16

A searing pain began on her neck before radiating out to all her nerves, racing up and down her spine, and settling somewhere in her stomach. A throbbing ache that weakened her knees and had her clinging to him like a hopeless romantic.

He'd just marked her. Claimed her. And she would always be his.

The thought should've sickened her, but the feather-light kisses he placed on the mark immediately after had her mind reeling in feelings of softness and...desire? Heat rushed from her core all the way to her fingers that rested near his neck, and she smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders before pulling him closer.

When her lips tasted his skin, the stubble that ran down his jaw and evened out down his neck, she strangely forgot all the contempt and despise she'd felt for him. This was her mate, her mate, and all she wanted was to claim him and never let him go.

She kissed him lightly, then extended her teeth, finding just the right spot before marking him. His body tensed under hers, his grip tightening around her waist. She smiled against the mark, awed at the effect she had on this big bad alpha.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. The whisper that reached her ear, her name moaned in his husky voice, made her realise he had just as much effect on her. His eyes searched hers, his breathing heavy as they stared at each other.

A new awareness sunk in her mind and beat in her chest. She could feel him, sense him, understand a fraction of his thoughts and emotions. And right now, it was her that consumed most of them.

The wild sound of clapping and cheering interrupted their moment, and they pulled away to smile at the joyous crowd. Tears sprung to Chesca's eyes as she watched their happy faces. Her pack was going to be ok. She'd done this all for them, but when she looked at the handsome man beside her who still held her waist tightly, she wondered if Lexi had been right. Maybe she was doing this for herself also.

_______

The cheese on her cracker normally tasted really good, but now with all the knots twisted in Chesca's stomach, it may as well have been cardboard.

"Good job, Alpha. I'm proud of you," Charles came up and handed her a drink.

"Thanks," she muttered dryly.

"I know it's seems hard, but I'm sure you and Kaiden will make a great couple one day," he patted her arm reassuringly and winked.

She tilted her head, not believing his words for much. Since they'd moved apart after the ceremony, she'd allowed reality and all the old feelings to come rushing back in. She distrusted Kaiden and knew nothing would really change that, no matter how deeply she looked in his eyes and understood a fraction of his thoughts towards her. She reached up and touched the still throbbing mark on the tender skin between her neck and shoulder.

"Hey Beautiful, looking forward to tonight?" a deep voice whispered near her ear.

She spun around. "Nothing is gonna happen tonight, so get over yourself," she hissed.

Kaiden shrugged casually and gave her a mischievous grin, "It was worth a try."

She watched him walk away with a confident swagger, and groaned when Alpha Asa came up to her. "Why do you hate me," she said with slight irritation and Asa just smiled knowingly, not taking any offence at her childish behaviour. It was her special day, so hopefully people were extending her this latitude.

"I always did like you, Chesca. I just didn't want to give you too much responsibility of a big pack and larger territory. I know what it's like to lose a parent. But two?" he regarded her carefully and she matched his serious gaze, wondering where on earth the wise Alpha could be going with this. "You'd been through so much, I didn't want to see you fail and get hurt. Now I know you've got Kaiden to look out for you, and together you'll be able to handle so much and do so much more. He's a good man."

"Ha! He tried to kill me and take over my pack," she pointed out.

So he was here to extol his friend's virtues.

"He may be a little misguided, and going through his own problems, but don't let the outside deceive you. He's got a good heart, that kid," Asa speculated with a tone of confidence. It did nothing to convince her.

"Wrapped in impenetrable steel and a twisted worldview."

"Just give it time. I'm sure you'll realise the amount you have in common and find a love that will stand every storm. You and Kaiden both deserve that," Asa responded wistfully, running a hand through his curly locks.

"No. That's something you deserve, Asa. You're the good, strong Alpha. Kaiden? I'm not so sure."

"Trust me," he clasped a hand gently on her shoulder, and she couldn't help but nod.

Something about his words resonated within her, and she found herself wanting to trust him. Asa was good, and not heartless. He knew Kaiden better than she, so maybe all she could hope was to see in Kaiden what Asa did.

He smiled and moved off, greeting her Beta and Gamma and soon getting lost in masculine conversation.

Alpha, we have a problem. Lexi mind-linked.

Chesca felt more than heard the commotion coming her way and she quickly walked away from the centre of the celebration. She exited the courtyard and looked up to see Lexi pulling a kid by the ear.

"Guess who's not in their dungeon cell?"

"How'd he get out?" Chesca referred to the trespassers from Kaiden's pack.

"Ask your mate," Lexi spat and clenched her jaw. "He let them all out. Must've been before the ceremony."

Chesca spun and headed back into the crowd, ready to clobber someone good and hard. She spotted him lifting a drink to his lips. His eyes met hers and a smile tugged on his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing with my prisoners?" she walked up and smacked the drink from his hand, spilling it all over his shirt.

"What are you talking about?" he looked shocked.

"Don't try to fool me, mister. You know exactly who I'm talking about."

"Is something the matter?" Alpha Asa edged his way over.

"Chesca, I don't—"

"The boy? And his sisters? Lexi found them wandering the grounds."

"Oh, you mean my pack members? The ones you left to rot in that stinking dungeon of yours?"

"They deserved it."

"You never even went back to question them."

"I had bigger, more important things to worry about, like our ceremony and ultimately caring for my pack!" she jabbed a finger at his chest. His very hard chest.

"That's what it's always about, isn't it?" he raised his voice while dabbing his shirt with a napkin. "Your pack. You couldn't care less about anything else, huh? Maybe if you stepped back and let others help, you'd have time to broaden your perspective of things."

