Mate

They had set out as soon as it was dawn. Damien couldn't tell how far the journey was but he was sure he would sit with Mark for a long time.

He was exhausted, not physically, but he was tired of listening to Mark talk.

He had been going on and on about random things and how the females in the pack they were going to were a rare kind of beauty.

Also, he had spoken about his supposed mate, whom he hadn't met.

He sighed, looking at Roy, who slouched in his seat. Roy mirrored the same expression that was on his face, and he looked as though he would prefer to be anywhere other than near Mark at the moment.

Roy was Damien's tenth Beta.

His first and eighth Beta had been taken away from him due to the curse. It was a surprise Roy wasn't dead yet.

Perhaps the goddess was about showing him a bit of mercy to have let Roy stay this long.

"How far are we until we get there?" Roy asked. "I don't think my stomach is strong enough to withstand the journey any longer."

His face looked paler than normal; his eyes were widened, and sweat dribbled down his forehead. He looked sick.

A few seconds ago, he had looked okay, but now, he looked anything but that.

"I don't think I can make..."

"Take this," Mark handed him a plastic bag, and Roy emptied the contents of his stomach in it.

Mark rubbed his mark, shaking his head, "How can you have someone with a weak stomach as a Beta? We have barely gone to half the journey, and he's already throwing up..."

"It's not my fault I don't enjoy staying in a moving carriage," He said.

Rolling his eyes, Damien turned to look outside. He knew Roy was anything but weak, and he was one of the best Beta he had ever gotten.

For twenty years, Roy had been with him, assisting him to run the pack the best way he could, and that Damien was grateful for.

Although he had never said his gratitude aloud to him.

Another hour into the journey, they got closer to the mountain where the pack was situated.

Damien was already getting bored out of his mind. The only thing he could see was tall grasses and trees.

There were no houses in sight, which he found weird. If a pack truly resides in the mountain, how the hell were they able to get to the village?

Perhaps there was one closer. He mused, but he doubted it.

Or maybe they grow their food and rear livestock to sustain them.

"They are a pack with a rich history, and they don't need to go to the nearest village, which is only twenty minutes away by foot, to get what they want. They have all the things they needed in the pack house," Mark answered as if reading his thoughts.

Then he added, "We are here."

Damien alighted first, stretching his long limbs that were starting to ache due to the tiny space he was made to share with Mark and Roy.

He gazed around, and he saw the mountain as well as the buildings that were situated on it.

He presumed the largest building he could see from his vantage point of view was the Alpha housing, while the smaller ones were for the rest of the members.

Walking towards it, he remembered all that Mark had said previously. It was just the way he had described it.

Damien had only seen a handful of men while the women kept pouring out in numbers.

It felt as though the goddess had only created women in this part of the world, and all of them were equally beautiful, ranging from different sizes to colour.

Damien didn't care about any of them. He had stood accessing them for a long time, and none of the women that had come parading towards him seemed to be his mate or catch his attention.

He felt nothing for them; rather, his wolf seemed revolted.

He walked to a man, sculpting some things out of the woods.

"Can I see your Alpha?" Damien asked. He believed he sounded as polite as he should be, but he received no response.

It was as if he had not spoken and was merely speaking to himself.

"I'd like to meet with your alpha," He demanded. His voice was loud enough for anyone to hear him, but again, he received no answer.

That infuriated him.

He wasn't the most patient alpha, and what he detested the most was his question to be met with silence.

He knew if it was back in his pack, he would have tossed lots of them into the dungeon until he received a tangible response.

"You should be calm, Damien. This isn't the Wolfsbane pack, and do not cause any commotion," Mark said.

But Damien was far too furious to listen to what he had said.

"I demand to see your alpha this instant!" Damien growled, his face contorted, and his canine protruded; his eyes flashed a dangerous reddish color.

A pain-filled cry surrounded him, and his eyes narrowed as he glanced around to see everyone was on their knees.

Except for Mark.

No, he was using every of his strength to stop him from falling to his knees.

Damien was freaking more than a hundred years old. He was an alpha, and he had commanded a response that everyone must obey.

Mark believed the curse had intensified it as well.

Damien frowned, his eyes shifted around the large gathering that had fallen to their knees.

He perceived a distinct scent. It wasn't from anyone around him. It was a familiar scent and the scent of a mate.

Damien started towards the hut to find whoever it was, and then he saw her.

Immediately, their eyes jammed; she stood and dashed out of the hut into the crowd and towards the woods.

"Shit!" Embelynn hissed, slapping at twigs that curled toward her.

Who was that? she mused.

She had watched everything unfold through a crack in the room. She had seen the domineering man whom she believed was an alpha as he exuded the same aura as her stepfather but even more powerful.

She had seen him before, and it wasn't her first time. Maybe it was as if seeing in the dream didn't count.

She knew he had come to take her away with him.

No, she didn't want to leave. She didn't understand why, but all her thoughts screamed danger as soon as she saw him.

Emberlynn panted. She ran even faster as she heard footsteps around her. She couldn't possibly outrun him, could she?

He was an Alpha and would definitely have many experiences, while she was only an omega who was just learning how to survive the harsh world.

Emberlynn yelped as a hand gripped her and pulled her backward.

She was shoved into the tree behind her, and her eyes widened as they locked on the most perfect pair of crystal blue she had ever seen.

His scent enveloped her immediately, and she drank him in greedily, forgetting he was holding her captive.

Damien couldn't let go of her hand. He didn't understand why. Electricity jolted into him at the feel of her skin, and a familiar sensation stirred within him.

"Mate," His wolf, Cadence, howled in his head.