Alpha Jake sat behind his desk, a flash of lightning illuminating the room through the glass window. The storm outside was relentless, the rain hammering against the panes with unyielding force.
Luna Sierra left the bed, her bare feet padding softly on the wooden floor as she walked up to him. "The rain hasn’t stopped since earlier," she said, her voice tinged with concern.
Alpha Jake remained focused on the papers in front of him, occasionally picking up his pen to jot down notes. His brow furrowed in concentration, the flickering light from the storm casting shadows on his stern face.
Sighing, Luna Sierra approached him. "Are you listening to me, Alpha?"
Finally, the head of the pack lifted his gaze, his piercing eyes meeting hers.
"The first reading from Sana Azalea stated our pack will suffer from a drought. This much rain is doing us a favor more than anything else," he said. "Why don’t you sit down and rest instead?"
Luna Sierra felt a flash of irritation. She hadn’t forgotten the shaman’s prophecy, even if that shaman was no longer alive to validate it. What if Sana Azalea had been wrong? What if she had miscalculated? The woman hadn’t even been able to foresee her own death. Yet, Luna Sierra knew how much Alpha Jake revered Sana Azalea’s words. Voicing her doubts could be dangerous.
Suppressing her true thoughts, she said instead, "I’m just worried about the mateship rites. We’ve prepared everything for this day, but it still ended up a mess..."
Alpha Jake released a low grunt. “What happened already happened.”
“Do you think we’re being punished?” Luna Sierra suddenly said.
“What do you mean?” A frown appeared on Alpha Jake’s face.
Seeing his interest in the subject, Luna Sierra proceeded to say in a careful manner, “Well, this is also part of our tradition and we have disrespected it a couple of times. A member of our pack even tainted the Goddess’ temple a month back…”
Anger flashed through Alpha Jake’s eyes. “Are you saying this is Alpha Prince Kael’s fault?”
“I’m not saying it’s entirely his fault but look at the rain outside, Alpha,” she continued, pointing to the window. “We are supposed to celebrate the union of our sons with their chosen mates. This rite is supposed to be sacred and celebrated properly. But Prince Kael suddenly left, didn’t he? And as soon as he did, this– this happened!”
Alpha Jake stood up and slammed his hands on the desk, startling Luna Sierra.
Eyes filled with rage, he growled, “You are not to speak this way as though he is cursed. Kael is my son, he is an alpha prince of this pack and that will not change.”
With that, he stormed off, slamming the door behind him.
Luna Sierra stood with her eyes wide in shock and fear. She could almost feel her heart jump right out of her chest at the sudden outburst of the Alpha.
Hand holding her chest, she was about to cry when her eyes caught the paper on the desk.
Sniffing back her tears, she sneakily moved closer and read the contents, only to find herself gasping.
“This…” Her lips quivered, eyes wide in utmost shock.
Alpha Jake, his husband, was writing a letter – and it was for the alliance to the biggest pack in the world, the Crimson Stone Pack.
And there, he had particularly asked the said pack a favor.
A bride for Alpha Prince Kael.
“What are you planning, Alpha?” Luna Sierra asked, heart full of confusion and curiosity.
Kael already had that rogue mate. There was also Margaux from the Night Ridge Pack. And now, Alpha Jake also wanted another bride from the Crimson Stone Pack…
If Kael took them all as his mates – wouldn’t he become the strongest alpha prince to exist in this world?
A laughter of bitterness escaped Luna Sierra’s lips. She clenched her teeth and hands while glaring at the door. “That scum prince… They’re going to give everything to him again?”
It totally didn’t make any sense to her.
But who cares if it makes sense?
The only thing she could feel was intense anger.
“So unfair,” she thought inside.
While her son was barely given attention by his father, the other rebel child was receiving all the gracious gifts a prince could have. In Luna Sierra’s heart, this was nothing but a display of power that had become imbalanced and wickedly greedy.
