THIRD PERSON'S POV Aria has never had to deal with a hangover before, and she swore that it was the worst thing ever. Very early in the morning, Alpha Lucas had gone to fetch his mate, deciding that he could no longer stand not seeing his little mate.Everyone who was up and about in the pack this morning had witnessed their Alpha with the Luna on his back. It was the only thing they could talk about. They talked about it so much that it eventually got to Maria, who was mopping the grounds.She gritted her teeth and pretended she wasn't interested in the conversation. “My wife said he wouldn't even let them greet him because he was afraid they would wake her.““Wow. Who knew the Alpha had such a soft side?““It only takes the right woman to bring out a man's soft side.“ He said and threw a mocking glance at Maria. She was the reason they were talking so loudly in the first place. Everyone in the pack knew about Maria's ambition to become the Luna.Brielle wasn't wrong when she said
THIRD PERSON'S POV Back in Red Moon pack, Alpha Kane had gone on another killing spree. The pack members had begun to whisper that maybe he would one day turn on them when he no longer had any rogues to kill. “By the time Alpha Kane is done with the rogues around here, we will be the most feared pack around here. No one would dare mess with us.“ A guard said. “You say it like it's a good thing.“ The other one countered. “It is.“ “One of these days, we, the protectors, are going to be rendered useless in the pack. What would be our job then?“ The guards feared for their jobs while the elders in the council were ecstatic. If the Alpha kept this up, they would be very feared, and maybe they could even extend their territory. In the next meeting, the council of elders wasn't so sure they could table the matter to him. He looked furious but not at anyone in particular. He just looked pissed. “Alpha, can we go on?“ “Hmmm.“ He only grunted. “Go on.“ He only said that. He wa
ARIA'S POV Every day I wake up next to my mate, I'm filled with an incredible sense of ease. How did I get to be so lucky in life? “Good morning, baby.“ His voice was deep and hit the right spots. I was especially giddy with excitement this morning.“Good morning.“ I let my eyes trail to his morning wood, and he catches me there. “Don't even start with me this morning, baby.“ He groans, and I smile innocently at him. “I'm not even doing anything.“He rolls over me and gives me a long, thorough kiss that leaves me breathless. Reluctantly, he rolls off of me and stands from the bed.“I have a lot to do today, and if I take it any further, we won't be leaving this bed today.““Promises, promises.“ I taunt. He simply shakes his head and goes into the bathroom.Roughly an hour later, I'm fed, and we're on our way to the pack house. He suggested that we walk since it's such a lovely day out, and I have to agree with him. “I wish you weren't so busy today, you know?“ I tell him once we
THIRD PERSON'S POV Aria and Brielle quickly realized that there might be a flaw in their plans. How were they going to invite the whole pack and still keep it a surprise from the Alpha?“Maybe we should just tell him?““No.“ Aria insisted. “I want it to be a surprise.““Ohh, I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but we should try inviting the pack members personally and tell them to keep it a secret as it's a surprise.““Good plan.“ Aria agreed. “Let's do it. We have to start with the elders, though, then we go to the guards and warriors' station.““Let's go.“ They called a maid to clean up the remnant of their short picnic date. Brielle was tasked with informing the men that they wished to go for a stroll around the pack.Brielle returned with two guards in addition to Stephen while Aria was explaining what she needed to the kitchen cooks. “The whole point of a feast is to have everything everyone would enjoy. Can you handle that?“ Aria was scared that she was giving the
LUCAS’ POVTo say I'm stunned is an understatement. I'm shocked! How did she arrange this without me finding out?“…happy birthday to you!“ Everyone sings. I can't believe she did this.“Do you like it? Are you surprised?“ Aria blurts out nervously. I remind myself to say something. She doesn't know if I'm happy about it or not because, again, for some reason, I can't get a hold of my speech.“Thank you, baby.“ I finally say and pull her into a warm embrace. “I love it!“Her smile is relieved and proud. “I thought you might. Happy birthday, Lucas.“ She pulls me to join everyone else at the long table that's filled with all the food I can imagine.“Wow.“ I say as she urges me to take my seat at the end of the long table in the compound. I'm still a little stunned.“Happy birthday, Alpha.“ Brielle says with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and I know for sure that she knows something about this. “Thank you, Brielle.“ Aria sits by my right, and I clutch her hand in mine. I have to get
ARIA'S POVTonight is the night. I didn't need to be told twice that Lucas would not be waiting for me any longer. From the moment I told him that I was ready after that kiss at his birthday party, I knew there was no going back. That kiss had awoken a deep fire in me that only he could quench. “Brielle, I'll see you tomorrow.“ I said as I hugged her.“No, you won't.“ Lucas muttered, clearly eager to get home. We left the pack house a little while later. We didn't say anything to each other on the way home, but there was a comfortable tension between us. A static that buzzed and crackled.When we did get inside our home, he led me to the kitchen and handed me a glass of water.“I can't have you dehydrated, baby.“ He said. He trailed his fingertips over the nape of my neck. “You're going to be all mine.““Yours!“ I whispered and turned in his arms to face him squarely. “I want to be yours.““Dangerous words, baby.“ “I mean it.“ That was all the confirmation he needed before he swept
