Chapter 78
MOON’S POV
“Shit.”
I cursed loudly as I grabbed my keys and ran to the car. Ravok had been calling and texting for hours. I ignored every single one until his last message popped up.
“I’m coming to your office. I’ll tell anyone who asks that you’re my mate.”
My grip tightened on the steering wheel as I drove off. I knew that stupid man well enough. When Ravok says something, he does it without thinking twice. He could be reckless most times. And right now, his recklessness could ruin everything for
- me.
I got to the location he sent. A cheap hotel, sitting at the edge of the pack, it didn’t fit in. I pulled a nose mask over my face and shoved on oversized sunglasses. I can’t have anyone recognizing me and leaking information. The room was small and smelled old. I shut the door behind me and there he was. Standing stiff, his face flushed red with anger, his eyes burning.
What is it this time? I sighed inwardly.
This wasn’t the right moment for this. The festival preparations were still ongoing, everything was moving exactly how I planned it. I couldn’t afford distractions. Not when I was so close to getting what I wanted. Ravok was becoming a problem and problems had a way of getting out of hand if not dealt with quickly.
“Why have you been blowing up my phone?” I asked slowly. I kept my voice flat, even though heat was already crawling up my chest.
“I’m going to ask you one question,” he said. “One. And I need the truth.” His eyes darkened. “You lie, I rip your head off.”
A chill slid down my spine. My hand slipped into the pocket of my leather jacket, my fingers closing around the blade hidden there. I never came to a Rougarou empty–handed. You don’t survive long if you do.
“Shoot.”
“Who is your mate?”
My face scrunched up in confusion. I never expected that question from him in a million years. Where was it coming from? “What are you talking about?” I scoffed lightly. “You are my mate…”
I didn’t get to finish. He was on me in a blink. His palm slammed against my face, crushing me back into the wall. The air left my lungs as his forearm pressed into my throat.
“You lie,” he growled, his hot breath fanning against my skin, “and I snuff the life out of you,” he repeated. My heart pounded hard against my ribs, but I forced my hands to stay still. His eyes searched my face.
My breath came in fast. “Pull your hand away and I’ll tell you what you need to hear.” Anything to get him off me, it worked.
He stepped back, but only a little, his hands clenching and unclenching, fighting the urge to use them. “Talk fast,” he snapped. “Tell me how you managed to charm and deceive me for close to eight years.” He let out a rough laugh. “Fuck! I can’t believe I’ve been a fool. What kind of witch did you use, huh?”
I stood there wondering how he figured it out. The witch promised her potion would never crack, it’s been seven years and suddenly it’s cracking. Lying crossed my mind, but the look on his face told me he was already past that. One wrong word and he would keep his promise of ripping my head off.
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Chapter 78
“It’s complicated, Ravok,” I whispered, stepping into his space before he could pull away again. I took his hands, pressed them to my chest, grounding him. “But I love you. I do. I love you so much” My voice softened, the way I knew worked. “That’s all that matters. I don’t care about true mates or fate or any of that. I want you. You’re the one I chose. That’s what should matter to you”
1
His breathing slowed. The red rage on his face dulled, his shoulders dropping inch by inch. I felt it the moment he eased like a storm losing its grip. Kavok and his kind were beasts in every sense of the word. Whatever once made them true wolves was broken, stripped away, Love, whether real or not, was the only thing that ever reached them. They clung to it, starved for it, desperate to believe someone chose them.
I watched his grip loosen around my fingers and knew I still had him. I need him for my plans, I can’t do them alone, I need his help, so if making him believe that he’s my true mate and constantly having sex with him will keep him by my side, then I’m willing to go all out. Whatever it took.
“You’re one hell of a liar,” he said hoarsely, “You’ve lied to me about everything.” He let out a broken laugh. “You made me believe the pup you lost was mine. How do you do it?”
