Fated To Them

Zachary's POV

Zachary was running in the forest with a few of his pack warriors. He enjoyed running with his people more in his wolf form rather than in his human skin. It's been a little over three years since anyone has died in the pack now.

The last member in the pack to die was his grandfather, and that was a year after his youngest sister died, then miraculously came back to life the next year.

She was now living in France with her mate and husband with their almost five-year old daughter Rosalie.

Zachary and his two brothers, Jordan and Levi, have come to terms with the fact that they will never have a mate. They were now thirty years old and with the last woman who they were blessed with, they weren't looking for the Goddess' blessing to be granted to another.

Not after what Zachary had to do to the last woman. Even though it was necessary, he still hated himself for having to do it. For six and a half years now, he has hated himself for taking his two brothers' happiness away. He could have told them that she decided to stay a hunter rather than be with them, but he couldn't lie.

He had to tell them thr truth.

The truth was he killed her. Strangled her with his own hands because she threatened his pack, his wolf saw red and took matters into his own hands as an Alpha and chose to protect his people and his family members.

He could still feel the punches Jordan threw his way when he beat him unconscious. Levi was there with questions when he woke up a few hours later.

He explained everything to him but he could tell even his brother with the heart of gold was upset with him, but at least he understood why he did it when Jordan didn't want to hear it.

"Alpha, we have a rogue by the border." One of my warriors linked me, breaking me from my thoughts.

"They ask for anything?" I asked, coming to a stop as the rest of the group continued to strut along the border making sure it was safe.

"No, she's unconscious. There's a child with her who's pretty beat up too."

I didn't like hearing about injured children. Made me think of my nephew and niece if someone were to hurt them. "Bring them to the pack hospital." I ordered.

We had finally made Dr. Jarvis his own wolf only hospital. Me, Levi and Jordan had put in enough resources with the help of Caleb and Aimee and built him one big enough for him. Severely injured pack members would go to him where others would go to the human hospital or straight home if they felt they didn't need to see a doctor after an attack.

"Levi, Jordan, we have a injured woman and child coming in." I let my brothers know, so when they felt the rogue on our land, they wouldn't get all territorial.

I raced from the woods and to the pack hospital. As Alpha, me and my brothers have to interview everyone who comes into our pack, hostile or not.

Once there, my brothers were already there waiting outside with a pair of shorts for me. Shifting back into my human form, I took the shorts from Levi and put them on. "Been inside yet?"

"Nah, doc said the woman was hurt pretty badly, had to sedate the boy just so he could stitch the cut on his head.

"How old is the kid?" I asked. The warrior said he was pretty beat up too. Who would beat up a child?

"Nine, ten maybe?" I nodded.

"They run from someone you think?" Jordan questioned.

"I only got a glimpse of the little guy; he was putting up one hell of a fight when doc just wanted to help him." Levi said with a shrug.

"You know that fight or flight mode, he was in that fight and flight mode. Wanting to get away but having to fight to do it." I said, going over to a seat in the lobby and sitting down. I stretched out my back and groaned in satisfaction when it cracked.

About ten minutes or so went by when Uriel finally came out from the back. "How is it looking?" Jordan asked him.

"Good, apart from a few broken ribs and a partial collapsed lung, she should make a full recovery in about two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Jordan's brows were furrowed when I looked at him. "I thought she was a werewolf? She should heal within a couple days not weeks."

"She is a wolf, she's wolf less. When you are in the same proximity you will understand what I mean. You can just tell she don't have one." All of us sat there quietly thinking about this new information. It was incredibly rare for a werewolf to be born of a bloodline of a wolf and not get one.

"And the boy?"

"Just a cut on his cheek and a bump on the head that has bruised up the side of his forehead pretty nasty. But he should be alright otherwise. Gave him two stitches and something to relax him."

"Doctor Jarvis? In your professional opinion, would you say those two were beaten? From what the warrior described, it looked like it to him." He sighed and nodded his head at me while taking his glasses off.

"Starved too, and I'm not sure if I was supposed to hear it, but the woman looks about twenty-five, twenty-six...but I think that kid is hers. I thought a sibling perhaps, but he called her mom."

