*** Matthew's POV ***
The day started with me taking Susie, my Luna, to the pack doctor. It's eight in the morning, and Carl, our son, is still asleep. Judging by his regular schedule, he will stay asleep for another two hours. Regardless, I mind-link one of our omegas to babysit him while we are gone.
We enter the pack's clinic and sit in the waiting room while waiting to be called next.
-"Good Morning, Alpha. Good Morning, Luna."
The nurse greets us, bowing her head as a sign of respect.
My father had given me the responsibility of the pack and the title of Alpha when I was 25. He was adamant I needed to find a mate to become a strong Alpha. When you find the mate destined for you and you mark her, the bond will allow you to become stronger mutually. How can I explain it? Having a mate would be like being on steroids.
Being an Alpha means my mate will be called Luna because she and I are equals. We are meant to rule and protect the pack. A Luna also ensures the pack's prosperity by looking after its internal affairs (children's education, job placements, community entertainment, etc.). She also keeps the Alpha's emotions in check because a male werewolf is usually impulsive, possessive, and hot-headed.
I had searched, waited, and hoped patiently for my real mate, but she was nowhere to be found.
Crescent Moon Pack is the biggest and strongest of all the packs in North America, with about 1000 werewolves. We have a small town for ourselves. The other groups have looked up to us for many centuries. Anything the Crescent Moon Alpha says is acknowledged and respected by everyone. That's why we have the title of Alpha King.
When I turned 27 and had no mate on the horizon, my father's patience hit its limit. His words exactly were, "a weak leader means a weak pack." To him being unmated made me weak. So, he decided to become a dating agent and arranged to have a potential mate candidate for me with Grayfang Pack's Alpha.
Crescent Moon and Grayfangs' Pack have been allies for as long as I can remember. Grayfang's Alpha had given me his son's hand in marriage, but I respectfully declined, letting him know my interest is with the opposite sex. Since he didn't have any daughters, he arranged for me to marry his Beta's daughter, Susie, and that's how I met her.
We married that year, under the condition that our arranged marriage would be strictly political. We would not mark or mate one another, and if one of us were to find our true mate, we would go our separate ways. The marriage brought happiness to the pack and, after some time, to me too. Despite her not being my real mate, having someone by my side still put me at ease. Alex, my wolf, didn't share the same opinion. He believed our real mate was still out there, and we were making a mistake by accepting this she-wolf as our Luna, but not feeling lonely for once felt good.
Two years into our marriage, we found out that Susie had a brain tumor. After many blood tests and CT scans, the doctor concluded it was too risky to operate. He thought maybe chemotherapy would work but was uncertain since being a werewolf reduced the chemo treatment's efficiency.
The doctor explained that chemo targets the cancer cells growing, dividing, and making more cells faster than the normal ones, eliminating them. However, werewolf blood makes the cancer cells reproduce even quicker than a regular human, making the chemo unable to keep up with it.
The doctor also told us Susie would most probably experience dizziness, nausea, hair loss, and infertility, among other symptoms. She wouldn't be able to get pregnant, and we wouldn't be able to provide the pack with an heir. Not that we had planned to, we were keeping things political. She had her room, and I had mine.
I still remember the sadness in her eyes when she found out she wouldn't become a mother. Although we started as an arranged marriage, we have come to show affection for each other, and seeing her in this much pain was slowly killing me. Alex was still reluctant to accept her. However, we had agreed to care for her well-being.
Regardless of the outcome, Susie decided to go under chemotherapy. The treatment had positive results, and the pack was hopeful their Luna would pull through this phase.
The chemo affected Susie's hormones sending her into heat, meaning she would become sexually aroused quite often. Still, unlike a human's fertile cycle, a she-wolf's cycle comes less frequently and is generally extremely painful. One of the reasons the werewolf population has decreased while the human population increased. To stop the pain a she-wolf needs to mate with someone. Either with their mate, if they have one, or any unmated male available. Most unmated she-wolves opt to withstand the pain. Now don't confuse mating with the mating process. The mating process is when you mate and mark one another, and mating (to mate) means, you know, to do the deed.
Susie was already overwhelmed because of the chemo's side effects, and on top of that, she had to experience painful heat-induced contractions. Seeing her in so much pain was killing me inside. Not to mention, my wolf and I could smell her arousal, and that, my friend, was the last drop that sent us into a crazy frenzy lust. Completely intoxicated by the female heat feromones, I mated and marked her. One night was all it took to make us tumble into despair, once again. From that night, she became pregnant with Carl.
