Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 21

~Luke~

It had been raining cats and dogs for the last three days, and Rex and I were restless to go for a run. Even at almost 5 AM, it was still dark and drizzling. I needed this break to forget all the stress we have been carrying around with never-ending meetings and daggers that Nyla threw at me.

Rex was always a defiant piece of shit. Now he has become impossible to reason with. He had been giving me grief over the situation with Nyla ever since I planned my trip with Finn.

That trip had cost Finn his life. He definitely died because of me and my preoccupation with Nyla’s thoughts.

Skinwalkers were terrified of the Storm Moon Pack for the last two years and never dared to attack any of us when passing through the White River Forest. They knew how powerful and relentless we were, and a mistake I made changed it all.

“Luke, a Rogue!” Finn had pointed to a golden brown wolf cowering in fear and failing to blend in with the surroundings. When not with the pack, my cousins and I dropped the titles and went on a first-name basis.

Seeing an opportunity to kill used to excite Finn the most in the world. I stopped the car, and he jumped out while growling and shifting immediately. I waited for him to finish the task while thinking about Nyla. She would assume I left because of her slap. I just left home an hour ago and was already missing her.

I looked back at Finn to see how he loved to play with his prey. That Rogue wolf wasn’t even in our territory but no wolves except the Rogues dared to venture out into this forest infested with the Skinwalkers. Only they were immune to the skinwalker magic.

Such magic only worked on wolves who had a mate or other strong bonds with their pack members. They preyed on the fear of losing loved ones or with those we were attached to. My dad called such bonds weaknesses that made us liable to getting attacked.

To make a statement, my pack never spared a Rogue even when they weren’t trespassing our borders. Killing them in the most ruthless way was our way of sending a fair warning to the Skinwalkers to think twice before targeting our vehicles on this winding road that passed through the White River Forest.

The Rogue let out a painful cry as Finn was about to finish him. The cry alerted someone—a she-wolf who was terrified of Finn but still wanted to save the wounded wolf.

Her courage reminded me of Nyla. She had put herself in front of one of my warriors when her friend’s life was in danger.

“Finn, let’s go!” I called him back.

“Wait, what?” He hurried to finish the kill.

“I said, let’s go,” I told him in a commanding voice this time and he obeyed, shifting back and flaunting his naked glory to the she-wolf.

“Why did you stop me? It just got more fun when she arrived.”

“They look scared and I see no fun in killing someone who already submitted to us.”

“You know how this would look to the Skinwalkers, right? Those motherfuckers have their eyes everywhere, and they will see this alpha going soft on someone. That’s a big no no.”

“Do you think we both can’t take those fuckers down if they really dared to attack us? We don’t need to spread violence just to prove to them how vile and savage we are.”

Finn’s wolf and Rex were both very strong and quite fast for their magic to hit us.

“Now we are talking! We don’t concern ourselves with the opinions of the sheep or the Skinwalkers. I thought you got boring after taking the Alpha King down.”

Both my cousins agreed with everything I ever said, especially if it was about tooting our own horns.

“I’d never say no to killing someone who attacks us first.”

I was quite confident about the two of us slaughtering all of our attackers, and it would have been true if not for Rex and his adamance. He gave me shit throughout and was arguing with me when I was driving back. He threatened to leave me if I rejected Nyla.

I had decided to take a chosen mate and get over Nyla. He was super agitated. Wolves would never connect with anyone except their true mates, and in my case, the second chance mate.

‘You think I got a switch to start feeling things for someone you introduce me to? I need my mate, no one else.’

What was he so attached to? Ryder rejected his human mate, but we have a few families where the wolf is as happy with a human. I never understood what was so exciting for the wolf part of us. I remember Rex swell with pride when he saw Leah’s wolf for the first time. There was nothing like that for him this time.

‘I’m telling you again, she’s not human. Do you think she fell for your face or your murderous track record? Let me loose and I’ll connect with her supernatural side.’

