Lily arrived at her flat, still perplexed by the thought of being so completely ridiculous and dumb. The note on Rhye Gosling's nightstand serves as a reminder of how stupid she was. It was no longer necessary to stare and read it a hundred times. But she did anyway. The difficulty was that she have to confront the man who had made her wanton in bed again. Those moans that still rang in her head? It was amazing. No doubt. Those glamorous, amazing, and extraordinary displays of intimacy? Mind-blowing sex? It was perfect. She might be able to call it the best sex she'd ever had. It was a crazy thought because she never wanted to forget it. Her memories of his lips were still vivid. His kisses.
But who would have guessed she'd wreck someone else's life by being so enraged that it became the topic and conversation of the online community? It was not like there weren't any homosexual policemen in the world... Sgt. Anderson, on the other hand, was the wrong man, and she wanted to kick herself for destroying his life. And now that she had a one-night stand with Rhye Gosling, everything went crazy. He was telling her the truth the entire time that it wasn't him sucking Gabriel's shaft. And she didn't believe him.
"Oh, God. I'm so dead." Lily muttered under her breath.
She was not uncomfortable with such thoughts. Yes, he had gay friends who tended to wring the dainty out of even the most undesirable man they could find, but never had it occurred to her that Gabriel was gay. How could she have missed the clues? It was all over their relationship, and yet she was too blinded by his being so perfect. Now, what does it lead her to do? Into chaos... deeper unrest. Mr. Gosling was a notorious billionaire, and yet she didn't even, "Dammit Lily, you are so stupid." She groaned to herself as she held the third cup of coffee in her hands.
But she was not like the others who just stayed there and did nothing. Yes, she made a mistake, and yes, she was willing to kneel at Sgt. Anderson's feet if it was necessary and needed, but talking to Rhye Gosling again, without the help of the alcohol, made her blush. How could she forget his kisses? "Jesus! This is so stupid." She reckoned she was still a bit naive to accept the truth—But did Rhye Gosling happen to know Sgt. Anderson? And are they friends? Strange, what a small silly world she lives in.
Yet, she had lots of questions that needed answers, too much coincidence in two days, and she was not that stupid to just believe that it was just a mere chance. Well, maybe fate was playing her cards, but there were the sorts of incidents that happened in the freaking movies that excelled at being stupid and mundane—the kinds of pursuits that tended to get the actors labeled as "jolly good sports."
However, Lily knew that men like Rhye Gosling were bad news. He was the type of person who had sex with every female in London. He was rumored to be the playboy of the century, dating females ranging from celebrities to duchesses, princesses, and influencers, and compared to them, Lily was nothing but an IT professional who stared at her monitor screen for eight hours a day. She was nothing but boring.
Regardless, why does it feel like she knew him? Like there was something in him that pulled him towards her, like some kind of string, like she was a moth, and he was the fire, and even if it burned her, she still wanted to keep the warmth radiating off of him? "Weird. Really weird." Lily thought to herself.
But he was different. Rhye Gosling was different. Even in her drunk state last night, she knew the man exuded such confidence and leadership. He oozed power and something she couldn't put a finger on.
Yea, she’d always felt a little different from the rest of her friends, even from her late poster parents. But Rhye Gosling was way different. His eyes alone made her bow her head and just worship the man. Was there any theory for that? Maybe she was just too drunk last night? But she would never deny how perfect it was. He was excellent in the sense that he was....well... Perfect. It sounds stupid, but yes, she felt like the man radiated so much alpha manliness in him. It was like he was born to rule the land. "Ah! I'm getting crazy."
Still, she needed to act like she was a warrior in her own right. If it took so much effort to forget their sexcapades, then she must practice her "I don't care look." Though Lily loved to pretend she was strong and fierce, deep down she was a softy who would have given her life for any of her friends, and even though she appeared ordinary, on the inside she always felt like a bit of a changeling. After all, she had a secret of her own.
