Lucien

She slips away from me like I'm on fire and burning her flesh. It takes me a lot of self control to not hold on to her like an indignant child. I clench my hands into fists so that they can remain by my side.

I can smell the other man approaching, but I don't understand why she tensed up when she heard his voice as well.

Could something be going on between them?

She straightens her clothes, obviously trying to avoid my gaze. It's like she's thoroughly ashamed of the display she had put on minutes ago. Her pale skin gleams with a slight sheen of sweat, and her silky dark waves fall over her shoulders like a sparkling curtain.

I'd love to run my hands through them.

She turns around just as the man emerges from a corner, and rushes over to him like nothing happened between us.

"Jared," she says in that husky voice of hers, the one that some women would try so hard to imitate when they want to sound sexy. For her, it's entirely natural.

The Jared wraps his arms around her waist and my body shivers with a flare of anger.

How dare he? She's my mate. Mine, and mine alone.

I lean by a tree, folding my arms over my chest. I'm not interested in hiding in the shadows, in fact, I want him to notice my presence, and act accordingly.

The man is familiar to me. I've seen him in general pack meetings before. He's usually always seated beside the Alpha of the Moonstone pack. At first, I thought they were probably related, but now I can see that it's not the case.

There's something connecting him to Zara. My eyes wander down to the hands he had wrapped around her waist, and I internally try my best to not growl at him.

"You left so suddenly, babe. I thought something had happened," he says, pulling her even closer.

I don't know if it's just my eyes, or some part of my mind formulating images that I feel like seeing, but she shifts back a little, creating distance between them.

"I needed to get a little space. I hope you're not mad that I'm partaking in the Alpha Selection ceremony?"

Instead of answering, he lifts his head, and catches sight of me by the tree. His eyebrows lift in surprise, and Zara turns around as well.

I push off from the tree and walk towards both of them, not bothering to wipe off the disdain surely on my face.

Jared sizes me up. He must be sensing that I'm way above his level.

"Zara," he says too softly, as though trying to keep away the nervousness from his voice. "Was there some kind of problem?"

I know why he's asking this. Everyone always thinks that for a member of my pack to be present, there has to be trouble nearby. The other packs fear us because of an incident that happened years back—even before my own father was born, but somehow, Crescentis has never been able to leave the shackles of the flawed ideology.

It's not so bad though, at least it means that we can never be disrespected. Sometimes, fear is great at keeping people in check.

Zara turns to look at me with those icy blue eyes, and I can feel heat rushing down to my nether regions from the simple act. Her lips are pouted like a child's, and her eyebrows are squeezed together as she makes no move to hide her annoyance.

She should be by my side. She's mine. The Moon Goddess gave her to me. Why is she with this man?

"There was no problem at all. He was just passing by and we exchanged pleasantries, that's all," she replies, and pills him away.

Her hips sway from side to side as she walks away with him, drawing my attention like a siren's call. It's subtle. Effortless. It's driving me half-mad.

Here's not the best time to do anything, but I will definitely be getting to the bottom of this.

She will succumb to me one day.

———

On getting back to my pack territory, I find myself unwillingly pulled into a stifling embrace.

"Lucien! I've missed you so much. Where did you go?" Amanda asks, pressing herself into me so much that it's difficult to get a single breath in.

I pull away from her, ignoring her look of displeasure. "I went out for a walk. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, but you weren't home. I thought that maybe we could start making plans for our mating ceremony."

I have to stop myself from laughing.

Amanda Keely is the daughter of one of the prestigious pack elders in Crescentis. Young, beautiful, and graceful, she holds the title as the most coveted she-wolf in the pack.

While I simply had no interest in mating with anyone, I knew that in order to fully be seen as eligible for the role of Alpha, I would eventually have to pick a woman who would be by my side during my rule. The pack needed a Luna just as much as it needed an Alpha.

Reluctantly, I'd accepted to mate with her, following the wishes of those that claimed to have more wisdom than me. I had hated that I'd have to be tied down to someone that I felt nothing for, even though she seemed to be obsessed with me.

Now, that has all changed. I have found my mate, which means that I have to call off every plan with Amanda. It won't be easy, and I'm sure that there'll be backlash from the Elders, but I can't lose this opportunity that has been brought to me.

"There will be no mating ceremony, Amanda. I suggest you stop fantasising about it, because it won't be happening."

Her face twists with shock and surprise as she tries to comprehend the words that just came out of my mouth. "What? Are you being serious, Lucien?" She scoffs. "Look, if you're simply playing a prank—"

"Do I look like I'm playing a prank, Amanda? Your father and his council practically forced you on me, and you really expected that one day I would wake up and treat you like my soulmate?"

"But Lucien . . ." Tears well up in her eyes. "I love you. I want to be with you. We can make this work."

"We can't. Not now, not ever. Save yourself the trouble and find yourself someone that will actually care."

It takes her the whole of five seconds to go from hurt to angry. "You—you bastard! My father will hear of this! How do you expect to become an Alpha if you don't have a mate?"

She waits for me to answer, and I can see the little triumphant gleam in her eyes. She's probably thinking that she has me trapped.

I didn't want to announce things this way, but since she's not willing to back down, I'll give her the show she wants.

"I don't need you, Amanda. Not anymore at least. It turns out that I do have a mate."

"You're lying," she says, eyes darting here and there like she doesn't want this conversation to be overheard. "If you had a mate here, you would have found her a long time ago."

I shrug. "Maybe I didn't find her because she wasn't in this pack."

Her eyes go wide. "That's . . . Not true!"

I sigh, getting tired of this back and forth. "Believe whatever you want to. I could care less. Just let it sink into your head that there will be no mating ceremony between us, or anything else for that matter. If you have any issues with that, tell it to your father."

I continue on my way, walking past her like she's nothing but air.

Oh, I know that she'll definitely raise hell for this. Amanda is that girl that always gets what she wants.

Unfortunately for her, I always get what I want too.

And I want Zara.