Chapter 9
“Luna-please!”
Jessica’s voice cracked as she dropped to her knees.
“It was us. We were the ones who hired those rogues to hurt you!”
I froze.
She looked up-and I inhaled sharply.
That once-flawless face, once praised across every pack for its beauty, was now a grotesque canvas of scars. Jagged. Cruel. Raw.
A punishment only an Alpha could order.
Her body trembled violently. Tears streamed down her ruined face as she lowered her head to the marble floor again.
“We can’t take it anymore! Alpha Alex… he tortures us every day-he slashed our faces, threw us into a viper pit… Please! I’m begging you tell him to stop!”
Beside her, the other two-Catherine and Elsa-knelt as well, sobbing, banging their foreheads against the ground until skin split and blood spilled.
The sound of bone on stone echoed in my ears.
My wolf stirred, unsettled.
My chest tightened. Satisfaction? Disgust? Pity?
Even I couldn’t tell.
Then came that presence-heavy. Suffocating. All too familiar.
Alex.
He stepped into view like a shadow cast from my past, his red-rimmed eyes locked onto me, hunger and desperation coiled in his irises like a feral thing.
“Fiona…” His voice was rough, broken. “They hurt you. I made them pay. Isn’t that enough?”
His tone was low. Almost reverent.
Pathetic.
I didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.
“Alex…” I said quietly, coldly.
“The first one who should’ve paid… was you.”
“You cheated. I stayed silent.
You let them destroy me. I crawled out of that grave on my own.
And now you stand there… pretending all that pain was love?”
I raised my hand.
“Security,” I said calmly. “These four are harassing me.”
The enforcers moved like lightning. Massive wolves in suits-twice their size-seized them all without hesitation, dragging them across the marble like garbage.
+16 Bonus
Gasps rippled. Whispers followed like wildfire.
“That’s Alex, isn’t it? The fallen Alpha?”
“He’s done for. His pack turned against him. I heard he’s been begging rogues to protect him.”
“Serves him right. Gave up his Luna for three whores. And now? She’s mated to the Alpha of Red Lake. He’s not even worth her
scent.”
I exhaled slowly, steadied my breath, and turned.
Luke found me instantly-his presence always grounding.
“What happened?” he asked, eyes sharp as blades.
“Alex,” I said, my voice low.
His jaw tightened. “Where is he?”
“Gone.”
I managed a small smile. “Handled.”
Without another word, he handed me a slice of mousse cake.
“Here. Something sweet. Might help.”
I took a bite.
But then nausea surged. My stomach twisted violently. I gagged, barely holding it in.
Luke froze. Watching. Breath held.
Then, slowly, awe dawned across his face.
“Fiona…” His voice trembled. “You’re not…?”
I didn’t say anything.
I didn’t need to.
He swept me into his arms, holding me with trembling strength.
There was fire in his gaze. Joy. Wonder. And something deeper-the instinct of a bonded mate.
“We’re bonding with each other. Right now. No more delays. No more waiting.”
A month later, our wedding made headlines across every major pack territory.
That very day, Alex was officially stripped of his Alpha title and exiled by his own pack.
At one point, my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
But I was too busy-standing beside Luke, wearing white, raising a glass with my true mate.
I didn’t answer.
Later that night, the headlines came like a final blow.
“Disgraced Alpha Alex exiled by the Werewolf Council. Accused of abusing pack members under the pretense of ‘mate searching.
Brutally attacked by a rogue coalition. His wolf is not expected to survive.”
I stared at the screen for a long moment.
212
My fingers trembled slightly.
Then I turned off the phone.
And never turned it back on.
One year later, Luke and I stood together in the rain, sheltered under a black umbrella.
We stood at my parents’ graves, now side by side in a quiet, peaceful grove.
He knelt, placing down white chrysanthemums with reverent hands.
“Dad. Mom,” he whispered, voice full of solemn promise.
“I’ll protect Fiona. Always.”
Then my phone buzzed.
It was the nanny-half-laughing, half-crying.
“Alpha, Luna-your little one is throwing a fit again. She refuses to sleep without her parents here!”
A smile broke across my face before I could stop it.
I reached over and tugged lightly on Luke’s sleeve.
“Let’s go home.”
He twined his fingers with mine, pulling me close.
The umbrella shifted slightly, shielding me from every drop of rain.
His voice was deep. Steady.
“Yes, my Luna. Let’s go home.”
+15 Bonus