She didn’t know what Alpha Jake was trying to do with this plan, but she most certainly wouldn’t allow Kael to have everything.
Trembling in anger, Luna Sierra stood by the window. Another batch of thunder and lightning flashed through, but she was no longer fazed. Instead, she felt incredibly empowered.
Later, she proceeded to see Margaux of the Night Ridge Pack.
The young woman was startled. It was already deep in the night after all.
“I came to tell you something about Alpha Prince Kael,” she opened. “I heard you don’t want to proceed with the mateship rite if it’s not with him.”
Margaux nodded with grace. “That is right, Luna.”
Luna Sierra expressed her authority, her chin up in the air, “Then, it’s only right for you to know everything about him.”
Margaux came from a large and strong pack. If she ended up being controlled by Alpha Prince Kael too, he would become more powerful than he was now.
In Luna Sierra’s eyes, Margaux was a sheltered alpha princess. She didn’t know anything about the world. In fact, it would be that she didn’t do anything other than hear stories of unhinged heroic warrior deeds – probably by Alpha Prince Kael, on her rest days. In other words, she was brainwashed by the tales she heard about him and developed feelings for him.
But if that image was destroyed now, it would certainly affect her opinion about him and might even push her to change her mind, right?
With that thought in mind, Luna Sierra revealed everything to Margaux. Every single bad thing about Kael, she revealed to Margaux under the pretext of a pack mother trying to inform her young one about the dangers of the wild forest’s beast.
However, to her surprise, Margaux only replied, “I would still love to be his wife and mate.”
Luna Sierra was stunned. “W-What?”
A smile appeared on Margaux’s face. She respectfully said, “I appreciate you coming all your way here to inform me about these things, Luna Sierra. However, I have already made my decision. Besides, it is not only because I know he is strong like a hero that I want to be with him.”
Luna Sierra frowned, slightly startled by the fact that Margaux had somehow read through her plan. “Then why do you want him?”
The gentleness of a woman’s affection was clearly expressed through Margaux’s eyes. She looked into the distance, as though in a trance, and uttered, “Because I made a promise with him a long time ago. Alpha Prince Kael… I truly want to be his lifetime partner.”
Receiving the opposite response made Luna Sierra feel a series of mixed emotions. More than anything, she felt humiliated after trying to change her mind. Not wanting to admit her defeat, she opened her last card.
“You seem to be really attached to him. It’s unfortunate that he’s already bonded with someone else right now,” she stated.
The smile on Margaux’s face dropped in an instant.
Luna Sierra noticed and couldn’t help but feel smug. She further said, “And he seems to be really fond of that girl, too. You heard about it, didn’t you? About Prince Kael taking in a rogue as his plaything. He announced that before, but he actually still bonded with her. He’s quite protective of her too.”
Margaux’s gaze further went down, her expression hidden from Luna Sierra. Then she slowly took a deep breath and faced her directly, “It doesn’t matter if they have bonded.”
Luna Sierra smirked. “Are you confident he’s going to be yours?”
Margaux held eye contact and declared, “I am.”
Luna Sierra wanted to laugh. She truly admired this young lady’s determination. It appeared she truly was head over heels in love with the pack’s rebel, crazy prince.
“Really? What makes you think he will choose you over that rogue? Or is it that you’re planning to get rid of that rogue?” Luna Sierra challenged.
She was just curious and wanted to fuel the anger in Margaux’s blood, possibly to take her mask off. As a woman in power herself, Luna Sierra had studied people before she took the role of Luna. No matter how sweet and respectful they appeared to be, she knew Margaux’s smiles were nothing but fake. It was only a matter of time before she revealed her true colors.
Yet, she was completely stunned when she heard the younger woman’s answer.
“If that will do it, then I will,” Margaux said, voice cold and humorless. She looked straight into Luna Sierra’s eyes and declared, sending shivers down the latter’s spine.
“I will behead that rogue myself if it means I will become Alpha Prince Kael’s mate.”