Chapter 3

(Dahlia)

THE WOLF brings me to his sprawling mansion. The servants are shocked when they see us. When he snarls at them, they all lower their heads. The only time I’ve been here was when Brent summoned me for the first time with my brother and gave us the order.

His wolf runs near the pool area and leaps to the balcony. The glass door is open, and he walks inside. He lowers his body, allowing me to slide down. And then he shifts. But the panic and tension I feel is brief after seeing that his eyes are still gold and not blue.

As soon as he’s back to being human, he reaches for me in his naked glory. Something predatory flashes across his features. I watch him the way he watches me. With need and admiration.

We haven’t been this close since I manifested as an omega when I turned eighteen. He’s always treated me like a little sister but starts avoiding me that day. In the past, he used to smile at me and exchanged even a few words with me.

This reminds me why I fell in love with him. Setting his magnificent looks aside, he’s brilliant, has a big heart for many people, an excellent alpha, and a skilled fighter. He started as a soldier. He’s the youngest alpha to be promoted as a general and he excels at it. He’s a good guy. He’s just not into me. When he found out my feelings for him before the annual mating ceremony, he started putting distance between us.

And now, he doesn’t only treat me as a stranger but as an enemy who is ruining his chances with his beta. I’m aware that he doesn’t want a mate but after our bond is confirmed and everybody finds out, especially the king, he has to fulfill his pack responsibilities.

That’s why he married me.

Brent impatiently grabs my waist and leans down. He claims my lips. His kisses are pure fire. Pure obsession. Things happen so fast. He destroys my wedding gown with his bare hands as if the sight of me still in it bothers him. He only stops growling when he sees me as naked as him. Hunger flickers in his eyes as he pushes me to the king-sized bed. Skin to skin, with no barrier between us, we hold each other. We kiss the way our beasts have always craved to do.

Brent’s mouth devours me hungrily. There is no part of my body that he doesn’t touch and kiss as if he’s making up for all the times the human side of him has hurt me. I surrender to him, to the beast, and to our thrumming bond.

“Here,” he rasps as our bodies become one. An animalistic growl rips out of his mouth. His eyes glisten. “Is where I belong.”

Knowing that I’m not the only one who feels it this time makes my eyes water. I cup his cheeks. “That’s right. This is where we belong, my love.”

Brent claims me again and again. It’s the happiest night in my life that I don’t even want to fall asleep. It’s terrifying to sleep knowing that we only have this night, knowing that I’ll be greeted by a different reality when I wake up the next day.

But exhaustion is a hard thing to fight. The last thing I remember is him calling me his mate before I close my eyes.

I wake up with a tug in my heart. The sun is shining. And Brent is no longer by my side. I don’t have to guess where he is. I hear giggles. I wrap the blanket around my body and glance through the windows. There he is.

My husband… with his woman. They are in the pool area. I can only see his back and Rosie on his lap. She’s facing the direction towards the master bedroom. As if sensing me, she looks up and pulls his face down her throat and giggles again as he playfully bites her there… using the same hands and mouth that were all over me just last night.

Rosie smiles so beautifully and links with me, “You had your husband last night. I hoped you enjoyed it, dear. Because it was your first and last night with my man, with my alpha.”