Gabriella

"Northern Pack, here we arrive!" Raya screams excitedly as she jumps on the threadbare mattress, rolling to the extreme end so I can sit. "Do you know what this means for us, Gabriela? We could be lucky! Oh, thank you Moon Goddess."

She'd escorted me to the Pack clinic to dress my wound. I didn't see her at all in the hall, so I assumed that perhaps she was helping Luna Angela prepare dinner in the Pack kitchen. "We could have a new life far away from here," she continued dreamily, her eyes brimming with happiness. "With kind, considerate Alphas. Pups. Love. Everything."

"Hmm," I mutter absentmindedly, envying her a little bit. Though we are both omegas, Raya's life is smoother than mine. No one picks on her, nor do they mock her, and that's because her father is Alpha Storm's best friend. She has a set goal in life: find her fated mate, and everything else would fall into place.

And me?

I have to be related to the Alpha of our Pack who wants me to spy on the Northern Alpha.

A mission that can end my life.

Not that anything is worth living for anyways. I am not enthusiastic about the entire mate bond thingy, and finding my fated mate in the Northern Pack is highly unlikely. Knowing how Linda is, she'll try all she could to keep me away from the ball. And the ball will be my best opportunity at meeting with the Northern Alpha.

"Earth to Gabriela," Raya says, snapping two fingers in front of my face. I pull myself out of my wandering thoughts reluctantly. "Is something wrong? You've been...quiet."

I shake my head. "No, I'm fine. It's... it's nothing."

I can't tell her about the mission Alpha Storm gave me. Here, in this pack, words pass through walls quicker than the wind. I don't want to risk getting her into trouble. "Alpha Storm has asked me to watch over Linda while we're at the North."

Raya scowls. "She's no longer a baby, for crying out loud. Why does she need you as a babysitter?"

I shrugs. "She's her father's daughter, isn't she?"

"Indeed. So you might not be attending the ball, anyway? Or swoon over alphas with me as that witch will do everything in her power to keep you - "

Just then, I notice a figure looming in the doorway and clamp a hand over Raya's mouth. She resists, brows creased, until Linda saunters into the room fully, her lips upturned in disgust.

"Don't you girls have anything better to do than sit here all day and gossip?"

I try not to roll my eyes and stand up. "I was about to come see you. Your father - "

She slaps me with all her might, sending me flying to the other side of the room. I hit my left temple against the wall, and crouch, a warm liquid running down my hand. 

I groan, my vision blurred by a dizzying headache.

"What do you think you're doing?" Raya exclaims in horror. "What did she do..."

"Shut up," Linda thunders. "Or you'll join her. You have no right to question me!"

I sit still, tears stinging my eyes. The pain from my finger injury plus the pounding headache has me incredibly weak.

"You wouldn't dare." Raya says coolly. "And I shall be telling your father about this. You'll be punished, I'll make sure of it!"

"Shut up, I said," Linda growls, raising a hand to hit Raya, but Raya catches her hand in the air just in time. She gives Linda a hard shove.

Linda gasps as she fell, looking up at Raya in shock. "How dare you?!"

"You're a disappointment," Raya spits. She hurries over to help me, tearing a little part of her dress to wrap around my head and helped me stand. "Come on. Let's get you to the clinic. Again."

Linda still sits there, still not believing her eyes. We trudge past her outside.

--------------

Traveling to the Northern Pack takes us a day and a half, and without Alpha Storm's heavy presence looming over me, I finally feel free for once in my life.

But I can still feel Linda glare at me whenever I'm not looking. Raya had reported her to her father, and though it annoyed him to do so, he punished her for it. I was no longer obligated to look after her during our brief stay in the North. In fact, no one would attend to her, and when we were done, she was meant to spend two weeks in the Pack kitchen helping out. She also tendered a public apology to me.

I didn't care for her apology. I don't care for Linda. I have bigger fish to fry.

Alpha Storm's assignment.

It's no surprise to me that he's taken this chance as his golden opportunity. My uncle has always had it in his head that if he could steal trade secrets away from other packs, it would lead him to acquiring more territory, therefore making him more powerful.

Rather ironic in a sense, considering he can barely handle the pack he has now, and has to rely on the Elders to make important decisions for him.

When we arrive at the North border, we're met with a small band of enforcers who greet us all warmly before escorting us over packlines. To my surprise, we're brought to an actual town and not just a large estate like our pack lives in.

Houses and businesses on either side of a large road that seems to stretch all throughout the small town are busy with dozens of other shifters, who greet us and offer more warm welcomes as we pass through.

