The Alpha's Claimed Mate

Claire tried to pounce on the guard. The only thing stopping her from clawing his face with her scarily sharp nails was me. I was currently holding her back, and damn, she was strong.

I should've probably just let her at him for what he said, but I worried that he'd be able to sense she was an omega the moment they fought, and that...would not end well.

I forcefully dragged Claire away from the slightly terrified guard and into the gates.

"Before you recklessly open your mouth, use that empty head of yours, as you might not be let off the hook so easily next time."

Meanwhile, Claire stopped struggling, so I guessed she realized the consequences her actions could've brought. I let her go so she could stand properly. And because my hands were starting to hurt like hell.

Claire interrupted my train of thought by giving me a weak smile.

"It's okay, I overreacted," she said. The defeated expression on her face made me angry. I caught her shoulder and made her face me.

"Claire, the way you reacted was absolutely natural. And honestly, if it was any other day, I'd have just let you at him, but today is a big day for you, isn't it? That's why I pulled you back."

Claire tackled me in a hug, and I awkwardly patted her back.

"Oh, thank God! I thought you'd be mad at me," she said, relief clear on her face. I rolled my eyes at her.

"How could I ever get mad at you, Claire-bear?" I asked her and started to hug her back when she suddenly pulled back. I looked at her in confusion as she scrunched her nose.

"Ew! Ash! Why did you let me hug you?" She screeched. I laughed as she moved back from me.

"Don't worry, it'll be gone in half an hour or so."

She gave me a playful shove and started skipping towards the gathering. I hastened my pace to catch up with her.

People literally ran away from us the moment they caught my scent. I looked at the scampering lupines in amusement. To say I was surprised by this year's turnout would be an understatement.

Is it supposed to be this crowded?

I looked around, taking in the big crowd.

Yes, our pack was one of the top ten most powerful packs, but we only had, like, a total of three thousand members. The crowd, though...Something felt off. I froze as my brain finally processed something. I finally realized what was different this year. The females.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" I asked in disbelief to no one in particular.

"Not at all. The females outnumber the men this year," a deep voice said from beside me. I jumped. I turned to look at the guy.

'What is this cutie doing beside me?'

He had curly, light brown hair and tanned skin. He turned to look at me with eyes green as emeralds. Huh, forget about being cute. He looked a bit like Claire.

"Hey Claire! Look at this guy..." I trailed off as I saw the empty spot beside me.

"She left after a guy waved her over," he stated, amusement shining in his eyes as he took in my furious expression.

'I'll get back at her for this.'

"It's okay, I'll keep you company!"

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked, gesturing to myself. He scrunched his nose.

"Not really. Pardon me if I come off as rude, but what the hell is that smell?" I raised both eyebrows now.

"Really? You're just noticing that?"

He gave me a cheeky smile.

"Maybe your beauty blinded me too much?"

"More like blinded at birth," I muttered, rolling my eyes. He scowled.

"My brother told me that line would work on any girl!"

"Well, either your brother lied, or he just has a handsome enough face to pull that off." He gasped.

"Am I not pretty enough for you, my lady?"

"We need to have a serious talk about your taste in women," I said, resisting the urge to facepalm. True, he was smooth. But I was really not in the mood for this stuff.

The Choosing Ceremony was basically a free-for-all, real-life dating show. The only change was that the women usually didn't have a choice and would be stuck with whoever chose them for the rest of their life or until he killed them, whichever came first.

So it was common for people to be extra flirty with strangers. Now, what I didn't understand was why a total cutie like him was flirting with someone like me? Don't get me wrong, I knew I was passable. But I literally smelled like poop, which should make people run the other way. What was wrong with him?

"So, are you going to tell me why you smell like this?"

"Um, makeover gone wrong. The awful scent will be gone in about half an hour, though," I lied smoothly. I didn't know why, but he looked so innocent, and I didn't feel like going on about my brilliant plan for escaping the pack.

"Oh, you poor thing! You look quite young. Is this your first time?"

I nodded. His eyes immediately filled with pity.

"Don't worry, you'll find someone," he said, patting my head awkwardly as if to reassure me. I snorted.

"Yeah right. Like anyone would come within a three-mile radius of me." He tilted his head. Oh, yeah, he did.

"So, why are there so many females here? I can see that more than half of them are not from my pack," I asked, trying to change the subject. He raised both eyebrows.

"You don't know?"

"Why the hell would I ask if I knew?" He grinned sheepishly.

"The rumors are that two Alpha Superiors and three Alpha Heirs are participating this year. I thought you might have known since your future Alpha is one of the most sought after." I mentally facepalmed.

Of course. That guy was an ass, but he had the trifecta: money, power, and looks. So of course girls went crazy over him. Honestly, I couldn't see the appeal though.

He said 'your future Alpha,' so he was obviously not from my pack then. I belonged to the Wolf's Bane pack. As the name suggested, they had a higher tolerance for wolfsbane, a deadly poison for lupines and lycans alike.

Each pack had a unique scent. I couldn't identify which one he was from because I literally couldn't smell anything.

"Which pack are you from?" He scrunched his face.

"Can't you tell from my scent?"

"Nah, man, I drank a potion to numb my sense of smell." He nodded.

"Understandable."

"You still haven't answered my question," I pointed out. He looked uncomfortable for a second. Well, who cared? If he didn't want to answer, he didn't have to.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." He relaxed slightly at that.

"Are you here to find yourself a mate?"

"Nope, I came here with my brother. It's a must for our Alpha to attend this year's Ceremony, and my brother made me tag along. I don't really want a mate right now. I want to be able to take care of and provide for her when I get a mate, and I'm not exactly at that stage yet," he confessed. I literally cooed.

"Aww, that's so cute! Your future mate is such a lucky girl. You'd totally be my type of guy if you didn't look like my best friend."

"Thank you, my lady," he said, grinning.

"Wait, why did your brother have to come with the Alpha?" I questioned, frowning.

"My brother is the Gamma," he said, tensing a bit. My eyes widened in surprise.

'His brother? Is he related to a Gamma? Seriously?'

"You don't really look like it," I pointed out without thinking.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Oh, it is." He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not really fond of big, intimidating, and scary people who could snap my neck in a second," I explained. He laughed.

"You're funny. I'm definitely introducing you to my brother today." He paused. "Probably after you get rid of that smell."

"No way. As I said, I can't take it off for another half an hour." Otherwise, the efficiency of scent masking wouldn't be as full.

"You don't really sound like someone who just got their first ever Choosing Ceremony ruined. It's almost like you planned this whole thing," he said, sounding suspicious. I gave him a mischievous grin.

"Nope. It's just a makeover gone wrong."