The doctors didn’t find anything wrong with Carmela except a few bruises, but Tatum insisted on her being hospitalised for the best care with a full bodycheck. Leila spends all the time she can squeeze out visiting Carmela.
The whispers about her have gotten louder than ever now that Carmela has returned, with everyone asking, when will Alpha Tatum make Carmela his Luna?
The question is not if he will but when he will. Everyone in the pack is so certain of it.
As for Leila, she pretends not to hear these gossips, she tries not to think about it. She is just happy that her long-lost best friend who saved her has returned but the happiness is not a full one.
Leila knows the truth in her heart and it is the pain that comes with it that makes her still live in denial.
Alpha Tatum has tirelessly spent the last two years looking for his lost love and now that he found her, it was only a matter of time before she got the axe of rejection and let his rightful woman take her place.
She knew she stole the time with him and she was okay with that. But the baby? The baby really came at the worst timing...
“I can’t believe you went through all that Carmi, thank the goddess for the power of true love, what would have happened if the Alpha hadn’t found you?” Tracy, one of Carmela’s old friends in the pack says to her.
Carmela is lying down in her hospital bed with her feet stretched on Leila’s lap while two other women, Tracy and Edna sit by her side.
“Of course he will!” Edna laughs with Tracy as if Leila is not present, “He found Carmi as his mate that night, remember?! The mate bond would guide him!”
Tracy’s words make Leila’s heart pound with a pang but she keeps a straight face.
“Right on! The mate bond is sacred!,” Edna snorts a reply, sneering in Leila’s direction all but pointing fingers in her face, “...not something that can be easily stolen!”
Leila’s eyelashes quiver and she looks up calmly. Carmela pats her friend on the wrist lightly, giving Leila an apologising smile. Leila gives her a bitter smile in return, shaking her head slowly.
In the past two years, these women said worse things.
“The Alpha found Leila as his second chance mate, so please drop it about me being the Alpha’s mate, okay? It would put him in an awkward position.” Carmela says with a graceful but sad smile, sighing lightly, “I missed my chance…”
Her words were like oil, and the flames of her friends’ fury exploded.
Edna rolls her eyes at Leila. “Oh please, Carmi, you are too kind! The Alpha found his mate two years ago, remember?! Hell, you were born our Luna! You bear the phoenix mark, no?!”
Leila glances over timidly as Carmela reaches for her neck with two of her beautiful fingers, sorrow and happiness on her face in reminiscence.
That’s right. The phoenix mark. Their pack has been different from all packs where the Luna is chosen when the Alpha comes to age and finds his fated mate. Their pack’s Luna is revealed long before that – in a prophecy at the birth of the Alpha. Tatum was born the heir, and his mate was going to be the most powerful Luna in history, with the mark of a phoenix on her body.
Carmela got the mark on her collarbone when she was ten, right where the mate mark would be.
And that was when everyone started treating her as the future Luna. Tatum, too. He has been waiting for her to come of age, and he did, he found his mate’s scent on that fateful night, only Carmela got kidnapped before he could trace it to her, and that scent disappeared like it was never there with her.
“You would have been our Luna and married to your mate if this thief didn’t steal it right from you!” Seeing the pitiful look on Carmela, Edna bursts out.
Leila’s face turns paper white. She shoots her head up in shock. They never liked her, she knew, but they weren’t bold enough to take it to her face, until now.
She wants to say something, anything to tell them it’s not okay, but she can’t. Because they don’t know her secret. They can’t know. They hate her already, and if they got to know that she’s not actually the Alpha’s second-chance mate, they would tear her apart.
“It’s okay, ” Tracy pats Edna with a faux smile, staring at Leila as she continues her “comfort”, “Now that our true Luna is back, the title will be hers, finally. You need to start preparing for your wedding with the Alpha, Carmi.”
Carmela gasps, putting her hands over her mouth to feign shock.
“No guys… I have no intention of becoming Lu-”
She fakes a violent cough, not to finish her statement and points at the water dispenser in the corner of the room.
Leila quickly rushes over to the dispenser and returns with a glass of water for Carmela.
Carmela sits up and reaches over, but the glass falls through her fingers and shatters with the water spilling everywhere.
“What are you doing?!,” Edna retorts at Leila. “Can you not get anything right at all? What if you spill the hot water on Carmi?!”
“Don’t just stand there like a dunce, get something to clean this mess, make yourself useful for once,” Tracy barks at Leila as well.
Leila grits her teeth at their disrespect, feeling the rage to remind them of her position.
