Alpha Zane’s POV
Even before I see her, I know she is on the other side of the door.
Her scent hits me in the face like a warm blanket, I can't wait to see her face, to walk up to her and take her in my arms.
My mate!
I still can't believe that finally, after three years of waiting, she is here. With me, where she belongs. My pack longs for her, like my subjects, I want my fated and no chosen. A fated mate makes us much stronger, mentally and collectively. And tomorrow I will make them happy when I announce that the Luna has arrived. I know this party will last a whole week and Eric is already making preparations.
Claw howled with joy to the wide door, waiting for her appearance to tell me the good news. She must appear quickly now before I suffocate here with my bated breath.
'Zane, what's taking her this long? Maybe you should face her, this is taking too long,' my wolf complains. But Eric is right in front of me, obstructing my every move. Of course, I am stronger than him and could push him aside with ease, but with so many guests around us, it is not the right thing to do. He probably wants to prevent me from doing something crazy, like in the lobby. I'm hot-tempered and have little patience with slackening.
I show the expected respect to the King and Queen but don't lose sight of the door. Until one of the protocol ladies finally steps out and points out to the group still hanging outside that the conference is starting soon.
And then the Alphas enter, moving very slowly because each of them stays standing first to bow to the Royal couple. Impatiently I rock my legs, only men come through the door and I am sure Selene will never make the mistake of pairing me with a man. I am very definitely not gay, although I have nothing against the LBGT group.
And then her scent gets stronger, she is closer and could appear any minute now. My heart beats like mad in anticipation.
Then I see a woman walking in with a warrior at her side. Thick black curls adorn her small face, which looks grave. Her skin is tanned as if she is often out in the open. She is relatively tall for a she-wolf, and despite her tight clothing covering most of her body, it is clear she has curves in all the right places. She is perfect.
'MATE! MATE!" roars Claw madly in my head, wagging his tail. 'Let's go get her and hold her. We can take care of her as much as she wants. Our pack will love her and protect her,' he babbles on.
Then I notice how she stiffens.
Her eyes go big and I know she realizes she is in the same room as her mate. I wait impatiently; according to the traditional script, she should now run to me and throw herself into my arms. And then we leave this meeting for an hour or more to return with the announcement that we have accepted each other as mates.
I get so hot thinking about being able to have her in my arms in a few seconds.
Finally she looks up, our eyes embracing each other. Silvery eyes stared at me startled, her lips lightly parted. A hand goes to her neck as she fights an inner battle. Uncertain of her strange attitude, I push Eric to get out of my confined space. I want to go to her to help her over the threshold.
But then I see her flee.
Before she disappears completely among the rest of the presence, she looks back once more, her face dripping with confusion and pain. How is that possible? How did she manage to resist the mate pull to turn away from me? I can understand that she was surprised to meet me, but then whence the pain? Meeting your mate is the best thing that can happen to a werewolf.
"Eric, she left. She looked at me for a moment but did not come to me. Is she rejecting me?" I whispered to my Beta, glancing in disbelief in the direction where my mate left.
"Do you mean Luna Ariel?"
"The black-haired woman who just entered the room with the warrior who is now standing with a glass of water."
Eric looks at the warrior and then back at me.
"Zane! That was Luna Ariel. She is mated with Alpha Gorgio as I informed you earlier. She is not your mate, you are confused," he hisses at me. "Don't make a fool of yourself. She is not your mate". I shake my head in denial.
"Damn sure she is. I don't know what's going on here, but I won't let her go. I've waited too long for her, she's my Luna," I insist.
"Okay, let's finish the official part of the conference and then we'll go to her to talk this out," he suggests. "You can't leave now, the King and Queen will never forgive if you do, you are the host". Unfortunately, he is right.
After another longing glance at the closed door, I go to the speaking stool to initiate the opening ceremony. With all my energy, I push back my restlessness and do the job I am assigned to. I want to get this over with as soon as possible to go after Ariel.
Half an hour later, I can put the conference in the hands of a ceremony master. Eric take me by the shoulder and we leave the room unnoticed.
"I have requested the information we need. She is staying in room 1404 on the fifth floor. We can go there immediately". We run into the elevator and as we walk in the hallway of the fifth floor, we rush to the room. I knock on the door and wait timidly. Seconds pass, no response.
"Luna Ariel!" I shout now, my heart pounding.
'Zane. She is not there anymore. She is gone,' Claw sounds broken.
'Gone? No, she can never have disappeared. She wants to be with us'.
