The Unwanted Mate

POV: KAELIA

The suffocating atmosphere of the dining hall pressed down on my chest, making my broken ribs throb with every shallow breath. The heavy, averted gazes of the pack members felt like physical weights on my skin. I kept my eyes locked on the scuffed wooden table, desperate to escape.

"How long do we need to stay here to be respectful? I hate everyone staring at me," I whispered to Lorna, leaning in close so the surrounding wolves could not pick up my frantic tone.

"Just a couple more minutes. Then we can leave for school," she whispered back, her shoulder brushing mine in quiet solidarity.

Before we could slide out of our seats, the heavy double doors at the far end of the hall swung open with a resounding bang. A chill swept through the room, silencing the low hum of morning chatter. Draken, the pack's head warrior, strode in. His two thuggish sidekicks, Slade and Ronan, trailed behind him like loyal attack dogs. My stomach plummeted. His predatory eyes locked straight onto me the second he crossed the threshold.

I knew firsthand exactly what kind of horrible, remorseless monster he was. He was the ruthless tracker the Alpha unleashed on fleeing families. He was a monster who personally hunted down and killed a child from a fleeing family just to make a brutal point. The metallic scent of blood seemed to linger on his clothes, a permanent stain of his cruelty.

Draken bypassed the breakfast buffet and swaggered straight toward our table. He dragged a chair over, the legs scraping loudly against the stone floor, and deliberately sat way too close. His massive frame crowded my personal space, radiating a suffocating, aggressive heat. My skin crawled. I instinctively squirmed away, pressing my side against the edge of the table to create any distance I could.

He leaned close, letting the words hang in the air like a death sentence. "I have exciting news for you, Kaelia. I have your father's blessing. As soon as you turn eighteen, I am taking you as my mate."

"What about my true, goddess-given mate? What about him?" I almost shouted, uncaring that a few nearby pack members glanced our way before quickly averting their eyes again.

He didn't flinch. Instead, he reached out, hooking a thick, callous finger through a strand of my hair and carelessly twirling it, asserting his dominance over me. "Who cares. He'll find someone else, or just wither and die after you reject him. I really do not care. But you will be mine. That is all I have wanted for years."

Lorna slammed her hands flat on the table, grabbing my arm and pulling me up to leave. "Yeah, we have to get to school now. It was good seeing you, Draken."

Draken and his goons stayed seated, his dark eyes trailing up and down my body like I was a piece of meat on a platter. We grabbed our bags and hurried away, hugging the walls. We tried to slip out of the dining hall unnoticed, desperate to avoid making eye contact with anyone, least of all our fathers sitting at the head table.

The Alpha's booming voice suddenly echoed across the massive room, demanding everyone's attention and stopping us dead in our tracks. "You two will be home straight after school! We are hosting a mandatory party tonight for the visiting Alphas. Do not be late."

We froze, nodded stiffly in his direction, and shoved our way out the door, the heavy oak slamming shut behind us.

Walking down the dirt road toward the school, the crisp morning air did little to clear my panic. My breathing came in short, jagged gasps.

Lorna loudly cursed, her face twisted in pure disgust as she kicked a loose rock into the ditch. "I cannot believe your father promised you to that sack of shit!"

"I can. My father knows his own kind," I muttered bitterly.

Lorna softened, her eyes filling with fierce sympathy. "What are you going to do?"

I gripped the straps of my backpack, my voice shaking but resolute in the morning chill. "I'll figure something out. Even if I have to run away before it can happen. I refuse to be his."

"Well, tell me before you do. I'm coming with you," Lorna promised without hesitation, solidifying our pact to escape this hellhole together.

"Sounds like a plan."

Our desperate escape plans were abruptly cut short when a sleek black BMW roared around the bend. It screeched to a halt right in our path, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that choked the air. We stumbled backward, bracing ourselves. The heavy doors opened, and two towering, heavily muscular men stepped out onto the dirt road. The driver was a towering six-foot-four with short brown hair and a clean-shaven jaw. His muscles strained against the fabric of his dark shirt.

"What? Don't I even get a hug?" Thorne asked, a bright, genuine smile breaking across his face.

"Thorne!" Lorna shrieked with pure joy. She launched herself forward, excitedly leaping into her older brother's open arms.

The passenger door slammed shut as an equally massive man with dirty blonde hair and scruffy facial hair stepped around the hood. It was Jarek, Thorne's best friend.

When Lorna finally let him go, Thorne turned and pulled me into a tight, affectionate hug next. A sharp, white-hot agony shot through my broken ribs, radiating straight to my spine. The pressure was unbearable. I winced sharply, a sudden hiss escaping my lips as my body stiffened against him. I was unable to suppress my reaction or hide my physical pain.

Thorne immediately stepped back, his smile vanishing. His eyes narrowed, scanning my pale face. "Are you hurt?" he asked sharply, his protective instincts flaring to life in an instant.

I hugged Jarek next, keeping it brief and agonizingly stiff, before turning back to Thorne. Panic made me lie through my teeth, desperate to cover up the abuse happening under their own roof.

"Yeah, it was stupid. I was just roughhousing with a couple of the warriors, and this is what happened. I should know better," I babbled, trying to brush it off as a minor accident.

Jarek crossed his thick arms over his broad chest. His gaze pierced right through my fragile facade. "Girls aren't allowed to train. Why are you roughhousing with warriors?"

I offered a noncommittal shrug, refusing to meet their intense stares. "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Come on, Lorns, we cannot be late for class."

"We will see you tonight!" Lorna called out, giving Thorne one last quick wave as she fell into step beside me.

We hurried down the road. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Thorne and Jarek leaning silently against the hood of their car, their eyes tracking our every movement. Their expressions were dark and calculating. I knew immediately that they didn't buy my flimsy excuse for a second.

Further down the road, my anxiety spiked again, twisting my stomach into tight, painful knots.

"Lorna, what would Thorne do if he found out about my dad?" I asked nervously, terrified of the fallout that would inevitably destroy us all.

Lorna squared her shoulders, fiercely confident in her brother's strength. "What do you think he would do? Just wait until he finds out your dad gave you away to Draken. Thorne has always hated Draken. I don't think that mating will go through if Thorne is here."

"I'll take your word for it," I said skeptically, wrapping my arms tightly around my bruised torso to shield myself from the cold reality.

Lorna did not understand the depths of my despair. My father was a manipulative tyrant who always had his way of getting exactly what he wanted, no matter the cost or who stood in his way. If he truly wanted me to mark and mate with Draken, then it was pretty much as good as done. There was no escaping my fate.