The Alpha’s Forced Mate
Chapter 2

Veronica

“A stain,” the raspy voice chided.

The words nipped at my confidence.

“A failure,” he snapped.

To flinch would reveal much the same. It was best for me to stay still. For as long as possible. Without giving anything away.

But that was growing more impossible by the second.

“Your parents would be so disappointed, Veronica.”

Ouch.

The man who paced the carpet in front of me stood magnificently tall. His slender fingers grasped a slim clove cigarette, the sharp scent invading my nostrils. Tendrils of smoke circled me like serpents. But I didn’t do anything to wave them away. I didn’t want to move.

I couldn’t move.

Short blond hair decorated his scalp, a full field of wheat that imitated the color of the scruff guarding the lower half of his face. Green eyes looked over the room in long, irritated sweeps, forcing each pack member to take a step back. Every step isolated me.

They were abandoning me to my fate.

I closed my eyes. I’m alone here.

Until a sturdy man with spiky auburn hair and tan eyes stepped forward. “She’s still getting the hang of it, Alpha.”

Those green eyes would have killed the guy on the spot if they’d been dangerous enough.

And maybe they were.

The alpha sneered. “Do you want to take her under your wing, Melvin?”

Melvin shrugged. “Why not?” He spared me an empathetic gaze. “Her parents left her without any guidance. It’s our duty to protect our own.” He focused on our alpha once more. “Isn’t that right, Alpha?”

Anyone else would have been beheaded on the spot. Raymond Gilbert was a fierce alpha, a man of steel who could take down just about anyone. He expected the same from his pack.

Which was why I was being chewed out in front of his beta generals.

Raymond huffed and tilted his chin. He was always so damn proud, wasn’t he? “Veronica volunteered for this position, Melvin.”

“She did so for the good of the pack. She’s eager to protect us.”

The alpha appeared impressed by this answer. He gave me an eerie smile that set my senses on edge. I couldn’t possibly have recalled anything else in that moment.

But it wasn’t enough to scrub the smell of that Hayden alpha out of my nose. Patchouli and pine lingered like the smoke of a campfire. No amount of scrubbing my body got rid of it.

It was like he’d imprinted on me.

My gut ached. My hand flung to the wound immediately, drawing Melvin to my side. “Jesus, she’s bleeding right through the bandages.” He turned and called out, “Medic!”

I laughed. The sudden burst made me ache even more. While clenching my jaw, I caught Melvin’s shoulder and squeezed the life out of him. “We’re not in the field.”

“That dagger was enchanted. I knew it.” He peeled away the bandage, forcing a pained hiss from my lips. “See? It’s not even healing.”

Raymond stepped forward. “Veronica, I’m relieving you of your position at once and placing you back in training.”

“But, Alpha, I can do it,” I argued. “It’s for my parents. My pack.”

“You’re not ready,” he stated gently. “I should have known better. This is my mistake.”

A flurry of beta generals rushed in to comfort the alpha. He waved away their affirmations. “This plan is to help us heal the wounds of our past. We must recover our losses. I should be better to my members.”

He extended a comforting hand toward me. I had no choice but to accept it. To deny my alpha meant denying my pack. That wasn’t something I could risk.

Not when I was so badly injured.

A medic rushed into the room. Raymond held my hand through the repatch and urged Melvin to get me home at once.

It was odd experiencing such a fuss around me. Most of the time, I was left to my own devices. But I’d just gone from being scolded to being pampered in about three seconds, and it rocked my entire world.

I wasn’t used to it.

Melvin drove me home. The cab was quiet the whole way, a wide crater that made me ache. My bones hurt. My head pounded. I just wanted to crawl into my bed and shift into my wolf form so I could heal properly.

A warm hand wrapped around my wrist. “We’ll get you back up to speed so you can try again.”

“Again?” I scoffed. “Raymond isn’t going to let me anywhere near that alpha after this huge failure.” I sighed. “He’s right. I let my parents down.”

Melvin laced his fingers with mine. The gesture was comforting. “Don’t say that. You’ve come a long way.”

“I’ve ruined everything.”

“Stop doubting yourself, V. You’re a more capable spy than anyone I’ve ever met.”

