The Bond That Ruins Him

Knight’s POV

It’s been three years since my stepsister was kidnapped right from under our very noses.

Three years since I last saw her. Since I smelt her. Since I touched her. Since I claimed that body that belonged to me. Since I rejected her…

I’ve lived every day since then in regret and longing. A yearning that ate deep into my being and corrupted its function. I should have told her the truth. Maybe things would have worked out? 

Or maybe…I should have stayed away from Jade the moment I knew who she was. It was that night I walked into a bar and heard it loud and clear. MATE. The night my wolf howled the loudest for the touch of a woman. The night a charming redhead snapped the mate bond in place with an unexpected kiss that sent me reeling.

I've wondered about the Moon Goddess’ sick sense of humor ever since. Setting me up in a fated mate bond with my human stepsister. Making me crazy about her at first sight. Making me go mad for her scent. 

Then letting her get snatched up and whisked away by some mystery man who proposed marriage without seeking the consent of her family!

I’ve searched everywhere in North America since then. Even beyond. 

But it seems I'd lost Jade forever. 

She did not deserve a man like me. A cowardly and selfish prick who'd rather face his own problems that tend to a mate bond. 

Nevertheless, she had been my stepsister. I should have protected her. Instead I claimed her like an animal, cast her aside right after. I watched the entire Morningstar Group humiliate her. I watched her father throw her to the dogs beneath her. I watched them tear her apart. 

My wolf had itched to spring forth and dash to her rescue. To rip everyone apart who ever hurts her, who yells at her, who ever makes her feel small. 

But the painful, heartbreaking, selfish truth was… I could not.

I stood by and watched because I wanted to buy the favor of Jaxon Morningstar. A business marriage to Camille Graves to merge the Morningstar Group with Graves Corporation. A one-way ticket to a CEO position and a spot at the werewolf council of North America. 

As a rogue Alpha who leads a pack of rogue, untamed wolves, I was banned from the council. 

But as the CEO of Morningstar and the husband of Camille Graves, I would stand a chance of reentry. And I was ready to kill for that chance because it was a lifelong dream of mine. Reclaiming the glory of my family in the Ashvane pack. The pack where we belonged before we were cast out like dogs. 

I was ready to ignore everything else for that dream.

Until Jade disappeared and it all lost its meaning.

Three years. I have everything I've ever wanted. The wealth. The fame. 

Everything except her. 

And it breaks me in ways only the Moon Goddess can explain. 

A nudge from across the backseat of the Escalade pulls me back to the present. The ever gorgeous Camille Graves sits there with a sophisticated smile, observing me. 

“So, this new Lycan. Ever met him?” 

I adjust my tie as I meet her gaze. “The man is from the other side of North America. I could not have met him.”

She cocks a brow. “You sure?” 

“I would remember if I met a Lycan wolf, Camille.” Irritated, I lean forward and tower above her. “Listen, we have to be on our best behavior tonight.” 

Camille used to be a well-behaved wolf, but after the several trials and failures to receive the Moon Goddess’ blessing of the fruit of the womb, she has become something of a bitter, badly behaved wolf. 

However, I won’t have her ruin an opportunity we've long awaited. 

“This is our chance to get on the good side of a Lycan wolf. They're more powerful. More influential. Remember? It would do us a lot of good to have one on our side.”

“I know, I know,” she murmurs, waving her hand dismissively. “Whatever.”

I sit back a little uncomfortably and watch her for the rest of the ride. 

In less than fifteen minutes, we arrive at the multi-billion dollar complex where the 10th Lycan recognition ceremony of North America is being held.

Camille and I alight and stick together, moving across marble floors and hallways, amidst a throng of wealthy Alphas, Lunas, and elders of the werewolf society. 

I take several deep, silent breaths, careful to not let Camille see my discomfort. For some reason, I feel nervous and out of place. Maybe it's because I was once a rogue Alpha who climbed his way to the top and got a seat for myself amongst the dignified ones. 

Whispers still ring behind my back whenever I step in a room full of werewolves who can sense what I am. 

‘The outcast’. ‘The ridiculed’.

These brands cling to my skin like glue. It does not matter how much wealth and power I slather on. I would remain the dirty rogue Alpha. 

We find our table and shortly after we take our seats, the ceremony kicks off. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to welcome you to the 10th Lycan Recognition ceremony!” The host begins in a cheery voice. “Tonight, we have with us just one newly awakened Lycan blood wolf. And every personality in the building is expected to honor this powerful awakening by paying direct homage to the Lycan wolf and his Consort. The elders will go right after the Alphas and Lunas.”

Murmurs rise in the hall as the guests begin to look around in search of the icons of the night. 

A curtain on the stage slides open to reveal silhouettes of a man and woman perched on high, throne-like seats. A collective gasp echoes in the hall as we all behold the captivating aura of the couple on stage.

“What an entrance! Is it them?” Camille questions. “The Lycan and his Consort?”

“Apparently.”

We watch as Alphas and their Lunas rise one after the other to the stage to pay their homage. The encounters are brief, but each party returns with rapturous looks. 

Soon, Camille and I make our way to the stage to pay our homage. The closer we approach, the heavier the feeling that sits on my chest.

Something is coming. I can feel it in my bones. 

The host ushers us forward with a grin. “Behold the Lycan, Soren Malakai, and his Consort, Jade.”

The first thing I see the moment we step into view, is her red hair, beautiful like the sky at dawn. Then I see the pale blue eyes. And my breath disappears down my lungs. 

My long lost stepsister, my fated mate, on the arm of a man who was once like a brother to me.