Mated To The Alpha King

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A sudden, loud noise wakes me from my sleep, jarring me into a defensive stance. I scan my surroundings and relax as I see nothing out of place. As I take in the familiar sight of the cave, Jasmine whines lowly in my mind, reminding me why we are here in the first place. I huff at the flood of emotions running through me. They rush by so fast I barely have time to tell what they are. Seems like a recurring theme in the life of Jade Collins, I think bitterly to myself.

Streaks of lights shining through the strands of vines tell me that I've slept through the night. I wonder if Ryder is having a temper tantrum of his own over not being able to find me. I gently step towards the entrance, pausing at the pool of water to quench the thirst that built overnight. Once there, I use my snout to part a sliver in the vines. I cautiously scan my environment. Though the Royal Pack is the most protected pack land in North America, my training has taught me to always be weary while my parents taught me to rely on my instincts. This time my instincts tell me no one is around, especially Ryder Mathews. Well...he could have hidden his scent, but I feel as though I would still sense him near.

I exit my nighttime shelter and sniff the air around me. Within seconds I am able to pick up the scents of the Royal Pack members and begin to track them back to the Castle.

The trek back is seemingly a lot longer than I believed it to be last night, but nearly an hour into my walk, I hear a snap to my left. I immediately focus my attention on the sound, partially relieved to find a Royal Pack member. A quick inspection of the wolf tells me they are a pack warrior. As I evaluate the situation, two more pack warriors emerge behind the first.

The wolves move closer as if to herd me back in the direction of the Castle, but I growl lowly as a warning. The leading warrior's eyes glaze over quickly before returning to normal, letting me know he had mind-linked someone. I'll take 500 for Ryder, Alex!

I roll my wolfy eyes and begin to walk past the warriors. My path is suddenly cut off by the two newest wolves. I narrow my eyes and growl a second time. Their wolves struggle against their humans to submit to me. 'Please move. Your presence isn't necessary,' I tell them through the link. Both wolves shake their heads, making me growl louder in annoyance.

I take confident steps forward and push my way through both of them. However, they once again move to stop me. I growl ferociously and snap my jaws in their direction. I make eye contact with them both, daring them to try again. This time both humans allow their wolves to submit and they bow their heads.

I continue on my way with the warriors following close behind. A few minutes pass before I hear paws pounding on the forest floor. The fantastic scent of lime and cedarwood floods my nose and I know who's coming before I see him.

Ryder's wolf bursts through the trees, stopping and then finding me with his eyes. His wolf is beautiful, as I imagined he would be. He stands a few inches taller than me. His wolf is midnight black with a circular patch of white fur around his right eye, the signature design of a Yin Yang wolf. His eyes are a glorious silver with his familiar blue encasing the silver in a ring. I find myself surprised that his eyes aren't completely silver, signally that his wolf hasn't taken over. I thought he would be furious at me for running off in the middle of the night.

Ryder and I share a tense stare for a moment, neither of us willing to break contact first. However, Ryder steps closer to me, so I swiftly step to the side and turn my head from him. I don't wait for him to try again and start walking once more.

Unable to be oblivious to it, I feel sadness and hurt run through me. Why did it have to be him? Out of all of the eligible, bachelor werewolves on this continent alone, how did I just happen to fall into the lap of the Alpha King? Plus, it's clear we can't stand each other! Five minutes in a room together and one of us will pick something to argue about.