Virtue & Vanity

When I was surrounded by the rogue pack far from our territory, I mind-linked my mate, Alpha Luke, begging for help. He refused me fifteen times—and finally, he blocked the link entirely. In the end, I collapsed from exhaustion and lost consciousness, my wolf howling in despair. When I woke up in the infirmary, Alex, the commander of the Werewolf Tribe, was sitting quietly beside me. He was the one who had received my desperate mind-link. He led his warriors, crushed the rogues, and saved me from the jaws of death. Looking into his worried eyes, I no longer hesitated. I took a deep breath and said with unwavering resolve: “Alex, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go to the Northern Territory for training. I leave in 2 days.” Ten minutes later, Luke barged into the room with Kristy—his so-called adoptive sister—and our twin pups trailing behind. Before anyone could speak, he kicked the door open and pointed at me, shouting with cold fury: “You staged this stunt just to outshine Kristy? Do you realize how much warrior strength you wasted just to feed your vanity? You are not worthy to be a Luna!” My elder son, Chris, gave me a sharp glance and scoffed: “Where’s the wound, Mom? You look perfectly fine. Did you fake this just to get attention?” My younger son, Collin, stared at me, eyes filled with disappointment. He shook his head slowly and whispered: “Mom, did you lie to us again… just because we care about Kristy more?” Kristy gripped Luke’s hand, her voice trembling with fake innocence and tears falling down her cheeks: “I’m sorry, Christina… I won’t celebrate my birthday again. Please… stop causing trouble for Luke and the twins.” I clenched my fists, restraining my furious wolf, and stopped Alex from standing up for me. I watched the four of them turn and leave without a second glance. Then, I turned to Alex and said, with icy clarity: “This time, I have no hesitation, no regret. I’m leaving. I’ll go with you to the Northern Territory. And I won’t eat my words.”

"So many promises, so many dreams. They all broke today," his voice resonated. "Your promise of loving me till the last breath of your life, your dream of becoming my wife and giving birth to my children….they all are shattering today, princesa," tears rolled down from her eyes at his words which made him wrap his arm around her waist. "Ssh …. don't cry. Maybe not love but I do feel sympathy for your tears as I had been living with you for so many days," he uttered while wiping her tears with his knuckles. "Besides, I am not that heartless so let's ease up your heartbreak a bit. Okay?" He uttered. "So not in front of this world but I can please you like a husband pleases his wife behind closed doors and…." He thrusted his face closer to hers. "On my bed…. just like last night where you let me devour every inch of your skin, princesa," She teared up more because that was the truth. She had actually surrendered her everything to him last night. Her heart, her soul, her body…. everything to him with no shield last night. She gave him the virtue of her body but only to let him taint it with his sin which she was believing as his love. Feeling him wrapping his arm more firmly around her waist, she found him untying the knot of her night robe. "So, how about I make you forget about your heartbreak by taking you to my bed?" he rasped in her ear, completely untying her night robe and his next words crushed her soul cruelly. "As I am sure that would be the best way to cure the pain of a prostitute's daughter and her deceitful love,"