Wrong Room, Right Mate Chapter 01

Wrong Room, Right Mate Chapter 01

There was an ancient tradition in our Bloodfang Pack. Alphas had to sneak into their mate’s house after nightfall, carry her on their back, break through violent resistance, and bring her back to their own pack house.

I had waited three entire years, hoping Arlo Hayes would claim me as his mate.

Tonight was supposed to be the night he took me away, but he didn’t come for me. He came for my half-sister, Sloane.

He slipped past the outer guards quietly with a handful of his trusted warriors. I was just about to reveal myself when I heard his deep, commanding growl.

“When the chaos starts, ignore Nova. Only take Sloane. I can’t let her fall into the hands of that brutal rogue from North Ridge.”

The wolves beside him exchanged uneasy glances.

“Alpha, are you sure? You already sealed the mate bond with Nova. If she finds out…”

“I’ll handle it,” he said in a flat tone. “You all know that contract was just a formality. I promised Sloane I’d get her settled in our territory. Nova will understand.

“After all, who else would want her besides me?” he murmured.

He thought I’d do what I always did—bare my fangs, flash my claws, fight the rogues tooth and nail until they retreated bloodied and defeated.

“Arlo Hayes, you don’t know me at all.”

I lifted a corner of my veil, slid silently across the floor, and lunged onto the rogue’s back.

Mate!

My wolf claimed this stranger instantly.

…

“Nova, the registrar checked the records. There’s no mate bond between you and Arlo Hayes recognized by the Blackwood Pack.”

Something inside me shattered.

Five years. Five years of being a mate in name only. No matter how hard I tried, the Blackwood Pack elders never accepted me. His mother never called me by my name—only “that omega from Bloodfang Pack.” I was always pushed to the margins at Blackwood Pack gatherings.

Arlo said he didn’t want me to suffer, so he sent me home.

“We need to convince everyone,” he’d told me. “I’ll claim you according to your pack’s ritual.”

That was the oldest tradition of Bloodfang Pack. If you wanted to forge a bond between packs, an outside Alpha had to sneak in under cover of night, take his mate, fight through the local pack’s violent resistance, and carry her away.

Arlo swore he’d bring me back in glory and secure my position as the only Luna of Blackwood Pack.

I waited three years.

But the person he actually planned to take was Sloane.

The time came, and chaos erupted instantly inside the pack house. Piercing howls tore through the night sky, and torches blazed bright.

“They’re here!” the Bloodfang Pack shouted, and everyone deliberately shoved and blocked the way.

Per tradition, if a she-wolf didn’t want to be taken, she could hide. But through the window, I saw Sloane standing right outside my bedroom door, wearing a white wedding dress and holding a silver candlestick.

She’d be found any second.

The previous afternoon, my stepmother had called me over. Her voice was sickly sweet as she squeezed my hand.

“Nova, stay in Sloane’s room tomorrow night. Yours is too far back, too quiet—they might never find you there.

“The people coming for Sloane are vicious!

“You’ve always been strong. You can handle a little scuffle. I know you’ll protect her.”

It was another rule of Bloodfang Pack. During the ritual, the Alpha burst in with his warriors to claim his mate, and the she-wolf fought back with everything she had. The harder she fought, the more beloved she would be.

My stepmother patted my hand. “Besides, Arlo isn’t from Bloodfang Pack, he doesn’t know our customs. Staying up front will save him the trouble of searching the whole pack house.”

I agreed, just to make it easier for him.

I even sent him my room number.

I never dreamed he’d been looking for Sloane all along.

A bigger commotion suddenly erupted outside.

“We got her! Luna’s safe!”

Arlo lumbered under Sloane’s weight, his warriors forming a wall on either side to guard him. Bloodfang Pack fought to block their path, and some threw stones. Sloane buried her face in his shoulder, struggled half-heartedly a few times, then went still.

They vanished into the black night.

I was just about to lift my veil when the door behind me slammed open.