My Cursed Mate

I wake up feeling super excited because today is a special day. I can’t believe today is my birthday, and I’m finally 18. I quickly freshen up and walk downstairs to have breakfast. I walk downstairs to find Mom making breakfast in the kitchen. I am sure she is making my favorite. Mom and I don’t live in the pack house. We are from the Dark Moon Pack.

“Good morning, dear,” Mom says once I walk into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mom,” I say, taking a seat on the kitchen stool.

Mom is actually not my birth mother. My parents died after I was born, so I know nothing about them. I still love her like I would love my real mother because she is the only parent I have.

“Are you excited to be turning 18 today,” she says placing a plate of chocolate pancakes in front of me, my favorite.

“Thank you,” I say for the breakfast. “And, of course, I am excited to be turning 18. If we were humans, I could finally leave your house so that you couldn’t control me anymore”

“Good thing we’re not.”

“Even if we were, I could never leave you,” I say, pulling her in for a hug.

“I love you too, dear,” she says, hugging me. While releasing from our hug, a car horn is heard from outside, which means my ride is here. I quickly kiss Mom goodbye and walk outside to meet my boyfriend.

“You didn’t even touch your breakfast” Mom says, as I am walking out.

“I’m going to be late, bye,” I say before I walk out the door.

“Hello, beautiful,” Matt says once I step outside. He is standing outside, beside his car.

“Hey, handsome,” I say, walking up to him. He pulls me in for a kiss once I get close to him.

“Happy birthday,” he says and hands me a box.

“Thank you! What did you get me?” I say, excited to see what he got. I open it to reveal a pair of diamond hoop earrings.

“Do you like them?”

“I love them. Thank you” I say, pulling him in for a hug.

“You’re welcome.”

I know dating as a werewolf is wrong, but I don’t have a choice. Mom has forbidden be from accepting my mate when I meet him, so I don’t have a choice but to have a relationship with a human. It’s the only chance I am allowed to get at happiness. I don’t know why Mom believes I should be with a human rather than my mate. I have tried asking her, but she has never given me a reason other than it’s the only way to keep me safe.

After a few minutes of driving, Matt drops me off at school. I go to a university here in our city. Mom would never allow me to go to school somewhere else. If she had her way, she would prefer I didn’t go to school at all. She does not believe there is a need for a werewolf to have a degree. I wish to be a reporter even though I am a werewolf, and I don’t believe any knowledge is useless even if I don’t become a reporter one day. Matt does not go to college and does not plan too. He is from a wealthy family, so his future is already covered for him.

I walk inside the school building to start my day after I kiss Matt goodbye.

“Are you sure you have thought this through?” Chloe says while she lays down on my bed.

I got back from school a few hours ago. My best friend Chloe and I are getting ready for my birthday party at Matt’s house. Mom hates when kids dirty our house, so we are having the party at Matt’s house. His house is also bigger, so it’s better.

“Yes, I have. We have been dating for two years, and I feel it’s only right that I give myself to him.” I plan to have my first time tonight with Matt. We have been dating since my junior year in high school. Matt has been so patient with me and never once tried to force me to give myself to him.

“What about your mate? How do you think he will feel if you give yourself to a human?” Chloe is also a werewolf like me.

“A mate I am forbidden to be with by my mom, and for all we know, he might have already slept with someone too.” I actually wish he has because when I meet him, it will give me a reason to be angry at him and maybe make it easier to reject him.

“I don’t know why your mom forbade you from being with the one destined for you. Even though she says it for your own safety, I’d rather be with my mate than suffer in pain forever”

A lot of werewolves don’t survive well without their mate. Some die while others become rogues.

“She is my mom; she knows what’s best for me.”

“I guess she does, and I still think you should keep yourself for your mate.”

“I know you want that, but I feel Matt deserves me.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” she says, giving up all hope of convincing me.

After putting on my outfit, a pink sequin bodycon dress, and applying my make-up, we leave for the party. We arrive after a few minutes of driving, and the place is packed with teenagers. I feel like I am late to my own party. We step out of her car and walk inside. Once we are inside, Chloe and I go our separate ways. I try to find Matt. I see him drinking close to the DJ with a couple of his friends from high school.

“Hello, baby girl,” Matt says, putting his arms around me and pecking my cheeks. “You look beautiful as always,” he says, whispering into my ears over the loud music.

