Chapter 154 - The Alpha King Is My Second Chance Mate
Jeovanni looked at the beauty that surrounded him. It was his first time here and yet it wasn’t his hard work that made it happen…once again, it was Quinn’s.
The shadow that made all of his achievements possible. His pack survived only because she was a part of it and even after she left, she was still contributing to its success.
She was the rock he leaned against, the only person that could keep him balanced and steady…and he’d lost her…
He’d lost her to a man far better than he could ever be and that made the pain he felt a hundred times worse. He knew he couldn’t win her back, she was happily marked, happily pregnant…while he was just here; feigning happiness and suffocating in a room where they were the focal point.
The wine glass in his hand trembled along with his body as he watched them walk up the stairs hand in hand. The smile on her lips was the one she used to give him…and now it belonged to someone else.
However, he couldn’t really complain…he was the cause of his own downfall. He was too weak, he’d always been a coward; so unworthy to stand beside such a goddess.
Maybe she never really belonged to him in the first place…he missed her, he wanted her back, but she seemed so much more happier with him. They say the moon goddess didn’t make mistakes, but Jeo believed she might have made one when she mated a fool like him to Quinn Felon.
She was a queen, of course she needed to stand beside a king and unfortunately that king wasn’t him.
To her, he was easily replaceable, but he knew nobody could ever replace her…knew no second chance could ever be better than the first…but he also knew he had to move on; not only for himself, but for his pack too.
They needed a luna…and heartbroken or not, he had to find one for them…one that wouldn’t remind him of Quinn, but rather help him to forget her.
Bringing the wine glass to his lips, he took a sip of the liquid, eyes trained on Quinn as she grabbed onto the balcony. He was looking at her, but she was looking at him; her king, who took a deep breath before beginning his speech. “Another year and we are here again; in unity, building and supporting each other. We strive for greater strength and an unbreakable peace, but before the joy in our glasses fills our stomach, I want to invite a woman who’s been striving for the same thing for years. In her cup, there isn’t just joy, but the fragrance of freedom…and for her people it’s the same. River Adams, come and stand beside me.”
Jeovanni eased off the wall he was leant against as soon as the door in the corner of the room right beside the staircase flew open. His nostrils flared when a majestic scent clogged them, and the pace of his heart significantly picked up. His wolf growled awake within him, the sound ringing in his head alarming and yet refreshing at the same time…
Mate…
Mate…
Mate…
A tremor ran down his body and his blood almost ran cold when his eyes latched onto the owner of the scent…
A woman…a woman wearing a white hoodie dress and heels as high as his dreams walked through the door… He couldn’t really see her face as half of it was hidden by the cloak over her head, but based on what he could see, she was just as majestic as her scent.
She walked up the stairs, her steps leading a bloody trail up his heart. Her every movement was filled with confidence, the way her hips rocked from side to side showcased no form of insecurity. She knew she was beautiful…she was conscious of that.
As she walked up the last step, she looked back…eyes searching the crowd and landing on him for a brief second before she turned around and continued onto the balcony, stopping on the opposite side of Zayd; Quinn’s king.
She didn’t look at him for long, but he could see the recognition in those mesmerizing eyes. She knew who he was…and yet she…she ignored him?
Why?
And this aura she possessed…what was it? She wasn’t a werewolf…but her presence was strong. If she was the River Adams Zayd spoke of, then what exactly was she? And her people…? Who were they?
Jeovanni squinted his eyes, scrutinizing her beneath a curious gaze. She didn’t look back at him, instead, she squared her shoulders and held her glass up with one hand and using the other to push her hood back. The crowd gasped at her appearance, but his eyes could only widen in surprise and awe.
She was beautiful…her beauty was truly unique in a room full of people that almost looked the same. Her tanned skin was dazzling under the chandelier and the tattoo like markings on her face was what added a touch of difference to her look.
Her lips were adorned with black lipstick and rings were situated at the corners of her bottom lip. Her eyes were bright and snake like…instead of round, her pupils were narrow and the iris around it was a beautiful mixture of black and forest green…
In what world could any beauty be paralleled to hers? Well except for Quinn’s or maybe they were parallels, equal in beauty…
For the first time in his life, another woman challenged Quinn’s beauty in his eyes…what was happening to him? How could he ever compare another to Quinn?
It was wrong, but her features were perfect, putting up such a strong challenge…and those eyes; similar and yet so different from Quinn’s were hypnotic…they kept calling out to him, begging him to get closer and at some point, he couldn’t resist it anymore.
Like a compelled man, he pushed through the crowd, making his way to the frontline where he had the perfect view of her. Zayd started to speak again, but he was barely listening; he could barely hear anything but the word ‘mate’ ringing continuously in his head.
