NADINE.
“I was wondering if I could be inducted into your pack.” I asked, my eyes meeting Alpha Maddox’s gaze.
His brows hiked up, and it felt like forever as I waited for his reply. I held my breath, but the moment a wicked smile tugged on his mouth, I felt I stood a chance that he would take me into his pack. “Does Xander know about this?”
I shook my head. “I decided for myself, Alpha. I don’t think Xander will claim me anyway. But I have nowhere to go, and I don’t have money to look for a new place. But if you give me a room here, I can work in the packhouse or anywhere I might be needed.”
“Sounds interesting. Maybe you can work for me, and I can keep you under my wing.”
“For you? What work will that be?” I asked, my eyes rounding.Let the games begin.
“Will it matter? I’m sure I can find a good place for you.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one, Alpha.”
“Interesting. You look younger.”
I swallowed before I smiled at him. “Will you let me join your pack?”
“Yes.” He said slowly before he stood up from his chair and opened his drawer. I saw him pick up a dagger, and it made me swallow harder. I knew the dagger was needed to draw blood, but I reminded myself to be wary and observant.
He rounded his table and leaned back on it as he stood in front of me. “Start with your pledge.”
“Yes, Alpha.” I smiled at him while trying my best to control my wolf. She didn’t like Maddox. I didn’t either, but this needed to be done. “I, Nadine Benjamin, swear my allegiance to you, Alpha Maddox Trevino, as my Alpha, and Dark Forest Pack as my pack.”
When I was sixteen, I dropped the last name Montrell for the exact same reason I was here. They didn’t need to know I was a Montrell and that I was here to reclaim the pack they took away from us.
I lost focus on my first few hours here because of Xander, but I was back on track, and I would not let him distract me again.
I watched as Alpha Maddox cut his forearm with his dagger before our eyes met. “I want you to drink from me.”
My eyes widened, and if I were not able to get hold of myself, disgust would have shown on my face. “I don’t think that’s the right process, Alpha.”
“Who are you to tell me what’s the right thing to do?” He snapped at me. “Do as you are told.”
I shook my head and roamed my eyes around the room. I made my way to an empty glass, picked it up, and then handed it to the Alpha. “I can drink from the glass. I have never drunk from anyone. I’m sorry.”
“Are you trying to defy me? I can prevent you from becoming a member of this pack. And I won’t even care about that.” A smug smirk tugged on his mouth as he extended his arm. “You’re wasting my blood, Miss Benjamin.”
I was still thinking of what to do next when the door opened, and Xander came in. “What’s going on here?” He asked, and from the tone of his voice, I was sure he didn’t like what he was seeing: Maddox’s cut forearm was in front of my face.
“You always arrived at the fucking wrong time,” Maddox growled. His words sounded like he was joking, but his expression was not.
My head was tilted, and my gaze was locked with Xander. Anger boiled in my body, and I didn’t have time to ponder my next move. I turned my head back to face Maddox and grabbed his arm, but before I could lean my head down to his wrist, Xander grabbed my elbow and pulled me toward him.
My body swiveled at the unexpected pull and collided with his chest while loud growls rang in the air.
My hand landed on his hard torso as sparks exploded everywhere in my body. I slowly raised my head up and looked at my mate, and I was taken aback by his expression. His eyes were dilating, and his face turned more animalistic as he kept staring at his brother while rumbles reverberated from his chest.
“Do not make me remind you who the Alpha is!” Maddox snapped at him.
“Play your games with someone else, but spare my mate from them.”
“Your mate? From what I heard from her sinful lips, you have no plans to claim her.”
“Can you stop fucking sensualizing Nadine?” He growled.
My hands on his chest clutched his shirt tightly. I had prepared to fight my own battles, but Xander’s possessiveness and protectiveness of me made my knees weak.
‘Isn’t this what you want?’ Star mocked me, annoyed at my actions, when I almost drank Maddox’s blood. Of course, she would never understand my end goal. She was more focused on our mate.
“I can claim and mark her in front of you, Maddox, if I want to, but I would rather do it privately. Do the procedure correctly, or Nadine will have to go.”
“Then she can fuck off,” Maddox answered as he laughed wickedly.
“Of course, she will!” Xander spat at him, his arm around me tightened as he spun our bodies around and guided me to walk away.
My eyes widened. I wanted him to be this possessive, but I didn’t want to leave this pack. But even before I could raise my protest, Alpha Maddox began speaking.