"Oh, that's it!" she put her hands on her hips. "You taking control of my pack, just like you've always wanted," she yelled, not caring that everyone was standing around them, watching them argue and fight. "You go behind my back, making decisions—"

"Kaiden! Chesca! That's enough," Asa had to practically step between the daggers that were shooting from their dark glares to get them to notice him. "Just stop it, ok? Communication is good, but not this kind! You both just need to chill, alright?" he looked at them both pointedly, and Chesca pursed her lips.

Kaiden huffed loudly but didn't say anything more. Asa shifted on his feet and looked away, distracted. "Just chill," he repeated and stepped back, looking across the gathered crowd. He clenched his fists and blinked a few times, and Chesca was worried.

Was he sick? About to have a heart attack or a stroke or something? Not that he would, because he was young and fit. But still..

"What is that amazing fragrance?" he wiped his brow and adjusted his shirt with agitation, walking through the people who quickly stepped aside for him. She followed, curious to see what was going on.

She saw Lexi a dozen yards away, herding the released prisoners back down the stairs.

"Wait!" Asa yelled, his feet nearly tripping down the steps to catch up. The path was lined with strings of fairylights, casting a golden glow on the trees and hedges in the garden.

Chesca saw the oldest sibling turn, her blonde hair fanning around her shoulders, a look of astonishment on her face when she saw Asa. The woman gasped, her hand flying to her mouth and her eyes widening in wonder.

Asa stopped in front of her, the two of them just staring at each other. What in the world was going on?

When Asa reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears, she leaned into his touch. The smile on his rugged face was brilliant, and her eyes were on the verge of tears as she stared at him with amazement.

"My Darling, at last," Alpha Asa whispered as he pulled her closer into his arms.

They were mates.

Chesca's own heart thudded with a small amount of excitement at the realisation. Asa had finally found his mate.

"My name is Asa, Alpha of the Justice Pack," he whispered to her softly, but Chesca heard everything with her powerful alpha hearing.

"I-I-I know," the woman stuttered, her jaw clenching, but her eyes determined. "I'm Da-Da-Danella," she eventually said, and Asa just smiled with such genuine gladness it erased the embarrassment from Danella's face.

"You're so beautiful," Asa said, his eyes shining.

"No, I'm n-n-not," she looked down and shook her head, clearly dismissing his words as flattery.

The poor woman had such little confidence that Chesca was worried she'd be crushed and smothered by Asa's overehelming and deep love for her.

"Well, isn't this fantastic! You can thank me later for releasing your prisoners," Kaiden came up and stood beside Chesca, a cheery grin on his face as he watched the unfolding scene before them.

"And you just ruined the moment," Chesca lightly smacked him on the stomach with the back of her hand, but regretted it the moment tiny sparks tingled up her skin.

"Are you from this pack?" Asa asked his mate as he rubbed circles gently on her back.

"No. From Alpha K-Kaiden's," she flickered a nervous gaze towards Kaiden and frowned slightly. "We had to run fro-o-om his father, who...who--" she dropped her gaze and Chesca saw her shoulders shaking slightly. Was it her imagination, or was this woman afraid of something?

"Alpha Elbert, as he wants to be called, even though Alpha Kaiden was in charge of the pack. He was treating everyone bad. We had to leave, and tried to find Alpha Kaiden," Danella's brother, Joe, yanked himself from Lexi's grip and explained.

The look on Asa's face was of a mixture of pure rage but self-control, like he wanted to tear someone to shreds and make them pay for hurting his mate, but he knew that person wasn't here. And he'd only end up scaring her. "He was hurting you? Are you alright?" Asa looked between Danella and her siblings, who nodded quickly.

Maybe they were scared of Asa too. Going by looks, he certainly did seem intimidating with his wild hair and burly, tattooed arms. Typical tough and mean Alpha, and the darkness in his eyes wasn't helping much either.

"When I get my hands on him..." he trailed off when he saw the fear in his mate's eyes, and tried to smile softly. "You'll be safe from now on, I promise," he reached out a hand and she took it gingerly.

"See," Kaiden nudged Chesca lightly. "If you'd only talked to them, you would've known I wasn't the bad guy. My dad has been pushing me away, wanting to continue his reign of terror."

Chesca had no idea what to make of this information. If it was true, it would fit the story of the scars on Kaiden's back. But would a father really abuse his own son like that? Would he be such a terrible Alpha that his pack members would run away from him, risking their necks by entering another's territory? It was only coincidence that Danella was Asa's mate, otherwise they would have been in serious trouble when she got around to dealing with them.

"Joe and...Karla, is it?" Chesca looked at the younger girl who nodded, "You can stay with my pack for awhile. We can make room for you both until it's safe to go home."

"That won't be necessary, Alpha Chesca. They're all coming back to my pack. To live," Asa looked down at Danella who beamed at his words.

"Thank you," she whispered and touched his cheek with her hand. The love that obviously passed between them warmed Chesca's heart for a moment, making her realise just how beautiful the mate bond could be, how secure and safe two people could feel with each other, and how content they would be together. Totally opposite to the fate dished out to her, she sighed with disdain, turning to go.

Kaiden stepped in front or her, clearly wanting to talk about something, which she didn't need many guesses to figure out.

She shook her head and growled, indicating she was done here.

She didn't have time to care about someone else's pack and the family issues between the Alpha and his parents. She had enough to worry about and organise here, in her own pack. She would focus all her energies on that, like usual, and not let his searching and mysterious brown eyes convince her otherwise.

She headed up to her room, eager for a nice long shower to wash away some of the day's stress. She stepped into her bathroom and went through the motions, her mind on a hundred things no matter how hard she tried to relax.

She got out and dried herself before slipping into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

Raking her fingers through her hair absently, she walked towards her bed but froze midstep.

A cool breeze fluttered in from the open window, making a shiver of dread run down her spine.

There on her satin jade quilt lay a folded piece of paper, her name scripted in black ink on the surface.