Arielle’s POV His hands were on me, and I could barely think properly.Richard was clearly a masterful man at a lot of things, and I had already catalogued memories of his kisses as the best ones I would ever have.But as his fingers skimmed my skin and made goosebumps rise up from it, I wondered what it would feel like to have him take me there and then.His lips were now at my collarbone and I could only breathe out his name shakily, like a mantra as his lips and teeth graced my neck and marked me as his.The dress that I wore was beginning to fe a little constricting, especially with the way that I wants him to take it all off me, now.“Richard, please. Stop it,” I breathed out, feeling each touch of his shoot desire straight to my core.“Hmm?” He hummed at me, his lips never leaving my neck.“Stop teasing, Richard, please,” I begged my mate, and he simply responded by chuckling.Even his laughter rumbling in his chest made me feel hotter, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pu
Richard’s POV:The next morning dawned, and I rose up with grim determination.After Arielle and I had a pleasant night, I went back to my home with thoughts in my head. I didn’t want to think about it, but I knew that I would have to bite the metaphorical bullet and face Elise in the morning. I had to, for the sake of Arielle’s and my relationship. My ex-lover was an obstacle that could easily turn rogue and cause more chaos than we could ever expect, if left unchecked. I intended to stop her now, right in her tracks before she did something irreversible.I needed a way to bring her to heel, and make her understand that there was definitely not going to be any more shenanigans tolerated from her.And what better way to do that than to visit her parents?Mr and Mrs Evans were much loved and seemingly loyal members of our pack, and they had been part of my father’s group of friends who kept him company when my mot met had passed away.Now, I had to approach them carefully, like people
Richard’s POV:There was silence for less than a few seconds before Mrs Evans spoke, her voice trembling.“What happened? Surely she hasn’t done anything that bad,” Mrs Evans said, before whipping her head to ask her daughter, “Right? Did you do anything, Elle baby?”There was pleading in her voice.“I didn’t-“ Elise began to speak but I had enough.“I do not tolerate lies one bit, Elise. And I tolerate people who try to make themselves look like the victim even less,” my voice was cold and low, and I noticed how she looked away, clearly paling even more in fear. I turned back to her parents, and noted that they were staring at my abrupt change in behavior in shock. They hadn’t seen me this angry, and now it was nothing short of a surprise for them.“Mr Evans, Mrs Evans,” I continued speaking to them in as measured a tone as I could possibly muster, given the circumstances. “I am approaching you like this now, only because of the friendship you share with my father when he was alive.
Arielle’s POV:I finished up with the last patient and smiled at her as she left my office.The pack bond within my chest tingled nicely - I enjoyed the feeling of being able to sense the innermost parts of the pack, more than any normal wolf within our pack could. I was the future Luna after all, even if I was still learning how to deal with the fact that I had to be known.With a sigh, I got up to get a drink of water. The weather was becoming hotter and hotter for some damned reason, and I didn’t want to get dehydrated.As I finished the last water in the glass carafe in my office, I heard a knock on the door.“Come in,” I called out and the door opened.My brows rose as I saw Ethan step into my office at the clinic.“Ethan,” I greeted him, feeling a little bit happy now that I had seen my friend. It had been over two days since I had seen him last, and in that two days, there had been a lot of chaos.His brows rose too, but not at me. His eyes flickered around the strangely empty-
Richard’s POV:I finished speaking, and the way that Darren frowned down at his whiskey tumbler made me feel apprehensive as well.“That Hunter guy… I know him. He’s a family man,” Darren stated.I had just been telling him about the visit of this morning, and how my trip to the Evans household had shed a new light on some things.I had no doubts in my head now that sooner or later, Elise and the rest of her family would come to know about Arielle and her past with Leon Walker, the Rogue.And if word got out to the Elders before I could even introduce Arielle as my mate and the future Luna… then it was going to be bad.“So what are you going to do?” My best friend, my beta and my current drinking partner asked me.I shook my head; to me now, there was no way around it.I was going to have to introduce Arielle as soon as possible, to the Pack Elders and to the majority of the Pack, as the future Luna and my mate.“I think,” I stated slowly, tasting the whiskey strong on my breath this
Arielle’s POV:I didn’t feel ready.I felt numb, like how one prepared themselves for an execution. Richard sent me back to my home to go freshen up; essentially, I needed to dress up as nicely as possible. After all, the pack members attending tonight’s meeting needed to get a good first impression of their future Luna, and I needed to make a good first impression, and sway the minds of our people. All this, so that Elise and her chaos-causing self wouldn’t turn the minds of the people against me.I put on a white jumpsuit - one of my favorite items of clothing - and a pair of designer boots, which I had gotten myself as a medical school graduation present.Having styled my hair as much as I could, I felt a little bit better. Still, it didn’t stop the lead in my stomach from dropping and digging in deeper as Richard’s voice could be heard through the mind link that we shared.‘It’s time, angel,’ he had said.I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly out through my mouth. I repeated
Richard’s POV:Now that they knew, I knew that there was nothing standing in our way.My thumb rested over Arielle’s palm, as we stood side by side, in full view of the pack.I noticed the way that the Pack Elders for once didn’t have their eyes on me. Instead, their eyes were trained on my mate, in Arielle.And she was tense too, feeling the weight of their gazes, of everyone’s eyes on us.But that was part of being Alpha and Luna of the Pack. It was a sacreifoce I had made a long time ago. I didn’t have much oin the way of privacy when it came to the pack. I was their leader and had to always conduct myself as such even when I was conducting personal business that had nothing to do with them.And now, Arielle would have to learnt he same.Luckily, she had me to guide her, unlike the to me my father died and I was alone with no one to show me what to do.‘Richard,’ I heard Arielle’s voice now for the first time ever since she entered the auditorium. It was skat and I could tell just
Richard’s POV:I couldn’t believe what the Elders had told me to do.It was a simple ultimatum.And it was one that spelt the death of either my relationship with Arielle, or my time as Alpha of the Redding Pack.They had asked me to reject Arielle, or lose my title as Alpha of the Pack. What was it that I could do against them?It was infuriating; I felt like tearing my hair out with the way that everything was just seemingly being against us.Even my explanations that Leon and Arielle had not had a mating ceremony and that he had rejected her a long time ago, didn’t help in whatever way. It was the only plan, the risk that I took, and it had not paid off.Now here I was, watching my mate in restless slumber. She looked beautiful still, but I could the by the way her face looked so pale, that she had spent all her energy in crying.Lilian was not around, having gone to find some clothes for her to wear. We were in Darren’s and her home after all. It was the closest place to the Hall w