STILL ONE YEAR AGO
Getting invited to a royal engagement ball was such a great opportunity.
As a low-ranked noble omega knight who had recently earned the title of Baron, it meant a lot.
I didn't know my family; I was basically an orphan who had to struggle to become a knight so I could earn a living. Thankfully, I did.
Serving under King Alpha Matthew was a breeze. He was a king with a gentle heart, and his people loved him.
He was very humble and kind, which is why he would take a nobody like me along to his engagement ball.
Now, I wasn't exactly in the same carriage, but I was among the convoy of cars carrying the gentry behind his exotic carriage.
His bride, on the other hand, was a whole different story. I heard she was cruel, vile, and wicked.
The very reincarnation of a witch.
They said everywhere she went, death followed her like a lover. She earned the title "Mateless One, the Villainess of Death." Was she truly mateless though?
I didn't necessarily believe in rumors, but this one was far too barbaric.
The Alpha Queen of the MoonBound Pack was a legend. It's said her parents died at war after signing a peace treaty to marry her off to the Alpha of the Lunar Pack.
Which brought about this holy union.
Although she was a great queen, from what I observed in the records, after she led a secret raid on some small neighboring packs, she united them to form her pack's kingdom.
She also protected them against rogues, a dangerous bunch of werewolves tearing through strong pack kingdoms.
This impressed her people enough, and the Emperor Alpha crowned her Alpha Queen. She, who was originally meant to be Luna to the Alpha.
She was brilliant, skillful, with an awful character and a huge ego.
She was proud.
That was the summary of the whole thing.
I wondered if I would meet her here — my mate. As the cars came to a halt, their realm was beautiful. Both cars and carriages were still in use, as the werewolves were bound by their past attachment to history even while modernizing their realm, which brought about the mix.
The Alpha King stepped off his carriage and we followed in trained order.
All of us trailed behind him with gifts. If there was one thing I knew about the Alpha King, it was that he had never been interested in relationships. In fact, some rumors said he was gay, but no one dared to bring the matter up.
Which was probably why he was forcing himself into this marriage.
As soon as we stepped into the castle, the sound of the orchestra welcomed us.
Nobles and aristocrats were already waltzing on the dance floor.
This was the first time I laid my eyes on the most beautiful woman.
And that's saying a lot, since I'd had more than my fair share of women. Based on my looks, it was easy for me to sway the opposite sex, especially female omegas in heat.
So although the Alpha King took her hand and kissed it, our eyes met for a brief second, and my heart slammed against my ribcage.
Could it be?
No, it wasn't clear yet. I couldn't smell her. I guessed I was just attracted to her beauty.
And she was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
"Will you like to dance, Your Majesty?" she asked politely.
He beamed, then gave his response. "I would love to, but I just had a tiresome journey. I hope you don't mind waltzing without me for a bit."
Her red lips pressed into a hard line. "Of course, Your Majesty."
I took the initiative, risky, but to save her face. "May I have this dance?" I asked, stepping forward.
She hesitated, then reluctantly took my hand. The moment I held her hand, I knew I could never let her go.
We swayed to the music. I was enchanted by her gait, the proud tilt of her chin, the challenge in her fierce gaze.
"What are you staring at, my lord?" she asked, her cheeks warming.
I took a deep breath. "Thy beauty has bewitched me," I whispered, truly enthralled with her scent. Even the evening of spring couldn't compare to such a scent.
She let me twirl her, and something like the ghost of a smile touched her cold eyes. "Perhaps I am a witch."
I pulled her close without thinking and she stiffened, but soon was as enchanted as I was.
What was this intoxicating scent?
Could this be the scent of my mate? I inhaled deeply. "You smell divine."
"I don't have perfume on," she chuckled. Then realization struck her as we slowly came to the end of the waltz.
"Mate," I whispered, for fear someone might hear, that the Queen, my Alpha's bride, was my mate.
Her face contorted into an ugly expression. She felt cold in my arms as we pulled apart. I held a single rose which I had brought in case I did meet my mate.
"Will you accept me?" I dared ask. Yes, I had no power, I had no influence.
She was mine, meant to be mine, my mate, and I would fight to the ends of the earth before I let anyone else have her.
Even if it was treason and I would have to turn my back on my king.
I was nothing more than a mere knight, a baron, a low-ranked omega. But if she accepted me, I could become more for her.
She reached for the rose and crushed it in her palm.
The ballroom was brimming with music so loud that no one noticed the commotion yet.
Everyone except the sharp eyes of the king, who held my gaze with a look I could not read.
The Queen threw the petals at my armor. Closing the gap between us, she whispered in my ear, "Who do you think you are? Because I decided to grace you with a dance, you dare to be bolder?"
"No, I—" I started, but she cut me off.
"You are nothing. The difference between you and a slave is the word 'baron,' a low rank." Her words sliced my heart in two. "You? As my mate? The Moon Goddess must be a joker." She scoffed, and my palm tightened around the rose's thorns.
"I reject you as my mate," she said, and turned her back on me.
Heading back to sit beside her fiancé, who smirked at me. The pain screamed in my head like a siren.
Tears rolled down my cheek. It wasn't rare to be rejected by your mate.
I just never thought it would happen to me, so the shock paralyzed me. I had to stop myself from running after her to grovel at her feet.
What was I expecting? The Moon Goddess indeed played a cruel joke on me.
"Why are you walking away? That's our mate! Go after her, you coward!" my wolf growled furiously within me.
As the palace doors shut behind me,
I sat by her tower all night until the morning of the wedding.
It was freezing. I hadn't noticed in my wolf state, but now I did.
The sun was rising and the bells were ringing. Luxury cars and carriages pulled up in their hundreds.
I stood up, dusting my pants. A shadow covered me, and I assumed it was a bird. I looked to see a bright white creature falling from the sky.
I felt a droplet. "How strange it is for rain to fall on such a bright morning—"
Realization struck me as I stared at the dark red liquid. I blanched. "Blood!" I cried, as I caught her in my arms.
My mate was dead.