M...Mate?

Aleena's Point Of View

"This is the absolute last time I'm hooking up with an Alpha!" Valerie says to me with a dramatic sigh as she leans back on the couch she's taken over in the hall.

"And what went down this time?" I ask this out of courtesy because she's definitely going to tell me even though I don't ask. She says this is the last time. Ha! I laugh. It doesn't matter how many times she says she's quitting. Before you know it, she's back at it, winking at alphas that fall into the "big dick" category, as she calls them.

"What didn't go down?" She huffs, brushing her hair off her face. "So get this, we went for drinks by the pack restaurant, right? Which is fine, super neat, and casual. One of my friends introduced him to me and he exceeded her description. A ten out of ten even."

"When you say description, do you mean his face, body, or what's down there?"

"Of course, all. Anyway, our conversation was kinda mid. I felt no chemistry at all! I know we're gonna fuck but still, let me feel some connections! You get what I mean?"

"Yeah."

No. I get nothing she's saying.

"Halfway through, I knew I wasn't going to let this man slam into me. But then, he gave me a goodbye kiss and I got turned on."

"I don't like where this is going."

"Not to waste time, I told him to take me home and..." She paused and makes an exaggerated grimace, "while we were fucking, he started singing! That's not even the worst part. The worst part is that his voice was so bad, that it could turn you deaf. I mean, literally!" She wailed dramatically, falling on my body. I couldn't contain my laughter.

"It's not funny!"

"I know...it's just..." I laughed again. She pushed me away from her, a deep frown on her face.

"Sweetheart, he was just trying to make it more enjoyable."

"By singing like a frog?!"

I just can't stop laughing at her face.

"I couldn't even..." She looked around and lowered her voice like she hasn't been talking so loudly since she began. "I couldn't even cum! His voice totally turned me off! I pushed his crazy ass off me and wore back my clothes. My life is a never-ending cycle of bad decisions. I now know what they mean by never judging an alpha by his dick."

"And who says that?" I asked, laughing.

"Um... people?"

"Oh, Valerie."

She's right though. Alphas are every lady's dream in the pack. There's a limited number of them so it's every lady for themselves. Tall, handsome, and built like Olympus. Yes, they all are but the moment some of them open their mouths, it's a no. Valerie is my closest friend here in the pack which counts a lot because I'm a maid here and making friends is much harder than you think. Especially if you are a sacred bone.

I wasn't born then but people say my ancestors betrayed the wolf clan. I've heard the story countless times growing up. Sacred bones are humans with supernatural abilities. It can range from telekinesis, and telepathy to mind control and blood manipulation. Centuries ago, scared bones and wolves lived together in harmony. They helped one another with their abilities. There was peace until sacred bones betrayed and declared war against the wolves, as I was told. War broke out, lasting for about twenty years. Eventually, the wolves conquered and only a few scared bones survived. The survivors were taken as slaves. From that moment, the offspring of the sacred bones were stripped of their powers the moment they get given birth to. Crazy, I know. Yeah, my ancestors did a disgraceful and terrible thing but I wasn't born at that period. I shouldn't be getting punished for what some oldies I don't even know did. Luckily for me, Valerie took a liking to me and we've bonded over gossiping about people we hate.

At least Valerie is putting herself out there every night. What am I even saying? Having a significant other as a maid is a luxury. Luxury? It's a dream never coming true. Who wants to be with a girl from a 'betrayer clan' as they call us. Besides, a romantic relationship between a sacred bone and a wolf is forbidden. Penalty? I don't know, death? But have I lost hope? No.

I'm still holding onto hope. Hope that one day, a pack Alpha will visit mine and he will perceive a rosy scent in the air. Mate! He'll growl and search for her. Lo and behold, I am his mate. I leave this pack and elope with the man of my dreams like it mostly happens. I know that is terribly optimistic but there's no crime in wishing. I've never held out for a prince charming. Damn it, what I need now isn't love. What I really need is to get laid and I know I don't need a prince charming for that. Valerie has been getting slammed left and right and here I am.

