Chapter 3

He stormed his way back to the pack mansion. Anger was apparent on his face. Nobody questioned anything as they followed their Alpha obediently. The Enforcers returned to their duty while the Alpha continued with his raging anger. 

Not only did he lose two rogues from his grasp, but he found out his mate was the notorious rogue. It fueled his rage even more. Out of all the women on the planet, it had to be Mira Red. Cohen had attended countless number of meetings regarding her. The Werewolf’s Council spent every bit of their resources to catch the redheaded huntress. He remembered that one mission where he almost came across her.

Almost. 

Just like that, she vanished in thin air. No trace of where she headed after committing a crime. No loose ends either. The only reason they managed to connect the crime scenes to her was the tiny trace she left behind. Cohen knew she wasn’t the kind of huntress who would leave evidence that could connect her to all the crimes. But she wasn’t the kind that would want to miss the fun of having every pack hunting her down. Cohen felt Mira enjoyed every bit of it. She wanted the attention.

He didn’t know why she wanted the attention. It seemed there was a greater motive hidden in every action she made.

Now, they had become a fated mate. 

Funny how fate twisted his life this way.

A rogue hunter destined with a rogue.

A true mate was no joke in the werewolves’ community. In fact, every supernatural species destined to have their own true mate. No matter who would become their mates, they would cherish the sacred mating bond until their last breath. It was a very common occasion for someone to reject their mate as well. Usually, a pack member would have to stand trial in court to determine why they rejected their mate. It was just like a divorce process for the humans.

Growling in frustration, Cohen barged into his office and slammed the wooden door to the wall. It fell off its hinges. His Beta, Liam, dived to the floor to save the door.

“Oh crap,” He said before  landing on the floor with a thud sound.

He saved the door.

Again.

Liam rolled his eyes as he got up from the floor. He rested the door against the wall before walking to a cupboard and took out a toolbox.

A pack led by a temperamental Alpha like Cohen, the Beta always came equipped. He had over dozens of toolboxes hidden in the pack mansion. Liam stored one in the Alpha’s office to repair whatever the latter had broken unless it was beyond saving. This door survived over a dozen times. In the door’s middle, there were few metal plates installed to withstand a strong force. But, the hinges could never withstand a furious Alpha’s slam. Liam could have gotten stronger hinges. It was better to use normal hinges in case somebody trapped inside. That way it would be easier for the rescuers to breach the door.

“You need to learn to appreciate the door,” Liam said loud enough to earn the Alpha’s growls. He waved off the Alpha’s growls as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Dude, the door provides you privacy. Respect it or we uninstall the door.”

Out of many people in the pack, Liam was the sole one dared to entitle Cohen with many nicknames. That was his perk because he raised with Alpha. Liam was three months younger than him. Growing up as a small kid made Beta a victim for bullies in the school. Cohen stood up and made certain those bullies never hurt him. The Alpha often got into trouble because he defended Liam. The two of them always enjoyed it because they skipped classes to attend the detention.

Cohen’s father, Eric, punished them every time they got into detention. He made them train until they felt their limbs dislocated. Yet, those punishments were worth every second and every sweat they had shed. They grew up stronger and were capable of defending themselves better since then.

They were like brothers; it was safe to say only Liam in the pack got the privilege to call Cohen with many names and got away with it.

Liam knew he would be the Beta since his father was the beta for the previous Alpha. A title like this usually passed down from a father to a son unless there were reasons to force the successor unable to carry out his duty. The title was down to the person next in the line.

The Beta hammered new hinges to secure the door back to its frame within minutes as he said, “I get it. You’re frustrated about earlier.”

“Frustrated?” Cohen snarled.

He was furious like a volcano in the middle of an eruption. His wolf was raging in the back of his mind. He had devoted his continuous life as an Alpha who hunted for rogues. Now, his mate was one of the most wanted rogues. Not to neglect that she saved rogues from his grip.

“What’s the big deal?” Beta massaged his forehead as if Alpha's anger caused him a headache. “Moon Goddess destined you both for a reason. You’ve waited for so long for this moment to happen.”

“Which moment?” Alpha narrowed his eyes to him. “This moment? Or the moment I found out she's my mate?”

“The latter,” Liam answered as quickly. “Look, maybe there is a backstory to why she is who she is exactly right now. We only know her from the news and those reports.”

Whether or not he liked it, his Beta had the point. Nobody knew about Mira’s back story. Especially, the part why she turned against the Werewolf’s Council. Cohen understood the Werewolf’s Council wanted her arrested alive. But, Mira’s retaliation against them was more than that. It felt like there was something personal about it.

Cohen stroked his jaw. “How did she get into my territory without the Enforcers recognizing her?”

“She sneaked in when the patrol team was returning.”

“How? We’ve got all patrol teams in every corner.”

“They called it a blind spot,” Liam answered absentmindedly as he cleared out dirt from his nails. “Mira isn’t your average rogue, Cohen. We both know that. We’ve seen her works. We thought we’ve figured out how she got in and out of a territory but honestly…” he trailed off. “I don’t think we’ve figured it out completely.”

