Leonard's Pov
My name is Leonard St Durren. I am a werewolf and the Alpha of the Crimson Pack. I am 50 years old as of now and I am mate less. I turned 18 with the hopes of finding my mate but I have never found her. I am the son of Alexis and Franc St Durren. I love my parents, but my mother Alexis gets on my nerves most of the time. Case being I need to find a partner since I have not found my mate. She says that if a werewolf does not find a mate by his or her 30s, then he or she is allowed to choose a partner. But I do not want that. I still believe the gods have designated someone for me. So, I am still looking, never giving up. I have a sister, younger than me though. she is her late 20s and mated. She found her mate as soon as she turned 18. Her name is Frances Alexa Stone, and she is mated to Alistair Stone, Alpha of the Shadow Pack. They have been together for almost 10 years now and have 2 children already.
Anyway, despite my mother's pestering, I am not giving up. My second in command, my Beta, is Snyde Easton. He also found his mate Sonia shortly after turning 18. They have 3 boys of their own. Snyde and I were born on the same day, first day of the first month. We have grown together, and we are the best of friends. I am the godfather to his boys. He knows me better than anyone else. I know him only second to Sonia.
So today is a particularly bad day for me. My mother has been on my case since morning. It is like she forgets I am busy running a whole pack alone. Not like she cares anyway. She brought this girl; I do not even remember her name. I had not even woken up. So, she thought it was a good idea to ask her to sneak into my bed while I was asleep. So, the girl did and mother locked us in. One minute I am dreaming of my faceless mate and the next I feel hands on me. I almost choked the poor girl to death. By the time mother was coming to her rescue, she was all out of air and she passed out.
She had to send the girl back to her people with a lot of gifts as an apology. It is safe to say she will never come back here. She looked so scared. Now my mother wants me to kill me. I have been hearing her voice all day. I am just tired. I have a massive headache. Snyde meets me in my office massaging my temple.
"What is up bro? You look exhausted. And why is your mother complaining like that?" He was not around when everything was going down. Sonia is not feeling well so he had gone to seek a healer.
"I do not even know where to begin. She has been at it all day. I really need to get out of here."
"Well, a run sounds good right now. You can tell me all about it as we run. Plus, I need it too. It has been a long day." He knows me too well.
The run goes well except for the part that Snyde laughs at my predicament. We usually run round the pack, and he laughed half of the run. On a good note, Sonia is going to be just fine and mother finally kept quiet. On the bad note, the run did absolutely nothing to help me. It is nighttime but I cannot relax enough to fall asleep. It is almost midnight, and sleep has not come. So, I decide a walk is a good idea. Nothing feels good like the cool air of the night especially in the fourth month of the year. We are on the third day of the fourth month.
As I walk, something draws me to the lake. I used to love going to Lake Serene when we were children. Snyde, I and other friends our age used to hang out there a lot. That is until this kid, my sister's age, started coming by trying to be our friend. When we get to 18, we stop aging. So, we were 27 and the kid was 5 and he wanted to be our friend. I came to learn later that he is the son of the Alpha of the Ashwood pack, our neighbor. And that he had as much right to the lake as us since half of it is in their territory. That pissed me off and I stopped going there. The kid's name is Terris St Augustine.
I am walking in the forest slowly towards the lake. Beyond the trees, I can see the boarding school the humans built. The lake is situated a couple of miles behind the school. I am busy gazing at the school that I do not notice I am almost running out of forest cover. It is that sweet lavender scent that snaps me out of my daze. And that is when I see her. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And my wolf, Raven, is going crazy in my head, 'Mate! Mate! Mate!' I cannot believe I have found her.
She is sitting by the lake shore on the side of the Ashwood territory, with her legs dipped into the water. She has her eyes closed soaking in the moonlight and the cool night air. She is oblivious to things around her but yet I remain in the shadows of the trees. She has this long black hair, dark like the night, that looks good in the night light. It is flowing up to her waist tempting me to run my hands in it. I can already imagine myself grabbing it as I am pounding into her from behind. And now I am horny. I have been waiting for and dreaming about her for the longest. I guess it is natural to be horny.