I shot him a thankful grin. “And you smell less bad than every other guy in the pack.”

Laughter cracked between us. It was painful, but it was nice to hear such a jovial sound. All that madness in the boardroom was enough to drive my confidence into the mud.

Rain spattered the windshield suddenly. The wipers cleared it with a loud squeal. A few rounds of wiping reduced the grating sound to a dull squeak that lulled me into a relaxed state. Or, as relaxed as I could get under so much stress.

Charleston looked so bleak this time of year. With my chin planted in my hand and my eyes hooked on the dreary skies, everything seemed as dreadful as that meeting. Isolated. Abandoned.

I sighed. By my own pack, no less.

That would certainly be my fate if I couldn’t pull myself back from this mess.

“You think he’ll let me try again?” I mused aloud. “Or will Raymond order you to handle the job?”

Melvin huffed. “He trusts me to train you. Doesn’t that say enough?”

I squeezed his hand. He hadn’t let go. It wasn’t as comforting as the scent of patchouli.

But I didn’t want to think about that. “Sure.”

“Don’t sound so doubtful, bestie,” Melvin teased. “You know everything turns out just fine for the likes of the Gilberts.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I slowly retracted my hand and massaged my fingers, “because you’re one of them.”

He pulled into the rear parking lot of my apartment building—if that was what it could be called. Considering its ancient beams, peeling paint, and cramped studios on each floor, the place was a poor excuse for a dwelling. But then, there wasn’t much room anywhere else. It was the cheapest place I could find in town that was within walking distance of my job.

Once he turned off the engine, we sat in silence for a minute. He twirled his key between his fingers.

“You’re one of us too,” he argued. “You have been for a long time.”

I shrugged. “I don’t feel like I am.”

“What can I do? Marry you?” He smirked as he looked at me, a charming twinkle in his eyes. “It’s not like you believe in that mates crap.”

I cackled. “Neither do you!”

“Can best friends get married? Is that a platonic thing we can do?”

The laughter persisted, causing my stomach to pinch. I held my gut as I struggled to open the door. “Christ, let me breathe.”

“I really don’t fancy being called that. God is more my speed.” He winked. “Though that’s reserved for the non-platonic ones.”

“Are there any of those left in town?”

He snorted as he slid out of the driver’s seat. “Are you calling me a whore?”

“I’m not calling you a saint.”

He opened my door. “Shame, considering what I’m doing for you today.”

“It’s what you would do for me any day.”

He took my hand and hauled me up, being careful with my side. Though his inhuman strength could have stunned me, it didn’t. Not like the generous nature of his heart.

And certainly not like that strange whiff of patchouli that stubbornly clung to my army jacket.

“Christ, you’d think wolves would bathe better,” I said. “Melvin, you know how to get the scent of someone off you?”

He did a double-take. “Excuse me? What nonsense are you blabbing about and how can I get the pain meds that the medic gave you?”

“I’m being serious, Melvs.”

He kicked the car door shut. “Same, darlin’. I could use a mental vacay.”

“Raymond needs you too much.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me.”

Pain radiated through my core. “Jesus, this thing hurts.”

“Yep, I knew that weapon was enchanted. You said you have a scent on you?”

When I grimaced, he adjusted his arm and tenderly guided me toward the stairs. Lucky for me, I was only located on the second floor.

Well, less lucky given how rickety the stairs looked under the dewy sky.

“It could be an element of the enchantment,” Melvin mused. “I’ll take another look at the wound. It might scar forever.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve looked at it five times.”

“Call me worried for watching you collapse at dawn in the middle of my f*****g living room.”

I squeezed him. “Sorry.”

He scooped me into his arms, encouraging me to wrap my hands around the back of his neck. “Don’t even start, V. Just hang tight.”

As he scaled the squeaky stairs, I studied the auburn and blond stubble decorating his cheek. Tan eyes, reflective as marbles, flitted in my direction and then redirected elsewhere. A pink hue stole across the cheek I had within view.

And then I just slumped against him. The pain was too much. And my ego was bruised from all that yelling. The fussing didn’t help either. Raymond was both disappointed in me and concerned about my health.

