Chapter 5: miracle

Along the streaming river, across a log of wood, one boy hopped on along the log, practising his balance. Another jumped from one rock pad to the other, while the third walked in the river, unperturbed by the current of the cold water or the fact that the river covered half his ten-year-old body. Among the boys, he moved without a smile, his eyes dull of every passion and emotion, the opposite of the boys in his company.

The boy on the log waved his hands frantically, pretending to catch his balance. The one in the rock did the same thing, causing both of them to giggle. "Oh, stop being so stiff, Drix, have some fun,"

"We are late for training, again. I'm starting to think letting you two pull me away for lunch isn't much of a good idea. You both keep getting me in trouble," The boy in the water spoke blankly.

"So what? It's not like the trainer is ever early. Loosen up, grouchy. If you keep going on like this, you'll scare your mate away when you meet her,"

"There's no need to worry about that, I don't have a mate,"

"Everybody has a mate," the boy on the rock said sharply. "Stop believing what your father says. Why would you think you don't? Because he didn't find his?"

"It's beyond that, Everett, and you know it. Monsters like us don't have mates, and the alphas before me has proven that point. We choose our mate and live with the mistake, that's just how it is." The two happy boys paused their movement, simultaneously placing their hands on their hips with scowl on their faces.

"Okay, Mr Monster, what happens if you do end up with a mate?"

"Simple. I'll never let her go."

_____

"Oh! The countryside is a vacant wild

Mama got me a bear!

At the pub, you'll see the old men dance

To the one-foot merry-hop spin

Oh, countryside, countryside

My homeland and my heart

So yap ye one-eyed vagabond…" I strangled the giant stuffed tiger, letting my claws rip its throat with every second tighter I squeezed. I always had three to ten stuffed animals with me, depending on how long the journey was and if I was travelling with Everett or Cooper, or worse, both! I regretted begging Everett to come along just in case Cooper failed in finding his mate, so he would carry Cooper's body back dead or alive. I should have thought about how I would end up committing murder instead.

They sang from this nonsense to that bullshit, screaming at the top of their lungs. It was Cooper's excitement of finding a mate and Everett's unquenchable desire to frustrate me. How? How did I end up like this? How did my life drastically change to this point? My life was on track when my father still breathed, but with him dead, it opened the way for the madness to come in. Why does it always have to be me? Why do I have to care for them to the extent of tolerating them?

I had no means of relief. Work was just as stressful. With my timetable, it'd been years since I tried any of my hobbies, or even remember how to do it. I couldn't even try because somehow, they always found a way to ruin it. Cooper literally slept in my house and ate all my food. Everett lived for the thrill of frustrating me. Brie, that woman was far from the topic, further away. If only I had a mate, if only I could ever get one. This is my life, this is my misery.

Thinking back to the days of my parents, the loveless marriage until she found her mate and tried to leave, how it all ended. I shook my head, refusing to think about that or anything related to mates for a fact. Black magic is starting to sound appealing. With a little magic, I would be able to remove their voices, Everett's and Cooper's.

"Alpha, we are approaching the pack boundary—"

"I'll walk!" I exclaimed. I jerked forward to open the door and throw myself out of the moving car. Unfortunately, the giant toy and seatbelt restrained me enough for them to clamp their palms on my shoulders.

"Calm down, we still have the final verse to go. It's not dignified for an alpha of your calibre to walk,"

"I love trekking,"

"As your Beta, I forbid you from walking," Cooper declared.

"You can't forbid me from walking, Cooper, I'm your alpha and senior."

"You're only two months older, smart pants. Tell him, Everett,"

"Mm mm," Everett nodded. I sighed, sinking back into the chair. The car drove past the boundary, no doubt they dropped the barrier for us. I mentally counted the seconds, my breath stuck in my throat with my eyes closed. Three more minutes of torture, and I was finally free. I leapt out of the car before it stopped, tossing the toy on the ground as my breath returned to me with a sharp gasp. Everett jumped out next, switching to the side everyone outside the pack knew him as. As for Cooper, not so much.

I shook my head as he clapped his hands with excitement, jumping like a little girl. I rolled my eyes at the crowd before us, the one whose eyes dug holes into our flesh. Straightening my back, I tilted my head and stared the alpha up. Blonde hair, brown eyes; reek of idiocy. I scoffed silently, running my eyes to his wife and kids as I approached them. The boy looked like a terrible choice for an alpha, two girls screamed harlots and the wife was just weak. The only okay-ish one was the girl standing close to her mother.

Typical nonsense.

"Alpha Ajax," he called, a wide, irritating smile on his face. He stretched out his hand for a handshake, drawing my attention to the hand. I looked at his hand blankly, then back at his face. I should have sent Cooper alone. He wisely retracted his hand, chuckling nervously. "Well, welcome to Shtylla e forcës, Alpha Ajax, it's a pleasure to have you honour my invitation. This is my mate, Rebecca," he placed his hands across her shoulders, making me draw my brows together. Seeing mates together incense me because I don't have one. "My son, Elijah, the next alpha. My first daughter and child, Eloise and the twins, Edna and Emma." All blonde, all brown-eyed, four giving me an off vibe.