“I, Alpha Maddox Trevino, accept you, Lady Nadine Benjamin, as a member of the Dark Forest Forest Pack.” He began.
Xander and I stopped walking and slowly turned around. He said more words about allegiance and expectations of loyalty in exchange for protection, making me want to cringe, knowing he was not capable of the last part, but I held my silence as I watched him cut his wrist again.
He then raised his arm, his gaze directed at me. “Your choice, Nadine. Finish the process...”
I kept staring at him, and I could feel Xander’s body stiffening. If I wanted to punish my mate, I could easily do so and drink directly from Maddox’s wrist. But drinking Maddox’s blood was already repulsive, and doing it in close contact would be worse.
Without taking my eyes off the Alpha, I slowly raised my hand, which was still holding the glass of whiskey. Xander saw it and, without warning, took it from my hand and closed the distance between him and his brother.
Maddox’s eyes dilated as he threw me a furious look as if I had betrayed him, but he didn’t say anything as Xander held his arm and caught his dripping blood in the glass. Xander returned to me and handed me the glass with his blood.
“You don’t need to drink it all.” He said in a cold tone, and I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but I didn’t. At least he helped me today.
I sipped the blood in the glass and did my best not to puke, and it didn’t take long before a pack link connected within me, making my body jolt a bit.
‘Can you hear me?’ Xander’s voice rang in my head.
Thank you for the early reviews and gems, lovelies! You are all amazing! This is not going to be an easy ride, but I can assure you that it is worth it. 💛💛💛 Shout out to the early top gem givers! AmandaG, ZalisaBaksh, CM, MarizMylaCJambhulkar, llm313, KimCormier, KaylaRaichuk, Alannadark, FebriaryChrizalyn, CInfyGriffin, Lovely, JELISA; JackieWolf, GinnieTeachout, ElisaDiy, Georgetter, HadiaIman, YudithCamachodeMolero, Lore, ...mel..., Darnelia, nnavcl, Joshifer, BlueLeaf, LynNovel, KanaKaokai, TeresaRivera, US_04, ToshiShruti, josm, GemmaFound, ER13, ToastedBread0007, SSHINE210, UshaJena.... and to the rest! THANK YOU!
XANDER.Before Nadine came to the territory, I had asked Maddox to give me a day or two off to find my mate. I told him I had no plans of claiming her — that I didn’t want her — but needed to find her for the rejection. That was a lie. I wanted Nadine. My whole being craved the female I smelled two weeks ago at the Claiming Ball, but I knew I had nothing to offer her, not with Maddox around. In the two months I was here, I had seen females that my brother fancied, and I was terrified his attention would fall on her. My mate’s beauty was exquisite. She might be innocent-looking, but there was a fire in her eyes — something that my brother would surely take notice of, and the last thing I wanted was for him to add her to his conquest.Some of Maddox’s conquests were willing females who would open their legs and let him have his way with them, but others were victims of his games. Mindy belonged to the latter. I had to let my brother think I liked Mindy so he would leave her alone. I
XANDER.After that, everything went into a blur. I tried to talk to her again, but Maddox came up with a plan to spoil my time with her. He used Mindy again, and it only added to Nadine’s anger toward me. If this was the game Maddox was playing to lure my mate away from me, I wouldn’t be backing down. I think my brother forgot that I was also a Trevino. Deception and lies also ran through my veins.I already hated his ways from the very beginning, but with the way he was acting toward Nadine, there was no stopping me from hating the man. If I just wanted to take him down before, I wanted to crush him now. And I wouldn’t stop until it happened. ‘Can you hear me?’ I asked Nadine after she sipped Maddox’s blood.‘Yes.’ She replied, but it didn’t slip my notice the animosity in her voice. “Alpha, we will go now.” My arm coiled around her waist as I pulled her closer to me after taking the glass from her hand. ‘Bow down in respect.’ I told her through our mindlink.I saw Maddox’s brows
NADINE.I got what I wanted. I was already a member of Maddox’s pack. The moment we stepped out of his office, and the door closed, I pushed Xander’s arm off me and walked away. But he was indeed fast.The next thing I knew, we were inside a room I had never been in, and I was pinned against the wall, his front pressing against mine. “Who are you, Nadine?”“I think it’s too late for us to get to know each other. Reject me, mate.” I said, my tone laced with angst, but my heart was breaking at my words. Deep inside, I wanted Xander. But he would only make me weak. I didn’t need him, especially when I saw the lust in Maddox’s eyes. That was my initial plan—to make Maddox desire me so I could be his downfall. And having Xander would only block the path I wanted to take. “Not a chance…” He grunted before his lips brushed against my cheek.The sparks between us and the tingles spreading between my thighs at the need in his voice were making it harder for me to think straight. “I will ne
