CHAPTER SEVEN: ALESSANDRO

Alessandro’s P.O.V.

The cold night air did nothing to ease the dark, heavy tension building inside my chest.

I stood in the shadows near the grand entrance of the Lunar Crest packhouse, adjusting the dark cuffs of my suit jacket. I hated political events. I hated fake smiles, meaningless diplomatic speeches, and pretending to care about peaceful alliances. I accepted Alpha Cassian’s invitation only to inspect their territory, survey their defences, and remind the surrounding packs that the De Luca line was not to be tested.

"Are you sure about this, Alpha?" Lucas, my Beta, whispered beside me as two of our guards positioned themselves at our flanks. "Walking into Cassian's hall on his daughter’s birthday celebration is a bold move. They don't trust us."

"Cassian wanted to prove his pack is open to diplomacy," I replied, my voice flat and completely devoid of emotion. "I am here to ensure he understands his place. We stay for one hour to show our presence, and then we leave."

My territory in the north was a brutal war zone, surrounded by ruthless rivals who wanted my head on a spike. My father got murdered because he lowered his guard and put his trust in the wrong people. Ever since I took over leadership of the De Luca pack, I've lived by one strict, absolute rule: weakness is an immediate death sentence.

"Just keep your temper in check," Lucas warned softly, his hand resting near his side. "It’s a room full of high schoolers, families, and pack elders."

I didn't answer him. I gave the guards a sharp, silent nod, and the heavy oak doors swung open.

The moment we stepped into the grand hall, the music died. The laughter and chatter sputtered out into absolute silence.

I scanned the crowded room with a cold, calculating gaze, treating every face like a potential threat.

Then, my eyes swept across a group standing near the center of the room—and stopped.

BOOM.

A violent shockwave slammed straight into my chest, knocking the breath right out of my lungs. The scent of sweet rain, fresh air, and dark pine wood hit me like a physical force, setting my blood on fire.

Inside my mind, my inner wolf, Kael, roared awake with terrifying, overwhelming power.

MATE! Kael slammed against the walls of my mind, his wild joy crashing through my senses. SHE IS OURS! STEP FORWARD! CLAIM HER NOW!

My jaw clenched tight as a spike of pure, icy panic rushed through my veins. My gaze locked onto the girl standing in the middle of the crowd. She was wearing a long black dress with dark-violet accents that flowed to the floor. Her dark hair fell in soft curls, and a hesitant, hopeful smile formed on her lips the moment she caught my gaze.

She felt the mate bond too.

Then my eyes dragged up to her face—and locked onto the jagged scar covering her right cheek.

In an instant, my blood went completely cold.

Look at her!  A dark, terrifying reality struck my mind like a whip. My enemies, the rival Alphas, the rogues, the traitors waiting for me to show a single moment of vulnerability, would see her in a heartbeat. They would hunt her down. They would capture her, torture her, and use her life to break me. In my blood-soaked world, having a mate was like handing every enemy I had a knife straight to my throat. And because she was gentle and marked, she would pay the ultimate price for my bloodline.

NO! Kael growled inside my head, fighting desperately against my thoughts with ferocious strength. WE PROTECT HER! WE TEAR APART ANYONE WHO TOUCHES HER!

She will die in our territory, Kael! I fought back furiously in my mind, shoving my wolf down into a dark, locked corner of my consciousness. If I take her with me, she becomes a moving target. The only way she stays alive is if she stays as far away from me as possible!

To save her life, I had to make her hate me. I had to shatter the bond completely so my enemies would never use her as leverage against me.

Hardening my heart into pure, unyielding ice, I stepped forward. My heavy boots echoed on the marble floor until I stopped right in front of her.

Kael was screaming inside my head, clawing at my chest, begging me to stop. The agony of fighting my wolf was unbearable, but I forced my face to stay completely blank, showing nothing but cold, ruthless disgust.

"No," I said.

My voice didn't just carry across the silent hall; it cut through the room like breaking glass.

