LOGIN"Luna?" I muttered lowly, the title sounding nothing but foreign on my tongue.What was this potential Alpha even muttering?"How can I be your Luna, Alpha?" I called out, making my voice sound even lower and more fragile than before, even as I met his hard gaze. "Only your fated mate is qualified to be the Luna of this pack. And even if someone else could gun for a post like it, it won't be someone like me. Someone so...""Cut the bullshit and listen to me, Tracy," he breathed, taking a commanding step toward me. "I’m not asking you to be my real mate. I don’t care about anything of that sort. What I need right now is someone to stand beside me... someone without a mate, and you just happen to be the most convenient option since you just got rejected. It’s not a permanent position. It’s a temporary hire."He paused, holding my gaze. "Be my fake mate, and you never have to see that pathetic man you were paired with ever again. All I need is someone to submissively stand beside me when
I remained on that floor for a lot longer than I would have wanted, but I couldn’t help it as my entire body refused to cooperate with me. This was the one time where I was truly as vulnerable as my public reputation says, and I would hate for anyone... any single soul to see me like this. If I stayed here any longer, workers would start arriving soon, and that would mean I would have a lot of unwanted questions to answer.Quit the whining, Lora. We need to get back home, I called out into the quiet space as I peeled my hands—that were still clutching my chest—away and planted them firm on the ground. I know you’re hurt, Lora. I feel the pain as well, but at least we didn’t get caught up in the bond before it snapped, so it shouldn’t be that hard to pull ourselves together. You can mourn all you want when we’re in the safety of our room. Just help me get up. I finished trying to push myself up and, finally, I felt my limbs move.Guess that pep talk was all my wolf needed to get over
Louis’s POVI never thought that leaving the pack territory today would make me cross paths with the exact thing keeping me from taking over the title of Alpha from my father. Normal wolves called them mates—soulmates. The one specifically crafted by the Moon Goddess to match every single part of you.To me, all of that was absolute bullshit.A fated mate was the sole reason half of the Pack Council currently stood against me taking over my rightful position as the ruler of Stone Ray pack."You need a Luna by your side to rule properly." "You are still too inexperienced.""How would you love the members of the pack when you have never shown love to anyone?"What do those old bastards even know about love, anyways? They think keeping mates whom they treat no better than dirt is a valid criterion for being a good leader. And who the hell said I had to love anyone to rule over them? Power was what made a good Alpha. The ability to be as ruthless as possible, for as long as it took to get
I slept perfectly well, despite how unsettled both I and my wolf were. Maybe it was due to all the nagging my parents did when they got back after hearing about the earlier laboratory drama, or maybe it was the "You weirdo" that my brother whispered in passing while wearing his signature you-can’t-fool-me look. Regardless, for someone who had just seen their fated mate with another woman on their very first meeting, I slept surprisingly soundly. Our house was situated in the middle of the pack territory just like most families, but as usual, I was the first to head to the hospital after breakfast. It was a routine that almost everyone in the pack knew me by. So, I wasn’t surprised when the moment I stepped foot into the lab, my mate was already there, seated on a free examination bed. His eyes were scanning everything in the room except me. My wolf turned in eager anticipation the moment he stood up and strolled over to me. "Tracy," he muttered, his eyes finally landing on my face
"You keep fooling all these innocent people, so I need Mom and Dad to at least see you as you truly are," my oh-so-lovely brother breathed, stepping right into my personal space. "Why do you even pretend to be so weak, Tracy? What do you even gain from letting people walk all over you?" I rolled my eyes dramatically, taking the chair my mom had just vacated. "Stop asking pointless questions and get out of here already. You belong on the training fields with the rest of the sweaty, smelly males in this pack, not in the lab." I didn't even bother to look up at him as I adjusted the microscope. "I’ll be waiting for the day your mask finally slips in public, little sister," he rushed out, aggressively ruffling my hair before running off. That huge baby. For a man of his size, he was always such a child with me. Or maybe I was the only one who thought that. Regardless, my life in general had gotten a lot harder since he found out what I had been hiding perfectly for years now, and I co
"Why are you so different? Why can’t you just be small and petite like the other girls in the pack?" Those were the words I had heard the most since puberty hit me and I began to develop just like any other lady was supposed to. I guess growing to have more curves than the others became a convenient excuse for girls like the one standing in front of me right now to always find a reason to pick on me. "What if she sways the minds of our mates with that hourglass figure and that full chest?" one shrieked, shoving hard at my shoulders. "The Moon Goddess made a mistake giving a nerd like her such a body," another muttered, shoving me back yet again. That was two steps I had taken away from them now, and I still hadn't uttered a single word in my own defense. Like they said, the Tracy Harnold they knew was a nerd who preferred spending time buried in books and research in the medical wing of the pack. I did my absolute best to avoid meeting pack members unless they needed to be treat







