5. Chocolate Stock

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The scent of chocolate mixed with cherry hit his nose. He was unsure where she had got the cherry scent from but the chocolate one was stronger than ever. And it made his stomach do somersaults. He grew up hearing about the great bond between the soulmates that the Moon Goddess herself had forged and how powerful it was. But to feel it firsthand was something else. It was a blessing only the were-kinds were given. But to him, it almost seemed like a burden. What exactly was Her Highness thinking when she paired the both of them up?

The four wolves looked towards the entrance of the dining room. Noelle walked in in a black sports bra and matching shorts with her hair up in space buns.

Ezekiel growled, making Hunter look away immediately.

"What are you wearing?" He growled and redirected his glare to Anna, who yelped at the mere look on his face. "I...I got her... a dress." She stuttered out.

"A full-sleeve dress in the middle of summer? That too for bed-time?" Noelle rolled her eyes, her wolf smirking for the both of them, as she walked in and took the seat next to Ezekiel, across from Livian Rodriguez, the beta.

Ezekiel sighed. "You are going to go out tomorrow and get yourself decent clothes and whatever else you want."

Noelle raised a brow but nodded nevertheless. Stick to the plan and make the best out of the royal life.

Ezekiel narrowed his eyes. As much as he was glad that she wasn't opposing his order, he knew from the few hours he had known her that she never ever listened to anyone.

'She is smart. She is probably just playing the part.' His wolf purred in his mate's praise. He could not wait to meet her wolf, his other half.

"I will show her around and help her with the shopping," Anna said enthusiastically.

'If you let her do that, I will bother you the whole day and won't let you get any work done.' Ezekiel's wolf said before he could agree with her. His wolf, like anyone's wolf, hated the fact that his human had fucked a wolf other than their mate. And so while Ezekiel had a good relationship with Anna Krone, his wolf hated her with a passion. And he was not going to let her anywhere near their mate when he knew very well what her intentions were.

"No, I am going with her." Ezekiel said, attracting everyone's surprised gaze on him, except Noelle, who really couldn't care any less. All she wanted to do right then was hop off the chair and go and see if there were chocolates in the fridge.

"If that's what this meeting is about and there isn't going to be any food, can I go now?" Noelle yawned, not bothering to stifle it. Though Ezekiel wanted to scold her for being like this, he couldn't help the feeling of endearment the mate bond bubbled in his chest. She was a vixen, but she was also cute and clueless at the same time.

"Yes." He found himself saying, again to the confusion of the two she-wolves and the surprise of his gamma. Ezekiel had told Hunter that he would tell Livian and Anna about the plan. That he was going to reject Noelle after the duel which she was going to deliberately lose. But he didn't.

He sat there thinking over and over again about the situation. What was he going to do about her?

"It will be fine, you know?" Anna placed her hand on his. Once upon a time, it used to bring some kind of comfort to him. But now, all he felt was irritation. He was a mated wolf and she needed to stay away from him. At least until the mate bond was broken. But as long as the mate bond prevailed, he would stay loyal. That was the bearing of a true wolf and he refused to stray from it and disrespect the goddess who watched over his kind.

"I know it will be." He breathed out. "You should go home now." He got up from his seat, and quickly walked away, leaving Anna with Hunter and Livian. While Livian felt bad for her best friend, Hunter had to stop himself from asking her to mind her own business and stop pining over a wolf she had no right over. He knew that his best friend was planning something and he knew it was going to be something extremely stupid and something he shouldn't be doing. But he also knew that Ezekiel was stubborn and his decision could not be changed by anyone but himself.

Hunter sighed as he sat back on the chair, watching Livian and Anna, knowing very well that they were talking among themselves through mind link because they didn't want him hearing whatever they were plotting. Not that he cared. He could tell that his Luna was capable of a few plotting and planning. Isn't that what made her Luna material?

Hunter smirked to himself.

Stubborn mates always tried to oppose the mate bond, undermining the power it held. They were always the ones who fell harder for each other.

He pouted when he realized that all this thinking about soulmates and their mate bond was making him miss his own mate, who was away on a mission.

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Ezekiel was on his feet at once as a distant sound reached his ears. He quickly took off towards the kitchen, fighting his urge to go check on his mate first. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that it was his little infuriating mate who had made the sound. She was on the floor, picking up the pieces of the mug she had broken.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

She didn't look up or flinch, telling him that she had known that he had reached the spot, though he was extremely stealthy. He guessed it was something that came with being a rogue. Again, he realized that he didn't know her story. How had she become a rogue in the first place? And why weren't her or her friends' eyes red?

"I accidentally knocked this mug over after I had stocked the fridge with my chocolates." She looked up at that point. "Does a kid live here?"

Ezekiel nodded. "My nephew Jonah. He is with his grandparents now. We will go visit them tomorrow and bring him back when we are done with your shopping."

She nodded and got up, chucking the broken pieces in the bin.

Ezekiel opened the fridge, wanting a drink now that he was awake from his peaceful sleep.

"You eat way too much chocolate." He said, upon seeing all the added chocolate along with Jonah's. He grabbed a bottle of water.

"There is no such thing as too much chocolate." She chuckled. Chocolate made her so so very happy, ever since she was a little girl, and she was not letting anyone tell her that it was bad for her health or that she had too much of it.

Ezekiel paused. Her laugh was music to his ears. He shook those thoughts away. This she-wolf was not going to be his Luna.

'You are an ass.'

Noelle didn't stay for a conversation. She was sleepy. The only reason she had come down was because she had started awake from her sleep at the thought of her chocolates getting spoilt in her bag. Now that they had been taken care of, she could sleep in peace.

"See you in the morning." She yawned and walked away, leaving him with his million unanswered questions.

Did he want to know the answers to all the questions about her? After all, she was to exit from his life as soon as the elders came back and the duel was held.

He could not let her be the Luna. She was a rogue. Deceit was in her blood. Not to mention how impulsive, calculative, and reckless she was.

He wondered again and again what the Moon Goddess was thinking, pairing him up with her. Maybe she didn't want him to have a mate, that's why all this game. That's why, after ten years of searching, he was presented with a mate he could not accept. Maybe he was never meant to have a mate. That was all.

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