Noah’s pov,
“Alpha, we have to go now otherwise we will be late.”
Noah looked at his beta Dan and sighed when he stood up. He wished he could just skip the mate hunt this year. He knew every single she-wolf that would be there, and they all bored him to death. It had been the same disappointing experience for 5 years in a row. He actually made peace with the fact that he would probably never find his mate. However, as the Alpha of the Grey Oak pack, he had to be there. His pack was not only the biggest clan but also the leading pack.
He followed Dan to one of the entrances of the Tongass forest. The open field was filled with werewolves, there must have been at least a thousand of them. They all came from different corners of the country to be here. The mate hunt was one of the year’s main events for the werewolf clans. From the age of 21 wolves were permitted to join the mate hunt. You had to be 21 because your wolf had matured from that age, and you were ready to transform. When Noah walked into the field it immediately became quiet. They all made a path for him and bowed their heads in respect. His pack was feared and respected for a good reason.
He was already too late for the start of the ceremony where the male wolves got a chance to look at all the participating, she-wolves. Noah did not mind missing it because he was not interested in the she-wolves and the male wolves just annoyed him. They were a bunch of raging hormones ready to explode. It seemed like they couldn’t keep their wolves in check so anything that came out of their mouths was talk about fucking their mate. He had been lucky with his wolf Achak. Achak meant spirit in Native American and he had always been a calm beacon for Noah. Since the day he transformed Achak had been something he could rely on. His thoughts got interrupted by a loud horn; the signal for the women to start running.
They all ran into the forest giggling and pretending to be scared. They did it so the male wolves would feel masculine. Most male wolves were too stupid to see that or simply did not care. 15 minutes later they got the signal that they could go and chase the she-wolves now. The other males quickly transformed and stormed into the forest barking and howling. Noah did not bother transforming and calmly walked after them. He could just as well take a nice hike now that he was in the forest anyway.
He went deeper into the forest when all of the sudden he sniffed something unusual. A smell that was more delicious and intoxicating than he ever smelled before. He felt Archak becoming restless which was not like him, so he decided to transform. As soon as Achak took over the smell was much stronger and impossible to ignore. The only thing he could think of was that he had to follow this delicious scent. He followed the scent to a tree and inhaled it deeply because it lingered there. With his nose on the ground, he kept following the scent until it brought him to a waterfall and the smell disappeared. Achak started to panic and howled from frustration, he needed to find the source of that smell! He walked back and forth until his gaze fell on the waterfall itself. What if there was something behind it?
Noah transformed back into human form, and he had a hard time thinking straight because Archak kept going crazy inside of him. “Go in! Go! We have to find that smell again!”
Noah annoyingly shook his head, “Archak what is the matter with you? Calm down! I can’t think.”
He walked into the waterfall and his heart was racing in his chest. This smell could only mean one thing. He had lost hope over the years, but could it be?
As soon as he stepped through the water the scent hit his nose again. He opened his eyes and saw the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. She had long wavy black hair until her middle, caramel-colored eyes, and a full sensual mouth. She was not from any of the packs he knew because he would have remembered her for sure. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that he had found his mate. She was wearing baggy clothes and she was covered in dirt, but she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Her eyes went over him quickly before she tried to scan the cave for an escape. He wanted to tell her she shouldn’t be scared, that he would not harm her. But Achak was going crazy in his mind and the smell was so overwhelming that he was only able to voice what Archak was barking at him.
“You are my mate! You are mine!” he said which only scared her more and she started walking backward. She quickly noticed that she was trapped against the back of the cave and her eyes went from scared to angry, “I am no one’s property and I have no idea what you are talking about. I don’t even know you!”
He walked closer but the smell only became more intense. The scent of vanilla mixed with honey clouded his mind and before he knew it, he walked so close that his forehead touched hers. Achak kept barking inside his head, “We have to take her! She is ours! Quickly before anyone steals her from us! We have to mark her now!”
So again, he sounded like an idiot when he blurted out, “It doesn’t matter what you think. You are mine and you are coming with me!”
She tried to push him away and yelled at him, but he had such a hard time keeping Achak in check that he didn’t even notice anymore. He then let his concentration slip for one second and Achak took over and quickly bit the woman in her neck. Making sure she was marked as his. She screamed in pain and tried to say something but before she could end her sentence she fainted.
Noah carefully caught her in his arms while boiling over with anger against his wolf. “ACHAK, ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE? WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT AND WHY DID YOU NOT LISTEN?”
All he got back was his wolf purring happily, “Our mate.” Completely ignoring him like he was a fucking imbecile.
He shook his head and looked at the woman lying in his arms. He softly caressed her face and couldn’t help smiling. She was clever for seeking the water to mask her scent. Besides that, she had shown him that she had some strength in her. Noah felt hopeful for the first time in a long while. It seemed the moon goddess had blessed him with the kind of mate he desperately needed right now.
Lola’s pov,
Lola woke up from the sound of women chattering. They all sounded so excited and happy. The last thing she remembered was that man biting into her neck like she was some kind of snack. She kept her eyes closed for a bit and tried to listen to what these women were talking about.
