Mated To The Beastly Alpha
(Book 2) Chapter 1

A Few Months earlier....

From her cauldron Guinevere watched Lilian's life drain out of her body with a sick smile on her face.

She had finally found what she had been looking for, for a decade.

Lilian's greed and bitterness were what attracted Guinevere's soul to her. It annoyed her that a werewolf would be able to garner such power.

In another world, they would have been friends and she would have even helped her destroy her brother and his wimpy mate.

But Guinevere was still a kid when Lilian died and in this world, Guinevere hated werewolves and everything they stood for. She had always hated them but she didn't mind them as long as they stayed in their lane.

While her brother feuded with the Pack close to their coven, she watched in fascination. However, the pesky werewolves ruined her life and destroyed everything she'd come to know. They took her one and only brother, the greatest warlock to have ever existed, and the leader of Ember Coven. They killed him. And now she was out for revenge.

One spell would destroy them all. And ironically the spell was released by their own kind.

With the wave of her finger, she sought the hungry spirits that Lilian had released when she tried to separate her brother from his mate.

The foolish wolf had cast a mighty spell without knowing that everything in witchcraft had a cause and effect.

Lilian's spell was mostly complete. It released the spirits from the underworld but her sacrifice wasn't and so they had been stuck for more than two decades. She needed them to complete her plan.

She continued stirring her pot, waiting until the moment when Lilian's brother and his pack members left her dead body to rot.

And like she expected, the demons Lilian released returned to demand their sacrifice.

That was her moment to swoop in. With the tap of her wand, she summoned the ancient beings and made a deal with them.

"CEDRIC COVETON" She said, "Ruin him. Ruin Redwood. Make Redwood your home. Feast on its souls and grow in power. That's the small price they'll pay for the death of my dear Phineas. When we're powerful enough we will wipe out the werewolf kind forever." The deal was sealed in blood. The heavens shook and the earth turned dark as a thunderstorm brewed. The demons from 25 years ago, went out happily in search of the name they'd been given on his coronation day.

Guinevere smiled as the spirits went to do her will. She put on her best cloak and grabbed a hat. She had a party to crash. Her Revenge had begun.

A spell that promised the extinction of a supernatural kind was so mighty that the spirits couldn't keep its effects from affecting the physical world. It created loopholes in time and space. And back in Dark Moon, Marisol, who'd been hunting stared angrily at the dark sky.

It had been bright a second ago and now a storm brewed?

Just then she heard a voice screaming for help.

It was Male and it was being attacked by formless and ferocious beings.

She ran to help. He was naked and putting up a good fight. She thought he was handsome with his dark hair and even piercing gray eyes.

"Help!" He screamed at her.

She rushed to grab him, but as soon as they touched he vanished and the word mate resounded in her head.

Still confused, she looked around. The sky was clearing now.

What just happened?

Even her wolf was quiet.

An angry howl caused her to spin around. Before her stood the most magnificent red wolf she'd ever seen.

Mate. It called. However, there was no soul in its eyes.

It growled and sprung into the air to attack her but suddenly vanished mid-leap.

Marisol screamed, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she had no memory of that afternoon. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of her story.

PRESENT

In the heart of a sprawling forest, shadows clung to gnarled trees like ominous curtains. The air was thick with an eerie stillness, broken only by the terrified breath of a lone figure stumbling through the darkness. Her footsteps echoed, lost in the vast expanse of the trees that towered above.

Where was she? How did she get here? Just moments ago, she had been in the midst of a familiar crowd, finishing with a family dinner, after which she greeted a few pack members and decided to go for a little walk.

Nothing about the trees and shadows that loomed felt familiar. Everything felt menacing, the cold night breeze, thick with the promise of something to come, a danger that lurked. Another failed attempt to reach the pack link had anxiety bubbling within her. Her heart thumped so loud she could almost hear it over the ringing in her ears.

Her steps faltered in the darkness, fatigue creeping in and almost overtaking the urgency seered into her aching bones by the adrenaline. She spared a glance behind her, a mistake, as the inky blackness only seemed to follow behind her, close and unrelenting. Fear claws its way up into every fibre of her being like icy fingers, squinting to take in her surroundings, the moonlight casting a shadowy light as it struggled to pierce through the thick canopy created by the entwined branches and broad leaves overhead. Her breath quickened, coming out in shallow gasps and visible puffs, owing to the chilly night air.

Suddenly, a sharp crunch pierces through the air, echoing from somewhere on her right. She freezes at that exact second, her heart stilling in the confines of her chest as her breath remains lodged in her throat. The forest seemed to hold its breath in solidarity, something other than terror-filled anticipated hanging in the air.

