Chapter 15 Turning A New Leaf
Kian watched Sebastian walk into the training grounds, heading straight over to him. The look in his eyes and face were enough to know that Raina gave him hell for escorting her. He smirked as Sebastian met his eyes and noticed the amusement on his face.
“I take it she wasn’t happy,” he chuckled as Sebastian’s eyes widened and shook his head.
His beta released a breath. I don’t think she realized it, but she used her Luna’s aura, he told him through their mindlink. That caused Kian to raise his eyebrows in question. How as that even possible? He hadn’t claimed her fully yet. Sebastian only shrugged as if he could hear his thoughts.
Even though you haven’t claimed her publicly, your bond already did when you accepted her. That’s what I’m predicting, his beta suggested. Kian nodded his head to that idea. Which means, when you do claim her, it’s going to be a powerful bond.
Kian shared a look with Sebastian. He could already feel it in his bones how powerful it was. The first moment he saw her after finding out, it felt like everything snapped into place. A moment of recognition between their souls even if she refused to accept it. He knew she felt it on a soul-level. Her mind was something he knew would take a while to come around.
“I did tell her I’d tell you that she wasn’t happy with having a body guard escort her places,” he chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s your battle to win. She’s your Luna to tame.”
He sighed, knowing that was definitely going to be a fun conversation with her. He knew it was going to be tough for her. She was so used to being independent, but right now with her eventual pregnancy and throughout her pregnancy, she would be guarded. There were people he didn’t trust within this pack and judging by what the surveillance department was uncovering, he had every right to be on guard.
The Elder Council was overstepping, especially with what Mia had revealed to him earlier. If they even so much as breathed wrong in Raina’s direction, he’d set them straight, but he knew they were too cunning and devious to be that bold until the right moment. Viktor had sent him the footage of Elder Richmond speaking down to Raina right before she joined him, Sebastian, and Mia down the hallway. It explained her behavior and it killed him to know that she agreed with them.
If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have automatically believed that he was taking Mia back and continued to believe it all the other times. This late afternoon, he punished her and he would gladly keep punishing her for not trusting in him to keep his word to her. The way she tried to keep quiet, the way she tasted on her tongue, and how wet she got… he needed to stop thinking of her if he was going trying not to sink between her thighs and breed her again tonight.
He knew her body wasn’t used to sex, at least not yet. If she had been, it wouldn’t have just been only his mouth and tongue on her. He wouldn’t have let her up until they both were spent, her throat was raw from screaming, and their bodies ached, begging for rest. He was trying to ease her into her new role as his mate and his Luna.
“Not again,” Sebastian grumbled, causing Kian to look up.
He sighed when his eyes came across Mia. Even though he felt exactly like Sebastian, he watched Mia beckon him over. He almost didn’t want to, because he knew Raina was in the surveillance department with her friend, Poppy. Mia was still part of his pack and he was still her Alpha. Every pack member had every right to request audience with their Alpha and he had to comply.
Sebastian gave him a look before he headed off, leaving Kian to tend her. He cautiously approached and Mia sighed at the way he was treating her.
“I deserve that,” Mia said with defeat. He frowned at her words. “I didn’t want it become like that between us. I didn’t want it to end like this with you hating me.”
Kian gestured her to follow him and he walked out into the hallway where there were less people now that it was in the evening. He didn’t take her to the gardens again, but he did want her to feel somewhat comfortable to talk to him without too many ears listening. Not that, they were completely alone, the surveillance team could definitely hear their conversation and maybe he wanted Raina to so she’d know what was being said.
“I don’t hate you,” he clarified, even though he kept his distance from her.
She sighed. “But it’s not the same anymore.”
“It’s never going to be like it was before,” he told her honestly.
He wasn’t going to beat around the bush or sugarcoat it for her anymore. He had a soft spot for her, but she needed to move on and heal. Her, holding out on the hope that he’d change his mind, was not good for her. He didn’t like that the Elder Council fueled that hope in her for years.
“I know. I understand that now.” She looked down at the floor as if she was showing submission to him. He swallowed, realizing that she was. “And I… I’m sorry for overstepping out there in the garden. You were being nice and I was being awful.”
