DAMIEN:
Whatever Carmella was doing, it looked like she didn't want to be disturbed. A closer look at her made me realize she was actually bonding her hair in a way and this gave me the cue that I could actually move close to her.
"Can we talk?" I ask in an attempt to grab her attention even though I know that she was aware of my presence.
She nodded but didn't stop what she's doing for my sake. And with a deep breath which was the only way for me to relax my nerves, I began to speak.
"I know you're not comfortable with everything going on," I start with that. "But I want you to be open with me. I want to know how you really feel because I feel I owe you a lot of explanation."
She says nothing but keeps bonding her hair with her eyes fixated on her reflection in the mirror. The fact is that I'm actually surprised to see her do this herself when she usually calls for her personal maids to get it done for her or sometimes her Gamma.
Eventually, her hands are off her hair. And while still staring into the mirror, she says, "Do you want to know something, Damien?"
"Yes."
"The moment I become open about this ongoing situation, is the moment all hell lets loose. I'm sure you won't want any of that especially when your human girl is involved."
I wasn't sure what to say to that. It sounded like a threat and at the same time sounded like she was issuing me a warning that brought light to everything happening presently.
Perhaps I need to listen to more that she has to say before concluding that she meant any harm by the words she uttered.
She continues to speak, "I could have searched for my mate, you know. Maybe he's not here. Perhaps he's from another pack. But I chose duty over anything else and stayed here with you. I wanted to be the Luna for the members of my pack while neglecting that my fate could actually be bonded to someone else out there. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
I felt sorry for her instantly.
"It means a lot to me, Carmella," I say truthfully. "But I never sought for my rightful mate. I—"
"Stop calling her that. At least not in my presence. You're only making me feel worse than I already am," she states.
"I'm sorry but I truly never did what I said before. I abided by duty too just like you said and it's the same duty that led me into finding her."
"Whatever you say doesn't change the fact that you never look at me like you want me around you," she rebuffs. "I knew you just tolerated my presence because you had no choice."
"We both didn't. Our companionship isn't sealed by fate so I won't say it's my fault," I remind her about the bigger picture that came with what we have.
She is up on her feet, turning around to face me. She then moves very close to me until there is no space between us.
Her hand rests on my chest as she looks up at me. I won't lie, her eyes were reflecting a lot of emotions that I didn't want her to see her going through because of me.
"You said our union isn't sealed by fate and I agree," she starts to say. "But over the years, I've grown to love you. I've become accustomed to your presence and everything that has to do with you. It's because I opened my heart to the possibility of wanting you around me and I took that chance. So you see that I also had no choice but then created one for myself."
Her words hit me where it shouldn't. I wasn't even sure how to react to what she just told me and to be honest, I think coming here to discuss our situation was a very wrong idea to begin with.
I heave out a sigh. "I don't even know what to say," I admit.
"I know. In your mind, you are fighting a battle of the fact that you really do not have a choice or not. However it's you not having a choice that led us to not having an heir to show for our union together."
"I've always wanted a child, Carmella. A little pup that I can call my own. I'm sorry we have none to show."
I was sincere with my words. As rigid as I can be, I still wanted and acknowledged the idea of having a child of my own. The thought mostly gives me chills but then it's unfortunate that I still do not have one.
"Then let's make one," Carmella announces.
"What?"
"We have no child because we never really were sincere about having one together. The moon goddess probably saw through our intentions and didn't bless us with one so now, if we're intentional about it, I'm sure she'll grant us our wish."
I squint my eyes at the proposal. "You sure that's the reason for what happened?"
Her hand travels up to my face. She caresses it affectionately, one which I hardly felt anything to. But I let her have her way.
And with her eyes deep into mine, she says, "Let's have our own babies and they'll be the rightful heir to the position of Alpha of the Red Moon pack. We can make this work only if we do it right this time."
I say nothing. I can't even bring myself to say anything when I know for sure that any word that comes out of my mouth could even worsen whatever hope Carmella was holding on to.
I shouldn't be doing this to her but I can't help it. I hardly have any control over what goes on in my life even with being the Alpha of a pack which is why I'm in a great dilemma as I stare down at her.
