Lahat ng Kabanata ng NOT YOUR MATE, ALPHA: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Arley Tonight was supposed to be my engagement night. Instead, my stepsister Risa took my place beside the Alpha I was meant to marry. And I’m being sold to an old Beta in exchange for a portion of his pack’s treasury. If I walk out of this room, my father will kill me. If I stay… I’m not even sure I’ll survive this man. Anyway now, here I am, meeting my so-called husband for the first time. Sparse gray hair clings to his scalp, and his wrinkled, cold hands lazily trail along my arm. My back stiffens at his touch. My glass has been empty for minutes, leaving me to endure this torment with a painfully clear mind. Or so I thought. A faint fog begins to creep into my head. My body heats up, suddenly hypersensitive to every brush of his hand. The heavy music from the hall above echoes in my ears. Risa must be happy right now, her pretty smile curving along her lips as she meets the man of her dreams—more importantly, the man who was supposed to be my fiancé, the very reason my fath

Arley Even after finding your mate, completing the bond through marking and mating only happens after the marriage rites are done, so being marked before then already brings shame to a woman and her family, but being marked and claimed by a rogue is seen as an abomination to an entire bloodline… let alone me, an Alpha’s daughter. My father's eyes bore into me. "Do you have any idea how much shame you have brought to the pack?" he barks, his voice cutting deep into my head. "Look at you, because of your mother, I decided to keep you in the pack instead of throwing you away... yet you remain completely worthless." Tears threaten to cloud my eyes, but I blink them back immediately…I’ve managed to endure such cruel words for a long time. I’ve gotten quite used to them. I know my father hates me, but hearing those words from him... learning I was only kept alive because of my mother, not because I am his daughter. My grip tightens on the part of my dress Risa had torn. Unfortunately,

Arley A place I should have arrived as a bride, I’m arriving as a maid instead. But this is a risky move. There’s a high chance I might run into Risa here. Still, I don’t have a choice. When I ran from my father, I ended up in the rogue camp Jay had told me about. Apparently, he grew up among them. His sister, Jane, who he asked me to find, looked exactly like the female version of him, and for the past hellish months, we could barely feed. Then rumors spread that maids were needed in Beyhos Pack. It was a great opportunity, yet nobody was willing to go. The rumor said the pack had become a death hole for maids who served Alpha Janus directly, that he had suddenly gone mad. Looks like I dodged a bullet. Congratulations to Risa for marrying a lunatic. Still, staying in the rogue camp was a death pit on its own, constantly being attacked by slave traders. I decided to go, and Jane followed. She made a disguise for me. Even though she is just fifteen, she’s a powerful witch. My eye

Janus “What is Risa's real reason for coming to my pack for official discussions instead of her father?” The thought sits at the back of my mind as I step into my office, my fingers pressing lightly against my temple for a second before I drop into the chair. This is the last place I wish to be at the moment, but I don’t have a choice. Official duties don’t wait because I feel like tearing things apart, and Sherwood Pack is not the kind of alliance I can afford to treat carelessly. Still… something about this doesn’t sit well with me. If Alpha Sherwood wanted to discuss pack matters, he should have come himself. Sending his daughter instead… Just then, Risa steps in after pushing the door open. It thuds softly behind her. Isn’t an elegant blue dress and bold red lipstick this early in the morning a bit too much? Her harsh cologne immediately coils in the air as she takes a seat on the couch in front of me, and my insides suddenly flip. There’s that throb sitting behind my skull,

Janus I’ve managed to hold back the bond pull since Risa stepped in, the way it spikes whenever someone who isn’t my mate gets too close. It shouldn’t feel like this, but it does. The closer she is, the worse it gets, like something inside me is rejecting her completely. Damn it, it feels like my mate marking her territory even in her absence is a punishment for losing her that night. I might really lose it this time. My body is trembling. My maid’s hands gripping my arm as she tries to guide me back toward the chair pulls my consciousness a bit. “Sit… you need to sit,” she says, trying to control the panic in her voice. I don’t respond, I can't even mutter a word…my head still pounding, my chest tight like something is clawing inside it, but she moves closer, trying to push me down, and in that moment my face brushes against her neck. I breathe in without thinking. A faint but cool soothing sweet scent slips into my chest, easing the tightness just a little. My brows pull toget