(Power hungry ex-es)
“Drive safely.”, Stephanie said to Caden when he started the car.
The trio would save a lot of time if they went with a helicopter or a plane, but werewolves like to feel the ground below them and won’t fly unless it’s necessary.
“Be back in three days.”, Stephanie added meaningfully.
Caden paused while thinking about his and Luciano’s schedule. There was nothing that would require their presence for at least one week. Any work that was pending could be done via phone, email, or video chat.
“What’s in three days?”, Caden asked.
“Cassie is coming.”, Stephanie responded with an unhappy face.
Caden stifled a laugh and Maya grimaced.
“What? Why?”, Luciano asked dejectedly.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. “You should ask her and not me. Cassie wanted to come today, but I told her that you would be out for a few days on business, and then she changed her tune to how she would go to New York for three days and come here after that. Make sure you are back by then. I don’t want to entertain girls who think they are my Luna.”
Luciano nodded obediently. “I will keep you informed about our schedule.”
Before Stephanie could say anything, Luciano slipped in the back seat of the car and mind-linked Caden, ‘Drive, NOW!’
“See you in a few days, Steph!”, Caden shouted through the open window and drove away.
“Not a few! Three! Did you hear me!?”, Stephanie shouted after them and shook her head helplessly. Kids.
In the car…
“Man, you should tidy up your loose ends.”, Caden said to Luciano teasingly.
Luciano groaned in frustration.
If not for Caden setting him up with that blasted date, Luciano wouldn’t even know who Cassie is.
Cassie was one of the bride candidates. About three years ago, Luciano went to meet her, and they met. Intimately.
Luciano didn’t know it was her first time; not that it would make any difference.
Luciano deflowered many girls, she-wolves and humans alike, but after Cassie, he made a rule to stay away from virgins.
Cassie is a spoiled young lady, the daughter of Alpha Richard, and Luciano wonders if she has marbles instead of a brain.
Luciano rejects her many times, but she refuses to accept it and walks around telling people that they are planning her Luna ceremony. The woman is delusional.
Since their one night together, Cassie shows up at the Dark Howler's pack occasionally, demanding that Luciano marry her because she gave him her first time.
Luciano would probably imprison her or maybe make her disappear if that wouldn’t risk a war with the Steelbite pack.
The Steelbite pack on its own is not a problem. It’s one of the smaller packs in the Southeast. But Alpha Richard has many connections, even among the Elders, and Luciano doesn’t want to give them more reasons to target him.
To Luciano, Cassie is a temporary nuisance, and just like many she-wolves who are throwing themselves at him, Luciano can tune her out.
Cassie comes about once a month, spends two to three days making a ruckus, and when she gets tired, she leaves.
As much as Luciano can ignore Cassie and block her attempts to crawl onto his lap or sneak into his bedroom at night, Stephanie feels like snapping Cassie’s neck whenever she hears Cassie saying how she is the Luna.
For Stephanie, there was only one Luna of the Dark Howlers pack and she perished ten years ago. As Stephanie sees it, every time Cassie shouts she is Luna (and tries to act like one), and Cassie is tarnishing the image of Luciano’s mother, the late Luna Violet.
Stephanie is aware that one day Luciano will find his Luna, and Stephanie hopes that the girl will be at least half as good as her deceased best friend. Cassie is not good enough to clean Luna Violet’s shoes which have been sitting boxed up for the last decade, and taking Luna Violet’s position is out of the question.
Luciano exhaled sharply, releasing his tension together with his last thoughts about Cassie. With any luck, she will not come, and he won’t need to deal with all that drama.
Women like Cassie enforce Luciano’s conviction that having a woman in life only brings trouble. He already has so much to deal with. Managing the pack, balancing the relationships with other packs, alliances, deals, concealed enmity, and all those damned Elders who are trying to manipulate him.
Other than his mother and Stephanie (and maybe Maya), Luciano didn’t see any woman who could handle her burden. That’s why he doesn’t want a woman in his life. His hands are already full and if he needs to deal with whinnying and pacifying women, he would go crazy.
As Luciano sees it, one-night stands are perfect and there are plenty of women who won’t ask for more from a handsome stranger, especially she-wolves who have a high libido.
Whenever he has time, Luciano goes outside of his pack borders, into areas where no one knows him. He finds a woman, they have fun, and by morning he can go back to his duties without any strings attached.
A clean break after an enjoyable night. Is that too much to ask for?
Unfortunately, Luciano is something like a celebrity, and those few women with whom he spent more than one night, started building expectations and he didn’t want to deal with their tantrums, so he bailed out.
Luciano’s phone rang and his handsome eyebrow arched when he saw the caller ID, “Jade”.
Ah, another of his ex-es (aka bride candidates), but this one hadn’t called him in more than a year, so he decided to see what she wanted.
