#Chapter 2

Kaida's POV

When I asked that question, she looked confused. She turned to Dimitri, her eyebrows squeezed.

“Stop trying to make a scene, Kaida,” said the Alpha and stepped between us.

“Just let her answer the question,” I insisted. “I am the Luna of the pack, and I demand she answer my question.

At this point, I was burning with curiosity and suspicion. Why did I somehow relate Vanessa's face to the murder of my father? Why did she hesitate to answer? What was that fear in her eyes?

Dimitri whisked an arm around Vanessa and pulled her away from me.

I swallowed hard, jealousy creeping up my throat. I'd been with Alpha Dimitri through thick and thin. When there was a breakout war with the Redhill Pack, I'd sacrificed myself for our Pack's victory. Was this how I was going to be paid back?

I looked around for a while, before walking away from the crowd. I ran upstairs to my room where I crumbled down and tried hard not to cry.

It was in vain. I wept and wept. I had never felt so pained about my childlessness. And to think that a stranger had come from nowhere to…

I tried to calm my nerves.

“Maybe Vanessa isn't as bad as I think,” I mumbled. “She's but a Breeder. Dimitri certainly has no feelings for her.”

My door opened and Russ walked in.

“What are you doing here?” I immediately confronted him.

He cast me a pitiful look, then walked right in. Picking an apple from the table, he said, “I clearly heard the question you asked about Vanessa's identity. And I became worried.”

My heart skipped a beat. This speculation about Vanessa was a secret I wasn't willing to share until I had my suspicions confirmed.

“I'm not talking about that to you, Russ,” I said with a tone of finality.

He scoffed. “I'll leave one warning for you, Luna. You'll have me to contend with if you make Vanessa a little bit uncomfortable in this Pack. Am I clear?”

“Leave my house.”

“Vanessa is a selfless wolf who decided to sacrifice herself to save the royal lineage. She's been kind and respectful to you. Please, Kaida, don't make things harder than they're.”

Just as he was still speaking, Dimitri walked in. Russ went mute..

The Alpha scanned us both, aware of the heat in the room.

“You're not inconveniencing my Luna in any way, are you?” he joked.

Russ faked a smile. “Was just telling her how Vanessa's presence shouldn't be a threat to her. You love Kaida dearly, and that's all there's to it. Vanessa is a mere tool for procreation.”

Dimitri sighed and walked towards me. I wondered where Vanessa was at the moment.

“Whatever I do, I do for the good of the pack, Kaida,” he said. “And as Luna, nothing more is desired than you working with me in achieving this goal.”

“When did you meet her?” I asked, finding it difficult to meet his eyes. Even though there was friction between us, he was still my mate, and I sometimes couldn't resist his handsomeness.

“Meet the Breeder?” He settled beside me and started playing with my red hair. This rather romantic act filled me with repulsion and dread.

“She was part of a certain pack of—”

Russ cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the Alpha. Dimitri glanced at his Beta and looks were exchanged.

Dimitri immediately changed the course of his words. “Thing is, we received her into the pack a few months ago. She offered herself to be a Breeder, as the future generations of the pack lies on the birth of an heir. I took charge of her. So… there you have it.”

I stared at him. Why was he leaving so many things unsaid? Why did Russ give him that glance?

Dimitri saw the look in my eyes and softly pecked my hand. “I've always loved you, Kaida. Now you must forgive me for how I acted back in the hall.”

It felt like I was being sucked into a big watery hole. A lot of questions raged in my head.

Who was Vanessa? What was her origin? Why the hell did she have so much power and mystery around her?

And moreover, why was Dimitri giving her the attention that was meant for me?

Dimitri kissed my lips gently, smiling as a smudge of my lipstick stuck to him.

Russ looked out of the door, as though he heard a sound. I couldn't help it but I became scared of him. He had almost the same body build as my Mate, but his eyes were more mysterious.

“Focus on me,” Dimitri said, pulling my face to him. My lips hung open, subconsciously wanting a kiss from him.

Suddenly, Russ became jittery. “I think something's going on at the hall,” he said, engaging his lupine sensory.

“Take care of it then,” Dimitri said.

“Of course, even if it involves Vanessa.” Russ ran off.

Dimitri was suddenly tense at the mention of Vanessa. He pushed me away, though unwittingly, and jumped to his feet.

“Make soup for dinner, Kaida, I'll be back.” His gentleness had disappeared. “I'd blame myself if the slightest hurt happens to Vanessa.”

“But there's a lot of guards and healers in the hall. Why—”

He sneered. “If this is insecurity, then it's pathetic. Stay here and do some chores. That's the only bit of a wife you can be.”

He paused, then decided to add, “And be careful. A lot of wolves are angry at you for being barren. A whole lot.”

“Are you angry with me?”

