CHAPTER 29: SHOPPING

CHAPTER 29: SHOPPING
The past
Rose
I was bored. Of course, being the mate of an Alpha generally came with its perks, and shopping was one of them. So instead of slithering around in my own boredom, I decided to take the initiative. Get something pretty for myself. And even though I had many things that were pretty, I still wanted more. I needed more.
It wasn’t just about feeling pretty. Despite knowing how I looked—my petite stature and kingly grace earning many favorable looks from men and women alike—the one that counted barely paid me any mind. He didn’t look at me. Even long before she came, I had long felt whatever once strongly brewed between us had disappeared.
Suddenly, I was back in the mansion, standing before him as fresh as a freshly bloomed flower and wearing what Renee told me to wear. Renee’s instructions were clear.
“This carries the scent of a mate,” she said. “Mates generally have no scent,” she added. “But with the right tweaking here and there”—she chuckled—“it’s very easy to trick the mind.”
“How badly do you want him?” Renee had asked me.
“The billion-dollar question,” I said. “Bad enough.”
I wanted him. I wanted to be Luna. I want to be his wife. I want Florence out of this house.
I remembered that one time I found him just returning from a rogue dismissal. He was shirtless, his tanned, bronze-colored skin glistening with blood, dirt, and grime. He was dirty, but he was glorious.
I remember the way my breath caught in my throat, the way I could do nothing but stare, the way every fiber of my being screamed that he was mine. He had barely spared me a glance that day, only briefly looking toward me before turning away. But our eyes met. That was the assurance I needed.
Our eyes met, and it was enough.
And so, I firmly believed—no matter what—that I was his.
“But look here,” Renee continued, despite how many times I had told her of my assurances. “You’re a werewolf,” she said. “For us, we don’t do things like humans. Yes, I strongly believe there’s that one person, but in your case, it’s not exactly foolproof. He doesn’t know,” she said. “It means this is one-sided.
“I hate to break it to you, love, but that’s how it is.”
I slammed my hand firmly on the table before me, nearly breaking it.
“He doesn’t know it yet,” I said. “And it’s happened before, these one-sided things. It’s not the first time, but eventually, they know. It’s always the men,” I said.
“The men rarely even notice,” she replied. “It’s always us.”
I placed a hand firmly on my chest, still slightly flatter than most. My young mind had been filled with so much assurance, nothing could shake it.
“And if it’s not?” she asked.
“If it’s not,” she continued, “he will take his chances at finding his one true mate. It’s all because of your selfishness—your inability to let go, to understand that there is always someone for everyone. And in this case, it’s not him.”
“It is!” I screeched at the top of my lungs. “It is him!”
“Now, if you don’t want to be killed by his forces when they find out you’re alive, slithering around his pack like the wretch you are, you’ll do exactly as I say.”
With as much teenage pride as I could muster, I stood tall.
“You will make him love me as his mate because it’s true,” I said. “He is my mate. And I am his. Do you understand, Renee?”
Renee was silent for a little too long. Her eyes seemed to see nothing and everything all at once. She let out a breath, then rolled her eyes.
“It’s not a one-time fix,” she said. “It’s a scent you’ll carry with you, laced with magic,” she explained. “It will affect his mind, his nose—his wolf will believe you to be his mate,” she said.
“It’ll be ready in three days.”
True to her words, she delivered the potion three days later, ready and well-labeled. It even came with a note:
➢ It is not a one-off potion. It will need to be replaced for at least one year, every three months. And if it runs out faster, then even quicker. Payment is not just you keeping your mouth shut about this. I’ll also need money and safe assurance that I will be able to escape from this pack.
Of course, I gave her both, draining my teenage savings rather quickly and causing my parents much distress. The potion cost so much, but it was understandable as most of the materials needed were quite rare.
I remember the way he looked at me when I walked before him, spreading my scent close to him. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widened, his stare holding my gaze for a brief moment.
I employed an age-old tactic. Instead of standing and staring, I turned on my heel and began to walk away. If he wouldn’t follow now, he would later.
To my utmost surprise, he followed later.
A few days later, I saw him again. This time, he was alone, away from the delegation of elders and sycophants who usually surrounded him.
“Come,” he said, grabbing my hand, pushing me against the wall, and thrusting his nose into my neck.
“How is this possible?” he asked in a low growl as he sucked in my scent over and over again.
“Mate,” he said, almost as though it were a question.
“Yes,” I whispered softly. “I am. Will you not claim me?”
He looked confused, as though he couldn’t believe it.
“I can’t believe it either,” I said. His eyes briefly shone with recognition as though I had read his mind.
“But if this is the will of the Goddess, then are we going to tell her a big fuck you?” he chuckled and shook his head.
“There’s a process to this,” he said. “Tell me your name.”
He smiled, and that was the moment my life changed.
It should have been bliss after bliss, joy after joy. Unfortunately for me, the age-old saying no mate means no child came back to bite me.
We had been mated for years now—nearly a decade—and not one of his seeds had taken root within me. Yet she had gotten pregnant.
Of course, it meant little after all. I was Luna, and I should have been in a perpetually blissful state.
So why was I seeing him i
n the mall with that little tramp draped on his shoulders as he led her from store to store?