I can see she is fair in complexion though I am not sure if it is the cold that is making her pale. I can imagine biting into that skin and leaving obvious bite marks all over her pale skin. They would definitely look good. She is wearing a night gown that she has lifted up to allow her to dip her feet in the water. I can see her juicy thighs, and I can see myself in between them eating her out. I can already hear her moaning my name. Her night gown has a few buttons at the top that she has not bothered to button up. So, the wind keeps on playing with the unbuttoned parts and I manage to see the outline of her breasts. They are not really full and yet very alluring. I can see myself nestling in between them and falling asleep. I just wish she could open her eyes so that I can see what color they are.
I admire her over and over and it is not helping my situation. Imagining myself with her is making my member even harder. I cannot see her figure really, but I already love what I see. I choose not to disrupt her peace, for her sake and mine. If I get close to her, I will devour her like a hungry lion and that is not the impression I want her to have of me. She stays like that for a long while and I am still admiring her. I wonder why I have never seen her before. I have been to Ashwood pack several times, courtesy of that annoying brat, Terris.
I can tell she is a werewolf, but she does not smell like she belongs to any pack. She smells like a rogue werewolf which is quite odd. How come she is in Ashwood territory? And that is when I notice Terris hiding in the forest behind her and he is looking straight at me with that smug smile of his. So, she is here courtesy of him. Terris has me distracted enough that I do not notice her getting up. I only see her wear her robe over her gown with her back turned to me and she starts walking towards the school. Now I am super confused. She should be walking towards Terris not the school. No werewolf is allowed to attend the human school. That was part of the treaty we signed with the humans for the sake of peace. Everyone is to remain in their territory.
Maybe I am judging too fast. I decide to follow her behind the tree cover and sure enough, she goes into the school. How is this possible? Maybe Terris knows something about this. I decide to walk back to the lake. I find him waiting for me at the same spot she was sitting. I stand opposite him, on my side of the lake.
"I see you finally found your mate. I knew there was something special about her, the very first time I saw her. I even thought of being united with her and making her my life partner. If I knew she was your mate, I would have actualized my thoughts." And then he smiles that smug smile of his. Only he can manage to joke at a time like this.
"St Augustine! Now is not the time. I have so many questions."
"Of course you do St Durren. But I can only answer them if you agree to be my friend." He shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly. Only he can do this.
"St Augustine! I said not now!" I shout back at him.
"Well, you know you are not my Alpha. Am an Alpha too and that commanding tone and aura does not work on me. I will never submit to you because like it or not we are equals in our capacities. So, I do not have to answer to you." And he leaves just like that.
I did not know he is capable of getting angry. That is a first. He is always playing and joking around. He manages to soil my good moods but when I think of her, my moods change instantly. I am happy as I walk back home. I am whistling which I never do and all the guards doing night patrols are amazed. I can see it in their eyes as I pass by them. I am rarely happy to be honest so, I understand their reaction.
I am not even sleepy anymore. I feel like I should be celebrating but, I cannot just yet. I have to know who she is and unravel the mystery surrounding her first. I am so lost in thought that I do not notice the someone on my bed.
"You know if I intended to kill you, you would be dead by now." I turn very fast to see my best friend. I am in attack mode already.
"Snyde! You should not scare a werewolf like that. It never ends well." He just laughs.
"Says the werewolf lost in thoughts and not paying attention."
"Says the werewolf with a mate and 3 kids at home." He raises his hands in surrender. "What are you doing in my room?"
"I could not sleep. Sonia being sick has me kind of on edge. I keep looking over to see if she is still breathing. So, I thought I would disturb the one I thought was sleeping." The innocent look on his face has me almost laughing.
"Only to find the one who is supposed to be sleeping is missing." I laugh.
"Exactly! I asked the guards, and they said you took a walk round the pack. Where were you anyway? Why did you not call me to keep you company?" The curiosity on his face makes me laugh again.
"How can I call someone who has a mate? And to make it worse, the mate is sick. I cannot do that to Sonia. That is being selfish. Plus, I was just around the pack clearing my head." He narrows his eyes at me.
"You know Sonia adores you. She would not mind at all. You know sometimes you forget I know you. You are hiding something." Nothing ever passes Snyde.
