Chapter 18 : Perfect Mate!

Xavier

"Be patient, young pup. I will tell you what you want to know and more," the middle-aged man replied, his voice filled with wisdom and calmness.

"There is an ancient cave known as the Demon Witch's Grave Cave, located not far from the territory of the Moonlit Grove Pack, where your stepbrother and his mother's family lived with the girl's family before she and her family moved to the city center several years ago. There was a sacred forest there called Silverthorn Forest, which was able to open a dimensional portal of divine power two years ago. When the girl arrived there for the first time, she was almost immediately attacked by rogues who sensed the spiritual power of the Sacred Moonstone that was inside of her. They wanted to take that power from her."

Benjamin was silent for a moment, letting this information sink into his mind.

Xavier was, of course, aware of her role as the next generation guardian of the Sacred Moonstone, able to sense the presence of the aura of the stone's fragments when one came close. She also had the ability to purify any black power that might exist within the Sacred Moonstone. What he did not know was that she had actually become the holder of an extremely powerful ancient heirloom. How this happened was another mystery for him to solve.

Benjamin continued, "As you know, the Sacred Moonstone contains the souls of the ancestors of the most powerful werewolf lords, as well as the black witches who were once imprisoned there. I suspect that the girl may have absorbed some of the sacred energy and aura of the werewolf lords' power into the Sacred Moonstone. This may be confusing, as normally a barrier would only allow a she-wolf to pass through unharmed."

With a nod of his head, Alpha Westwood allowed him to continue. "I can only assume that the sacred energy and aura of the Werewolf Lords within the Sacred Moonstone flowed into the girl, confusing your barrier and allowing her to pass through."

She had the energy of the Werewolf Lords? If what his advisors said was probably true, how could he not be able to sense the energy normally possessed by a she-wolf, no matter how small it was? Even so, how could the power of the Black Witch and the Werewolf Lords develop and merge in such a strong girl without being directly purified? All of these questions plagued his mind.

"So what made her like that?" asked Alpha Westwood.

"Ah, I am not sure," Benjamin replied.

"However, this may help you with your other concern, which is how to choose a mate. You are a very pure and powerful Alpha. Perhaps you have the ability to change the girl's body to more closely resemble that of a full-blooded werewolf, or at least to bind her energy and life into your body. That way, her human body would be less susceptible to prolonged healing and the normal aging process. The possibilities are endless.”

"You said I could bind her to me by using her supernatural powers? How could I do that? And more importantly, if I succeeded, would she be able to give birth to pure-blood werewolf offspring? Of course not, because she's half human," he said scornfully. For him, as an Alpha, the idea of having offspring that were not full-blooded was something he found difficult to accept.

"Alpha Xavier, it's obvious that this girl has full werewolf energy coexisting with her pure spirit and black witch power. Isn't it possible that with enough of your power she could give birth to a full-blooded wolf cub?" Benjamin tried to explain and asked rationally.

He paused for a moment to consider the possibility. If she really could give him the wolf pup he wanted, it might not be so bad to have a hybrid as a mate. She had proven herself capable of defending herself against powerful enemies. With her strength, even her weak body could be improved. He also wondered if the offspring of their mating could make his children less vulnerable to spiritual energy in their youth.

But then the human nature in her surfaced. She would never have known that winning the challenge meant they were betrothed. She would not have been able to fully understand the nature of an Alpha and what it meant to be his mate. Besides, she didn't know how she could get the Alpha's approval for his claim to be her mate if she rejected him, and he was quite sure that she would. He frowned. She was in love with his stepbrother. That might cause problems with his claim. Her loyalty was boundless once given.

"How do hybrids usually pursue mates?" he asked.

"Normally, hybrids from noble circles give their daughters to the highest paying suitors and have a rank, but from lower circles, the men propose to the women they are interested in," Benjamin replied. "In my opinion, Alpha, the girl wants to be courted."

His expression did not change, but in his heart he was not happy to hear this news. If he continued his journey to court the girl, she still had the right to reject him in the end. Of course, he refused to be rejected by her. His mind was made up. This girl was unique, and he wanted to have her for himself. He knew instinctively that demanding cooperation from her would not work with her history of defiance. She was half human, which meant he could not impose his dominance on her where she would submit to his greater power.

"If the girl wants to be wooed, then I will try to fulfill her wishes," he thought. He was aware of his attractiveness and how the opposite sex responded to him. He could be persuasive if he wanted to be. He was sure from her scent that she was innocent of any possible sexual acts, and if he decided to explore her body, which he had never encountered before, he would gladly forget his senses, which would give him a much needed advantage.

