*Leroy POV*I turn my eyes to the Epsilon who has not responded to my question. “Is she my mate?” I repeat my question. He sighs and momentarily closes his eyes. “I need to know,” I insist even though my breathing is becoming laboured. “Down the line mate.”I glance at him, my frustration building up. Mate, second chance mate and rejected mate are all familiar terms, not this. “What the fuck does that even mean?”I don’t mean to shout at him but this is all so messed up. “You cannot handle her right now, Your Highness. There is too much animosity between her pack and ours. And her upbringing under us has been terror at most.”“I had nothing to do with that.”He sighs again and shakes his head. “It does not matter. The Alpha bares the sins of his pack.”I know that arguing with him will not change anything. I focus on getting the facts instead. “When will I be able to handle her?”“When the time is right. When the sins of your father have been righted. When the suffering has bee
*Leroy POV*Even her authoritative voice sounds golden. Oh how I missed talking and even fighting with her. I catch a glimpse of my warriors shifting into their wolves. They are getting themselves ready to fight. More like to die because this woman is ferocious. “Stand down and let all her people go.”They shift back, bow and disperse. I sigh when I see her eyes burning with fury. I had no idea that all the nameless slaves from our pack were the children from her pack. Our pack killed their parents and made them nameless slaves. No wonder even the Lycan king shuddered at the discovery. Marcus, Linda and I rescued several nameless slaves and moved them far from here but majority are still here. They were abused and assaulted on a daily basis. No wonder she’s so mad. “I will give you the list and locations of the ones we rescued.”I see her eyes warm up momentarily before her rage returns. I walk closer to her. The Epsilon said I will transverse hatred and love. My heart hurts just
*Cali POV*I leave the Ruber pack palace emotionally exhausted. I walk into Marcus’ study with my head spinning. A part of me refuses to believe it, but I doubt that Phoebe would lie about something like this. “Leroy tells you everything. Is it true that I am his mate?” I ask the moment my eyes meet Marcus’. He sighs before getting up and embracing me. His actions are a confirmation of what Phoebe told me, but it can’t be. I frantically shake my head. “No. It just can’t be.”“I told you before that you two have a connection I cannot understand. It was like that way before Phoebe and before your wolf. I know that it’s hard for both of you, but it now makes complete sense,” Marcus says and I can’t refute his statement. I hate Leroy, yet something changes when our eyes meet. It is out my control, always has been. “He has a mate and will have others. He does not feel anything towards whoever will be his mate after Phoebe. Why the hell am I feeling this?” Marcus shakes his head. “I d
*Cali POV*“Good morning, My Queen,” Betty greets while opening the curtains, letting the sun in. I rub my eyes and sit up on the bed. It’s been three months since I found out who I am. My pack and I currently all live in the Fallow pack house. “Morning Betty. What time is it?” I ask with a yawn. “It’s five o’clock and our guests are here,” she tells me. I quickly get off the bed and head to the bathroom to take a shower. My guests can be irritating, but the alternative is worse. The alternative being their mates. I walk out of the bathroom to find my bed made and a golden gown laid out on the bed. I am loosing track of how many gold gowns I have. I go to the shops intentionally looking for anything not the colour, but I somehow always return with the same colour. My Lycan loves everything gold. I mean everything. I slip on the gown and Betty helps me with my hair. She leaves a few curls in front and clips the rest of my hair up. “Beautiful!” she exclaims, her eyes sparkling. S
*Cali POV*I sit up in bed and look at the shirtless man beside me. Something is wrong because my heart starts pounding like it used to when we were bedmates. “What?”“What did you do to my lycan?” I ask, looking suspiciously at him. My pack would have missed him coming to my chambers because we have the same scent, but there is no way my lycan missed him. Gold hates Leroy and Sky, yet we are in bed together. How the hell did this happen?He laughs and plays with my hair lock. “You may hate me, but it’s not real. What is real is our connection. It’s getting stronger each day,” he says while I frantically shake my head. “No, it’s not!” I snap with a hushed tone, careful not to wake up Phoebe. “I don’t think you can wish this away, Cali,”“Gold,” I correct him and he grins at me. “You will always be Cali to me. We have a history, a foundation. All these idiots can try, but ultimately, you are mine. I told your lycan to kill me and she curled up in my arms instead.”I shake my head
*Cali POV*Three months later, I pace up and down my chambers, contemplating if I should answer my phone or not. Phoebe has been calling me several times every single day. I know what she wants. I turn her down everyday. I would do anything for her, except this. I should ignore her, but my stupid heart won’t let me. I let out a sigh and answer. “Phoebe!” I exclaim excitedly. “You are ignoring my calls,” she accuses with that tone that pulls on all my heart strings. Not even Leroy can do that and he is apparently my mate. “I wasn’t, I promise. I left my phone behind when I went for a walk,” I lie through my teeth. Phoebe is by far the only person I can never be mean to. She has this strange impact on me. We have this bond that even the Epsilon cannot explain. “You are a bad liar, Gold.”I can’t help but laugh. “Fine, I know why you are calling and I hate turning you down. I promise you that I will come when my godson is born,” I come out clean. I have accepted that her and Leroy
