Thomas’s face creased in confusion. He hadn’t expected Eleanor to say no to his suggestion. She had never resisted him before and always supported his decisions unconditionally. What was wrong?
He let go of Mia and approached his Luna. He took her hands and noted how she looked at him with stubborn eyes, as if nothing he could say would change her mind.
“Ella,” he called her softly by the nickname he used with her, “I know you might think she’ll take your position as Luna, but that will never happen. You are my Luna, the only she-wolf I want by my side. You don’t have to be worried about that.”
Eleanor lowered her gaze. The way he sounded and the way he looked at her, no one would imagine that he would eventually betray her in the most cruel way.
Anger, disappointment, sadness - a mix of emotions swept over her, making her nose tingle and eyes ache with unshed tears. But she gritted her teeth, telling herself she couldn’t let them go this time!
“Come on, Eleanor,” he coaxed. “We’ve grown up together. We’ve been together for many years. Do you really think I’d replace you with someone else?” He released her hand and held her chin. He raised her face so she could look at him. “I know how much you’ve sacrificed for the pack, and I don’t think there could be a better Luna than you. Not to mention you are a pretty great warrior. But Mia is my fated mate and I cannot reject her. Why don’t you understand?”
No matter what he said, Eleanor was not going to crack. His words would soon be meaningless.
Mia suddenly started crying, and the two of them turned to look just as she fell to the floor. “Please don’t reject me,” she begged, looking up at Thomas. “If you reject me, my wolf will become weak. I’m already an Omega, and you are an Alpha. I don’t know what would become of me if you rejected me.”
Getting on her knees, she turned to Eleanor and bowed. “Please have mercy on me, Luna. Allow me to stay beside Alpha. As his mate, I can strengthen his wolf’s power when I stay close to him. I’m only an Omega, I’m not capable of taking your title as Luna. I just want a place to stay. Please don’t send me away.”
Thomas’s heart broke as he watched his fated mate get to her knees and beg. He couldn’t stand seeing her like that because of the mate bond. He rushed to her and helped her up.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “We won’t send you away.” He looked back at Eleanor. “Why are you being so cruel and selfish? You are not like that!” He felt his anger rise. “We have worked hard to build a powerful pack together. When we finally conquer all packs, I’ll be Alpha King, and you’ll be my Queen. She is my mate, and I’ll be a more powerful Alpha with her beside me. You must accept her for the sake of the pack.”
Eleanor had a sudden urge to laugh. For the sake of the pack? In her old life, he had neglected his duties, leaving her to take up most of his responsibilities.
Back then, she hadn’t thought anything of it, understanding that it was because of his personality. But even then, he neglected her too whenever she was home from her duties. If only she had known it was because he was busy cosying up to his new lover!
When Thomas arrived earlier with the strange she-wolf in tow, word had quickly gotten around the pack that their alpha had found his true mate. Members had started streaming into the house to see if it was true.
Those who were present were shocked at Eleanor’s coldness even after the rogue went to her knees. How could she be so cruel?
“Alpha is right,” one of them said. “as our Luna, you should be happy alpha has found his mate. Now, his wolf can reach his highest potential. Without a mate bond, he is inferior to other Alphas. He would never become Alpha King if he rejected his fated mate.”
An elder stepped forward. “This is nothing new, Luna. It’s common for Alphas to meet their fated mates after having a Luna. We all know a few Alphas who have taken their fated mates as their mistresses. It’s good for them and their packs.”
A murmur of approval reverberated among the gathered pack members.
Everybody was against Eleanor in the same way they had been when Mia accused Eleanor of causing her miscarriage.
Eleanor couldn’t help but sneering. In the end, it seemed that none of them had ever cherished her as their Luna. They benefited from her efforts to strengthen the pack but didn’t think twice before disrespecting her.
They all claimed it was for the sake of the pack, but that was a lie. Sure, mates strengthened each other. But it didn’t mean that they were the only way of increasing one’s power.