Cohen groaned in silence. Liam was right. Every time they brainstormed their brain to the brink of destruction, they still couldn’t figure out how she managed to get in and out of a territory. Mira was never an average rogue. An average rogue was too careless and often got caught the moment they stepped out to do something. But Mira was not that close like an average rogue.

Tonight had proved that. She thought of everything through. The way her eyes flickered when she sized his Enforcers up. Taking a risky escape had never been an average rogue’s talent. 

“Get Dalton here in the morning. I need everything about her.” Cohen instructed.

Dalton Forest was one of the high-rank officers from the Werewolf’s Council. They assigned him to aid Cohen and his pack like any other pack in the similar region. Also, he commanded the 1st battalion, one of the strongest Enforcers of the Council. Besides, he served as a close friend to the Alpha.

“Got it, Alpha,” Liam replied before he got his leave.

Cohen sat there, thinking silently. Supposedly at thirty-four  years old, he should have a mate and an heir to strengthen his future as the Alpha of the pack. An Alpha without an heir would appoint the Beta as the successor. If the Alpha had an heir, the Beta would no longer be appointed as the successor. There were many conditions before a Beta could be appointed as a successor if the Alpha had no heir.

In Cohen's case, Liam had been appointed as his successor three years after Cohen was sworn in as Alpha. That was the limit for an Alpha to proceed with his reign without a successor. The earlier they appointed their successor, the better it would be. It would prevent an unwanted argument within the pack as anyone could fight for the Alpha’s position if he never appointed a successor before his death.

Cohen’s entire pack was putting their faith on him to have a Luna who could rule side by side. Majority werewolves met their mate in early or mid-twenties. Some found their mate as early as eighteen years old. Cohen was not as lucky as they were. He was famous with the ladies, but he barely paid any attention to them. He only needed them for physical intimacy. Nothing further than that.

He had enough shares of women on his list. Never had an actual girlfriend either. A workaholic like him barely had sufficient time for personal commitment. His parents often brought up the topic about a mate to him whenever they had a family dinner. He avoided that topic at any cost. Cohen didn’t want to mate with any woman just because his pack was in need of a Luna. He wasn’t that desperate. He would rather wait forever to have his true mate than inaugurating a woman who wasn’t his mate as the Luna of the pack.

A soft knock on the door pulled Cohen out of his deep thought.

“Come in,” Cohen said.

The door swung open and his father, Eric, stood there. “Hey son, how was it going?”

Cohen leaned to his chair and sighed. “We’ve lost the two pups. Mira Red is on our land.”

“That face looked like there was something else.” Eric pointed to Cohen’s frowning expression.

The Alpha fell in silence. He couldn’t tell his father about his mate yet. It wasn’t the right time. What would his father think of her? The future Luna is the most wanted rogue in history. Everyone would question why Cohen wouldn’t turn her in for trial.

“Nothing,” Cohen lied. “I was just tired.”

Eric didn’t look too convinced by his answer but the former Alpha just nodded and stopped questioning. They talked for a bit about the things going in the pack. Even though Eric was no longer an Alpha, he still kept himself updated with everything that happened around in the pack. He only assisted in the administration when his help was required. When his help wasn’t required, he never intervened. 

“And son…” Eric stopped by the door. “We, Alpha, are always good at keeping our emotions hidden from others. But, sometimes emotions aren’t always best kept hidden. Trust me. I’ve learned the hard way.”

With that, Eric left the office. Cohen thought deeply for a moment about his father’s advice. Nothing passed by without Eric knew about it. Cohen had the feeling that his father knew about his confrontation with his mate. 

An hour passed, Liam returned. He peeked his head while the rest of his body remained outside. “Hey man, you’re planning to sulk all night?”

Cohen glared at him. “What do you want, Liam?”

“Brandon and I are hitting the club in a few minutes, the best place to get information.”

“And you’re suggesting?”

“Come on, loosen up. Let’s hit Grover’s and get some drinks. Unwind shit like that.”

Grover’s Club was one of the prestigious clubs on Cohen’s land. Humans attended it. Human’s premises means off-limits. The Werewolf‘s Council allowed no werewolf’s business on human premises. Also, they couldn’t conduct interrogation on humans either unless the werewolf would like suffering a penalty. If they were to visit, their identity had to remain hidden. There were humans who didn't know about the supernatural species.

“All right,” Cohen sighed in defeat.

This time he needed a distraction. He had enough liquor in his office’s bar, but it seemed not an ideal option to drink on his own. Cohen wasn’t looking forward to attending human’s premises. He would much prefer avoiding attending them at all. This time, he was making an exception.

He needed a distraction for tonight.

A pleasant distraction that could halt his thoughts about his potential mate.

“Atta boy.” Liam pumped his fist in the air and ran away from the office. “He’s coming along,” he shouted to Brandon.