Chapter 101 Sargat...

Chapter 101 Sargat...
Ares was so boring, utterly devoid of a sense of humor, always wearing that ice-cold glare as if he hated the entire world.
Esmeralda would genuinely be happier living with him instead of Ares.
A fierce urge to protect the human bloomed in his chest with every step he took toward his packhouse. His wolf was actively searching for her nature, frustrated by its inability to connect with a female wolf.
“She’s human, you idiot, there is no inner wolf to connect with!” Derik snapped mentally at his beast. The wolf simply scoffed and went right back to daydreaming about having green-eyed pups, visualizing more than a dozen of them tumbling out of Esmeralda’s womb all at once, tumbling and bouncing right behind him.
Derik chuckled. His wolf's nature was so obsessed with pups that he felt more like a nesting Luna with a cock than an Alpha male.
His beast, however, remained entirely silent. It felt as though that part of him had died the day the ship carrying his fated mate sank.
Alpha Derik stepped inside the packhouse—a place far too cold and dark to ever be considered a home. He found it strange that he couldn't catch the sweet aroma of Esmeralda's scent anywhere.
“Where is she?”
“Upstairs, in one of the rooms with my mate and young Sunna. I forgot to mention, she used a brew to mask her scent.”
Derik nodded and headed up the stairs. When he spotted a female standing in the hallway, he frowned and walked over to her.
She looked beautiful and elegant, as always. Her eyes held a distinct spark whenever she looked at him, and the welcoming smile she flashed would have left any un-mated male of a lesser nature rock-hard.
“Hira, what are you doing here?”
She stepped closer and lowered her head, respecting the hierarchy. Derik was an Alpha, and she showed him every ounce of required reverence, despite their years of friendship.
“My Alpha, I am waiting for the human Luna to finish her bath so I can introduce myself.”
Feminine voices drifted from behind the door, laughing and sharing casual, lighthearted chatter. Derik looked from the closed door to Hira.
“Come with me. I’ll introduce you to her myself.”
Hira smiled with satisfaction and took Derik’s arm. Without knocking, the two of them walked straight into the room.
Esmeralda was standing there, wrapped in a thick fabric the pack used to dry off—similar to the bath towels she was used to, though a bit rougher. The moment she saw the Alpha walk in, she gasped in shock and scrambled to hide behind Tabita, the pack's Beta female.
The Beta and the young she-wolf bowed before the Alpha. He gestured for them to rise, still holding his companion's hand.
“Luna Esmeralda, I am glad to have you in my humble home. Allow me to introduce my friend, Hira, the leader of the pack's females. Should you need anything of a feminine nature, she will surely assist you.”
The human completely ignored his words, keeping her back turned to him.
“Derik, how can you just barge in without knocking? I’m naked!”
“I’m naked too, Esmeralda. Is it a coincidence or destiny?” he asked, chuckling at her modest reaction. “What do you say we dismiss the wolves so we can find out?”
His tone was playful, but she was far too embarrassed to find any humor in it.
“Get out, get out, get out! Leave right now, Derik!” She turned her back to him again, covering her eyes with her hands. “Oh, Allah, and put some clothes on! Astaghfirullah, this is way too haram for me. I’m going to burn in the fires of hell!”
Derik laughed out loud, and his laughter deeply startled the females of his pack. Ever since the shipwreck that took his fated mate, Derik had never smiled genuinely; he only gave cynical, mocking smirks filled with scorn. But this human actually made him laugh, which instantly filled the minds and hearts of the she-wolves with all sorts of ideas and schemes.
Tabita, the Beta female, smiled as she nudged Derik out the door so the human could get dressed in peace and stop being teased. In her heart, hope began to bloom that Derik might take the human Luna and save the pack. What a miracle it would be to finally carry her mate's pups. She and Eli dreamed of their own little ones. She touched her stomach, filled with hope.
Sunna was too young to fully grasp what all of this meant. She simply loved her Alpha like an older brother and would be happy to see him fall for the human and be together.
Hira, however, felt a bitter wave of jealousy and envy wrap around her heart. Derik had been the best friend of her late mate, who died saving the Alpha’s life. She and Derik had sought comfort for their losses in each other's arms, mating whenever they felt broken, angry, or when the heat hit.
They were friends, and he always made her feel important by granting her the title of leader of the harem females. She had even brewed several potions trying to conceive his pup ever since he began claiming her again after his long period of mourning. Unfortunately, without a Luna's bond, the pack was barren; none of the females could conceive.
If Derik united with the human, her plans would shatter, and she would be relegated to just another ordinary female in the harem, stripped of importance and power. And she was an elite female, a warrior—strong and breathtakingly beautiful.
As she introduced herself to the human, her mind drifted back to a small, hidden room inside her quarters, where the goddess of her devotion was represented by an idol she had crafted herself.
“Oh, great Sargat, I will bring you an offering, so that the plan I have in mind may succeed!”