THIRD PERSON'S POV “Oh, goodness.“ Aria's moans were loud enough to bring down a roof. Lucas knew from the stories he had heard from all the other Alphas that marking a Luna was only pleasurable to the Alpha. “My Luna couldn't stop crying when I marked her. She was in so much pain that I never thought about her because the pleasure was so consuming.“He was glad that he had heard all those stories from the ones who had experienced it. He was determined to make it less painful for her, which is why he rolled over so she was on top. This way, his c*ck would hit new angles.She shyly took control, and he let her. He watched her face carefully to see if she was about to come. He pressed kisses to her chest and led a trail up to her neck.She squirmed against him when his teeth lightly grazed her neck, the exact spot where his mark would be. “That feels so good.“ She moaned and bounced on top of him. Her eyes were closed, which meant she was about to explode again. He put his hands betw
LUCAS' POV Aria yawned and pushed her food around on the plate.“Not hungry?““One would think I would have worked up an appetite after sleeping literally all day and, you know, after…” She trailed off at the mention of being intimate. She was still so shy. She was going to have to break it out of her. I want her to be completely comfortable with me. We would have to work on that gradually.I smirked at her. “You mean after you had your way with me?“Her cheeks reddened. “That wasn't what happened.“ She whispered as if there was someone else nearby.“So you didn't ask me to put it in?““Lucas,” she was horrified. “Don't say it like that. I don't know what you're talking about.“She looked so mortified that I decided to stop teasing her. The only thing that gave me satisfaction was that she changed into a whole new woman when she was seeking pleasure.“Have a few bites, baby. Then we can go to sleep. It's been a long day.“ Obediently, she scooped up about three spoons of pasta. She fi
ARIA'S POVThe dinner has to be perfect. Nothing must go wrong. "You keep stressing about it, baby." Lucas rasped from the bed. I guess my pacing must have woken him up. I don't know why I've been so snappy and irritable all day. I'm not one to snap at maids, but how hard is it to set the chairs at the right side? How hard is it to note down the number of chairs needed? It's very frustrating. "I'm not stressed. I just want everything to be perfect.""And it's going to be, baby. Come here to get some sleep so I can sleep. I have several important things to do.""What you're saying is this dinner isn't important?" The anger in me was rising by the minute. "You know, I've seen the way you've been nonchalant about this, and I get it, you're not the one bringing two sides of your lives together.""Whoa, whoa, I didn't mean it that way, baby." His gentle words made me burst into tears. "Come here, sweetheart." He pulled me under the covers, and I snuggled up to his warmth, which made me w
THIRD PERSON'S POV "Through her necklace?" Alpha Lucas wasn't sure if he was hearing correctly. He tightened his hold on his wife. He had first known that some people who could possibly be her parents were looking for her through Oliver. That was all he had heard before he told his people to go check them out. He just wanted to make sure they were not some weirdos or anything that could pose a threat to her at all. They had turned out to be real. This was the first time he was seeing them too, and he thought they were solid so far, but this necklace talk was bothering him. "How I found her was through a silent auction that was being held." Augustine spoke up. "It was a necklace I had when I was younger. It's a stone yin and yang necklace, see?" He showed them the one on his neck and produced a similar one in black while his was white. "Of course, it could be a similar one, but there was an old picture of us wearing it, so I took it to Mum for confirmation.""I knew it was hers the
ARIA'S POV The first thing that came to my mind was to hug the man in front of me. I don't know if I was in an alternative universe or something. I managed to recover my composure to raise an inquiring gaze."Luna Aria?" He said. His voice was deep and calm. Like hot cocoa in freezing winter. He spoke my name again and snapped me out of my reverie. The sound of my name coming from him felt wrong for some reason I couldn't fathom. There was a pull from him to me. I shook my head to get rid of the thought, and I realized that I had been staring at him, which was very rude of me. "You're talking to her." I said calmly enough to hide the tremors in my voice. I could certainly be an actress. He bowed lightly and introduced himself. "My name is Augustine, and these are my parents." Huh. Why can't I stop staring at him? There was something about him, and it wasn't even because of our resemblance. I hope I wasn't the only one that saw it."Can I come in?" He stared back at me with a quiet
