"Mate."

What? No. No. No. It was a prank. It was definitely a prank. I didn't have a mate. I couldn't possibly have a mate. This man in front of me was wrong, definitely wrong. Why would the almighty Moon Goddess pair someone like me with someone like him? Hadn't she already destroyed my life enough? Evidently not as she still wasn't satisfied enough. The last blow was giving me a mate, an Alpha for fuck's sake.

My beast was conflicted; she was happy to have found our other half, but at the same time she knew better than that, as I did. We couldn't accept this bond; we couldn't trust any werewolf out of ourself, expecially an Alpha, mate or not. She whined in my head, retracting in the back of my mind, sad for the future we could have had, but never would. My beast was mad at fate, at the Moon Goddess herself, for the terrible joke she threw at us. She had given us our deepest desire, someone to love, someone who was made for us, but at the same time someone we couldn't be with. Why had the fate decided to let us meet? Why couldn't it leave me alone and let me live in a blissed ignorance?

He took a step forward, the same breathtaking smile still adorning his lips. In reflex, I took one step back. I couldn't let this man come near us. A flash of hurt passed in his cobalt eyes, his smile slowly fading as his mouth settled in a straight line. I didn't give him time to react furthermore as I began to speak.

"Alpha Hercules, I'm Dr. Lara Crawford. I'm deeply honored by the fact that you thought of me to help you and your pack in a delicate situation like this one. I promise you, I promise all of you," I said while looking at the other werewolves gathered in front of the house, "that I will do my best to get at the bottom of the problem and hopefully resolve it. Now, if you would excuse me, I would like to be shown to my accomodation to settle down and to prepare myself for the work that awaits me."

I could feel every gaze that was casted upon me; they were studying me, analizing me, whispering about me. I couldn't care less. I was here to do my work, to try to save a life, and not to make friends. Especially not to find a "forever ever after".

Alpha Hercules was still staring at me. Now that the smile was vanished, a blank expression marred his face. He opened his mouth as to say something, but he quickly dimissed the thought and made a sign of acknowledgement with his head.

"Very well. Dr. Dixon please escort her to her cabin. I hope you will find it of your taste, Dr. Crawford. Please, if you need something don't esitate to come to me. I spend the majority of the time in my office in the pack house, but if you can't find me there, ask someone and they will direct you towards me. Have a nice evening," he said.
With a final last glance in my direction, he took off towards the pack house. At his disappearance also the pack members started to go away, not before having casted me other curious glances.

I could feel someone approching me and soon after Dixon appeared in my line of sight. He cleared his throat akwardly to catch my attention.

" Lara, if you would like to follow me...your luggage will be taken care of."

"No please, I want to carry it myself."

He looked taken a back, but he shook his head and began to walk towards my car to retrieve my luggages.

"Please Robert, don't. I'll do it myself." With a smile I outdid him and grabbed the handle of my suitcases.

" You are a pretty stubborn female Lara" he said smiling and shaking his head.

I found myself laughing at his sentence.

" Indeed I am, Robert. You will find very soon the level my stubborness can reach." I promised him with a smirk adorning my lips.

"I hope not." He grunted before he started moving.

We had been walking silently for a few minutes, but by the stiff stance of his shoulders I knew that he wanted to ask me something.

" Robert, ask away. Your nervousness can be felt in a ten miles radius and it's driving me and my wolf mad."

He stopped abrubtly and slowly he turned to look at me in the face.

"I don't want to be instrusive Lara, but what happened with Alpha? You have been staring at each other for a couple of minutes in silence and then suddenly you were out of that trance. The tension between you two was palpable. I could bet that I heard Alpha Hercules murmur something like..."

" Robert, drop it. Nothing happened and Alpha Hercules didn't say anything. I was staring at him in order to ponder him, I don't have a good reputation with Alphas. He was probably doing the same, after all I am an Alpha Female and I could challenge him to win the pack over." I lied.

Fuck. I hoped none else had listened to Alpha Hercules' word. Stupid, stupid Alpha male.

He nodded, but I could see in his eyes that he didn't belive me. Stupid, stupid old sharp man.

