I stood there looking at the burning village around me. Where I grew up, where I came from... gone.

Thank Goddess.

It was just like my vision; everything was gone. The whole pack was gone. Everyone was either dead or they ran away like the cowards that most of them had become. There were so many packs that the exact same thing had happened to on both sides of the war. I had seen it all happen through my divinely given sight.

It was sad to see so many people dead, especially some of the people who had tried to help me throughout the years. These horrific pack slaughters had to stop, even if it is to annihilate the enemies. Some of these people could have been saved! Some of these people were good. Some of these people didn't deserve it.

That being said, I prayed to the Goddess above that they got Alpha Fleming and Beta Harrow. I hoped that they both died a very slow and painful death. I hoped that they were rotting in hell along with their horrible friends; right where they belonged.

I had a single small duffel bag in my hands as I waited for the men to make their way to me. I know I must have looked like a crazy person; a tattered, cut up, old back dress (it was the best piece of clothing that I owned), I had no shoes, greasy oily black hair, and bright electric blue eyes, maybe that's what I was... crazy.

The warriors made their way to me in human form so that they could speak to me, stopping just before me. "Sam, it looks like we missed one," the man who made it to me first said as he smirked at me wickedly.

I took a breath and steadied myself, gearing up for a fight. I knew that they would be hostile; my vision was very clear about that. They were jaded in their hatred for The North. The whole pack was, even their alpha.

I waited for the rest of them to get to me before I spoke. "You're not gonna kill me," I stated, confident in my words. I knew they wouldn't.

"We just killed your whole pack... What makes you think we won't kill you?" The biggest of the bunch spoke menacingly, making chills go up my spine. He took a step closer to me. I knew he was the beta, so I directed all of my attention to him. He was the one that I had to convince.

"You won't kill me," I said again simply. He raised his hand to strike me. "... I'm your alpha's mate," I said staring into his eyes intently, not backing down. My life and everyone else's depended on me standing my ground.

He faltered for a moment and looked at me with wide eyes. "Liar," he spoke, raising his hand again though his actions were shaky.

"I'm not a liar... I'm telling the truth; he's my mate and I am his," I said looking him in the eyes, trying to convey the truth. I knew he was mine. Kale was my one true mate; the Goddess picked him just for me. We were meant for each other.

"You've never even met the alpha; you couldn't know if he's your mate," he hesitated and spoke quietly, obviously having a mental war with himself.

"I'm his mate..." I said again making him snarl and take a step closer to me. "Do you really want to take a chance on killing me, when I very well could be telling the truth?" I asked in a condescending tone, making his wolf angry.

He took a few extra seconds to compose himself. "Fine, we'll take you to our alpha and when you are not his mate, he'll dispose of you... And trust me, he's much more ruthless than we are," he snarled with his eyes playing in between his wolf's and his human side.

In his wolf's eyes, I had disrespected him. I deserved to die according to him, but he wouldn't kill me. He feared kale's wrath, and according to my visions he was very smart to. My mate was apparently a very volatile man.

I nodded and smiled at my small victory with my wolf howling in my head. I was proud of myself and the way I stood my ground with the man snarling at me. I had never stood up to a higher-ranking wolf like that before. Now I just had to face my mate. Easy, right?
————

We arrived in their pack territory fairly quickly considering that we had to walk in human form, presumably because of me, half of the way until they were met by other pack members with several cars. Everyone eyed me suspiciously; this was obviously a very cautious and untrusting pack. I wondered why in my mind.

The distance between my old pack's land and Kale's was vast. Kale's pack laid in the heart of The South's territory and Alpha Fleming's territory was in The North. Even though the distance was great, there would never be enough between me and the horrid nightmares that happened to me there.

As we travelled on, I was never far from the beta's side. He obviously did not trust me whatsoever though I did not blame him for that. If I were him, I wouldn't trust me either; I'd think I was crazy too. Hell, maybe I am crazy. Maybe this was all just a delusion in my head. However, I knew that was not true. This was real. The moon goddess needed me; Kale needed me.

As the car glided through the territory, I looked out the window. I watched all sorts of beautiful vegetation go by. The land was absolutely beautiful, much more abundant and livelier than my old pack's land. It gave me a new sense of hope; maybe my life could be like that as well. You know, as long as I lived through this introduction to my mate.

I knew I shouldn't have been scared. I mean, he's my mate, it shouldn't be that scary... But it was, I was terrified. He was a scary guy, that much I could tell from my visions. He was ruthless. He was cold.

The visions that I had of him painted Alpha Kale Burke out to be big, strong, demanding, unrelenting, unforgiving, and very, very scary. I knew there had to be more to him other than just that side of him, but I hadn't seen much of it in the visions. I had hope that maybe I could be the one to bring out the other sides of him. That's what mates are supposed to do, bring out the best in each other. However, I wasn't too sure that I would make it past the first meeting.

I knew that what the beta had said earlier was true; he was ruthless. He wouldn't hesitate to kill some lowly omega from The North. I just hoped that he would at least hear me out or feel some sort of pull to me. Otherwise, all would be lost, and our world would plunge into a deep darkness if he chooses not to listen to me and work with me. My visions had been very clear about the repercussions of him turning me away or killing me... It would not be pretty for anyone.

