Chapter 5

I winced in pain as I opened my eyes and tried to sit up. The sharp ache in my stomach reminded me of the events that had happened earlier.

“Ugh! I hate that blade,” I muttered, grimacing as the pain throughout my body intensified.

“Well, the metal blade seems rather fond of you,” Selene replied sarcastically.

I mentally rolled my eyes at her comment and let out a frustrated sigh, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. “Where are we?” I asked my wolf, slowly sitting up on the plush, luxurious bed.

The room exuded an aura of power and elegance, as if I were within the Royal Kingdom itself.

“Beats me. Didn’t we just wake up?” Selene responded, her tone matter-of-fact.

Before I could ponder our location further, the door creaked open, revealing a disheveled and seemingly distraught Masha. She looked positively frantic. When she noticed I was awake, she rushed to my side, her eyes wide with concern.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Why do you look so worried? This isn’t the first time I’ve been stabbed with a poisonous metal blade,” I replied.

She sat down on the couch across from the bed, staring at me intently. Suddenly, she reached out and pinched my arm, eliciting a hiss of pain from me.

“What’s your problem?” I snapped, glaring at her.

“By the moon, Amara! I was terrified because the Alpha King was so angry yesterday!” she exclaimed.

My brow arched in question. “Why would he be angry?”

She stared at me in utter disbelief, her mouth agape, as if I had asked the most obvious question in the world. Finally, she forced her mouth closed.

“You’re crazy! You didn’t tell me you were the Alpha King’s mate!”

That’s when the realization hit me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, leaning back against the headboard, wincing as the movement caused a sharp pain in my wound. I was furious. If it had been a regular knife that had stabbed me, I would have recovered quickly, but this was no ordinary blade.

“I can’t understand why the Moon Goddess would do this, Masha. I’m still reeling from Axel’s rejection, and now suddenly I have another mate. Is this normal? There wasn’t even a mating ball yesterday. I’m so confused,” I voiced my thoughts.

I had so many questions swirling in my mind, and finding the answers felt much harder than operating a dangerous job. Masha seemed just as clueless as I was, scratching her head.

“Maybe the Moon Goddess was waiting for you to accept Axel’s rejection before revealing her plans for you.”

“Why does it have to be him? With so many werewolves out there, why does it have to be the Alpha King?”

“What’s wrong with having the Alpha King as your mate? He’s powerful, handsome, and certainly better than Axel. This could be your chance to show Axel what he’s missing,” she reasoned.

After pondering her words, I turned to her. She had a point. Perhaps the Moon Goddess wanted me to prove my worth after all the pain Axel had caused me.

Would this time be different? Would I finally find happiness?

“But, Amara, promise me you won’t use him, okay?” Masha’s words made me furrow my brow.

Did she have feelings for my mate?

Of course, I wouldn’t take advantage of the Alpha King. I wouldn’t use him the same way Axel did me. I knew all too well the feeling of being used and discarded. I wouldn’t want to do the same to another.

“He’s mine,” I declared, causing her eyes to widen.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous! I’m married. What I meant was, don’t use him for revenge. Take the time to get to know each other. After all, he is your second mate,” Masha clarified, tapping me on the shoulder. “I know you’ve lost faith in love because of Axel, but at least give the Alpha King a chance. And besides, I’m thrilled that our pack has its Luna, and it’s you.”

Then, she smiled at me. I raised my eyes to her and smiled back. She was a treasure, like a sister to me.

“You deserve the throne. Our pack needs a strong queen like you. You’ll be able to keep a close eye on him because you’ll always be by his side.”

“I’ll challenge him. Let’s see how long he’ll last in handling a tough woman like me.”

Our laughter abruptly ceased as the door swung open, revealing the man with captivating brown eyes, followed by the Royal Family.

“Hello there, sister-in-law,” Dianne greeted me, and I couldn’t hide my distaste for the title.

I turned my head away, feeling their stares weighing heavily on me. The presence of the Royal Family always made me uneasy, as if every move I made was under scrutiny.

“Are you feeling better?” the Alpha King asked, drawing my attention. The room fell into an awkward silence, and I found myself at a loss for words. They were all looking at us, as if they were watching a melodramatic scene from a movie.

My wolf giggled. “You’ve activated your ’bitch mode’ again.”

“So, how should we respond to his question? They’re all focused on me,” I spoke back to Selene, seeking sanity because I was going nuts.

“Don’t worry, they won’t judge you.”

I face-palmed as another deep yet soft voice entered my mind. He could read my thoughts. I had forgotten about the mind-link that true mates shared after the mating call.

“Yes, I can,” he confirmed, catching me off guard. “Are you okay?” he asked again through our mind link. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

Every mate had the unique ability to read and communicate with each other through telepathy. As the Alpha, you could talk to your pack members from a long range, but they couldn’t read your mind, only your mate could do that. Currently, I couldn’t read his mind because he wasn’t a typical wolf. We needed to go through the mating process, which included sexual intercourse to obtain each other’s abilities. After that, we could share each other’s powers. Mating would strengthen our bond, and we would no longer be able to reject our mate.

“That’s a lot of knowledge, mate,” he said.

I gave him a stern look. “This is unfair! You can read my mind, but I can’t read yours!”

He shrugged his shoulders and mouthed, “We can go through the mating process if you want.”

My nose flared up in rage at his words, especially when he flashed a flirtatious wink to tease me even more.

“Pervert!” I exclaimed, grabbing a pillow from the bed and throwing it in his face.

His family sighed, and the Alpha King shook his head, putting the pillow back on my side as if nothing had happened.

“It seems she’s still quite feisty, which is a good sign,” he said with a teasing grin before exiting the room.

“Let’s talk after you’ve gotten some rest,” Alpha Damien’s mother said. His father nodded at me and went out with his wife. His brother and sister waved at me before shutting the door.

Once they had all departed, I turned to Masha, who had wide, curious eyes. She clung to my arm with a delighted expression.

“What did he say, and why are you blushing?” she asked, but I ignored her questions and rolled over, hiding under the blanket. “Hey, tell me!”

“Please, Masha! Leave me be and let me rest,” I chided.

She burst out laughing at me, likely realizing I was annoyed and embarrassed. “Oh, Amara! Won’t you tell me?”

“You’re so nosy!”