Chapter 89|Hello, Mate.

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**Third Person's P O V


A jet black haired petite lady wandered through the woods recalling how it used to be in the past.

She gazed and wondered at how so much has changed within the few years that she wasn’t around. Changes that were too sudden and too heavy for her to bear.

With a leaf in her hand a tear fell, then two, then she shook her head vehemently, chiding herself for giving into the pain, the anger, the betrayal, the fury. Willing herself to be brave she set out to what used to be her home but not anymore with the intention of taking her bag and spiraling out of the Pack as though the hounds of hell were at her heels.

But then, perhaps they were.

Turning the corner that led to the white picket fenced house that was filled with so many bittersweet memories before everything went downhill, before everyone failed, before everyone succumbed to the darkest wish of their hearts.

She could envision her mother in her silly blue and white checked apron turning the contents of her pot with her favorite wooden turning spoon and a smile on her face or when anyone did something wrong and her hands went to her waist to reprimand the culprit. She smiled wistfully. To the onlookers eyes or an artist’s it was an expression worth painting.

She was met with resistance when she attempted pulling the doors open, a quick whiff alerted her of another person’s presence and she caught two men walking towards her, the sound of their feet hitting the gravel alerted her.

When they approached her she tensed. They were donning the Pack’s police uniform and the grim expression on their faces probably matched hers.

The feeling is mutual, she thought with a sneer.

“You’re needed at the Pack manor.” The stouter of the two men addressed her straightforwardly.

“Why ever would they need me? I’m about to leave as it is, no reason to hold me back, I’m leaving your territory.” She couldn’t help herself.

On normal days she wasn’t a rude person, not for any reason unless when vexed to the point of no return. But today was an exception, feeling like she was on pins and needles didn’t help at all and with every second she added in the territory her feelings grew up notches. She was feeling a thousand emotions and at the same time, it was so overwhelming she could feel it choking her.

At anytime she could combust and turn into a monster. She knew that. She could feel it approaching steadily, the combustion.

“You can get your answers when you get there. The Alpha wants to see you.” The taller man replied turning on his feet and strode away.

The stout man stayed back behind her and when she began moving he did too.

The walk to the Pack manor was filled with silence, apprehension built like a skyscraper in her heart as they reached the large gates.

With a nod they ushered her in, led her to a room and shut the doors at her back. It was dark, so dark that she couldn’t see what was right in front of her. So dark that when the door bolted open she felt her heart drop to her feet.

A beguiling sensation filled her mind, her heart pounded, tripped, pounded harder and tripped much harder. She felt a scream in her head, a scent much stronger than anything she’d ever felt in her life before. A scent so enticing, captivating, washed through her senses. The scent was masculine, so masculine that it threatened to wreck her very being, threatened to rid her very soul the peace it knew in the past way before this whole chaos wrenched away her happiness and left her shattered with no protection and no savior.

She heard the distinct sound of a growl and the moment light filled the room, she turned. The face she found staring at her with an expression that rivaled whatever she was feeling was the most beautiful she’d ever seen. He was a man, all man.

A man in all and every sense of the word and that very man parted his lips to speak, she knew when her vision began to fade, his image blurred in her eyes as his words got spoken out loud.

“Mate!”

And everything went black.

…..

Francis sunk his head lower wondering how on earth the world seemed to play a joke on him. It was absurd. It was fascinating. It was terrific. Fucked up.

Fucked up because he just found out that his mate was Boris Mallory’s youngest daughter. The same girl Alexander ordered him to take care of, the man whose family betrayed their pack. The girl he thought to get rid and send off with a tissue or two if she came to him crying, whom he made up his mind to act oblivious to if she decided to explode her misplaced wrath upon him.

It was ironic how the tables turned.

The feelings that had taken over senses were the complete opposite of his plans. He felt the need to shield her in his arms, protect her from everything and everyone.

Francis threaded his hands deeper into his hair mussing it up.

He felt her scent before her footsteps came through.

Her words got him stilling.

“Are you the Alpha? Alpha Alexander?” Her voice was shaky, exhaustion and trepidation was lining its sound.

Was she hoping to be mated to the Alpha? Not his second choice.

“I’m Francis Rossi, the De Luca Pack Beta. You must be Mallory’s youngest daughter.”

“I am a woman of my own not just Mallory’s daughter. I am Athena Mallory.”

She confirmed what was supposed to be his worse nightmare but turned out to be not so bad when spoken out loud.

Francis took a step towards her watching her with a critical eye wanting to know if she wanted to fight their bond or break it. When she stood her ground he moved closer, gauging her reaction.

He took in her sight. She was tanned with jet black hair and thick brows, her eyes were reddened and the skin around them black, eye bags, her cheeks were puffy probably from the excessive tears shed at the loss of her whole family. Her lips. Damn, when Francis let his gaze rove over the quivering part of her body he felt his body reacting in a way he knew was inevitable yet unthinkable regarding their situation. Her lips were pink, with minute scratches like they were chewed upon, he raised his eyes back to her eyes as a jolt seized him.

Her eyes were peculiar, the pupils were light ash bordering on silver and around them were dark specs of black.

Francis noticed how his appraisal of her wasn’t one-sided. She was doing her own in a not so subtle manner too.

When he was a mere breath away from her and the front of his shoes were touching hers he lowered his head, took her chin in his grasp in a light hold. She didn’t flinch yet she didn’t welcome his touch with the tenacity of a mate. She just stood there unmoving while he touched her face. Where their bodies touched felt scorched with a fire that was so intense he felt his heart revving up. Francis took the risk of pulling her into his chest, his lips over her head brushing lightly.

Without giving her time to recover from the shock that seized her at their contact Francis parted his lips and worded out the words he gave up on uttering, “I, Francis Rossi of the De Luca Pack accept you Athena Mallory of the De Luca Pack as my mate. Not even death can do us apart.” And he sealed his promise with a kiss.

A kiss Athena felt all the way to the tip of her toes.

What. The. Hell?!