CLINTON.Man, talk about a freaking show.That was what it felt like when my mate, Ruby, dropped a bomb. I didn’t know what she was talking about, and even though she promised to explain things to me, I acted on instinct.When she said that she knew who was responsible for the Alpha’s death—the very Alpha we had just buried—and that the murderer was in our midst, I ran to her and asked what the hell she was talking about. I was tempted to call her by her real name, not the fake one—Natasha—that she was pretending to be, but for some reason, I couldn’t. Then she asked me to trust her, promising to tell me everything later. I only nodded because I knew that whatever happened, I was there to protect her. And I was glad she knew that as well.Everything happened fast after that.I felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest when I heard the traitor address her as the adopted daughter, right after she removed her mask.My breath hitched as I stared at her—my mate. I suddenly felt like a
CLINTON“Let go of my mate!” A growl sounded, and I reluctantly let go of my mate.With a mighty growl of my own, I turned around, a glare on my face, to find Alpha Kael watching Ruby and me. He no longer cared about torturing his niece, the one who murdered his father, and I wondered what sort of shitty Alpha he was.I lifted a dark brow at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”I felt my mate snake her right arm around my waist, and I welcomed her into me with a soft sigh. Without looking at her, I gently brought her head to lean on my shoulder.“Ruby is my mate,” he growled louder this time as he approached us.Does he have a death wish by dragging my mate with me? How dare he? I tried making sense of what he said when I suddenly remembered. On the first night we arrived here, that murderer had mentioned that Ruby was his mate, and the shitty Alpha confirmed it. But if Ruby was now my mate, then the only possible situation is that he rejected her.I felt a soft hand on my chee
RUBY. “Are you ready to meet your subjects?” Clinton asked me with a smile, and my heart melted.Goddess, he was my mate. I couldn't believe it. Everything felt like a dream.“Yes, our mate is gorgeous!” Falcon said in a sing-song voice, dancing and twirling around in my head.Oh Goddess, I missed her.“I missed you as well. But I did what I had to do,” she uttered with a sigh, causing my brows to lift in question.“What do you mean?”“I'll tell you later, but right now, we need to go with our mate.”I nodded eagerly at Clinton as I accepted his hand. “Yes, I am more than ready to meet everyone.”His smile widened, and I watched him lift my hand to his lips, placing a wet kiss on it as sparks danced around my body. “Then let's go ahead.”While he led us inside the compound, I couldn't help but wonder how I had been so blind all this time. Clinton had been so obvious, yet I did not see it. The way he always cared about me—something he didn't even know—and accepted me into his pack wit
“My name is Asher, Beta to the Alpha. Your mate sent me to bring you food.” He smiled at me while gesturing at the tray.I returned his smile and found myself staring at him. He had short brown hair cropped to his head like a crown. His gray eyes shimmered as he traced every curve on my body, but it wasn't creepy like most men do. It didn't feel like he was undressing me with his eyes but more like he was appreciating what he was seeing.I thanked him for the food and collected the tray from him. He was still standing there as though he had something more to say, and I waited for him to get it out.“Gamma Eric will bring yours and the Alpha’s bags,” he said, the smile not leaving his face.“Thank you so much… for everything.”“No need to thank me, Luna.” He blushed, scratching his stubble, which looked like something that was growing recently and not what he was used to keeping.I nodded my head, and he told me he needed to leave but that if I ever needed something, I should call him.
KAEL. I had failed. As an Alpha, as a son, and worst of all, as a mate. The moment Ruby—my mate—revealed that Dawn had killed my father, I felt a crushing weight of regret. How could I have been so blind? Instead of investigating my father's death, I had thrown Ruby and her father into the dungeon. I ordered my guards to beat and starve her for days, convinced she was guilty. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I rejected her and banished her from the pack, not caring whether she had anywhere else to go. If I had known... “I told you to find out what happened that night, but you didn’t,” Echo, my wolf, snarled in my mind. “Everyone blames me, and now you too?” I snapped back, a bitter edge to my thoughts. “Well done... just well done.” “If only you had listened to me, we wouldn’t be here.” He was right, of course. But I couldn’t bear to hear it. I pushed him away, trying to focus on how to set things right. Carolina had warned me too, yet I’d ignored her advice. Now, the thought of f
CLINTON.My Gamma addressed Ruby as his Luna. Not that I was against it, but I couldn’t make her my Luna—not with the whole dark oath thing with Seraphina hanging over us. Yet, when he called her that, it felt so right. I didn’t have the heart to correct him in her presence.I sighed as I walked toward my mom’s room. Ruby wanted us to tie the knot already, and I wanted that too, but not until we cleared the air between us. The last thing I wanted was for her to have regrets.When I reached my mom’s room, I paused and mind-linked my Beta, asking him to send food to my mate and to instruct Gamma Eric to take the boxes to my room. Mom was lying on her bed, legs crossed, smiling at something on her phone. She didn’t look up when I closed the door, but I knew she was waiting for me to speak.“Greetings, Mom,” I said with a slight bow. “I’m home.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to have this conversation, but what choice did I have if I didn’t want her causing a scene in front of Ruby?“The prodiga
RUBY. When Clinton and I arrived at the dining Hall we met Beta Asher and Gamma Eric already seated. The place was beautiful and I noted that the dinning was made of gold and that food was already placed on the table. Clinton walked ahead of me and pulled out a chair for me. I blushed and sat down, not missing the look shared between the Beta and Gamma, which made the red tints in my cheeks deepen. Clinton sat down at the head of the table, which was beside mine. The seat on his right was for his mom, and I knew she was coming down for dinner, as Clinton had mentioned when we were on our way here.“Good evening, Beta Asher. Good evening, Gamma Eric,” I greeted both of them, bending my head in each direction, which caused a growl to escape from Clinton's mouth.“You bow to no one, Ruby.” I nodded, even though there was nothing wrong with me bowing to his Beta and Gamma, as I knew they would reciprocate. However, I didn't want to argue with him in front of them, especially with his
I wasn't able to respond before he slammed me against the wall and crushed his mouth on mine. Clinton kissed me as though he were drunk, his left leg roughly parting my legs as he pressed his body against mine. I moaned against his lips, kissing him back with equal fervor. My hands moved to his chest, and I began unbuttoning his shirt, desperate to remove anything that was keeping me from seeing his chest. Falcon purred in my head, fully supporting what I was doing. I chuckled and finished with the first three buttons before tearing the rest away, sending them flying through the air. “Better,” I purred, placing both hands on his chest. His abs felt incredible under my fingers, and I wanted to spend the night tracing them. They were utterly beautiful. Goddess, this man was a feast, and I wanted to devour him right now. Clinton grabbed my jaw, tilting my head to the side, and deepened the kiss. If he'd been kissing me like he was drunk before, now it felt like he was afraid I'd be