THE ALPHA'S UNEXPECTED MATE: The Cursed Bloodline

ANGUS'S POV

 "You don't do anything other than work, do you, Angus?"

 I looked up from my monitor to find Bernard leaning casually against my office doorway with a sharp grin plastered on his face.

 "What do you want now, Bernard? And how did you even get in?"

 "Hey, come on now. Can't a man come over to hang out with his best friend?"

 "Besides, this best friend has a spare key." He said, holding up a silver key and jingling it cheekily. I let out a heavy breath and leaned back in my chair.

 "Just tell me what you want, Bernard. Some of us are actually busy."

 "Busy with what?" "Have you forgotten what today is?" I asked, gesturing toward the calendar on my desk.

 "Today is the lunar eclipse, which means the blood moon rises tonight. You know what happens when the blood moon shows up and the kind of chaos it brings."

"You don't have to be personally involved in every detail," Bernard argued, stepping into the room.

 "That is what the higher-ups are for."

"I prefer to handle things before everything turns into a whole mess."

 "Okay, okay, you can handle it later," Bernard said, waving his hand dismissively.

 "I'm sure you've already done most of the hard work. Now come on, we have somewhere to be."

Before I could object, Bernard grabbed me by the arm and practically dragged me out of my home office and toward the front door.

"Where are we going?" I demanded as he shoved me toward the car.

"Don't you have work to do instead of pestering me?"

 "My main and only job is pestering you," he replied with an infuriating smile.

"You don't have to worry about where we are going. Just trust me."

 Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to a cozy, crowded diner on the edge of town.

"What are we doing here, of all places?" I asked.

"Don't ask questions. Just follow me."

We walked inside and took a booth near the middle of the floor. We sat in silence while Bernard flipped through the menu. I was about to demand we leave when the front door swung open.

Instantly, a rich, intoxicating scent washed over my senses a sharp, beautiful aroma like wet earth and rain pulling through a dry forest. It hit me straight in my chest, soothing yet overwhelming.

My head snapped up toward the entrance. A lady burst through the doors, her dark hair was in a ponytail swinging from left to right as if she had been running for her life.

 "You still haven't told me why we're-" I started, but Bernard cut me off before I could finish.

"Can we get a waiter over here?" he called out across the dining room.

 The girl turned toward our table. As she hurried over, my eyes locked onto her taking in her almond-shaped eyes, her soft features, and the flushed warmth of her skin.

The moment she stepped within a few feet of us, a violent, aching pull tightened in the center of my chest, dragging every instinct I had straight toward her. I froze. My pulse spiked.

Who was she? Why was my body reacting like this? Before I could stop myself, my eyes tracked her every movement, it was as if I was spellbound. Panic flickered beneath my skin. I looked down at my phone screen, staring blankly at the dark display, gripping the metal frame until it almost cracked under my fingers, desperately trying to anchor myself.

Her scent lingered thick in the air around us, screaming at my inner predator to claim her, to protect her. I clenched my jaw so tight my teeth ached.

 Whatever this was, I needed it to stop. The sound of glasses clinking on the table jolted me out of my head.

I looked up just in time to see her hurrying away toward the kitchen, her shoulders tense.

"What was that, Angus?" Bernard muttered, leaning across the table with a puzzled look.

"You completely zoned out. The waitress asked for your order, but you didn't say a word."

"I don't know," I muttered, my voice tight as I stared at the spot where she had been standing.

"Why are we even here, Bernard?"

 "See? I think you made her mad," Bernard said, glancing toward the kitchen. I couldn't take it anymore.

The air in the restaurant felt thin, the magnetic pull in my chest threatening to tear me apart if I stayed seated. I stood up abruptly and walked straight toward the exit.

"Angus!, Wait!" Bernard called after me.

As I pushed through the front doors into the cool air, I saw Bernard hastily slap a stack of bills down onto the table before rushing out behind me.

"Angus, what on earth just happened in there?" Bernard caught up to me at the car.

You just stood up and walked out!"

 "I don't know, Bernard. I don't know," I ground out, raking a hand through my hair.

"There's this terrifying pressure in my chest. It tightened the second she walked near us. And didn't you smell that? She smelled like fresh rain on dry earth."

 Bernard stopped dead in his tracks. A strange, knowing grin slowly spread across his face.

"I didn't smell anything out of the ordinary." I narrowed my eyes.

"What?"

"Wait, don't tell me," Bernard whispered, his eyes widening.

"Don't tell you what?" I said visibly annoyed

"You found your mate." The word hit me like an electric shock.

 "Mate? You know that's impossible."

"The chest tightness? A scent profile tailored specifically to your senses that nobody else can smell?"

Bernard gestured wildly between us.

"Angus, those are obviously the textbook signs!"

 "You know the Moore line doesn't have mates!" I snapped, my voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

 "The Moore bloodline is cursed. It's been that way for a very very long time!"

"Well, cursed or not, your body clearly disagrees."

 "A mate" The thought sent a surge of panic through me.

"If she really is my mate, she probably hates me now. I completely ignored her."

 "I don't think she hates you," Bernard offered, trying to calm me down.

 "You two just got off to a rough start."

 "I need to go home," I said, opening the door of my car. "Wait, you're leaving me here? We aren't done talking about this!"

"See you later, Bernard," I said, shutting the door and pulling out into the street before he could argue further. My mind raced with every turn of the steering wheel.

A mate?

 It couldn't be true. The legends were clear. The Moore line is destined not to have mates, cursed.

With what is going on currently, either the ancient stories were a lie, or something is happening.

By the time I arrived back at my estate, the sky was already darkening into deep purple hues. The blood moon was rising.

"Albert," I called out, walking into the main hall where my head overseer was waiting. "Have all the security preparations been made for tonight?"

 "Yes, Master Angus," Albert replied with a respectful nod. "The perimeter is locked down, and the guard rotation is set."

"Good," I said, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window as the moon began to glow a deep, ominous crimson.

"You can go home now." I stared into the dark woods outside, but my mind was miles away still haunted by the scent of fresh rain and almond-shaped eyes.