Chapter 4

Half an hour later, the Alpha king had just concluded the meeting. He was the only one in the meeting room as he’d ordered his Beta, Louis Brown to leave the hall.

As he rose after musing on some matters for a while, a guard suddenly walked into the hall.

“What is it?” the slightly miffed king asked.

“It’s about the Luna,”

On hearing it was about that female he’d rescued, his expression turned to that of eagerness, “ How is she? Is she awake yet?” he questioned.

“She’s right outside the hall,” the guard answered.

“Tell her to come in,” he commanded and the guard went outside.

Seconds later, Emaline stepped into the hall, dressed in a beautiful silver gown that highlighted her womanly curves and shape.

As she looked at him, she smelt the fragrance of sandalwood. It wasn’t his perfume for he wasn't wearing any. So it must be that he was her second chance mate.

“Mate, you’re awake! Thank the goddess,” the king didn’t try to hide his excitement.

“Thank you for saving me, Alpha.” She bowed her head in respect.

“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could get to you on time, mate. If I had been slower, I would have lost you. What’s your name?”

“I’m called Emaline,”

“That’s a beautiful name.” he complimented.

“Thank you, Alpha. I have a request,” she said with a grave look.

“What is it?”

“Please promise that you’ll grant it,”

“I swear by the goddess’ name, I’ll grant it as long as it’s not something illegal,”

“Please keep your word Alpha,” She subtly reminded and he nodded smilingly.

“I, Emaline, reject you…”

“Hey, hold on. What the hell are you doing, Emaline?” the perplexed king queried as he quickly rose from his seat and approached her.

“You already gave your word. You simply have to let me finish and then you can accept the rejection, Alpha Maxwell.”

“Why? Did I do anything wrong?”

Emaline shook her head, “No,”

“Then, what’s making you do this? You’re my mate! The goddess has chosen you as my fated one,”

“You are my second chance mate,” Emaline disclosed.

“So what? That man, whoever he is, didn’t treasure you but I’m not like him. Trust me, I will treat you better than you’ve ever imagined. Emaline, I can’t grant that request,” the Alpha shook his head.

“My former mate was like you,”

“I swear, I won’t hurt you like he did. He’s the one who battered you, right?”

“He’s an Alpha king like you, Alpha Maxwell. Someone who also promised to treat me well but in the end, just for someone who’s not his mate, he almost killed me. I was framed for his Luna’s miscarriage. No one believed me to be innocent, not a single soul in that damn pack stood up for me.” Emaline spoke through gritted teeth, with her hands curled into fists.

The Alpha then held her hands, “You’re here now. I can vouch that no one will hurt or insult you in this pack,”

“I can’t be your mate. I’m very grateful that you rescued me and had me nursed back to health. Your marking also helped me heal faster. But I really can’t be yours.” She insisted.

“Why? Do you feel like I’ll turn out like your ex-mate?”

“No, it’s really not that. The thing is… I’m pregnant and my ex-mate is the father,”

Alpha Maxwell’s eyes widened in surprise, “What? You’re pregnant?! Does he know? And who’s this Alpha you speak of?”

“He isn’t aware and I’m glad he isn’t. Because if he knew, he’d have forced wolfsbane down my throat. My former mate is the Alpha Phaedro of SilverGlow. If memory serves me right, you two are not on good terms with each other,”

“Saying that we’re not on good terms is an understatement, Emaline. We’re arch-enemies,” the Alpha King divulged.

“I see,” she nodded sagely.

“Emaline, I don’t care about you being pregnant. I mean, it’s okay that you’re pregnant. I’ll treat him or her as my very own child, I promise.”

“But if Alpha Phaedro finds out I’m in your pack he’d declare war on you guys for harboring me,”

At that, Alpha Maxwell scoffed, “The war between us is long overdue. However, I can’t attack him, I don’t even dare to. A few days ago, I found out that I can’t shift to my wolf form. I became afraid that the curse would come true,”

“What curse?” she asked with a confused look.

“While I was abroad, at age 19, I encountered an aged witch. I was cursed by her to never find my mate and that I’d die before I turned 30 unless I found my mate. Although I didn’t take that curse as something serious, I still tried to appease her. But the old lady never took back her words and died a few months later,”

He paused for a while before continuing, “I’ll be turning 30 in a few days. I’ve searched many packs for my mate but never found her. And then when I noticed this inability to shift, I feared that my days were coming to an end. I decided to take one last trip alone. I wanted to head to Silver Glow and do a search to see if I’d find my fated one. That’s when I came across you unconscious. And I knew you were my fated one,”

“So you want me to become your Luna just to save your life,” she asked with a quivering brow.

“Other than that, I really like you and the fact that you’re pregnant isn’t a bother to me,” he spoke with a sincere tone.

“Then… Can I change my request?”

“Yes, as long as it’s not something related to rejection,”

“Please, make me your Luna,” she requested.

On hearing this, the Alpha’s face brightened, “I, Alpha Maxwell Hamilton, claim you as my fated mate and hereby declare you as my Luna,” Alpha Maxwell proclaimed loudly.

“I, Emaline, also take you, Alpha Maxwell of Red Claws as my fated mate and Alpha. May the goddess bless our union,” she responded with a smile.

“Thank you,” the Alpha said gratefully as he pulled Emaline into a warm hug.

“No, thank you for accepting me with this pregnancy,” she said with a low voice. “I have another request,”

“What is it?”

“Henceforth, I want to be known as Luna Xenia. My former mate doesn’t want me to live, so I’m sure he’d send a message across too many packs, stating that any who are able to kill me will get a reward. So, many packs will be on the lookout for an Emaline. He’ll never expect that Emaline now has another identity.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll do just that,” the king nodded in agreement.

“Do you know about Moon Glow?”

“Moon Glow Pack? They are on good terms with our pack. Is there any problem?” he questioned.

“The current Alpha is my late father’s stepbrother, Kingsley Sebastian. He killed my parents and had me sold to an auction house. And from there, I ended up as the lowest slave in SilverGlow,”

“That’s terrible. I’m so sorry such things happened to you.” Emaline’s mate stroked her hair, “That also means you are an Alpha werewolf like me?”

“Yeah. But no one in SilverGlow is aware,”

“Alpha Phaedro is such an idiot. But I should thank him for giving me the pearl and treasuring the fish eye,”

Hearing this, she chuckled.

“True, he’s a moron. And I’m going to make him pay for what he did to me. And I’ll also teach my step-uncle a lesson before he goes to hell,” Emaline said with a resolute look.

“We’ll make them pay, mate. For now, welcome to Red Claws, your new home,” he declared dramatically and she giggled at his silly look.

‘Maybe this is the goddess's way of comforting me.’ Emaline thought as she watched him talk excitedly about the adventures he had before he went abroad,

how he’d been a source of constant headache to his late parents…