We're soon brought to a small section of cabins close to the center of the town that overlooks the large mansion, where I'm sure the Northern alpha lives.

Other female shifters from different packs are already here and getting settled in by the time we arrive, and we're soon turned loose with instructions to be at the mansion's doors by sundown.

Thankfully, Raya and I are able to secure a room to ourselves, and once I've got the door shut to all of the chaos on the other side of it, I'm able to finally let myself breathe.

Gabriella

As night falls and the over hundred eligible females vying for Elijah Lahiz's affection are escorted into the mansion, I can already feel my nerves fraying. I've heard rumors from the other females about his handsome face and his rather aloof personality.

While that's not something that particularly appeals to me, I can see why most of the females who have come from all over this side of the country are practically salivating over the chance at getting even just a simple conversation with him.

Tonight, however, I plan on laying low to see what kind of competition will be brewing with the other bachelorettes, along with making a plan on how I can get close to one of the Northern packmates long enough to get whatever I can out of them to bring back to Alpha Storm. So far, that's the only plan I've got.

The mansion is gorgeous and opulent, and so is the ballroom that we're all shuffled into while the opening ceremony begins.

Other members of the Northern pack are introduced in a fanfare, most likely to entice us females into spending time with them, as the chances of us catching Elijah's attention are slim.

Which is perfect for me - now it won't seem so obvious that I'm trying to sneak intel out by spending time with anyone other than the alpha of the pack himself.

Strangely enough, the ceremony soon commences and the music begins to play-all without Elijah being introduced or making a grand appearance like I thought he would.

As a soon-to-be king, wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to present yourself to the other packs you'll be ruling over in the near future?

Not to mention, it doesn't set a good face for his future Luna, who he'll most likely be picking to court over the next three days.

I wonder if something happened. Maybe an emergency called him away? I wouldn't be surprised, given his new pack alpha status.

"You've been a sitting duck since we got here," Raya notes wistfully as she moves over to me. She looks glorious in her green ball gown, and light make up. "Come on, now. Let's dance."

I let her tug me along and pull me out to the dance floor. Others join us, and I close my eyes, losing myself in the music. Soon though, I feel a pair of hands touching my waist and pulling me away from Raya.

As I turn, I spot an alpha grinning at me. "Care to dance?"

Adrenaline shoots through me as his hands tighten on my hips. I look over my shoulder to see Raya being spun away by a beta - most likely his friend - her laugh carrying over the din of the music as her partner dips her and moves her farther into the line of other dancing couples.

"Uh," is all that I can manage to say before I'm also being pulled away toward the opposite side of the ballroom.

I should be happy about this. I didn't even have to go searching for one of the Northern packmates to approach me.

"What pack are you from? There's so many of you that it's hard to keep track," the alpha is saying as he twirls me. "You're here for all three nights, right?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Alex, one of Alpha Storm's enforcers, watching me and my partner closely. Linda, though dancing with an alpha has her eyes on me as well, a scowl on her face.

I have to make this good and weasel some info out of him so Alpha Storm doesn't hurt me when I get back. However, as soon as the alpha's hands begin to sneak lower on my waist, I panic.

"Sorry." I shove the alpha's hands off me. "I have to go."

"What? Why?" He tries to grab at me again. "Hey listen, we're just dancin -"

I throw him a weak smile. "Just need some air."

Stumbling back, I find a door leading out into the hallway away from the busyness of the ballroom. As the door shuts behind me, the energy slowly starts to calm, giving me a chance to breathe again.

I head down the hall and find another door at the end, this time leading outside to a large patio that spans almost the entire backside of the mansion.

Beyond that is a magnificent garden with a large fountain, the water sparkling in the moonlight. Breathing in deeply, I slowly take the marble stairs down and let myself wander the garden.

My dress trails behind me - a ridiculously red poofy thing that Raya talked me into buying when we went shopping together earlier in the week.

I don't care if it gets dirty; I'm most likely going to sneak back in after this and keep to the shadows while waiting for Elijah to arrive. I need to figure out my plan, not get swept up by some desperate Northern pack member looking for a mate.

The soft sound of the water from the fountain is comforting as I approach it. It's in the shape of a huge wolf standing at the base of a large tree, howling at the moon above me. I sit down on the side of the fountain, letting my hand trail in the rippling water.

The sculpture work is gorgeous and I wish I could see the details better.

Something hits the water, kicking back and splashing me.

"Oh shit," a male voice says on the other side. "Sorry, I didn't even see you there."

Turning to the sound of footsteps moving closer to me, I spot a male -another alpha - moving around the fountain and stopping a few feet from me. The suit he's wearing is tailored perfectly to his large body, making him look sophisticated.

