The Alpha Fire King's Mate

Prologue The doors were smashed open with a cracking sound of the ominous threat of the Fire King. He walked towards me on all fours and his wolf was as impressive as him in his human form. His fur was as black as midnight and covered in the blood, which was dripping from his jaws, and he opened his mouth to show that his teeth were large and glistening with the redness of his hunt. The wind of the coming winter blew through my house and wrapped around my naked body, my arms were already bruised with the grip of the Fire kings guards and my hair would have been a welcome relief to cover at least my breasts but instead it was pulled to the side to reveal the side of my neck. I was already sobbing heavily as the Fire king revealed himself in his human form. Naked but still covered in blood. Blood from my family and my pack. I sobbed even harder at the thought of my whole wonderful family being slaughtered by this madman. “Tina, Your Alpha is dead, your family is gone, you were meant to be my mate and my Queen and instead you hid here on this farm and let your Alpha conspire to kill my people. This will be a lesson to all those that go against me” I never even knew what my Alpha did. All I knew was that I had to stay on this farm with my parents and my brothers because my wolf had not awakened. My family loved me even though I was a dud. I didn’t even know I was designated a mate. I never went to the congregations and no priestess ever came here. I tried to tell him this, but the fear shook me and my words came out garbled. “I will give you the mating mark that you denied in the first place before I paint this room with your blood to make up for my people’s pain and deaths” As I closed my eyes, I felt his teeth hit my skin. I was stripped naked, and I thought the worst because of that, but at least he’s going to give me the mercy of death instead of taking me by force. I accepted my fate as he dug his teeth in and I went limp as he changed his position to cut through an artery. I knew I would be dead soon. This was inevitable and I could feel the peace of death slipping over me as my legs felt numb and the grip on my arms was tighter to hold me in place. It didn’t stop me from heavily falling in the end and the blood spread over my face as I laid on the floor. I saw his face as he bent down to look at my eyes as life slipped out of them and I could see the yellow surrounding the red like a sunset in his gaze. My last thought was that his eyes looked pretty for a crazy man. There was blackness everywhere, I couldn’t feel my body here, I was incorporeal. I’m dead. Was this the end? Would I go on to see my family? “Would you like to start again, little Saintess?” The sound of the voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere. If I had a body, I would have curled up in fear. I barely registered that he called me a saintess. There’s nothing holy about me. He must be mistaken. This voice was too big, too important. Who was this? I didn’t have a body or a voice, but I still had some sense of being. To start again? Does he mean to go back? “Yes, little one, go back and start all over again. Do you want to see your family alive again and rectify your mistakes?” I didn’t make any mistakes! I just followed what my Alpha wanted me to do! I didn’t know he was killing the Fire King’s people! I didn’t know that the Fire king was my mate! Shouldn’t he have come to see me if he knew and I didnt? This stuff usually happens in books! “Doing whatever your alpha tells you without question is a mistake, little one. Do you want a second chance?” To see my family again and make sure they live a long life, only the obvious answer would do. Yes. Chapter 1 “Nooooooooo” I sat up in bed panting. I gripped the covers around me and my bedroom door opened quickly. Heavy footsteps ran towards me and I opened my eyes to see my oldest brother, Rain, looking at me with concern. The bed dipped with his weight and he put his arms out for me to fall into them while I cried silently. This has been happening for a month since I came back. Right now I’m 17 years old, from what I know I died at 24 years old. I was back home again with all my family. The first morning I woke up after being dead, I ran to my parents’ bedroom and jumped on their bed, shouting that we had to run away from here. My parents were obviously concerned. They listened to my reasons and just said I had a bad dream. As if cursing me, that night was the start of repeated terror. I relived the moments of my death in my nightmares as if it was a prerequisite warning. Rain held me tight as I let my tears fall onto his pyjama top and after a couple of minutes, he pulled me back and wiped my face with a handkerchief that he must have brought with him. “You dreamed the same thing again?” His voice was heavy with worry, and I nodded. There’s no way I couldn’t tell my family the truth. They are all still convinced that I’m suffering from some kind of mental breakdown. They might be right. My parents and 3 brothers take it in turns to comfort me when I have my nightmares. I’ve agreed to using medication, and I stumped doctors that even the strongest sleeping drugs are not keeping me asleep. After 4 hours of sleep, I woke up. I cannot sleep afterwards so I’m surviving on a little sleep every day. The areas under my eyes are dark and my skin has taken on a grey shade of sickness. “Lie down, I’ll sit here for a while and talk to you” Rain looked tired himself. He was the oldest at 25 and took on a lot of the management of our farm. He worked from 5am till way past when the birds stopped chirping. I covered his hand after I laid against the softness of my feather down pillow. “Go back to bed. You know I can’t sleep now. I’ll help with the milking in the morning” He nodded and raked his red hair from his brow. The tense crease between his green eyes was still there, but I could see that he was exhausted. Our Alpha, Killian, had recently moved packs and taken ours without much effort from our old Alpha. Killian had come from abroad, so we didn’t know much about him, but when he came with over 200 warriors, our pack had to surrender. Our old Alpha died by throwing himself off the blue cliffs, and Killian moved in quickly. One of the first orders was