"You know it isn't uncommon for young women to have kids before meeting their mates, right? Some by one-night stands, unprotected sex and some by-"

"I'm a doctor. Of course, I know this stuff, Levi. What is your point?" Uriel rolled his eyes at my brother, and I snickered.

"All I'm saying is you are trying to jump the gun before we have even learned their names. Slow it down stallion." I chuckled while shaking my head at my brother.

"I can smell trouble with her here is all I'm saying. That kid also hits like a damn bull." He rubbed his lightly pink right cheek. "Just get to the bottom of what happened and let them be on their way."

"Adrenaline is a funny thing, isn't it?" I said, standing and walking past him.

"Where are you going?" Jordan called out.

"To see what this wolf less rogue looks like with all the trouble doc smells on her."

"She will be out till at least morning. Just go home and rest, I'll call you guys if she wakes." Uriel told us all and I stopped. I was curious as to what she looked like, and I didn't know why.

I scrubbed a hand down my face and silently agreed with the doctor and I turned around and walked back to my brothers. The three of us all walked to the door to leave, we all stopped when we heard a crash come from the back, then a screech of pain.

The three of us turned back around and looked at Uriel in question. He shrugged his shoulders and went to investigate. We followed him. My wolf began to growl in my head and from the sounds of it so was my brother's own wolf. Ryder paced back and forth in my head as we got closer to the room. The tears were strongest, along with the scent of Freesia.

I stopped in my tracks, knowing what that meant. My heart rate picked up and I began to panic. Why would the Moon Goddess bless me of all people, my brothers I get, they deserve to be happy.

But I killed my last mate. I don't deserve to be a part of this union.

"Zach, don't. We have talked about this." Levi tried to tell me not to do what I was thinking, even my wolf Ryder was second guessing going through with it. I shut him out so nothing could stop me.

I sucked in a harsh breath and ignored the glare Jordan threw my way and the pleading eyes Levi was giving me. I went past Uriel and into the room where our wolfless mate was at.

Opening the door and seeing her there on the floor, I saw why he wanted us to wait a little while to see her. Her eyes has bruises around them both, one blue and swollen, the other black but thankfully still open. There was a cut under that eye also that looked pretty long and jagged, like the person who cut her used something that wasn't very sharp at all. The area around her neck was red and swollen with bruised fingers, which told me the person who held her down was extremely strong.

Her hand was placed on her rib cage as sharp breaths were sucked in through her teeth. She was skinny, and for someone her age she looked anorexic because of how small she was.

I could feel what Uriel was talking about. I can smell the wolf all over her, but I can't sense the spirit of one with her. It must be lonely to inherit the genetics that everybody else did only to be denied one important part of the recipe.

I crouched down before her and cleared my throat. The thing about people who end up becoming wolf less, they won't know who their mate is until they are told by the other person.

Her eyes shot open; they were the darkest shade of grey I had ever seen. They could fill the skies with the amount of sorrow I see in them. My heart cracked seeing that and I placed my lips in a thin line.

Her hair was a beautiful shade of raven black, and my fingers itched to run through it despite it being dirty and matted in blood and dirt. Because of our past with our first mate, both me and Ryder knew we didn't deserve this one, but our brothers did. I could feel them behind me, her eyes flitted to them as she too felt their auras as I did.

"What's your name?" I asked softly.

"Cassy," she croaked.

"Your full name please?" I asked quietly.

She blinked a few times but eventually nodded her head softly. "Cassandra Marie Kensington." Her murmur was so soft that I almost missed it.

"I don't know what happened to you or that boy. But just so you know, I will look into it no matter how you feel about me afterwards. And please know it has nothing to do with you not having a wolf." I placed my hand on her knee as she looked at me with confused eyes, but when I touched her, her eyes widened and then filled with tears.

"That bastard lied to me." Her wide eyes stared at me as she said this, but I couldn't pay it any mind.

"I, Zachary Victor Nichols-Evans, reject you Cassandra Marie Kensington, as my fated mate and Luna.", I ignored my pain but was suddenly more concerned for Cassandra because she gave me no reaction at all. The only thing I got from her was a single tear from her and a repeat of the same words she repeated before what I said.

"He lied to me." Another tear. "For eleven years, I believed him."