Chapter 8
SETH
Glaring at the ‘computer screen in front of me, I read the report sent by the private investigator
that I hired to find Liora. It’s been a week since she was expelled from Stormclaw, and I have
slowly come to realize how much I regret what I did. I should have never pushed her, never
rejected her–my goddess–given mate.
The last seven days have been hell for me. Caroline has ramped up her abuse on the o,
ordering them around like slaves to prepare for our wedding day in a few weeks. Every day, I get reports of her attacking she–wolves that mention my Liora and how she would have made
a better Luna, and every day I need to placate my packmates while my father indulges
Caroline.
I groan, running my hand through my hair. Seven days of Caroline being a tyrant. Seven days of me talking to packmates and reassuring them I will put her in her place when I am made alpha, as we all watch my father allow Caroline to do what she wants due to her father’s threat. My twenty–first birthday can’t come any sooner. Once I am alpha, and Caroline is
officially made a member of Stormclaw, I will put an alpha command on her, forcing her to
behave and treat Stormclaw wolves with respect and kindness, just like how Liora treated
everyone.
My mind drifts to Liora. How she is the opposite of Caroline, and always puts the pack before
her own needs. If anyone needed help, she was the first to lend a hand. If someone else was injured in a battle, she would help take care of their wounds before she tended to her own.
Luke was right. Liora would have made this pack stronger as my Luna. I should have marked
her on her eighteenth birthday when I had her under me, as I made love to her.
I can still taste her on my tongue, still hear her sweet moans.
Finding out she and I were mates was the best day of my life. A day I wish I could relive over
and over again.
***
Walking through the woods on the outskirts of the pack, I curse myself for being so dumb, for
losing track of the time and running late. Today Liora is turning eighteen, and as the future
alpha, I needed to be at her party to congratulate her.
[Where are you?] Wincing at the sound of my father yelling through the mind link, I roll my
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eyes and pick up my pace.
+15 Points >
[On my way. I lost track of time in the woods,] I reply back with honesty, deciding to shift into wolf form so that I can move faster. My clothes tear as I shift mid–step, my paws hitting the hard forest floor as I take off. The party starts in ten minutes, so I need to be there in five to make it in time to change into new clothes and still be on time.
[Hurry the f**k up, Seth,] my father orders, shutting the link between us before I can reply back. I growl, pissed at how he treats me. I am an alpha, just like him. I will be taking over the pack in a few weeks with Caroline, after I turn twenty–one and we are married. We had to wait, due to the betrothal being set for after she has turned twenty. I had hoped she would have found
her mate by now and given up on me, but it seems that will never happen. Within seconds of shifting to wolf form, I am out of the woods and racing past the houses of the many pack
members.
A sweet smell–like cinnamon and sugar–catches my attention, making me fumble in my steps and trip over my paws. I have smelled this scent before, but it was subtle then. Now it is
like someone mixed it with an enhancement drug, a drug I could get used to. Climbing back to
my feet, I follow the scent instinctively, and luckily it leads me to the pack house.
[What does it mean when you smell a scent that you feel like you become addicted to?] I link
my friend Luke, as I climb the steps to the pack house and walk through the open doors. With
there being a party today, the doors will remain wide open for packmates to come and go.
[Guessing you didn’t pay attention in class,] comes his snarky reply. I growl in warning, not
wanting to deal with his sarcasm and attitude right now as I stand in the foyer, debating on
tracking down that scent or running to my room for a change of clothes.
[Sheesh man, calm your raging hormones. This scent means your mate is close,] Luke retorts.
I can just picture him raising his hands in surrender and rolling his eyes. Stepping towards the
sound of music, I pause as his words register in my mind.
The scent I am smelling is my mate?
f**k!
[Dude, I can’t find my mate. My dad will kill me if I don’t marry Caroline.] Backing up, I turn and rush up the stairs, forcing packmates to jump to the side to avoid me crashing into them. As
soon as I reach the third floor of the pack house, I shift back into human form and run into my
room, slamming the door shut and locking it.
I know I need to calm myself, I can feel my blood pulsing, the need to find my mate radiating through me. My canines are itching to sink into her flesh and mark her as mine for eternity.
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But I can’t.
+15 Points >
I have a marriage arrangement with Caroline to prevent her father’s pack–the Ravenwood pack–from attacking Stormclaw. If I find and mark my mate now, Stormclaw will be doomed.
[Seth, where the f**k are you?] Wincing as my father reopens the link and shouts at me again, I rush to my bathroom and quickly shower off.
[Upstairs, be down in three,] I answer back as I scrub my body as fast as I can. I know I shouldn’t feel the need to be clean and fresh for a simple party, but I want to smell good and
look my best if my mate is truly here. The need to claim and dominate her as mine is winning
over the rational side of my
brain.
[Good. The party is going to start soon, and your aunt is on my case about that brat Liora needing support.] My hand pauses at his words as I find myself needing to force back a snarl. Some part of me hates how he just disrespected Liora–the girl of honor tonight, and the she–wolf that was left orphaned because of my father.
[I will see you downstairs,] I manage to grind out before shutting the link off this time. I need to calm down and focus. Rinsing off the soap, I shut the shower off and quickly towel dry myself before grabbing a pair of dark jeans and a nice baby–blue dress shirt. Dressing quickly, I slip on a pair of dress shoes and leave my bedroom, buttoning up my shirt as I descend the stairs. With one minute to spare, I enter the large function room and stride to where my father stands with Caroline, Aunt Maya, and Uncle Dan. Their pups are probably running around here
somewhere, too.
“Nice of you to join us,” my father harrumphs as he takes in my appearance. I wait for the scolding that is to come, but he instead nods in approval at my attire before returning to a conversation with Uncle Dan. Shocked, I turn and give my aunt a hug, before pressing a kiss to Caroline’s cheek. It takes everything in me not to recoil at her touch and scent of honey, as the scent of cinnamon and sugar that belongs to my mate grows stronger the longer I stand in
this room.
“You okay, baby?” Caroline asks in a sickly–sweet voice.
“Yeah, just tired,” I mutter, catching the questioning look my aunt throws my way.
“Well, you better stay awake for at least another hour. Liora is arriving now and needs our
support,” my aunt warns me. Liora’s name causes my mind to hum in agreement with my
aunt, leaving me questioning what is wrong with me. Ever since I scented my mate, I have been acting like a brainless pup.
As if on cue, Liora walks in, her light–blonde hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head,
3/4
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+15 Points >
and her body covered in a dark blue dress that hugs all the right places. Shaking my head as thoughts of kissing her invade my mind, the cinnamon and sugar scent practically explodes into the room. My blood hums as the need to find my mate rises, and I find myself clenching
Caroline closer to my body. I need to focus and remind myself that Caroline is who I will
marry. I have to, or else Ravenwood will attack us.
As if sensing the change in me, Aunt Maya stares at me and smirks, her eyes twinkling with
mischief.
