Striking A Deal With His Second-Chance Mate.

GUNNAR

As the Alpha King, I'd seen and experienced countless things in my life, but never had I encountered someone like Aqua. From the first moment I woke up to see her sleeping beside me, a thought crossed my mind: she was either incredibly stupid or had a death wish.

It turned out Aqua was the kind of simpleton who easily believed what people told her. And I hated it. She would be dead by now if it weren't for an unexpected complication.

The damn submissive wolf was my second-chance mate.

I had found out about it early in the morning when I was choking her to death. The familiar white-hot pain in my chest when I was hurting someone connected to my soul was enough to make me pass out but I held onto my consciousness stubbornly. I was too pissed about her little trick to care about our bond, neither could I tolerate the fact that the moon goddess would tie me down to such a weakling.

But right now, I had no choice. As the Alpha King and her second-chance mate, I had to find a way to get her out of this mess because our life force was connected. And that meant that if Aqua died, then I would perish as well.

As I finally arrived at the underground prison where she was kept, I opened the heavy iron door open, the sound creaking through the stone corridors. Although I was blind, most people wondered how I was able to move normally. But all of that was possible through the psychic connection I shared with the wolves that followed me, granting me their vision as I carried out my daily task. They had been my allies and my friends since childhood, and they were the only ones I trusted without reservations.

The dim light from the moon cast long shadows, but I could see her huddled figure in the corner of the cold, dark cell. Aqua sensed my presence first, and looked up, her eyes widening with surprise and fear.

She whispered, “A-Are you here to kill me?”

I remained silent, examining her figure before I shortened the distance between us. Her face was scrunched with pain and I guessed it had something to do with the headaches she was experiencing since I muted the mating bond. She wasn't the only one suffering, but I saw it as a small price to pay to get what I wanted.

“I-I swear I didn't do it on purpose,” her voice trembled as she backed away, her retreat halted by the cold stone wall. “Leon tricked me into sleeping with you. You have to believe me-”

“I know,” I interrupted impatiently.

“What?” Her eyes widened in confusion. “Then why am I here?”

“Because you have no evidence to prove your innocence,” I replied calmly. “But I can help you if you give me what I want.”

The poor girl couldn't look more lost than before. “B-But what do you want from me?”

“I need you to break the second-chance bond between us,” I told her, my voice firm and intimidating. “This situation should have never happened since you haven't even found your true mate yet. So I need you to help me break it, and in exchange, I will save your life.”

Silence enveloped the room after a few seconds. I could tell that she was processing my words carefully, but I prayed that her thoughts wouldn't wander too much. Aqua's innocence was something I could use for my intentions and I would hate for anything to ruin my plans.

“But how do I break this bond?” She kept her eyes lowered, a usual sign of her submissive nature.

I replied, “Well, we can't break this bond until your wolf rank reaches dominant level. As you know, wolf energy can only be passed between mates through sex. So you and I are going to have lots of it-”

“Wait, I didn't know that!” Panic set in her voice as she walked closer towards the iron bars. “Alpha Keegan would never allow me to do something like this. What if I get pregnant?”

“I’ll take care of that for you,” I said, softening my tone since I suddenly remembered that Aqua had been a virgin until she met me. “But as far as I know, Alpha Keegan doesn't have any control over who the submissive wolves choose to mate, so why did you say he would object to this?”

I forced myself to move on. “So, what do you say, Aqua? Do you agree with my proposal?”

Aqua slowly nodded. “Yes, I agree.”

Relief flooded my body at her words. I turned around and started walking away, my mind already racing with plans about the situation at hand.

“Can I ask you a question?” Her voice traveled through the stony corridors.

I halted in my steps. “What is it?”

“Why don't you want us to be mates?” She glanced at me with her pretty blue eyes, then lowered her gaze again. “Is it because I'm a third-tier submissive wolf, or do you think I'm not pretty-”

I cut her off. “It’s because I don't think you are a good person.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” I scowled, my voice icy with disgust. “According to the laws of the lands, no one is permitted to flirt or have sex with a mated wolf, yet you were having an affair with Leon. Were you that desperate to climb up the ladder and elevate your status?”

Her voice trembled with anger as she screamed, “You don't know anything! Leon said he didn't love Juliette!”

I released a mirthless laugh. “And you believed him?”

Although she didn't respond, I heard a faint whimper escape her lips. My heart squeezed in pain, making me even angrier. “There’s a reason why the moon goddess created a mate for every wolf; they are meant to be like a missing puzzle piece to our incomplete souls. But I can see the moon goddess made a mistake in our case because there's no way you can be mine.”