All Chapters of Love is Hell; Mate is Heaven: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Zane’s POV“If one more Elder emails me a bride, I am blocking the whole Council.”The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. No one hears me. Good. The study is quiet, but it feels like it is breathing down my neck. Wood walls. Old leather. Stacks of files that smell like ink and duty. I drop into the chair and stare at the top folder until the lines blur. Paper should not scare an Alpha, but it steals time I could spend training, scouting, or doing anything that feels like air.I tap the keyboard and open my inbox. Elder Parker sits at the top like a tick. Subject line says I should consider Lydia Redfield as my Luna. I do not open it. I delete it. I already deleted the last twenty. Lydia. Another pretty name wrapped in politics. Another chain with perfume on it.My jaw tightens. The office hums. I rub the spot between my eyes and try to breathe past the heat in my chest. I am Alpha of the Stonebrook. I am not a puppet on a Council string. They keep forgetting that I am the on

Lydia’s POV“Pack your bags. Your flight leaves at six in the morning.”My mother’s voice cut through the static of the midnight call like a knife. I sat up in bed, the sheets pooling at my waist, my heart suddenly thudding.“Six in the morning?” My throat was dry. “Mother, did something happen? Is everyone okay?”“We’re fine,” she replied, calm but firm. “There’s no emergency. Your father and I simply need you home. The ticket is already in your inbox.”I glanced at my laptop on the desk, its screen glowing faintly in the dark. “That’s only… six hours from now. You forgot about the time difference.”“Well then,” she said, her tone clipped. “You’d better hurry with the packing.”And just like that, the call ended. No reason. No explanation. Just orders. Typical.I sank back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling. My life in Paris flashed before me—the little one-bedroom apartment I’d rented for the first time in my life, the café job that smelled of coffee and sugar, the macaroon c

Lydia’s POV“If I smile any harder, my face will crack,” I whispered to Wendy, teeth bared while Luna Comfort poured more tea.“You look lovely,” Wendy said, eyes wide like a warning. “Sip. Nod. Breathe.”“I am sipping. I am nodding. Breathing is optional.”Luna Comfort’s tea parties felt like little trials. Lace napkins. Sweet cakes I could not taste. Ladies with soft voices and sharp eyes. Every time someone asked how my adjustment was going, I let my lips do the work and kept my thoughts under lock.“It is wonderful to be home,” I said, because that was the line.“Have you shifted yet?” a she-wolf asked.“Soon,” I said, and set my cup down before my hands shook. “I want the first time to be private.”Luna Comfort gave me her practiced smile. “Of course, dear. We respect that.”Respect was a word we said when we meant something else. I stared at the steam curling from my tea and counted the seconds. If I thought too long, the room tilted back to the garden, to a kiss I should not ha

Zane’s POV"Drive carefully," Tina said to Tyler as he started the car.I sighed, glancing at Zane, who was already lost in thought. We could’ve gotten there faster by helicopter or plane, but, of course, we were werewolves, and we liked to feel the earth beneath us. Flying? That’s only for emergencies."Don’t take too long," Tina added, her tone sharp, but it wasn’t what she said—it was how she said it. There was more to it.Tyler hesitated, weighing the situation. I could tell he was mentally going over their schedule. There was nothing urgent. No reason to rush back. A few emails and calls could handle whatever work was pending."What’s in three days?" Tyler asked, curious but also a little concerned."Isabel’s coming," Tina said, her face twisting in distaste.I barely held back my laugh. Vivian grimaced beside me."Why?" Zane asked, his voice flat, clearly uninterested in the

Zane’s POVIt’s late morning when we pull up at the Silverwood pack. The air’s thick with tension, and the first thing I notice is how quiet it is. Too quiet for a pack, really.Luna Comfort’s smile is polite but strained. "Alpha Gregory is out with the scouts, checking on something at the eastern border," she says. "He wants to make sure we’re secure. He’s...hands-on like that."She leads us upstairs to our rooms. Her heels click sharply on the marble floor, echoing through the vast entryway.‘Wow. This place is something else,’ Vivian’s voice buzzes in my head.‘Understatement,’ Tyler shoots back, his tone dry.I glance around, noticing the sleek, cold beauty of the packhouse. The grand staircase spirals upwards, flanked by gleaming golden rails, the kind you see in old castles, not wolf packs. And the crystal chandeliers overhead? Over-the-top, like they were stolen from a