*Leroy POV*Cali’s pack is surprised to see me in their pack house. The ones Linda, Marcus and I rescued, bow before me and are thrilled to see me, but I can feel the hatred from the rest. I don’t blame them, considering everything we did to them. There is also the matter of their burial ground I can’t return to them. It is a quiet ride back to Ruber city. We are both sitting at the back of the SUV. The shield separating us from the driver is down. We have privacy, but Cali keeps her eyes focused outside the window.“Don’t overthink it. You love me and I love you too.”“I love Phoebe, not you!”She does not even look at me as she snaps. I can’t help but laugh. How I have missed this cute ball of stubbornness. Sky is in heaven at the prospect of having her and Phoebe under the same roof again. “You’ve always been really hot and stubborn. Funny how I love even that.”She finally looks at me, those gold alluring eyes making my heart flutter. “Stop talking,” she instructs with the sam
*Cali POV*It has been a week since I moved to Leroy’s castle. Phoebe is thrilled, but Leroy and I are both really worried. Both Sky and Gold are behaving strange. It’s like they are in cahoots and planning their so called pup behind our backs. It’s just after seven in the morning. I am standing on the balcony sipping coffee when Leroy joins me. He stands a foot away and electric impulses spread throughout my body. This used to happen when he touched me, now it’s just being in proximity. “You feel it,” he says and I nod my head. I avoid him, but all my dreams are about our union now. It makes me feel so guilty when I see Phoebe. She, of course, thinks it’s all normal, but this is the most frustrating mate bond ever. “We need to keep a distance from each other,” I tell him. “I can’t and I don’t want to.”“Leroy!”“I am tired, Cali. I am being punished for the sins I did not commit. Sins I have no idea how to intercede for. Your ovulation is in a week’s time and every Alpha and Lyc
*Cali POV*Two years later, I am strolling in the garden when Leroy joins me. “Don’t,” I warn before he opens his mouth. He chuckles and pulls me into his arms. I roll my eyes at my gullible being for getting smitten by his scent. It’s been ages for goodness’ sake, and I still get like this with him. “Babe, please.”“He hurt your daughter,” I remind him. Alloy is all pitiful and all, but he caused all this.“I know. He was an idiot, but Babe, he is really suffering,” he pleads. Aerol left the moment she recovered. Alloy has gone all over the world searching for her. I and Alloy’s mother are the only ones who know where she is. “I know that he is suffering. He has not suffered enough.”“Babe,” he calls to me. “Alloy has lost so much weight. He is depressed and miserable. Please forgive him and let him see Aerol,” he continues to plead while I leave him and head back inside. Alloy goes on his knees and begs the moment I walk in. He does this a lot. I let out a sigh
*Cali POV*It takes a moment for the noise to subside and the air to clear up. It hurts like hell when I lift my head and meet Leroy’s terrified eyes.“Oh, thank goodness,” he murmurs before lying his head down facing me. My ears are ringing, and my head is spinning. All I can do is lay my head down as well. “You scared me there, mate,” he says with that gentle tone that melts my heart. “I love you too.”He chuckles. “Meredith,” I hear Cale’s voice. He is okay.“Mmmh?”Meredith is fine too. “I am fine too. Thanks for asking,” Simeon responds sarcastically to Cale.“Oh, come on. You are my friend, Meredith is my mate. I have to ask her first,” Cale replies before a moment of daunting silence.“What happened?” Orlaith’s croaky voice asks after a good five minutes of uncertainty. “Well, you collapsed in the helicopter. Let’s just say it’s a good that you did not see anything,” trust Neptune to say that. My drama queen and her arrogant mate are okay.I hold my brea
*Cali POV*“Take your mate and leave if you don’t like what we have to say!” Cale snaps at Neptune and Orlaith starts wailing. “This is my home too. How can you chase me away?” “It’s Aerol’s home too and she is not here because of you.”Cale is really mad. Neptune must realise it too because he strangely remains quiet.“Fine. I will go since you all hate me,” trust Orlaith to say. We all just look at her until she runs upstairs and returns with her suitcase. “Stop being so dramatic. No one can chase you away from your home,” Neptune tells her when she heads towards the door. “But they hate me.”“Woman, please. Your twin is missing. My uncle, who happens to be my best friend is devastated. Can we focus on that?”We all exchange looks when she blinks her eyes and nods. On second thought, maybe Neptune is the best person to handle her. We all go back and forth trying to figure out where Aerol would go. Leroy and Terrence are back with the golden pack helicopter within an h