However, she says nothing and turns. She is not going to let this bitter women come between her and her best friend. They are Carmela’s friends, and they are picking on her on purpose because Carmela sacrificed herself for her.She has no position to defend herself.As she heads for the bathroom to get a mob, Edna shrieks behind her: “Who are you leaving this mess to?! Get the shards first! It could hurt someone, jeez!”Leila nods and kneels to pick up the bigger ones with panicking hands, and it is at this moment, the door opens after a short knock, and Leila looks up with the shards cupped in her palm, only to meet the Alpha’s cold eyes.“What are you doing?” He notices Leila and instantly, a frown crawls onto his handsome face.“Alpha!” Carmela jumps off the bed and runs to the Alpha, throwing her arms around his neck like when they were kids, “Can I please, please leave the hospital now? Pleaseeee.”Her cute tone got a light laugh out of the Alpha and he pats her on her waist to ge
Leila tosses and turns on the pristine white sheets of her soft mattress, her red and puffy eyes settling on the chandelier dancing to the tune of the strong wind blowing in from the open window.She smiles bitterly at the ornament swinging above her, it reminds her of own self. She is not in control, she just dances to the tune of whatever terrible music her miserable life is playing.Two years ago, she was just a regular girl hoping to find her fated mate, to live a simple life with him and raise beautiful children but life has her right now as a hated Luna and a jilted wife.Tatum promised to come home after dropping Carmela but it’s been hours and he is still with her, probably reminiscing of the love they used to share before Carmela disappeared She blinks back the tears tugging at her eyes as her chest tightens in pain from the thought. They aren’t mates. She forgot. She shouldn’t have let his kindness cloud that.It was his ultimate act of kindness that made him marry her. Aft
Tatum is sitting on Carmela’s bed in the dark, with Carmela on his legs, her head resting calmly on his chest, with one of his arms around her waist while the other slowly runs up and down her hair.As his Luna and bearer of his mark, the mindlink gives Leila access to all of Tatum’s physical senses and what she sees in her vision cripples her heart, forcing the tears she has been holding back to run down the corner of her eyes.Whatever hope she held out that she meant something to him instantly shatters and an unbearable pain rips through her.A pained smile curves up Leila’s lips and she is about to cut the mindlink when Tatum’s voice barrages into her head.‘What is it?’The coldness of his voice hurt her even more than the image in her vision. It’s like this man feels absolutely nothing but irritation towards her since Carmela returned.Before Leila can even form words in her head, Carmela notices the glow in Tatum’s eyes and guesses it’s Leila mindlinking him.She jumps down from
The rich smell of coffee and excess milk wafts into Leila’s nostrils and her sullen gaze shifts from the mug to his handsome face but she doesn’t reply to him not knowing how to feel. Tatum’s fingers grazes her arm as he pulls away and his mere touch sends tingles of pleasure through her body.Bringing her coffee every morning in bed was his usual routine, something she has grown used to but why still bring her coffee this morning when he spent the night in the arms of his love?Did he even remotely think about how she must have felt yesterday when he made that decision? Were her feelings something that mattered to him or was she just an object that he took pity on and had fun with while he searched for his true mate?“Earth to Leila,” Tatum snaps his finger and his voice brings her back to reality.Leila gulps, feeling her heart pound with raw nervousness and she drops the mug on the bedside.It’s now or never. If she wants to rid herself of this agonising ache hammering at her heart
Old times? She always felt invisible back then when they all hung out with Carmela getting all his attention, she’ll feel even worse now.“You go on ahead, I have a meeting with the pack widows this morning,” Leila replies, looking away from his eyes.“Leila.”The sternness of Tatum’s voice makes her turn, struggling to keep her emotions together.“Yes.”Tatum closes the gap between them, staring deeply into her eyes, like he is looking into her very soul. Leila’s chest heaves slowly, wondering if he has her figured out but he says nothing and he plants a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving the room quietly.Later that day, Leila is woken from her nap by the sound of laughter from outside her shared room with the Alpha. The voices are more than familiar, she knows she should pretend to be asleep and not go there but she just cannot hold herself back.She steps out of the room and to her surprise, the laughter is coming from the room directly opposite theirs. She selected a room do
“I manage,” Leila replies, her heart sinking to her stomach and she gives Carmela a sullen look but Carmela keeps a straight face like losing your wolf wasn’t such a shameful thing.“I’m sure you do. Now, how about we go make some cold drinks and let the man work?” Carmela’s straight face lights up with a beaming smile as she replies, glancing at Tatum but Leila is too uncomfortable.What else does Carmela know? Is her secret still safe? What if she tells it to the other pack members? The consequences will be too dire for her. The pack members will blame her for Tatum’s actions just like they did when Carmela disappeared.Fear, worry and anxiety all flood her heart at the same time and she stands up abruptly, feeling too self conscious and shameful in front of Carmela.“I um- I have to go, I have somewhere else to be.”“But you only just got here, I was hoping to get more stories about your reign as Luna,” Carmela replies with a subtle coyness in her tone.Leila gulps, becoming more wo
