Chapter 81
ACE’S POV
“Charlotte is here?” I asked Arix. “That is not possible.”
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“Our mate is here, in the midst of all these unmated wolves. They’re going to tear her apart!” This time he growled louder, almost panicking. “We have to find her now. Before someone else smells her aura.”
How the fuck did she get here? Who invited her to this place? I moved to stand, but Moon’s hand wrapped around my arm, stopping me. “You can’t leave now. The festival is just starting. We need you here.”
I shot her a cold warning look. She quickly removed her hand, forcing a smile like nothing happened. “At least finish your drink,” she said softly. “It’s part of the tradition. Everyone on the High Alpha Table is expected to finish their wine.”
I had only taken a sip earlier when we cheered. My jaw flexed. I didn’t have time for this. I grabbed the cup and downed everything in one go, the liquid burning down my throat. Before I could step away, Alpha Viktor approached me. The notorious Alpha, always looking for a fight, always stirring trouble over the smallest insult. He started talking about the Bloodrage pack and how we needed a general Alpha meeting in a few weeks to settle disputes.
I barely heard him. All I could feel was my wolf pacing inside me, restless and aggressive. All my wolf wanted to do was to go be with his mate.
Finding Charlotte was going to be kind of impossible because every single wolf out there had a mask over their faces, and there were hundreds of them moving around, laughing, dancing, brushing against each other. The scent in the air was mixed and confusing. I couldn’t pick hers out from here, not with all this heat and wine drowning everything.
“Why don’t we talk about this over breakfast sometime,” I suggested to Viktor, already stepping away from him, my eyes scanning the crowd instead of his face.
“Is next Tuesday good for you? I’ll invite Alpha Alfred to join us.”
I nodded once, barely listening, and dashed out immediately. I couldn’t afford to look desperate in front of anyone.
I needed to get to the control room. It would be easier to find her if I went through the security cameras instead of pushing through that crowd like a madman. The cameras covered the entrances, the outer grounds, the halls leading to the private wings. If she walked past any of them, I would see her.
Once inside the elevator, I pressed the tenth floor and waited. The doors closed and the hum of the machine filled the small space. My reflection stared back at me from the metal doors, my legs were tapping restless on the floor, my wolf was on the edge.
Suddenly, the elevator dinged and stopped on the fifth floor. I frowned and pressed the tenth floor button again. Nothing happened. I pressed the emergency button on the panel, but the elevator didn’t move. The lights flickered once before going steady again.
The cabin stayed still. I was stuck.
I felt a sharp pain hit my head. Within the next second it became worse, stabbing deeper like something was drilling into my skull. I yelped in pain, my vision turning woozy. I grabbed my head with both hands, pressing hard like that would stop it, but it did nothing. The pain only spread. My knees buckled and I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. I slumped to the floor, my back hitting the wall of the elevator.
My whole body started reacting. Heat rushed through my veins, pain followed right behind it. It felt like my skin was being torn open from the inside to the out. Like the curse marks all over again, only this time it was ten times worse. My muscles tightened and released on their own. My chest heaved. Sweat poured down my face and neck, soaking through my shirt in
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Chapter 81
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seconds. My hands shook against the cold floor. I couldn’t breathe properly. I opened the first three buttons of my shirt, flinging my tie to the corner. Every part of me felt like it was burning and breaking at the same time.
The world started going dark around me. I didn’t hear the elevator ding, but I saw the doors slide open through blurry eyes. A figure stepped in. I tried to focus. It looked like a woman, I wasn’t sure. Everything was spinning.
She knelt in front of me. I felt her fingers touch my chest, my arm, slowly moving like she was checking me. I wanted to grab her hand and push her away. I wanted to stand up and fight, but my body wouldn’t respond. My wolf was silent. My limbs felt useless. My eyes closed against my will, and everything went black.
Maybe the curse had finally come to claim me. I had sinned and I deserved to die. Maybe this was the Moon Goddess judging me. This was what she always wanted.
In the darkness, I felt the woman’s mouth on my chest. Her teeth grazed my skin. My body twitched but I couldn’t move. She opened my fly, her fingers wrapping around me, rubbing slowly like she knew exactly how to touch me. My body reacted even through the pain, through the weakness. Then I felt her mouth near my neck. Right where my mate’s mark should be. Her teeth pressed there.
“You’re mine to take,” she whispered.
“Charlotte,” I breathed, my chest barely rising.
