Claimed by the Alpha

Chapter Two

Avoiding horny male wolves was no easy task. Typically I would keep my head down, but tonight was different. Keeping my head down meant that I couldn't track their movements. I didn't want anyone to sneak up behind me. I couldn't keep my back to them. Paige and I had separated upon entry. She wanted to make herself known. I, however, positioned myself as close to the far wall as I could. Every time one of them would make a move towards me I would make myself scarce. I had been running from them for the last two hours that I had been here.

"Are you going to post yourself up against the wall all night?" Paige said as she walked up to me, her hands on her hips.

"It's better than the alternative."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Dra, it's a party. At least have a drink."

"Nope. Alcohol will only lower my defenses."

"One of these days you are really going to have to tell me why you are so opposed to being claimed."

"Shit." My eyes locked onto the male making determined steps in our direction. Troy, the Alpha's Beta. He was 6'1, pale with dark hair and muscles from hours of training. Unlike the Alpha, he had claimed a female when he was 18 and another when he was 20 and another at 23. Each of his mates had died and no one knew the circumstances surrounding their death.

"What is your problem?" Paige asked.

The Beta. I mindlinked her. Her eyes opened wide in shock and fear. While Paige wanted to be claimed, no female wanted to fall to the Beta. After the mystery deaths of his last three mates, I wasn't the only one who dreaded his bite.

Please tell me he's not headed this way. Paige pleaded through the link.

We need to move. I reached for her hand to pull her in a different direction, but it wasn't fast enough. We didn't take more than two steps before the Beta wrapped his arms around Paige's waist and sunk his teeth deep into her neck, locking the bond in place. With my enhanced werewolf hearing, I could pick up the brief pause in Paige's heartbeat before it picked up speed. Troy removed his canines from her neck, turned and walked away without a word. Paige released a shuddering breath as her hand slowly raised to the mark on her neck that was quickly healing.

"Oh Goddess, Oh Goddess. Tell me that didn't happen?" she pleaded, her eyes wide in panic at me. She pulled her hand back and looked at the blood coated on her fingers. Her hand went back to the mark as she rubbed at the sealing wound. "Dra, please tell me this didn't just happen!"

The ballroom had long since gone quiet. Everyone had witnessed the Beta mark Paige and there were many looks of pity being thrown our way, from males and females alike. Everyone suspected the same thing. Paige would parish at the hands of the Beta. There was no proof, but after three dead mates, everyone speculated that he had killed them and now we all worried that she was next.

Paige's breathing was eractic and seeing that everyone was too occupied with what had just happened to do anything else I worked to calm my best friend.

"Let's find a restroom," I said softly and took her arm. I steered her away from where we were standing by the wall and walked her through the ballroom. I had to hold most of her weight because her panic blinded her. She was seconds away from falling over as she continued to mumble her pleas to the Moon Goddess that it had all been a dream. My focus was solely on trying to help Paige that I tuned out everything else that was going on around me. I was no longer watching my back. Everyone had stopped all mingling when Beta Troy claimed Paige.

We were almost to the hall leading to the restrooms when a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. My grip on Paige loosened and she stumbled forward. My eyes widen as I tried to struggle against the male who held onto me. Everything next seemed to happen in slow motion. Paige turned around to see what happened to me. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. At the same time I felt a set of teeth sink deep into my neck and bite down hard. Like Paige earlier, my heart stopped. I was being claimed. The male latched onto me, not releasing me for what felt like minutes. I could feel the bond between us forming. He retracted his canines from my neck and I released a shuddering breath. I turned around and caught the strong back of the brown-skinned man as he walked away. Alpha Kai.