My heartbeat faltered. I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight from the dress I was wearing. I needed to take it off and go to my mother and brother.

It killed me to even think about what could happen if someone attacked the area where we lived.

Bodies began piling up on the ground, but none of the wolves were injured. Alpha Killian's wolves were nothing compared to theirs. They were stronger, more powerful.

Suddenly, a man walked in through the large open doors of the ballroom. I couldn’t see much but the beating heart he was holding in his hand, the one he had just ripped out of someone. When my head rose, I saw his face, it was prominent, but his mouth was covered in blood, and his eyes were dark.

The scent of blood disappeared, replaced with something even stronger, the scent of my mate.

My eyes met his and I quickly looked away. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. My heart raced as I saw his shadow moving from the corner of my eyes. The wolves stopped tearing each other apart, and it got quiet for a minute as he walked further toward the stage where I was standing with Alpha Killian.

The alpha’s men protected him, standing still in front of him, but it didn’t seem to faze the man who was approaching us. He was dressed in black, his hands soaked in blood.

The air stiffened and the screams stopped.

"Who the fuck are you?" Alpha Killian asked the man, his eyes burning with anger before he pulled me back behind him.

He didn’t want to protect me; he wanted to keep me alive for the night, for the consummation of the marriage.

"Your father," the man smiled, widely, blood smeared over his mouth and lips. His gaze shifted over to me, and I quickly looked away again. "Oh, did I interrupt something?"

"Yes," the alpha growled at him, baring his teeth before signaling his men to attack. "Kill him." He ordered, and his men obeyed immediately before shifting and attacking the man.

My eyes widened as I saw him fight back. He severed each one of their heads and ripped out their hearts before tossing their bodies onto the stage. My head felt light, as if I was going to drop to the floor at any second. My chest rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths.

It was my wolf, screaming at me for the betrayal I had done by taking the alpha as my husband and not my mate, who was now walking up the stairs.

Alpha Killian's men were all dead, scattered across the ballroom. There were droplets of blood all over the white dress I was wearing, but I was just glad they weren’t mine.

Not yet.

"Get out of here before I rip your head off myself!" Alpha Killian threatened the man, but I didn’t think it made much of a difference to him.

The man stopped on the steps and raised his arms in the air. An evil grin spread across his face as he looked at the alpha and then back at me. A low chuckle escaped his mouth as his gaze traveled over my body.

"Is he your husband, mate?" he asked, announcing and confessing at the same time, a frown appearing on his face.

I nodded and stuttered out, "Yes." There was a hint of guilt in my voice, and I couldn’t cover it, even if I wanted to.

"What do you mean? She’s married to"

The man moved quickly, and in a blink, his hand was in Alpha Killian's chest, cutting him off. He ripped out his heart, and I screamed in horror as his lifeless body fell to the ground. Blood dripped from the still-pulsing heart.

My hands reached my mouth as I tried to stop screaming, but I couldn’t, not after the horror I had seen.

My knees weakened, and I crouched on the floor, still screaming as the man neared me, bringing Alpha Killian's heart closer. He dropped it onto the floor, where it landed on my white dress. I screamed again and scrambled back until I was pressed against the wall.

The man bent down and his hand wrapped around my face. A warm sensation spread through my body even after seeing what he had done. My lower lip quivered, and I stopped screaming for a moment before raising my head to meet his cold, dark eyes.

"Well, now you're a widow," he said, smearing the blood of the man I had just married across my face before pulling his hand away. "What a pity."