chapter 3

Mate.

The word didn't register in my head for a good couple of seconds. I stood there, staring at the pitch black wolf that stood before me. It also kept its eyes on me. My eyes widened as I finally realized what he was to me. He noticed my realization and flashed me a wolfy grin. It wasn't comforting like some might think, it was one that sent chills down my spine and throughout the rest of my being.

I looked deep into his eyes, finding a swirl of all kinds of emotions. Before I could try to figure out what emotions they were, the swirl went away at the sound of rattling in the bushes behind him. He didn't turn around; he knew what it was. Three other wolves came out from behind the bushes. One stepped closer than the others, greeting me with a menacing growl.

My mate shifted back into his human form. I gulped, knowing that if I looked any further downward, I would be met with something I did not want to see. He lifted a finger towards the wolf that was aggressively advancing towards me, making it pause. "Stop."

The wolf did as he was told and stepped back, reuniting himself with the rest of his buddies . His eyes narrowed as he stared at me warily.

As my mate turned to address me, a confused look crossed my face. I knew him from somewhere. Where did I know him from is the question. No matter how hard I tried to identify him, I couldn't place my finger on it.

A sly smirk spread across his lips and he pointed a finger in my direction. "You… you don't know who I am, do you?" Even with the amusement that underlined his words, his voice held authority, informing me that it was not a wise idea to mess with him.

I knew what he was to me, but I'm sure that isn't what he meant. The way he spoke demanded respect. That gave me a clue; he was known all over the werewolf world. The question was still clawing at my brain, where do I know him from?

I took in his features. His eyes were the first to grasp my attention. I was about seven feet from him and from what I could see, his eyes were a bright, rich, sapphire blue color. In fact, they were so bright, that they almost seemed fake. I knew for a fact that they weren't. The next thing that caught my eye was his hair. It was pitch black; so black, that it swallowed any light that came in contact with it. It even blended with the darkness behind him. My eyes drifted past his defined cheekbones and plump, pink lips. My eyes landed on his jaw line. It was incredibly sharp. I knew that if I ran my hand across it, it was inevitable that I would be left with a flesh wound.

In the midst of analyzing my mate without an ounce of shame, I started to piece the puzzle together. The sapphire blue eyes, black hair, defined features; it all seemed so familiar. I have seen pictures of this guy; and the more I thought about it, the more it came together. One last look at his eyes cleared everything up for me. My mate was the most feared Alpha on the face of the planet:

Alpha Theo Bloodmoon.

The blood drained from my face upon my realization. His sly smirk that was already on his face deepened.

"Shift," he commanded me. I didn't miss the cold, hard tone he laced his words with; nor did I miss the look he gave me. The emotion that was in his eyes only moments before was now gone, leaving emptiness in its wake.

I hesitated, not liking the idea of being left naked in front of four men. The Alpha before me must've sensed my uncertainty because he extended his hand towards the wolves behind him. One of them stepped forward and I noticed that he had some clothes in his mouth. He dropped them into his alpha's hand and took some steps back, resuming the position he was previously in.

My mate stepped forward and dropped what appeared to be a large tee shirt in front of me. "Shift," he repeated. "I don't like to repeat myself more than once." I did what I was told, not wanting to piss him off. From what I've heard, he has a short fuse, and I would not like to be the one to light it. Not right now anyway. I quickly took the shirt from the ground and slipped it over my head. When my head went through the neck hole, I noticed that Scott had slipped on a pair of shorts.

Theo's warriors went back behind the bushes and came out seconds later, each with their own pair of shorts on. They resumed their positions behind their alpha in a straight line without making a single sound.

I turned back to my mate, feeling slightly intimidated now that I knew who he was and what he is capable of. "Thank you for the shirt," I whispered.

He nodded, "you're welcome." His eyes glistened in the moonlight, making butterflies erupt in my stomach. He asked me something, but I was too lost in his eyes. They were cold and emotionless, but they were captivating nonetheless.

Why isn't he holding us and never letting us go like any other mate would? Isla asked me, one of her soft whimpers echoing in my head.

