CHAPTER 6: SECRET LOVE

Lex’s POV

“Pump the brakes, wild boy. What did you just say you did?” Rowland stared at me like I’d lost every last brain cell.

“Uh... asked her out?” I offered casually, though I could already feel the guilt prickling at the back of my neck.

“And?” he prompted, raising both brows.

I clenched my jaw. Not exactly proud of the rest.

“And kissed her... then bolted.” I exhaled sharply and turned away, avoiding his burning stare. “There. You happy now?”

“What the actual hell, Lex?” Row exploded. “You kissed her—in front of her adorable boyfriend?! Are you completely out of your damn mind? That poor guy must’ve felt crushed!”

What was I thinking?

Oh, only that she was drop-dead gorgeous and dangerously intoxicating.

She barely reached my shoulder, but somehow still carried herself like she ruled the room. Graceful. Commanding. Untouchable.

And while I stood there like an idiot, watching her lock lips with her ridiculously lucky boyfriend, all I could think was how utterly exquisite she looked. Mesmerizing. Ethereal.

That long, lean body... delicate arms and legs that moved with the elegance of a dancer. Her hair—dark waves spilling down her back. Those cheekbones could cut steel. And the curve of her neck? Pure royalty.

She wasn’t just beautiful—she was otherworldly. No human had the right to look that divine.

Despite the fire she flaunted, there was nothing vulgar about her. In fact, she had a strange kind of innocence—like she hadn’t fully figured out how to handle desire yet. Her wide-eyed reaction, her clumsy hands when that guy kissed her... it made my chest ache and my mind burn.

And then Row’s words sank in.

Wait a second.

“Adorable boyfriend?” I repeated, slowly turning toward him with a wicked grin crawling onto my lips. “He must’ve felt awful?”

I whipped around, pointing a suspicious finger at my now-blushing friend. “Oh. Shit. Don’t tell me... You’ve got it bad! You’ve got a crush on the guy!”

WHACK.

Red handprint. Right across my thigh.

Ow.

Sob, sob, sob.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Joy's POV

Dante needed to refill his stash of suppressants, and as usual, Aunt Nyssa—the royal seer and supplier of all things mystical—had it ready for him.

My brother Ryder needed them too. Poor guy ended up looking like a bloated pumpkin every time he took them, which didn’t help with the constant bullying he endured at his human college. Who could’ve guessed that the she-Alpha tormenting him would turn out to be his destined mate next month on our 19th birthday?

Yeah, that’s right. All six of us—sextuplets—were fated to find our mates on the same day, as foretold by Aunt Nyssa when we were barely out of diapers.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

// Note For The Readers: You can read ‘Don’t Bully Me, Alpha,’ to know more about Ryder's story but not reading it will not affect the flow of this story, so enjoy !

// Note For The Readers: Just like we have 2 babies for twins, 3 for triplets and so on, 6 babies born together are called sextuplets.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

While those pills made others balloon up like marshmallows, Dante had a cheat code—his hybrid nature. Half vampire, half werewolf, and fully able to use his “Matter Deformation” gift to reshape anything… including himself.

Don’t even get me started on how he might be using that power on his ahem personal equipment. Just saying. Wink.

Jokes aside, Dante could literally crush someone with a thought, thanks to his mental might. My gift, though similar, was different—I could imitate. Anything and anyone. If I could picture it, I could become it. Smell, aura, height, weight—flawlessly replicated.

That’s how I managed to prank our university principal so many times by posing as his secretary. Classic.

So, no, I didn’t need suppressants to blend in. I was a one-woman masquerade party.

Now, why the need for suppressants at all?

Simple. Our mom—Alpha Zoe Stone—was not thrilled about us going off to human universities far from pack territory. Too dangerous, too exposed.

But Aunt Nyssa pulled off a compromise. She’d handle the supply, and Mom would let us go—as long as we didn’t blow our covers or stir trouble with rival packs.

“You don’t have to follow me into the forest, Joy. I’m a grown man. Aunt Nyssa will be there. Plus, a dozen warriors,” Dante said, trying to block the door.

I stepped around him like he wasn’t even there.

No way was I letting him go alone. Especially not after dark. We were each other’s lifelines in a world that didn’t always welcome hybrids like us.

“Don't test me, Beta. Move those tree-trunk legs before we’re late. I don’t want to cross paths with any patrol wolves,” I said, switching to my Alpha tone.

He sighed—dramatic as always—then slipped an arm around me like we were just a couple out for a moonlit walk.

That’s when I saw HIM..

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Joy's POV

Dante and I had long back shifted into our wolves and while Dante procured his doses, I wandered away towards the lake where I patiently waited for my Beta and kept out an eye for any unwanted presences.

However, when I walked towards the moonlit water body, I felt his presence.

Occupying the largest rock by the bank of the crystal clear lake, sat the majestic blue Alpha wolf with his front two paws dangling at the edge of the mega rock- ever ready to leap if harm came his way.

However, when I approached him, he eyed me calmly and stayed still in his majestic stance until I was just a few meters away from him.

Stretching his back long and wide, and flexing his muscles at strategic places, he finally acknowledged my presence by leaping down the huge rock.

I raised up one of my front paws to tell him that I only came in peace but he continued walking towards me until his huge Alpha form was dwarfing mine.

To my surprise, he enveloped me between his paws before he was nuzzling his muzzle softly but respectfully in my neck to calm me down. My wolf almost purred at the attention he was giving us.

It seemed like all my anger towards him had dissipated just by his mere touch !!

Nothing in the world seemed to make me want to be anywhere else but in the blue wolf’s embrace.

Ah !