He avoided my question. “Make dinner. I have to take care of Vanessa. Nothing would make sense anymore if she's hurt.”

“What if I was pregnant now, Dimitri?”

I was standing, my eyes burning into him.

“What if the doctor's confirmed my conception? Would you still be so overwhelmed by Vanessa?”

He stood frozen there, eyes on my tummy, wondering what I was trying to say.

“Alpha Dimitri!” Russ called from downstairs. “Vanessa says she wants you here!”

Dimitri's turned to me, mockery etched on his face.

"You'll get pregnant when hell freezes over,” he said and left.

#Chapter 3

I was dumbstruck for more than a minute after hearing Dimitri's words. Tears dropped down my chin as the pain ate deep into me.

Slowly, I walked towards the balcony, trying to see what was wrong with Vanessa.

I wasn't a person to wish evil on another, but right now, I had this nagging desire that Vanessa would lose her baby. It was wrong, but I just couldn't help it.

I saw Dimitri holding Vanessa close to his arms while healers worked around her, finding the best aid to keep her alive until they got to the hospital.

At one point, Dimitri couldn't take it anymore. “Out of my way, all of you!” he thundered and scooped Vanessa up on his arms.

My wolf screamed inside me and I let out a loud cry as I saw my Mate getting so entangled with another woman.

My scream attracted the hall as they saw me running down the stairs, trying to hold my long gown from getting between my legs.

I was crying and begging. My wolf was in shambles, jealousy tearing her apart. I was so close to rejecting Dimitri as my mate, for the pain was too much to bear.

Then I slipped on my dress.

The world flashed before my eyes as I came tumbling down the stairs.

“Mate!” I cried subconsciously, calling him to my rescue.

But none was forthcoming. I crashed to the floor and into one of the tables. Glasses of wine and plates of meals fell on me, giving me so many cuts.

I lay there in pain, my face covered in tears and my body in bruises.

There was a tense moment in the crowd as no one dared come to my aid when the Alpha was still in the vicinity. No one was allowed to touch me when Dimitri was around.

I saw him still standing at the door, Vanessa draped in his strong arms.

Three guards and healers ran up to him, asking to take Vanessa to the hospital themselves.

To my greatest surprise, Dimitri refused to let her go.

“Kaida is strong,” he said dismissively, “and can take care of herself. Vanessa isn't. Don't forget that dinner, Kaida!”

With that, he carried Vanessa out, leaving me lying in the mess of food, wine and bruises. I sobbed harder, unable to believe this was real.

After years of fighting to get pregnant for the Alpha, years of drinking thousands of herbal tablets from various healers, getting injected with bitter drugs— and this was how Dimitri chose to repay me. By going after another woman only because she was a few months pregnant for him.

My sobs filled the hall, rising among the murmurs around. No one was still willing to help me up. And it wasn't because of Dimitri. I remembered his words earlier, how the entire pack hated me for being barren.

I forced myself up but staggered backwards. I was caught by a pair of strong arms. A strange but intoxicating scent filled my nose.

I turned to see a masked man, his hair long and silky. He got me to a chair and began to silently pluck out the shards of glass and food on me.

His movements were quick and caring. But his eyes were wounded. He was furious at my Pack.

The hall stood back, watching this scenario, wondering who he was and how he'd entered into the hall. It was very clear from his scent and build that he wasn't part of the Pack.

Dimitri's guards approached him. “And who the hell do you think you are to—”

When they saw his eyes, their words instantly ceased.

They bowed their heads immediately, about to mention his identity. He tried to stop them but it was too late.

“You're most welcome, Alpha Axel Steele of Redhill Pack.”

The rival pack! My security senses heightened. Even though there'd been a peace treaty among our pack and theirs, I still felt uneasy whenever Axel was mentioned. I hadn't seen his face for the first time, either.

Shrouded in mystery, he was considered untouchable. And fearless.

I knew Dimitri would have somehow sensed Axel's presence, but because he was with Vanessa, he wouldn't turn back and see to the safety of his pack.

“Why did no one help her up?” he asked about me, his masked face darting around.

Russ walked back to the hall and froze when he saw Axel.

“How did you get in here, Axel?” he asked, taking slow steps towards us.

The clash of these formidable men was quite dangerous. If the Alpha was here, it'd have been softer, for he knew the importance of peace amongst Packs.

But Russ just didn't care.

It turned out, however, that Axel hadn't come to make trouble.

He turned to me and I was bothered that I couldn't see his eyes. “She called me,” he said, answering Russ’s question.

The murmurs from the crowd reached a crescendo.

“Silence!” Russ barked, his fangs shooting out for a second.

He faced Axel. “She called you? Do you even hear yourself? The Luna to Alpha Dimitri called you?” he snarled, then frowned. “Return whence you came, sire, before Dimitri hears this nonsense ever happened.”