Not only did I blame myself for giving in to the carnal desire, but I also ruined the chances of being with my true mate. On top of that, I'm now responsible for the small being growing inside Susie. But yet again, I was thirty years old, and not once did I come across my true mate. Maybe she died for some unknown reason, and this is the way Moon Goddess found to spare me from a life of solitude.
On the bright side, Susie was thrilled with the idea of being a mom, her eyes sparkled with joy, and her being radiated happiness like a sunray on a cold winter morning. The doctor told her she needed to choose between stopping the chemo and having the baby or having an abortion and carrying on with chemotherapy. Of course, being a selfless Luna as she is, she chose our baby.
A werewolf baby takes five months instead of nine months to be born, but still, five months made Susie's clinical state irreversible. The doctors weren't sure how long she had to live, so we enjoyed every moment to the fullest. We kept her doctor's appointments like today's to monitor the tumor's progression.
-"Matthew, what has you so worried?" Susie asked, pinching my nose bridge with her gentle hands and bringing me back to the present.
-"Nothing, my love. Just thinking of Carl's birthday party. I don't want any rogues attacking the pack while we host the event". A small white lie to cover my fear that her tumor had gotten worse, stealing Carl's precious time with her.
Pulling her close, I kiss her forehead. The chemotherapy left her with an ashen complexion and thin caramel hair, making her joyful green eyes mesmerizing.
- "You know, as my dying wish, I hope the Moon Goddess shows you the path to your true mate." I would love for Carl to grow with a motherly figure when I am not around." She caresses my cheek.
Her words stabbed me in the heart. Half of me always wondered what it would be like to have a true mate bond. Would it have healed her as many rumors have it? This is when I wish Susie to be my real mate, but in reality, she isn't. I want to keep her by my side, by our son's side, as long as I can.
-"Luna Susie, we are ready for your CT Scan. Please follow me this way." The nurse instructs.
After the scan, we waited in the doctor's office for the results. He enters the room, and I feel Susie stiffen beside me, so I hold her hand and toughen up for the both of us.
- "Alpha, Luna." The doctor gives a courteous bow and continues. "I'm afraid I don't bear good news. The tumor has gotten bigger, and the prognostic is not good."
Susie squeezes my hand, and my heart sinks. She holds back the tears that cloud her beautiful green eyes. We stay in silence for what seems like an eternity, then Susie breaks the ice.
- "Well, we knew about this. It's old news." She smiles bravely, and my heart seems to sink even further. "Today is Carl's 1st Birthday Party, and I have a lot to plan for tonight. " she stands up from her chair.
-"How long do we have left"? I ask the doctor while looking at the oblivious.
- "If the tumor continues to grow at this rate, one year. Maybe two".
My eyes follow Susie with sorrow as she opens the door and compels me to escort her.
-"Come, Matt, we have a birthday party to prepare. It is going to be a long day, my love. We can't afford to lose any minute of it."
She gives me another smile, showing us how strong she can be. I thank the doctor and walk towards the exit where Susie awaits me. She pulls me by my hand, dragging us out of the clinic.
It's 09:30 a.m. when we return to our master bedroom, located on the third floor of the Alpha's mansion. Carl is already wide awake and playing with his Omega babysitter. As soon as we walk through the bedroom door, he gestures to Susie to pick him up. She raises him from the floor into her warm embrace.
At that point, my Beta, Bruce Morris, mind-links me for the morning rounds debrief.
- "Boss, we have spotted a couple of rogues to the north of our territory. Oliver and Jax went to investigate further. No imminent threat detected."
- "Let me know what they find out. I will be in my office".
Before leaving to do some work in my office located on the floor below, I hug my family. Their sweet scents rejuvenate me. Susie smells like roses and Carl, like cinnamon buns. Little did I know, nothing could prepare me for the storm yet to come.
*** Matthew's POV *** My office is a pretty typical one, maybe a tad larger than average. Between the two dark espresso built-in bookshelves, a floor-to-ceiling window is located just behind the dark mahogany office desk. Two soft, see-through curtains break the harsh light, giving the window a soft glow. In front of the desk, there are two navy-blue soft velvet fauteuils with deep button tufting. The room also has two matching black velvet couches with similar button tufting on them sitting on both sides of the room with a dark espresso French coffee table directly across them both. Barely making it behind the desk, I hear someone knocking on the door. -"Come on in." I instruct before sitting down and taking a deep breath.
