Lord Bernard's POV
“You're not eating,” Cora, my mate, asked when she noticed I was playing with the fork in my hand instead of eating.“It's nothing,” I responded, and she frowned and held my hand, which was placed on the table. “You know you can talk to me about anything that is bothering you,” she comforted, while I nodded and looked away.How do I tell her that I was worried because a woman I thought I had gotten rid of is back in my mind just by hearing her voice again?“Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?” she asked, and I didn't respond.“Is it because of my inability to give you a child?” she asked, and I knew she was about to nag again.“It's not about that. Stop filling your head with thoughts,” I groaned and stood to my feet. “I've lost my appetite,” I announced and walked out on her.I made my way to the gym attached to my home, took off my shirt, and began punching a dummy, pouring out my frustration on it.“And what do you think you're doing?” the voice of my wolf spoke in my head, and I didn't respond.“Bernard, Victoria is your past. You have a mate whom you love, and she loves you,” my wolf tried speaking, but I cut in frustratedly.“I'm not in love with her, and you of all people should know that,” I grunted and angrily punched the dummy.“Cora is your mate, and you have to love her. Stop being obsessed with another man's mate.”“Her husband and mate is dead,” I responded, and my wolf grunted in anger.“I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not in support of it,” he said and shut himself away from me.With a grunt, I punched the dummy, and it tore off. Sighing heavily, I took a deep breath to calm my panting breath, and just as I was about to get a bottle of water, I received a signal and opened my mind link.“Lord Bernard,” the voice spoke.“And who is this?” I inquired.“Greetings, this is Beta Tony,” he introduced himself, causing anger to flare up within me.“And what do you want?” I asked, even though I knew the reason he reached out to me.“Lord Bernard, I heard that as the Lord of the hybrids, you will be attending the meeting,” he said, and I hummed.“I have a deal to offer,” he said, while I remained silent, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.“I know how much you now hate Victoria, and I think this is the best way to take revenge on her for breaking your heart,” his words caused anger to boil within me, but I held back my emotions, waiting for him to finish."Out of the eleven decision-makers, I have been able to get five on my side, but the most important decision-maker is you,” he added while I still remained silent, waiting for him to finish.“I have an offer to give, which I know you won't reject,” he said, and I finally spoke up. “And what might that be?” I asked.“I'll give you fifty plots of land here in the Snow Moon Pack. It will be all yours,” he spoke, while I scoffed and shook my head. “You want to give what you don't have?” I mocked, and he quickly responded.“Once I become Alpha, everything will be mine, including the Luciano family land, which measures about two hundred plots,” he said, and my wolf growled. Victoria was right with her accusation.He didn't want to be a caretaker; rather, he wanted to fully attend the throne and wipe them out.“Mouthwatering offer, Tony, but I'll think about it.” I didn't let him respond before ending the mind link.As I made my way to the mini fridge at the corner of the room, I couldn't stop thinking about Victoria and the plight she must be going through.She just lost her mate barely two weeks ago, and now she has to fight for the throne of her two-year-old child.With a sigh, I shook my head and emptied the bottle of water into my mouth before leaving the gym.I took the stairs to my room and found Cora arranging her bags, which made me furrow my brow. “Are you going somewhere?” I asked because she didn't tell me she was traveling.“I'm packing up for our trip to California,” she said, and I furrowed my brow. “Trip?” I asked, and she nodded. “You told me you were going to California for a meeting, right? So, I figured since we have a home there, why don't we spend the weekend there?” she suggested with excitement in her voice, but I frantically shook my head.“Trip? No. I have important matters to attend to there. There will be no time for us,” I replied, trying to come up with an excuse.Cora’s face fell, disappointment evident in her eyes. “But Bernard, we haven't had a vacation in so long. It would be nice to get away for a while, just the two of us.”“Maybe another time, but not this trip. This trip is dangerous, and I can't put you in danger, so you are not going,” I declared and saw anger in her eyes. “I can take care of myself. Just because I'm human doesn't make me any less,” she yelled.“I know why you are going there. You are going there to see that whore. You think I didn't know about it, how you followed her around and got dumped,” she yelled, causing me to fume with anger.“I heard she killed her husband just to be with you, a shameless whore!” she cursed, causing my anger to flare up.“Enough!” I yelled. “How can you be this heartless to say such awful words against a woman like you?” I asked.This was one of the things I despised about Cora. She is short-tempered, spoiled, and rude.“She is a whore and a witch, and I won't let her have you,” she yelled, causing anger to boil in my blood.“Enough!”One more word from you, and I will break this bond,” I threatened, and she knew I wasn't joking about it.Victoria's POVAs I stood before the mirror, a whirlwind of thoughts consumed my mind, and tension gripped my entire body. It was 5 pm, and the meeting in the pack house would commence in less than two hours. Fear, anxiety, and dread coursed through me as I anticipated the final verdict of the alphas. I knew they despised me and would seize this opportunity to exact their revenge, especially Alpha Simeon, whom I had burned. The scars of that encounter still lingered, and unfortunately, he was one of the judges."Why don't you just burn them all?" Beatrice groaned, but I knew that wasn't a viable option. With a deep sigh, I touched the pendant on my neck, a gift given to me by Derick. I stared at my reflection in the mirror as tears clouded my eyes. I never imagined he would be taken away from me. Everything still felt like a nightmare from which I wished to wake up.A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "Come in," I called out, and a female maid entered."My queen, Lord Bernard
