I sniffled, watching as my boyfriend's coffin was lowered down into the dark soil grave. I had distanced myself from everyone besides his mother, whom was clinging onto me for dear life.
"May Alpha Sawyer rest in peace," the priest concluded, and one last hot tear slid down my cheek.
As I took in the huge amount of mourning people from Sawyer's pack here, around his grave, I couldn't help but feel disgust towards Alpha Damian. How he would so ruthlessly kill a beloved Alpha, hurting hundreds and hundreds of us.
My father, the current Alpha of the Shadows, a pack which I had been born into and was a part of, had warned me countless times of the brutal wrath that came with the Fallen Angel's pack, led by Alpha Damian.
The Fallen Angels pack, named after the regular consideration of them being hellish and more like devils and demons, rather than werewolves, had always had an extremely unstable past with other packs. They were unbeatable though, with expertly trained fighters and - as much as I hate to admit it - a ruthlessly intelligent alpha.
There was constant bickering between us, as well as with other packs and the Fallen Angels, and sometimes even talk of war.
Now, they had killed my boyfriend, Alpha Sawyer, the alpha of the Apparition's pack, over some insignificant detail that I didn't even want to care about. Something about rising tensions over their adjacent territories.
"Sam, I think I'm just going to head home, I feel a little sick," I told my boyfriend's - now ex's - mother, as we took a few steps back from the open grave.
I knew there was coffee after at their pack house, but all I wanted was to get home and hide away in my bed. A tedious and uncertain feeling was growing in my lower stomach, and I needed to get away.
"That's alright, Sofia. I know your father's busy... but we need to figure out something. What to do with Alpha Damian... he's getting out of control..." I could see the tears forming in her gorgeous blue eyes, so I quickly wrapped my arms around her in a comforting hug.
"I'll talk to him tomorrow and visit you in the evening".
I said goodbye to her, and a few other acquaintances I had here, before leaving the graveyard. I made my way to the side of the road in front of the church, where a black car was waiting for me.
I made my way over to it, still feeling rather empty inside at the realisation of my boyfriend being dead.
No more game nights with just the two of us playing Scrabble, or the great hot chocolate he made with so much extra whipped cream my nose was always left with stains of it. He always made sure to clean it, resulting in quite steamy activities.
I even missed the stupid way he'd tease me about how him and I weren't really mates, but still loved each other to the ends of the earth.
I didn't even realise I was crying again before I got into the black car, seating myself down in the back seats, and freezing as an almost intoxicating scent and feeling overwhelmed me.
My head darted up and suddenly I wasn't crying anymore. My whole body felt tingly and alive, and a strange pull caused me to narrow my eyes at the driver who was starting the car.
"Who are you? Where's Pablo?" I questioned, sounding almost breathless. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and my inner wolf submitting completely with a small and needy whine.
The dark haired man sitting in the front seat slowly turned to glance back at me. I felt almost hypnotised by his dark green eyes, but quickly shook myself out of it.
He took my breath away. Chiselled features forming into an incredibly attractive and cocky smirk, as the realisation of all these sudden feelings sank into me.
This was my mate, it had to be. My inner wolf was almost begging to just jump on him, but I knew better.
"Don't you feel that, sweetheart? I'm your mate".
His voice sent tingles through my body, but I refused to submit like my inner wolf had, clearly pleased she had finally found our mate.
I had just turned eighteen, which is when mates usually start turning up. I knew people who were still in their forties and looking for mates in my pack, so I really hadn't expected to find mine so early.
There was something off about this, though...
Before I had the chance to gather myself and reply, he abruptly drove off, so fast that I was slammed against the car door, not having yet put on my seatbelt.
"What the hell?" I glared at him, quickly buckling myself in and trying not to swoon over his deep forest eyes which were now eyeing me through the driver's mirror. I could tell he was still smirking.
Then, I heard the car doors click, and I registered that he had locked me in. This definitely didn't feel right, and the comfort that my mate radiated through my body was battling with the uncertainty of this situation.
"Who are you?" I asked again, "drive slower!"
"I'm Damian. And unfortunately we're in a bit of a rush.. the sooner I get you over to my territory, the faster you're away from your pack, who'll surely come after you once they realise you're gone," he explained, terrifyingly calm.
"You're kidnapping me?" My jaw hung open, surely wide enough to catch at least ten flies and seven Jehovah's witnesses. "And Damian, who? Please don't tell me you're-"
A low chuckle left his lips, and I felt my body growing hot for reasons it really shouldn't in this situation. I couldn't take my eyes off him, along with all these new and powerful feelings, I was so shocked with all of this.
"The Alpha? I am, I'm afraid. We'll have lots of fun, don't you worry-"
"Let me out, now! Stop the car!" I raised my voice, feeling afraid now that I noticed we were heading out of the Apparition's territory and not towards my home, but to the opposite direction, the Fallen Angels' side.
My mate was Alpha Damian. The same ruthless murderer that was responsible for the death of my boyfriend, also an alpha.
"Calm down, damn. We're almost home-"
"No. My home isn't with you," I shook my head at him, but then yelled in surprise and pain when he suddenly pulled over, causing the seatbelt to dig into my chest over the black knee-length dress I was wearing.
He sighed and turned back to face me. I saw more of his face now, and my inner wolf went crazy. He was handsome, extremely so, but clearly his personality didn't match his looks, and that was something I refused to even consider being okay with. He was a murderer. A savage.
"It is. You're my mate, you belong with me. You're finally eighteen, and I've been waiting long enough," he grunted dangerously, firm eyes narrowing at me.
"What do you mean, waiting? How old are you?" My brows furrowed, feeling so small under his gaze, yet at the same time oddly warm and happy. This wasn't supposed to go like this.
"I'm 24. I saw you when you were twelve, at one of the pack leaders' gatherings. I've waited six damn years for you to turn eighteen so I can have you, and I'm not waiting any longer".
"You can't have me like this, I'm not going to be your property," I hissed at him, eyes blazing with fury of his stalkerish and infuriatingly possessive ways.
"Don't you feel this?" His dark brows furrowed, seeming genuinely confused as to why I didn't want what he wanted. Did he really expect to gain his mate by kidnapping her?
"I'm your mate. I know you feel these things, Sofia," I almost laughed at his words. I would have, if I wasn't so set on getting as far away as possible from him, even if my inner wolf was strictly against that idea.
I wasn't even surprised that he knew my name...
"You're a murderer. Your pack killed my boyfriend, Alpha Sawyer, over some stupid territory bullshit, and now you expect me to just fall into your arms? Let me leave, Damian," I instructed, and he frowned, "you haven't marked me yet, nor have we mated. There's no kind of bond between us. We can just pretend we never met, and continue with our lives".
"Are you fucking joking, sweetheart? Do you know anything about how this mate shit works?" He laughed, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't a beautiful sound that had my lower stomach clenching, "now that we've met, you can't stay away from me without feeling like shit. You'll crave me like I've craved you for six years. Do you get that? Have you started your heats yet? You haven't, have you? The only one who can fully satisfy you is me, your mate. Just make this easier for yourself and come with me now".
"No. Open the locks," I told him with finality, and he huffed, "mates are nothing but a waste of time, I don't believe in them. You've made it six years, you can make it longer. I don't need you in my life, nor do I want anything to do with a murderer. You're evil. I want you to let me leave right now, or you'll regret it".
Without saying anything, he turned around to face the road ahead and started the car. I wondered how he had managed to get one of the cars used for our family in my pack. He must have hurt my driver, Pablo..
I groaned, audibly frustrated when he began driving towards his territory.
He would get into so much trouble for this, I was positive. My father and brothers would be after me in no time.