She probably read through my silence because she takes her hand off my face. A step backward and away from me, she asks, "You can't do this, right? You're scared that you're about to betray the trust of your human girl whom you just met some days ago, isn't it?"
"That's not what I'm thinking," I say in an attempt to correct her.
"Are you even thinking, Damien?" she snaps. "Because if you are, you would realize the girl's nothing like us. She's nothing like us, Damien, yet you want to end up with her?"
I shake my head. "That's not what I want."
"Then what do you want?"
"I don't know," I tell her. "I'm confused as hell right now and you speaking to me like this isn't helping at all. You think I wanted this to happen? You think I planned for all of this? You think I would go all out to bring in a human into our midst just to ruin everything we share? No. It was never in my books. And now that it has happened, all I'm looking for is a little support just to figure out a way out of this."
She sneers at me. "You want my support? Bloody hell you won't be getting any," she doesn't beat about the bush. "I see the way you've been looking at her, Damien. Those looks do not seem like someone who's confused about what he wants. It sure doesn't."
I was going to say something when my ears suddenly picked up a noise from a long distance away from here. It sounds like there's an ongoing commotion and from the look on Carmella's face, it seems she could sense it too.
Instantly, I access the pack link in my head to find out information from whoever could provide one. And the noise hasn't dissipated from hearing just yet.
'Alpha! The pack is under attack!'
I received that answer from one of the warriors and I knew immediately that I had to leave the room. I have to do it fast because I just realize now that Riley is out there with little to no protection.
I can't let any harm come her way. I brought her into the middle of all this and I have to ensure that her safety becomes a top priority.
Xavier had better be with her right now.
RILEY:A bang erupted in the air and it affected me so much that I fell to the ground. Meanwhile I was sitting when that happened.I couldn't fathom what was going on except that I could see members of the pack running around like something was chasing them. And when I see Xavier approaching me swiftly with a worried look etched on his face, it made me realize something was wrong.Another bang erupted in the air just when he got to me and helped me up to my feet."What's going on?" I had to ask, my mind trying to draw out the possibilities of what could have gone wrong around."We are under attack!" he hurriedly says as he holds my hand in an attempt to drag me away from there."By who?""Rogues!"That was a word I didn't understand. However I'll come to understand the levity of the situation we're in when we had to stop all of a sudden. Our path has been suddenly blocked by two men dressed in clothings that didn't seem to match what I've seen around here.The Dark Moon pack had a uni
RILEY:I wasn't sure what to be worried about. Maybe it was the fact that I happened to be attacked or that I witnessed the transformation of a real wolf into a man that turned out to be Damien.I was going insane. And I was sure that in no time, I'm going to be crazy from knowing how stressful everything seems to be."Stay put, Riley. Let the doctor clean that up," Damien says as I withdraw my arm from the supposed doctor who was about to add something to the scratch I have on it. This probably resulted from the aggressive push to the ground in Xavier's bid to protect me."It hurts!" I snap."It has to. And it will only get worse if you don't let him clean it up now. So just stay put and let him finish his job or I'll be forced to hold you down myself."I glare at him. "Don't you dare come any closer to me. I'll rip your eyes out!" I threaten.The little distraction gives the doctor the chance to actually apply the ointment on to my arm and I almost yelp at the sting I felt from it.