Then I let the darkness take me.
CHARLOTTE’S POV
I sat close to a few other Alphas and their Lunas. We listened as Ace and the other Alphas gave their speeches before everyone cheered and drank their wine. I only took a sip, my eyes fixed on him the entire time. He wasn’t the oldest Alpha there, but he was the first to speak. No one interrupted him or looked away while he spoke. They listened to his words while holding their breaths.
I found myself wondering what kind of Alpha he truly was to command that level of respect and fear without even raising his voice. I had never been to this kind of festival before, but even I could tell something was different. The older Alphas were present, men who had ruled for decades, yet Ace stood first. That wasn’t by chance.
When the speeches ended, they gathered around him almost immediately. Some leaned in closer, others waited their turn, their faces serious as they spoke. It looked like they were seeking his judgment, his direction, waiting for his final word before making their own moves.
For a moment, it felt like I was watching a king among rulers, men circling him not just for conversation, but for guidance.
I took another slow sip of my wine, my eyes shifting to the woman beside him, his Luna. I glanced down at her fingers. She was wearing black leather gloves, and on top of it sat a huge diamond ring. Definitely her wedding ring. It was massive. The stone caught the firelight and flashed like it was mocking me.
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, but it came out louder than I wanted it to. A few heads turned in my direction, but I didn’t care. I didn’t come here to drink wine and watch wolves suck each other’s faces. I needed answers. I needed to know how Moon was tied to my past, to my accident, to everything that has been haunting me.
“You’re one hell of a woman, Doctor Graves.”
The male voice came from beside me. I turned and saw a man in a black suit standing there. He had on a Venetian masquerade mask, the kind with sharp edges and dark polish that covered the upper half of his face. I stared at him, trying to place the voice.
He slowly took off the mask.
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Chapter 81
“Gavin?” I called out when I saw his face.
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“Of all the places to expect seeing your beautiful face hidden behind a mask, I would never have expected to see you here, in a place filled with horny mated and unmated wolves.” His eyes were searching mine.
“Maybe I’ll find my second–chance mate here as well,” I replied, a little sarcastic. “Others find theirs here. Who says I can’t find mine?”
“Or you came to see Ace.”
The way he said Ace’s name made my jaw tighten. “It’s none of your business,” I answered in a flat voice.
I looked up again just in time to see Ace walking away from the circle of Alphas. A few minutes later, Moon excused herself and followed him. I stood up immediately. Gavin called my name softly, but I ignored him. I didn’t need company. I had a lot of questions that needed answers.
I moved through the crowd, keeping my eyes on Moon’s back as she entered the building. Gavin followed a few steps behind me. I pushed through the doors and stepped inside. The music from outside became faint. The hallway lights were dim but clear enough to see. But she was gone.
I stopped walking. My eyes scanned left and right. There was no way I imagined it. I was sure I saw her walk in.
“What the hell?” I hissed under my breath.
“I think she used the stairs,” Gavin said quietly, already moving. We took the stairs, the sound of our steps echoing against the walls as we climbed. We followed her trace until we got to the fifth floor, then stopped when we didn’t see anything
We walked down slowly, checking each corner. My eyes caught a door at the far end slightly open. It wasn’t marked like the others. Gavin pushed it wider and we stepped through. It led to a private elevator. The elevator doors were wide open. A woman was inside, sitting on top of someone. My heart started beating faster, the thought of Ace being the one in that elevator filled my head. My legs moved on their own, rushing forward. Just as I got closer, I saw her head bent near his face, like they were making out. But the man under her wasn’t moving.
Her head snapped up and she saw us. That wasn’t Moon. Moon had been wearing a long red dress, with slit almost showing her coochie. This woman had on a skimpy blue dress that barely covered her ass, a dark, frightening mask hiding her face completely. I think she just put that on when she heard me coming. She got off him quickly and bolted down the hallway, she literally vanished into thin air. Gavin shouted and chased after her, but I didn’t follow. My feet carried me into the elevator instead, my heart sinking as I saw him clearly.
It was Ace. He lay unconscious on the floor, his fly open and he was undeniably hard. His shirt was torn around his neck, the fabric ripped as if someone had grabbed him roughly. Blood slowly dripped from the side of his neck, and my chest tightened at the sight.
It looked like he’d been bitten right where he shouldn’t.
“What is this woman?” I hissed under my breath.
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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.
