Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 14

Elowen

Wind screamed past my ears as I plummeted through empty air, the cliff face blurring into streaks of gray and brown. In those terrifying seconds of freefall, my entire life flashed before my eyes like pages torn from a book.

My parents' faces, etched with worry the night I'd disappeared. The months of wandering alone, rejected and broken, until I'd stumbled into that rundown diner where I'd met David—a wolf who couldn't shift past his eighteenth birthday. He'd been washing dishes for minimum wage, hiding his shame behind a forced smile.

Then there was Sarah, kicked out of her family pack for loving another she-wolf. James, born without a wolf spirit entirely, working three jobs just to survive in the human world. Elena, whose wolf had been damaged by childhood trauma, leaving her partially shifted and ostracized by everyone.

Scarlett, my fierce beta, abandoned by her pack when her wolf proved too aggressive, too wild—they'd called her dangerous, unstable, a liability they couldn't control. She'd been living on the streets when I found her, using her strength to protect other outcasts in exchange for scraps.

And Evelyn, my brilliant flame-haired witch, cast out by her coven for refusing to use her magic against innocent wolves, for choosing compassion over tradition. The magical community had branded her a traitor, leaving her powers untrained and her heart broken.

One by one, I'd found them. The rejects. The broken. The cast-offs that the perfect wolf world had thrown away like garbage.

*The Misfit Alliance.*

That's what we'd started calling ourselves, half-joking, half-serious. With the help of my human friend Cassius, I'd landed a position at a major financial corporation. Through diligent study of finance and economics, combined with my supernatural intuition for market trends, I'd built a lucrative career. The money had been excellent—my unique abilities gave me an edge that human colleagues couldn't match. With those earnings, I'd bought land, built homes, created a sanctuary for wolves who had nowhere else to go.

And somehow, they'd started looking to me as their Alpha. Me, the girl who couldn't shift on her eighteenth birthday, who'd been publicly rejected by her mate. But I'd given them something no other pack could—acceptance. A place where being broken wasn't a weakness, but a qualification for belonging.

I had so many plans still. Expanding our territory, finding more outcasts, maybe even establishing trade relationships with human settlements. But now—

"You fucking idiot!" Nyx's voice roared through my consciousness like a slap to the face. "This isn't the time for a sentimental death montage! We've got bigger problems!"

I snapped back to the present, suddenly very aware that I was still falling at terminal velocity toward what looked like a collection of very unfriendly rocks.

"We're in freefall!" I shot back mentally, watching the ground rush up to meet me. "We've lost the battle with gravity! Even if we're some legendary white wolf, we can't fight basic physics!"

"Have you forgotten what Evelyn told us?" Nyx snarled, her mental voice dripping with exasperation. "White wolves have countless abilities waiting to be awakened! For fuck's sake, maybe extreme situations are exactly what we need to unlock them!"

"That's phoenix rebirth through fire!" I protested, even as I felt panic clawing at my chest. "We're wolves!"

"According to our witch," Nyx continued relentlessly, "white wolves can connect with any natural element! We can manipulate any force of nature! Ring any bells?"

Suddenly, memory flooded back. Those first months after I'd learned to shift, when I'd discovered I could run faster than any wolf had a right to. Not because my legs were stronger, but because I could somehow... encourage the wind to push me forward. Make it curve around my body in ways that defied physics, turning resistance into assistance.

*If I can control wind speed... why not wind direction?*

I forced myself to relax, even as the ground grew larger and more detailed below me. Closing my eyes, I reached out with senses I barely understood, feeling for the currents of air rushing past my body.

There. The wind wasn't just chaos—it was a living thing, wild and powerful, but not uncontrollable. I could feel its patterns, its moods, the way it wanted to flow.

Instead of fighting it, I began to dance with it.

The howling torrent of air that had been roaring around my falling form gradually grew gentler, more responsive. Slowly, impossibly, I felt it shifting beneath me, no longer pulling me down but beginning to support my weight.

The wind gathered itself into a spiraling cushion beneath my body, a miniature cyclone that pushed back against gravity with increasing strength. I wasn't just falling anymore—I was riding the air itself, controlling my descent with growing confidence.

"Holy shit," I breathed, feeling the exhilaration of true flight coursing through my veins.

"Now you're getting it!" Nyx crowed triumphantly. "Let's see what else we can do!"

What followed was the most incredible experience of my life. I wasn't just controlling the wind—I was becoming part of it. When I wanted to move faster, the air accelerated around me. When I needed to change direction, currents shifted to carry me where I wanted to go. I ran through the sky itself, leaping from one wind current to another like they were solid ground.

By the time I touched down in a wilderness area miles from the cliff, I was practically vibrating with newfound power. The landing was soft as a feather, the wind cushioning every step until my feet found solid earth.