“Right, you will mark her and tell me she was human after all.”

‘Humans can’t feel the mate bond the way she does. She called you when she missed you AND me. She wants me as much as I want her. You are the villain in this story.’

“Sure, I’m the villain in her story already. Let me spend a night lying next to her and show you when she mumbles Wyatt’s name. She’s still not over him and barely feels any bond with us. It’s better to push her away now before she gets attached.”

“Luke, a Rogue!” Finn got excited again when he saw another wolf, baring his teeth at us.

“Fine.” I stopped the car and waited for him. I was in no rush to meet Nyla of course. The minute I see it in her eyes, the longing and how much she missed me, all my resolve to reject her was going to break in seconds. I rather camp out in this forest for the rest of my life.

Rex resumed his bickering and threats, totally not caring about his surroundings.

‘I won’t show up when you really need me. If you don’t care about our mate, I don’t care about you either.’

What did he want me to do? Give up the Alpha title and leave my pack for good?

Pride was everything for my kind. I had already given up the Alpha King title, and my dad was furious for more than one reason, the latest being an ally pack’s Alpha who questioned my motives by asking my dad if I felt I was too young to handle so much power and responsibility.

Finn was taking too long and went out of sight while Rex wouldn’t shut up.

‘I never told you to give up anything for our mate. We obviously won’t become kind or gentle creatures overnight or over a decade. Luna or Luna Queen, there is only one for us, and we shouldn’t be afraid of showing her to the world. No one should ever trifle with us when it is about protecting our mate.’

“Rex, we already lost Leah with that attitude. Can you handle losing Nyla? I can’t, and I don’t want to take any chances. Let me love her the way I can and keep her alive.”

‘You can go f**k yourself. I’m not with you on this. I want my mate!’

Where the hell was Finn? He loved to chase the Rogues around, but this was only one and didn’t even look that interesting. I heard his fierce growl reverberate through the woods just then.

I expected the painful cry that followed, but my head snapped to the clearing behind the woods when the cry was Finn’s, not the Rogue’s.

Jumping out of the car, I was shocked when Rex carried through with his threat and refused to let me shift.

“F**k, Rex! He’s calling for my help.” I yelled at him and ran to the scene.

‘I don’t care. It’s your cousin, not your mate. Care about your mate more and then maybe I’ll consider.’

“F**k you! He’s my Gamma and as an Alpha wolf, you are an a*****e if you don’t protect him.”

There were half a dozen Skinwalkers who had circled around Finn, and Rex was still being Rex.

‘I’ll protect him if you tell me you will mate with Nyla.’

I ignored him and charged at the offenders before losing Finn completely. Rex showed up, but it was already late. I barely took down two of them, and there were half a dozen more coming out from the shadows when I shifted.

We were outnumbered, and I already felt the bond break with my Gamma. Rex howled in regret and anger before getting back at them with a vengeance. His strength was unquestionable, but he was only one and couldn’t dodge their spells for too long while half of them were in their wolf form and fighting.

I had driven on this road alone at least a dozen times after Leah died, and no one ever dared to even come into my sight, too scared I would mistake them for a Rogue. And today, they lured Finn in by pretending to be a Rogue while I was too busy arguing with Rex.

He cried out in pain, more from the thought of Nyla losing her mate than from the excruciating wounds and spells. I had already linked my dad to come to my rescue soon, but they were an hour away and darkness was racing to meet me first. Rex wasn’t responding anymore, and I was forced to shift back to kill the last of the attackers.

I couldn’t afford to lose Rex, couldn’t imagine Nyla feeling the pain again if I died. Didn’t even say goodbye to her properly before leaving. Not sure for how long I apologized to her in advance in case I died, but the next thing I felt was her soft breathing against my neck.

I was in my room in a groggy state, still with no Rex. Nyla was holding me in her arms and kissing me.

This was surely a dream because she hated me enough to never k**s me.