I was getting irritated while my beast was still whining in the back of my mind, but I knew she would get better soon: we were strong, and until we were together everything would be fine.

He started walking again and stayed silent for the rest of the walk. We stopped in front of a small, but cozy wood cabin: it was quite far from the pack house and I couldn't be happier.

"Here we are" Robert said pulling out a key from his pocket.

He opened the door for me and I entered carrying my suitcases with me. I smiled. It was perfect. It was on two floors: on the ground floor there were a small kitchen, a living room and a small bathroom. On the left side of the living room there was a fireplace and next to it a flight of stairs that leaded to the first floor, where a bedroom and the main bathroom were settled. It was small, but it was cozy; it was a right replacement for my den back in the city. My wolf too took a liking immediatly in this place, she wanted to mark it with our scent to let the other wolves know that it was ours. Sniffing the air I could detect the faint scent of others she-wolves. I turned to look at Robert.

" What is this place?" I asked him.

"This is a cabin where the she-wolves who lost their mates live while they are in their heat. This way their intoxicating scent can't reach the unmated males of the pack and force them to mate."

Wait, what?

"Robert, what do you mean by heat?"

I didn't know what "heat" could have meant in werewolves' tradition, but I was hoping that it didn't have the same meaning of the word used to describe the animal's season of coupling.

He looked at me as if I had grown two heads; me and my wolf didn't like the way he was looking at us, so I bared my teeth in warning.

"You don't know what the heat is?" he asked me astonished.

"No, I don't. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked you, would I?" I snapped. My previous irritation was growing more and more.

"Alright.." he sighed "When two mates meet, the she-wolf is induced in heat at the first full moon. During the heat the scent of that she-wolf grow more intense and become appealing also to other males, who are driven by an intense want to mate her. The scent isn't the only thing changing in the she-wolf, in fact her body became very hot and is conquered by intense sexual desires that can only be appagated by her mate. Basically, the heath is a process that push the two mates to mate in order to procreate because the she-wolf is only fertile during that period of time, which last about three days more or less. After the first one  it returns every two to three months."

I was frozen.

Wait. Oh Fuck. When two mates meet...oh no, no, no, no. This meant that I was bound to be in heath at the first full moon? Oh God, please no. Please no. When was the first full moon? I had to hope it was after I completed my work here.

"And..and..there..there is no way to stop this process?" I asked. Please say yes, say yes.

"Well no. There is no way to stop the Nature, is there? Why are you asking this?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"Oh nothing. I was only curious..you know, as a doctor and all.." I explained to him, trying to sound convincing.

"Mmm ok..anyway, the cabin is fully stocked with everything you could need, but if something is missing please tell me and I will provide to it." He added and began to march towards the door.

"Robert wait." I stopped him. "I would be very grateful to you if you will be so kind to show me to the infirmary tomorrow morning..I would like to know my surroundings before getting straight into work."

He smiled at me, little crinkles encircling his pale green eyes, before nodding.

" That would be my pleasure. Breakfast is served in the pack house, but if you prefer to eat here I can come here to retrieve you after the meal."

"That would be perfect, thank you. "I concluded.

"Fine. Have a good evening Lara." With these final words he departed from the cabin leaving me alone with my toughts.

I slumped myself on the sofa in front of the fireplace, the heat from the fire kissing sweetly my skin. I always loved watching the fire burn, it brought me peace and calmness and after the events of today, calmness was the thing I craved the most. I put my elbows on my knees and my hands to cover my face: what was I doing? Was it the right thing to come here? Look where it took me. In a pack full of wolves who would soon see me as a threat, an Alpha mate who I couldn't be with and an upcoming heath I didn't know the first thing about. But then I tought about what was at a stake. I was here to save a life and no pack, no mate and nothing else could stop me from doing my job. I would do my best to treat that she-wolf.

My beast had calmed down and she was begging me to take her out on a run, she wanted to discover these new woods that we would call home for a while. I stripped down from my clothes, leaving only my underwear on. The cabin was deep in the woods, so none was around to see me walking around naked, but in the case someone was, I was not ashamed of my body. I exited the cabin and I looked around to find a path to follow. My wolf was pushing me to go east, so I trusted her.