“I am so happy Dan is my mate. I acted like I didn’t want him, and he loved it! They like to feel in charge you know. So, I pretended to be super scared, and it made him want me even more,” A voice said.
Another voice responded, “I know Gavin could not keep his hands off me. He could not control himself, so he took me right there against the tree. I said no but I kind of liked it.”
Lola was wondering what kind of imbeciles they locked her up with. Talking about rape and encouraging Alpha male behavior like it was something good. A third voice joined the women, “You guys are proper insane you know. You can’t really be this shallow that your only wish is to be used by your mate.”
“Ow shut up Fenna. You are just jealous because you ended up with some low-omega wolf that spends his time with his nose buried in a book. I doubt you will get any hot sex from him.”
The third voice snorted, “Whatever you say, Deborah. I am sure I would rather have some low-ranked nerd than a mate who will hit me if I speak my mind.”
Lola was glad there was at least one person in there that was not completely insane. She decided she heard enough of this bullshit, and it was time to open her eyes. She sat up from the bed and saw that she was locked up in a cabin with about 50 other females. Three of them were sitting next to her bed and immediately stood up when she woke. A blond, slim female with a beautiful face smiled at her with the fakest smile she had ever seen. So, she assumed that was Deborah. Deborah squealed, “Girls! She woke up!”
All the women now got up and tried to get closer to the bed she was sitting on. They were all staring at Lola with anticipation, and she was wondering what the fuck was going on? Deborah stared at her for a while and then asked, “So? Aren’t you overjoyed?”
Lola looked at her confused, “Overjoyed about what exactly?”
Deborah playfully slapped her knee, “Ow come on I know you are not from here, but you must be so thrilled you got mated with the Alpha of the Grey Oak pack! I mean it has been every girl’s dream for the last 5 years to get chosen by him.”
Lola looked at her dryly, “Wow your lives must suck ass then if that is the ultimate dream here.”
A girl with short black hair, blue eyes, and glasses chuckled and said, “Oh I like you. Hard to find someone with a brain around here. My name is Fenna.” She held out her hand and Lola shook it.
“Lola.”
Deborah coughed and looked at them annoyed, “I don’t think you understand. You got mated with the Alpha of the Grey Oak Clan. Which is not only the biggest clan but also the leading clan.”
Lola started to get annoyed as well now, “Well I don’t want him, so you take him if you like him that much.”
All the women gasped and Deborah her face went pale, “You should not say such things! One cannot say no to Noah Grey.”
Fenna scraped her throat, “Well technically she could. It is werewolf law that at the mating ceremony which takes place a month after the hunt, both parties can deny the mate bond.”
Deborah growled, “You and I both know it doesn’t work that way in real life Fenna!”
Another woman quickly avoided an argument by saying, “But why would you want to deny Noah Grey? I mean he is so handsome. I would not mind laying my hands on those abs.”
The other women quickly added in, and they all started to talk enthusiastically about how dreamy Noah grey was and how lucky Lola was to get chosen.
The chattering immediately stopped though when spoken of the devil, Noah Grey walked in. He did not look at any of the women, his eyes were fixated on Lola. “Everyone get out, I want to speak to my mate,” he said.
They all ran out of the cabin as fast as possible like a bunch of trained puppy dogs. Fenna gave Lola one last look and gave a thumbs up behind Noah’s back before closing the door behind her.
Noah was wearing black sweatpants and a grey shirt and even though he was not naked this time she could still see all his muscles through his shirt. He seemed a bit less feral than the last time she saw him. He walked to her and brushed her hair to the side to look at her neck, “Are you okay? Does it still hurt?”
She slapped his hand away, “Don’t even think about touching me! You always bite women when you meet them? Is it like the special Noah introduction?”
She could see the confusion in his eyes like he wasn’t sure whether he should be annoyed or amused by her comment. He took a step back to give her some space, but his eyes were locked on hers.
“So apparently you know who I am. How come I do not know who you are? Where do you come from?”
Lola took a deep breath, and her mind went back to what happened a couple of weeks ago.
Lola’s pov,
Lola slammed the door of her foster parent’s house and walked into the street. They could never just leave her alone. She had only been with them for 3 months and they thought they could tell her what to do. They thought bible study would be an effective way for her to get in line. Lola knew that they would give up on her eventually anyway, they always did. Luckily, it was not much longer now because in a week she would finally turn twenty-one. Which meant she could finally decide for herself what she wanted to do.
Not that she knew what she was going to do. She had no education or skills because she always had a problem with following rules. For as long as she could remember she tried to fight regimes. At least she was talented at bringing out the worst in people. She drove many workers at the orphanage, foster families, and teachers nuts. But whatever happened at least she would be free. She would rather be homeless than live by other people’s rules. Besides, she could always crash with one of her old hookups. She kept walking until she reached the park which was completely abandoned at this hour. She sat down on a bench and closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the quiet and fresh air.
When she opened them again, she jumped up because a man was suddenly sitting next to her. Which was strange because she had not heard him at all. The man took off his hat and looked at her, “Good evening, Lola.”
“How do you know my name?”
