Hated by My Mate

Aurora

I felt my face heat up as he cradled me against his hard chest, his muscles straining against his clothes. His unruly jet-black hair framed his face perfectly, his jawline so sharp it looked like it could cut me.

How did Emma describe him in her text messages?

Delicious.

My blush only deepened. What the heck was I thinking?

“The rogue has been dealt with,” Wolfgang said, his deep, sensual voice rolling through me like a storm. “You can stop clinging to me now.”

I quickly came back to my senses.

“S-sorry, sir,” I said, scrambling out of his arms. “Thank you for saving me.” I looked around and saw dozens of men around me checking to make sure the area was safe. A handful of them were dragging the unconscious body of the rogue away to the dungeon.

“What are you doing here?” The alpha asked me. He looked me up and down like he was appraising me, and I felt small and exposed underneath his gaze.

“I’m here to help with the gala tomorrow, sir,” I said, willing my voice not to shake.

“Gala?” he frowned.

“For your birthday, Wolfgang,” another man said from behind him. I recognized Max, the Beta of our pack. He was almost as handsome as Wolfgang was, and I looked at my feet nervously when his eyes met mine.

“Oh, right.” Wolfgang sighed, sounding more annoyed than excited. “Be more aware of your surroundings,” he told me. “I don’t want any liabilities on my staff. Understand?”

“Y-yes, sir,” I said.

He turned and walked away, the entourage of terrifying-looking warriors falling into line behind him. His presence was so commanding that he looked completely natural at the head of such a terrifying group of men.

It took me a moment to catch my breath, and I had to find a place to sit down to recover from my near-death experience. My heart was still pounding in my chest, but it wasn’t because of the rogue attack.

It was because I kept remembering the feeling of Wolfgang’s arms around me, the mouth-watering scent of him.

I shook my head to try and clear it away from those thoughts. I was here to do some work, not drool over our alpha like every other girl in the village.

“You, over there!” I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of someone yelling at me.

A lady in her late fifties was walking over to me as fast as she could. Her face was scowling.

“Are you one of the volunteer housemaids for the gala?” she asked me.

“Y-yes, ma’am. I’m Aurora Craton, ma’am.” I said, bowing my head.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and raised my head to see the lady holding her hand over her mouth.

“Rory?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, not understanding her change in attitude.

She surprised me by giving me a big embrace.

“Oooh, Rory! The last time I saw you, you were just a little girl. Look how big you’ve grown!” She pushed me back, eyeing me from head to toe.

“Have you found a mate yet?” she inquired.

“Ummm, no, ma’am. I won’t be eighteen until tomorrow. Do…do I know you?” I asked.

“Oh! I’m sorry, my child. I am Kala. The head housemaid for the leader’s house, and the village midwife. I knew your father back when he was the pack’s gamma. I knew your mother as well.”

Her face turned mournful. “I was there the day she…” she trailed off. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save her, dear.”

My mom had died giving birth to me. I felt grateful seeing how torn up Kala was. I could tell she’d really tried to save her.

I placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “It’s ok, Mrs. Kala,” I said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kala returned my smile and placed her hands on my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here, Rory. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”

I spent the rest of the day helping clean and prepare the mansion for the alpha’s birthday celebration. Kala told me that there would be over six hundred guests between our pack and neighbouring ones, so there was a lot to do.

“How big of a party do you need?” I muttered to myself as I dragged a heavy bucket of dirty water behind me. I struggled to turn a corner when wham!

I bumped into someone, and the dirty water spilled all over the marble floors I’d just mopped.

“Unbelievable,” a deep, commanding voice rumbled.

I frowned at the tone. As if this was all my fault. I turned to give this guy a piece of my mind, but the words died on my lips when I saw who it was.

Alpha Wolfgang.

“Please excuse me, sir,” I said meekly, my heart pounding in my chest.

“You again.” He sighed. “Didn’t I tell you to be more aware of your surroundings?” He wiped at his ruined clothes. The dirty water had made his shirt see-through, and I could clearly see his rippling abs through the fabric of his shirt.

I looked away, my face on fire.

Oh, Goddess, he’s so hot.

“Anything to say for yourself?” he demanded.

“N-no, sir,” I stammered. “I have no excuse. I’ll do better, sir.”

He stared at me for a moment longer, and I tried my best to meet his gaze evenly. Eventually, he nodded, satisfied, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.

“Well, clean this up,” he ordered, gesturing to the dirty puddle.

I nodded and stepped away from him, but I slipped on the wet floor. I yelped as I went crashing down, but powerful arms wrapped around me, breaking my fall.

Wolfgang stared down at me, a frown on his face. “How useless can you be, maid?”

I was speechless. He held me tight against his chest, and I could feel the hardness of his muscles through his clothes.

It felt like my entire body was on fire.

“Th-thank you—” I managed to stammer out before he let go and dropped me to the ground. The dirty water splashed all over me.

“Hey!” I complained.

He smirked at me, and I hated that my heart skipped a beat.

“Now we’re even,” he said, gesturing to his own dirty clothes. He walked away, leaving me gaping after him in disbelief.