THIRD PERSON'S POV What happened next was a blur. Zach could barely breathe with the bullet firmly lodged in his side. His life was flashing before his eyes, and he knew he had only a few minutes left to live. The blood had already seeped to reach his head. He could hear someone screaming, but it was distant.He knew he had to say something. Thankfully, Todd had come nearer to examine his beta. He didn't even know how to feel about the last two minutes. "Zoe was a spy. He was trying to help him take over the pack. He wanted to...""Stop talking, Zach. I'm going to get you help." Todd said and he meant it. There was no way he was letting him die. Todd bent over him and pressed firmly over his wound, but it was useless. He had bled out too much. "I'm not greedy, Alpha." Those were the last words he whispered before he gave up the ghost. Alpha Todd didn't have time to mourn too much because the cry of his youngest and favorite child rang out clearly.He looked up to find Augustina in
THIRD PERSON'S POV "I'm still a little bit skeptical about this Alpha's mental health." Alpha, Todd said to Zach. They both stood in front of the new glamorous pack house, waiting for the guest to arrive."It sounds insane in theory. You have seen the numbers, they're insane too, but we're both going to make a lot of money off it in the long run.""Yeah. I wouldn't have believed it if everything hadn't checked out. I guess we have a little bit of competition now.""What do you mean, Alpha?" "I sent out a messenger to slyly check on that pack yesterday to see if there's really a well and everything. He came back yesterday, and everything checks out. They do have a well, so yes, we have competition.""Huh. I didn't know you were sending anyone." Zach tried to keep his voice level so he didn't sound suspicious. "Yes, I didn't want to burden you any more than I should. I hope you find a way to resolve your wife's situation."He blanked for a moment before he remembered he was supposed
THIRD PERSON'S POV The next time Zach woke up, he was tied to a chair, and not one muscle in his body was working."Welcome. I was beginning to think you wouldn't join the party on time.""We had a deal." Zach managed to whisper. "You said I could trust you.""I didn't say anything like that, boy. It's not my fault you're so naive.""What do you want with me?""Oh. You're going to find out in a minute." Bart stood up from his chair and rounded his desk. "There's no silver, is there?""Isn't that obvious?" Alpha Bart laughed as if there was anything remotely funny about the whole situation. He cursed his own st*pidity. How could he believe something that st*pid? He would kick himself if he could move. "Of course, there's no silver.""I still don't know what you plan to achieve by holding me hostage here.""Plenty, boy. You know, when I first sent out that proposal, I told Gary here that there was no way we would get any response. You know what John told me?"A man snorted behind him,
THIRD PERSON'S POV Zach knew the plan was too good to be true, but he still couldn't help but pursue it. He knew he should trash the document and forget he ever saw it, but he had already made all the mental calculations in his head. They would make millions of dollars if it were true."Snap out of it, Zach. You know it can't be real." He kept telling himself but he couldn't help but open the document over and over again. He read the document over and over again until he could recite most of it by heart."This is crazy," he said to himself as he sat down to make a rough estimate and calculations. He took into account the manpower that they would need and how long it would take to have it running. By his rough calculations, the factory would be up and running in eighteen months, at most twenty-four months, and they wouldn't even have to spend one penny. That would also mean employment for the pack members. A second factory would mean more money for the pack. Maybe they could finally
THIRD PERSON'S POV Zach was aware of how much influence he held in the pack. There was nothing that went on in the pack that he didn't know. More importantly than all this, he was the Alpha's most trusted man and his right hand. He was in a delicate situation because he knew how deeply paranoid his Alpha was. If he ever got a whiff that he was plotting something behind him that might pose a threat to him or his children, he wouldn't even think twice before killing him.Not that he would ever betray the Alpha, he would chop off his own hand before he hurt the Alpha and his family. Zach was always careful of the deals he brought to the Alpha's attention. He would vet it about a million times before he brought it to the Alpha's attention.As usual, when another pack wanted to make a deal with the pack, they would have to go through him. Just last week, they had spoken about how they could move the pack forward. He had even been surprised that the Alpha was talking about new developments
THIRD PERSON'S POV Sixteen years ago, the lives of Alpha and Luna of the North pack changed. The North pack was the largest pack in the North, and there was only one reason for it. The North pack was the only pack in the North. They didn't start out that way. In fact, they used to be one of the smallest packs out of the ten packs that were in the North back then. Their name used to be The Bright Moon Pack. The Bright pack kept to themselves and managed their resources well. The Bright Moon pack was the only pack with high-level technology, and most importantly, their pack had a high concentration of silver. Silver trading was a major source of income in the werewolf world. Alpha Todd was wise, and he knew that this resource could become a source of misery for his pack. He knew how power-drunk people could be. Alpha Todd had to kill his own friend, his Beta, when he found out he was plotting against him. His friend's reason was that he was not monetizing their resources well. Alpha