Like that, the old Mia he knew had returned — the sweet, kind Mia that most knew. This Mia that he had loved without questioned. He knew that she was not thinking correctly with what she had said was said in her heartbreak and anger.
Relief flooded through him. Maybe, she would be spared then. He hadn’t broken her spirit. The sooner she healed and moved on, the better she could prepare for a future that could be filled with joy and happiness. He wanted that for her so badly, because he did truly love her. He didn’t spend nine years with her not loving her. He broke them up to save her from the inevitable pain that would come, but he had witnessed it, grieved with his mother, and lost respect for his father until it made sense to him.
Mia deserved more than that grief he knew he would’ve caused her. He knew it would be worse, because nine years of him promising is far less of a sin than him trying test fate and destiny. Now that he knew who his fated mate was, he didn’t think he could deny Raina of her rightful place in the end even if he had been with Mia. She would’ve eventually won him over, just like Deidre with his father. It would’ve been so easy to hate his fated mate if she had been a stranger, but he never dawned on him that he already knew her. Raina, his right hand and his chosen Beta, had become a permanent fixture in his life. She had been slowly becoming an important part of it for awhile now.
Raina had sacrificed her body, her heart, her mind, and her soul for his sake and his happiness. She would’ve continued her suffering to the bitter end and he shuddered at the thought of her death. He’d never know. He would’ve known and that brought a fear far greater than living with Mia.
In that moment, he knew everything had done was for the best, because he knew the truth right then. He would’ve chosen Raina over Mia, but not before he destroyed all of them, trying to figure it all and trying to resist the pull of the bond.
There was one thing that he realized that made Raina stand out — she never used the irresistible pull of the mate bond to her advantage. She continued to use her scent suppressants to keep her scent from him. He would’ve never known she was his fated mate until he claimed her.
“I do wish you love and happiness,” he finally told Mia, looking straight into her eyes.
He didn’t miss the tears in her eyes, but she nodded her head and tried to be brave even when she was in pain. “Thank you for speaking with me again.”
She shyly dipped her head to break eye contact with him. He would need to get used to her not meeting his eye anymore, but he understood the necessity of it. The only ones in the pact that dared to look him in the eyes was his Luna, his family, his Betas, and the Elder Council. She had accepted her place and role in the pack.
He watched her walk away, down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner.
“I don’t trust her,” Poppy said, popping a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
Like Poppy, Raina’s eyes had been glued to the screen, watching the interaction and conversation between Kian and Mia. This docile creature was like the Mia she had known until that night she had burst into Kian’s suite. Ever since that fateful night, how Mia treated her changed.
“It seemed genuine,” she murmured, even though there was that strange sinking in her heart like she knew the truth.
Poppy shook her head. “I’ve never liked her.”
Raina frowned at that. Everyone liked Mia. Maybe it was Poppy’s sense of loyalty to her, but Mia hadn’t done anything truly horrible. She had every right to claim Kian as hers, because for nine years, he was hers. She couldn’t fault Mia for getting territorial and competitive. She was fighting for her mate.
“She’s fake sweet,” Poppy explained as they watched Kian walk back into the training grounds to access the Gammas train the new night watch warriors that would man the perimeter. “She’s also an Amato and all the Amatos have a darker side to them.”
Elder Richmond immediately came to mind. Then Raina thought about Raina’s father and brother. They all had a nasty side to them. They were arrogant, smug, and narcissistic. Mia took after her mother who was submissive, docile, and sweet. She was beautiful, inheriting their classic elegance and beauty known for the Amatos.
Kian had been enamored by her at a young age. Mia had been a year younger than he was, but at sixteen, he had made it known to everyone that she was the one he wanted. From that point on, everyone knew that Mia Amato would be the next Luna when Kian reached his twenty fifth birthday.
She would have if it hadn’t been for Deidre Hannah seeking shelter two years earlier. It took two years to shatter what Alpha Ramsey and Luna Darcy built together. When Kian was sworn in as Alpha, Mia had left, unable to cope with the heartbreak.
“Mark my words, Rain, she’s trouble,” her best friend warned her as she looked her straight in the eyes.