If he could get the girl to care for him and turn her attention away from his stepbrother and towards him, he was sure that she would not deny his claim that she belonged to him and his mate. The girl had an overly emotional nature, but that could be used to his advantage in this case.

"You're very quiet, Alpha Xavier," Benjamin commented.

He blinked, out of his reverie and plans for the girl, and focused on Ben. "Thank you for your words and information, Ben. I really appreciate it." With those parting words, he turned away from Benjamin's house and walked away.

"Goodbye, puppy, and good luck with your mate," Ben called after him.

He ran through the forest again, retracing his earlier steps. His thoughts were constantly on his mate. He did not refuse to mate with a hybrid as he had thought before. Combining his powers with her spiritual light and advantages, Xavier never thought he would have sexual relations with a hybrid, let alone mate with her.

He remembered how the girl looked when he first saw her, and how her voluptuous, curvaceous body teased in all the right places. When he first saw her, he thought she was a temptress brought by his brother for entertainment, until he learned that she was a hybrid, and soon after he realized that her scent was very pure. How the girl could remain sincere while wearing such clothing puzzled him.

When she became his mate, he would not allow her to wear such clothes again. It was inappropriate for a woman to wear. When he remembered how he felt towards her last night when they were in the forest with the dense trees, his body heated up from the memories. Yes, he was sure that their physical relationship would have no difficulties at all. He smiled at the possibility.

When he finally returned to his pack territory, he went straight to his study, called a servant to his side, and asked if she was awake. The servant said she hadn't shown up yet, so he asked to be notified immediately when she did. In the meantime, he had to write letters to the other alphas in the pack to inform them that he would have to postpone his mating ceremony-though he did not give them a reason. He instructed his servants to write letters to the other pack elders and their mates. The rules dictated that he had to write the letters to the higher-ranking Alphas himself, while the others could write the letters to the Betas and Gamma, who would then have the Westwood seal affixed to seal the letters.

This change in plans kept him and his staff busy delaying his mating ceremony, which only made him more frustrated with the delays. Despite his goal of hunting Nathan, the higher alphas had disrupted his plans by forcing him to search for a mate for months. He felt he was mature enough to start a family, and the other packs had high hopes of forging alliances with his family through his mating with their daughters.

Since he didn't want to be trapped in a forced arranged marriage, Xavier decided to inform the other alphas of his plan to hold a competition where any brave she-wolf could fight to become his mate. He didn't care much for the rank or wealth of his potential mate; he was more interested in her strength. He would not choose a weak mate. He felt no need to get involved in the political machinations that other Alphas, except for his closest allies, the Bloodmoon Pack, seemed to consider important. Alpha Chase, the leader of the Bloodmoon Pack, had similar views and had not found a mate either. Unless he was able to convince her that this hybrid girl would be the perfect mate for him.

The time passed so quickly as he sat at his desk, working day after day. A few hours later, a servant knocked on his door and informed him that he was awake and having breakfast. He told the servant to tell her that he would see her after she had eaten before dismissing the servant.

In the strangeness he felt, anticipation coursed through his blood as he imagined how he would convince her to be by his side as Luna and his mate. It would be a great challenge, but it only made him feel like a predator, ready to hunt his prey. Wolves always enjoyed a good hunt. He smiled as he waited.

There was no need to wait long. As he walked through the white corridor to the girl's room, he wondered if she had eaten enough, since she didn't have to wait long to finish her meal. He frowned. If she was in the habit of not eating enough, he would have to intervene. Such a habit would not be tolerated, especially if she was carrying the wolf pups.

However, he almost stopped walking when the image of a hybrid carrying a child in her lap flashed in his mind. Instead of feeling disgusted, he felt warm at the thought. She would look even more beautiful and desirable with her son growing in her womb.

The previously hidden attraction to his stepbrother's girlfriend seemed to surface lately. The first time when she managed to cross his barrier to find a mate, and the second time when Benjamin revealed that the girl was no ordinary hybrid. The hidden attraction he had never noticed before because he had buried it so deep was now beginning to surface. He was almost at the door of her room when the next thought came to him.

What if he could not get her to mate with him and in the process make her unwilling to accept him as her mate? The thought plagued him, and his mood darkened as he opened the oak door without knocking or waiting for permission. His eyes immediately fell on her as she sat on the bed, clutching her blanket tightly, looking as anxious and awkward as ever.

She had many questions, many things she wanted to say to him, but it seemed as if all the words were stuck in her throat at the moment.

"Karenina," he greeted her.