Five years ago.....

James 

"I Alicia Elena Jones of Red mist pack, reject you James Tyler Carter of Black mist pack as my mate."

''I Celine Isabel Porter, reject you James Tyler Carter as my mate.''

"I reject you...."

"I reject you...."

The voices kept echoing repeatedly in my head and in as much as I tried, I just couldn't get rid of them. I was in an endless dark void and no matter how fast I ran, there was no destination, the place was empty with no sign of life and only the loud booming of voices surrounded me. They rang in my head as if mocking me, I felt trapped and hopeless. Gripping my head in my hands, I roared in frustration.

After much struggling, I suddenly jolted awake, panting slightly, my heart was pounding heavily in my chest and my body was covered in cold sweat. Getting up cautiously, I looked around to ascertain my location and I sighed in relief when I realized I was back in my room and not in an abyss. Rubbing my eyes that were still hazy from sleep, I tried to replay the nightmare I just had in my head. It felt so vivid and was similar to the dreams that have been haunting me ever since I turned eighteen. 

Memories from the past came rushing back to me like strong sea waves. Memories that I had buried deep down within my soul. Locked away safely in the past where they belonged. I shook my head, pushing back the ugly memories that threatened to ruin my morning.

I did not want to ponder on why I would have such a dream today when my pack, the black mist pack was hosting the mating ball. My father still being the Alpha even though I had recently turned twenty four, arranged the ball so that I could find my mate, because I could not take over the Alpha position without a Luna by my side. 

But how was I supposed to tell the big man I had already found my mate, no, mates to be precise and they both rejected me because of my reputation of being the most ruthless, cruel and cold hearted Alpha male? This was a dark spot in my life, a taint that I wanted to hide forever. It was a huge blow to my ego, I mean, look at me, there's no denying my handsome looks.

I'm hot, sexy and I have a great body build. Ok yeah, I'm huge, too huge and taller than most Alphas out there. My intimidating stance and gruff deep voice earned me my awesome reputation that chased away my mates or any chances of getting laid by some beauties. They are all scared of me, judging me before knowing the real me, but of course there are a few bold ones who would take a risk just to have the Luna title or my family's wealth. 

To be honest, I don't think I had ever been cruel or ruthless to anyone. 'Remember when you punished some boys for raping a young she-wolf? You castrated them and hang their balls on sticks in front of the pack house as a warning for those who went against the rules. Isn't that one of the things that earned your ruthless reputation?' My wolf Tyler countered and I scoffed. He had been with me ever since I turned sixteen and shifted for the first time. We had created a strong bond and hardly disagreed with each other. 

'Well, you know they deserved it Tyler, if serving justice would result in being called names then I would gladly embrace it.' 

I groaned as I got up from the huge king-sized bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. The only thing my father was holding onto was the Alpha title, he had already left the running of the pack and businesses to me so I did most of the work. My best friend Lewis, my future beta helped me with minor issues. He was currently on a trip to inspect our timber business in the human town. 

After dressing up in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up my arms and blue jeans, I admired myself in the mirror as I ran a hand through my undercut hair and smirked cockily. I was fucking Perfect. 

....

Knock. Knock. Knock. I was sitting in my office going through some papers when a knock on the door interrupted me. 

"Come in," I said and the door opened showing the face of my father. He smiled as he grabbed a chair and sat down opposite me. I rolled my eyes wondering why he bothered to knock when he could alert me of his presence through the mind-link. 

"Son, the reason I want you to attend the mating ball is because I want you to find your mate  and experience true love. You lost your mother at a young age and I, my mate and due to my never ending grief, you did not receive any love from me. I deeply regret that," he said and sighed. "I will be passing the Alpha title to you tomorrow whether you find your mate today or not," he added and I smiled in relief. 

"Thanks dad, I promise I won't let you down. You have seen for yourself how the pack has flourished after you put me in charge. I don't need some mate to help me run-" I Paused mid-sentence when I saw my father glare at me for disrespecting my imaginary mate. Rolling my eyes secretly I continued changing my sentence, "I will find my mate when I do, in the mean time it's just you and I against the world dad, don't worry about love and shit, what matters is you are still alive."

....

It was several hours later and the mating ball had commenced. I sat at the high table with my dad and some other Alphas in a navy blue three piece suit, bored as fuck. My god-like good looks earned me a lot of glances from unmated she-wolves and even some mated ones but my cold demeanor and poker face kept them at a distance. They shied away, too scared to approach the big bad wolf. 

I looked around in disgust as mates recognised each other and immediately jumped on each other kissing and touching, almost swallowing each other whole. The silly lovesick look on their faces made me sick. My father nodded in approval as he saw many of his pack members find their mates. According to him, a strong pack is one filled with mated wolves. For they draw their strength from the bond. Unmated wolves are not whole until they find their soulmate. But I begged to differ, I was mateless and I felt fucking whole. At least, I convinced myself I was. 

Tyler was suddenly on edge and he was restless. 'Hey Tyler buddy, what's wrong?' I asked him now alert incase there was some danger lurking around that he had sensed. 'I don't know, I just feel weird. Why don't we go outside for some fresh air?' He suggested still feeling agitated and projecting his annoying feelings to me. 

Leaving the hall that stunk of aroused wolves, I walked towards the garden and was about to sit on a white garden chair when I smelt it. A powerful intoxicating scent that I had gotten accustomed to and could only mean one thing. No wonder Tyler was so jumpy earlier. 'Mate! Let's go claim her,' he growled in my head. 

I followed the sweet scent of lavender and jasmine as Tyler howled in delight, basking in the scent of our mate. My breath hitched when I found a small girl, not small but short when compared to my tall figure, standing at the end of the garden staring at the still waters of the pool next to it. Her beauty took my breath away, she was tiny and perfect for me. The wind blew slightly in her direction, she sniffed the air and turned to look at me and her eyes widened and her heartbeat quickened looking terrified as if she had just seen her worst nightmare. 

She was a she-wolf from our pack I realized as I recognized the pack's scent that emitted from her separately from the mate bond scent. Probably just turned eighteen I guess because how wouldn't I know I had a mate in the pack? My heart sank when I recognized the look in her eyes. Fear, disgust, unwilling and some other emotion that I didn't bother to discern. 

"Hey. I'm your mate, you don't have to be scared of me, I won't hurt you," I said as I tried to move closer to her but she stepped back. She was really small and I towered over her like a giant. My wolf felt broken at the thought of our mate being scared of us. 

"Since you said you won't hurt me then keep your promise," my mate said in a shaky voice but the next words she spoke broke me entirely. "I Christine Julia Parker of black mist pack, reject you James Tyler Carter as my mate." My stormy grey eyes flashed to my wolf's gold ones as a pang of pain shot through my heart. 

The pain of the third rejection ripped through me and brought me to my knees. I saw red as my heart suddenly turned dark and developed a deep hatred towards mates and women. 

"I accept your rejection," I said as rage mixed with pain ripped through me when I felt the mate bond break. She whimpered and scurried off to God knows where, didn't bother to find out because I just didn't care anymore. 

I was better off alone, I didn't need a mate or anyone for that matter. Mates were pure trouble for me. My anger was increasing at the thought of having more mates in the future. No way in hell would I allow myself to go through this again. Looking up towards the full moon, I silently begged the moon goddess not to curse me with more mates. 

'If by any chance I have a forth chance mate, I will make sure I reject her first and make her life miserable,' I vowed to myself as I clenched my fists tightly, drawing blood as claws from my partial shift dug into my skin.

I will regain my pride and honor.