It didn’t make sense.

I nestled into Melvin’s shoulder. “How many times have we done this?”

“A million. You’re a lightweight with vodka.”

I gagged. “Don’t remind me.”

“Stop stealing my catchphrases.”

A chuckle formed and then died in my throat. More pain would surely accompany another outburst. It was best to keep quiet for now. A dusty smell smacked me in the face once Melvin carried me inside my apartment. He set me on the bed and pointed at me with as much authority as he could muster—which wasn’t much at all with such a playful grin on his face.

I shook my head and reclined. “Coffee’s in the cabinet.”

“You need something stronger.”

I tried not to wince. “I’m fine.”

“That means you’re fvcked up, insecure, neurotic, and emotional.”

“Who wouldn’t be after failing their parents?”

His lack of response meant everything. My knees rose to my chest as I hunched forward. Despite the pain, it was the only comforting position available. Even his arms, while stable and caring, weren’t soothing enough.

As I bowed my head toward my knees, the scent of patchouli slithered into my nostrils like curious snakes. Into the garden the serpents came, promising the sort of reassurance that I had once found in my parents. That room had been so cold—yet the Hayden alpha’s scent was everywhere, overwhelming my senses to the point of distraction. I’d ended up missing his heart as a result.

My wolf growled internally. And that’s how that bastard got the upper hand.

Melvin waved a hand in front of my face. “Ground control to Major Tom.”

I rolled my eyes, snatched the coffee mug he was offering, and frowned into the muddy liquid. “I hate that song.”

“Only on karaoke nights.”

“Because you sing it every time. I’m pretty sure Blake is getting tired of it.”

His brows furrowed together. “Don’t you mean Eugene?”

I perked up. “What?”

“The DJ—his name is Eugene. You just said Blake.”

My features fell. Had I just blurted out the Hayden alpha’s name by mistake?

It’s an easy mistake to make, I reasoned internally. Anybody would have done it.

I sipped my coffee. “Failure is still on my mind.”

He nodded. “I get it, V. You’re committed to showing Raymond that you mean business without your folks around.”

“The Gilberts have always been about strength and perseverance. If I want to prove myself, I have to embody those things—I have to live them to my very core.” I stared into the mug again, my murky reflection appearing hostile, irritated, lost. “We’re the ones who should be in control.”

“And we will be,” Melvin assured. “Once that Hayden fvcker is dead, we can lay claim to the throne.”

I shook my head. “But how? Nobody can get close to him. He’s impossible to kill. I got lucky with what little I did, Melvs.”

“I don’t think—”

His phone buzzed. He sighed while retrieving it from his pocket. Eyebrows shot up. Lips curled into a tired smile.

“Guess who it is?” he teased. He held up the phone so I could see the screen—Raymond was calling. Melvin stood up. “I’ll be back.”

I lowered my head, grateful for the interlude. Every time Melvin and I got into these debates about my worth, I failed to convince him that I wasn’t good enough. He just didn’t get it, did he? He was Raymond’s nephew. He could do no wrong.

But me? I was just a distant cousin. Of a defector, no less. I had more to prove than the rest of the pack. It was just my cross to bear.

I didn’t have time to think about it when Melvin reappeared with a look of exasperation—and partial excitement. “You’re never going to believe this.”

“Raymond thinks we should get married,” I teased.

He blanched for a second, face draining of color save for his cheeks. His brows furrowed as his tan eyes flashed crimson. Then the strange look was replaced with an easy smile. “You’ve got your second chance.”

“Spill it, Melvs. I don’t have time for games.”

“The alpha just called because the Haydens got in contact.”

I shot up from the bed. The pain in my side wasn’t going to keep me down. “What?”

His smile grew mischievous. “You, my darling bestie, have just been chosen for a mate trial.” He dropped the phone in front of me, revealing a forwarded email on the screen. “And it starts in a week. You’re going back to the Hayden mansion.”

My l*p twitched as I studied the details on the screen. Nobody can get close enough. I looked up at my best friend. Until now.

“Raymond wants you to finish the job,” Melvin whispered. “Kill the alpha. Take the throne. And then, you can do whatever the hell you want.”