He dragged a hand through his hair and turned away from me, he couldn’t stand the sight of my face. “God, you’re good. You play the Alpha and his beta like pieces on a board.” His shoulders shook with a bitter chuckle. “How do you keep a straight face when you’re with Roman? You sleep with the Alpha, his beta, and me.” He glanced back at me, eyes burning. “Who else have you been fucking?”
Everyone still believes I’m still intimate with Ace. No matter how bad I wanted him inside of me, he doesn’t even come close to me anymore, he hasn’t touched me in freaking years! I wanted to say that out for everyone to hear, but people would only gossip if they heard about it. He hasn’t found out my tricks because he doesn’t care about me. Things changed a few weeks after I pushed that wretched doctor off the cliff. Something in Ace died with her, along with his love for me. It took him weeks to recognize it but eventually he did and that was the end of it all. Still, I cling to the hope that I can get him back. That all of this will be worth it in the end. That’s why I’m doing this.
If Ace ever finds out I’ve been with his beta and with a rougarou, he won’t hesitate. He’ll have our heads mounted before sunset. And if he learns the truth about the pregnancy, that it was never his to begin with, that it belonged to Roman… There will be nothing left of any of us. I shook my head brushing off the scary thoughts.
“The only way I’m letting this go,” he said, “is if you agree to divorce Ace. Dump your mate and come with me. I’ll get rid of Ace soon, and then you’ll be mine. Completely.”
Fuck him if he thought I’d ever leave Ace for him. I’ve bled too much, sacrificed too much to throw everything away now. Ace rejected his mate.. I didn’t reject Roman, but I never fully committed to him either, so it’s almost the same as rejection. Still, I wasn’t about to say no to his demands. I needed him, right now, more than ever. So I’d let him believe I was breaking. I’d let him think I was choosing him over everyone else.
“Will that make you happy?” I asked softly.
I leaned in, pressing slow kisses along his face, his jaw, down his neck. His breath hitched. A growl rumbled out of him before he could stop it. He was always weak to my touch. I let my hands trail down his chest, down to his stomach, and lower, grabbing him through his pants.
“Fuck,” he groaned loudly. It has always been that easy.
“If that’s what you want,” I said quietly, “then I’ll do it for you.”
I pushed him onto the tiny bed and took control, using his body the way I knew would break his focus completely. He lost himself fast. I rode him to multiple orgasms. He was moaning my name and begging me not to stop. I’ve been with other men since Ace and I stopped having sex years ago, but none of them ever came close to what Ace did to me. None of them ever made me lose myself the way he did. Still, it had been weeks since I’d had any man inside me, and this was refreshing.
As I drove back in my car, different thoughts on who could have told Ravok about my relationship with Roman ran through
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9:36 am P
Chapter 78
my head. That was one secret I’d buried deep. So who uncovered it?
I stopped at the pack house first and took a long shower, scrubbing until the water ran cold. I applied new scents to cover up Only then did I head for Roman’s place. I needed to see him and I refused to walk in smelling like a Rougarou. He would ge jealous if he found out I just had sex with the animal that had been tormenting the pack for months.
“You keep coming to my house like this and people will start asking questions,” Roman said the moment I walked in.
“We need to talk.”
He shook his head. “No, we don’t. You’ve made your choice, Moon. I can’t keep waiting for you like a lost puppy.”
I rushed to him. “Things are almost falling into place, my love. You’ve waited this long, what is a few more?”
I pulled away and moved to the sofa, sitting comfortably. “Charlotte’s son,” I said with a raised brow. “Does he belong to Ace?” I’d had my suspicions for a while, but I was never sure. I’d never seen the boy’s face to tell if there was a resemblance between them.
“Why don’t you go ask Ace yourself?” he said coldly.
“Why do you keep doing this to me?” I shot back. “You never stand beside me when I need you.” I let the hurt show in my voice. He was my mate after all. If guilt wouldn’t move him, what would?
“When have you ever stood beside me?” he fired back immediately, not softened by my tone. “I don’t fully trust you, Moon.”