Where the rest of her friends were outgoing, she was shy, not exactly boring, but a little more distant, secretive, and thorough with her words and decision-making. She’d developed a reputation for sarcasm and wit, and she had to admit, she could barely resist the chance to needle her friends with a dry remark, especially Cassy. It was done out of love, of course, and maybe a touch of the distress that comes from having spent far too much time alone.
Yet, she often wondered if part of her attraction to Gabriel had been the simple fact that he removed her from the unrest that was so often with her boring life. Not that she didn’t love him; she did. She admired him with every last breath in her body. He was her kindred spirit, so much like her in so many ways. But it had, in a weird sort of manner. In fact, it had been a relief to escape Gabriel’s too-perfect relationship though, to circumvent a more peaceful existence with someone whose understanding of humor and beliefs were exactly like hers.
Someone like Rhye Gosling?
Impossible!
*****
Moonlight Pack Mansion
Alpha Rhye had managed to read all the background information about Lily Walter from his trusted private investigator to understand her. He needed to know her more. Yet, what the investigation found was just ordinary and full of crap. She was an orphan, a loner, trustworthy, and worked as IT for his rival company, yet he anticipated more. He wanted to know more about how Lily appeared to be scentless, which was very odd, particularly given her being human.
However, thinking about their love-making last night, Rhye thought about how she had completed him. How they complement each other. He was her perfect side, his total opposite.
It had been the oddest scene when he’d met her, almost as if he were a jagged puzzle piece eventually finding its mate. Their first meeting hadn’t been one of overwhelming love or fascination but fairly replenished with the most unusual sense that he’d eventually found the one person with whom he could entirely be himself. Yes, she thought he was her ex's lover, and it wasn't as bad as it gets. After all, he had a plan for her later.
It had been instant. It had been unexpected. He couldn’t recall just what it was he’d said to her last night in his pub, but from the moment those words first left his lips, he felt at home. Being with her makes him feel complete.
And with her, came his plan to make her his Luna. Maybe this was not as bad as it sounded, but he was not going to let her out of his sight. His pack—although truth be told, the elder of the council had been a nuisance lately, always in his shadow questioning him, mainly because it had been years and he still didn't have a luna in his pack. But could they blame him? Being the youngest Alpha in Europe, and the richest one as well makes it difficult to look for someone he could trust. He thought he would never find her. He thought he would end up mateless, maybe for a hundred years to come. Yet, the Moon Goddess granted him such a gift, and he intended to keep it.
Rhye was the first heir to an alpha dom, and Joseph was his twin brother, and even though Rhye had inherited the title and the wealth, and well, everything. Joseph didn’t seem to envy him. It was amazing, he’d been raised as the Moonlight pack's second-best, even—and yet he’d never once begrudged Rhye any of his blessings. And it was for that reason that Rhye loved his brother and respected his life choice, and he did not judge Joseph for having a relationship with a human male. Joseph would surely scoff if he tried to applaud him for it, and he was quite certain that he would point to his many misdeeds (none of which, he feared, were exaggerated) to prove that his soul was black and he was a scoundrel through and through—but the truth of the matter was that Rhye Gosling possessed a generosity of spirit and a capability for love that was unmatched among their kind.
And if he didn’t find his mate soon, the elder was going to go insane and make matters worse by finding a Luna of their own accord, not that he was not bombarded by a she-wolf already.
Unlike him, however, Joseph preferred to be the pack doctor rather than get involved in the politics of the councils of elders, which consisted of the elders of all the packs scattered across Europe. They were those ancient... Two hundred years old or older, former alphas and legendary warriors, and their main duty was to keep watch over the packs on the continent and keep their kind away from human eyes.
However, until today, humans were still ignorant about the supernatural folks, some maybe have encountered werewolves, witches, angels, demons, vampires, etc, etc but mostly their memory had been altered and erase by the elite forces of the council of elders, the one who cleans the mess to preserve their kind away from human prying eye. After all, humans were still too naive, and often their fear of the unknown made them think that everything was just a myth, a tale, a legend, and a fiction but who could have blamed them?