*Cali POV*We are all shocked when Orlaith shouts MATE and it is Neptune. Now this is a disaster for a pair, but it’s the least of my worries right now. Aerol’s Lycan is in a dire state. All the wolves around quickly clear out. She is so angry, she looks like she is going to explode. Alloy has shifted into his human form. He is as pale as a sheet. This is what I have feared. He drops on his knees before the livid Aerol’s Lycan. “Aerol, Babe, please,” he pleads, desperation evident in his voice. The chickens have come home to roost. “No! I Aerol of Golden and Ruber packs, reject you Alloy of Lily pack as my mate!” This is a mess. Aerol is a Lycan, she is not likely to live without her mate. She said this a while ago and we did not take it too seriously. We had all hoped that Orlaith will be the one mated to Alloy.Alloy groans in pain and frantically shakes his head while I rush to Aerol’s side.“I-will-never-accept your-rejection,” Alloy stammers and groans. This must hurt like he
*Leroy POV*We have all decided to go to Ruber city for the full moon. Cali and I had our wolves there. So did Cale and Meredith. It is only fitting that the girls get their Lycans there too. Alloy’s whole family has become our family too. They have attended all these events with us. This has in a way become an unwritten family tradition. One that the Ruber pack loves very much. There was a time they felt that we favored the Golden pack more. They felt that the girls especially, were more customed to the Golden pack more than them. Cale and Meredith being here has changed that view. Aerol has also been here a lot because she gets on well with Cale, Meredith and Marcus’s son. My mate can’t stay too long without checking on our mommy’s boy, so, we have also been here a lot more. “Nothing will be as expected. Be prepared to…” the Epsilon says the moment he shows up out of nowhere as usual. Except for the walking stick, he has not aged much from the old man I remember as a boy. “Don
*Leroy POV*Cali and I have decided to have Cale and Meredith reside in the Ruber city to get used to the pack there. Cale is the future Alpha of the pack. It is good for them to get familiar with everything before we step down. “Meredith is not here. It is just wasteful to have you travel to school alone,” Orlaith tells Aerol, who looks at her mother. She has preemptively spoken to her mother about this. I guess she knew that her twin would bring it up. “Aerol will use her own car with her own guards,” Cali says while Alloy shift uncomfortable on his seat.“But, Mother…”“Not up for discussion,” Call says, ending the discussion. A few months later, the girls turn eighteen and everyone is around to celebrate their birthday. Lord, I can’t wait for the next full moon for them to have their lycans. Luna Abi is not impressed with Alloy when she discovers the breakdown between him and Aerol. She and Aerol get on really well. It is very awkward when Alloy presents the girls wit
*Leroy POV*I quickly move out of the way when Gold reacts, splashing the Beta with her deadly saliva. Everyone gasps when the Beta evaporates before our eyes. I sometimes forget how powerful my mate is.“No one challenges my son, ever!” she says angrily as everyone around us go on their knees while Cale flashes her his sparkling eyes.She rolls her eyes when I grin at her. She can deny it all she wants, but Cale is a mommy boy.“So, you even killed the Beta for your son,” I link with her and crack up at her reaction.“He was charging towards Cale. You were ready to attack him too,” she says defensively, but I will tease her about this forever.“I was not going to kill him. You killed him to eliminate competition for your beloved son.”We have just returned home when Meredith’s wolf shouts mate at Cale. Now this is what we all expected. Cale’s eyes light up. He loves Meredith. We are all taken aback when Meredith breaks down before rejecting Cale and running off.“What jus
*Leroy*It is four days after they brought Meredith into the family when we drop Cale at Fallow. He and Cali take forever to say their goodbye’s as usual. I curiously watch when Leane approaches and drops on her knees. I notice Meredith wince when Leane holds on to Cale’s leg, dropping her head on his feet.Rumors are, she is now a laughing stock and her sleeping mates want nothing to do with her.“Please forgive me, Your Highnesses. I was wrong. I love Cale. He is my mate.”I shoot my wife a stare when she opens her mouth. She is overprotective of Cale, but he has to handle this himself. We won’t be with him all the time and this girl does not look like the type to just let him go. I suppress my laughter when he kicks her off him.“Get away from me, Whore. We are no longer mates. You are free to continue prostituting yourself,” he sneers while she frantically shakes her head.“I was wrong, Cale. Please, I will never do it again.”“Get the hell away from me. It is a command,
*Cali*It is almost dark when we get back to the castle. Aerol is happily showing the overwhelmed Meredith around. “So, you found your beloved son another mate?” Leroy teases while I roll my eyes. I have explained to him four times already why Meredith is here, but he thinks I took her in because Cale has a soft spot for her.“First you reject his mate and now found him a version of yourself.”“What?”“Meredith is battered but beautiful,” he says.“So? That does not make her version of me.”“She is quite smart too and was a slave. Rings a bell?”“Just shut up,” I say before sitting on his lap and gaze at him. Lord, this man is so hot, especially when being witty.He chuckles and plants a light kiss on my neck, send goosebumps all over my body. He chuckles again. He knows his effect on me. “Meredith is our daughter now, Aerol adores her. I think she will fit perfectly in our family,” I say and hope he does not mind that I made the decision before talking to him. I had to ma