Victoria's POVAs I walked into the pack house, I could feel tension in the air as they all stared at me. They all had an unreadable expression on their faces, which made it hard for me to detect their mood. I held gaze with Alpha Golden, and he also had that unreadable expression on his face. Taking a deep breath, I walked to my seat, which was beside Beta Tony. I took the seat and made Aidan sit on my lap. I looked down at him and could see he was frightened by the faces of the Alphas, but I placed a kiss on his forehead and wrapped my arms around him, giving him the assurance of protection and letting him know that I was with him and no one would harm him.I met gaze with Bernard, who was seated with the other ten Alphas. He also had that blank look that scared the hell out of me. I was scared, wondering if he would play me for a fool and decide to pay me back for refusing him years ago.“Take a deep breath, Victoria,” Beatrice comforted, and I did as she had instructed.The hall
Victoria's POVI paced around my room in a panic as his words rang in my head. I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this—I was going to have sex with Bernard. I was going to be his sexual partner, and there was nothing I could do about it.With a sigh, I stood before the mirror and gently caressed the pendant on my necklace as my thoughts turned to Derick. I wondered what he must be thinking of me and the decisions I had made. Surely, he would be angry with me, but I hoped he understood the situation I was in.“What's wrong? You should be celebrating,” Jane spoke from behind me, causing me to startle. With a deep sigh, I sat on the bed and saw the worry etched on her face as she stared at me. “What's wrong? You won, you should be happy,” she asked. I gulped, knowing I had to tell her, I had to confide in someone.As Jane sat down next to me, concern evident on her face, I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. Opening up to her was the only way to share the burden I car
Bernard's POVI paced around the living room, feeling tense and anxious. Victoria was on her way, and I couldn't help but be nervous. All these years, I have wanted her. I have craved to hold her in my arms, and now, as if it's a dream, it's about to happen.“I'm against this, Bernard,” my wolf spoke angrily, but I shut him away and suppressed him from talking to me. Nervous and curious, I checked my wristwatch and realized it was almost 8 PM, with no sign of her yet. I knew she was avoiding being seen by anyone, so she decided to come in the dark. Not that I cared if anyone saw her. It's not like we were doing anything wrong, right?“I'm at your gate,” she announced through telepathy, and my heart skipped a beat. “Come in and lock the gate,” I spoke firmly, trying to hide the uneasiness in my voice.She closed the mind link without saying a word. “You can do this. Don't let her see that you're nervous,” I mumbled to myself and sat on the one-seater couch. I rested my back on the couc
Bernard’s POVIf eyes could kill, I should probably be dead, but all that did not matter to me. All that mattered was that she was mine tonight."Bernard!" she called out impatiently when she realized I was just staring at her naked body. "You didn't tell me that you wanted to sit and drool," she spoke, fuming with anger. "I'm not a..." she tried to speak, but I cut her off. "Get down on your knees," I said and saw her furrow her brow, confused at my words. "You heard me right. Get down on your knees," I repeated my words and saw her gulp before she slowly fell to her knees, and this time a droplet of tears fell on her cheek.Her tears hit me, but I sucked in a deep breath and gestured for her to come closer to me. Without hesitating, she crawled to me and stopped a few inches away from me.She lowered her gaze, unable to meet mine. With a sigh, I lifted her chin with my index finger and held her gaze. Her eyes were filled with pain, and I couldn't stop myself from slamming my lips ag
Victoria's POVI pushed him away and got off the bed. My heart was clenching with pain, and tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I refused to let him see me cry. I walked over to where my clothes were scattered and picked them up, ignoring his gaze fixed on me.After dressing up, I grabbed my bag and made my way towards the door, but he stepped down from the bed, blocking my path, still naked. Anger surged within me, and my rage started to boil over. “And what is the meaning of this?” I asked angrily.“You're not leaving,” he stated firmly, causing my brow to furrow. “Are you serious?” I retorted with frustration, and he nodded.“You're not a whore that I would let leave after making love. I want you in my arms tonight,” he said, and I scoffed in disbelief. How dare he? How dare he think I would spend the night with him? Having sex with him was already torturous enough, and now this?Taking a deep breath, I composed myself and locked eyes with him. “I'm not spending the night h
Bernard's POVI opened my eyes with a smile on my face. I sat on the bed and checked the clock, realizing it was already 8 in the morning, and I haven't slept this long in a while.Memories of last night flooded my head, causing a big smile to appear on my face. I could still perceive her scent lingering around, and I couldn't help but take a deep sniff. A smile of satisfaction appeared on my face, and I couldn't wait to have her in my arms again.“What you are doing is wrong,” my wolf grunted. I sighed and got off the bed. “You have a mate…"“She doesn't bear my mark,” I responded. “Cora is my mate, but she doesn't bear my mark, and I believe you know why.” I snapped at him and left the bed.“Just because she doesn't have a good personality doesn't mean she won't change, Bernard,” my wolf argued, and I groaned. “You are just so obsessed with Victoria that every woman seems imperfect to you.” My wolf spat and shut himself away from me before I could even respond.With a grunt, I took
Victoria's POVI held his gaze, waiting for him to joke and say it was a joke, but he didn't. Instead, he began unbuttoning his shirt while I just stood and stared.I watched him unbutton all the buttons on his shirt, take it off, and reveal his well-muscled chest and abs. Despite how much I hated this, I couldn't deny the fact that he had a hot, sexy body that would make anybody drool, regardless of gender.His body was impressive, with well-defined muscles on his chest and abs. His chest showed strength and athleticism. His stomach had a tight and toned six-pack, and a bit of hair trailed down. Veins could be seen on his arms and chest, showing that he had been doing lots of workouts.He had broad shoulders that showed his strength. His arms were muscular, and for ridiculous reasons, I wished to hold them.“Stop it, you are drooling over him,” Beatrice growled, and I frowned and composed myself.I watched him go for the zipper of his pants, zip it down, and pull the pants to his kne