Kelvin’s brow creases with worry for her. A deep frown contorts his face and he walks over, taking the seat next to her. He gently takes her hands in his, squeezing it gently, making Leila’s sad eyes meet his affectionate ones. “What happened? Is he treating you poorly?” he asks in a soft and worry laden voice. Is Tatum treating her poorly? Does sleeping in another woman’s bed and spilling their deepest secrets to her count as being treated poorly? “No….” Leila shakes her head, feeling a tug of pain in her heart. “Carmela is back, Kev, you know what that means.” Kelvin scoffs softly, raising a brow at Leila, looking a bit relieved to know she wasn’t suffering at the hands of the Alpha. “You disappoint me Leila, you’re just going to throw away your marriage and position because of that bitch?” Kelvin asks in a curt tone. His dislike towards Carmela is well known to Leila and Kelvin is not one to mince words or hide his feelings, except the ones he has for Leila. Telling Kelvin
She smiles bitterly at him, holding his gaze, letting the pain in her heart take full control of it. Her legs move with a slow tremor under the table and she bites back her tears, hoping her pain is not so evident in her voice.“If I am STILL your Luna, when do I stop being her, Alpha?”“What do you even mean by that?” Tatum looks at her weird.“I mean, your true mate has returned, obviously my days are numbered,” Leila manages to keep her voice from trembling as she speaks.Something that looks like guilt fills Tatum’s eyes and he shifts his gaze back to his laptop screen.“What I choose to do with her shouldn’t concern you,” Tatum replies passively with an aloofness to his demeanour.The tiny sliver of hope that Tatum may yet keep her flicks through Leila’s mind but she quickly pushes it away. He only said not to concern herself with it, he never said it won’t happen.“I’m just asking because-”“Leila, drop it,” Tatum snaps his laptop shut, his tone becoming stern. “Trying to change
“Make it quick,” Carmela sneers, sitting on one of the concrete benches in the back garden of the house, away from earshot while Tatum stands in front of her, his back turned to her. Every cell in his body burns with anger and a livid hatred for Carmela and nothing would give him greater satisfaction than snapping her neck or ripping her heart out but she is the literal queen in this game of chess that he is playing and he needs her to make a crucial move. He knows Antonio isn’t done with Leila yet. From his discussions with Tatiana, he knows that her brother doesn’t like to lose or take no for an answer and that must be why he rejected Leila to punish her but ordered her not to accept so he could still have some claim on her. In the long run, Antonio will figure out something is wrong. He can only be deceived for so long but before that happens, he needs to bait Carmela into helping him. “My request is simple,” Tatum turns to face Carmela with a serious look on his face, his eyes
“There’s someone here to see you my lady,” An omega bows and says to Carmela in her room in Antonio’s place. Carmela turns her head away from the mirror where she is working on her makeup and looks at the omega before looking back at herself in the mirror and a wide smile splays her lips. She’s not even been officially announced as the Lycan Queen yet and people are already coming to seek her favour. “Who is it?” She replies in a stoic voice, hiding her excitement from the omega. “It’s— It’s Alpha Tatum, he says it’s urgent,” the omega bows again. A mix of anger, bitterness and fear immediately clouds Carmela’s mind and her heart races. What the hell does Tatum want? Why is that loser here to see her? What could be so important that he would come into Antonio’s lair knowing fully well the history between the two of them and how Antonio may feel about his woman being visited in his house by a mate she rejected. Is Tatum trying to ruin things for her? Her brows furrow and she c
Leila wakes up the next morning feeling lighter and better than she has felt in months. She eagerly jumps out of bed, saunters towards the drapes over the windows and she opens it. She jerks her head backwards, makes a surprised face as the flowers in the garden outside have all bloomed, even those that are out of season. She shrugs and turns and that is when she sees the mark on her neck in the mirror and her heart skips and memories of yesterday barrage into her mind. She gasps, rushing over to the vanity to check the mark up close, touching her neck and she looks at her bed, remembering that she fainted during the marking process yesterday and that is all she can remember. It turns out the mark of the phoenix was only hers to carry because it was Tatum’s to give, a mark of their bond. Tatum. Where is he? Did he leave last night? She rushes out of her room then halts halfway. Tatum was about to say something yesterday before he marked her but she did not want to hear it. She