Just as she sucks in a shaky breath, forcing her neck to make that move that would reveal what lurked in the darkness to her eyes, blown wide with fear, a soft growl disrupts the unsettling quiet and a shiver crawls up her spine.

Her heart rate spikes once again, the organ threatening to beat out of her chest that rises and falls without rhythm. Frozen in place once again, her entire body is wracked with tremors.

A smaller whimper follows immediately after, again after a few beats until her ears match it with a flow as it continues to sound at intervals. Against her better judgment, she found her body turning ever so slowly until she was looking straight into the darkness where the sound no doubt echoed from, drawn inexplicably to the unknown.

Strange and terrifying noises begin to surround her, whispers that seem to emerge from the trees, a cacophony of unseen terrors serenading her more and more into disorientation.

Through the twisted labyrinth of trees, she stumbled into a moonlit clearing. From the shadows illuminated by the dim light of the moon, a pair of eyes materializes right in front of her.

It squinted at the figure it seemed to be sizing up, eyes gleaming with a malignant glow, and despite being unable to make out its actual form still shielded by the darkness, she could feel the waves of sinister energy that it seemed to ripple with.

Her heart drops, and she immediately slaps a hand over her already parted lips, muffling the outburst of fear that threatened to erupt from her belly. She should have turned around and fled back into the night, taking whatever chances she had of escaping this beast, but she stood transfixed.

Something seemed to pull her closer, like a thread, or the consistent tug of a leash, it wanted her to stay, get sucked in, to get a better look at this creature that seemed to blend so perfectly into the night.

Was it a wolf? Everything about it seemed evil, ghastly, and deadly, and its whole aura screamed danger.

The beast's gaze remains locked onto her like a predator zeroing in on its prey, having sensed her about a few seconds ago. Or had it been longer - she had no idea.

Panic surged through her veins, and when it looked like the creature began garnering enough energy to pounce, she immediately ripped her eyes away and broke into a sprint for it. Thrown back into the thick darkness the forest offered, she cut through the narrow spaces between the trees, and her pounding footsteps resumed echoing through the daunting forest.

She looked back once, then twice, and after the third time, it seemed to become a habit as she continued to do so multiple times, nearly bashing her head against a particularly low branch once, only missing it by an inch but grazing her body roughly on the rough barks of the tree, her arm suffering more from the contact.

Pain surges through the no-doubt scratched skin as she continues to run after only a brief stutter in her step.

Suddenly, her foot caught on an unseen root, and time seemed to slow as her body was propelled forward by the impact, and she was sent to the wet, grassy floor of the forest with a cry of pain.

More pain seers right into her brain, but the adrenaline blocks it right out a millisecond later, and she was scrambling back to her feet, almost regaining her footing until she was sent colliding with the floor with a loud 'oof' sound this time.

All the air is knocked out of her lungs, and it takes a second for her eyes to recapture her surroundings, the pain shooting up the back of her skull, numbing and disorienting.

Before she could begin to comprehend how and why she was sent to the floor a second time, she was welcomed with a sight of why and how exactly. The beast. It was here and upon her, its hot breath fanning against her neck as its mouth seemed to remain in a permanent snarl.

A loud scream is torn right out of her throat at the realization and the forest seemed to echo with her scream, the sound of birds fleeing at the sound felt almost animated, wings flapping with urgency and the shuffling sounds created by whatever insects and critters skittering away deeper into the night. If she'd felt alone in the vast darkness before, now, without the company of all that had been, she felt so terrifyingly, alone.

The creature's weight pressed down on her, seemingly displeased at the sound she had just emitted. Fear clawed at her insides, tearing it apart to make a home for itself in every single vein and seemed to be the only thing flowing in place of the blood she could no longer feel flowing.

It was suddenly hard to breathe. This creature -whatever it was - was leaning in, bringing the darkness with itself. As it breaches more and more into her space, the darkness continues to envelop her, with the last bit of energy in her, she struggles, trying to claw at something, anything, in a desperate attempt to replace the light, to survive.

Then, abruptly, she jolts back to reality. Marisol swallowed the thick lump of anxiety that had formed in her throat, her head snapping at her surroundings, only to replace herself alone in her bed, sweat-soaked and disoriented, the remnants of what had been a nightmare clinging to her like a ghostly fog.

Still jumpy from the nightmare she'd only just awoken from, Marisol startles at the sound the door to her room makes as it swings open. Nicole rushes in, eyes scanning the room before speaking as her eyes landed on her, chest rising and falling rapidly. "I felt your distress through the pack link, Marisol. What's wrong?"

Almost immediately, Liam dashed in and ran to her side.

"What's wrong, Mare?" He soothes, his voice taking on an affectionate tone.

