2

BRONZE

I watch Venus turn her back and leave the room silently. Once she closes the door, my skin prickles with anger. I run my hand through my hair again as my head throbs.

This is a mess. Who would have thought I’d get my mate the day I was going to propose to Venus to become my Luna? This is the reason I hate the Goddess. She’s just a cruel woman who loves to play with our emotions. 

On top of that, Venus shocked me. I believed she was mature enough to understand the situation. We have been together for so many years. Couldn’t she have faith in me for a few hours? No, she had to walk in and act all immature. 

What the fuck happened to her? I’m the one who’s going to have to fight against fate, and she’s making it all about herself. Women are really emotional fools.  

“I agree,” Nor speaks in my head. He’s my wolf. 

“She had no fucking idea how much strength it took me to not grab that hot blonde and kiss her!” I growl in my head. I didn’t expect the mate bond to be this strong. It’s like a sensation I can barely control. 

Nor growls, “We need her, Bronze. She’s our mate.”

I clench my jaw tightly as I feel his desires flow through me. I can feel how much he needs her. But I don’t want this. 

“Fuck! Fuck!” I kick the chair against my desk, rattling the items on top. This won’t work. I need to release this tension.

I open the window and feel the fresh air on my face. I climb into the window and then jump. My room is on the second floor, so the leap is quite high, but it gives me enough time to shift. 

Instead of my legs, my dark brown paws hit the rough ground and I jerk my wolf’s body to loosen myself. I race into the forest, the cold air whipping through my fur as I savor the thrill of speeding past the trees and the rich scent of the earth.

I don’t go far when I sense another scent close to me. The sweet smell of honey. It’s familiar. The scent gets stronger with each passing second, and I find the source to be a few feet away from me, running alongside me. Another wolf. 

I stop in my tracks and turn around, snarling at the creature who followed me. The wolf steps out from the line of trees, and my eyes widen as I recognize those eyes—beautiful blue, like the sky on a bright sunny day.

The she-wolf approaches me with confidence and I’m shocked by her height almost matching mine. She is not baffled by my alpha aura and seems to hold a powerful aura of her own. Too powerful. 

My wolf wags its tail and I feel that attraction again. It’s her. My mate. 

My heart beats wildly in my chest as I stare at her soft, light brown fur that almost looks golden to the naked eye. She takes another step forward before she shifts back, and I am shocked to see her wearing no clothes. My gaze falls onto her perky breasts and her silky smooth skin that glistens under the moonlight. Her waist is not too curvy, but good enough to want you to slide your hand around it. I’m not sure if it’s the moonlight, but I see abs too. 

Her appearance is the exact type I have always wanted. Bold and sexy. Venus is also lovely, but she’s more reserved and innocent. 

“Then what are you waiting for? Just claim her!” Nor growls and steps towards her. 

Shit, no. I stop him immediately by shifting back. 

I am thankfully wearing my leather pants and I watch her brows lift slightly as she checks me out. She doesn’t hide the desire in her eyes as she stares at my chest. Just like she didn’t hide her body from me. 

Modern technology allows us to have our clothes intact during shifting. So it’s quite obvious that she did this on purpose. To seduce me. 

I will be lying if I say it did not work. She is gorgeous and her sweet honey scent is driving me wild. 

No, it’s Venus that I want. I am sure of that. But this girl’s presence is almost overpowering my feelings for her. 

“Mine,” Nor growls in my head and I bite my tongue, drawing some blood in my mouth. I need to control these desires. When I feel a little stable, I take a step back and frown at her. 

“Why are you following me?” I ask in a commanding tone, using my aura on her to make her submit. 

But it does not work. She barely acknowledges it and takes a step towards me. Her blue eyes draw me in like a vortex. 

“What’s your name?” I ask, my voice softer than before, and my gaze falls on her breasts again. 

Her plump red lips part as she answers slowly. “Mallory.” Even her voice is beautiful. 

Mallory. That’s a unique name. 

I raise my chin. “Mallory, I can’t accept you as my mate.” I say, and the shine in her eyes fades. It almost hurts me, but I know it’s just a chemical reaction in my head. 

Her brows furrow and she stares at me before asking, “Why? We are made for each other. I know you’re attracted to me, so why refuse it? Is it because of that blue hair?” 

“No.” I say and realize that I’ve unconsciously told the truth. 

As werewolves, it’s obvious that we are fated to have mates. I knew that I’d have one too. But I also knew that I won’t accept it. Ever. 

