9. MIA

Chapter 9

MIA

“Because... You're my fated mate…”

Those words ring in my eardrums and reverberate in my heartbeat.

The admission lingers in the air, tapering off until there's complete silence. The silence is the most daunting of all – when Theo allows for the information to sink in.

“That's-That's impossible,” I frown, shaking my head slowly as I take another step back.

“It's not, Mia,” Theo assures me, reaching out a tentative hand.

Though a part of me wants to accept the gesture, I find myself walking away. But I have nowhere left to run to when my back hits the uneven bark of a tree.

Pressing my palms to the sharp shards of wood behind me, I glare at the Alpha. “Is this because of last night? Is this how you make up for it?” I scoff.

Theo's green eyes flash with a glint of disbelief. “You think I'm making this up?”

When he takes another step closer and closes the little distance between us, my breath catches in my throat. Like a growing lump, it threatens to hinder my breathing altogether.

I look up into his eyes with the last semblance of my dwindling resolve. “It can't be.”

Theo lifts his head with the prowess only bestowed on an Alpha werewolf. His eyes remain on mine as he braces both palms on either side of my head. Loose bark cracks off the tree and skitters onto my shoulders.

“It's true, Mia…” he drawls before he dips his head, lips at my ear. “You are my fated mate.” His inhale is long and lengthy before he exhales against the shell of my ear.

Breath hot, it ignites awareness that rushes from my ear to the base of my spine.

“... You are my fated mate…” he whispers huskily, burying his face deeper into the crook of my neck. He's so close, I anticipate his lips on my flesh long before they arrive there. And when they do, I gasp as my body shudders from the delicate impact.

It's too much sensation for me to bear.

Slipping out from under his arm, I rush out into the clearing in the woods. Seeking refuge in the moonlight, it's the only place not hidden by shadows. The only place Theo won't be able to keep me prisoner and steal my breath away.

“Stop!” I command when he proceeds to take a step closer. As I raise my hand in the air, I turn my face away.

An Omega standing up against an Alpha. It's unheard of. Uncalled for. Yet, I don't feel the need to exercise any type of deference. Even with his brows furrowed and the glint sparkling in his eyes.

“Don't come any closer,” I order with sternness in my voice. “I need time to think.”

Theo nods as he remains a few feet away. Hands curled to fists on his sides, he's clearly tensed. But he respects my decision and only says, “Take all the time you need.”

The softness in his voice touches my heart. Squeezing it inside my chest like a warm hug meant to cajole me. I invite the feeling, only because my mind is spinning with a thousand thoughts I can't make sense of.

Theo Marrock as my fated mate?

I immediately shake away the thought and turn to face the deep forest. woods. “Please, Theo…”

Theo clears his throat, indicating that he understands my silent request. It’s a request for privacy – for me to be able to invoke my wolf.

“About dinner…” he begins softly, voice faltering in hesitation.

“It's fine,” I toss over my shoulder. “I won't be there at dinner. No one will know who I am.”

Without waiting for his response, I close my eyes and sigh with a heavy-heart. The only indication that he’s left the area is the crunching of dry leaves under his sneakers.

I can’t wrap my head around what he claims. But when I will my wolf to the fore, it’s Alpha Theo’s face I see behind my eyelids.

Hauntingly enticing, his brilliant emerald eyes are gemstones meant to bewitch me. I open my eyes again, snapping my head over my shoulder just to ensure he isn’t still there.

Only his silhouette is visible in the distance, taut arm muscles bulging from his sleeves. His shape is immaculate, distracting me enough to forget that I needed to shift.

Turning back towards the forest, I close my eyes again, praying that I don’t see his face again. But when I do, I know that he’d been telling the truth. Still, I refuse to believe it. That’s when I finally push past his image, and focus on the image of the wolf instead.

My chestnut brown wolf’s silhouette hangs in the shadows of my vision, awaiting my wielding. The imaginary act of reaching out and embracing the she-wolf’s powers brings about my transformation.

Like a flash of lightning, those powers whirl around my aura, strengthening the invisible force that surrounds me. That force gets stronger thanks to the wolf’s blood coursing through my veins. I’d only ever witnessed transformations before.

