4.

NALANI

The woman before me was stunning in a different way from Amara. Her beauty wasn’t soft like the woman in the image; it was seductive.

Her eyes swept over me, hiding irritation behind amusement. “Out of all the options, they chose her? A weakling from a weak pack? She isn’t worthy of being Samael’s Luna,” she spat at last.

I froze as the word struck harder than it should have. I sensed the malice she wore like a second skin. I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t want the title, that I didn’t want any of this, but…

Samael appeared shortly behind her, and there was something that seemed like longing in her eyes before they changed to challenge when she turned back to me.  

He didn’t touch her, but he was standing too close. There was no way they didn’t have anything between them.

Was she a lover perhaps? If she was, why did they bring me instead?

She whirled around to face him. “Did you really accept her as your Luna? What about…”

“Lilith” Mabel appeared; her expression hardened as she stopped beside them. “Know your place. Nalani may be from a small pack, but she is an Alpha’s daughter regardless,” she warned.

I blinked. Did she just defend me?

“Have you grown tired of pretending the rest of us don’t exist?” Lilith mocked, not disturbed by the hostility in Mabel’s voice.

She walked towards me, climbing the stairs slowly with her gaze digging into me. “You are younger than I expected,” she murmured when she was on the same eye level with me. “Did they think you could replace her?” she sneered.

My wolf bristled at her words, and Samael’s jaw flexed. Her eyes went to the portrait at the top of the stairs, and irritation flashed in her eyes.

“That’s enough,” Samael ordered, his voice leaving no room for arguments.

“As you wish, Sammy.” She smiled slowly, her eyes on me. Samael climbed the rest of the stairs, inserting himself between us, but he was facing her. Not me.

The motion hit harder than her insult. Was he shielding her from me? Protecting what was his? Did he care for her as much as he cared for his former mate?

“Adler,” he called without turning his head. “Take her. Make sure she settles in.”

It was dismissal. Like he was getting rid of something offensive.

Behind him, Lilith's eyes gleamed with triumph as she watched Adler take my arm and pull me away.

“You have to make it up to me, Sammy. You’ve neglected me long enough” She purred, resting her hand on his chest. I couldn’t resist turning back to watch as she took his hand and led him away. He followed her willingly.

The sight burned me more than it should have. I tried to convince myself that it didn’t matter because it was nothing to me, yet the humiliation stung.

My eyes found Mabel still staring at me from the corner of the room. I didn’t understand her. Gone was any trace of the person who had defended me earlier, and she was now replaced by the cautious woman who met me at the entrance.

I almost tripped on a stair as I moved, which forced me to pay attention to where I was going, and by the time I reached the top of the stairs, she was gone.

I had a million questions. I thought he was cold because he was still mourning his wife, so why was there another woman? Why wasn’t she Luna?

“Don’t pay attention to Lilith. She is just angry because you are here,” Adler explained when we arrived at the top of the stairs. “She is quite territorial of the Alpha.”

 I wanted to ask some of the questions plaguing me, but I chose not to because I had a feeling that I wouldn’t get any answers.

“I’ll stay out of her way if she stays out of mine,” I told Adler, and a glimpse of surprise appeared on his face.

“Interesting,” he muttered, searching my face for something before he turned and continued walking.

Adler stopped in front of a huge oak door and pushed it open. I stifled a gasp when I saw the inside.

It was almost as large as half the pack house back in Crescent Pack. Everything looked like it cost more than all my belongings. Tall windows draped in cream velvet, a king-size bed Esme would have died to sleep in and a fireplace already lit.

But it lacked the warmth my small bedroom had back home.

“This will be your room,” Adler said. “You are not to enter the west wing without permission.”

I nodded. That was expected given the way he had treated me since he took me from my home.

Adler left after that, leaving me alone in the centre of the room, feeling very small.

My legs carried me to the tall windows where I could see the courtyard below and a large portion of the pack.

A training field was close to the house, and wolves trained in disciplined formation. The pack screamed control.

Somewhere in the distance I felt eyes on me. I tried to look beneath the thick forest for him, but I couldn’t.

I knew Vharos was watching, and it made a chill creep up my spine. I stumbled back and drew the curtains close just as a knock came, which caused me to jump.

The door swung open before I could answer, and Lilith entered the room.

“I think I may have come on a little too strong earlier, so I decided to come and welcome you properly.” She said lightly.

My wolf stirred uneasily, picking out the lie in that smooth voice of hers.

“You don’t need to,” I replied, but her smile widened.

“But I do” She stepped inside without permission and closed the door behind her. “You see, I have known Sammy for years. Before he mated with Amara and even after she died. I helped him survive the grief of losing her”

I kept quiet. I didn’t know why she felt the need to share this information that I didn’t want.

“He doesn’t want another Luna.”

“I know.”

She stopped in front of me, annoyance clear as day in her eyes. “Then understand this. You may get the title and the ceremony, but you will never have him.” Her eyes hardened with her words.

“I don’t want him.”

She pursed her lips, studying me. Then she leaned closer, her breath against my ears. “You should.”

Before I could react, Samael stood there and Lilith stepped back instantly “I was only greeting her and apologizing for my words earlier. Is that not so?” She asked, turning to me with warning in her eyes but I ignored her, fixing my gaze on Samael without a word.

“Leave” He ordered.

“What?” Lilith whispered, glancing between us. “I don’t think you should be alone with her. It isn’t…”

Samael’s eyes snapped to her, cold and unyielding. The air around him seemed to stiffen. Lilith’s smirk faltered and she took a cautious step back.

“I…I…”

She sent me a glare as though I was the one who asked the question before she left the room, leaving me with the one person I didn’t want to be left alone with.