Page 4 of Fated Alpha Protector

“In that case, you shouldn’t have asked Amelia to marry you,” I throw over my shoulder as I head to the empty spot on the pathway.

I flip the log onto the ground and kick it into place. Stepping back, I take a good look at our handiwork, chest filling with pride. “Not bad.”

“Stop acting like a wedding planner and remember who you are,” Liam reminds me as he sets the log down with a groan.

Wiping at the bead of sweat caught on my brow, I sigh heavily. We’d been working all day, preparing for Liam’s marriage to the Delta’s sister this weekend.

Setting up the aisle outside, naturally, it was going to be a forest wedding.

It’s pretty cliche, if you ask me. I’m not the type for the bells and whistles of marriage.

All I truly care about is the fated mate bond. The most sacred union in the world. Each one of us has a fated mate out there. But only if we decided to embark on that journey with no guarantee that our mate exists.

I’d often hear tales about mate bonds. It was Mother’s bedtime story to my younger sister while she grew up. I’d listen from outside, eavesdropping.

Then Father would catch me in the hallway and smile. That knowing smile told me about the way he met my mother.

Through the fated mate bond. She was the daughter of an Alpha from another pack. He’d stumbled upon her from across the river. And then he just knew.

She was the one, and that’s how their love story began.

I would want nothing else than the bond they shared. Stronger than a wedding in the forest and vows taken at the altar.

But then again, I’m the Alpha of Nightwalker. I need to think about the wellbeing of the pack.

“I won’t lie, I have been thinking about it,” I admit, staring out into the void so I don’t have to face the Beta.

After all, he’s the only one who knows about my quest for the fated mate bond.

“Yeah?” he asks for confirmation as he lingers behind me.

“I don’t know, man…” I ponder out loud with a heavy-hearted sigh. “I don’t know if I can go through with it.”

“Look at it this way,” he says as he comes to stand beside me, pointing an arm ahead. “I’ve chosen this path and I’m quite content.”

I blow out a breath. “That’s because you love Amelia,” I remind him.

“Why wouldn’t you love the she-wolf you choose to marry?”

I shake my head, catching a glimpse of Liam’s frown. “There’s no greater form of love other than the fated mate bond.”

I hear Liam’s agitated exhale but say nothing as he heads back to the lawn without me. I remain there only to stare out at the wedding preparations.

The most opportune time to get married.

With marriage, a male must mark his she-wolf of choice. It seals the deal and ensures a blissful life. With promised jewels as the heaven the Moon Goddess resides in.

Now, with the unknown threat dangled over our heads, it makes sense why my Beta decided to marry. Though she is the girl he’s been in love with for nine years, he attains martyrdom in the eyes of our Lord.

If I don’t find my mate and end up killed, I will reincarnate to face my punishment.

Cyrus Savage, the Alpha of the Blackclaw Pack across the river, made a very tempting offer. As the long-time enemy of the Nightwalker Pack, he offered an alliance amid the impending threat.

Since it gains on us from Illinois, it's only a matter of time before it reaches Missouri.

It just happens to be a marriage alliance. One where the marriage to one of their own seals the deal. No longer enemies, we’d become allies and fight the war together.

It goes against my principles. My firm belief in the mate bond decreed by the Moon Goddess Herself won’t allow me to marry.

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