Tatum looks down at her, his eyes skimming past her pale yet pretty face to her lush boobs half hidden in the water and he gulps, his heart racing hard. It is hard enough to control himself from out here, sitting with her in the tub will be too much for him and yet it is exactly as much as he needs, he is more than deprived of her touch, the contact of her skin, the warmth of her body. He misses her, every little thing about her. Not a day has gone by that he has not craved for her, for a moment where they can just put everything behind them and enjoy the comfort of each other’s company. He can feel the urge of his wolf to be with her, even if there is no bond between them which is even more strange yet he is happy about it, that his wolf wants the woman that he wants, mate bond or not. Leila lets him go, sensing his reluctance and she dips her hand in the water, closes her eyes and throws her head back, feeling the water or whatever is inside it, slowly sucking away her pain. Sh
The moment Tatum sweeps Leila off the floor into his arms, Leila feels a yearning deep inside her, rising above the terrible pain that she is currently in, she snuggles closer to Tatum as if the warmth emanating from her is not enough and she needs more of his. She looks into his eyes as he takes her upstairs to her room and there is nothing but worry and concern in his eyes. More tears spill out of her eyes, her heart wobbling in pain, reminded of the fact that their story ended when Antonio put her in his bondage. If only she did not harbour such hatred in her heart towards him, if only her anger didn’t burn through her like a fiery furnace when she first returned but how was she to know? How was she to know that behind Tatum’s cold and seemingly ruthless behaviour towards her, he always cared and never stopped caring, how on earth was it possible for her to know that beneath her pain, her hatred and anger lingered a desire for him. She fought hard not to give in to it when s
“Come on, it’s late, you shouldn’t be up by now, let’s put you to bed,” Leila says to Amara in the living room of their house, frowning at the little girl. After the ritual, Amara seems to have gained more control of her powers and she can now keep her Lycan aura down whenever she is around people. It was that inability that first sparked Antonio’s interest in her when he saw her, he could feel the strong aura emanating from such a young child. “It’s the last episode mama, please,” Amara pleads with puppy eyes, clasping her hands together and she looks to Amanda for support. Amanda came a day after the ritual to be with them incase medical help was needed. “Nope, you’re— ah!” Leila suddenly screams, clutching her chest and her wolf wails in her head, pain dragging through her already weakened body from the one sided rejection. “Mama!” Amara yells as Leila falls face first to the floor and Amanda also rushes to her, her eyes wide in fear. “Leila, are you okay? What is wrong?” Le
Frantic and scared inside, Carmela retains her poise outside, docile as a lamb before Antonio but she schemes like a fox in her head, thinking about her next best possible line of action to avoid certain death. She remembers what Lithoha told her about bearing Antonio’s mark and him bearing hers. It would mean that she would share a portion of his powers and he will be bound for her to life, unable to feel attraction for or comfort with anyone but her. She knows what she has to do. She will mark Antonio before he marks her. That way, even if she is exposed, he will think twice and hard before killing her because if he does, he will be killing a part of himself too. “I see you took my advice to be naughty literally,” Antonio says as Carmela massages his cock from his trousers while simultaneously sucking on his thumb. “Your wish is my command,” Carmela replies, batting her eyelashes at him, her voice coquettish to the max. “Good girl,” Antonio rubs her head, unbuckling his belt to
Carmela sits on the large bed in Antonio’s room, dressed in red lingerie with a small night dress draped over it, playing with a necklace around her neck, shaking her legs gently but her heart is racing fast and hard. Tonight is a big night. The biggest night of her life and she could not be more excited. When she stole the phoenix– no, when her father stole the phownix luna title from Leila and put the tattoo on her, her biggest dream was becoming Tatum’s woman, the Luna of the bloodoak pack and enjoying the benefits that came with it. Being the Luna of the bloodoak pack is great, even just as Tatum’s fiancee, she felt like the world was at her feet but becoming the Lycan Queen? Now that is on another whole different level and tonight, after Antonio marks her, that will be her fate. As the lycan queen, she will be the most famous woman in the realm, respected, admired, adored and the envy of every other woman in the kingdom. She will even get her own palace with access to the wealt
Leila doesn’t know how she got home that night, all she can feel is pain. Gruesome and lethal, on every part of her body, in every part of her system. It is not just the way Antonio ridiculed, humiliated and rejected her that hurts but the pain from the one sided rejection is something that she cannot explain. It feels like her heart is under attack from a swarm of bees, constantly being stung, her head hurts, bangs like a sledgehammer is being used to try and force her skull open. When she gets home, her family is still not back, she wants to mindlink her mom but she cannot, she cannot even feel her wolf, the pain is so brutal that it seems to have sent her wolf into hibernation. Her eyes are a deep shade of red, bulging and strained, causing her even more pain like they will fall off any moment. She undresses herself, wincing every time her finger grazes her skin because it burns, every touch feels like a silver needle being used to prick her. She walks like a wraith into the