“Thank you,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.

“Come on. Let’s dance,” he says, walking us to an area in the living room where people are practically having sex with clothes on and calling it dancing.

An hour or so has gone by, and things are going great. The party is amazing, and all my friends both human and werewolf are here. Matt left to do something, and it’s been awhile since I saw him. I decide to look for him around the house. I check all the rooms upstairs in case he slipped away while looking for the bathroom, but I don’t find him. I almost give up but remember that I did not check his parents’ room. Matt usually locks his parents’ room during his parties to avoid anyone having sex on his parents bed or stealing something.

I don’t knock on the door before entering because if it’s open, only Matt would be inside, and I am not wrong. The only thing I did not think about was Matt having sex with someone else.

“Matt!” I shout, shocked he would do this to me. I can’t believe he is sleeping with another girl on my birthday. How could he do this to me?

“Liz, it’s not what you think,” Matt says, coming off of a girl I don’t know.

“It’s not what I think?” I say, feeling my voice crack a little because I am about to start crying. I can’t believe I was foolish enough to want to give him my virginity tonight.

“It’s not what you think. I can explain,” he says, walking towards me and trying to touch me with the same filthy hands he used on that girl.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” I say as tears flow down my eyes.

I don’t waste another second in the room and run out before he sees me crying. He does not deserve my tears for him. I hear him calling my name, but I act like my ears are not working and continue walking. I don’t stop walking even when I reach outside. I don’t want to be anywhere close to him, so I just continue walking till my legs can’t go anymore.

I stop walking after what feels like about two hours. I think it’s two hours because before my phone died a minute ago, it’d been five hours since I arrived at the party. Chloe is probably worried sick about me and Mom too. I don’t know how far away from the house I walked, but I believe pretty far because I can’t even mind link Chloe. I decide to start walking back to the house the way I remember, but I am not sure which way I came from. I was crying the whole walk and only stopped a few minutes ago. I just see trees all around me, and I think I am lost. I continue walking, hoping to find somewhere I can charge my phone or someone to lend me theirs. I suddenly feel tired, so I decide to take a break beside a little pond, which is biggest mistake of my life.

While I am trying to get comfortable beside the pond, I hear ruffling in the woods, and once I take in their scent, I know they are rogues. They smell really horrible and always look almost dead, and that’s how the three in front of me look like right now. I quickly shift into my wolf and get ready for attack. My wolf is a beautiful white wolf called Eva. I can feel her getting ready to rip these rogues into shreds with her sharp teeth.

‘It’s been awhile since you let me out,’ Eva says.

‘That’s because you refused to talk to me for two years.’

‘And whose fault is that?’

‘I can’t believe you stopped talking to me because I started dating Matt.’

‘As much as I would love to argue with you, my precious human, we have company that looks like they will kill us any minute.’

‘Later,’ I say and try to focus our attention on the threat at hand.

I am not the best wolf at combat, but I will never back down from a fight, and as feisty as Eva is, she won’t either. There are three rogues circling me; the one by my right attacks first. He tries to grab my shoulder with his teeth, but I move away before he can. I think I’m getting the upper hand until I realize I just opened myself up to the rogue on the left. He catches my left shoulder in its mouth while I try to use my claws to pry it away. I don’t even have enough time to claw the rogue on my shoulder when the one in the center attacks me. It captures my paw in his mouth, and as its teeth pierces my flesh, a painful scream escapes my mouth. I use my teeth to sink into the neck of the rogue who has his teeth in my paw and fling him away. I am able to fling him into a tree close by, and he loses consciousness—one down, two to go, or so I thought. Suddenly, more rogues appear from the woods. I have not even gotten this rogue to leave my shoulder; how am I going to fight all of them? I can see my death already flashing before my eyes, but I won’t back down. I will fight till my last breath. I use my paw and teeth to remove the rogue from my shoulder. He or she was there for a while, and I can feel pain in my shoulder. I fight as many rogues as I can. I think if I survive this, I deserve to give myself an award. I feel like they have torn into every part of me, but I don’t back down. I can’t because if I do, they will eat me. I am about to attack another rogue when the most intoxicating scent drifts through my nose. I don’t know exactly what it smells like, but it’s a mixture of the forest when it rains and the sand when it rains. It smells divine to me. Eva suddenly starts becoming distracted from the threat in front of us and focuses on the scent.