Before shifting I lifted my gaze to look at the sky while stroking gently the leaves of a fern: the sun was setting down, casting beautiful shadows on the trees of the woods. I inhaled deeply the unmistakable smell of the pines and I let my beast push forward. My bones began snapping and silvery fur began sprouting from my skin while my teeth elongated in fangs. My soft paws dug into the ground, before launching myself in a fast run.

The trees were a blur while I was running and jumping to avoid the fallen branches. Our body was full of adrenaline: there wasn't a better feeling that the excitement the run brought with it. The cold wind was stroking my fur and my wolf yippied in happiness, she loved to run freely, drowned in the power of nature. Soon we could hear the slow flowing of water and our exitement grew till it reached a state of pure bliss. We loved the water, we loved the sensation of water lapping at our fur as it could wash every problem away. We quickend our pace till we reached a clearing in the middle of which there was a small lake; rocks adorned its right shore and my wolf began trotting in that direction. We climbed a few of them before sitting on the biggest and highest one. Faint heat could still be felt by the kissing of the last sun rays. My beast crouched on her rear paws and began to watch the lake from above: from the rock we were sat upon we could see every part of the lake and the woods that surrounded it. We watched a family of does drink from the water beneath us before my wolf lifted her head in the air to let out a howl full of joy.

Maybe, just maybe, this place could be my new safe heaven.

--

When I came back to the cabin the moon had replaced the sun. I was breathing in the amazing scent of the night when suddenly I could feel that something was off. There was someone inside, my beast could feel it too. My wolf stood straight on her four strong legs, ruffling her fur and started growling in the back of my mind. She was furious that someone dared breaking into our new den.

The hair on the back of my neck began raising and I let my claws come out to defend myself in case the intruder decided to attack me. When I neared the cabin, an unmistakable scent reached my nostrils and my wolf dropped her fighting stance to sit down on her belly. I opened the door and entered, not worried about displaying my naked body to the intruder. I could smell his presence in the cabin, I could feel it on my skin too: waves of his power caressed my naked flesh, making me shiver in delight. I could feel his intense gaze on my body, touching fervently my legs, my back, my hips. I turned slightly to watch him in the eyes. Two blue heated ponds were fixated on my hazel ones. They seemed to glow under the rays casted by the moon trought the windows.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." His deep voice reached my ears and my wolf purred in delight.

I nodded. It was understandable, I was waiting for him to come and talk to me, but I didn't think it would be so soon.

"Wait here, I'll be down in a few."

I began walking to the stairs, but I could still feel his gaze piercing through my flesh. I turned towards him and showed him my fangs.

"Stop staring at my ass or I'll rip your eyes out of their socket." It would be a shame, really. Such beautiful eyes didn't deserve a fate like that, but his shameless staring was making me irritated.

His eyes darkened at my threat and he started growling to intimidate me and to show me his dominance, but too bad I wasn't affected by his actions, so I turned my back to him and started walking towards the stairs once again. Once I reached the bedroom I opened one of my suitcases and began searching for underwear, a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Once dressed I walked downstairs and turned on the light.

Now I could see that he was sat in the same spot I had occupied on the sofa in front of the fireplace, which was crackling lightly in the silence of the house. He had to have taken care of it while I was out. I walked in the kitchen and opened the fridge, searching for a bottle of water. I took the cap off and began drinking in big gulps, letting the water satiate my thrist. A few droplets escaped my mouth and trailed down my neck till they disappeared under the fabric of my t-shirt. I could feel his eyes follow their path, watching their every move. I turned around to face him while licking my lips to get rid of a few remaining liquid. He was watching me like a hawk, his intense gaze following carefully the actions of my tongue.

He cleared his throat.

"Why?" He croaked out.

I tilted my head to the side, pushing a few strands of my blonde hair behind my ear.

"Why what?"

"Why did you step away from me this afternoon? Why didn't you come to me? I am your mate. It seemed like you didn't want to recognize me as such." He concluded, looking at me in the eyes.