His hair is wavy and longer on the top and cut shorter on the sides, pale in the moonlight. His face is obscured in shadows, but even from here, I can tell he's got a strong jawline, good features, and darker, tanned skin.

"You okay?" he asks, his head tilting to the side. The gesture doesn't suit the outfit he's wearing at all - in fact, now it makes him look kind of stuffy.

"What did you throw at me?" I hold my arm up and jerk it to the side, letting the flecks of water fly off my skin.

"I didn't - " He clears his throat. "It was a coin. I meant to toss it into the water. Not at you."

"A coin?" I can already feel my brows pulling together in confusion. "For what?"

He's silent for a moment, his body going statue-still as he stares at me. Finally, after what feels like an entire five minutes, he says, "For good luck."

Luck? I roll my eyes and stand. How ridiculous. "What in the world does an alpha need luck for? You have the entire world handed to you on a silver platter."

It's most likely not in my best interests to be talking to an alpha like this, but it's not like I'll ever see him again. Once I step back into that ballroom, I'll have to zero in on someone else higher up on the food chain within the pack and keep my eye on the prize.

To my surprise, the alpha lets out a laugh. "Wow, so honest. That's refreshing."

What is? "Sorry to tell you, but most females think this way. We're just too afraid to bruise your delicate alpha egos."

He lets out another laugh. "Is that so?"

I stand still when he moves closer to me, his shoes crunching against the gravel under us. He stops just a few feet from me, letting me get a clearer look at him. He's just as handsome as I thought he'd be - like most young alphas.

There's an amused quirk to his lips, along with small crinkles in the corners of his eyes, as he watches me carefully.

I hate that I immediately want to lower my gaze - an instinct drilled into me since I was a kid. I hold my ground though, not wanting to let this guy win at whatever game we're apparently playing.

"Tell me your name?" he says.

I'm tempted to give him a fake one...but that seems kind of stupid considering I'm a guest in this pack's lands.

It would be easy to verify my identity, and the possibility of offending one of the soon-to-be alpha king's packmates seems kind of counterproductive when I'm going to be spending more time with them than I care to.

"Gabriella," I finally say.

"Gabriella," he repeats it softly, causing a shiver to race up my spine. "Pretty."

I have to swallow to get out my next words. "And you?"

Shit, I should've walked away the second I ran into this guy.

Having the hots for one of the Northern alphas is not only stupid, but will get me into trouble if Alpha Storm ever finds out. He's not going to gain anything if I get into bed with someone who has no political pull. I'll be lucky to just get a stern talking-to when I get home.

But...damn do I want to tell myself fuck it and have a night for just myself.

Would that be so wrong of me to do?

The alpha in front of me hesitates again for some reason. Up close like this, I can see that he's got a pair of lovely amber eyes that watch me carefully, assessing me for...what, I'm not too sure. Perhaps he's more important in the pecking order than I gave him credit for.

A beta to the king? Maybe an advisor? That would be perfect. I'm not that familiar with who's a part of Elijah Lahiz's inner circle. Which, I'm now realizing, is biting me in the ass.

"You can call me...Elijah," he finally decides.

Elijah...?

My eyes widen.

Oh fuck.

Gabriella

Such luck!

My wolf, Gia howls inside of me, happy to have met our goal so damn early in the night. What are the chances that I'd run into the alpha king out here in the gardens of all places? Alone and without his guards to prevent us both from talking?

Trying to keep myself under control, I clear my throat and nod with a slight bow. "Pretty name."

He squints at me for a moment, and then laughs again. "I can't tell if you're making fun of me or not."

"I'm not." Though I'm sure from my tone, even he can tell that I'm lying.

Is it stupid of me to lie to the alpha that could have my head presented to him on a silver platter? Probably, but I'm banking on the fact that he's hopefully not as ruthless as his father was, at least according to rumor.

What intel could I get out of the pack alpha? Tons, I'm sure.

"Really? Could've fooled me." There's a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes that has me a little shocked. Does he think I'm funny?

Elijah is...not what I expected at all.

For all the rumors that have circulated about him and his pack over the years-dominating, arrogant, imperial-he seems to act like the complete opposite, almost friendly in a way. Like he doesn't have the entire North, the biggest land mass in the world to lead and command.

I don't really know how I feel about that, other than being caught completely off guard. The entire trip up here, I'd been preparing myself over and over again on how exactly I was going to try to meet with one of his packmates.

And yet, now that he himself is standing here in front of me in the flesh, I can't seem to get my mouth open or my lips to move to say the words.

