Chapter 4

I sat quietly in the council room while my father, the Alpha led the meeting about the rogue attacks.

Tall windows let in sunlight and it made long shadows on the wooden table where the council members were gathered.

As the future Alpha King, my presence was required but my thoughts were elsewhere. The weight of leadership responsibilities already burdened me, even though I had not yet assumed full power.

"The situation is getting worse," my father's voice boomed across the room, his fist landing heavily on the table. "Three packs were attacked this week alone we need better security measures. The rogues are growing bolder with each passing day."

The council members nodded in agreement their faces showing with concern. Through the window, I could hear the crowd's chants from the execution grounds, their voices carrying across the morning air. "Execute! Cleanse our lands!" It was nothing new people always got excited on cleansing days when we dealt with rogues. The executions were necessary, even if I didn't particularly enjoy them.

"Perhaps we should double the border patrols" my father was saying when something hit me like a physical force.

A scent. Strange. Different. Unique. It drifted through the air, sweet and intoxicating, unlike anything I had ever encountered before and my wolf stirred within me, suddenly alert and eager.

I tried to focus on the meeting, but I couldn't. The scent was pulling at me, calling to my very soul. My hands gripped the arms of my chair, knuckles turning white as I fought the urge to run toward it. The council members' voices faded into a distant hum as my senses focused entirely on that compelling scent.

Without thinking I stood up, my chair scraping against the floor. My father could handle this he was still the Alpha anyway. He wouldn't step down until I married Lady Sophia, the woman they'd arranged for me to marry since I couldn't find my mate. The arrangement had seemed reasonable at the time it was a way to ensure the pack's future. Now, with this scent filling my lungs, I wasn't so sure.

"Father, I need to leave," I said quickly, trying to keep my voice steady despite my wolf's growing agitation.

He looked at me with concern but nodded with his eyes showing understanding. He knew he was still in charge and one missed meeting wouldn't matter. The other council members watched curiously as I hurried from the room, but I barely noticed them.

The scent grew stronger as I walked toward the execution grounds, guiding me like an invisible thread. My wolf was restless and pushing me to move faster. With each step, the excitement built inside me, a mounting tension that threatened to overwhelm my usual self-control.

The crowd's chants grew louder: "Execute! Execute!" Their bloodthirsty cries echoed off the surrounding buildings, creating a cacophony of sound that would normally make me wince. But today, I barely heard them.

Then I saw her. A woman in the death cage, waiting for execution. Her dark hair hung in tangles around her face and her clothes torn and dirty, but none of that mattered. The scent was coming from her and in that moment, everything in my world shifted.

"Mate," I whispered, the word escaping my lips before I could stop it. My wolf howled within me, recognizing what I had waited so long to find.

The realization hit me like a physical blow. A rouge? My mate was a rouge? After waiting all these years, the Moon Goddess had paired me with someone meant for execution? The thought was almost unbearable. How could I, the next Alpha King, claim a rouge as my mate? What would the pack think? What would my father say? The politics of it all threatened to overwhelm me.

But my wolf didn't care about politics or status. It only knew one thing she was ours

"STOP!" I roared and my voice carrying the full authority of my position. Politics be damned, I couldn't let her die.

The executioner was raising his sword, it's metal flashing in the morning light.

Everyone froze. The executioner's blade stopped mid-air and the crowd fell silent.

I called out to Ben my Beta with my voice still carrying the edge of a growl. "Take her to the pack doctor immediately."

My beta rushed forward, giving her a shot of injection to keep her asleep then helping her out of the cage. I watched as they carried her away, my wolf urging me to follow. Every step they took with her felt like a physical pull on my soul, but I knew I had to maintain control. There were protocols to follow, even for the next Alpha King.

*******************

In the medical wing, Doctor Shaw examined her carefully while I paced the floor, my wolf growing more agitated with each passing minute. The sterile smell of the medical wing competed with her scent, creating a strange mixture that set my teeth on edge.

"My King," he said finally with a serious face. "She's weak from the beating she took. And..." he hesitated and glanced at her unconscious form. "She's pregnant."

I felt my breath catch and my pacing stopping abruptly. Pregnant? The word echoed in my mind, bringing with it a flood of complicated emotions.

"There's more," the doctor continued, his voice careful. "She has beta blood, and her wolf is unusually weak right now. I've never seen anything quite like this in all my years of practice."

I stood there and I was trying to process everything. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides as I struggled to maintain my composure. I had waited so long for my fated mate, and now she was here pregnant and injured. And I was already betrothed to Lady Sophia. The complications seemed to pile up with each passing moment.

Looking at her sleeping form and so vulnerable on the medical bed, I made a quick decision. My wolf wouldn't let me leave her unprotected, no matter the circumstances.

"Ben," I called to my second-in-command, who had been waiting quietly by the door. "Get her some clothes and watch over her. When she wakes and is strong enough, bring her to my quarters."

My beta nodded and left to carry out my orders. I took one last look at my sleeping mate before turning away. There would be time for questions later. For now, she needed to rest and heal. As I walked out of the medical wing, my wolf whined in protest at leaving her, but I silenced it. Being next in line for Alpha meant learning to control such impulses, no matter how difficult it might be.