It’s because of my parents. My parents were fated mates, but my mother did not deserve her mate. She was a cruel person. When I was a child, I watched my father being abused by her in every way possible and still not leave her because of the mate bond. He did his best to protect me from her, but in the end, he sort of chose her over me by letting her be my mother. 

She showed me pain, and I wished dad had rejected her. I blame the whole mating concept for it. Genuine relationships are built on mutual trust, understanding, and respect. Mating is putting two people together whom the Goddess thought are sexually compatible. It is pure lust and my physical desire towards Mallory proves that. 

My relationship with Venus is built over the years and far more than just lust. That’s why I’ll always choose her. 

“It does not matter why,” I square my shoulders, “I, Bronze Nova, Alpha of the—” I cannot finish my rejection statement as Mallory growls at me, her eyes flashing and she pushes me. I drop to the ground and I am surprised by her immense strength as she gets on top of me. 

She snarls at me, and her aura intensifies, making the hair on my skin stand at attention. There’s no way she’s an ordinary wolf. That’s the aura of someone who has royal blood. I know it too well. 

She bares her canines. “If you reject this bond, not only will it make you weak, but you’d lose a tremendous opportunity to be the Alpha King.” She spats and my eyes go wide. 

Did she just say the Alpha King? 

My jaw clenches. “How do you know that?” 

Mallory smirks at me. “I know everything about you, Alpha Bronze Nova. You are the secret nephew of the Alpha King Rowan. You have royal blood in your veins, but no one in your pack knows it.” 

My skin turns pale. She knows too much. 

“How?” I ask, staring at her in shock. 

“I’m Princess Mallory of the Eroz Kingdom. I’m the daughter of Luna Queen Leila.” She says and stands up. 

Her introduction makes a chill run down my spine. No wonder why I felt her aura is royal. 

She looks down at me and flips her hair. “I don’t know why you don’t want this, but if you lose me, you lose your chance at fulfilling your one goal.” Saying that, she turns her back on me and I watch her ass sway as she walks away. 

Minutes later, I head back to the packhouse, my mind a blur. The woman who’s my mate is of royal blood—and she knows I’m of royal blood too. This can’t be a coincidence… Can it?

Mallory’s rank as a princess is my guaranteed ticket to becoming the Alpha King of Fenrisa—the kingdom where my pack resides. Rowan, my uncle, is the current Alpha King. I hate that man.

No one in the pack except my beta knows that my mother was the sister of the Alpha King. That makes me a royal too, but I had no intentions of forming good connections with Rowan. Both he and his sister ruined dad and my life.

For years, I’ve been searching for a way to take him down, but it was like grasping at straws. Now, fate has finally handed me an opportunity. If I marry Mallory, I’ll become the Alpha King of Eroz—and then I can wage war against Rowan.

But what about Venus? If I reject her to marry Mallory, she’ll be extremely hurt. I can’t do that to her. 

Fuck! 

I head upstairs and sniff Venus’s scent. She smells like chocolate and it’s coming from the guest room to my left. I feel guilty about telling her to go away.

I slowly open the door and find Venus sleeping on the bed. I approach the bed and find her face soaked with tears. She must have cried a lot. 

I sit on the bed’s edge, staring at her cute face. None of this is her fault. Venus once told me that meeting my mate might change my mind, which caused a huge rift between us. I chased her back, promising her I would always choose her. 

Now I can’t step back from my promise. 

She’s the one I willingly gave my heart to. How can I replace her? I pull the comforter over her body and leave the room. 

I go downstairs and head to the bar in the living room. I’m making myself a drink when I see Simon walk in. He had heard my conversation with Mallory since he was hiding in the forest. He has a tendency to eavesdrop. 

“You should choose Mallory,” Simon speaks as he takes the stool beside me and grabs another glass. I don’t respond and pour him the drink. “Bro, everyone saw what happened. Do you think they’d accept a woman who’s not your mate as Luna?” 

Simon is right. The pack knows who my mate is now. If I reject Mallory, I’d lose the potential of strengthening my wolf. Mates are a gift to your wolf, strengthening your powers. 

But that’s not what worries me. The people don’t see Venus as fit to be their Luna because of her weak body. Mallory, on the other hand, is the ideal choice. Strong and healthy.

I grab my glass and take a sip. “I’m a man of my word and I promised Venus. The mate bond can be rejected. I just need some time to figure out how to do it without risking my chance to fulfill my goal.”