They’d never been described as majestic as this feeling of being wrapped in the embrace of pure power. Unfiltered and raw, it strengthens my very being, igniting the fire that resides in my core.

As I open my eyes, heightened senses make it possible to see every fine detail of the forest. From the veins of bedewed leaves to the marching ants on the ground, I notice everything.

Everything.

Even the Alpha’s steps as he leaves the meadow a couple of meters away. Too far away for my human ears to hear. But for my wolf ears, which perk up at the sound, I hear his intake of breath.

Wow…

The most extraordinary attribute of the wolf is its innate knowledge. How it easily dodges obstacles and fluidly maneuvers the forest without a navigating system. But more than that, the wolf already knows something I don’t.

At least, something I refuse to believe. But the intuition it wields as a second language comes fluently to its being. It just… Knows.

‘Mate…’

I frown at the sound of a very familiar voice inside my head. My own voice, echoing in my mind, confirms what the Alpha was trying to tell me.

He’s my mate.

With that knowing, I begin running out into the woods.

The freedom of the wind blowing through my fur and the ground being crushed between the large paws of my wolf feels divine. It’s unlike running on human feet. These large paws cut through the wind, carrying me further toward the river.

Missouri River, where I’d first been discovered by Alpha Theo. If I hadn’t been such a clutz, I wouldn’t have fallen into the river and crossed into Nightwalker territory.

It’s only been a few nights, yet it feels like a lifetime ago since I’d been rescued to the other side. Now that I’m here, with this new discovery hanging like a dark cloud over my head, I want to leave.

‘Mate…’ my wolf calls again, this time tugging my heartstrings as if to drive in the knowledge. My mind still remains at war with my heart, but it’s a battle it’s never going to win.

My pack did not kick me out. They will never agree to the union. What will happen when Theo finds out.

Because even if I’m here at my crossroads, I’ve already decided to stay in Overton. With the Nightwalker's.

With Theo Marrock.

Lord knows what the future might hold for an Omega fated to the Alpha of a powerful pack. But I cannot ignore that the Moon Goddess probably has a good reason for this.

At least I will no longer feel guilty about sleeping with the Alpha. Maybe, just maybe, we can forge an agreement that would suit us both.

If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I cannot go back to Blackclaw. In all the time I’ve been away, I haven’t missed a single thing about that pack. And here, I’ve made friends with the Alpha’s sister. And the Alpha is my fated mate.

The Alpha is my fated mate…

As I have that thought, my wolf lips curl into a smile. I look down at the river, the glistening surface becoming the perfect mirror on which I see my wolf’s reflection. Earlier tonight, I could barely appreciate seeing myself when Theo’s voice entered my mind.

Now it makes sense. I can hear his mind link because he’s my fated mate. I take a deep breath, filling my wolf nose with air just before I’m about to drink from the river.

I part my lips in preparation for drinking when I hear rustling in the bushes.

If it wasn’t for how loud it was, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. I lift my head in the direction of the disruption, where the source is across the stream. The fern bushes sway uncontrollably when suddenly, a figure emerges from the side.

A hooded figure wielding a crossbow points his weapon at my face. Startled, I lose my breath for the split second it takes for the man to aim the bow between my eyes.

When his finger pulls the trigger to release the bow from the barrel, it’s my wolf instincts that kick in.

Just in time to dodge the hit, I fling my wolf body to one side. The bow punctures a tree trunk so fiercely that it splits the wood as it makes an impact.

Lucky save…

I’m not quite out of trouble yet when another hooded figure appears beside the first one. He looks exactly the same, except for one tiny detail – he’s carrying a shotgun.

A million thoughts race through my mind as if it’s become a grand prix of possible solutions. None of them win the race, with only one of those thoughts making a pitstop.

‘Theo!’ I call out, praying he can hear me. With my life in danger, it’s the only thing I can do.

The only one I can call out to for help.

‘Theo! Please!’ my wolf begs through the mind link. ‘I need you!’

As the armed man aims his shotgun at me, I can only pray the mind link has worked. I can only pray that the fated mate bond is real, and that I hadn’t been imagining the link we shared earlier.