The men carried the scent of the Alpha Pack but I had never set eyes on them before then. Valens came up behind me and the men echoed their greetings in loud, cheery voices that were far divorced from their scary, domineering builds. "Alpha! Luna!" The largest man in the group echoed, then he stepped forward and on instinct, I stepped backwards, leaning into Valens. "A hug?" The big man asked. "I thought we all agreed on not hugging strangers?" Jabari stepped out of the mall. I frowned when I realized I'd been so caught up with Valens that I barely paid attention to Jabari materializing at different places around the mall, almost as if he was following us. Or me. "The Luna is no stranger." The big man took a step forward and I pressed into Valens. He casually moved me to his side, his hand draped around my shoulders and his actions plainly telling the newcomer to back off. "I see how it is." The man chortled before taking a step back so that he fell in step with the other men who

"Just listen to me even if it's for one minute." He grabbed my hand as I turned to leave. "I know I've hurt you but I have so much on my chest that I want to say to you.""Why should I care that you have so much on your mind? How is it my place to help you get things off your chest?" I pulled my hand from Lucien's grasp, grateful for the things Valens had taught me. Before then, I always found it hard to get out of Lucien's grip but now I did it with ease.As he spoke, I assessed his obvious physical weak points. I pictured how I would go for them if he did anything funny. I didn't have the strength to take him down but Valens told me I had speed and I trusted him. I could deliver a swift attack before he knew it."For old time's sake? We were best friends. Doesn't that count for something?" I scoffed at him. At three a.m on a night I found it difficult to sleep, the last thing I needed was to take a trip down bitter memory lanes with a man that ruined me."It didn't count for anythin

"Stop following me!""Celeste, will you stop for a minute?" I continued following her. "We need to talk, please.""I can't talk to you, can I? I don't want to mistakenly put my hands on the Luna and earn myself a death sentence!" She snapped, walking faster. The people on the street openly stared at us as I chased after my best friend.A large mass appeared from nowhere and blocked her path. She almost ran into Jabari as he blocked off her movement."You! Why have you been following me about?" She exclaimed at him, not minding the fact that he could crush her skull with his palms. Turning to me with a glare that made me step back, she asked, "Did you put him up to this?" I raised my hand in surrender."I never mentioned anything about you to him," I said truthfully but I didn't think she believed me.It seemed our friendship had been ruined after all because the way she looked at me, it was clear that she hated the air I breathed. I suspected she would reproach me for hiding my mating

I waited for Valens but he was taking longer than usual to arrive.After I surprisingly succeeded in freeing Beta Strauss, I ran into Lucien. He was frankly the last person I wanted to run into in this lifetime or the next. I tried to pretend he wasn't there but he rushed at me and engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug that made my back crack. Thankfully, training with Valens taught me how to get out of his hold. I wriggled free of his hold just as Jabari showed up. Jabari glared at him so hard that he scampered off.I tightened my robe around myself as I waited for Valens. I wanted to get into my pyjamas and just go to sleep but I felt I had to appease him for releasing Beta Strauss against his orders. I had to soften him up for when I broke the news to him and if I knew Valens, the thing he liked most in the world, more than his duty and his pride, was sex.At around midnight, when my eyes were dropping from exhaustion, I heard our suite door open. I sat upright, my skin heating in the

The next day, I couldn't make it to the training grounds because I couldn't walk. My legs had been bent in every direction throughout the night. Even my trainer slept in, his head on my chest and legs tangled with mine.We didn't have an alarm because we didn't need one. We were both early risers but since we'd been active till the day was semi-bright, we slept almost till noon. I woke up first with my bladder bursting and a small ache in my lower back. Valens was half atop me and I didn't want to wake him so I held myself stiffly until the urge to pee reduced."Valens?" I called his name softly when the urge returned. He didn't stir. "Valens?" I called again, trying to wiggle free this time. His hands clamped around me like iron cages while his face moved from my chest to my neck. He muttered something and it tickled me."Valens, you have to work and I have to pee." He muttered something else and I had to hold my legs together not to wet myself."Valens!" I yelled. His body stiffened