The Alpha's Cursed Mate novel Chapter 8

Along the streaming river, across a log of wood, one boy hopped on along the log, practising his balance. Another jumped from one rock pad to the other, while the third walked in the river, unperturbed by the current of the cold water or the fact that the river covered half his ten-year-old body. Among the boys, he moved without a smile, his eyes dull of every passion and emotion, the opposite of the boys in his company.

The boy on the log waved his hands frantically, pretending to catch his balance. The one in the rock did the same thing, causing both of them to giggle. "Oh, stop being so stiff, Drix, have some fun,"

"We are late for training, again. I'm starting to think letting you two pull me away for lunch isn't much of a good idea. You both keep getting me in trouble," The boy in the water spoke blankly.

"So what? It's not like the trainer is ever early. Loosen up, grouchy. If you keep going on like this, you'll scare your mate away when you meet her,"

"There's no need to worry about that, I don't have a mate,"

"Everybody has a mate," the boy on the rock said sharply. "Stop believing what your father says. Why would you think you don't? Because he didn't find his?"

"It's beyond that, Everett, and you know it. Monsters like us don't have mates, and the alphas before me has proven that point. We choose our mate and live with the mistake, that's just how it is." The two happy boys paused their movement, simultaneously placing their hands on their hips with scowl on their faces.

"Okay, Mr Monster, what happens if you do end up with a mate?"

"Simple. I'll never let her go."

_____

"Oh! The countryside is a vacant wild

Mama got me a bear!

At the pub, you'll see the old men dance

To the one-foot merry-hop spin

Oh, countryside, countryside

My homeland and my heart