Mates Inc.

Chapter 1 - The Choice

His wolf woke him in his tent, he was uneasy since he was in a foreign territory. 'Mate! Wake up! Find her!' his wolf shouted at him frantically and was absolutely desperate to take charge, and that's when it hit him- her delicious scent. He jumped out of bed and transformed into his wolf, leaping through the tent and startling the nearby guards.

"Alpha?" they cried out loud in alarm.

'Stay at your posts!' he shouted through his pack mind 'link' while he growled at them and continued running swiftly away from his tent and warriors. It was the middle of the night but he didn't care, he'd searched for her for years and craved her with his very being. She was irresistible to him.

He gave control to his inner Alpha Wolf who followed the scent of his mate for miles until he stopped at the edge of a clearing with a small waterfall. He watched from the trees as he inhaled her mouthwatering fragrance, flowery and light, with the hint of an earthy muskiness he'd never smelt before- never imagined before. She was softly singing and her voice was heavenly, like hearing an angel sing.

He hungrily watched as she bathed, paralyzed by her beauty under the full moon. Her back was to him as she was thigh-high in the cool water, slowly bending down to rub her skin clean with a cloth and some soap. Her hair was unbound and an incredible auburn color, falling in soft waves around her shoulders. He remained transfixed on this beauty before him, and his breath hitched when he noticed her flower spray tattoo on her lower back right above her perfect ass as the muscles under it gracefuly rippled with her movements.

Suddenly stopping the woman tensed and smelled the air. Groaning softly she slowly walked further in the water until the water was up to her waist and covered her from his eyes.

She knew he was there, watching her.

"You need to leave, Alpha Jardin," she simply said but didn't turn around.

His wolf put his head back and howled with the pain of her voiced rejection. The Alpha remained in his wolf form and took back control while he slowly padded to the rough sandy beach a few meters behind her. He heard her heartbeat and breathing increase. He slowly stopped and changed back into his human form, his bones and skin re-forming, leaving the Alpha male naked, splendid, and quivering with need.

"Peacemaker, why have you hidden your smell from me?" he gently asked, puzzled at her actions. She was his mate after all. He didn't understand and this pain was killing him.

Letting a deep sigh travel over both of them the woman continued to be still and remained facing away from him. "I'm sorry for my... error, I never meant for you to find out."

The anguish filled his voice as he responded, "But why, mate? I've been searching for you for so long, you're killing me now!"

With a patient but firm voice the woman continued and ignored his question. "I have a job to do here, there's tens of thousands of lives at stake with this war. My job, my reputation as the Peacemaker is the only thing from stopping a wholesale slaughter. And you have a choice now- expose me, force me, or stop the war. Your actions right now will tell me what kind of man you are."

"How can you demand that of me? You're my mate and we're bound to each other, it's the way of our people- you can't go against me your own soul mate! This 'choice' you're giving me is unheard of!"

Sighing, the woman slowly moved further away from him in the deeper water, covering more of her skin. The man growled at his mate moving away from him, he was not used to being refused by anyone. The woman stopped and spoke again to the darkness, "Did you slaughter the Silver Ridge pack?"