‘How can you be focusing on that right now?’ I say, but Eva just ignores me and tries to find where the scent is coming from.

Two rogues have pinned me. My little conversation with Eva left me distracted, and it’s going to get us killed. I try to pry them off but fail miserably because I am already badly injured. I can feel myself slowly slipping away, but I hold on, and when it seems like all hope is gone, the scent suddenly becomes stronger. The largest wolf, most beautiful wolf I have ever seen in my life appears before us. He is as dark as the night sky. He growls, and the ground beneath us shakes with how powerful he is. He must be an Alpha. The rogues holding me quickly release me and run for their lives. All of them actually run away. I try to get up on my paws but fail. I am badly hurt. He takes careful steps towards me, and Eva starts dancing in my head. I wonder why she is happy. We are saved, but I still feel like we are going to die. However, I understand once the words leave Eva’s month: ‘Mate.’

Before I am able to process what Eva said, I start to feel dizzy. The last thing I see is our mate changing back to his human form before the darkness takes me away.

I wake up to the most excruciating pain all over my body. The first thing my eyes see is a white cell. A strong smell of disinfectant passes through my nose. I look around me, and I think I am in a hospital. It would explain the horrible smell and why I am wearing a hospital gown. I can’t believe I survived. I really thought I died out there that night. I wonder how I arrived to the hospital. I hear voices just outside my door, but I recognize none of them. Even the hospital does not look like our pack hospital. Where in God’s name am I? The muttering stops, and two people walk in. One is a doctor, and the other is my mate. I was not able to get a good look at him that night because of everything that was happening. Now that I can—oh my, is he handsome. He has piercing blue eyes that are the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. His nose is straight, and his lips are just the right size, looking all ready for me to kiss them. His jaw is straight and sharp, making him look no different than a Greek god. He has raven black hair, and it looks like his hands have passed through it a lot today.

“Hello, dear. How are you feeling?” the doctor says.

“I am…..” I try to speak but find my throat a little sore.

“Have some water. You have been asleep for a while, so your throat must be a bit sore,” she says, handing me a glass of water.

“Thank you,” I say once I’m done downing the cup of water.

“Can you tell me your name?”

“Elizabeth Smith,” I say a little lower than I was going for, but I think my body is still exhausted from the danger it faced.

“Alright, which pack are you from?”

“Dark Moon Pack. Why are you asking me these questions? Where am I?” I say, getting confused with what is going on.

“Honey, you are in the Alpha King’s territory. We need to inform your Alpha about your whereabouts.”

Once she finishes talking, I feel like my eyes are about to fall out of their sockets. How in God’s name did I get here?

“What did you just say? Who brought me here?”

“I brought you here,” my mate says, finally speaking for the first time since he entered. He is barely even looking at me. He has just been staring straight ahead the whole time the doctor has been speaking.

“My mom must be worried sick about me. I need to go back to my pack.” My mom, Matt. and Chloe must be worried about me. Why did I mention Matt? He cheated on me. He would be happy I was gone. I feel myself about to cry but stop once someone speaks.

“You are not going anywhere.”

“Why?”

“Because you are badly injured, and you need all the rest you can get,” the doctor says.

“At least let me call my mom and let her know I am fine.”

“I will inform your pack Alpha. He will inform your mother,” my mate says.

“Thank you.”

“Since I have gotten the information I need, I will leave,” he says and walks out of the room. I do not even get his name, and the way he talks to me is so cold. I wonder why.

“You rest now, and if you need anything, don’t hesitant to press that button,” she says, pointing at the button close to the bed.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and good bye for now,” she says and walks out.

***********

After that day, I do not see my mate again. I think it’s been two weeks since I’ve been here. I’ve only seen the doctor from earlier and a few nurses that take care of me. I was badly injured, so it’s taking time for my wolf to heal my wounds. I am leaving the hospital today, and I can’t wait to finally see some color around me and get rid of this hospital’s white walls. I finish changing into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt the nurse brought for me. I walk out of the room to find a man already waiting for me. He looks handsome but not as handsome as my mate. He has an aura of authority, but I don’t think he is an Alpha.