After a full waiting minute, Axel decided to let it slide. It wasn't his territory, after all. He took one last glance at me and told the chief healer to make sure I was safe.

He left the packhouse.

All of this was so unreal to be true. How had he come? And what did he mean by I'd called him?

The only call I'd made was when I shouted “Mate!”

#Chapter 4

Kaida's POV

When Dimitri returned to the pack, it was almost evening the next dau. And he was alone. For a moment, I held my breath, unfriendly thoughts rolling out of my head.

What if something had happened to her?

"Where's she?" I asked Dimitri as he brushed past me.

He didn't even notice I had bandages over my head and hands.

Seeing the man I'd invested many years of my life loving and caring for, being obsessed with another woman, made me want to tear out my hair.

"She's where you can't reach her yet, Kaida," he said in a low, accusing voice.

"And what do you mean by that, alpha?"

"Did you make dinner? I'd be disappointed if you spent all your free time roaming the town."

He reached the window and turned around. It was then that his eyes fell on the bandages.

He tilted his head to the side, his eyes squeezed.

"Is this some ploy to get pity from me?" he said, and I felt like I'd been slapped.

He was still speaking. "Kaida, a lot of things don't look good on you. Pretense is one of them. This is so stupid."

"You heard me fall from the stairs, didn't you?" I interrupted him, my voice rising immediately. "You saw me crash into the table full of plates of foods and drinks."

"I didn't." His tone was flat, and I knew he probably wasn't lying. He'd been so overwhelmed by Vanessa's "plight" that he didn't see me fall.

But that was stupid.

I decided not to push. Talking to Dimitri these days wore me out. His voice reminded me of my incapabilities. His eyes reflected how he was only putting up with me.

"You didn't make the soup I told you to, did you?" he asked again.

I ignored him and walked to the kitchen to tend to the pot of broth I was cooking. Even with the wounds, I'd forced myself to make dinner.

As I stirred the pot, I felt him behind me. His groin pressed into my ass and he held my waist. His nose brushed my neck. I tightened the muscles of my body.

"My mark's still here, Kaida," he whispered, slowly rubbing himself behind me.

I remembered that glorious night years ago when Alpha Dimitri was all I could think of. When he'd pinned me to the wall and kissed me like crazy. Then he'd gently dug his teeth into the skin of my neck, marking me his mate. I'd gasped for air as his hands roamed around me, causing sparks to travel through my body.

But now, I resisted feeling that way again.

He ran a finger across the scar. "No one shall have you," he said. "Your inability to bear a child has hampered your beauty to a great extent."

I pushed myself away from him, my face set in warning.

No one can have me?

I then remembered Axel's response. About being called by me. How could the Alpha of another pack, miles away, have heard me?

I saw Dimitri's eyes on me and knew he was trying to split through to get to my thoughts.

I pushed a glass cup to the floor, so that the crash would infuriate and dismiss Dimitri.

But he caught it before it left the counter.

"Stop acting stupidly, Kaida," he snapped. "A proper Luna is known by nobility."

I still didn't say a word. “A proper Luna” was a really suggestive phrase to use.

"Be at the Orchid Restaurant by seven," he said. "Dress in your best."

"I can't come. I'm wounded from the fall. One you claimed not to have seen."

He responded quickly. "A Luna who values her comfort more than her Alpha's command. That says a lot."

He left without another word.

I stared at the door and gripped the edge of the counter. Was this how low-key ruthless Dimitri was going to be to me? All because of a Breeder? A Breeder whose identity was vague!

Then a question came creeping into my head: Where was she? Why hadn't he returned with Dimitri?

The fact that I'd unwittingly connected her face with the murder of my father made me want to know where she was all the time.

It was all still speculation, but the gut feeling was stronger than my doubts.

Vanessa might be a Breeder out to take my place as Luna, but that seemed to be just the first layer of her mission fold. Vanessa, the sweet voiced girl with large tits, could be a terror waiting to unfold in the pack. It was terrifying that no one else was seeing it.

I had to watch her. But this would mean I'd surrender my heart on a butcher's table, to take anything Dimitri and his Breeder threw at me. I was going to be battered emotionally and drained to my limit.

But if this was the price I'd pay for the pack, I'd do it.

With this fierce thought, I decided to prepare for the dinner.

***

When it was some minutes before the scheduled time, I called Dimitri's phone.

"I'm ready," I said, expecting a ride or him assigning a chauffeur to bring me.

"Then come,” he said as though amused. Then the call went dead in my ear.

Was this some kind of cruel joke?

He called back again and I was relieved.

“Dimitri,” I said.

"Yeah, Kaida, don't take any of my cars,” he said. “No car should leave the compound because of you. Take a cab instead."

Beep.