"Because I don't."

Hurt and disbelief were visible in his blues as he clenched his teeth and fisted his hands.

"What?"

By his tone, I could hear he was starting to loose his temper.

"You heard me. I don't recognize you as my mate and you should do the same. Find another she-wolf who can provide you with what you need. I bet it would not be difficult with your looks and your fame."

He was looking at me shocked.

"What the fuck are you saying? You are my mate, I don't want another she-wolf. The Moon Goddess blessed us with this gift and..."

He was interrupted by my sudden laugh. I was laughing so hard that I could see him getting madder and more irritated at my apparent disrespect at his Alpha position. So the main dog didn't like being interrupted.. too bad I didn't give a damn.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked me with fury swirling in his beautiful eyes.

I recomposed myself immediatly, a serious and grim expression casted upon my face.

"Don't ever talk to me about the Moon Goddess. She never gifted me anything, on the contrary she brought me only pain. Where was your Moon Goddess when I was bitten and left to die alone on the cold asphalt of the street?Where was your Moon Goddess when I was alone during my first shift? I survived only thanks to my medical knowledge! Where was your Moon Goddess when I was left alone to understand what was happening to me? Where was your precious Moon Goddess when I was rejected by my own kind? Where was your Moon Goddess when they called me a monster for the wolf she gave to me? Where was she when my life was cursed with sadness and lonliness? Tell me! Tell me where she was! Tell me why I should accept something she gave me! The only good thing she gave me was my wolf!" I was shouting by the time I finished talking. I was furious and I could imagine my eyes flashing gold, a sign that I was letting my beast take control over the human part.

I saw Hercules softening his gaze and taking a step towards me, outstretching his hands in my direction. The look he gave me made me even more furious.

"Lara..." he whispered softly.

"Don't. Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity, nor none else's." I snarled.

He sighed and passed his hand in his disheveled raven hair multiple times, leaving them messier than before.

"Lara, I am not pitying you..you went trough a lot and look what you became. A strong Alpha Female who isn't afraid of disrespecting a grown Alpha Male. I just want to get to know you, you are my mate, you were made for me, like I was made for you..I know your background is different from the one the other werewolves have, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the things the Moon Goddess gave you. You need a mate, I need a mate, my pack needs a Luna. Listen to your wolf, she will persuade you to accept this bond, she already accepted my wolf, I can feel it..."

"She didn't." I interrupted him.

He stumbled back a bit, like I had hit him right in the chest. Well, I probably just did.

"What?" he whispered. He looked so heartbroken that the walls protecting my heart broke a little. My wolf wined sadly, she didn't like to be the cause of her own mate's unease, but she had no choice.

"She didn't accept the bond nor she recognized your wolf as her mate yet. I'm sorry Hercules, but we are not the right match for you. The Moon Goddess made a mistake pairing us. You deserve someone else to love you and guide your pack, I'm not the right woman for you." I explained to him, removing my eyes from him to gaze outside the window.

I could sense him walking, until he stopped next to me with his gaze fixated on the outside too.

"Why do you think the Moon Goddes made a mistake?" his voice came out stronger this time, but it was still possible to hear the hurt in his tone.

I sighed. I turned my face to look at his profile: his jaw was clenched slightly, but his expression gave nothing away. The moonlight illuminated his face and the shadows from his lashes were casted upon his cheecks. He was truly the most handsome man I had ever seen and the moonlight made his perfect features stand out even more, lending him an angelic aura. Before speaking, I returned to look outside the window.

"I wasn't born like you, I was human once, but you already know that. I was created and I never thought I could have a mate. After my first shift it took me months to accept what I had became; I didn't know what to do, my wolf couldn't do everything for the both of us. I needed to keep my shit together and start reacting. And so I did, but I needed answer internet couldn't provide me. I needed to find someone like me." I turned to look at him and I was surprised to see that he was already staring at me, his blue and gold pools fixated on me, while listening to my words. "After researching for a bit I found out about a closed off comunity in Alaska who lived in the middle of the woods. I decided to try my luck, so I went there and I was happy to find out that I was right, they were werewolves like me. My happiness was crashed when after telling them my story they began calling me an abomination sent by the God of Darkness to end the werewolf race. They told me that I shouldn't have survived the transformation. It was then that I discovered about the power of my wolf, about me being an Alpha Female. I don't know why I survived the shift, nor why I was gifted with such powerful wolf, but that was who I was and I couldn't change that. Then they exiliated me from the pack territory and I sweared to myself and my beast that I would never try to contact a pack anymore. That's the reason why I don't get along with wolves and I don't want to have nothing to do with them, expecially Alpha males."

