Overruled

Xena

“Really, Diana?” I ask my smitten wolf the moment I recollect myself. Xael ran to his mate, leaving her whimpering, yet she fell for his charms as always.

“He did not cheat on us, and you loved every moment of it.”

I can’t believe this wolf! You would swear that Xael is our true mate.

“Stop scolding Diana and stay away from Damilion. He obviously wants you,” he commands.

I find that hypocritical.

“Will you stay away from Gwen?”

He holds my jaw and drops his head to look at me.

“I can’t until I have rejected her. You need to understand this.”

“Well, I don’t, and you don’t have a right to stop me from talking to Damilion until then.”

“Xena, don’t push my buttons. You are driving Clint crazy.”

“Or what? Will you divorce me?”

He lets out a sigh, turns over and pins me under his body.

My breathing picks up when he gazes at me. He is openly letting me read his mind to prove that he did not sleep with Gwen while his hands roam all over my body. He knows that is how her wins over my wolf. He also knows that I can’t fight him without Diana.

“I am not doing anything with Gwen. You can read my mind. All I think about is you, while all you think about is leaving me. Why don’t you give me the benefit of the doubt?”

“Because you found your mate and did not reject her. You brought her here and it hurts like hell every time you leave my bed to go to her. You are reading my mind right now, can’t you see?” I am yelling in frustration while he cups my buttocks.

“I am sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry, Xael. You are my best friend, lets end this before we despise each other.”

He shakes his head. “No. You are the love of my life. I can never let you go.”

“Maybe I was, not anymore.”

He studies me for a moment.

“Do you not love me anymore, Xena?”

“You know I do, but…”

“Shhh, that is all that matters. I love you too,” he says and covers my lips with his and my fate is sealed.

I am in his arms two hours later when he wakes me up for the court.

“The pack needs reassurance. They need to know that we are okay.”

“So, that’s why you are here and spending all this time with me?”

“Xena,” he calls to me while I shake my head.

“You want me to accept your mate, but you don’t want to let me go. Are you happy to see me miserable?”

“It’s not my intension to hurt you, I am sorry. I followed you to your old bedroom. I heard you cry. I sat by your door the whole night. I don’t mean to hurt you, Xena. Gwen is my mate. I will have a soft spot for her until I reject her. I don’t want her to die, but my love is all for you. Give me two months for the Epsilon to return and I will fix all this.”

Like an idiot, I nod my head, already won over.

“Fine, I will give you a chance, but you have to limit physical contact with her. She can’t be throwing herself at you or holding your arm. You can’t be covered in her scent. Have boundaries and maybe I will let her stay.”

“That’s my Babe,” he beams while I roll my eyes. He knows how to get his way with me. Mostly importantly, he has not cheated. For the sake of our lifetime friendship, marriage and son, I will give him a chance.

We emerge out of our chambers holding hands. It feels like old times.

“Bring back my Luna’s stuff from that room,” Xael instructs a group of maids we meet in the corridor.

They exchange looks and bow respectfully. They must be very confused with what is going on with us.

He gazes at me and plants a kiss on my lips when I look up at him. “Any objections, My Queen?”

I shake my head, completely smitten.

We are at the end of the corridor when Gwen emerges from his study. I am taken aback because he is very particular with this study. Very selected people can go in it.

“Gwen?” he questions and lets go of my hand right before she runs into his arms and inhales his scent.

I completely freeze, anger rising inside me as he looks tenderly at her. So much for old times.

“What are you doing here?” he asks with a gentle tone that make my stomach revolt. I am such a fool for thinking we can survive this.

She opens and closes her mouth before swallowing her saliva and casting her eyes.

“I just wanted to feel close to you. My wolf led me here.”

I am so angry by the time I walk away from them. He lied to me about his feelings for her. I asked him to maintain boundaries between them, yet she is all over him. Like hell am I accepting her into this pack. I will force him to choose and this time, he can’t lie to me.

