Mate

POV: Gael

A violent, agonizing throb radiated from the base of my skull straight down to my groin, a brutal reminder that my own biology was actively trying to tear my mind apart. Sweat slicked the back of my neck, dampening the collar of my crisp, custom-tailored dress shirt. I gripped the edge of the polished mahogany boardroom table, my knuckles turning stark white as I forced my breathing to remain slow and steady.

I was currently enduring the absolute hell of my rutting week. It was a torturous, inescapable biological period of blinding, all-consuming lust that struck every year without mercy. Heavy, high-grade suppressants coursed through my veins, medications designed to numb the overwhelming feral instincts, but they were barely taking the edge off the pain. Deep inside my slacks, my heavy erection throbbed with a relentless, demanding ache, straining painfully against the expensive zipper of my trousers. Every single instinct inside my massive body was screaming at me to find a warm body, to bury my cock deep inside someone, to breed and claim. I fought the urges down with sheer, unrelenting willpower.

I was twenty-eight years old, and I was the last surviving Lycan king.

For centuries, the supreme Lycans had stood at the absolute pinnacle of the werewolf hierarchy. We were born as untouchable kings—faster, infinitely stronger, and blessed with near immortality. But time, brutal wars, and ravaging diseases had decimated my once-proud race. Now, I was the only one left. The crushing weight of an entire dying species rested entirely on my broad shoulders. To survive the modern age, we had no choice but to retreat into human cities, hiding our primal nature in plain sight. Under the polished, untouchable guise of the human billionaire Gael Thorne, CEO of Zenith Malls and countless other global enterprises, I operated in the shadows. If the humans ever discovered the monsters living among them, it would mean total annihilation.

Yet, the physical agony of my rut was nothing compared to the relentless, infuriating nagging of the werewolf Elders. They never missed an opportunity to torment me, especially during this torturous week. Their demands were always the same: take a she-wolf mate, breed immediately, and produce powerful heirs to save our dying species.

They sat in their plush council chairs, barking orders at me to secure the Lycan bloodline, entirely ignoring the horrific reality of what they were actually asking. My Lycan seed was supreme. It was ancient, heavy, and overwhelmingly dominant. If a normal she-wolf attempted to carry my pup, the sheer, overpowering strength of the unborn child would brutally rip her apart from the inside out. She would not survive the birth. The Elders callously dismissed this inevitable, gruesome death as a mere "sacrifice" for the greater good. I called it outright murder. I violently refused to accept their madness, vowing never to forcefully impregnate and kill an innocent woman simply to satisfy their desperate, bloodthirsty political demands.

Desperate for a distraction after yet another infuriating, screaming morning meeting with those ancient fools, I had joined my Beta, Rhys, to sit through a mundane human shareholder presentation. I needed the boring financial statistics to cool the raging fire in my blood. Rhys stood near the projector, smoothly explaining a new dividend strategy to the room of suited executives.

Then, right in the middle of the crowded, sterile meeting room, an incredibly intoxicating scent completely blindsides me.

It hit my heightened senses like a physical blow—a mouthwatering, rich blend of warm chocolate and spiced cinnamon. It was the sweetest, most decadent aroma I had ever encountered, and it instantly hijacked my entire nervous system.

My inner Lycan beast stirred fiercely, violently throwing itself against the mental cage I kept it in. My throat went bone-dry in an instant. An all-consuming, primal craving shredded whatever fragile control I had left over my rut. My fangs ached to descend, and my cock swelled instantly, painfully hard, demanding release with a vicious throb.

Entirely unable to resist the biological pull, I abruptly shoved my chair back and stood up. Without a single word of explanation, I abandoned the stunned shareholders.

"Gael, what’s going on?" Rhys scrambled to ask, his voice thick with sudden panic, but I completely ignored him.

I strode out of the heavy glass doors, allowing the sweet, decadent scent to aggressively drag me through the sprawling, brightly lit corridors of Zenith Mall. I felt exactly like a lethal predator locked onto a blood trail. The invisible tether pulled me deeper into the complex, my long, dominant strides eating up the distance until the scent finally ended at the entrance of a quiet, secluded café.

The aroma of chocolate and cinnamon was incredibly thick here, coating the back of my throat and making my mouth water. As my sharp, predatory eyes scanned the counter, my absolute attention snapped directly toward the sound of a soft, heartbreaking sniffle.

Sitting alone at a small table near the window was a fragile, blonde human girl. Her head was bowed, her small, delicate shoulders trembling as she cried quietly into her drink. The moment my eyes locked onto her trembling form, the cinnamon scent coiled tightly around my neck like a heavy, inescapable noose.

Deep within my mind, my inner Lycan growled a single, world-shattering word that shook me to my absolute core.

*MATE.*

The revelation completely defied all logic. It was impossible. She was merely human. She was soft, unprotected, and utterly devoid of the wolf gene. The ancient Moon Goddess binding a supreme, hyper-lethal Lycan king to a fragile human shouldn't even be possible. Yet, the absolute truth of it crashed into me like a tidal wave. Every single cell in my massive body violently ached to cross the room, spread her soft thighs, and claim her on the spot. My beast howled relentlessly in my mind, aggressively demanding that I take her, breed her, and mark her as my own. The biological lust was deafening, entirely overriding the heavy suppressants in my bloodstream. My balls ached with a heavy, primal need.