“Yes?”
“Hi Alpha Luciano, can we talk?”
Luciano hummed in confirmation. This is what he likes about Jade. She doesn’t beat around the bush, and she doesn’t play games.
Luciano remembers when he met Jade for a date, about two years ago. Jade told him that she was into modelling and that she had no plans to abandon her career, but she was not against one night of fun.
“We are already on a date, why not enjoy it all the way?”, she said with a wink and Luciano approved.
In the morning, there were no hugs, no kisses, and no empty promises. Jade just left which earned her a big brownie point in Luciano’s books and that’s why he didn’t block her number.
And now it seems that she has something on her mind.
“Tell me.”, Luciano said.
“I am aware that you are still single, and that Elders are pressuring you to get married more than ever, right?”
Luciano frowned and said sternly, “Get to the point, Jade.”
Jade heard the Alpha’s tone in Luciano’s voice, and she got aroused. She can’t help it. Every she-wolf reacts to a powerful male, it’s in their genes.
“My father is nagging me to quit my job and find a husband and all the other stuff I don’t want to do, so I thought of you.”
Luciano didn’t get it. “Explain.”
“We can help each other. I will stay at your place for a few days, we go out, take some photos, and make it look like we are in a serious relationship. That should pacify my father and Elders for some time. I can go back to my runway, while you do… whatever you do. When they start bugging us again, we will repeat the process. What do you say?”
“You want to be my fake girlfriend?”, Luciano summarized. Part of him thought how that’s a good idea.
“Fake, real, those are just labels, right? We already shagged each other’s brains out, so other than marking, we went as far as possible. This is something that can benefit both of us. If you want, we can sign a contract. I will appreciate it if you don’t meddle in my career and don’t touch my money.” After a brief pause, Jade spoke with urgency, “I need to go. The show starts in five minutes, and I’m the first model. Think about it and let me know. If you have any conditions, I’m open for negotiations.”
The call ended abruptly, and Luciano stared at his phone.
“Will Jade be your pretend girlfriend?”, Maya asked with amusement in her voice.
“I hope not.”, Caden said seriously. “Luciano, remember that once they get in, it’s a headache to kick them out. What if she wants more than pretending? And before you say how Jade is, let me remind you that she is crafty and ambitious. If she is not, she wouldn’t be such a successful model despite her father’s objections.”
Luciano exhaled sharply as he agreed with Caden. All the irritation he left behind was back again.
Women only bring trouble.
Why can’t they leave him alone?
(Talia) ~ The Red Moon pack ~ “Out of the way!”, Anna spat angrily while carrying a stack of plates into the kitchen. Talia quickly stepped to the side, not wanting to attract attention. She never understood why Anna or other Omegas were treating her like trash, she was an Omega, just like they were. The only difference between them and Talia is that they all have families, while Talia is an orphan. No one will stand up for her and in the world of werewolves, one wins by strength or numbers. Unfortunately, Talia doesn’t have any of those, so she needs to submit or risk another beating. Talia read in a book that a good Luna should advocate for kindness and help the less fortunate ones, but Luna Layla is not one of those. Other than worrying about herself, Luna Layla cares about the flashy image of the Red Moon pack, and that’s where her concerns stop. Talia huddled in the corner, behind a big focus, and observed the commotion. The whole packhouse was buzzing with activity and she
(The red moon pack)It was late morning when Luciano, Caden, and Maya arrived at the Red Moon pack.Luna Layla apologized for the absence of her husband. “He is with the scouts who picked up suspicious movements on the eastern border of our territory before dawn. Alpha Edward is a hands-on leader and wants to personally ensure we are safe.”Luna Layla was welcoming enough to personally show them to their rooms on the second floor.‘Wow! This place is glitzy.’, Maya shared her thoughts with Luciano and Caden through their mind link.‘You can say that again.’, Caden responded.None of the three commented on two lines of Omegas who bowed to greet them in front of the packhouse.The floor of the entry hallway was made of white marble and the matching tall columns reached the three stories high ceiling. The marble staircase elegantly curved upward, looking pure and flawless, perfectly complimented by golden rails and the opulent crystal chandeliers that looked like they came from a fancy c
In the guestroom…Luciano sat in the comfy sofa chair and observed Kathrine smugly. She was standing three steps in front of Luciano with her hands crossed over her chest defensively.“You wanted privacy, so here we are.”, Luciano said while waving his hand, gesturing for Kathrine to start talking.“Considering our future relationship, I believe that we should be able to talk openly.”Luciano cocked an eyebrow. “Our future relationship?”Kathrine narrowed her eyes impatiently. Why is he pretending that he doesn’t understand? He wants her to spell it out? Fine!“We both know that you are here because I will be your Luna.”Luciano poked his cheek with his tongue while looking at Kathrine mockingly. He realized that Kathrine is impatient to clarify her status as his Luna. What’s with the rush? She didn’t seem to be desperate to get married, and if one was watching them during lunch, Nora seemed eager to put her hands on Luciano, while Kathrine was in a meh-mood.Luciano wondered if he sa
