Aeros'pov
I stormed through the wide corridors, ignoring Beta Drysten's calls to return to the party, claiming I had been there for less than half an hour… yet damn it, it felt like hours. My only concern was to leave this place as quickly as possible. It made me nauseous—the glaring lights, the fake smiles, and the flattering gestures of every Alpha at that party, all seeking to gain more privileges.
I could understand that, truly. Each of them was striving to strengthen their pack. But what annoyed me, as always, were the girls who tried to seduce me, dressed like harlots, thinking I would fall for their charms. I would make them feel disappointment and rejection. Impossible. I had never and would never get close to any female… except my mate.
My unknown mate. Sixteen long years I had been searching for her, yet she remained elusive. I had visited every pack, attended every cursed party, but never felt her presence… until now.
Everyone assumed I would be the first to find my mate, since I awakened my wolf and transformed at the age of eleven. I am not just any Alpha. I am a pureblood Lycan Alpha, born of parents who both carried the Lycan bloodline. I am their offspring… Eros Varden, the first pure Lycan, the strongest werewolf in existence, undisputed.
And yet, this monster—the one I am—has not found his mate. While others flaunt their lives, enjoying their mates, even raising children, I am buried under piles of papers in a grim office, day after day, sometimes through the night.
Speaking of night… darkness had finally fallen. I had already transformed and sprinted to the edge of my pack's territory, where the guards sensed me and allowed me to pass. I headed straight into the forest, toward that house… the place where I was supposed to live, together with my mate.
I returned to my human form and opened the door, greeted by the oppressive darkness. For a moment, I imagined her standing there—welcoming me, holding me tightly, kissing me… oh, it hurt. I collided with the edge of the table and sank onto the couch beside it, even my imagination cruelly denying me her presence.
I stayed there, staring out into the pitch-black window, before drifting into sleep. And as always, the question running through my mind persisted:
"Where are you, my mate?"