She knew of many Alphas who were powerful enough with their chosen Lunas, and even a few who didn’t have any Luna.
It was just an excuse to have another lover besides their Luna.
Acknowledging that made her upset and disappointed. How could Thomas betray what they had for something they had all been fine without? Was that how much she meant to him?
She should have realised what he really cared about after he had cheated on her and killed her in her previous life. He cared about power and status above everything else. Compared to those two, their love was nothing in his eyes.
She was just a tool he wanted to use to fulfil his ambition.
She had given her all to make their pack the best, but all he had paid her back was humiliation and betrayal.
She would not give him that satisfaction this time round.
Curling her hands into fists, she met his eyes fearlessly. “I will never accept her in our pack,” she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “I’m the Luna of this pack, and I refuse to let her stay!”
She turned around and marched towards the front door. Thomas called after her, but she did not stop.
Once outside, Eleanor shifted to her wolf form and ran into the forest. Her wolf, Harper, was a huge she-wolf with red fur that shimmered in the sunlight.As she ran, the breeze moved through her fur and birdsong reached her ears. The sounds of the wild gradually calmed her down. By the time she got to the highest hill peak in the pack’s territory, she was feeling more composed.Standing on the hill peak, she howled in anger, letting out her frustration. She vowed to take revenge on Thomas for betraying her. That was part of why she had accepted the goddess’s offer to be reincarnated, and she would do everything to see it through.It was a good thing that she now knew Thomas’s true motivation. She would no longer waste time justifying his actions. He had shown her that her love had never been enough for him. That he had never cherished her even half as much as she did him.He was the one who had betrayed and killed her in her past life. This time, she would not be his victim. She woul
Henry James Hudsen was easily the most powerful Alpha around. He was cold and domineering, and only those with a death wish dared to cross his path.No pack that went against Darkfall survived his wrath.While Eleanor had met most Alphas of the neighbouring packs, she had never met him. He was not the kind to frequent events where other Alphas gathered. Unlike her, he didn't need to lobby for anyone’s support.Whether he showed up or not, other Alphas would seek him out at his pack.But there was a huge chance that he would be at the Alpha party, which preceded the council meeting. If she could meet him at the party, she could convince him to support her at the meeting.Fortunately, in the previous meeting, she had met Henry’s Beta, Ethan, and had a chat with him. They had exchanged numbers and had communicated a few times since then.If she wanted to meet Henry, he was the only one who could help her.***Ethan Benjamin Scott, Beta of the Darkfall pack, was watching a group of warrio
Mia grabbed Thomas’s arm and shook her head. “Don’t do this, Alpha.”“What do you mean?” he asked, looking at her with worry.“I don’t want to cause any trouble between you and your Luna. If she refuses to accept me–”“Nonsense,” Thomas cut her off. “I already told you, you are not going anywhere. It’s her fault for not being reasonable.”Mia shook her head, as if she didn’t agree with him. She released him and stepped towards Eleanor, tears flowing down her cheeks.“It’s not your fault Luna. It’s mine. I shouldn’t come with Alpha. I... I just happen to be the Alpha’s mate.” Mia sobbed, taking hold of Eleanor’s arm.“Please Luna, if you don’t accept me, how can I stay?”Eleanor jerked her arm back to shake her off. If she didn’t already know what the woman was capable of, she would pity her. How conniving of her, to act like she would disappear simply because Eleanor said so.“Don’t stay, then,” Eleanor snapped, “because I’ll never accept you.”When Eleanor shook Mia off, Mia fell to t