Because . The tone that underlined my words was similar to the one that you would use when you told someone, 'duh'. He's the most feared and powerful Alpha on the planet. Do you think he would want to be seen vulnerable? It was almost as if I was trying to convince myself that that's what it was and nothing else.

The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat startled me. Ice shot from my palm and onto a small sapling that was next to me. I jumped out of shock and tripped on a stick, but luckily, I was able to catch myself before I hit the ground.

My hands latched together behind my back and I mustered up the most sweet and innocent tone that I have ever heard. "I'm sorry, Alpha. Were you saying something?" No one said anything Theo and his warriors glanced from the sapling that was once full of life, then to me, then back. They repeated the process multiple times before fixing their gazes on me.

He narrowed his eyes at me before speaking again. "What is your business here on my land?" He asked, his tone being darker than before. It shocked me to say the least. We are supposed to be equals. He shouldn't be speaking to me like I'm under him.

So tell him . Isla told me. I decided against it, but wanting to test his anger.

"I ran away from home after my powers went crazy," I explained, secretly hoping he wouldn't ask any further questions. He and his warriors looked at me with disbelief, even after seeing what happened with the poor sapling.

"Why do you have powers and why can't you control them?" He demanded. I looked into his eyes again, shocked by how much his tone darkened. I found hatred in them as he stared at me.

"I was born with them. I don't know how, but--"

"You have white fur too," he commented. "The rarest fur color to ever exist."

"As I was saying," I cleared my throat before continuing. "I was born like this. I don't know how since I have no recorded family history of this happening to any of my ancestors."

"What's your full name?" He asked-- or more like demanded. He didn't even acknowledge whether he heard what I had just told him or not.

"Rayna Grace Moonlight," I replied without skipping a beat.

Theo eyes raked over my features, trying to figure out if I was lying. Once he knew I wasn't, he sighed heavily.

"You know, my Beta,--" he gestured towards one of his men, who stepped forward. "--my warriors and I would have normally killed you by now." A smirk made its way across his face before uttering his next words. "But, since you're special, we decided to spare you." The way he emphasized the word 'special' made a shiver ripple down my spine. "Consider yourself very lucky to still have your head perfectly attached to your body and not like the dead man over there." He nodded his head in the direction of the rogue that was laying lifeless on the ground. The rogue that he had brutally killed without so much as showing an ounce of mercy only minutes before.

"I don't consider it luck. I think you don't want to look bad by killing your own mate," I blurted out. I don't know where this newfound courage came from, but hey, I wasn't one to start complaining.

Theo's men's eyes widened after making their discovery. He however, wore an amused expression. "You're not my mate," he snorted.

I for one, didn't find it as funny as he did. "I am. I can prove it." I made my way over to him. His expression turned into when of confusion, then anger as I reached out to grab his wrist. He snatched his hand away quickly before we could make contact.

"Don't touch me," he growled. His voice made it evident that he was starting to get irritated. Exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

"Why won't you let me touch you?" I asked. I was internally hurt, but there was no way that I was going to let him see how much he was getting to me.

"Because," he paused and glared at me, snatching his hand away as I tried to grab it again. His jaw visibly tightened. "You're not my mate. Even if you were, you'd be a danger to my pack. I don't want anyone like you near them." A pang of hurt spread throughout my chest. Though, I knew he was right, it hurt to admit it. I almost hurt my pack members tonight, and I could easily do it again if I don't get my shit together.

"I'm not dangerous." I let out a small laugh, mostly out of nervousness. "I won't hurt anyone."

"Maybe not on purpose, but on accident, you could easily kill someone. Especially if you can't control yourself." My anger overthrew my hurt. He wasn't even giving me a chance to prove that I could do it.

"Fine. Say it," I demanded. "If you don't want me around, then say it." I expected him to say, 'I don't want you around,' but he did me one worse.

"I, Theo Luke Bloodmoon, reject you, Rayna Grace Moonlight, as my mate and the future Luna of my pack.