CHAPTER 1

Alpha Jasper Ravenwood stared at the beautiful woman before him clad in a simple gown with floral prints. The combination of their scents as they came face to face with each other was nothing short of amazing.

The scent seemed to fill the whole pack circle, it was the scent of lavender and roses, the scent of unity and strength. It was the scent of love.

But what Alpha Jasper was feeling at that moment was nothing like love. Somewhere in the crowd, in the traffic of faces that were part wolves and part humans was that face he had come to love, that face he desired, that face he cherished.

The first time he had seen Nyx Fredrick was when he was taking a stroll after a hectic day in the court with the elders deciding cases. He had seen her next to a tree, reading a book casually, one leg crossed over the other.

And when he had talked to her, he had fallen in love. He loved the mystery that surrounded her, her smartness and her uniqueness. It was through her that he had come to know leaves that could cure his nail chewing and anxiety, it was through her he had discovered his love for goat meat.

It was through her he knew what love was.

And that was why when the mate revelation ceremony had commenced, he had thought she was going to be his chosen mate. There was no way. He had only known her for a few weeks, but it felt as if he had known her for years. That was why he felt she was his mate, because his mind told him so, because their actions when they were together said so. 

He was however shocked when the red haired seer, seer Seraphina, the seer in charge of mate revelations pointed at her and told the crowd that she was his chosen mate.

How was it possible? How was it possible that this woman was his chosen mate when Nyx was in the crowd, when Nyx was probably waiting as he was for the seer to choose her instead?

He stared at her for the umpteenth time, employing his intuitive powers to do it's work. It went down her lineage and ancestry line, and when Alpha Jasper saw what his intuitive powers had just shown him, he froze momentarily, unable to believe his eyes.

Her lineage was one of the weakest in the pack! Not only did it boast of majority of disabled wolves, it didn't have any soldiers and most of her ancestors had  died before they got to their late fifties.

How had the moon goddess chosen this type of wolf to become his alpha female? Why had the moon goddess chosen an incapable and weak wolf to be his mate?

"Alpha Jasper Ravenwood, this is the mate chosen for you by the moon goddess," the seer began, her eyes closed in vision and her legs dancing in rhythm with the drums that were probably being played in her vision.

"Now, Alpha Jasper, do you take this lady, Akira Moonstone, to be your Alpha female? Do you want her to be your mate?"

The silence that enveloped the crowd of natives was one filled with tension and a mixture of emotions. They were all waiting for him to say yes, they were all waiting for him to attest to what the seer had said in order for the celebrations and partying to begin. 

Alpha Jasper was sorry to disappoint them, but he knew he was never going to take a wolf with such a weak and humiliating lineage to be his mate. There was absolutely no way he was going to do that.

Alpha Jasper stared at his uncle, Eldee Ted who smiled at him and nodded his head as if giving him permission to say yes. He nodded once more, and Alpha Jasper was suddenly aware of the time he had wasted in replying to the seer.

He shook his head and the crowd began to murmur, wondering what his decision was.

"Alpha Jasper," the seer started again, staring at him with widened eyes, trying to confirm his decision. "Would you take Lady Akira Moonstone to be your mate and Alpha female?"

Taking in a deep breath, Alpha Jasper Ravenwood was coming to the realization that his answer was going to send the crowd into a frenzy and shake the very foundations of the community, but that was a risk he was willing to take, that was a price he was genuinely willing to pay.

"No, I do not."

The crowd erupted in frantically, the silence broken by his reply and answer. His uncle was staring at him, surprise and wonderment in all his features. He crossed over to him and stared at him in the eye, then questioned him, his words slicing the tension between them.

"What are you doing, Jasper?"

He was the only one that called him Jasper without putting the name Alpha prior, and Jasper allowed it because he respected him and because he wasn't only his uncle, he was the oldest elder in the Ravenwood pack.

"I'm doing what I believe is right, uncle. She cannot be my alpha female."

Alpha Jasper stole a glance at the lady in a floral pattern gown and was touched at the damage his words had caused. She was crying, her face in her hands. He was touched, but he didn't care. He didn't want a weakling for an Alpha female, he didn't want his cubs to grow up disabled, and that was why he did what he did. 

Alpha Jasper left his uncle's side, knowing that the crowd and everybody's eyes were on him. Slinking through the crowd of astonished faces and surprised natives of Ravenwood pack, he continued walking until he stopped next to her.

Alpha Jasper raised Nyx Fredrick's hand, ignoring her warning stare and the surprise etched on her face. At once, the crowd fell silent, everybody watching him, anticipating his proclamation.

"This is my chosen mate! This is who I choose to rule this Kingdom with me. This is my Alpha female!"

At once, the crowd erupted into a volcano of noise once again, and leaving Nyx's hand, Alpha Jasper exited the pack circle, his uncle behind him.