Alpha Terrell's POV
Five days.
Five fucking days of riding through these forsaken woods, following a scent that grew fainter with each passing hour, chasing after a girl who clearly didn't want to be found.
I was done.
"This is ridiculous," I announced, pulling my horse to a stop. "We're wasting time. A human girl isn't worth all this stress."
Behind me, my generals shifted in their saddles. I could feel their relief - they'd been thinking the same thing but were too smart to voice it.
Sheena, however, had no such sense of self-preservation.
"Alpha, we can't give up now…"
"Can't?" I turned in my saddle, fixing her with a cold stare. "I'm the Alpha. I don't chase after anyone. Women beg to be in my presence, they don't run from it. This whole situation is beneath me."
"She's running because you killed her family!" Sheena's voice rose with frustration. "You wronged her first, Alpha. You can't expect her to just…"
"I don't expect anything from her." I cut her off, my voice becoming dangerous. "That's the point. I'm not some lovesick fool who's going to spend weeks tracking down a girl who wants nothing to do with me."
"But she's your fated mate…"
"So you keep saying!" I kicked my horse forward, forcing Sheena to scramble for purchase behind me. "But all I see is a human girl who's more trouble than she's worth. Fated or not, this is getting pathetic."
"This one is different," Sheena insisted, her fingers digging into my sides. "She's not just any girl. She's the one the Moon Goddess chose specifically for you. After a thousand years, Alpha. After a thousand years of waiting…"
"And I can wait another thousand if it means not degrading myself like this." I yanked on the reins harder than necessary. "Know your place, witch. I've indulged your mystical nonsense long enough."
Silence fell over our group. Even Kane, usually quick with counsel, said nothing.
"I apologize, Alpha." Sheena's voice was small now. "It wasn't my intention to overstep. But we need to find Angel and bring her home. The consequences if we don't…"
"Consequences?" I laughed. "What consequences? The Moon Goddess will smite me? Let her try. I've survived a thousand years without a mate. I'll survive a thousand more."
"The pack needs a Luna…"
"The pack has managed just fine without one." I was really warming to the idea now, convincing myself with each word. "This whole fated mate business is overrated anyway. I have plenty of women willing to warm my bed. Why should I chase after one who doesn't want me?"
"Because she completes you," Sheena said quietly. "Because without her, you'll never be whole. Because the bond between True Mates is sacred, and breaking it - refusing it - will destroy you both."
"Dramatic as always." I rolled my eyes. "Nothing is going to…"
Voices.
My enhanced hearing picked them up before anyone else - rough masculine voices, the clop of hooves, the creak of wagon wheels.
I held up a hand, and everyone stopped.
"…best sale we've made in years!" A man's voice. "Triple rate! Can you believe it?"
"That fat girl was worth it after all," another responded. "Who knew Lord Harwick had such specific tastes?"
"He always pays well for the unusual ones. Remember that dwarf girl? Or the one with the mismatched eyes?"
Laughter. Cruel, callous laughter.
Slave traders.
My jaw clenched. I despised slave traders - parasites who preyed on the desperate and vulnerable. They were useful occasionally, but mostly they were scum that needed to be periodically culled.
"Riders ahead!" someone shouted from the group approaching.
Through the trees, I could see them now - a ragged group of about eight men on horseback, leading an empty wagon. They looked like they'd been traveling hard, their clothes dusty, their faces weathered.
They rounded the bend and came face to face with us.
Every single one of them went pale.
"Alpha Terrell!" The leader - a scarred man with missing teeth - practically fell off his horse in his haste to dismount and bow. "Your Grace! Your Majesty! What an unexpected honor!"
The others scrambled to follow suit, dropping to their knees in the dirt, heads bowed low.
"We didn't know these were your woods, Alpha!" the leader continued, his voice shaking. "We would never have trespassed without permission. Please, forgive our ignorance!"
I regarded them coldly, letting the silence stretch. They trembled like leaves in a storm, and a cruel part of me enjoyed their fear.
"Whose woods did you think they were?" I asked mildly.
"We… we thought…" The leader stammered. "The neutral territories, Alpha. We thought we were in neutral lands."
"There are no neutral lands." I dismounted slowly. "Everything for a hundred miles in every direction belongs to me. Which means you've been conducting your filthy business on my territory without my knowledge or permission."
"Please, Alpha, we meant no disrespect!" One of the younger ones looked up, terror written across his face. "We'll pay tribute! Whatever you want!"
"I don't want your filthy money." I walked closer, watching them flinch. "What I want is information."