As a result, it was only natural for humans to dismiss the supernatural as a thing of the past and something only for stupid movie entertainment.
But from what Alpha Rhye had heard, and from what he knew of the human government paranormal investigator, they had been in a quest to unravel the supernatural communities.
Rhye instead, thought that it was the key to their mission to eradicate those demons, those creatures that were made solely to wreak havoc amongst their little community of supernatural, their blood had been one so potent that even one single blood could kill an entire pack.
However, according to Leon, he would push those issues more if they found just one single demon. After all, it's been two decades since the last demon, the legendary count of Scotland, passed away, murdered by his parents during a battle fight, and since then, either the demons had gone hiding or there were no offspring able to live amongst the humans. Demons feed on the darkest souls of humans and their dark evil spirits. But nowadays, it was believed that humans have begun to change. Their supposed to be the darkest souls had become so mundane and so foolish since the advancement of their technology, those evil crimes have been replaced by petty evilness, such as social media problems and gullible troubles.
For now, he would not worry about such a thing yet, his Beta Leon would take care of Joseph's lover and now his problem was how to trick Lily Walters into marrying him. Because even though Rhye Gosling was the CEO and the billionaire philanthropist by human standards, finding Luna was his priority, and now that he found his mate, he would do everything.
Lily Walters arrived at the three-story mansion at three in the afternoon, she gawked at the grandiose state of Rhye Gosling. She was led into the impressive modern-style living room. Then, she saw a spiral staircase against the wood-paneled wall. She was ushered by a middle-aged couple, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, a butler and the chef. "Fancy a tea and a biscuit, Miss Walter?" The silver-haired Mr. Evans asked as Mrs. Evan murmured something about their boss, who was waiting for her in his private office. Lily shook her head. "Follow me, Miss Walters. You will have your tea in the Alph- I-I mean, in the boss's office." The smiling woman added and motioned for her to follow while the man went in the opposite direction. As they approached the stairs, Lily was surrounded by four columns, leading to the most elegant doors she had ever seen. They were made of mahogany and have a stained glass window in the center. The handles and the frame were made of brass and silver. As they continue aroun
Five minutes into the snowy path, Lily began to regret her life choices when she heard a long series of wolves' howls that made her shiver. "What the hell was that?" Rhye furrowed his brow, knowing exactly what the human had been asking as he adjusted their flashlight. His five guardians had been howling half a mile behind them. So he told them to stop. "What are you talking about?" "Those howls... those are fucking wolves, right? Jesus, I don't want to be eaten alive." "They are not harmless, Lily, they are the guardians of this mountain." "Guardian? Are you kidding me? That only happened in the fucking movie, and trust me, they aren't like Jacob, who had a great, amazing body and eyes to die for. I'm not going to risk being a fresh meal for those wolves." Rhye wondered and asked his five guardians if they knew anything about the Jacob she was talking about and all of them didn't have any idea. "Who is this Jacob?" Rhye halted on his walk and asked. "What? You believe those w
Lily couldn’t help but notice the impatience in Rhye’s jaw as he ground his back teeth and his shoulder blades tightened. She hoped she wasn’t reading something into his reaction that wasn’t there, because facing that dense mountain, going in willingly, had her doubting her own senses. The mountain seemed to be calling for her; it was like some primitive urges made her skin crawl. Something deep inside her was slithering like it wanted out. Her pulse was battered. A cold sequence of fear scraped around her heart. She’d traveled so far outside her own solace, away from her comfort zone, that her strengths were already fried. It was too much, too soon. "Wait... Are we going to the s-shortcut to your elders' manor now?" "Yes, it won't take time." He replied and stepped further, leaving her five steps behind. "Rhye? I-I'm scared… I heard wolves and it's too dark now." "Don't be scared, I'm here, Lily." He waited and took her hand and clasped it right around his. "Oh, are we going the