to up the productivity of the farms in the area so Rain had been working twice as hard to meet Killians orders. More than ever, I felt the urgency to take my family out of the pack. Rain undressed and turned into his Wolf. Similar to father’s, he was grey and white. He settled on the bed next to me and I put my hand on top of his head. My family is close. We cared for each other and loved our life on the farm, but lately the telltale signs of fatigue and exhaustion were apparent in all of us and I’m not making it any better by waking them every night. I have to do something. I had no idea who Killian was. He obviously had something against the Fire King. Killian had taken over my pack easily and then proceeded to take over 4 other peaceful packs. I remembered he took a special interest in me one day when the congregation was called for all wolves who were turning 18. He ordered me not to go. So I didn’t, and that was my first mistake. The congregation was due in 3 months. I have to go there early. He obviously knew just before it was due that I was the Fire King’s mate. A plan started to hatch in my mind. The only way I could go there would be to run away, but my family could be blamed and killed once he finds out I’m the mate of his enemy. I knew if I could get the money, I could get on an aeroplane and seek out the Fire King over in the east. As far as I knew, he was crowned a year after his father died. I stared at the ceiling and started to meticulously go through my plan. The next day I looked at my savings and saw that I had just enough to get a one-way ticket. The only issue now was to break away from the pack. I worked hard on the farm with a determination to at least help my family in this way. After helping my second oldest brother, Drun, carry the chopped wood into the barn, I hugged him and walked into the house to talk to my parents. My mother was baking the last of the steak and kidney pies when I went to talk to her. She looked tired after a full day of batch cooking. She made sure we had enough to eat through the winter after feeding the Alpha and his warriors. A lot of our produce went on feeding them. What little was left over was for us. We didn’t sell at the markets anymore and we weren’t making any money, which was pushing us into poverty. “Mum” I took the pies out of her hands using towels and she smiled at me gratefully. “Thankyou Tina” I put them in the boxes that were to be collected later by one of the warriors. They all gave me the creeps. My father and brothers made sure that I was never near any of them when they came to the farm after one of them saw me and asked my father if I had a mate. “Um, mum… I’ve got something to tell you” I could see her pale under the tan we’ve all required from the hot summer we’ve been through. “I don’t think I want to hear this” I loved her voice. When she saw to me at night, she would still sing me lullabies. She obviously knew what I was going to say. She knows me better than myself and probably was steeling herself for it. “I am going wandering for a year mum” She shook her head, and her lips tightened. Any wolf can go wandering before their 18. It’s a rite of passage that usually only males take. Mainly because females are more coveted in packs. Also, it’s the only way I don’t have to face Killian. All I had to do was tell my parents. At least this way, they wouldn’t find out that I couldn’t shift into my wolf. “I’m sorry, mum. I have to find out whether everything I’ve gone through is a dream or not.” Placating her was the only way to get to my destination. “It’s too dangerous, I forbid it” She wiped her hands as if that’s the last word she’s going to say on it and I sighed. She’s a stubborn soul, but I had to bring out the big guns to convince her. “Then I will give up on everything. Eating, sleeping, living. Mum… there is no other way. You know how much pain I’ve been in? Doctors can’t do anything, and you are all exhausted with me.” She walked up to me with her arms outstretched, and I fell into her embrace. “When are you going?” I could feel the relief go through me as I answered her. “Tonight, there’s a flight I need to catch. Can I take the truck and leave it at the airport?” “You can take whatever you want. Your dad and brothers will be upset.” I could smell the flour on her clothes and the faint scent of lavender, which she donned every morning. She was the smell of home. “Tell them I love them and if they can try to get away from this pack. If the Alpha asks, tell him I was psychologically ill and chose to take the wandering rite. It’s not a lie” She kept me in her arms for a few moments longer and when I pulled back; she was wiping her eyes. I patted her arm and kissed her cheek before I went upstairs to get the bag I already packed ready to go. I made sure that I had my phone and laptop and earphones. I took everything out to the truck and picked the keys from inside the glove box. My brothers Rain, Drun and Elliot ran over with my parents trailing behind them. “Wait, you can’t go without food and a hug” Elliot, at fourteen, was waving enthusiastically, and I laughed at his antics. I jumped out of the truck and grabbed him into a hug that he returned. “Text me sis” I kissed the top of his head and nodded. Drun hugged me and told me to stay away from all males. He’s nineteen and has become more protective of me lately. Rain pulled me into a bear hug. “I will take the family out of here. Wait for my signal and then come back to us” I nearly burst into tears. He finally believed me. My big brother, the one I looked up to all my life. “Thankyou Rain.” I looked at all my brothers with their identical red hair. My father’s hair, although balding now, is the same colour. My mothers was a yellow blonde. It was only me that had black hair. That’s because I’m adopted. They told me I was when I turned twenty before I regressed. That didn’t mean they loved me any less. I was grateful that they took me in. I hugged my parents for a little longer and accepted the pies and sandwiches that they had quickly packed for me. I’d probably need it when I’m travelling to the outskirts of the lands borders where the Fire King, William Theroux, lived. I jumped back into the truck and started it up to drive away from the only home I’ve ever known.