CLINTON.After leaving Ruby in my penthouse, I called Kiara and ordered her not to reveal too much to Ruby if she asked about me, especially the part about having a mate or a girlfriend.Then I returned to the pack house and issued a stern warning to all the pack members via the pack mind-link not to disturb me for any reason, as I was busy with work. Then, I went straight to my chambers.I locked the door behind me and paced around my room. Ruby's face flashed back in my mind and I groaned in frustration. I had fucked up twice just the first day I got to have a conversation with her; now she'd think I was an asshole.Biting down a growl, I marched towards my bed, fell on it, and sighed. I needed to fix this if I wanted her to trust me or even like me at this point.The pain that had passed through her eyes was unmistakable, and I felt hurt that I was the cause of it. Whatever made her leave her pack that day must have broken something in her, making her think I said she was homeless.
CLINTON.“Oh... alright, I'll soon be with you. Love you,” Seraphina cooed from her end, and I bit down on my lower lip. Hard.“Hmmm,” I sighed. “See you soon.”I brought down my phone from my ear to my face to swipe it off, but it seemed like she wasn't done yet. “I'm waiting.”I knew what she meant but played ignorant. “You're waiting for what?”“Seriously? I just said I love you. So I'm waiting for you to say it back.”I sighed and rolled my eyes. If it were in the past, it wouldn't have taken me long to say the words back, but now things were different. I didn't feel for her the same way I did back then. Now that I had a mate, it didn't feel right to keep saying them when I knew those feelings had died.I had a mate, and I'm only allowed to say those words to her.“No,” Seraphina shrieked, and an image of a storm raging in her eyes flashed through my mind.“I love you too,” I conceded, because I didn't want to upset her more than she already was because of what I was going to disc
CLINTON.I didn't know what to say, and I just can't deny her...Kai growled in my head, and I sighed. If I want her to agree to us breaking the oath, then telling her that I had a mate would be mean... really mean.“There's no way you will deny our mate!” Kai roared. Like really roared.“I have to, unless you don't want things to get easier for us,” I told him. He must have realized how right I was because he retreated at the back of my mind, still shaking with anger.“No, I did not find my mate.” Her eyes narrowed into slits. I continued, “I only wanted the best for you. We've been together for years now, and I think us taking a break from one another would be the best—”“And?” She interrupted with a snort.“—for now. We need to figure out what we actually want. I don't want you to regret anything; that's why I'm suggesting a break.”Damn. Did things really have to be like this?Like a flash of lightning, Kiara closed the distance between us, her lower lip between her teeth as she p
CLINTON.“Now that looks like it,” I snorted, “Perfect gift to send back to Carlos.” It had taken all my self-control not to entirely kill Logan. After my not-too-happy conversation with Seraphina, I mind-linked Asher to meet me at the dungeon because I didn't trust myself not to kill him. Now, after one hour and twenty minutes, I could say I felt satisfied with the shape I left the motherfucker in.Over my interrogation—which was full of my package, if you note the sarcasm—he had confessed it was Carlos who sent them. But too bad I still beat the hell out of him afterward.“I can imagine the look of shock on his face when he sees them.” Asher chuckled, flexing his muscles as he looked over at the other rogues he had taken care of. Blood splattered all over his body, and I looked down to see mine was worse. While I had only taken care of just one wolf, I had been intense in my torturing.Rolling my eyes, I stood up and caught the towel the guard at the entrance threw my way. I wrinkle
RUBY. I woke up with a smile. Memories of the Alpha King's kisses made me feel a warm glow in my heart. I had resisted him at first, but then he bit my lower lip, using the opportunity to put his tongue in my mouth. That was my first kiss, and he stole it without knowing.I cleaned up my room and did my morning duties, which included having a bath and brushing my teeth. Then, I went down for breakfast.Kiara was chatty as usual. She told me stories about her childhood; most were very funny, but some were quite touching. However, she never asked me about mine. I felt guilty that she was opening up to me while I was still keeping things from her. I knew it would probably make the Alpha King throw me out of his pack because I'm a Lycan.That was the last thing I wanted to happen before I brought Alpha Frederick's murderer down. But before that, I needed to start formulating a plan on how to begin.I spent the rest of the day reading in my room. I had picked up a book written by one of m
CLINTON. Not that she knows she's my mate, but Kiara's not stupid. She must have realized Ruby is important to me by now. Ruby was the first person to visit my penthouse, let alone live there. Before Ruby arrived, no one besides Kiara and myself knew I owned a penthouse.I wanted it that way. It was my place of solitude, and now that my mate was staying there, I'd never disclose it to anyone.When I arrived at the pack house, Asher stood alone, leaning against the wall with a scowl on his face. The guards around nodded in greeting, and I bobbed my head in acknowledgment.I walked down to where Asher was and asked, “Any lead on who sent the rogues?” I already knew it was Carlos, but I didn't want to come to a conclusion without enough evidence.Asher shrugged. “As far as I know, it's only Carlos who has been sending rogues to attack us. Makes me wonder if it isn't time for you to take action this time.”I nodded when I heard him call him by his name. The fucker didn't deserve respect