Marisol looked from one parent to the other. Their presence was a welcome distraction that had taken her mind completely away from the panic and anxiety the nightmare had left behind, and she was grateful for it. But instead of closing her eyes and inhaling their scent and relaxing on it like she really wanted to, Marisol rolled her eyes.

"Are you both for real right now?" She hisses, looking between them. "Mom, Dad, I'm not twelve anymore. Why would you come running because of a dream?"

Nicole exchanged a look with her mate, who in turn opts to glare down at his feet, puzzled.

"Dad, are you going to continue running to my rescue at every slight chance?"

Liam sighs loudly, a hand going to ruffle the strands of his hair and render them even more out of place.

"But -" he began, taking a tentative step forward.

"But nothing. This is just both of you being overprotective and oversensitive."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Liam asks tentatively, his brows furrowed with worry.

Marisol rolled her eyes again, huffing. "Dad, it was only just a dream. Seriously, you're being overprotective, and you know I don't like you both hovering so much. I'm fine. Just leave me alone," she replies, her tone sharper than she'd intended, but they didn't seem to catch it, either that or they were doing a good job at pretending they didn't. "We just care about you, Mare. If something's bothering you, we want you to know you can talk to us about it."

"And I appreciate it, mom," Marisol insisted. "But I'm not a kid anymore, and I'd like to believe I can handle something as simple as a dream on my own. Now, please, just leave me alone."

Her parents exchanged glances again, this time, heavier with worry and reluctance. They could sense fear and danger through the bond. It was why they'd come running in the first place. 'Are we being over-protective?' Liam asked his mate through their link.

Nicole shrugs, licking her lips, 'Maybe? She's an adult now, you know? And she's right. It was a dream, a bad one, no doubt, but she wasn't in any real danger!

"Are you both really talking about me right in front of me like I'm not here?" Marisol whines loudly, gaining their attention again, "Just.... give me some breathing space!"

"Alright, okay," Nicole conceded, putting her hands in the air in surrender. "We'll leave now." She says, already retreating until she is at the threshold. Liam, however, refused to budge.

"If you need anything, you'll let us know, right?" He asked, eyes fixed on her.

"Have I ever withheld anything from you?" Marisol retorted.

"Okay," Liam nods, swallowing. He looks up at her again, lingering for a moment before reluctantly retreating alongside her mother.

Alone once again, Marisol breathed out a heavy sigh. Thinking back to her nightmare, she glanced around the room once again, half-expecting the distorted glimpses of the nightmare to materialize, replaceing a home in which the light from the lamp cast shadows in her room but thankfully, there was nothing of the sort.

Her parents weren't overreacting. She'd been extremely terrified. But there was no way she could tell them about her nightmares.

She wouldn't be able to stand their prodding and dramatic questioning if she did. Having spent every other day of her life with them, she was certain of the way they would react should she make the mistake of telling them about it, they would make a big deal out of it.

But thinking about it with a semi-clear head, was this not already a big deal as it stood? Didn't it deserve to be blown out of proportion, considering that this exact nightmare had become more frequent in the past few months and that she was always seeing the same creature in one bizarre scenario or the other?

Marisol lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to force calmness back into her body, which was still humming with traces of unease. The echoes of her dad's concern, visible in his expression and words, tugged at her conscience, but she resisted the urge to be vulnerable and give in to their pestering.

Instead, she pushes back at the fear and unease, burying it deep within and resolving to face it alone should it ever replace its way to the surface again, as if challenging the shadows in her dream to another duel in the confines of her mind.

She felt tired and even drowsy, but she wouldn't dare sleep. Not when the possibility of having another nightmare still loomed. After a few minutes, she stretched and tumbled out of bed. There was a lot to do.

A few minutes later, she opened the door and was startled to see James, the Chief Warrior of the pack, leaning against the wall right in front of her room.

"Was considering knocking, but then I heard you threw your parents out of your room this morning." He supplies with a straight face.

Marisol throws her head back and sighs loudly in exasperation. When she faced him once again, James was no longer alone, the Beta, Tony, Garett, now standing next to him.

"Are you planning on throwing another tantrum?" Garrett beams at her, a huge contrast from James, and Marisol grits her teeth. Her grip on the door handle tightened with each second.

"Now, now, princess, we don't want to have to request yet another door handle." Garrett muses, amusement still etched into his face.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, turning to James immediately after, "What is he doing here?" Marisol asks with a scowl.

"You're late," James said simply, his eyes boring into her in a way that made her uncomfortable from his not-very-subtle attempts at getting a read at her.

Marisol folds her arms across her chest as if to serve as a shield as she gets ready to give both of them a piece of her mind, but thinks better of it. It would only prove them right.