I looked at Cooper, but the look on his face already said it all. I sighed, returning my gaze to the alpha. "Are these every member in your pack?"

"Well, yes. Everyone, both male and female." He replied, eyes sweeping between me and Cooper. I nodded. Well, the mission was unsuccessful.

"Are you… y… you sure this is all of them?" Cooper asked shakily. "Everyone? Even guys? I don't mind if it's a boy?" Here we go again. Everett rested his hand on his shoulder, pulling him back a little. I nodded for him to take Cooper away before he broke down. I returned my eyes to the alpha. "I know! What about the omegas? You have omegas, don't you?" The Luna pointed at the separated members. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the eldest daughter sucking on her bottom lip. She looked at Cooper and then me, as if trying to keep her mouth shut.

‘She knows something,’ Alaric spoke my mind.

"You see, my Beta has been searching for his mate for so long," I gestured towards Cooper. He was at the last stage of his composure and pathetic enough to worry. "He's almost giving up. So please, if there's one person left in this pack that isn't here, help me and I promise absolute protection to your pack, only 'if' she or he is found in your pack. Alpha Swindells?"

"Like I said, there is none—"

"Sandy! Sandy isn't here!" Eloise screamed, covering her mouth afterwards. The Luna threw a glare at her daughter. Cooper let out a little squeal, his hope returning to be smashed again. Maybe I should have let his hope die, instead of giving him hope again for it to be destroyed.

"Oh, but it can't be Sabbath, she doesn't have a wolf and—"

"Shut up." Cooper deadpanned, silencing the brat of a son. Eloise raised her hand, bouncing like she was going to jump to the moon.

"I'll show you where she is! Follow me!" She spun on her heels, rushing away with excited speed. I remained rooted to my spot while Cooper and Everett followed, grumbling a little because I needed to follow for “emotional support”.

‘Hendrix,’ Everett called telepathically. I whimpered.

‘Do I have to?’

‘One word, Brie.’ I ran after them, rushing past the crowd following behind. I met with them at an old cottage, far away from the pack houses. Cooper shook his head, he was yet to catch a scent. Too bad. The girl, however, was determined. She opened the door of the cottage forcefully, dragging a rush of wind from inside the cottage. The wind carried the scent of whoever lived inside, a delicious combination of fig and coconut milk. Alaric purred, rolling on his back for some reason.

"No, it's not her. All I smell is coconut milk."

"That's her scent, naturally."

"I'm supposed to perceive something special, something other than just coconut! A scent only I am supposed to perceive! And will someone get rid of the hawthorn and violet scent, it's distracting me!" Cooper screamed with both anger and frustration. I turned, finding my body leading me towards the scent. If no one else could perceive the fig, then… it can't… Alaric was scratching at my mind, begging to be let out to search for that person. I was told I would never get a mate, I was told it didn't exist in our lineage. But following the scent, I knew it was her, it had to be her.

"Hendrix, where are you going?" I heard Everett yell. "I need help with Cooper! His wolf is driving him mad!"

"Leave me, I need to follow that scent, I swear, it's hers!" Cooper yelled.

"But there's no one that smells like hawthorn and violet in this pack, I'd know."

"That means she is my mate!" I toned them out, slowly jogging and then breaking into a run. She was close, really close. I perked my ears to pick out any sound, apart from the sound of Cooper's feet.

"Stop being such a chicken, Sapphire, and get into the water. It's not that bad. After that run, you need a dip to cool off your panicking. It's over now, isn't it?" A female's voice reached my ears, and from the gasp coming from Cooper, he recognised that voice as his mate's. "Sapphire, the water is so… did you hear that?" Silence, just the sound of feet crushing pebbles. "Crap! Someone's coming! No, more than someone! Sorry, Sapphire, gotta go!"

"No, no, no!" Three seconds between screaming that, he shifted. His wolf ran past me. I slowed down my run, not that I was going fast before. Maybe I was imagining things, maybe my wolf was desperate. After growing up to the knowledge of never getting a mate like my father and the alphas before him, why would mine change? Why?

"What the…! Aaaah!" A thud reached my ears, making me hasten my speed. "Get the fuck off me, you heavy meat!" I ran into a small circle of trees, a small pond situated in the middle. Cooper's wolf, Cole, had a girl pinned down by laying on her. Well, guess he won't be disappointed after all.

‘Don't worry about her, find our mate!’ I snapped my neck towards the source of the delicious scent. My breath caught up in my throat when I found her pressed to a tree, staring at Cooper, eyes wide with horror. Her golden copper brown hair was a mess over her shoulder with sticky curly strands scattered all over her face. Two orbs like an actual sapphire gemstone, like none I'd ever seen. Her pale red lips remained agape as she stared at someone, not me. The beautiful female standing there was something I thought I would die without: my mate.