CLINTON. On the bed lay Seraphina, her hands starting to touch her body once our eyes met. She spread out her legs, trailing a finger along her thigh as she purred softly. Her once long rose-blonde hair was now styled in a pixie cut, and I couldn't deny it looked better on her. I blinked and met her gaze again, refusing to look down at her naked body. Kai growled at the pathetic way she was trying to seduce me. Once, I would have been tempted and given in to her, but it held no meaning to me now. She had been attractive to me before my mate's arrival, but now I found nothing appealing in her. My loyalty and desire belonged entirely to my mate. Her attempts to lure me were futile and only filled me with a sense of pity and irritation. Kai's growl intensified, mirroring my own inner turmoil and reinforcing my resolve. “Seraphina, what's the meaning of this?” I asked, my anger rising. “How's my new look?” She deliberately ignored me. “I thought maybe changing something about myself mi
KAEL.It's only been six days since I rejected and banished my mate. And in those six days, I had not been myself. My wolf Echo had been giving me the silent treatment ever since. He was mad at me for rejecting our mate and banishing her from the pack without giving her the chance to defend herself. But I knew he was wrong. Ruby had killed my father, and I couldn't have had it any other way. My name is Kael Leonard, the only child of the late Alpha Frederick Leonard, except you'd count Ruby, his adopted daughter, as his child. I lost my mom at the age of fifteen. It was too painful for everyone, and everyone grieved at the loss because my mom was the perfect Luna. She was the heart of the pack, always there to provide comfort, guidance, and strength. Her presence was a source of solace, and without her, the pack felt lost and vulnerable. She had a way of bringing everyone together, fostering a sense of unity and belonging that now seemed fractured. Every corner of our territory re
Ruby's P.O.VFLASHBACK CONTINUED. “What are you going to do with her?” someone asked, though I couldn’t place the voice. I wanted to open my eyes so badly, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right move. Maybe pretending to stay unconscious would buy me time to come up with a plan to escape.“I don’t know. I could have her killed for everything she did to me, but I won’t,” Seraphina’s unmistakable voice rang out, and I barely held back a snort. Everything I did to her? Ridiculous. “You mean you're just going to let her go? Just like that?” The first voice, filled with surprise, questioned.I was just as curious. After all her threats, why was she planning to let me go? Maybe she feared what Clinton would do to her if she killed me.“Yes, I won’t kill her.”“What if she tells the King what you did to her? Do you really think he’ll spare you?”“You’re too scared, Mom. Relax,” Seraphina laughed. “I have a plan. Don’t worry, it’ll work out perfectly.”My stomach knotted at her words. What
Ruby's P.O.VTRIGGER WARNING: Some scenes are abusive, but there's no rage. If you don't like physical torture, please skip this chapter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _FLASHBACK TO TWO DAYS AGO.I regained consciousness to someone pouring cold water on me. I gasped and shivered, cowering away as though that would make whoever it was pouring the water stop.And I was wrong.A half-naked man emptied another bucket of water on me before dropping it to the ground like he did with the last one.Seeing as I was now awake, he approached me and sent a kick to my stomach, making me yelp in pain.Raising my arm, I rubbed my face on it, wanting to clear the water out of my eyes because it was starting to make them tear up. It was the only way I could wipe my face because my hands were tied.“I thought you weren't going to wake up,” a familiar voice taunted, making me wince.It sounded like Seraphina, and I started to panic because I knew I wasn't going to leave here unscathed. And maybe... she wouldn'
Later that day, the doctor announced that I was free to go home and I followed my Dad and Pearl back to our palace. Not many things had changed. My room was still like I left it except that it was neat. When I mentioned this to Pearl, she told me that she always asked the maids to clean it up, with the hope that I would return soon. She said that she didn't want me to return and find my room in despair. I was touched. Who wouldn't? Pearl forced me to eat even though I didn't have an appetite to. I couldn't believe that everything I had known had been a lie. Learning that I'm special and what I could do, and that my mom was something else entirely, it was too much. And the most painful part of the information I learnt was the one that Alpha Rhys wasn't my mate. I rejected my pack and left my family for a man who wasn't even mine and wanted me killed. All I wanted to do since I returned from the hospital was stay cooped in my room, with bottles of beer lined in front of me. But Dad a