RILEY:I was let back into the room after protests that were enough to tire anyone out.I couldn't stand being inside a clinic or whatever it is that I was placed. I feel better now and would rather complete the later of my healing inside where I would count as the most comfortable for me in all of the places located in this pack.However it looks like I have no privacy even inside the room because what was up with Damien, Xavier and the maids coming in without even knocking. Only this time it wasn't any of them.I got up from the bed upon realizing it was Xavier's woman or what else would I even call her. His Luna, I guess. She walks in with the same lady that I saw her walk with the first time I met her and it made me uncomfortable knowing the hate she seemed to harbor for me."They weren't lying when they said you're still hurt," the Luna starts to say. "One would expect that you would have healed by now but I keep forgetting how much of a human you are."The snarky remark from her
RILEY:I didn't bother to knock after Xavier told me we had arrived where Damien was in. Instead I barged into the room and the look of surprise etched on Damien's face didn't elude my eyes.He was seated right behind a desk with some documents atop the desk. From the look of things he was busy because he had a pen in hand. I guess this must be his personal study judging from the variety of books stockpiled inside the shelfs."We need to talk!" I announce, my impatience exuding from my tone.For a brief moment he says nothing while just staring at me with narrowed eyes. Eventually he looks up at Xavier behind me and says, "Leave us."Xavier was out of the room in no time. And I knew that when I heard the sound of the door closing."Have a seat," Damien offers."I prefer to stand," I decline."Suit yourself," he states as he drops the pen to sit upright. "So why are you here? What's so important that you had to barge into my personal space?""Please, like you didn't already barge into
DAMIEN:"I don't know what to do with her," I lament, reeling in on the experience that occured here in my study with Riley. "She has rejected me twice. Twice, Xavier. At this point she's convinced that I'm shit. I'm sure that's the way she looks at me now."I'm tired. And thinking about everything was even more tiring. From being worried about her yesterday to now having to worry about her leaving me. It was too much."I need a drink," I state and then stand up from my seat to fetch a bottle of whiskey and wine glass which I left atop the shelf.Xavier speaks just after I pour myself a shot."That means one thing you know," he says.I sip from the glass. "What is that?""I'll have to be honest with you, Damien. You have to let her go. I don't think she deserves any of this happening to her."I scoff, taking another sip before setting the glass aside. "And then what happens after I do that? I just carry on with the burden of knowing I let my mate walk away from my life without so much
RILEY:"I heard what you did," Xavier says a little into the walk he proposed we take this morning. "You think it's okay going against the instruction Damien already laid down for the maids?""I'm not one of them, am I? So if he really wants me here, then he won't mind if I change a bit of things he put in place regarding my welfare," I state."That makes sense.""It does.""Just be careful with what you change. It could raise some questions if you go overboard with it," he warns.I scoff. "I don't intend going overboard to rile others up. I intend going overboard to rile up Damien in particular so it would let him realize he doesn't have to keep me here any longer.""And does that plan include creating an acquaintance with the maids so you could fulfill your desire to leave?"Glancing in his direction briefly, I say, "I only want a bit of acquaintance for my convenience. Don't start getting some ideas about it.""Let me warn you though. Whatever you do, don't get the maids involved i
CARMELLA:The water trickled off my head and down into the bathtub which I lay inside naked. My mind keeps wandering to a distant place but the thought of knowing my position as Luna of the Dark Moon wasn't safe anymore kept bringing me back.I haven't been more scared of being the Luna than this. I wasn't even bothered when I got betrothed to Damien some years back all because he failed to show forth a fated mate.That was one of the riskiest decisions I ever took in my life— being with a man who didn't feel anything for me. However that decision wasn't enough to make me as scared as knowing I'm about to lose a position I've invested so much into over the years."What do I do, Nadia?" I asked my Gamma who was scrubbing my arm smoothly while I just sat there without moving an inch.This isn't her job. She shouldn't be in here with me. Rather it should be the maids. But lately I've been doing away with them because I wanted the most loyal person in this pack close to me everytime. At l
DAMIEN:As the wind breezed through my face, it made me a bit light-headed. Maybe even worse than when I woke up this morning with no clue why I slept so heavily.I don't remember taking a drink before going to bed so it seems I must have been so exhausted from the duties I had to lay down yesterday in the pack.Hearing multiple footsteps behind me, I knew Riley was here now. So I turn around with my hands still behind my back to face her."Why am I here?" she asks, standing in between the two maids that she has now made to tend to her alone.A frown is etched on her face as she gives me a stare down but I wasn't bugged by her act of trying to make me feel her displeasure."I sent for you obviously," I say, signaling toward the maids to leave. They bow their heads before doing so, leaving me all alone with her. "I felt you might need a demonstration.""Of what?""Of what it might take to be a wolf."She sneers. "I've seen that already," she says icily."But you haven't seen me turn in