Besides that, supposedly, if one kills their own mate, it splits their soul in half and most of the time they can't survive with only half a soul. Some very strong (or very heartless) people survive it, but most of the time, it's too much of a burden to handle. To kill the Moon Goddess' gift to your being and to taint the sacred bond of a soul mate was some seriously dark and heavy stuff; our wolves are not meant to endure that much pain.

After a few more minutes, the trees became less dense, and I could make out a clearing ahead. That was where the houses sat. We were almost there. We were almost to see what the future held for me, for everyone.

My visions told me of four paths that were the most likely. I just hoped that the one that ended with him killing me was the least likely. I wanted to help my mate and my (hopefully) future pack. I wanted the war to be over. I wanted to help the world usher in a new and brighter future, full of peace and love. I kept seeing the possible futures over and over in my head. Whatever the future held was solely in Kale's hands. The fate of our world was now in his hands.

The car came to a stop outside of a house that was obviously the pack house. I swallowed at the lump that had formed in my throat. I could feel my hands shaking, but it had nothing to do with meeting my mate. My mind was replaying the last time I was in a pack house over and over again. I was locked in Beta Harrow's bedroom for seven days with no food or water. No one but him and the alpha knew where I was or what was happening to me. Seven days of them constantly hurting me over and over again. The memories from that abusive pack made me want to vomit.

The car door next to me opened harshly, startling me a bit. The beta's hardened eyes were trained on me as he held the door open waiting for me to get out. His eyes were hard, but they didn't even come close to holding the same amount of animosity and hatred that my old alpha and beta's eyes held for me. I quickly pushed the nasty memories to the back of my mind and reigned in the tears that wanted to come out of my eyes. I had to forget the past and focus on whatever future I was headed into. I had a new purpose now, and hopefully a better future as well.

I slowly got out of the car bringing along my small bag that held the scarce contents of my life in it. The sun was a bit blinding, considering that I hadn't seen the sunshine in too many months. It was quite warm outside compared to where we had come from as well. It had been dark and dreary in The North, but in Kale's pack lands deep in The South, it was warm and sunny. Brighter.

No one was outside any of the scattered houses which I thought was a little strange considering that it was midafternoon, and the sun was shining brightly. It would be a great day to play and have fun outside. At the very least, the pups could be outside enjoying their youth.

The beta ushered me inside the house with a blank look on his face. He was obviously mind linking someone, probably Kale. Probably telling him to be prepared for my craziness.

I scanned the house as we walked through. It was pretty baron on the inside as well as the outside. There was no liveliness or busyness to it at all like most pack houses that I had heard of. I only saw a few wolves around who were tidying up the place and didn't pay any attention to me.

Where were all the pack members? I mean, yeah, the kids would be in school since it was the middle of the day, and maybe some of the adults would be on pack duties, but even at the miserable old pack at least some people would still be found around the house hanging out and doing different things. This pack seemed almost like a ghost town.

"This way..." the beta said roughly to me and pushed me by my neck towards the stairs swiftly as I paused gazing around at the emptiness.

My wolf growled instantly at the disrespect he had shown me. Grasping or moving someone by the neck was meant to be either very intimate or dominant showing. He was trying to show me that he overpowered me, and my wolf side didn't like it. I had just gotten out of the grasps of people who destroyed me daily; I didn't want another domineering man to think he was entitled to hurt me.

He growled back and took a step closer to me, trying to intimidate me. His manly essence and power were radiating off him, but my wolf refused to back down. I could tell my eyes had changed into a golden shade showing my wolf's presence coming to the surface. I was so riled up that my claws would have come out as well, however, I caught a whiff of a very delightful scent. My eyebrows furrowed, and I looked around trying to find where the beautiful scent was coming from.

"This way," the beta ground out heavily after gaining some self-control back from his wolf. He gestured for me to go up the stairs and trailed closely behind me as I walked up them.

As I climbed the stairs the scent got stronger and stronger. It was a beautiful aroma that I had never even come close to smelling something so good before. Was that how this place smelled all the time? It was the most magnificent scent I had ever smelled before. It was almost overwhelming.

We came to a halt in front of a door, and he turned to me with a frown. "Stay," he commanded with a finger wag. My wolf-side disliked being told what to do and his tone, but I was also so distracted by the smell that I let it go.

He walked through the door swiftly. Which left me in the hallway dreamily sniffing the air like a crackhead trying to breathe in the lovely scent.

Before too long, the door opened, and I was beckoned in by the beta. Even if he hadn't told me to come in, I would have floated in on the overpowering delicious scent that was coming from the room. There was no stopping it. I was mesmerized, and I had to follow it.

As soon as I walked through the door, I saw the beautiful man that I had seen in my many visions. Everything seemed to just slip away, and it was only us two in the world. Nothing else mattered in those few seconds.

As soon as our eyes locked, an amazing word came out of his lips gracefully, "Mate."