“How about this?” Sophia Jade Allen, Eleanor’s best friend, asked as she held up a shimmering blue dress. “You’d shine like a star in this one.”Eleanor shook her head and narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “I already told you, I’m going with white. Stop with the distractions.”It was the day before the Alpha Council meeting, and she was shopping for a dress to attend the party. She wanted to choose a white elegant gown, but Sophia was too excited and kept picking out colourful gowns.Sophia pouted and handed the dress back to the shop attendant. “You are no fun.”Just then, another shop attendant came along with a rolling garment rack full of white dresses. “These are the best that we have,” she told Eleanor. “Please have a look.”In a second, Sophia was done pouting and began fawning over the new arrivals. “Oh my god, look at this one,” she said, pulling out a white satin dress with spaghetti straps and a thigh-high split on one side.“Too revealing,” Eleanor said, not giving it
Eleanor was in her room preparing to go to bed when the door opened without a knock. Thomas walked into the room, his expression showing that he was about to start a fight.Eleanor stood from her seat at the vanity and faced him. “What do you want?”He had not shown up in their bedroom since that day he announced he would be taking Mia to the party.“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, giving her a disgusted look. “Why can’t you just leave Mia alone? Why do you insist on causing trouble for her?”Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest and paced. So it was about what happened at the store. Of course, the rogue had gone crying to her mate and now he was here to scold her.“What do you mean? What have I done?”Thomas moved to stand in her way. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Mia ran into you at the store today, and you humiliated her in front of everybody.”Eleanor arched an eyebrow. “I gave her the dress I’d chosen for myself because she liked it so much. How does
Ethan looked around, searching for his Alpha’s position. He was on the other side of the room, conversing with two other Alphas. His eyes, however, were directed at Eleanor.Ethan’s brow dipped slightly as a troubling thought crossed his mind. Henry was looking for a red-haired she-wolf he had come across in Blackstorm’s territory.He didn’t often ask about she-wolves. Could it be that he had recognised her? Was Eleanor the she-wolf his Alpha had been searching for all along?“She is the Luna from Blackstorm pack who called wanting to see you,” Ethan told him honestly.Across the room and through their mindlink, Henry could sense Ethan’s feelings. Not that he needed to get into his head to realise that. He had seen how he looked at the red-haired woman, totally entranced like many other males in the room.The moment she had walked into the room, he had recognised her as the red-haired she-wolf he had come across in Blackstorm’s territory. Was his Beta in love with the she-wolf he had
After Mia told Thomas what had happened at the clothing store, he assured her she didn’t need to wear the dress Eleanor gave her. Instead, he bought her a new pink dress which exuded innocence and delicacy.Mia couldn’t wait to see the look on Eleanor’s face when she saw her. She was happy that Eleanor and her friend had harrassed her at the store. It made Thomas get close to her and get even angrier with his Luna.With Thomas’s support, she didn’t need to worry about fighting back against Eleanor. He would fight all her battles, and that would make her victory so much sweeter.When Thomas got to the party with Mia not his Luna, many men paid attention to her. Mia enjoyed the attention secretly–she couldn’t openly show that she was thrilled to be here. She clung close to Thomas, acting like a kitten scared to leave its master’s side.“Are you okay?” he asked, looking down at her with worried eyes. Nobody had ever looked at her the way he did. How lucky she was, to not only have an Alp
Thomas was only gone for a few seconds when he realised that leaving Eleanor with Shallowend’s Alpha was not a good idea. Since it involved Mia, Eleanor always got mad, careless about his and their pack’s reputation.Ever since Mia came to their pack, Eleanor had been taking every chance to tear into his mate. If he left her alone with the man, there was no telling what kind of trouble she would brew.Handing Mia to Miller, Thomas rushed back to the dessert table. He got there just as Eleanor asked Alpha Walter what he knew about Mia. He reached out to Eleanor through mindlink. “Watch what you say,” he warned, “don’t embarrass me in public. We’re bound, Eleanor.”“Embarrass? What’s your point to say that, Thomas? Have you considered about me when you announced Mia as your mate in public? Wasn’t this a deliberate attempt to embarrass me either?”Choked and speechless, Thomas turned to the onlookers who were still standing around, waiting to hear the gossip about an alpha’s mate. “There