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'Alpha, a rogue has been picked up at the border. They're bringing her over now,' my Beta, Anthony, informs me.

I look up, vaguely interested.

'Her? What's she like? Why do you think she was on the territory?' I ask him, putting down my pen.

'I don't know, but Grant said she's a bit...inebriated.'

I glance at the clock.

She's drunk at 9AM?

'Interesting. Put her in the holding cells and I'll come down when I'm finished with this,' I reply.

Anthony nods and leaves my office.

After completing the form, I lean back in my chair.

A drunk, female rogue on my territory.

You really can't predict what will happen next when you're Alpha.

I'm rather curious as to why this female is on my territory and why she's intoxicated so early in the morning. I get to my feet and make my way over to the cells.

The guards open the doors for me and I take the steps down. Currently, the cells are empty. Our drunken rogue is the first trespasser that we've had in weeks.

I approach the bars and cautiously look into the cell.

The rogue is lying on the floor on her side. Her hair is a mixture of lilac and silver and is covering most of her face, but I can see that her eyes closed.

She's wearing a small top and an even smaller skirt, with a pair of fuck-me stilettos.

She's been out partying. That's why she's drunk. She probably never went home.

I feel vaguely irritated that she let herself get in this state. She's so vulnerable.

She's lucky my patrol found her. At least she can sleep off the alcohol in here.

I gesture for one of the guards to come over.

'Please ask the kitchen to get a glass of water, some aspirin and a sandwich for this rogue. We need to sober her up.'

The guard nods and sets off on his task. I sigh and lean back against the wall, choosing to wait.

The rogue rolls over and pushes her hair out of her face. With a groan she sits up and blinks a couple of times.

I watch, with amusement, as she scowls and kicks off her killer heels. I don't blame her, they look painful.

Her eyes land on me and narrow. They're an enchanting hazel and I find that I can't look away.

'Where am I?' She asks.

Her voice is thick from disuse, so she clears her throat. I push up off the wall and approach the bars.

'You are in the cells on my pack territory. I am Alpha Oberon Hyde of the Hyde Forest pack.'

Her eyebrows knot together as she frowns.

'Oberon? Like King of the fairies, Oberon?'

My lips twitch upwards with amusement. Growing up, I've always had people recognise my name from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

'Yes, like that.'

'You're an Alpha...that sucks.'

I don't manage to ask what she means by that insult, because she pushes her hair back, revealing all of her beautiful face to me. She has pixie-like features, with a cute, upturned nose, covered in freckles. Her lips are pouty and full. She's stunning.

The rogue stretches her arms above her head, making my eyes drop to her breasts, pushing up in her pathetic excuse of a top.

'What is your name?' I ask her.

She cracks her neck and sighs. 'Fallon.'

'Like Jimmy?' I tease back and she glares at me.

'Everyone calls me Lonnie instead.'

The guard returns with a tray containing her food. I take it from him and unlock the gate with my fingerprint.

She stands up when I enter the cell with her. Her eyes land on the door and I can see her mentally judging if she could make it.

'Don't even think about it,' I comment dryly. 'You're going to eat this.'

She scowls and sits down on the cot-bed. I place the tray next to her and finally, I inhale her scent.

My whole body goes rigid as I inhale the honeysuckle smell.

Mate.

She tenses too, and I know she has caught my scent.

'Oh, fucking fantastic,' she mutters under her breath.

She stands up and bolts for the door.

I'm too fast. I wrap my arms around her waist from behind and lift her in the air. She kicks her legs and scratches at my arms, trying to get free.

'Let me go you stupid brute!' She shouts.

With one arm around her waist, I capture her wrists in my other hand. I carry her to the wall and then press her against it.

Pinned between me and the wall, she stops fighting. She huffs in irritation and blows her hair out of her face.

'Let me go!' She protests, wriggling under my grip.

'No,' I reply firmly. 'I'm quite enjoying this position.'

She scowls and wriggles some more. What she doesn't realise, is that she's rubbing her delectable ass against my crotch.

She freezes as she feels just how much I am enjoying this position.

'Get your wood out of my butt,' she snaps angrily. 'I can feel it!'

I smirk. 'I should certainly hope so. He's rather big.'

'Ugh! Could you be any more obnoxious!' She cries, trying to get free again.

I pin her harder, until her face presses against the wall.

'Fucking brute,' she murmurs.

'Is that any way to talk about your mate?' I ask teasingly.

I won't hide it, I'm enjoying this immensely. I'm just so happy that I've finally found her.

'I don't want you as a mate!' She yells.

Now that hurt.

'And why not?' I ask through gritted teeth.

'Because you're an Alpha! I've dated one of you before, you're fucking controlling,' she snarls.

She attempts to head butt me, but I push her face against the wall until she groans in annoyance.

I purposefully brush my lips against her ear, enjoying hearing her breath catch in her throat.

'What's wrong with a little control?' I ask tauntingly.

She scowls again. 'I like my freedom, Alpha. So please, be a lamb and let me go.'

I chuckle at her overly polite request.

'But I'm not a lamb, little mate, I'm a wolf and I'd quite like to keep a hold of you.'

She grunts in frustration and I finally put her down. Antagonising her isn't going to get us anywhere.