'No, Zane. There's more to it'…
Still Alpha Zane's POV Desperately, I break the door open.I can't believe what Claw is telling me, we're mates and she needs to be with me. I need her, my pack needs her. "Eric, Claw says she's not here anymore, she's gone." I can't keep the frustration out of my voice. We run inside. The bed is neatly made, probably by the cleaners. In the walk-in closet were two complete sets of official clothes and shoes. When I opened the drawers, I saw underwear lying around. I take a blazer off the hanger and smell it. Yes, this is the scent I've been craving, she's my mate. Back in the bedroom, her toiletries are still on the dressing table, as well as a small jewelry box."Eric, she is definitely my mate. But I don't understand how I could pick up her scent so strongly when she's already mated to Gorgio. I can't imagine that she hasn't waited for me and accepted to be someone else's chosen mate," I explain pained. "She
Still Alpha Zane's POVWith the breath of the Council now on my neck, my position within my own pack is becoming increasingly stark.Never before in the history of werewolves has a fully mated wolf appeared to have a second mate. Once marked and mated, it should be final. But the Moon Goddess has clearly decided otherwise today, and everyone in this room will have to come to terms with that. Because if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that I'm not giving up on Ariel. Gorgio will just have to find another mate, but Ariel is mine, marked or not.So here I am, with the Council and the King and Queen surrounding me."She went missing from your pack, so it is your duty to inform Alpha Gorgio of what has happened. And avoid escalation, this conversation will not be easy," warns the Council President, Alpha King Petric, who is also Ariel's father. I put my phone on speaker and dial Gorgio's number. We have never been friends, even though the Council forced us to sign a
Stubborn AlphaStill Alpha Zane's POVI am by no means a coward. Gorgio will find in me a formidable opponent.But I cannot make the same mistake he did. In fact, I am taking advantage of his grave miscalculation to declare war on me now that the King and Queen are in my pack.And judging by the look on King Jasper's face, the Alpha will not get away with this shown disrespect so easily. I bolt from my seat and walk out of the hotel with great strides. I leap behind the wheel and Eric quickly throws himself in the passenger seat. At high speed, I race to the gates of my pack. Behind me, I see the Limousine with the Royal couple and some Council members, followed by the Alpha King in his Maserati.As I arrive at the gate, I see my Head Warrior Kensley waiting there. Concerned, he comes over to me, obviously unaware of what has happened in the conference room. "Alpha! Thank God you're here! There is increased activity just outside our border. It looks lik
Again from Alpha Zane's POV "You're a liar!"Gorgio yells in my face, hurling all sorts of accusations at me. Since we arrived in my office, his temper has been all over the place. He seems unable to control himself, and his wolf often gets the upper hand. It is the King's Lycan aura that keeps him from shifting. "You've been eyeing my mate for a long time, it seems. You're jealous of our relationship because you can't find a fated yourself. And this is your trick to steal her from me," he shouts furiously. "You know my wolf will weaken without her. And then you think this is your way into my land. But you are in for a surprise, Alpha Zane. Promised!"My confession that Luna Ariel is also my fated mate only meets with resistance from the man.He cannot fathom that he must now share his Luna with me. Many of my attempts to come to an arrangement as grown men failed. Alpha Gorgio continues to grumble, and the Alpha King and King Jasper become despondent. Qu
Alpha Gorgio's POVI can't believe an Alpha is trying to steal my mate.I cannot allow this, it must never happen. There must be something this scum has pulled out to manipulate my Ariel. Maybe he even hired a witch to take her away from me to weaken me.Never before has a fully mated wolf, still active in the relationship, been paired with another wolf. There are cases of up to three males having to share a she-wolf, but they were all unmated. Damn sure, Alpha Zane is playing dirty here. And I won't let it go on, I'll go to war if I have to. In any case, I feel that the King is not unwilling to understand me, he also loves his woman with all that is in him. Ariel! My only love.No man will ever touch her as I do. She is mine, all of her. Her heart, soul and body. The Moon Goddess sanctioned our bond at our joining ceremony and I will hold her to it. And I am sure Ariel will never deceive me, we are one body and soul and there is no room for a third mate. We don't need
Luna Ariel's POV Tears blur my vision as I make my way through the heavy traffic. I’m so unhappy. My betrayal of Gorgio holds my heart in a painful grip. How could I have allowed a bond to form between Alpha Zane and myself? This strong attraction, which I could hardly resist, I should only feel for my mate. And my mate is Gorgio and him alone. Just a few hours after I swore to him that my heart belonged only to him and that I would love him forever, I start to have feelings for another man. And not just any man, but Gorgio's arch-enemy, the Alpha who constantly challenges our pack. I have never met him before because my mate protects me from the evil world. Midnight Moon is bad news. Gorgio only allowed me to represent him at the council meeting because it was important for our pack. The deals I had to offer were lucrative, and it took a lot of persuading to get Gorgio to agree to let me go. And look where that got u
Luna Ariel's POV "Dad! I'm so sorry I let you down." Once again, tears streamed down my face in buckets. The feeling of shame is overwhelming, I am the daughter of the honored Alpha King and I have only caused him trouble. I must be the most talked about she-wolf in the werewolf community by now, and not everyone will sympathize with me. Dad was overjoyed when Gorgio turned out to be my mate, proudly giving his approval at our joining ceremony and expressing his deep appreciation for my mate in his speech. And what daughter is not happy to bring her father nothing but joy? I was also proud of myself at the time. Now I had entirely ruined that. My run must have embarrassed him, and now that it turns out that I have more than one mate, even enemies, I know that his life has hit rock bottom. And then it all happened in front of the King and Queen. "No, no, my daughter. There is nothing to apologize for. This is the will of the Moon Goddess. And she do
Luna Ariel's POV still The bus arrives in Miami and I get off. I look around, I've never been here before and I don't know where to go. Then I notice a yellow taxicab approaching and I get in. "Miss, where can I take you?" the driver asks politely. For a moment I hesitated, but then I was confident. "To a hotel near the beach." The man nods and looks at me in the rearview mirror as he drives off. "First time in Miami? Your accent is not from here," he smiles kindly at me. "You guessed right. I'm here for a holiday. Sun and fun are all I need. Can you please advise me on a few places?" He pulls a leaflet out of his cupboard. "There are plenty of things to do here. The nightlife is great, but you can also do some sightseeing. Even cruise ships dock here," he says, holding the leaflet out to me. And indeed, I read all kinds of sights and activities to distract and make me relax me. Once I find a place to stay, I will plan ev