Flashes of memories flooded my mind, each so vivid they played on an endless loop, over and over again.Dad gave Alpha Rhys—my mate—two choices: reject me or choose me. He rejected me without hesitation.Yet, Dad killed him.He cut off his head.No!!I shook my head, desperate to erase the memory. Sobs wracked my body, trembling violently as the images refused to fade.Pearl embraced me, and I let her. I cried into her chest, and when the sobs finally subsided, I looked up to see Dad standing before me. Tears shimmered in his eyes, and it only fueled my anger. Moving out of Pearl's arms, I lunged. “You killed him! Stop playing like the victim here because you are not!” I panted in between kicking him and raining blows on his chest. “Don't you dare cry as if you regret what you did!” I sent another kick to his knee, propelling myself to stop before I went animalistic. “I hate you!” I held his gaze for a while, letting him see the hate in my eyes before I eventually looked away and
Ruby's p. o. vI woke up with a start.The incessant beeping of a machine and the constant drumming nearby made my head spin. I wish they could move it away. I wish they could—Oh, shit.Where was I? I gazed around the unfamiliar room. I wasn't home. This wasn’t mine and Clinton's room. This was somewhere else. Did we sleep somewhere else…?Something clicked—a memory, sharp and raw. The library. I was abducted and warned never to return to my mate, or I'd be killed.I tried sitting up, but pain lanced through my body, pulling a cry from my throat as I collapsed back down. My mind raced as I took in my surroundings, trying to piece together how I got here. The last thing I remembered was running like my life depended on it—because it did.A drip hung on the wall, and panic surged through me as I noticed it was attached to my left hand, the IV's beeping in sync with my racing heart.Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart pounded faster. I needed to leave before someone came in and started hurting m
Clinton's p.o.vIt has been a few hours since we started searching for her. Our search came up empty. She was nowhere to be found. I was getting tired but I knew I could not go in without her. I needed to see her before I went crazy. Kai had been going berserk in my head, he needed to see his mate before he could calm down but there was nothing I could do. I was yet to hear from the warriors if they had seen her and I knew because of my threat, none of them would dare return without her. In as much as I wanted to beat my Gamma up for his foolishness, I knew it wouldn't bring her back. There was something strange going on. When I went back to her work place to look for her, she wasn't there and Kai and I couldn't sniff her. It was as if her scent had been wiped off completely, and it was making me more worried. I was pacing around when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around before I knew who it was. I could recognize my Beta's scent anywhere. Musk and coffee. “Any news
Clinton's p.o.v I had a really hectic day. I noticed something wrong with my company report, so I spent the day at the office, searching for the problem. Eventually, I found it—a mistake with one of our products had caused a huge shortage. We lost a lot of money, but I didn’t fire the man responsible, even though that would have been the easy, fair choice. After interrogating him thoroughly, I knew it was an honest mistake. And mistakes are meant to be forgiven. Afterwards, I got in my car and drove to a flower shop and bought a bouquet for Ruby. A lot had happened between us, and I wanted to make sure she was happy. I already fucked up twice, and this was time for me to make things right. Seraphina nearly tore us apart, and I was thankful we managed to deal with her before more damage could be done. The Elders had been surprisingly understanding, accepting my mate without hesitation. It didn’t matter if Ruby held the Queen title or not—she was known and treated as my mate. An
ONE MONTH LATER. Everything had been going well between my mate and me. He had taken me on several dates, where we had a lot of fun because we were in our pack, and I was with him as my mate. We hadn't heard from Seraphina since, and I was grateful for that.The Queen hasn’t paid much attention to us either, though in my encounters with her, she would mostly glare at me, making sure I knew she didn’t like me. Even though I had proven that I wasn’t the prim and proper type of Luna—by taking care of the sick and helping with the house chores—she still doesn’t like me. And right now? I’ve given up. I’m lucky to have Clinton; he’s been a very good mate. I’ve also gotten along with both the Beta and the Gamma.Although I hadn’t had a Luna ceremony yet, the pack treated me as one. I held meetings with the women, and most came to me for counseling. I never knew I could give them the advice they sought, but after seeing the smiles on their faces, I knew I had helped in the small ways I could
The ride to the meeting hall was silent. Clinton had told me about meeting with the Elders because he thought it was finally time. He also wanted to plead our case and discuss what Seraphina had been up to. We kept what she could do to us a secret, except from the Beta and Gamma.Not only that, he also shared his fears about losing his position as King, since it wasn't his birthright. Any misstep from him could cost him the throne.Even the man I encountered yesterday, Carlos was it? Clinton told me everything I needed to know about him. He was his greatest rival and he wouldn't hesitate taking him down from the throne if the opportunity arose. That wasn't all. I learnt that he couldn't just kill the man if he wanted to, even though Carlos was nothing but a thorn in his flesh. He was only tolerating him because it was against the wolf law in killing an Alpha. It came as a shock to me because back in the Lycan Kingdom, Alpha could do as they liked. Because that was because my father—A