But even from this distance, carried on the breeze that now felt like an extension of my senses, I caught a familiar scent. Sandalwood and winter pine, tainted with emotions so strong they had a physical presence—panic, fear, something that might have been grief.

*Kaius.*

I shook my head violently, trying to clear his presence from my mind. The last thing I wanted was to smell my so-called mate's emotional breakdown.

Instead, I focused on finding what I actually wanted to detect. There—faint but unmistakable—the subtle fragrance of lavender and sage mixed with something uniquely herbal. Evelyn's scent blend, designed to be recognizable only to pack members while remaining completely innocuous to outsiders.

*Home.*

With my newfound mastery over wind, the journey that should have taken hours was completed in minutes. I moved through the landscape like liquid lightning, each step carrying me farther than should have been possible. When I needed to cross a canyon, the wind simply carried me across. When I encountered a steep hill, air currents lifted me to the top.

Eventually, I found myself standing at the edge of the most beautiful, peaceful forest I'd ever seen. Moonlight filtered through ancient branches, creating pools of silver light that made everything look ethereal and magical. The silence was so complete it seemed to have weight, pressing against my eardrums like a physical force.

Most wolves would have turned and fled immediately. The unnatural quiet was deeply unsettling, triggering every instinct that warned of danger.

But I knew better. This was just Evelyn's masterwork—an illusion so perfect that even other supernatural creatures couldn't see through it.

I walked deeper into the forest until I found what I was looking for: an ancient birch tree that looked completely ordinary to anyone else. When I pressed my palm against its bark, invisible runes carved by witch magic recognized my scent and life force.

The peaceful forest shimmered like a mirage, reality bending and shifting until it revealed what had always been there. Instead of empty woodland, a narrow path appeared, lined with wildflowers and leading toward the warm glow of home.

I shifted back to human form, suddenly feeling the weight of everything that had happened. My legs were unsteady as I walked down the moonlit path, exhaustion finally catching up with me.

The sounds reached me before I saw the lights—laughter, music, and what sounded suspiciously like a party in full swing.

When I rounded the final bend, I stopped dead in my tracks. The pack house was lit up like a festival, with colorful banners hanging from every available surface. Through the windows, I could see figures dancing and celebrating.

I pushed through the front door to find chaos. Scarlett, my blue-haired beta, was standing on a table leading what appeared to be a drinking song. Her wild cerulean locks were even more disheveled than usual, and she had what looked like glitter in her hair.

Beside her, Evelyn was mixing some kind of glowing cocktail, her flame-red hair practically sparkling in the magical light she was generating. Both of them looked far too young to be handling this much responsibility, but then again, so did I.

"Oh!" Scarlett spotted me first, grinning widely. "You're back earlier than I expected! How was your romantic getaway with the scary Alpha King?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Romantic getaway? I was kidnapped! Tortured! Nearly executed!"

Evelyn looked up from her glowing beverages with a knowing smile. "You seemed to be managing just fine at his place. We figured you didn't need rescuing, so we went ahead with Good Riddance Day without you!"

*Good Riddance Day.* Of course. Our pack's most treasured holiday—the day we celebrated all the terrible people who'd done us the favor of removing themselves from our lives. It was simultaneously our most sarcastic and most genuinely grateful tradition.

"God damn it!" I exploded, throwing my hands up in frustration. "I forgot you can see the future! You knew I was in trouble and you didn't warn me?"

Evelyn's grin turned absolutely wicked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh honey, where's the fun in that? Besides, you looked so cozy in that big fancy castle with your brooding Alpha King. And look how much you've grown! When's the last time you controlled elemental forces?" She winked deliberately. "Some of us knew you'd figure it out. Eventually."

I opened my mouth to argue, then caught sight of the banner hanging over the fireplace: "Happy Good Riddance Day! Celebrating All the Trash That Took Itself Out!"

Looking around at the cheerful chaos of my pack celebrating, I took a deep breath and threw my hands up in defeat. "For today's holiday's sake! Whatever! I'm not going to give you troublemakers any grief!"

"That's the spirit!" Scarlett cheered, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the dancing crowd. "Come on, Alpha! Time to celebrate your dramatic return!"

Despite myself, I found my mood lifting as the infectious energy of the party swept me up. But when someone thrust a suspiciously glowing drink into my hands, I held up a warning finger.

"Don't get me too drunk," I protested, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Yeah, Alpha!" Evelyn called out with exaggerated concern, still grinning wickedly. "You have to work tomorrow! Our pack funds are running dangerously low!"

I stared at her in exasperation, massaging my temples. The reminder that I'd have to return to the human corporate world tomorrow to keep funding our little sanctuary was less than thrilling. But looking around at these ridiculous, wonderful, broken people who'd become my family, I couldn't bring myself to be truly angry.

At least I was home.