A Cheating Mate

I mumbled a hasty goodbye to my family, my feet carrying me away from the breakfast table with an urgency that bordered on desperation. The door closed behind me with a soft click, and I was finally alone, free to seek out Shadow—my mate, the source of this insatiable hunger clawing at my insides.
The morning air did little to cool the fire burning through my veins as I hurried through the streets, each step bringing me closer to the forest’s edge. It was there I would find him, the only one who could quench the thirst that threatened to overwhelm me. My need for Shadow was a physical ache, an itch beneath my skin that demanded to be scratched.
As I plunged into the sanctuary of trees, the dappled light flickered over my path, guiding me deeper into the woods. My senses were heightened, attuned to every rustle, every whisper of movement. Then, suddenly, he was there—Scott—blocking my way, his familiar scent a stark contrast to the one I sought.
"Hello, Amina," Will greeted, his voice a warm caress against the chill of my frustration.
"Scott," I acknowledged, my voice coming out as a strained whisper. He was not who I wanted, but my body didn't care, it screamed for release, and he was here, now, and available.
Without another thought, I closed the distance between us in a single breath, throwing myself at him with a wild abandon that shocked even me. My lips found his in a fierce kiss, a poor substitute for the one who had left me marked and aching, but necessary in its immediacy.
Scott's surprise lasted but a moment before he responded, his arms circling around me tentatively. But even as his lips moved against mine, I knew it wasn’t enough—it would never be enough. Only Shadow could satisfy the primal urge within me. Yet, here I was, driven by a force far stronger than reason, seeking solace in the arms of another.
Scott's hands pressed against my shoulders, firmly yet not unkindly, breaking the desperate kiss. His chest rose and fell rapidly, a testament to the unexpectedness of my advance.
"Whoa, Amina," he breathed out, fixing me with a look of concern mingled with something akin to regret. "I can't right now—I've got to go. Ron Smith's kids are believed to be messing around by the cliff, and I need to find them before they get into trouble."
His words barely registered as anything more than a murmur against the pounding need within me. My heart sank; even this brief respite was being ripped away from me. But Scott wasn't finished, his voice taking on a lighter, teasing note that felt discordant with my inner turmoil.
"Tell you what," he said, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face with an odd gentleness, "how about candlelight dinner and wine later tonight? And... a wedding tomorrow morning?"
A wedding. The word echoed hollowly in my mind. How could he think of such things when my body screamed for another?
"Sure," I replied, the word automatic, empty—anything to just move past this moment.
"Great! It's a date then." He offered a quick, apologetic smile before turning on his heel and disappearing into the foliage, leaving me alone with my raging desires.
The frustration coursed through me, a wild river threatening to overflow its banks. Without waiting for my thoughts to catch up to my actions, I started running. Not on the well-trodden paths where couples might stroll or children might play, but into the forbidding tangle of brambles and shadows—a dangerous pathway known to be frequented by only werewolves and the most foolish of hunters.
Branches snagged at my clothes, thorns pricked my skin, but I welcomed the pain—it was a distraction, however fleeting, from the incessant ache within me. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my legs burned with the effort of keeping pace with the desperation that drove me forward.
"Shadow," I whispered between labored breaths, his name a mantra that spurred me onward. If there was any chance of finding solace, of quenching this insatiable desire, it would be with him. In the heart of these woods, where danger lurked behind every shadow, my only thought was to find my mate—before I completely lost myself.
The world blurred into a dizzying array of greens and browns as I ran. My heart was a drumbeat pounding in my ears, its rhythm quickening with each desperate step deeper into the wilderness. The scent of earth and moss filled my nostrils, but it was tainted by the metallic tang of my own blood from where thorns had scratched my flesh raw.
A low growl echoed through the trees, sending shivers down my spine. I stumbled, my focus narrowing as I realized that I was no longer alone. Breathless, I turned to face the shadows that had begun to circle me—emerging like specters from between the trees.
"Lost little lamb," one of them sneered, padding closer on four powerful legs.
"Seems eager to play," another chuckled, human lips curling back to reveal elongated canines.
Before I could react, they were upon me. Sharp teeth sank into my shoulder, jarring me with an agony so intense that my vision went white. A guttural cry escaped my lips as hands—no, paws—groped at me, pulling and tugging as if to test my strength, my worthiness. The bite, a cruel mark of possession, burned like fire against my skin.
"Enough!" The command cut through the chaos, a blade sharp enough to silence the growls and halt the rough play of my tormentors.
Alpha Shadow stood before us, his presence commanding the immediate attention of every wolf in the clearing. His eyes, dark and stormy, fixed on the wolves with such fury that they cowered under his gaze. Muscles tensed beneath his shirt, the veins in his arms standing out like cords as he fought to contain the beast within.
"Release her," he growled, voice laced with barely restrained violence.
The werewolves backed away, their tails tucked between their legs—an acknowledgement of his supremacy. Shadow's eyes softened for a fraction of a second as he looked at me, seeing the pain etched across my face and the blood that stained my clothes.
"Mine," he declared, his voice resonating with both claim and promise as he stepped forward. "She is my mate."
His words wrapped around me like a protective cloak, soothing the throbbing pulse of the bite even as my body ached from the brutality of the encounter. There was something primal in his claim that touched the core of my being, stirring an instinctive response within me.
Shadow moved closer, radiating a fierce protectiveness that made the air around us electric. He reached out, his touch gentle against the harshness of the recent assault, and the last of my resistance crumbled. In his eyes, I found an anchor in the tempest of my own emotions—the assurance that no matter how deep I fell into this madness, he would be there to pull me back.
Shadow's mother, a formidable she-wolf with silver streaking through her dark mane, stepped forward. Her eyes sparkled with a mixture of ferocity and something softer, warmer, as they settled on me. "At last," she said, her voice trembling with an excitement that belied her otherwise stoic facade. "My son has found his mate."
Her gaze flicked between Shadow and me, the corners of her lips curling upwards in a smile that held decades of waiting, of hope. "Grandbabies," she murmured almost to herself, a dreamy quality to her tone. "The next Alpha could be among them..."
Despite the throbbing pain from the bite and my recent ordeal, I couldn't help but feel the weight of her words—of expectation, of future, of life continuing beyond the tumultuous present. It was a stark reminder that even in the chaos, life had a way of barreling forward, relentless and hopeful.