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CHAPTER THREE.

NOLAN’s POV

“Alpha Nolan, we have arrived” My driver announces as the car comes to a halt and the engine dies.

I wait patiently for one of my guards to open the door for me and when he does, I graciously step out of it and stand straight with both hands shoved in my overall pockets.

My outward demeanour is not a very friendly one and I know it. Everyone standing around bows down the moment they set their eyes on me, including the Alpha of the Pack, Alpha Chase Phoenix. I am in his pack today to do the usual annual inspection which involves me moving around the pack to look around and make sure that Alpha Chase is handling everything just well and of course not treating his subjects like slaves.

I am the Paramount Alpha and none of the Alphas around here like me. Werewolves from other packs hate and fear me because of the rumours surfacing that I am a ruthless Alpha and that I kill my subjects or any other person without reason.

Well… I’m not going to try to defend myself, I’m going to let you all decide what I am when you get to know me better.

“Mate!” I hear my wolf, Ander whisper strongly in my mind and I crease my brows as I look around.

“Mate? What do you mean by that?” I reply in my mind, a bit perplexed.

“Our mate is in this pack. Right now she’s not in this castle, but she is in this pack! You have to find her!” He urges.

“I will find her, Ander, I promise. For now, I need you to calm down and let me do my work as an Alpha. Please ” I beg him to calm down and he nods before shutting me out. I know my wolf, if I don’t beg him to calm down, he’s going to keep singing the mate issue until I give in.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited that I’m one step away from finding my mate, but I don’t want to find her now because if I do, I will forget about my original mission to this pack, thereby failing my subjects. I cannot let that happen!

I snap out of my thoughts and look up at Alpha Chase who still has his head bowed down, prolly waiting for me to instruct him to stand straight.

“You May all lift your heads” I instruct and they all do as told. Alpha Chase inches close to me and extends his hand for a handshake which I gladly take without any hesitation.

“You are welcome to the Crystal Moon Pack, Alpha Nolan. My subjects and I have been anticipating this day and we are honoured to finally have you here with us”

Liar!

I know he’s lying.

The sly grin he has at the side of his lips sells him out. Neither him nor his subjects have been anticipating my arrival. On the contrary, they have been cursing the fact that I have to set foot in their pack because they all believe me to be the devil’s incarnate.

I smile and nod my head, making up my mind to go with the flow. I don’t like Alpha Chase either, because he is a scheming bastard! I’m just here because this is my responsibility as a Paramount Alpha and I cannot run away from it.

“ I would like to begin with the inspection immediately!” I say in a commanding tone and he nods his head.

“Of course, this way please.”

My Beta and I follow him out of his castle with a group of guards behind us.

Today is going to be a long day of meeting, greeting, smiling with and talking to people I do not like. The only thing I'm excited about is finding my mate.

“I believe this is a banquet for you all to eat, drink and have fun, please go ahead and do so” I speak out and immediately, the subjects start chattering, but I can still sense their fear.

HOURS LATER.

The moment I walked into this banquet hall, everyone went dead silent and stayed glued on their spots like statues. I know the rumours about me are horrible, but I don’t have time to go about explaining myself to anyone. If they think I’m an evil tyrant, let them go ahead and hate me. I am their Paramount Alpha and I can…

My thoughts are interrupted by the faint sweet smell of caramel. My thoughts go in total disarray as I turn around to the direction where the smell is coming from and my heart skips a beat when my eyes fall on a tall slim girl, dressed in a red sleeveless dress, walking gracefully into the banquet room, smiling from molar to molar.

“That’s the smell of our mate” Ander, my wolf, points out and immediately, I set my glass on the table and rise up from my seat. I stand glued to the spot as I watch the girl greet a few friends.

That’s my mate and bless the Moon goddess because she is perfect!

I have to talk to her. If I don’t, I’m going to lose my mind.

I take slow calculated steps towards her and when she sees me approaching, she quickly bows down her head as a sign of respect. Without saying a word, I place my index finger on her chin and gently raise her head up.

Her pheromone is not very strong, but it’s doing wonders to my mind. I have no idea why Ander is suddenly silent. This is the moment he jumps around, screaming the word “mate” repeatedly.

“Alpha Nolan” My mate’s angelic voice calls and I break into a smile.

“What is your name?” I ask as calmly as I can so as not to scare her.

“Mia Lyn Collins” She replies confidently.

“Mia, I bless the Moon goddess for choosing you to be my mate.” I announce and I can see her eyes widen in shock.

Why is she shocked?

She is supposed to know I’m her mate as well.

“Why do you seem shocked? Hasn’t your wolf signalled you yet?” I ask concerned and she quickly shakes her head.

“No… no… I mean yes! She has.” She stammers in confusion. “Just that I didn’t believe her, I thought she was playing games with me”

She looks so cute when she’s confused and I honestly want to mark her right here and now, but that won’t be appropriate .

“Your wolf didn’t lie, you are my mate and future Luna”

“I… I… I don’t even know what to say '' The happiness I see in her eyes makes my heart swell up with emotions. I lean closer to her and plant a soft wet kiss on her forehead before looking at her again.

“Tell your friends and family goodbye, because I will be taking you with me to my pack tomorrow, that’s where you belong.” I turn around and walk away, intending to find Alpha Chase.

