Episode 5

Hearing his name froze me, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand on end. That smile that I had foolishly drawn on my lips when thinking of my mate, had quickly disappeared, I felt my stomach drop when I heard those three words, "Alpha Kyle Kinnaman". I couldn't believe it, it couldn't be true, this had to be a mistake, the Moon Goddess couldn't do this to me, that oracle had to be wrong, this was a mistake, yes, it was a mistake.

"Akela?" Asked another man from the council at my silence and the change in my body language. "Are you okay?"

"Couldn't it be a mistake? Could he have been wrong?" Mr. Ryan Corr looked at me with some pity and almost understanding my situation, the three adult men just gave me a look of reproach, as if I was wrong to ask if the murderer of my father and the entire pack to which I belonged, was definitely my mate.

"I'm sorry Akela, there are no margins of error." Mr."Corr said this and I could feel my breathing heavy, my hands were sweating, my gaze fell to the floor, staring at nothing at all."

"We arranged an appointment, Alpha Kinnaman should be arriving at any moment." One of the sages said this in the most carefree way, Mr. Corr turned his face to look at him, almost as if he didn't know about it and disagreed, the old man ignored him.

"He... he's coming? Here? To my house?" My words began to come out almost in whispers, I couldn't believe that after years I would see the executioner of my father and all my people again.

"Akela Zaer, this is your destiny and you must face it and accept it. As Alpha heiress you have obligations and you must fulfill them. It's not time to act like a capricious child." The old man spoke again and practically did it to scold me or call my attention. Mr. Corr looked at him somewhat furious and then with a more understanding countenance he turned to me.

"Akela don't be afraid, you won't be alone, we'll be here for the duration of the meeting with Alpha Kinnaman." He said this with an almost fatherly smile on his face, as if he was trying to calm my visible nerves and fears, I could only nod and give a kind of smile that I could barely feign.

Not much more had passed when a knock was heard at the door, he had already arrived. The air didn't want to leave my lungs, I felt like my respiratory system had forgotten how it worked and I couldn't blame it. I froze in the chair where I was sitting, unable to react until the old man again addressed me to scold me.

"Well? Aren't you going to open? Or are you waiting for us to do it?" The old man was Ed Maynar, clearly he was not known for being very understanding. I could only nod, as the words did not want to come out of my mouth. I got up from that chair, almost without knowing how to make my legs work, I started the small distance between the dining room and the door, which were only a few steps, at that moment I would have wished I had a huge house. I reached the door and stood there, I released the breath that I didn't know I was holding. I stood there watching the wooden door and again it was heard that they knocked, but this time it was stronger, almost angrily, I suppose because of the wait. That made me shrug, there was no going back, it only remained to open. When I did, there he was, just as I remembered him, he was bigger, he looked older, although he was still young. His big, muscular, tall body, his masculine and severe face, his angry and serious face. He looked at me with a bad face for having taken so long to open and then drew a cynical smile on his lips, I suppose when he recognized me, although I didn't know for sure. He passed as if nothing, and when he did he bumped my shoulder with his body. The force of the impact made me stagger, his beta, who was behind him, was the one who managed to hold me in time preventing me from falling.

"Are you okay?" He said kindly, I nodded and looked down. Alpha Kyle Kinnaman stood looking at everyone present and opened his hands as a sign to speak, he didn't greet anyone and didn't take a seat, he just stood there, watching.

"Alpha Kinnaman, wouldn't you like to take a seat?" The old man asked him.

"No, I don't want to, let's make this quick, I have things to do and I didn't want to spend much time here in this den."

"Fine, as you wish. We have called you because we have important information to reveal."

"Stop beating around the bush, can you get to the point? It's disgusting to be in this place." And when he said this he gave me a look, I had stood far away from him, near the door in case I had to run away or I don't know, but I felt safer near a place to escape through.

"Last night, on the night of the full moon and with all the tempest, the oracle received a vision. In it he could glimpse a union, predestined by the Moon Goddess, that would bring peace and growth to the entire species."

"And what do I have to do with that?"

"You were one of those in that vision, one of the parts of that bond." Hearing this, Alpha Kinnaman paid real attention for the first time since he arrived.

"And who is the other part?" The old man Maynar who was speaking, looked in my direction. Alpha Kinnaman followed him with his gaze and when he saw me his face tensed and his gesture was of fury.

"Is this a joke? Have you made me come to this disgusting swamp and full of stench to waste my time?"

"It's not a joke. It's true Alpha Kinnaman." Mr. Corr spoke to him concisely and directly.

"And who assures me of that? How do I know that what you say is true?"

"Well, you are twenty-four years old, you should already be able to feel your mate." He looked at me with his eyes dislodged and his brow furrowed, his lips in a line, I could hear the noise his teeth made from how tightly he had them.

"I don't feel anything. I only feel disgust at seeing what I have in front of me and a burning hatred. If it were up to me, I would behead her right here and sit and watch her exhale her last breath." I could feel his hateful gaze on me, I could only look down, at the floor, my hands intertwined nervously. I was afraid, no one assured me that he wouldn't do that right there.

"Well you see Alpha, the oracle never makes mistakes, if he predicted it, that's because it is. And given the circumstances of you..."

"What circumstances? That I dismembered his father part by part and slowly in front of his eyes? That I burned all the she-wolves and children of his pack and skinned the men until they asked for their own death because of the pain they felt? Is that the circumstances you are referring to?"

"Alpha Kinnaman please, don't forget that she is a twelve year old girl." Mr. Corr rebuked him.

"Who shouldn't even have them now, you shouldn't have passed seven. You were the only job I did wrong." He took a step in my direction and I stepped back three. His beta stepped in and gave him a look as if he wanted to calm him down.

"Alpha Kinnaman, we urge you to put down that attitude. We will not forgive any kind of physical aggression towards Akela..."

"Akela?" Alpha Kinnaman said mockingly. "Even your name is horrible, are you an Indian or what the hell? The best thing I did was exterminate that little village of ignorant villagers, because they never became a pack. And be grateful that you yourself killed your own mother, otherwise you would still be the whore of all my warriors." All his words were pure hatred, disgust, total aversion towards me. And there all my illusions of a happy future with my mate were extinguished.