"What about Alpha males?" he asked me softly.

I closed my eyes and slowly reopened them, before continuing with my story. It wasn't an happy one.

"Before exiling me from their territory, the Alpha of the pack, his name was Abel if I remeber correctly, tried to rape me, saying that that was the right punishment for an abomination like me. Despite my lack of training I had defended myself, clawing out his right eye and scarring his face permanently."

Silence.

Suddenly, I sensed a powerful wave of dominance crash into my body. His eyes were turning silver while his claws were elongating, showing that his wolf was surfacing.

"I'll avenge you." He snarled in anger.

"Please don't." I grabbed his left wrist and tingles spreaded trough my skin, making my flesh shiver in desire. He watched me with wide eyes as he wasn't aspecting this sudden physical contact, well I was neither. By the look in his eyes I could sense that my touch affected him just as much his affected me. I let his wrist go and I cleared my throat.

"I've tought about venegance multiple times, but I have never done that. When I kill him, because it's a question of when, not if, I automatically accept his Alpha title and I don't want that. I just want to live my life in semplicity: living in my flat in Seattle, working at the hospital and running free with my beast in the woods. I don't need anything else." I finished explaining to him. Perhaps he now could finally understand where I was coming from and accept my decision.

"And what about what I need?" He asked me, leaning on the wall next to the window, his sculpted front facing me.

I shook my head.

"I can't be what you need, I can't be what your pack needs. I know what the position of being your mate implicates. I can't be your Luna, I don't know the first thing about pack laws or pack traditions. I am a lone wolf. Despite my Alpha power I am not made to rule a pack. My ruling will bring the Silverblood pack to its downfall. If you accept me as your mate your pack members will start hating you. None wants an abomination as their ruler. It's better for the both of us if we defy this bond. After my work here is done I will return home and continue to live my life normally while you will find another female more suitable for this position." I concluded.

By the time I finished speaking I could tell that he was mad, beyond furious even. His body was burning with anger and his eyes were shifting back and forth between their usual cobalt blue and silver. His wolf was emanating such a powerful aura that my beast pearked up in attention and swished her tail in response.

He was staring at me with such intensity that I gulped and was certain that a pool of need was forming between my legs. An angry Hercules was a sexy Hercules. Damned this traitor body of mine.

"Listen to me very clearly, Lara Crawford, and mark my words. Mark them because I always keep my promises. I don't care if it will take me weeks, months or years but I will make you accept the bond. I waited for you for fucking long twenty-nine years to let you go without a fight. I won't give up on you, on us, on the bond. You want a simple life? Fuck, if I have to court you like a human would I'll do it, I don't care. But I promise you that once I have you I will love you only like a soulmate would do. You think you are unfitted to be my Luna because you don't know anything pack regarded? That's fine, I will teach you everything you need to know. I don't give a fuck about what others think. You are not an abomination, you are a blessing, you are my blessing. I had lost hope to ever find you, but now that you are here be sure that I won't let you go that easily. You can resist the bond how much you want Lara, but I will find a breach in the walls you built around yourself and I'll make them crumble. Then, you will be mine like I will be yours. Remember my words."

He he departed from the window, storming out of my cabin in a hurry. He left me there, complitely dumbfounded, shocked and slightly aroused. Nobody had ever spoken to me like that.
Damn you, Hercules.

——
Sooo.. hello!!
Finally Lara explained which are her reasons to reject the mate bond.. what do you think about that? Would you act the same as her?
Let me know!✨

Also.. damn Hercules, his promise was quite serious ( and quite hot), don't you think?!