"So you're giving up? What now? You'll find love?" I ask her. Her grimace almost made me choke on the water I was drinking.

"Love?" She snickered. "No."

"You'll eventually find someone," I assured, patting her back. "You're out of your drink. Let me go get you more."

"Don't be absurd. I'll get mine myself."

There she goes again, not letting me do my job. What am I for if she doesn't let me do my job as a maid in her household? I watched as she goes to the bar, her petit hourglass sculptured body capturing the eyes of every man in the room. I'm sure some of them would have genuine feelings for her but they are too intimidated to approach her. I mean, aside from her being the alpha's younger sister, she has this intimidating aura surrounding her. It's until you become close to her before you see she's just a cute cinnamon roll.

Then there's me. Men will sometimes approach me when I smile at them but then, once I open my mouth..sigh, I usually say something either stupid, awkward, or off-putting. Example: Me - smiles, Man - hi, Me - *notices his uneven eyebrows* You should shape your eyebrows. Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me either. It's either I'm cursed or I'm the cause of my problem.

Unlike Valerie, her older brother, the alpha of Redblood Pack, Valko Viceroy, is the complete opposite. He's intimidating and that's it! There are no other sides to him. Though he treats his people and workers well, you'd piss your pants just to greet him. His towering body and default deep frown scare the shit out of me. I've never seen him smile. Makes me wonder how he and Valerie have such a nice relationship. He doesn't have a mate. I heard he rejected his previous mate. Why? No idea. Tonight is his thirtieth birthday. Alpha Valko is the first born and only male. Then Valerie came second, then Riley, and lastly, Crystal. Like always, the whole pack is invited to the party.

One thing I love about the royal family is that they treat everyone as equals. Me being a maid doesn't mean I get mistreated but being a sacred bone means I get belittled and bullied by some scums.

"Aleena, come. Take some desserts to the royal table."

I sighed. Time to resume work. I picked up my apron and wore it. I tried my best not to bump into anyone as I strolled to the food table. Bumping into anyone means trouble. No one wants to run into a sacred bone. I'd contaminate them, they'll say. I met Hermione, one of my colleagues by the food table. I washed my hand and arranged some deserts into a tray.

"Have you heard? Alpha Lyell is here."

I raised my brow at Hermione's sudden outburst. "Alpha Lyell, huh."

"Yes!"

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. Alpha Lyell. I can't count the number of times I've heard that name. Every night, my fellow maids chat all night about him. Oh my gosh, he's so tall. He's led many wars and won. He's so handsome, Zeus would be jealous. Different things about him and to be honest, I wanna meet him. I want to see this "beautiful" Alpha. He's Alpha Valko's half-brother.

"You better pay attention to your job or else! You know the kind of trouble you'd be in." I said to her before I left with the tray of desserts.

On my way, I suddenly started hearing something. It was like a beating heart. I ignored it but it started beating louder. So loud it began to hurt my ear and my heart began to beat in rhythm. My head started to throb and my vision became blurry. I couldn't see where I was going but I kept walking. I bumped into someone and fell.

"You lowlife, watch where you're going."

I held my head in support and cried out in pain. The pain was becoming unbearable as my heart beat faster. My heart felt like it was burning. I clutched tightly to my chest, hot tears pouring from my eyes.

"Shouldn't you apologize for bumping into me? Are you ignoring me? You wretched witch!"

I looked up at the person before me. From my blurry vision, I could see her hand coming down in full force to smack me. I was ready for the impact until someone came in front of me and engulfed me with his arms. He took the hit. The hall suddenly went silent.

"Are you okay?" He says in a calm voice. The moment I raised my head to look at him, my racing heart calmed down. My vision became clear and the noise hurting my head reduced. I suddenly became at ease and was tempted to hold onto him. It is unexplainable but in his arms, I felt comfort I've never felt in my life.

He flashed me a bright smile and said, "Hi, I'm Lyell."

I was still in his arms. "H..hi" I managed to say.

"Finally."

Finally? What does he mean? Wait, Lyell? As in Alpha Lyell?! I stared at him with widened eyes.

"Nice to meet you, mate."

M...mate?!