XANDER
He had always known no one would want to be his mate no matter how powerful he was as an Alpha but a foolish part of him had hoped everything would be different with her.
Absently stroking his companion and best friend Pluto, a dog he had found wounded over a year ago in the forest while hunting.
He didn't understand how he came to be there nor did he care, he nursed him back to life and the dog has refused to leave since then, clinging to his side at all times.
He stared into the distance recalling the first time he found his mate, he was age nineteen then, yet to be an Alpha. It had also been his first rejection, his mate had been flattered by his good looks and rank but the minute she found out he was mute, she had rejected him.
He listened as the ocean slapped against the rocks on shore, the sound smoothing the pain in his chest. He had just gone through his second rejection.
At least his first mate had the decency to reject him, something his current mate couldn't do. Instead she cheated on him with his Beta, that had been the last straw, having rejected her and denounced his Beta, he had come there to hallow in his pain.
Despite his council calling a meeting, urging him to try for a mate because an Alpha needs a Luna they had said. It was the real reason he had left, he wanted none of the mate nonsense!
Despite how hard-hearted he appeared on the outside, there was so much rejection a man could take. He had been struggling with the ability to speak ever since he could remember, he thought things were finally getting better as he had started to make a sound.
But that shattered pretty quickly when his only family, his sister died at the night of her mating ceremony. Her departure had been a heavy blow he hadn't been expecting.
Pluto suddenly jerks upright, barking into the distance before running off. Moodily, dragging himself up, he went after him. The dog was still a bit unfamiliar with the area and the last thing he wanted was for him to get lost.
Besides, running off like that wasn't something he did often. As he climbed down the mountain, to find the source of what was making his dog bark so widely, he stopped shortly after.
A few feet away was Pluto, barking at something lying upward on the shore. He sighs, wondering what the ocean had pulled ashore that was making his dog crazy. He stopped once again, coming face to face with a body.
His own body went ridge with shock, as he drew closer, air was knocked out of his lungs as he suddenly got a flash of deja-vu. His sister had also been discovered in the same position, in her mating ceremonial white dress as this lady.
For a few minutes, he could only stand there and stared. Finally gathering his broken thoughts together, he approached the body wondering if it was still alive, a bitter knot forming in his throat.
With his other hand, he reached to stroke Pluto's head, calming him down. Once the dog calms down, his attention swings back to the lady. He felt her pulse, sensing a faint heartbeat.
He could tell she had lost a lot of blood due to her white dress being almost red. Careful not to hurt her further, he carried her in a bridal style, away from the freezing water.
With a devastating frustrating realisation, he remembered he couldn't use the mind-link. Lifting her up once more, he hurried up the path that leads to Moontone Shadow pack. He took long quick strides that made him arrive at the pack house in no time.
His men came forward, their faces filled with confusion. He only had to look at them, and they all moved out of the way.
"Someone fetches the healer and another informs the servants to prepare a guest room." One of his men barked the orders and almost everyone went away to do exactly that.
By the time he reached the top stairs, several servants were already waiting for him. They directed him into the guest room they had prepared. He went in and laid her down on the bed, a faint painful moan escaping her lips.
"And who is that?" His godfather slash guardian asked when he emerged from the room. "And what happened to her?"
He noticed the servants still waiting around, to find out about the mysterious lady he knew nothing about. Once they noticed he was looking in their direction, they immediately scurried away.
Turning back to his attention back to his Guardian, he shook his head. An indication that tells him he knows nothing about her.
"So...you just brought a stranger home? Whom you have no idea if she is a spy or..." His guardian had the grace to flush when he gave him a serious look.
"Don't blame me! I'm curious and you are not letting me in on anything. I'm just worried about you, you stormed out and then came back with a half dead looking woman."
He signed. "Pluto found her, and she's not half dead. I felt a pulse."
"If you are feeling much better then we should go back to the discussion we were having before you storm off." Fortunately the arrival of the healer saved him from listening to his godfather lecture about how he shouldn't give up on having a mate.
He let the healer do her job and went to his study. He poured himself a glass of whisky as he recalled the moment he found his sister's dead body. His stomach twisted and he quickly grabbed the telephone on his desk.
He dialled a number on it, letting it ring before he hung up. A few minutes later, Shade, one of his most trusted men, breezes through the door. He had been silently considering him for the role of his beta.
"You requested for me Alpha." He said, bowing his head respectfully.
He nodded before signing. "I want a background check on the lady, let me know whatever you find."
"If you will give me a few days, I'll be back with feedback." After saying that, he left.
He knew he had his godfather to thank for making sure that sign languages were taught in school in hopes of making things easier for him. Currently, almost everyone in his pack could understand it and whenever he attends social gatherings or political ones, he always brings a translator.
He sat in his studies for hours, waiting for the healers to get back to him with news of the young lady. He had so many questions, who was she? How did she come to be in the river? The latter may sound a bit silly but the most important one of all, why did it remind him so much of his sister's death?
Was there a connection? He hoped to the moon goddess that he was able to get an answer to his questions soon!