Walking along the modern, lantern-covered stone pathway towards the supposed little mountain cottage, Lily gaped at the beautiful scenery. With all the solar lanterns, little moonshine, and the smell of fresh mint and lilac. She was hell sure it was not worth such high drama. Because, being in the fucking mountains, she expected to dwell in an old rat-infested cabin where she would be attacked by some maniac with a bloody chainsaw and a fleshy mask, yet looking at the five-star garden-like landscape, it felt too surreal. It was like she was in another world. "Mr. Gosling, are you sure that is your cottage? And we are not trespassing on this mountain?" She asked, with obvious wonder. Rhye halted and raised his brow. "Of course, why did you ask?" "Well, it's quite strange. I thought this was a secluded mountain... or forest... or whatever you rich dudes called it, but I have seen too many beautiful cabins in the area, and a fucking ancient castle? Wow! It felt like a little community
Alpha Rhye from the Castle, a mile away from Lily, seated in the head council library, was able to read her mind and he wanted to smirk. She had very weird and very unusual thoughts. She didn't have a boring thought either. It was like she was a walking rainbow and sunshine, always brightening his day. Besides, even after they were in his pub, he knew she was different. A peculiarity among the rest. Of course, he intended to keep it that way. Lily's foolish imagination was beyond comparison. She was his happy pill. Her mind was like a race car, unbelievably busy thinking about mundane, stupid things. Yet he would not—no, he could not offer his mate that last insult. He would keep her forever. Rhye nodded at the old man, trying to understand what he was talking about as he sipped his tea. Earlier, after their dinner, he told Lily to wait for him as one of the female omegas offered her tea in the living room of his cottage. And now, Rhye was talking with the council of elders. The head
Two days later. Alpha Rhye had very specific plans for the evening after another council meeting. First up, late dinner in bed with a luscious, golden-haired human who tasted like strawberries and champagne and boasted skills that could make a wolf howl like a damned werewolf. Even without a full moon. Next on the agenda was a round of sparring with the latest batch of demons that had arrived in the mountain territory. In recent years, he had enacted a law requiring all newly created werewolves to spend at least the first decade of their lives being trained at his pack. And since Rhye was in charge of the demon issues as well as the council’s best warrior, it meant it was his duty to oversee the new pack member’s fighting lessons. And if there was time left before dawn, he intended to meet with the soldiers who had recently returned from their hunt in the western territory. Rumours of the demons' return had spread throughout the supernatural communities. He had sent out nightly pa
He should have been expecting this. Despite Alpha Rhye's fierce protests, the old man had invited their fellow werewolves, the nearby pack, to stay in the council mountain two nights ago, along with their companion, a female witch called Livia. Who disappeared before he and Lily arrived that same evening. And as per Dimitri, during the witch's brief stay, they’d discovered that the witch had a human mother being held captive by a Moonlight she-wolf. And Rhye was not happy upon finding out about it. Not that Alpha Rhye gave a shit, but Stephen had managed to convince Dimitri that this beautiful witch was somehow important to the future of their kind and that the witch's captive mother must be protected. "About this witch? What do I need to do about it?" Rhye gritted, even knowing it was a stupid question. What other nonsense could it be? Dimitri’s lips twitched as if he agreed with the stupid part. "Talk to her." "Can someone else do that part? I have a mate to train and to handle,
Lily yawned and extended her arms and legs as she took in her surroundings outside Rhye's Cottage. It had been hours since her alleged husband had not returned, and it was late afternoon now. Not that she was complaining; in fact, she preferred it this way because she couldn't bear him babysitting her like she was a mundane and vulnerable child. During their two days here, the man-made no mention of returning to the city, which Lily appreciated because she had grown to adore the lovely mountain, its garden, and its people. She also made some new friends from the neighboring cabin and the camping area two miles away. She smiled at a passing young woman with a basket of fruits in her hand as she disappeared into the gorgeous backdrop of gardens and lawns spread across the large mansion of Rhye's elders on her left; and yes, she'd met one of her husband's elders yesterday, a beautiful, gigantic old man who looked like a former wrestler. To say Lily was startled was an understatement; pra