“A toast to my alliance with the venomoons…a growth nobody saw coming.” Zayd clinked his glass with Quinn’s and then with the woman who had all of Jeo’s attention before downing its content, and though everyone was flabbergasted, they did the same…Quinn too…
However, Jeo’s glass stayed a distant away from his lips. He wasn’t listening, but he’d heard. She was a venomoon? A venomoon? How…? He didn’t understand and yet he did…her eyes…the blotched pattern that beautifully decorated the center of her face explained it all and yet still he couldn’t believe…
His mate…his second chance wasn’t a wolf shifter like him…she was a snake shifter…how would he…? Were they even compatible?
He shook that thought out of his head, now listening keenly to Zayd’s next words. “I hope they’ll be treated with the same respect you’ve shown me tonight…anyone who tries to harm them will have to go through me…Enjoy the rest of the night, I hope the food served will satisfy your tastes.”
“Thank you, alpha!” The crowd yelled in unison, and Zayd took ahold of Quinn’s hand, leading her back down the stairs. Jeo’s mate followed, glancing at him with those overly confident eyes as she walked down the steps.
Jeo wanted to stop himself, but he couldn’t resist the urge to meet her at the bottom. He bowed his head as Quinn and Zayd passed him and then looked up at the goddess behind them. She scoffed, walking past him as though he didn’t even exist…and the action made his heart bleed.
She was well aware of what they were, so why was she ignoring him?
When she pulled the exit door open, he instinctively grabbed onto her hand, stopping her from walking out. “Wait…a minute, can you please give me a minute.”
She glared back at her hand which he held, specifically at the point where they were connected…and though Jeo felt the calming sparks, it seemed as though she couldn’t because she quickly yanked her hand out of his. “Don’t touch me, you desperate little dog.”
And then she trudged through the door.
Her words hurt, but Jeo followed her anyway, stopping when they made it to a door opposite to the one they just walked through. She sighed, turning to face him with eyes nonchalant and fierce; kind of like Quinn’s. “May I ask why you’re following me?”
Jeo cleared his throat, feeling small beneath her gaze. He was an alpha, but her looking at him like that made him want to hide. He barely knew what to say and goddess help him because he didn’t know what to do either. “I know you’re aware of what’s going on…we’re mates. I know our kind are different but~”
“But what…?” She leaned closer to his face, a small smirk curving the edge of her lips. “What’s your name, dog?”
“I’m not a dog, I’m a werewolf…a werewolf! Do you see me calling you a worm? Stop disrespecting m~”
“I asked for your name, mutt…”
“And if you want it, you’re going to have to ask nicer.”
She chuckled, the sight lighting a path of love through his heart. So pretty…so f*cking pretty.
“That’s probably the nicest I can be, but let me try again.” She leaned back and away from him, folding her arms across her chest. “What’s your name, furry?”
“Furry…? Really, couldn’t you have just said wolf?”
“Obviously not…just tell me who you are.”
“I’m Jeovanni Lum; alpha of the silvermoon pack…and you, earth crawler?”
She laughed again, softly…but only for a few seconds. After that, the playfulness on her face disappeared and a sudden coldness replaced it. “You heard him up there, I’m River Adams and this might be the last time you’ll see me. You’re right, I’m aware of what we are, and I’m also aware of what we are going to be.”
“And what’s that?”
She shrugged. “Strangers, probably enemies…because I will never give myself to a dog, even if it’s what the goddess wants. So Jeovanni Lum, with the moon above as witness, I sever the bond between us. The paths we cross will never intertwine. I; River Adams am not yours and you will never be mine. When the night light from the sky touches your skin, this rejection will be sealed and become an irreversible ordeal.”
Jeovanni stood still in his spot, too flabbergasted by her words to make a single move. She turned away from him, grabbing onto the knob and pulling the door open.
She gave him one last glance before stepping outside and before the door closed in his face, he involuntarily grabbed it, following her out.
As soon as his feet landed against the low grass and the moonlight drank upon his skin, mind-numbing pain scourged him, bringing him to his knee. A groan left his lips and yet even through the pain, his eyes were trained on her retreating form.
Beautiful and yet so wicked…
She didn’t even spare him a glance…and somehow, the fact that she didn’t care about his pain immensely enhanced it.
His fingers dug past the grass, his teeth clamping together as he tried to stop himself from succumbing to the pain. The world really was a cycle, what goes around always seem to come back around…
This pain was what Quinn felt when he wrongfully betrayed her…he might’ve not been in his right mind, but he’d still caused her pain…and now the same pain was his to bare.
He asked the goddess for a mate that would help him forget Quinn…not a mate that would even go as far as forgetting about him.
F*ck…! He stifled a groan as he stood to his feet, feeling as the bond that didn’t even get enough time to grow shatter. River’s confident steps led her into the woods where two of her kind emerged from to greet her…and that really was the last time he saw her…until then.
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