That stung more than I expected. “Our plans are aligned,” I said quietly. “You’re just not seeing it yet.”
He sat down on the sofa across from me, facing me squarely now. “Are they really?” His eyes searched mine. “You promised
you
would marry me once we take Ace out as Alpha. But everything you’re doing, every action you’ve ever taken is about keeping him on that throne. And you staying his Luna.”
“Trust me this once, baby,” I cooed gently, moving closer to him. “Ace is going this hard because he has got his mate by his side. And probably a son. That means he probably has a full family. That makes him stronger.”
I leaned forward. “Now imagine what happens when we take out Charlotte’s son. The boy he loves so much. They’ll break,” I continued. “Charlotte will cast him away. And when we finally kill Charlotte, that’s it. That’s the end.” My voice dropped lower. “Ace will become a ghost of himself. Empty and weak. And that’s when we move. That’s when it’ll be easy.” I held his gaze. “We push forward with our plans. And you finally get the one thing you’ve always desired, with Ace out of the picture.”
He was thinking about it. I could see it in his eyes, that distant, hungry look. The past still haunted him. What Ace and his father did to him shaped his life negatively. In his mind, he deserved revenge. He deserved Ace’s position.
He believed I would marry him when it was all over. He couldn’t be more wrong.
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Chapter 78
T G
my head. That was one secret I’d buried deep. So who uncovered it?
I stopped at the pack house first and took a long shower, scrubbing until the water ran cold. I applied new scents to cover up. Only then did I head for Roman’s place. I needed to see him and I refused to walk in smelling like a Rougarou. He would get jealous if he found out I just had sex with the animal that had been tormenting the pack for months.
“You keep coming to my house like this and people will start asking questions,” Roman said the moment I walked in.
“We need to talk.”
He shook his head. “No, we don’t. You’ve made your choice, Moon. I can’t keep waiting for you like a lost puppy.”
I rushed to him. “Things are almost falling into place, my love. You’ve waited this long, what is a few more?”
I pulled away and moved to the sofa, sitting comfortably. “Charlotte’s son,” I said with a raised brow. “Does he belong to Ace?” I’d had my suspicions for a while, but I was never sure. I’d never seen the boy’s face to tell if there was a resemblance between them.
“Why don’t you go ask Ace yourself?” he said coldly.
“Why do you keep doing this to me?” I shot back. “You never stand beside me when I need you.” I let the hurt show in my voice, He was my mate after all. If guilt wouldn’t move him, what would?
“When have you ever stood beside me?” he fired back immediately, not softened by my tone. “I don’t fully trust you, Moon.”
That stung more than I expected. “Our plans are aligned,” I said quietly. “You’re just not seeing it yet.”
He sat down on the sofa across from me, facing me squarely now. “Are they really?” His eyes searched mine. “You promised you would marry me once we take Ace out as Alpha. But everything you’re doing, every action you’ve ever taken is about keeping him on that throne. And you staying his Luna.”
“Trust me this once, baby,” I cooed gently, moving closer to him. “Ace is going this hard because he has got his mate by his side. And probably a son. That means he probably has a full family. That makes him stronger.”
I leaned forward. “Now imagine what happens when we take out Charlotte’s son. The boy he loves so much. They’ll break,” I continued. “Charlotte will cast him away. And when we finally kill Charlotte, that’s it. That’s the end.” My voice dropped lower. “Ace will become a ghost of himself. Empty and weak. And that’s when we move. That’s when it’ll be easy.” I held his gaze. “We push forward with our plans. And you finally get the one thing you’ve always desired, with Ace out of the picture.”
He was thinking about it. I could see it in his eyes, that distant, hungry look. The past still haunted him. What Ace and his father did to him shaped his life negatively. In his mind, he deserved revenge. He deserved Ace’s position.
He believed I would marry him when it was all over. He couldn’t be more wrong.
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