I am entering the hall where the court will take place when he calls my name. We are supposed to enter at the same time, but I don’t wait for him. He is by my side by the time everyone stands and bows to greet.

I don’t take his hand when he offers it as he usually does when we take our thrones. I am not going to be those Luna’s who smile and pretend that all is well while they die inside. I am going to be rude until he signs the divorce papers and accepts my rejection.

The court processes are all followed before the chief elder announces the reasons the court has convened.

Gwen is sitting on the chair in the middle of the court looking all innocent. I glance at Xael, who is giving me pleading eyes which I ignore.

The elder goes on to explain the reasons we are meeting. The pack members are given the opportunity to voice their objections, but there are none. Xeal and I would usually have the final say. It is rarely that the council gets involved, but they have the overall say in certain circumstances.

“Gwen is the Alpha’s true mate. This eliminates the Alpha from making the decision on whether the pack accepts her as member of our pack or not. The decision will rest on the Luna and the council as per our custom,” the elder proceeds.

I turn to look at Xael, who gives me that look. Let’s see how much he cares about his mate.

“Thank you for the opportunity, my elder. As you are all aware that the Alpha has found his mate. He has not claimed, nor rejected her. This makes my position as the Luna of this pack not very certain. I shall therefore reserve my judgement until this is clarified.”

The court goes into dead silence and the stupid woman goes on her knees to plead.

“Please forgive me, Your highness. The Alpha has made his stand clear. He could not reject me because the prophet told me that I will die if he did.”

“I don’t remember I nor the Alpha giving you the right to speak,” I point out while her face pales.

“Xena,” Xael calls to me.

“Forgive me, Alpha. You did not inform me that your mate is exempt from the rules the pack follows.”

He clenches his fists and thins his lips. He knows how particular our council is about these proceedings. We would be still having slaves and treating Omega’s like trash if it was up to them.

“She is not the member of the pack yet and not familiar with our rules,” he tries to mediate for her. At least I now know how much he cares for her.

“I was of the impression that our rules are universal,” I point out with a smile.

“Drop it, Xena,” he uses his Alpha voice. The bastard.

I glare at him. He can’t have his cake and eat it.

“It seems the Alpha must reject and divorce me, because he can’t reject his mate. We can’t have her dying now.”

He reclines back on his throne and crosses his legs in a pure display of power.

“I have no intention of rejecting or divorcing my Luna. She is understandably emotional. Nothing some love can’t fix.”

I look at him in disbelief. He is making me look unstable and insecure to have his way and it is working. I can see the elders all nodding as he continues.

“Gwen knows and understands where I stand. Our Epsilon will give guidance on how I can reject her safely. He is currently away. I hope that clarifies my stand to the pack.”

“Would the Luna make a decision now?” the elder asks.

“I do not accept her into the pack.”

Xael’s nostrils flare while she starts weeping and pleading.

“Very well then. The council has met. We understand the complexity of this matter. We are of the view that Gwen will be a liability to the pack if she is out there, should she fall in wrong hands. For the safety of this pack, we strongly recommend that she becomes a member of this pack.”

I am not surprised by their decision. Every one of them is in favor of one mating with his or her true mate. I am too. It is part of our DNA. It is the reason I turned down Xael’s proposals back then.

“Crystal clear, My elder. When I do find my mate, I hope this court will apply the same criteria,” I say before storming out.

“Xena!” Xael roars behind me. It is safe to say our fairytale rule is over.

I am at the door when he grabs my arm and announces, “This court is adjourned.”

With that, he marches like a possessed man to our chambers and throws me on the bed.

“You are intentionally pushing my buttons. You will regret it,” he threatens and starts undressing.

“Don’t touch me, Xael.”

“Stop me if you can, wife,” he dares me, but Diana is mad like hell.

“Touch me and your mate will feel it. I hear its like being sliced into pieces. She might just die from the pain.”

He stops and shakes his head before asking, “What has gotten into you, Xena?”