I took a cautious, measured step closer, my heart hammering fiercely against my ribs. Just as I closed the distance, she suddenly stood up, turned blindly, and collides directly into my broad chest.

The sheer physical shock of her delicate, trembling touch against my torso sent a violent, blistering electrical current straight down to my groin. My cock jerked violently in my pants, leaking pre-cum as my beast roared in absolute triumph.

She looked up at me, her beautiful emerald-green eyes wide and swimming in fresh, vivid tears. Her innocent, deeply sorrowful gaze physically hurt my chest.

Before I could even speak, I noticed the threat. I glanced over her small shoulder and spotted two hostile men sitting a few tables away, glaring at her with ugly, threatening scowls. My Lycan immediately recognized them as predators hunting what was mine. A murderous, white-hot anger flared wildly in my chest.

But before my beast could fully surface to rip their throats out, the fragile girl suddenly grabbed the lapels of my expensive pinstripe shirt. She went up on her toes and desperately pressed her soft, trembling lips directly against mine.

I froze, mentally stunned by the sudden contact. The electric shock of her mouth against mine set my entire nervous system completely on fire.

She pulled back just a fraction, her breath ghosting over my lips as she hastily whispered a terrified plea. "Please, bear with me. Keep up the act for just a minute."

An act?

This tiny, beautiful human had absolutely no idea of the raging, uncontrollable biological storm she had just triggered inside me. She didn't realize she was playing with a literal monster currently drowning in the agonizing heights of a rut. Seeing the raw, vivid fear swimming in her breathtaking emerald eyes, my violent anger toward her advancing pursuers burned even hotter. Whoever those two men were, they had made my mate cry, and they were terrifying her.

I immediately wrapped my thick, muscular arm securely around her narrow waist and kissed her back with ruthless, possessive dominance. I crushed my mouth over hers, parting her lips effortlessly and invading her sweet mouth with my tongue. I fully indulged the raging fire she ignited in my blood, drinking in the intoxicating taste of her tears and the warm cinnamon on her tongue. Against my chest, her soft body yielded perfectly. My Lycan howled in pure, unadulterated joy.

*'Ours.'*

Taking immediate, absolute control of the situation, I quickly broke the kiss and began leading her away from the danger in the café. I kept her tucked securely against my side, her small fingers desperately digging into the sleeve of my suit.

Through our private, encrypted mind link, I coldly issued a lethal order to my Beta. *'Rhys. Some men are chasing my mate. Intercept them near the Moon Cafe. If they try to follow us, stop them. If they resist even slightly, kill them.'*

*'Yes, Alpha,'* Rhys responded instantly, his tone shifting into deadly seriousness.

Without slowing my dominant stride, I pulled the trembling girl directly toward the hidden, private corridors of the mall. I glanced back, seeing the two men violently shove their table aside to give chase.

"Please," she whispered urgently, her voice cracking with sheer terror. "Help me. Hide me for a few hours. They're coming."

I stopped for a fraction of a second, shooting her a dark, cutting look. I needed her to understand the gravity of the world she was blindly stepping into. "You shouldn't trust strangers," I warned her in a low, rough voice that vibrated with the barely restrained power of my Lycan.

She swallowed hard, looking up at me with absolute desperation. Seeing that fear, my hard gaze suddenly softened. "But I'll save you," I promised her.

She nodded purely on blind instinct. I led her down the dimly lit private hallway toward my restricted access elevator. I noted how her small, frantic steps tried desperately to match my long, commanding strides. I gently squeezed her trembling hand, my thumb stroking her soft knuckles to offer a silent promise of comfort.

Reaching the end of the corridor, I pressed my bare palm flush against the sleek security panel. The mirrored doors slid open silently. Just as we stepped inside the expansive car, her pursuers rounded the far corner, shouting her name.

I didn't even flinch. I stared them down with absolute, lethal intent as the heavy mirrored doors slid shut, sealing us inside and entirely cutting off the threat.

The high-speed elevator instantly began to rise. She looked up at me, her chest heaving as she gripped my wrist. "Where are we going?" she whispered shakily.

I turned my head slowly, letting my dark eyes burn into hers. "To my penthouse," I declared, my voice a low, absolute command that resonated in the quiet space. "You will be completely safe there."

A few moments later, the elevator chimed, and the doors slid open to reveal my sprawling, luxurious penthouse. She stepped inside blindly, looking exactly like a fragile little lamb wandering directly into a highly dangerous wolf's den.

As the heavy metal doors slid shut behind us, locking with a definitive click and sealing the two of us perfectly inside, I spoke to her in a low, reassuring rumble. "You're safe now. No one can ever reach you here."

For the very first time in my chaotic, centuries-burdened life, I felt completely and utterly grounded. The maddening ache of my rut was still a raging fire, but it was now entirely focused on the beautiful creature standing in my living room. My beautiful, fated mate was finally securely locked within my home, standing firmly on my territory.

As I watched her take in her surroundings, I silently vowed to the Moon Goddess that I was never, ever letting this human girl go. She was mine. And tomorrow, I resolved with absolute, unwavering certainty, I would proudly announce her existence to the nagging Elders, entirely upending their pathetic little world.