"So, what are you doing on my land?" The alpha asked. His voice was rather friendly; I wasn't a threat anymore, just a regal alpha like himself. Whether he was worried about my actions or not couldn't show. It was all about courtesy and respect now. We were two civil alphas who were having a casual conversation.

The only difference was I had just found my mate who was nothing like I expected him to be.

I couldn't even form a sentence to answer the alpha. I just stared at my mate and slowly shook my head in disbelief.

How could I not be mated to an alpha? I came from an incredibly long line of powerful and prominent werewolves. I was already the family flaw, and this? My mate was supposed to save me. He was supposed to make my parents respect me and my pack more obedient to my wishes. He was supposed to be the leader that everyone was waiting for.

But he was an omega. This had to be another sick joke by the Moon Goddess.

Finally, the alpha of this pack seemed to understand what was going on despite the silence that now surrounded him and his wary pack.

"You're here for your mate." He stated, his nostrils flaring. "You're of age now."

"I found him." I whispered. And it felt like talking pulled me out of my trance. The stillness in my mind was shattered and a plan was formulated immediately. "If you don't mind, I think him and I should be leaving shortly, I have been away from my pack for some time now and we have much to discuss." I tried to keep my voice even and level but it slipped several times. I couldn't hide how much this was beginning to devastate me.

"Oh? You found him so soon? Who is he then?" The alpha asked.

I didn't miss the way his eyes moved across all of the warriors of his pack. He had ruled himself out as an option, feeling no pull to me at all, and it was only nature to assume that I would be mated to someone strong and wise nonetheless.

But he was wrong.

"Him." I stated, pointing at my mate who had yet to utter a sound. And the instant I placed all of the attention on him my mate began to jitter. I could basically feel the anxiety rolling off him in waves.

"Grant." The alpha's brow furrowed deeply, "You're sure Grant is your mate?"

I paused for a moment, fully understanding this alpha's confusion. How could I be mated to someone like him? Someone who was so thin, so weak, and of such low ranking. Maybe I should lie, claim I was mistaken and bolt away from this embarrassment.

But those green eyes burned into my own, making my heart soften and the reality undeniable. As much as I hated this, as much as I wanted to save my dignity and my pride I could not.

"Yes, I'm certain."

The alpha blinked in astonishment, hardly able to process what was happening. But his decision was quick and predictable, "Take him then. He's not much use to us here."

It was harsh and I had to supress a growl, despite the fact that my mate didn't even flinch at the cruel comment. He was my mate, and I was an alpha, he was not to be treated like that, by anyone. Still, it was reasonable and if this were my pack I couldn't see myself doing anything differently. He was low ranking, with hardly any ties to the pack and there was no way this alpha was going to allow another alpha onto his territory and sacrifice his security, just for an omega's mating bond.

I just wasn't a fan of someone speaking for my mate and making choices on his behave.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my packland and I had already caused enough of an issue. The best I could do now would be to try and sort out my current situation.

"Thank you." I said stiffly, there turned to my mate, Grant. "Should we go to your home and grab some of your belongings before we leave?"

Several snorts and snickers came from the pack men surrounding us and Grant's pale cheeks flamed a dark red colour. He couldn't even meet my eyes when I spoke to him.

The alpha cleared his throat, drawing my attention to him once more and it appeared that he, too, was trying to supress a laugh, "Alpha Vienna, I'm sorry to inform you, but Grant doesn't actually speak."

My head turned back to Grant who had his head lowered in shame and I knew the alpha's words were true. Not only was my mate the lowest ranking wolf in his pack, he was also mute. And his own pack thought he was so useless that I should just leave now and take him off of their hands.

"Alright." I choked out. I was desperately clinging to my pride now, hoping that I could keep a brave face on. "I guess we'll just be on our way then."

Grant seemed startled by this adjustment in plans and lifted his head, eyes wide and concerned. But I ignored him. We needed to leave now before I lost it and crumbled under the pressure so I wove through the men to get to my mate, grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the trees.

"It was lovely meeting you, Alpha Vienna." The alpha called. I could hear some of his pack members laughing out loud now.

Grant was dragging behind me. I wasn't sure if it was because he was frightened of me or if he felt he actually wanted to go to his home and collect his stuff. But I didn't care. I couldn't care. I was being degraded every second that I remained on this pack's soil and I would not stand for it.

So I shifted into my wolf, tearing yet another tee shirt apart.

But Grant didn't shift with me like I had anticipated. He didn't explode into a wolf that was ready and eager to follow my trail. He just stood there in his human form, looking at the pack behind him and ignoring me entirely. The omega was ignoring me.

I might not have been his alpha, but I was his mate and I was an alpha. He had no right to disrespect me and I would not tolerate it. I crouched down low to the ground and let a low snarl. He was not going to embarrass me anymore than he already had today.

Grant just let out a soft sigh of submission, he was defeated already.

His shiftwas different though. When I shifted and my wolf was compliant everything happened easily and relatively painlessly. But for Grant it didn't look or sound that way. He let out a grunt from the agony as his muscles and bones became twisted and deformed in his body. I watched as he jammed his eyes shut and pressed his lips together while hair sprouted from his pores and his hands turned to paws. The shift took far longer than it should've for a normal wolf and his eyes didn't open until it was all over.

The less sympathetic side of me didn't care though. I moved behind him and snapped at his hind legs, much like the warrior had done to me, and Grant's wolf took off at a slow, lethargic lope through the woods.

From behind him I could allow my wolf to assess him for herself, but her mind didn't wander where mine had. She wasn't concerned about him being an omega in the slightest. The mating bond in her was too strong for that. Instead, her eyes settled on his deep scars that covered so much of him, leaving his fur patchy.

He wasn't a warrior. He was too low ranking to be trusted with the safety of the pack. And he wouldn't be able to fight off anyone with his size. Though I had decided he was lean before I began to realise what his baggy clothing had done for him, they made him appear much larger than he was. I could nearly see his ribs jutting out of his skin. He wasn't near as muscular as he should be. He was tall, but unstable. I could tackle him to the ground effortlessly if I wanted to. His body didn't move with ease, every step was painful for him and I could see him slowing down with the seconds that passed. Something as simple as running was hard work for a wolf of his size.

He was malnourished. And I wouldn't doubt that his old pack had used his tired and weary wolf as an attack dummy.

ix