"You hesitated."

My mom doesn't waste time cutting to the chase.

I successfully avoided dinner last night, but I knew that I was only temporarily stalling the inevitable. Now, as I get ready for the Mating Gathering, I bear the brunt of her anger. Luckily, unlike my dad and my rage, it's a cold anger, which only makes her scarier.

"I know." I can't lie, not to my mom, who's the most skilled liar I know, besides maybe the triplets.

"What happens when you hesitate?"

"I die."

You hesitate, you die.

Ingrained in our trainings since we were old enough to walk. Make quick strikes, never be indecisive, always go for the fast kill.

Don't think. Don't feel.

Kill.

"And what happened when you hesitated?"

"I almost died," I say monotonously.

"You got lucky," my mom says coldly. "You wouldn't be here right now if not for North."

"Yes, Mom."

"Are you going to hesitate again?"

"No, Mom."

She relaxes slightly. "You better not. Next time something like this happens, we're doubling training time and you're sitting out on the next battle."

Fair enough. Honestly, I thought she would have been harsher. What I did was beyond unacceptable, and my family would never forget it.

I doubted North would let me fight in the next war anyways, he's so furious with me.

There's only silence as I finish getting ready, which is not unexpected. My mom isn't much of a talker, and neither am I.

I don't bother with makeup, since I don't expect to find my mate anyways, but it doesn't matter because my dark brown eyes are already framed with long, black eyelashes.

I simply brush my long brown hair and throw it into a ponytail, like I typically do every day.

For a moment, I stare into the mirror, and lament my plainness. Looks aren't something I've particularly ever cared about, but a part of me wishes I had the same striking features as my mother.

"You look like your father," my mom says, echoing my thoughts.

"Hopefully more feminine than him," I say drily.

She laughs, a sound I don't hear often. "It's a good thing," she reassures me. "Since you were a baby, I always saw him in you."

When I was a baby, my mom wasn't even able to hold me. My father wouldn't allow it, not when my combustion was so unpredictable and uncontrollable. Totally understandable because I could have killed or seriously maimed her, but I always felt like that was why we were never as close as her and my other siblings.

I shrug, pulling on my dress, a simple, short, plain black one. The only jewelry I wear is a sunstone pendant that I've had since I turned 18, my mother cryptically instructing me to never take it off, and because she's her, I never argued or questioned it.

"You look nice," she says. I could probably count on one hand the number of times she's complimented my appearance. Actually, I could count it on one finger.

Not that it mattered. Attractiveness is not valued in Blood Lake, only strength and skill, so I doubt she thinks it's something worth complimenting, and I agree.

There's a knock on the door.

Hurry up. We're going to be late, North mindlinks me.

"I have to go," I mutter, heading for the door, but my mom blocks me.

"Weapons?"

"Two knives strapped to my thighs," I confirm.

"Good. What do you do if you hate your mate?"

"Kill him instantly."

She relaxes. "Good. If anything goes wrong, go to your brother. He'll protect you."

I can protect myself, I want to scream at her, but instead, I nod.

I always just nod.

****

I know that my twin found his mate as soon as we step through the doors of the Crimson Shadow Pack House.

His nostrils flair, and he immediately starts shoving wolves out of the way. As soon as people realize that he's on a warpath to his mate, they clear the way, and I can smell their fear as he passes them.

Some of the weaker wolves automatically bare their necks in submission as he passes, their wolves unable to not submit in the presence of someone with such raw, unfiltered power.

It's a common effect North has on people.

I watch with interest as he tears through the crowd, wondering who his mate is.

I almost laugh when I see her face.

It's a small girl in a purple dress, and with my advanced sight, I can see the color of her eyes from where I stand.

They're purple.

That makes me laugh out loud.

His mate is the firstborn of Alpha Killian.

She's the heir to Crimson Shadow.

I hadn't met her before, but I've heard bits and pieces about her here and there. Everyone always talks about her beauty, her Gift, and her eyes, the latter of which is how I know who she is.

There's no way this doesn't piss off my parents. Perfect little North, mated to the son of their enemies.

My dad often talks about killing Alpha Killian.

My mom doesn't much seem to like him either, but she's usually the one who calms him down whenever Alpha Killian is mentioned. Both of them seem to like the Luna of Crimson Shadow, which always confused me because my parents don't like anyone.

I don't exactly know why our parents hate Crimson Shadow so much. I wonder if my twin does.

"Everything okay?" Jett asks, putting his hand on my arm.

Are you about to combust and kill everyone in here?

"Yes," I smile, in good spirits now.

My dad is going to be furious.

"I'm going to go get a drink," I tell Jett.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asks hesitantly. "You know that alcohol..."

Alcohol usually is a gateway to rage. Rage=Fire.

"I'm fine," I reassure him, still chuckling to myself.

Jett, unsurprisingly, still follows me to bar, ready to extinguish me if necessary. I'm glad that North is still preoccupied with his mate, because for once, he's not focused on hovering over me. He definitely would have ordered the bartender not to serve me.