I slam the gate closed before she get out, locking us both in the cell. She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me.

'Look here, Alpha, I don't want to be your mate.'

I shrug, trying not to show how much that hurts. 'You haven't got a choice.'

She narrows her eyes at me. 'I could reject you.'

I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' I advise quietly.

I take a step towards her and she takes a step back.

'If you reject me, you put yourself through a world of pain, as well as me. It will take you years to feel like yourself again and there's no guarantee that the Moon Goddess will bless you with a second mate,' I goad her, stepping towards her until her back hits the wall.

I place my hands on the wall on either side of her head, penning her in. I lean in close, smirking when I hear how fast her heart is beating.

'Your body wants me, so why are you fighting it?' I question her. I hold up a strand of her hair and twirl it between my fingers. 'The Moon Goddess paired us together for a reason. She obviously thinks we're the perfect match.'

Fallon glares stubbornly. 'She was wrong.'

I glare back. 'The Moon Goddess is never wrong, and you know it.'

To accuse our Goddess of making a mistake is blasphemous. My little mate looks embarrassed with herself for insulting our deity.

'I know,' she admits quietly, her eyes dropping to the floor.

She takes a deep breath and looks me in the eye.

'You can't keep me locked in here forever,' she says defiantly. 'If I'm your mate, I demand you respect my wishes and let me go.'

I smirk at her. 'No can do, little mate.'

I step back and cross my arms over my chest. 'I can't have you hurting yourself or putting yourself in danger. I'm not letting you go by yourself. I want you to eat that food and take those pills, I will check on you in half an hour.'

I turn to leave and she lets out a cry of anger and frustration. She hurls herself at me, jumping onto my back.

The guards come running up to the cell, just as I'm trying to pry her off my back. She yanks on my hair, making me growl in pain.

The guards unlock the door and pull her from me.

'Don't hurt her!' I snap at them as they cuff her wrists to the metal handcuffs chained to the wall.

She growls and snarls at them and they both step back quickly. The three of us leave the cell and my mate pulls on her restraints, glaring at me.

'I will see you in half an hour,' I tell her calmly.

My scalp is still throbbing from her yanking on my hair.

'You fucking asshole! You can't lock up your own mate!'

I ignore her shouts as I walk down the corridor.

It hurts me that she doesn't want me as a mate. I don't know what else to do. She attacked me, twice.

'Um, Alpha?' One of the guards gets my attention. 'This is what she had on her, someone keeps ringing her phone.'

I thank him and take my mate's handbag. I carry it back to my office.

As I open it, the whole thing starts vibrating with an incoming phone call. I dig out the phone and swipe to take the call.

'Lonnie! Where the fuck are you? I've been worried sick! Why weren't you answering your phone?' A female voice shouts angrily down the line, I grimace and pull the phone away from my ear.

'This is Alpha Hyde of Hyde Forest Pack. Fallon was found trespassing and drunk on our land this morning, she is currently in our holding cells. Who is this please?'

It's silent for a moment before the woman starts up again.

'Oh my gosh! Alpha, I'm so sorry. We went out drinking last night and we got into a fight, Fallon took off and I didn't see her again. I'm her twin, Freya. Is she okay?'

'She's fine. It appear she is my mate, although Fallon hasn't taken the news too well.'

To my surprise, Freya bursts out laughing.

'Oh, Alpha, I feel so sorry for you. This is hilarious! We were fighting last night because Fallon insisted that she doesn't need a mate, how ironic that she found him the very next day!'

I chuckle awkwardly. This woman seems a little more excitable than what I'm used to.

Apparently passion runs in her family.

'If you don't mind, I would like her to stay with me until I can make some progress with her. At the moment, she keeps trying to escape.'

Freya sighs heavily. 'Yeah, I bet she does. I feel better knowing that you're her mate, at least she's okay. Has she told you why she hates Alphas?'

I frown at that statement. 'She dated a controlling Alpha before, apparently?'

'Yeah. We were part of Lothian pack, she dated the Alpha, Harrison, for about a year. It ended badly. Lonnie and I have a lot of guy friends and he forbid her from seeing them, he tried to control where she went, what she wore. We left his pack after they broke up and we haven't joined another one since.'

I grip the phone tightly and then quickly release it, worried I might break it. I can't believe Harrison treated her like that. I've known him for years, but we're not friends, merely allies.

'Is there anything I can do to make her warm up to me?' I ask pathetically.

'She's in denial that she needs a mate. I can only recommend that you show her that deep down, she does want you. And try not to be too controlling, it's a trigger for her anger and she can be right firecracker when she loses her temper.'

'Don't I know it. I've got a bald patch thanks to her,' I joke and Freya laughs.

'Oh, Alpha, I am sorry. I can come and talk to her if you want? Shall I come round?'

I'm so glad that Freya is supportive of our bond, even if Fallon isn't.

'Honestly, at this point, I'll take any help I can get. Do you know where our main entrance is?'

'No, can you send it to me? Look, I can come after I finish my shift. I can't get time off, I'm afraid, I'm a nurse. I finish at 6PM.'

I jot down Freya's number and send her directions to get to the pack. With renewed hope, I wait another twenty minutes before checking on my mate.

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