What a jerk!

I got up and huffed as I wiped myself down. Mrs. Kala found me all soaking went a few moments later and then she sent me home to get a change of clothes and get a couple hours of rest.

I didn’t tell her about my encounter with Alpha Wolfgang. It would’ve been more trouble than it was worth.

I had to be back at the leader’s house tomorrow night. The gala wouldn’t begin until nine o’clock.

I thought about Wolfgang’s cocky smirk, fuming.

Should I even go back?

When I got home, I was greeted by the unpleasant sight of my stepmother walking around nude.

“Eww!” I said loudly to get her attention. “You know, these rooms were made specifically for our privacy. Not for walking around the house completely naked.”

I turned around, waiting for her to grab some clothes.

“Oh, sorry about that, hon. I wasn’t expecting you back so early. I just came from patrolling the southern area of the village,” she answered nonchalantly.

My stepmother was a seeker with a keen sense of smell.

On occasion, the alpha assigned her to patrol to see if she could sniff out the scent of the rogues that had been lurking around the border lately.

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes at her, then went straight to my room and threw myself on my bed.

I eventually fell asleep, and the next day moved by in a blur.

I found myself heading to the leader’s house. I presented myself at the gates, then headed inside.

Once inside, I went to the maid’s quarters, where I changed into my official uniform.

It consisted of a white button-up shirt with long sleeves, a red bow tie, high-waisted black pants, and black heels.

Once we were dressed, all the maids headed to the gala room, where the lights were dimmed. We each took out trays and prepared to receive the guests.

Mrs. Kala assigned each of us a certain area of tables that we were to keep our eyes on, then instructed us to stand against the wall nearest that section.

The place soon began to fill with people, all dressed in their most expensive outfits.

The last ones to enter were our allies, the Blue Moon Pack from the West.

Their alpha came in, along with his daughter, Tallulah Wilhelm. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, sun-kissed skin, and bright hazel eyes. Her entire being exuded perfection.

After them, entered our pack’s gamma, Remus Boman, who was in his late twenties. He was hand-in-hand with his mate, Aspen.

Remus had dark brown hair with a couple of gray strands here and there. He had brown eyes and was one of the shortest men in our village.

But despite his small size, he was not only one of the smartest in the pack but one of the strongest.

Next came the beta, Maximus Barone. He was tall, with dirty blond hair and green eyes.

All the girls were crazy about him, despite the fact that he was a womanizer. He was the second strongest in the pack.

Last but not least, the man of the hour stepped into the hall.

Our alpha, Wolfgang Fortier Gagliardi. If women went crazy over the beta, he was the real panty-dropper.

I couldn’t help but admire that mop of jet-black hair that always looked as if he’d just got out of bed and eyes so blue they shined like sapphires.

Everyone could see the muscles bulging under his clothes, and I remembered how it had felt to be held against them... It was like he’d been crafted by the Goddess herself.

But there was one problem with him…

The man did not know how to smile or to be nice to anyone.

Even though he was drop-dead gorgeous, his sneer, combined with his powerful alpha aura, made people run away from him.

At least, that’s what I thought.

That smirk flashed in my mind again, but I shook the thought away.

You’re here to work, not daydream!

Most of the time, Wolfgang was seen only with his beta, who happened to be his childhood friend. Or with Tallulah, the daughter of another alpha.

For a moment, our eyes met, and his intense look left me rooted to my spot. It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to cause a great stirring within me.

Once the alpha took his seat, everyone else did the same.

And so the party began.

It all went by so fast. I was so busy with my tables that I didn’t notice how quickly the time passed.

“Rory, Mrs. Kala needs you in the kitchen for a moment,” one of my coworkers said.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I answered, picking up empty dishes and refilling some champagne flutes.

Once I entered the cooking area, I was attacked with confetti.

“Happy Birthday, Aurora!” Everyone shouted. A beautiful cake, sparkling with eighteen candles, was placed before me.

“Oh my Goddess! Guys, you shouldn’t have!” I said, looking at the cake in awe.

“Oh, c’mon! It’s not every day you turn eighteen,” one of the cooks said.

“Yeah, pretty soon you’ll hear your wolf. Then you’ll be able to transform, and—,” Mrs. Kala drawled as she looked at everyone. “—find your mate!!”

I rolled my eyes as they all laughed.

After eating some cake, we all headed back up to the hall to continue with our work.

Suddenly, I heard a strange voice in my head.

“Hi, Aurora…” It was faint but clear as day.

It was my wolf. She had awoken at last

“Um…hello?” I answered in my mind.

She giggled and came into view in my mind’s eye. Her fur was white as snow, and her eyes were purple.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am your wolf. My name is Rhea.” she said as she sat there, staring at me.

“The pleasure is all mine, Rhea” I replied~. ~“I hope we can get alo—”

My words were cut short as a delicious scent filled my nostrils. The scent was a mixture of wild pine, almonds and amber.

It was captivating, almost as if it were pulling me toward it.

Rhea caught a whiff of it also. She put her nose high in the sky, sniffing.

Then she said something that shocked me to the core.

“Our mate is here. I can smell him.”