MasukRAINA’S POV“Good grief, Raina!” Elder Jacob exclaimed, his face twisted in anger. “You just can’t bear to lose, can you? You are definitely no match to be queen.”My mouth instantly parched, and I struggled to address the furious man. "W-what…"“May the moon weep on you!” Elder Mitchell cursed me like I was something to spit on while rushing forward to the bleeding woman.They kneeled on the ground on either side of Jiya, gently holding up her trembling upper body as blood seeped through her fingers. Both looked stricken by her pain, like they were losing their most precious person.Elder Mitchell looked at me with a dicing glare, and snapped, “Silver? You resort to such vile means! You had no right!”Commotion broke out with the crowd’s fury swelling into a deafening roar, and my eyes swiftly darted around. A flare of panic rose in me as the upset mass drew nearer.My heart thundered in my chest as the mob’s outrageous accusation hit me from every direction: “Murdering woman!” “Unfi
VALEN’S POVPandia’s angry eyes landed first on Valiant, then on me, and back to him. “Concubinage Mating? It’s not enough that women have to bear the demands of a patriarchal world, but now we’re being forced to share the man that the moon goddess fated to us?”“Now is not the time.” Valiant gritted inaudibly, trying to grab her hands. “The Alpha is in a bad mood.”I folded my arms and darted a cut-throat glare at them, feeling my anger rekindling fast.Pandia jerked her hands out of his reach, escaping his grasp despite his continuous attempt to clutch them. “You support this, don’t you? Hmm? So you can have Sisinae, or is it Niosune?”“You’re not supposed to be here. Do not aggravate him,” Valiant warned, blocking her with his large body and his hands stretched wide out. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this.”With every second, my patience dwindled into vexation, and I pressed my lips into a thin line.Pandia deftly twisted to the side and stepped past him, turning her focus on
VALEN’S POV“Denied!” I growled at the thumbnails of Alphas on the plasma screen in the office. “It’s one mate, one bond.”The online Alpha meeting ended in vain hope.Devin pressed the remote, and the screen blackened, just like my mood for the day.My rage amplified.“I will not sanction that harem system!” I jolted up from the chair that toppled over behind me and furiously swept my desk clean of its contents.Crash! The laptop, folders, and everything scattered across the office.Raina's face filled my thoughts, her voice, and her faith in me. Endorsing a concubinage law might satisfy the Alphas, but it would shatter her. The disappointment in her eyes alone would be enough to haunt me.With a roar of frustration, I swirled, kicked the chair out of my way to the left, and punched the wall, sending my fist into it with a hard thud. The impact rattled the structure, leaving a jagged hole in the drywall. Dust drifted to the floor.I stood there with my palms bracing on either side of
RAINA’S POV“Why is she like this?” I questioned the woman. “Doesn't she have a caretaker?“Oh, she lost her mate. Haven't been the same since,” the woman said with a sad smile and introduced herself to me. “I'm Meisha. Her younger sibling. I'm the only one she allows to care for her. You can surely see how problematic that can be."Shayla whimpered in dismay, rocking her body from side to side. “Zeph is my mate. I can't go back. Let them let me go.”“See what I mean? She's confused about everything. Mixing up the brothers,” Meisha explained sympathetically, gesturing to her sister. “She'll be calm when she's back home.”“Just put her in a psychiatric home to stop her madness from flaring,” Jiya sneered, fanning her face. “Go. She's clearly a handful. I get tired just by looking at her.”Glad for Jiya’s outright dismissal, Zephnar and Meisha grabbed Shayla's arms and the group shifted their feet to depart.“Hold on.” I stopped them again after seeing the terror on her face.“Your Luna
RAINA’S POV“I need you to realize that your stubbornness is subjecting Valen to the council’s scrutiny and causing division within the pack. Angering the council could get you exiled,” Jiya expressed, fraught with menace. “I don’t want to go that route, but you’re pushing it.”“Nuh-uh. What you need is to be wrapped in silver barbed wire and rolled off a cliff,” Azara commented tersely, moving her neck with attitude.Jiya cut her a brief glare and then threw angry questions at me. "You heard that I was moving into the pack house, so you convinced Valen to move out? You think the Elders won't force him to let me move in with him wherever he goes?”My stomach churned every time her mouth sprouted Valen’s name. I couldn’t help disliking it.I sighed in annoyance. “Then I guess you have nothing to worry about.”Didn’t she have better things to do with her day?“This morning you were giving out blessings, and now you're raising hell. Hmm. I see the heat brings out your diabolic side,” Aza
RAINA’S POV"Moving crew!" Isaac hollered as he entered the alpha floor master bedroom with Jason following behind him."You ring, we swing riiiight on over," Jason added his own flair in announcing his presence, lifting his arms and flexing his biceps at me as he walked over, causing me to laugh at his comical display.“You’re late, no debating that.” Theo gave them an eye-roll, lifting one of the packed boxes Azara had just finished taping up. “You play too much.”"But that's why you keep me around," Jason muttered with an arrogant smile, moving around several open boxes to give me a quick bear hug."No. I keep you around because you turn enemy tech into junk and pop-up ads," Theo corrected him, carrying the box to the stacked set by the door."Oh yeah. That too." Jason grinned crookedly, hugging Azara too. “It’s good you know I can take guys down without throwing a punch.”"Tsk. I can do that for you, Head Gamma. Go ahead and get rid of him," Isaac jested with a wide grin, saunterin
-RAINA’S POV-The tingles from Valen's hands on my face were pleasing, and I knew he was taking comfort from the bond.Warmth fluttered in my chest as Valen gazed at me. His eyes were hooded with so much love and awe, trying to distract me from how much he was truly hurting. He was still weak, feveris
-RAINA’S POV-Finally, the suffocating meeting was over!I dashed out of the office and was already outside the pack house. I cut across the neatly trimmed yard as fast as I could.To get to the clinic, I would have to take my car from the underground parking lot since I could not shift into my wolf to
-RAINA'S POV-“Rai.” Vaheed rasped out like his throat was clogged.With ragged breaths, Vaheed’s bare feet staggered heavily from the aft deck towards us with one hand over his chest and the other stretched out for help.My mouth opened dry and I became teary-eyed, watching him. The relief of finally
-VALEN’S POV-“The Elder Council has requested an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning.” Mom said, pulling out a black upholstered chair from the black square-shaped breakfast nook by the bay window. She sank into it solemnly.“Whoop-de-fucking-doo.” Dad joined her with a grim sigh and uttered sarca