*** Matthew's POV ***It can't be. Why was she here? Why now? Did the Moon Goddess listen to Susie? I look around the room to find her, but I don't see her. Maybe outside, I thought, but before I could walk out again, two massive growls erupt from the middle of the room, and the word "mate" soon follows.I turned to see what was going on to see that Robert had found his mate. They both were hugging, burrowing their heads into each other's necks. What worried me was the older gentleman, obviously Rob's mate father. If looks could kill, the gentleman's son would be a dead werewolf. The look of disappointment was set on his face, and you could feel it from a mile away. He lets out a warning growl breaking the couple apart. I approach them to make sure a war doesn't start in my ballroom.
*** Matthew's POV ***Alex and I ran for what seemed like an eternity, with no destination in mind. A mixture of despair and anger filled our chest. The pain was now bearable but not gone. She had been so close, and now she was gone.- "It's all your fault! I knew our true mate was still out there. We shouldn't have married Susie." Alex is full of sorrow and regret.-"How can you say that? We have been through so much with her. She gave us a pupthe cost of her health! How can you be like this?"Alex closes the link between us, allowing me to regain control. I run back to the mansion, still in my wolf form but shifting back to human as I approach the mansion's fr
<One year and half later> *** Naomi's POV *** I had attempted to reject him, my mate Alpha King Matthew Stevens, but my body had betrayed me, and I fainted just before I could reject him. The magnetic pull is still there, and I can feel the achy need to see him, to be in his arms. I can't bring myself to try to reject him again. The first time I tried, it was so painful that I don't want to experience that type of pain ever again; it's too much. After the first year of finding him, I was submerged in dark thoughts. Depression seemed to be my only companion, and to make matters worse, Gabriel had rejected his 'Alpha-to-be' position, leaving our pack to be with his mate. Saying our father was furious was an understatement. He never acce
<One year and half later> *** Matthew's POV *** "Matt... Matt, wake up. Carl is crying."Susie's mind-links, waking me up from my slumber. In my boxers, I get up from our bed and drag my feet toward Carl's room, just across from ours. There is also a room next to ours for our guests, should any decide to stay over. It used to be my room before we had Carl. "Hey, bud, I am here," I reassure him as I open his bedroom door. He steadies himself on the crib's rail with one hand while the other opens and closes towards me, letting me know he wants to be picked up, which I do, as he cries non-stop. -"Shh, I am here, baby."
Two years after the silver chains ***Naomi's POV*** It has been two long torturous years, and a lot has changed. Firstly, I was forced to train with our elite warriors. And when I say forced, I mean it. I would just sit by the training ring and wait until it ended the first few times. But my father decided to join the training, and if I refused to participate, the warriors were ordered to beat me up until I was unconscious. In the end, I had no other choice but to experience and learn how to defend myself. Although my parent's room was on the fifth floor, soon-to-be Lee's floor, I could hear them argue about my situation every night. Mother had become extremely upset with my father's behavior towards me. She even threatened to leave the pack if he didn't stop.
*** Morgan POV *** Naomi told me she wanted my help. We are still at the bar, and I have to be extra careful not to alert the two giant werewolves sitting behind us at the far left corner. I don't know what it is about her, but the moment she walked into the bar, something compelled me to help. It wasn't just me. My wolf Lily was too unsettled, especially after we realized the men she walked in with were watching her like hawks. It didn't feel right. Let's not forget all of her scars. It felt as if she was a prisoner. I pondered for a second, maybe they were rogues, and she was their victim, but they didn't smell like rogues. They didn't smell of burn and decay flesh. Naomi walks to the guys and tells them she's tired and wants to go back to her motel room.
*** Mathew's POV *** My pact is a mess. The loss of their Luna two years ago had left them demotivated and disorganized. In part, it was my fault. After Susie's death, the void she left inside me was constant torture. I had become a disgrace, drinking my sorrows away bottle after bottle. Without her companionship, I felt lonely again. I sit on the floor, enclosed in my room while holding one of Susie's pieces of clothing close to me and drowning my pain in whiskey. This room isn't the one that Susie and I shared. That one has been closed since she passed away. Standing up, I steady myself against the dresser. The movement causes the mirror to shake. I lean in closer and observe the man reflected in it. I can't recognize myself with the long messy blac