Chapter 63
ACE’S POV
as youchere
I stood in my garage with my hands shoved into my pockets, staring at my Bugatti. It was destroyed beyond recognition. I had driven it to the gym after spending hours searching for Charlotte, then left it there, hoping it would be brought home by the time I returned.
Troy, my new driver, had been talking to me about the car, but I had been too distracted to listen. I only found out about it now because I wanted to drive out with it. I never imagined it had been left in ruins.
The windshield was completely shattered. The headlights were smashed, the side mirrors were gone, and deep dents ran across the body of the car. Broken glass littered the floor beneath it.
Anger burned in my chest. Someone actually had the audacity to do this to my car. “Who did this?” I asked calmly, even though my jaw was tight. “And when did it happen?”
“I found the car like this. The person had already done it before I arrived,” he replied.
“Who was it?” My voice grew darker.
He shifted on his feet, rubbed his palm against his trousers, avoiding my eyes. “I checked the dash cam and it was…” He paused, like he wasn’t sure if he should say the name.
I growled impatiently, and he spoke fast. “It was our Luna. The dash cam caught her doing it. She probably didn’t realize the camera was on.”
There was no way. He handed me his phone and pressed play. The footage was clear despite it being night. The timestamp glowed in the corner: 10:23 PM. Moon’s car pulled up in front of the gym. She stepped out, went inside, and came back minutes later, her face flushed, anger written all over her. She drove off, parked where no one could see her, and waited. The video jumped forward. Charlotte and I came out, drove away in her car, she followed us. Another jump in the footage. An hour later, Moon was back. She brought a baseball bat from the gym and started smashing my windshield like she wanted to destroy more than just glass.
I had one question. “How did she find out where I was?” She couldn’t have followed me immediately I left. That meant she was tracking me, and she knew exactly where I was.
“While I was checking around the car, I found this.” He handed me a small device, a tracker. “It was planted right under the car. There was no way you would have known it was there. I’m guessing she planted it. That’s the only explanation for how she found you so easily.”
I jabbed my hands through my hair, trying to calm the anger slowly seeping through my body. So Moon recognized Charlotte. Charlotte doesn’t have pictures online. I didn’t even know she was the one until I met her at the hospital opening party. I was certain Moon didn’t know either. I wondered when she realized that Charlotte Graves was Charlotte Creed, her half sister. She went inside the gym, which meant she must have seen us making out, maybe even heard what we were saying. And knowing Moon, she wouldn’t stay still. She would go to confront Charlotte.
The anger spread fully through my body at the thought of Moon confronting her sister. She had a loose mouth. She would spill everything I had tried so hard to keep away from her.
9:02 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 63
100
I stormed into her room. Pissed, I didn’t bother knocking. I barged in and caught her stepping out of the bathroom with only a towel on, her body still wet. Her eyes widened in surprise the moment she saw me, and I immediately regretted not knocking. She rushed to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, soaking my clothes. I pushed her away, but she didn’t back off. She rose on her tiptoes and tried to kiss my lips. I turned my head, and her mouth brushed my jaw instead.
“Come on, love. You came here for me because you missed me, didn’t you? The festival is getting closer, and so is your heat.” She let the towel slip from her body, staring at me fully naked, boldly like she was offering herself freely. “Come on, I’m all yours.”
Back when I still had feelings for her, she wouldn’t have needed to say a word, I would have jumped on her without thinking, losing control like a wild animal, moaning and groaning. But everything changed the night I had Charlotte. She was clueless, innocent, unsure of everything, and I felt like a king being her first, the one she trusted with her body. And then my destructive self ruined it right after. The look on her face when I said those cruel words still haunts me, and I know it will for a long time. These days, holding myself back from doing dirty things to her feels like torture. I was always hard, always ready, my wolf has become restless, desperate to claim and mate his woman. As much as I wanted her, I could feel she wasn’t ready yet, and for once, I was willing to wait.
What I don’t understand is how, even after rejecting her years ago, I can still feel our mate bond. It’s faint, not strong enough to pull us together, but it’s there, and I know she feels it too, even if she doesn’t understand what it is. I don’t understand the game the moon goddess is playing with us, it terrifies me just as much as it excites me.
Moon stood in front of me, completely naked, but nothing stirred in me. Before she could reach for me again, I grabbed the duvet and wrapped it around her body.
“Get your act together,” I snapped. “I didn’t come here for this.”
She hugged herself, letting the duvet slip just low enough to expose too much. Her lips curved slightly. “Then why are you in my room?” she asked. “You never come here.” There was frustration in her voice, mixed with something else. I ignored it.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out the tracker, and dropped it into her palm. “Explain how that ended up under my car.”
She stared at it like it was a stranger.
She turned it over once. Then she laughed softly and looked up at me. “Why would you give me this?” she asked, acting confused. “What is it?” But the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed told a different story.
I thought I knew this woman, but I was only realizing now how many sides of her I didn’t know. Hearing from Damien how she would whip Charlotte with silver chains and then come wrap her arms around me acting innocent showed me just how deceptive she could be.
“You’re such a liar,” I snapped. “If you didn’t plant that, how did you find me that night at the gym?”
Her face went pale, her lips trembling a little. “I… I was… I wanted to work out,” she stammered, lying.
“Oh yeah?” I said, stepping closer. “You wanted to work out and it just had to be in the human world, right in the same gym where I was spending time with Charlotte. In the middle of the night.”
9:02 Wed, Feb 11
Chapter 63
Her cheeks flamed red, and her hands clenched at her sides. “You cheated on me with that slur and now you’re proudly rubbing it in my face?” she spat, voice shaking with fury.
“I’m not cheating on you, Moon. That woman is my mate! I made a huge mistake in the past, rejecting and punishing her but now she’s back and I want to make amends.”
She suddenly flung the tracker across the room. It hit the wall with a sharp sound.
“That is never going to happen!” she shouted. “I won’t let it happen! I’m your chosen mate. The festival is approaching, and I’ll bear your mark.”
She stepped closer and tried to cup my face, but I pulled back before she could touch me. “You’re just confused,” she continued quickly. “Seeing your ex mate messed with your head. That’s all she is, your ex mate. She doesn’t fit into your life. Your status. I do.”
My jaw tightened. “Why do you keep acting like I’m the only monster here? You were the one who offered to become my Luna. You accepted when I told you it would only ever be on paper. And you didn’t complain then. You enjoyed every privilege that came with my name.”
She let out a painful laugh, sharp and bitter. “I’m not going to divorce you,” she said flatly. “You know exactly what will happen if you refuse to mark and mate me. You’ll lose your position as Alpha.”
She looked straight at me, daring me to answer. “Is that what you want?”
I gave her a steady look, she continued. “Yes, I know about it. Are you willing to lose your position as Alpha and possible Alpha king to your cousin because of an ordinary woman?”
I stepped closer, making sure she could see my face. “Charlotte is no ordinary woman. She’s my mate, my Luna. I don’t care what you all have to say.” I turned to leave then stopped. “I hope for your sake you never paid her a visit?”
She stumbled backwards. “N… no I didn’t… I didn’t pay her a visit.”
“Good, make sure she never sees your face.”
She was yelling on top of her voice and crying as I walked out of her room.
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