Luciano pushed Kathrine away from him and Kathrine fell on her butt unceremoniously.“Who is that girl?”, Luciano asked while buttoning up his pants.Kathrine was confused. “What girl?”“The one with towels! She left towels in the bathroom and left!”, Luciano roared and jabbed his hand into his hair. “Damn it!”Kathrine stared at Luciano and blinked rapidly while trying to understand what happened.Less than a minute ago…Kathrine was going down on him, and she was doing wonderfully, but then Luciano inhaled the most seductive sweet citrusy scent that reminded him of delicate freesia flowers and his cock lurched in response.‘Mate!’, Luciano’s wolf said.‘What?’, Luciano asked in disbelief while staring at Kathrine.If Kathrine is his mate, why was his wolf silent during lunch? And why did her scent change? Kathrine didn’t smell like freesia. Kathrine’s scent was coconut-like, and there were traces of it everywhere, but this new scent was gentle and seductive.His wolf growled. ‘Not h
How do I find her?’, Luciano asked his wolf as soon as he stepped out of Alpha Edward’s study.‘Follow your nose.’Luciano tried sniffing around. He went to the main floor, second floor, and… nothing.He wondered if the girl is even real, or if he imagined it.Luciano is an Alpha and his senses are sharper than the ones of a regular werewolf, yet he couldn’t pick up her scent. He was confused.Without any clues, he decided to wait for Kathrine who said that she will investigate which Omega was on the towel duty.Luciano plopped on the bed and took this opportunity to re-think the situation.His wolf told him that the girl is his mate, but she escaped. Shouldn’t mates be attracted to each other?‘Stupid!’, Luciano’s wolf growled. ‘What did you think she should do, when you had Miss Barbie between your legs? Did you expect her to jump into your arms happily?’‘Damn it! I forgot about it!’ He really did. The moment his eyes landed on Talia, Kathrine became not important.‘What if she hat
After dinner, they all moved to the living room where desserts and drinks were served.Caden and Maya had a mission, and after one drink they went to take a stroll in the garden before heading to bed.Before calling it a night, Caden and Maya will roam through the packhouse of the Red Moon pack, looking for an opportunity to eavesdrop on some conversations from the Omegas, or maybe even join in and ask questions.Luciano’s wolf was fidgety, craving to inhale the sweet citrusy scent of freesia and locate its source, despite Luciano telling him how that’s not going to happen.After an unknown measure of time, Luciano stood up abruptly. “I will retire for the night.”Everyone looked at Luciano with confusion obvious on their faces, but Luciano pretended like he didn’t notice.He turned to Alpha Edward. “I hope that after breakfast we can continue our discussion from this afternoon.”Without waiting for Alpha Edward to respond, Luciano went to his room.He opened the window of his room an
Luciano stared at the moon in silence for an unknown measure of time, when a knock on the door got his attention.‘Did Kathrine come to pick up what’s left of her panties, or did she change her mind?’, Luciano mused.No one else would come at this hour. Caden and Maya use mind links to communicate, like always, so that others don’t overhear them.Luciano went to open the door and to his surprise, Nora’s smiling face entered his vision.She took a deep breath of his masculine scent and her arousal swelled. She knew that he could smell her and she was not bashful about what she wanted.“Good evening, Alpha Luciano…”, she greeted him. “I noticed the light in your room, and since you left early wishing to rest, I wondered if you have trouble sleeping and if I can help you somehow.”Even without the scent of her arousal, Nora’s sultry look told Luciano what was on her mind, but he still asked, “How can you help me, Miss Nora?”Nora smiled when Luciano stepped into the room, silently giving
It was past two o’clock in the morning, and Luciano was unable to sleep.His room was facing the garden and there was a forest in the distance. Luciano decided to go for a run. That should help him clear his mind.Ideally, Luciano would shift into his wolf form. Feeling the soil and grass under his paws as the wind runs through his fur always feels good. However, he is in the territory of the Red Moon pack and if his wolf is seen, it will be perceived as a challenge, a threat.He came here to see what Alpha Edward was plotting, and not to start a war.Luciano descended the stairs and reached the main floor. He took a turn toward the door that leads to the garden when the sweet citrusy scent of freesia got his attention.Without thinking, Luciano’s legs moved, and he found himself in the part of the packhouse he hadn’t visited before. The kitchen.The main light was off, but he could see the surroundings among heavy shadows because the fridge was open.And there he saw a small figure s