He smiled at her, “We have been studying you for a while to see if you would be the right fit.”
A chill went through her spine when he said they had been studying her, “The right fit for what?”
“For a social experiment with a reward of 1 million dollars for participants.”
He handed her a card with an address, “If you are interested come to this address in a week on your birthday.”
Lola looked at the card and wanted to ask him what kind of experiment but when she looked up the man was gone. She looked left and right but there was no trace of the man. “Mm strange,” she thought.
She stuck the card in her pocket and decided to walk home. There was no way she was going to go there next week. “We have been watching you?” Hell nah, that was just way too creepy.”
The rest of the week Lola tried to focus on her plans for after her birthday but for some reason, she couldn’t get the million dollars reward out of her head. If she did that experiment, she would never have to worry again. She could be free and live her life the way she wanted to. She googled the address and that led her to a science building about an hour away. So, she thought, “It seems that he was not lying about it being a social experiment. Oh, what the hell I should just go. I can at least listen to what the experiment is about and if I don’t like it, I will just leave.”
A week later Lola stepped out of the bus in front of the science building. The doors were locked but at the entrance hung a camera. After a few minutes, the doors automatically opened for her. She walked into some kind of waiting room where 3 other people were already waiting. A tall guy with blond hair and the most symmetrical face she had ever seen. A woman with chocolate-colored skin and fascinating enough bright blue eyes. And a man with dark hair and dark eyes. The blonde guy smiled at her, while the woman seemed shy and looked away quickly.
The man with dark eyes gave her a charming smolder and walked towards her. “They said we were waiting for one more person, but I have to say you are definitely worth waiting for.”
His eyes went over her body with approval, and he kissed her hand, “My name is Dante. Nice to meet you.”
Lola looked at him amused; he was her usual type. Charming, mysterious, and full of red flags, “Lola.”
The blond man also stood up and shook her hand, “I am Elias. Don’t be too impressed by Dante he used the same flirting technique on me.”
Lola laughed and Elias pointed at the other woman, “This is Idalia.”
“Hi,” she said with a shy smile.
Lola sat down and looked at the others, “So anyone know a bit more about this experiment?”
Dante shook his head, “Nope just here for the million-dollar reward. Don’t really care about the experiment.”
Elias looked at the door, “I just hope they don’t let us wait much longer because I want to go celebrate my birthday.”
Lola stared at him, “It is also my birthday.”
“Mine too!“ Dante and Idalia said at the same time.
They all stared at each other because that did not seem like it was a coincidence. No one said anything until an attractive woman in a tight suit walked in. She had beautiful long red hair and full lips. The suit showed off her curvy body and Lola saw both men staring at her with desire. The woman smiled and said, “Hi everyone, my name is Feline. We are ready for you now so if you would please follow me?”
She walked towards one of the doors her hips swaying with every step. Lola quickly walked after her and the rest followed. They went into a room with some chairs and a beamer. They all sat down, and Feline turned off the lights and put the beamer on. On the screen, Lola saw images of wolves, blood, trees, and a witch symbol of a star. She really started to wonder what kind of weird experiment this was going to be.
Feline scraped her throat, “So I am guessing you are all wondering what this experiment is all about. For you to understand I have to tell you some history first. Thousands of years ago humans were not the only species that lived on earth. There were also werewolves, vampires, fae, and witches. These creatures believed themselves to be superior to the human race and wanted to enslave them. Humans learned of their plans and war broke out. Thanks to science the human race was able to survive while the other species went extinct.”
Dante interrupted her, “Sorry but what is this? You want us to know the history of a potential fairytale story or something?”
Feline looked at him dead serious, “No this happened in real life, Dante. Those creatures existed.”
“Why have I never heard of it then if you say it’s only been a few thousand years ago?” Lola asked.
“Because the generation that survived decided it would be better if humankind forgot they ever existed. Humans have always been attracted to any kind of superiority or magic, so it is better if we do not know there is something greater possible than ourselves.”
Lola looked at Dante and she saw in his eyes that he shared the same thoughts as her. That woman belonged in a psychiatric hospital because she was clearly delusional.
Elias put his hand on Lola her shoulder, “Just let her continue. Can’t be any harm in that.”
Feline gave him a grateful look, “Thank you, Elias. I know it all sounds crazy. Anyway, recently there have been a lot of incidents that make us suspect that those species still exist somewhere. What we need from you is to find out if they do. You will look for them for a year and whether you find them or not after that year each of you will receive a million dollars.”
“And how exactly should four people find those magical creatures? You seem to have a lot of money and science at your disposal why do you need us?” Lola asked.
Feline smiled at her again, but Lola saw she saw also balling her fists so that smile was not sincere, “Good question Lola. All four of you have been carefully selected because of your DNA. After the war, we made sure to collect DNA from the creatures we just talked about. Each of you is a perfect match with one of the species. We will insert this DNA into you so that it will be easier for you to find these creatures if they exist.”
Feline walked to the door and opened it, “I will give you some time to think. I will be back in 10 minutes and then I expect an answer.”
She closed the door behind her, and Lola looked at the other 3 in shock.