"And how do you know I am hiding things?" He stands from the bed and walks up to me. He is almost my height. He looks into my eyes and says holding my shoulder,
"Because you, my friend, are glowing like someone who just had sex. Also, you are avoiding too much eye contact. So, whom did you fuck?" He demands.
"I did not have sex with anyone. And will you keep it down before you wake everyone up?" I whisper back.
"You'd better tell me what is going on before I get your mother, the Luna, to ask you for us." He crosses his arms over his chest and gives me a serious look. Time for jokes is over now.
"Okay fine but do not shout or freak out on me. Remain as cool as a cucumber. Promise me." I whisper.
"I promise Leo. Cool and calm." He whispers back. He is getting it now. No being loud.
"Good enough. I have finally found her Snyde. I found my mate tonight." I tell him in one motion. As soon as my words register in his head, his facial expression changes. I am not sure what I am looking at but he looks like a lot is going on, on his face. He looks how Sonia looks when she sees me. The excitement is there but usually a lot of confusion and freaking out once she notices she has called me by my first name and hugged the life out of me in front of the pack members. I am looking at exactly that on his face. He does not even say anything.
"I know you would behave like this. Snyde you promised." I remind him because I know he likes to keep promises. I see him visibly calm down enough to say something.
"Sorry about that man. A lot is going on in my head. You have actually found your mate. I thought the gods forgot to give you one. That was the reason I was coming to you tonight. I did not like how you were during our run. I could tell it did nothing to calm you down. So, I knew you would not be asleep. It was the other thing keeping me awake. Am glad I do not have to talk you into choosing a partner." I am confused.
"What? You wanted me to be united to someone?" I ask shocked.
"Story for another day. Come here my man." He proceeds to hug the life out of me like Sonia does. They are mates for sure.
"Congratulations. Now tell me about her." He releases me and pats my back. I can see the excitement on his face.
"Yes, once I catch my breath." I then proceed to tell him all about her and the mystery surrounding her leaving out the juicy parts reserved only for me. He is shocked for sure.
"Human school? Is she a spy and which pack is so interested in the territory harboring the school enough to send someone in?" Am as confused as he is at this point.
"I do not know Snyde. She does not belong to any pack. She is a rogue. That kind of mission is risky even for werewolves belonging to a pack like us. But St Augustine has the answers we need." I can see the annoyance on his face already upon hearing his name.
"That boy again? What are we even waiting for? Let's go there and force it out of him." He demands as if Terris lives next door.
"Man, not boy, Snyde. And he is an Alpha too so we cannot force anything out of him. I have already pissed him off tonight by my blunt disrespect and disregard for his authority. I do not want to burn the bridge and ruin any chance of him ever talking to us. Let the man sleep." I can see the shock on his face.
"Wow! She just came and she has already done a number on you. I cannot believe you are defending St Augustine. He is the one person you do not like or try to even tolerate." I want to laugh but I know he will be pissed.
"I know but for her sake anything. Even if I have to tolerate him then so be it."
"The power of having a mate right there. Who was saying I was losing my backbone to Sonia?" He teases. I punch him in the chest jokingly and we laugh together.
"I hear you man. You should go back to Sonia. If she wakes up and finds you not next to her, she will kill us both. And Snyde, not a word to anyone. Well, except Sonia because I know she is going to get it out of you, one way or another."
"Okay. Have a good one." We hug and then he proceeds to leave. I decide it is time I catch some sleep. It is late already. I blow out all the candles and get into bed. I sleep to the image of her in my arms.
But the next morning, I am woken up from my peaceful sleep by the chaos. My mother is the one calling out my name in panic and I can hear commotion outside. I wonder what is going on.
"Mother, what is wrong? You look terrified."
"My son, that St Augustine boy is here. And he says he is not leaving until he talks to you. Snyde is trying to talk him down, but he is relentless." That manages to wake me up completely. I put on a robe and rush outside to see what the problem is. I find Snyde seconds away from punching the living daylights out of Terris. I manage to come in between, and I get punched instead. Snyde is shocked and he has this horrid look on his face.
"I am sorry bro. I did not see you."
"It is okay." I turn towards Terris and ask, "What is it?" He replies,
"We need to talk about last night."