"I, Alpha Alessandro De Luca," I announced, making sure every leader, guard, and elder in the room heard every single word, "refuse to be tied to a broken, useless distraction. I reject you as my mate and as my Luna."

A violent, tearing agony exploded inside my chest as the mate bond snapped like a raw, bleeding wound. Kael let out a heartbroken, agonising howl inside my mind that nearly brought me to my knees.

The girl froze. Hot tears flooded her eyes, but she just stared up at me in complete, shattered shock.

I'm sorry, I screamed silently behind my stone-cold eyes, watching her world crumble into pieces. Live a safe life here. Forget that I ever existed.

Gasps erupted throughout the hall like ‌wildfire.

A furious roar thundered from the front of the room. Alpha Cassian was already charging toward me, his eyes glowing with lethal Alpha rage and his claws fully extended.

"How dare you reject my daughter!" Cassian roared, his power rippling through the air.

Daughter?

A sharp bolt of shock shot straight through my chest. My heart slammed against my ribs as my eyes narrowed in disbelief.

She wasn't a random orphan or a low-ranking pack member. She was Cassian’s daughter—the princess of Lunar Crest.

Inside my mind, Kael let out a savage, mocking snarl against his dark cage. YOU FOOL! SHE IS PROTECTED! SHE IS A PRINCESS AND YOU STILL THREW HER AWAY!

A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck. If she were Cassian's daughter, the political fallout wouldn't just be bad. It would be a declaration of war. But looking at Cassian's raging face, I forced my expression to lock back into stone before my shock could show. I couldn't undo what I had done, no matter how much the truth rocked me to my core.

"Alpha, we need to leave. NOW," Lucas hissed, drawing his blade as my guards quickly formed a tight, protective wall around me.

The girl didn't stay to watch her father attack me. She gathered the dark silk skirt of her dress, turned away, and ran out the side doors into the dark, silent night.

"Retreat!" I ordered my men, my voice hard and commanding, forcefully suppressing the agonising pain tearing through my ribs.

Cassian slammed into my guard wall, his raw strength clashing against ours. "If you ever set foot on my land again, De Luca, I will slaughter you!" he snarled, his voice shaking the stone walls.

"Keep your territory, Cassian," I said coldly, stepping backwards toward the open heavy doors. "I have no interest in anything here."

We backed out of the hall into the cool night air, the heavy oak doors slamming shut behind us as Cassian's guards scrambled to mobilise outside. We dashed through the decorated yard heading straight for the dense treeline where our vehicles waited.

When we finally reached the safety of the tree cover, Lucas turned to me, his face pale with disbelief and anger. "Are you out of your mind, Alessandro? You just publicly rejected your destined mate! You almost started a full-scale war in the middle of their packhouse!"

"I did what I had to do," I said flatly, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead into the dark forest.

"She was your mate!" Lucas argued, his voice rising in frustration. "The Moon Goddess chose her specifically for you!"

"And my enemies would have slaughtered her within a week just to break me!" I snapped, turning on him as my cold grey eyes flashed with a dangerous warning.

Inside my mind, Kael slammed himself against his dark cage, growling violently at me. YOU BROKE OUR BOND! YOU LEFT HER ALONE AND BLEEDING! WE ARE MONSTERS!

I am keeping her breathing, Kael! I snarled back at my wolf, my blood boiling. Look at where we live! The northern packs are tearing each other apart. A Luna like her would be a target from the second she crossed our border. I will not bring an innocent girl into my hell!

Lucas went dead silent, the harsh reality behind my words settling over him. He lowered his eyes, unable to argue against the truth.

I turned away from my Beta and looked back toward the glowing lights of the packhouse in the distance. Deep inside my chest, the broken mate bond burned like hot iron, a permanent scar on my soul. Kael lay silent, wounded, and bleeding in the darkest corner of my mind, refusing to speak to me again.

I had saved her life tonight by breaking her heart. I had made myself her monster so she could live to see tomorrow.

"We return to the De Luca territory immediately," I commanded, pulling open the car door and stepping into the dark interior. "And we never speak of this night again."