People avoid Jett and I as we head for the bar, people at Gatherings always avoid my siblings and I, knowing instinctively to be afraid of us. I'm sure they've heard the rumors.

All of them are true.

"I don't think the Lycans are here yet," Jett says, observing the crowd.

I down my drink, signaling for another, and the bartender scurries away, leaving behind a scent of fear.

"Maybe they won't come," I suggest.

A knock on the door says otherwise.

I see Alpha Killian suddenly appear in front of the door before opening it. As soon as he does, my wolf goes insane.

My skin heats up immediately, and Jett turns my blood into an icy slush.

A man with dark hair steps through, and I know instantly that he's my mate. He doesn't seem to realize this yet, because he calmly shakes Alpha Killian's hand.

Alpha Killian seems unbothered by the fact that he's the Lycan King, laughing boisterously at something he said.

The Lycan King calmly excuses himself, and as he heads towards me, I make the biggest mistake.

I hesitate.

He walks slowly towards me, his blue eyes locked on mine. He's tall, even taller than my twin, who's the biggest person I've ever met. Even in his suit, I can see how muscular he is.

"Hello," he says, his voice a calm melody, and if not for Jett, I would have exploded. He has an accent I can't place. Russian, maybe? I wouldn't know; I never leave Blood Lake. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Wish I could say the same," I say, my voice scathing.

He raises an eyebrow at this. "My name is Nikolai. I'm-"

"The Lycan King, I know who you are," I sneer.

"You are my mate," he states slowly, like he's tasting the words on his mouth. "You will be my Queen."

"I will not." My words are short, harsh.

"You will," he says calmly. "You will return back to my kingdom with me at once."

I laugh coldly.

And I reach for a knife, moving quickly to drive it into his heart.

One of his hand wraps around my wrist, immediately foiling my assassination attempt.

I try pulling out of his grip, but he's strong. Not in the way normal wolves are. Normal wolves, I could easily overpower.

His grip is pure steel.

He bends down until we're at eye level, my wrist still in his grasp.

"Don't try that again," he says lowly, eyes blazing.

He plucks the knife out of my hand effortlessly, putting it in his suit pocket.

Brute strength is all I know, but it will take more than that to get away from him.

"Fine," I say, feigning acceptance. "Let me go say goodbye to my brother first."

His eyes narrow in suspicion, but nods.

Walking ahead of him, I head for my twin and his mate, who are talking by a table with food on it. My brother looks remarkably distressed for someone who just found his mate.

"I'm just going to say goodbye to my brother before we leave," I tell the Lycan King, who nods once.

"Hello, North," I smile disingenuously.

"Drakon," He nods.

"The Lycan King is my mate," I say abruptly. "I'll be returning to his territory with him tonight."

A lie.

My brother blanches, pulling his gaze off his mate to look at me. "The Lycan King is your mate?"

"Yep, we'll be very happy together," I say cheerfully, knowing that the Lycan Bastard is probably hanging on every word, though he keeps his distance from my brother.

North opens his mouth to say something, but I interrupt. "Hi, you're Maeve, right?" I ask, looking at his mate.

Surprisingly, she gives a friendly smile. "I am."

My brother turns his gaze on her, looking at her in awe. I've never seen him look like that ever.

Help, I mouth to her, knowing the Lycan King can't see my face from behind me.

She looks at me, then over my shoulder. Realization flickers through her eyes.

"I have to use the restroom," Maeve says. "I'm having a girl problem, can you come help?"

"Of course." I smile, and North pulls his eyes off his mate finally to look at me in suspicion.

I ignore him as Maeve and I walk away, but I can feel the Lycan King trailing me to the bathroom.

Luckily, he waits outside, undoubtedly because my brother's cunning mate had used the phrase: Girl problems.

I lock the door behind us, and turn on the faucet so he can't hear what we say.

"You have the Gift of illusions, right?" I whisper.

She nods.

"I need your help. Create a distraction or something so I can get out of here," I plead. "Please, I don't want to go with him."

Surprisingly, she doesn't question it.

"I can make him think that you're with him. I'll only be able to hold it for about an hour before he figures it out," she says.

I exhale in relief. "Thank you."

"You owe me," she enunciates. "Do not ever forget that."

I narrow my eyes at the order, but nod.

"Wait a few minutes before leaving the bathroom," she instructs quietly. "I'll walk out with the illusion. There's a back door if you take two lefts when you leave the bathroom. Use it."

She shoves me to the corner of the bathroom and leaves.

I count 120 seconds before I leave, looking around, but don't see the Lycan King anywhere.

I make the two lefts, and almost cry with relief once I run outside, shifting into my wolf and running into the woods.

The Lycan King does not follow me.

This book will be completed on Wattpad, but if you don't want to wait for updates, read the rest of this book and it's sequel on my patreon now!

www.patreon.com/vviticus