“Hello, my name is Dante, but you can call me Dan. I am His Majesty’s Beta,” he says with a soft smile.

“Hi, I am Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz,” I say, smiling back.

I know I am in the Alpha king’s territory, but why did he send his Beta to take me home. Maybe he has good relationship with my pack’s Alpha and wants to make sure I get home safe?

“Do you have everything you need to go?”

“I actually came with nothing.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Alright then, let me take you home,” he says and starts walking towards the door. I follow behind him. I am so happy I am going home. I can’t wait to see Mom and Chloe. I’ve missed them these past two weeks.

We walk for a few minutes and stop at a large mansion. The whole walk here I’ve had people staring at me, and I wonder why. I know I was badly injured, but I don’t think my scars look that bad, and besides, they will heal with time. The Alpha King’s territory is beautiful. There are beautiful flowers everywhere, and the houses are far bigger and more beautiful compared to the ones back home. I thought he was taking me home. Why did he bring me to someone’s house?

“Excuse me, what are we doing here,” I say to him as he is about to open the front door of the mansion.

“I brought you home, like I said,” he says, looking at me like I have two heads.

“This is not my home; I thought you were going to drive me back to my pack,” I say, looking at him now like he is the one with two heads.

“Why would I do that?”

“So I could go home.”

“This is your new home.”

“I don’t want a new home; I want to go back to my old home.” Why are they trying to keep me here? I know my mate is here, but I think it’s left for me to decide if I want to stay or not.

“I don’t think you have a choice.”

“Why would you say that?”

“You should have known the moment you found out you were mated to the Alpha King.”

“Excuse me, mated to who now?” I say in shock, not able to believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“You are the Alpha King’s mate.”

“That is not possible.”

I know that night I was attacked I’d guessed he was an Alpha but not the Alpha King. How can my mate be the Alpha king? He is the most feared and ruthless person in the world. How can he be my mate? Is this some kind of sick joke because I wanted to reject my mate when I met him? I can’t be mated to the Alpha king.

“I think you know it is possible, but you just don’t want to accept it.”

“Of course, I don’t want to accept it. He is the Alpha King, for god’s sake. Don’t you know who he is?” I ask then remember he is his beta. “What am I saying, of course you know who he is. You are his Beta.”

“I know you have heard stories about how ruthless our Alpha King is, but I want you to know he would never hurt you.”

“I have heard stories of him hurting women.”

The stories we have heard about his cruelness are very terrifying.

“All lies. Our Alpha king might be cruel, but he would never lay a finger on a woman.”

“You are sure?”

“I can guarantee you that.”

“Alright,” I say, feeling some of my anxiety of what he might do to me reduce a little.

“Now, come, let’s get you inside so that you can rest. I don’t want the Alpha to have my head if you catch a cold.”

“You are joking right?” I ask worried.

“Of course, I am,” he says, smiling.

******

Dan left a few hours ago after showing me around the house. The house is beautiful like everything on this territory. It’s a lovely two-story building. It’s a little late at night, and I am waiting for my mate to come back. You won’t believe it, but I actually don’t even know my mate’s name. I went to a human school, so there was no special history werewolves class growing up, and besides, he looks a few years older than me. I doubt they would have spoken about him in history class if we had one.

I am sitting down in the living room waiting for him, and after what feels like an eternity, he finally comes back. I don’t see him at first, but I smell him, and it is lovely. I walk over to the front door to meet him.

“Hello,” I say, smiling once I see him.

“What are you doing awake?” he says in a cold voice.

“I was waiting for you.” My smile changes, and I find myself confused.

“Why would you wait for me? Do you need anything?”

“No, I don’t need anything. I just felt it would be nice to wait for my mate before I go to bed.”

“Your mate,” he says with a dark chuckle.

“Yes, you are my mate.”

“Yes, I am, but it does not mean I see you as my mate.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me tell you something. Just because I am your mate does not mean anything. I don’t believe in mates—never will, never have,” he says while taking steps closer to me as he says every word into my face. His beautiful blue eyes are dark and filled with anger. I don’t understand why he is talking to me like this. Does he want to reject me? I know I planned to reject him, but after meeting him, I already can’t imagine my life without him.

“Are you rejecting me?” I say, feeling my eyes pool with tears, “No, I’m not, but you’re going to wish I did.”