To both of our surprises, I turn on my heel and walk away from him to head deeper into the gardens. I need a minute to breathe before I can start trying to seduce him into talking before someone finds us out here together and separates us.

Or better yet, drags him back into the ball where hundreds of other girls are waiting for him to distract him.

"Hey wait-Gabriella," he calls after me, the sounds of his shoes crunching on the gravel following close behind. "Did I say something to offend you?"

Offend me? Why would he care about that?

What in the world is going on?

I continue to walk, praying that he follows me while I try to pull myself together.

I can't help but wonder if he's only following me because he finds me interesting enough to ditch his own damn party in order to play cat-and-mouse with me in the gardens. Wouldn't that be what an alpha like him would do?

"Gabriella," Elijah calls. "Wait."

I stop as I round a corner that heads into a hedge maze. Right as I'm turning on my heel to face him, he practically barrels into me. As I fall back, his arms come out to snatch me up off my feet and slam me against his chest.

While the gesture is chivalrous, it knocks the wind out of me.

"Oof!" I grab at the lapels of his suit to keep me from tumbling back into the hedge.

"Shit. Bad move. My fault," he tells me, but doesn't put me down.

My entire body flushes with heat the moment I lay my hands on him. A full-body rush that has me sucking in a short burst of air that doesn't seem able to quite fill my lungs. I'm struck by how intense it feels while I force myself to look up into the eyes of the alpha staring at me.

"Sorry, I-" His voice cuts off, his eyes widening.

Suddenly, I feel it too.

Like a wire winding itself around my heart, over and over again until I'm tightly bound with nowhere else to go.

On the other end of the wire is a connection that spans out, making its way across what feels like the vast expanse of the universe until it finds its home within the alpha that's currently holding me.

The crack of a whip, and then my wolf howls.

The mating bond.

"You..." Elijah murmurs, his mouth falling open in shock. "It's you."

The alpha standing before me, the King of the North: Elijah Lahiz is my bonded mate.

"I-" My mouth feels numb as I try to move it. I can't believe-no, this...surely there's no way?

But it's there. The connection beats steadily in my chest, as sure as my own heartbeat.

Elijah drops me back down to my feet suddenly, stumbling away from me. A short burst of air leaves him as he continues to stare at me-in horror? Disgust? Bewilderment? I can't tell. It's too dark and I'm too much in shock to really be able to read him.

I step forward for some reason, an energy I can't even begin to comprehend compelling me to follow him. My wolf is practically clawing at me from the inside, begging me to let her free so she can finally meet her mate.

"Sorry," Elijah says again, shaking his head wildly. His own wolf must be driving him mad. "I have to go."

My heart shatters at the words.

I don't even get a chance to stop him before he's shifting and turning to sprint through the hedge maze to get away from me.

Did that...just happen?

I touch my skin where his hands held me, the lingering burning feeling still there even as I try to wipe it clean.

I don't know how long I'm out here in the gardens before I manage to stumble my way back into the ball. The lights are bright, the laughter and music are loud and suddenly grating on my ears.

I'm too overwhelmed to be here right now, but I can't just leave while Raya's still here somewhere.

Passing by a table, I spot a few glasses of wine and swipe one up before downing almost the entire thing in one go. One of the catering staff gives me a strange look before offering me another one, clearly not surprised I need something for the jitters.

Time passes slowly. I spot Raya socializing while I stick to the outskirts of the party. My chest aches from being separated so suddenly from Elijah, while my head is filled with my wolf baying in anguish.

Usually when a pair's mating bond snaps in place, they're sent off to be alone together for a while to properly let it settle. That's how it should be at least. Except apparently I'm supposed to be mated to a damn alpha king.

Who still has yet to show his face.

Eventually, I retire back to mine and Raya's room for the evening, needing the silence and the space to be alone again. I can hardly breathe, and being surrounded by that many people with their hormones flying is sending me into a deep spiral.

By the time I get my dress off of me and slip into my nightgown, I feel the familiar pinpricks of tears trying to form in my eyes.

Why? Why did this have to happen? I was just supposed to come here and pretend to seduce Elijah to make Alpha Storm happy, not be rejected by my own mate the second our mating bond snaps into place.

How am I going to be able to leave the Northern packlands while feeling like I'm dying? Is that even possible? Dying of an unclaimed bond?

Suddenly, a knock at my door has me bolting up in bed. Expecting Raya, I head over to it and unlatch the door to open it.

A deep and masculine scent hits me instantly, freezing me in place as I look up into familiar golden eyes.

"Gabriella," Elijah says, before grabbing the door and prying it out of my hand to push his way into my room.