Alpha Knight’s Cursed Mate

KNIGHT

Dane and I followed the trail where Nirvana and Kailin left the testing room. They must have headed towards the vineyards.

I knew Nirvana. She liked nature and beautiful sights for her painting ideas.

“There’s blood around here.” The blood dried on the ground, and droplets were on the grass.

“Yeah.” Dane scanned the area. “Did someone come here after the incident?”

“No. I told Tucker to keep this site untouched.” I looked around and saw nothing but vast fields of vines. How could someone target one of them?

“It’s done by a pro,” he confirmed my suspicion. “It did not come from the pack house nor that area.” He pointed north.

“Exactly my thought. Nor from the woods.”

“There.” He pointed at the Pinot noir vineyards. “Plants are tall. He could have hidden himself there for hours. Or, if he has a military background, he could go that far on the hill. I bet the latter because that’s what I would do. We have a good sense of smell. He wouldn’t dare trespass if he’s a werewolf.” Dane was right. One of them was targeted. It was not an accident. It was planned, organized, and done by a pro.

“Let’s go see where he hid himself.”

“The scent could be gone, but we might find a smudge from the grass or footprints, but he may succeed. He can’t escape from me. I make sure of that.” His blue eyes flashed in anger. “He’s dead.”

“I just want you to know that I appreciate you being here, if not for the job, for Kailin.”

“She’s a piece of work,” he said as we followed the trail towards the west side of my land.

I chuckled. “She is. I might be older than her, but we grew up with her and her twin. She likes bikes. That’s maybe the reason why I bought a motorbike for myself. The more she fell, the more she wouldn’t stop. She’s relentless and strong. I found my mate through her. They’ve been best friends for four years, and I never met Nirvana. When I did, I rejected her.”

“Why?” He sounded surprised.

“First, I thought I wasn’t ready, and she’s human. Honestly, I was an asshole. I would have accepted her if she was one of us. I dreamed of a strong mate because I was an alpha, and I let it get into my head, but that was the stupidest thing I’d ever done, and I greatly suffered the consequences.”

“Kailin might not have rejected me, but I felt the longer she distanced herself from me, the greater my wolf suffered. I don’t know what to do. I never had girlfriends. I never got into any relationship. What I had with women was purely sex. That’s all. I also never wanted a mate, but when I first saw her, something awakened inside me that I had never thought I could ever be ready to face.”

“It’s not my right to say this, and so as what my mate said earlier, challenging Kailin, but give it a chance. I had never been in a serious relationship before, but we made it work out. It was rocky at first, but look at where we are now. Take it from me, Dane: it’s not easy for an alpha to deal with a defiant mate, but a relationship is not a sprint. Work on your differences with Kailin.”

“That’s the plan.”

My head snapped at him. “And it’s not a healthy relationship if you want her to change for you or vice versa. She will change if she feels safe around you. I’m sure she will do the same.”

“Thanks. That’s kind of a relief that you don’t see me as a cold-blooded monster.”

“We do all have monsters inside us. It just depends on how we use it- to fight the bad or be the bad guy.”

Dane stopped and sniffed.

“Human.” I caught a human stench around from the sweat and alcohol. “Fucking asshole.” Dane was right about one thing- the location. They trespassed on my property and waited until their target appeared.

“They’re not a pro. They might as well get in by posing as customers.”

“You’re right. The threat level has been under control since yesterday; the winery and testing room are back on track. We have a CCTV. We’ll check who came in.”

We went back to the pack house. I heard laughs coming from Nirvana and Kailin.

“She’s out of bed?” He instantly sounded pissed. I would feel the same, but I guessed we both mated to stubborn women.

“Don’t stop her. She knows her body. I’m sure she won’t get up if she doesn’t feel better.”

“Better be.”

I followed their voices to the dining room.

My mate instantly saw me. “You’re back.”

“Why are you not in bed?” Dane asked Kailin, but his voice was calmer, and if I heard it right, he was concerned.

Nirvana and I shared a look.

“I’m tired of lying in bed, and I’m fine,” Kailin pointed out.

“You could have waited until we’re back.”

“And what are you gonna do?”

He looked down at the food on the table. “I could bring food to your room.”

“Hey, hitman-” She clamped her mouth shut as she looked like she didn’t mean to say it out loud. She quickly recovered, pointing her finger at Dane. “You are not allowed in my room. Got it?”

“Through the door, yes, but I just infiltrated a heavily guarded government facility just right. One room like yours is just another day at the office.”

“Wow.” Kailin tsked and shook her head in dismay. “You just gave me reasons not to trust you.”

“I won’t do it. I just merely gave you an example of what I can do.” He sat next to her.

Nirvana took her plate and put some grilled meat and salad on it before she stood up and came to me. “Bon Appetit, Dane.”

“Vana!” Panicking, Kailin called her with a warning. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m gonna eat my mate.” She laughed loudly. “I mean, I’m gonna feed my mate.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the dining.

“What was that all about?”

She shook to laugh. “Oh, my God. What’s wrong with me?”

“You’re playing matchmaker too much, sweetheart.” I grabbed a piece of grilled meat and took a huge bite.

“What did you find out there?”

“A human scent. We need to check the CCTV.”This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

I logged in to the desktop at my office and checked the monitor from the vineyard entrance. “What time did you go to the tasting room?”

“Around two, I think.”

I checked the timestamp on the screen a little earlier. I noticed a delivery van entering, heading towards the vineyard. I paused and zoomed the image until I saw the man in the passenger seat.

“Son of a bitch.”

“What is it?” Nirvana came around to see the image on the screen. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah. He was at Cadogan’s office when I confronted that son of a bitch.”