He said he had something very important to discuss with me and I think now is the right time to do so.

“Alpha Nolan.” Chase’s Alpha voice sounds from behind and I turn to look at him.

“Alpha Chase. I think now is the time for us to have that discussion you spoke about.”

“Yes, Alpha. This way please.” He takes me to the high table where I was formerly seated. I’m really eager to hear what he wants to say.

“So?” I ask once we are both seated.

“Well…this might sound a bit crazy to you, but it’s true.”

“I want to hear it already.”

“Yesterday was the day of the ceremony where all the werewolves who turned eighteen years old had their wolves awakened. However, the wolf of one of my she-wolves was not activated, instead, her pheromone attracted the widowed and unmated werewolves to herself and you know what that means.”

“It means she is a stealer.” I conclude, and he nods his head.

“Yes Alpha, she is a stealer. However, I was thinking she would be of great asset to you.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask with creased brows.

“We all know your brother, Alpha Kai lost his mate sometime last year and till now he has refused to stop mourning. I know how much you love your brother and how much you want him to get over that loss. You see, the stealer’s pheromone will make your brother attracted to her and once they mate, he will forget about his lost mate and love her instead, hence redeeming him from his state of mourning” he explains with so much confidence and I can feel anger burning in my heart.

What he’s saying is the truth. The stealer will redeem my brother, but I hate that fact he just wants to send the poor girl away. I’m sure she’s against this idea.

“Alpha Chase, has the girl agreed to this?”

“You and I know no girl will agree to that, but this isn’t her choice to make. I am doing her a favour!”

They say I'm the cruelest and most heartless man alive, but they haven’t met Alpha Chase.

I might be the devil’s incarnate, but he is the devil himself!

“Alpha Chase, I …” I stop on my words when my mate’s pheromone hits my nostrils. This time around it is not faint at all. The smell is so strong that I can’t stay still. I rise up from my seat and look into the crowd, hoping to see Mia around, but I don’t. Instead, I see a girl, held by two guards and they are walking towards us.

As they approach, my wolf, Ander, sprints up in my mind and screams the word “mate” over and over again.

I take a few steps towards the guards and the girl and they halt on their tracks.

I look at the girl who looks so weak and vulnerable. My heart is throbbing in my chest and right now I feel like I’m floating. What I felt when I stood with Mia a few minutes ago is nothing compared to what I feel right now.

I feel like a whole different part of me that I didn’t know about has been awakened.

I stretch out my hands and gently touch the girl’s black curls.

Perfect.

She’s perfect.

I thought Mia was the most gorgeous girl in the world, but this girl beats her. This girl standing before me is more than a goddess and the things she makes me feel are unexplainable.

“Mate!” I whisper and immediately, she looks up at me.

“Mate” I hear her whisper back to me.

“No!” A voice interjects and I turn around, only to see Mia approaching with a sorrowful look on her face.

“Mia”

“Alpha Nolan, do not be deceived. This is my sister, Catania. She is a stealer and that’s why her pheromone is affecting you so much. Look around, you can see that the guards are trying to hold the men down. You are only attracted to her because she is a stealer, she is not your mate. I am!”

“No!” The girl, whose name I’ve heard is Catania, cries weakly. “Please don’t listen to her. I am your mate.”

I stand there, confused on what to do and who to accept.

Catania’s pheromone is way stronger than Mia’s and Ander keeps insisting that Catania is our mate. But what Mia just explained makes a lot of sense. Catania is a stealer and her pheromone is capable of attracting unmated werewolves like me to her.

That should be the reason why I’m feeling this way.

“Mia is right” Alpha Chase announces as he joins us. “You are only attracted to this girl because she is a stealer. Mia is your real mate. Don’t be fooled by this stealer’s pheromone.”

Catania bursts into tears and for some odd reason, my heart clenches in pain. I feel bad that she is crying, but I know I shouldn’t because she is not my mate.

“Just look at the influence she has over you, Alpha Nolan. If you take her with you to your pack, you brother will be redeemed, don’t you want that?” Alpha Chase rants on and I close my eyes to think.

This girl's stealer pheromone keeps raiding my mind.

If she affects me so much, it means she will have the same effect on my brother, Kai. I have always prayed to the moon goddess to give me a solution to my brother’s problem, this is the solution looking right at me. I have to take it.

I turn to Alpha Chase who is staring at me with so much hope in his eyes.

“So, what do you want in return?”

“The West line territory. It’s a small place.”

“I will send you the land title documents when I get home. I will be leaving with both girls early tomorrow morning”

“As you wish, Alpha.” He agrees with a slight bow as he turns to his guards. “Take her away”.

I watch in pain as the guards pull the girl away.

I hate the fact that she has so much influence over me. She is not even my mate, but I feel her pain.

This is madness.

“Mia” I call as I turn to look at my beautiful mate”

“Alpha Nolan”

“Come with me” I stretch out my hand to take it and when she does, I expect to feel sparks all over my body, but nothing happens.

When I touched Catania’s hair a while ago, I felt like lightning had struck me. All the hair on my body had stood erect. I felt a connection! But right now, I feel nothing at all with Mia.

Why is it so?