"You are cut off from the pack bond. Yet you had a nightmare so terrifying that it somehow snuck its way into the bond that you intentionally cut yourself off from."

Marisol's eyes widened in shock and alarm. "W- what? I-"

She is promptly cut off by James, who sets his other foot back on the ground and makes to begin walking in the opposite direction. "The pack is worried."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Garrett asked with a smirk still etched into his features.

Marisol rolled her eyes for what felt like the nth time that day. No one other than her parents and James knew that none of Garrett's smiles ever reached his eyes, his cheerful demeanor not more than a facade, and she could even sense the fear in those eyes sometimes.

She heard that he'd suffered from a magical manipulation that cost him his mate long before she was even born and that nothing has remained the same with him ever since.

"When did you become the Pack shrink?" She retorted, walking after James.

She didn't miss Garrett's pout as he started walking behind them. After a brief pause, she adds, "What's this? Don't you have my parents to hound over?"

"We've done that already. It's your turn now. You're late for training, late for your fitting, for breakfast, and everything else. You're also hiding something." James listed without stopping or skipping a beat.

"Ugh. Why are you guys convinced that I'm hiding something?" She grumbled.

They'd arrived in the kitchen, and sure enough, her mother was there, sipping coffee from the mug she held, the saucer lying on her dainty fingers.

"Then restore your connection to the pack." Garrett shrugged, "That would convince us."

Marisol's heart jumped at the suggestion. She couldn't open the bond until she was able to control the fear that threatened to swallow her. The situation was worsening, and there was no doubt about that, seeing how now, her fear had gotten so palpable that it could penetrate the severed remains of the bond.

"Oh, there she is," Nicole said, getting to her feet and turning around to face the counter, "I was beginning to think that you would skip breakfast."

Marisol puffs her cheeks and moves to stop her mother's movement. "I can prepare something for myself, thank you."

She grabbed the ingredients for a sandwich from her mother and began arranging them on a plate on the counter.

"I will remain cut off from the pack," Marisol announced with her back still turned to both men and her mother by her side and the room, albeit having fallen into a comfortable silence a few minutes ago, felt even quieter now as tension began to build. "Because you guys do not understand me. By now, you should have understood that I hate everything to do with the preparations for my birthday. It's stressing me out. You are also stressing me with all the attention you've been giving me lately." She lied swiftly and heard her mother breathe out a relieved sigh immediately after.

"Oh honey," Nicole coos, taking a step closer, "I'm so sorry. We didn't think of that. We'd thought you loved the idea of planning the ball yourself because it's your 21st birthday."

Marisol feels guilt tugging at her heartstrings almost immediately, and she bites her lips at the penitence in her mother's voice. That was almost enough to have her spilling the truth, but she couldn't, so she did the next best thing.

"Mom," she whines, turning around and falling into her mother's ever-welcoming arms. Her wolf purrs in relief and contentment, having been antsy and on edge all morning. Nicole's nurturing and comforting aura was more than enough to help it calm down. "If it's too much for you, we can try something else. Maybe something much simpler, and you can leave all the preparations for the ball to me."

Marisol shakes her head in refusal as she pulls away from the hug. "No. It's uncomfortable, and I don't exactly like it. But that doesn't mean I'll ruin everyone's fun. Trust me, I can handle it." She finishes with a reassuring smile before grabbing her ready sandwich and taking a bite out of it.

"Are you sure, honey?"

"Yup. This conversation never happened. And if Dad somehow gets wind of this, I'll do worse than cut myself off from the pack," she warns with a playful glint, but meaning every word and every occupant of the room is well aware of the fact.

The adults exchanged glances. James smiled, and Garret sighed.

"Deal. Now, let's get to training already. You have a lot scheduled for today." James said, his voice already growing distant at the end of his sentence as he exited the kitchen.

The knot in Marisol's stomach loosened. Crisis averted.

Smiling, Marisol kissed her mother on her cheek and followed after James.

Nicole watches her daughter walk away with a heavy heart. Her senses were certain that something was wrong.

"I didn't buy that display." Garrett supplies as soon as she was out of earshot.

"Neither did I," Nicole sighs. "Liam and I think that her powers are awakening with her coming of age.

Garrett stroked his jaw, "That's plausible. But I think it's something else. Your powers didn't awaken until you were marked, and even after that, it took months. It's not her powers. I think this is as a result of the pressure she's currently under. The pressure of having to be the perfect daughter to the most powerful couple in the world."

Nicole nodded and took another sip of her now cold coffee. "Maybe you're right," she said, still not quite convinced.

But he wasn't. None of them were. But they didn't know that.