XANDER.I had never had to explain my actions to anyone, and I was at a loss for every question Nadine would throw my way. I had no idea how to make her believe my intentions were real — that I wanted her and not anyone else.Seeing the desire in Maddox’s eyes for my mate woke up all my senses. I didn’t care anymore if Nadine was still in love with Tristan or if she was an accomplice to him. All I knew was that I wanted to protect her, and I wanted to claim her. But earning her trust was like shooting for the stars. I would always miss, and it seemed impossible to achieve. “What are we doing here?” She asked as we stopped in front of the door where SECURITY was written. I didn’t answer. Instead, I opened the door wide and let her in. There were four men inside, including Gamma Kenzo. “Good morning, Beta Xander.” The rest of the men greeted me, while Kenzo just nodded his head toward me. “Good morning. This is Nadine. My mate.” I stated in one breath, but I made sure my arm was arou
NADINE. I wasn’t sure if I should trust him about Mindy. If I just based it on how he looked at the moment, he appeared to be telling the truth. But trusting someone who belonged to the clan I hated the most was not easy, especially when lying was also the game I was playing. So, I guess I will still have to watch them and let time reveal everything. “Why are you here, Nadine? Maybe it’s time for you to tell me your story.” Xander spoke in a soft way, and with his hands on my skin, I was losing my defenses and my senses. I almost blurted out that I was here to take my pack back, but I was able to get hold of myself in time. Instead of telling him about how I wanted him, like I had practiced multiple times before coming here, I began telling him about Tristan. I had no idea why, but maybe, despite my deception, I wanted Tristan out of the way between us, like I wanted Mindy out of his life. I wanted him not to think Tristan was someone important to me. “I met Tristan three months
NADINE.“Are you okay?” Xander asked as he tucked strayed hair behind my ears.I nodded before I asked. “Who was it?”“Kenzo.” He replied before grabbing my hand and clasping it in his. Sparks ignited again, and I just let out a sigh. This was bad. Xander could really make me lose my concentration. He opened the door, and I was baffled that no one was there. We were already walking along the corridor when I asked him. “Where are they?”“I asked them to come back after three minutes.”“Thank Goddess, or it’ll be embarrassing to face them,” I mumbled softly, and he chuckled. But if I thought I was already able to get away from the embarrassment, I was wrong because we met Gamma Kenzo and his men in the middle of the stairs. They didn’t say anything, but Kenzo gave Xander a salute, and I could see the teasing in his eyes, which my mate ignored. He just nodded his head in response to the greetings of the others as we passed them. We then hurried down the stairs and out of the building.
NADINE.“Is that a cemetery?” I asked as my attention was drawn to the vast land surrounded by iron gates. In the middle of it stood an old, beautiful chapel with stained-glass windows casting rainbow hues on the ground. “Yes.”“Can we stop? Or are we even allowed to go inside?”“Yes, it’s a public cemetery? But why?” He asked, his forehead creasing. I gulped before I flashed him a smile. “I have a fascination with this kind of place. It’s eerie, but I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m weird.”He chuckled as he maneuvered his car to a designated parking lot. “I like your weirdness. I’ll take that.”I smiled at him, silently hoping I could take him, too. Because, as much as I was trying to deny it, in just twenty-four hours, I think I was already falling for my mate. Xander helped me out of the car, and even though I was capable of doing it, I didn’t stop him. I liked that his attention was all on me. The green scenery and the smell of fresh and decayed flowers swirled around us while we w
NADINE.I was grateful that Xander gave me space around the cemetery.I didn’t stay at my grandparents' grave, but I did talk to them while I walked around. I told them about Dad and Uncle David, and how they found their mates. I told them Mom was human but thriving well in the shifters’ world. I also told them about Nadia, my eldest half-sister, and how she had a wonderful life with her Alpha mate. I let them know who her mother was, because I was sure they knew her, as she was from this pack. I told them about the life we had and where we lived. I spoke with pride, telling Grandpa that I was as skilled in combat as he was, just as Dad had told me.I told them I wished I met them, but even if I didn’t get to, I had loved them from how Dad and Uncle David spoke of them. I was sure they knew everything, but I had fun telling them all about us. I also promised them that one of these days I would visit and bring them flowers. And before I left, I told Grandpa that I would take back h