Noleen’s POV

I crouched down next to her, my fingers lightly tracing the edge of the cold metal bucket. A dark, sinister smile played on my lips as I tilted the bucket just enough for icy water to trickle onto her unmoving face.

When she didn’t react, I tipped it all the way, sending a frigid cascade over her. She jerked awake, gasping and choking, her body thrashing against the ropes cutting into her wrists.

“Rise and shine,” I said, my voice dripping with mockery as I let the bucket fall to the ground with a metallic clang. “We’ve got some unfinished business, Maria.”

Her fiery glare met mine as she coughed violently, her shoulders shaking with the effort.

“You... bastard!” she spat, her voice laced with raw hatred that burned brighter than any fire.

For a brief moment, something inside me twisted—was it regret? Guilt? It was fleeting, quickly crushed beneath the weight of my anger and my need for justice. Her mother had destroyed my family, murdered my parents.

She deserved this. She needed to suffer before she could play her part in my plans.

“I don’t have a choice,” I said, leaning back against the wall, keeping my voice calm and measured. “We need to talk.”

“Talk?” she scoffed, her laughter bitter and biting.

“You humiliated me, Noleen!” she snapped, her voice cracking as tears glistened in her eyes. 

“You slept with another Luna, knowing I’m your mate. You killed my wolf! And now you tie me up like this?” She struggled against her bindings, fury etched on her face. “And you want to talk?”

Her words pierced me like a blade, but I buried the pain beneath a mask of indifference.

“Your mother killed my parents,” I said, my voice cold and deliberate, each word striking like ice.

For a moment, her eyes widened in shock, but her defiance returned as quickly as it had faltered.

“And I’m not her,” she hissed, her tone venomous and sharp.

Her words cut through the fragile wall I had built around my guilt. She wasn’t her mother, and deep down, I knew that. The Moon Goddess’s whispered warning echoed in my mind, haunting me, but my pride refused to falter.

“Hmm,” I murmured, raising an eyebrow and smirking to provoke her. “So you claim.”

Her face twisted in anger, her hatred searing. “We have nothing to discuss, Noleen,” she spat, venom dripping from every word.

Her resistance hit like a slap—a feeling I both hated and admired. “Then I’ll make you listen,” I growled, my voice laced with fury.

Unchaining her, I barely had time to react before she lunged at me, her teeth sinking into my arm. Pain flared, but she used the moment to escape, bolting for the door.

Her bare feet slapped against the cold stone floor as desperation radiated from her. My chest tightened—not with fear but with anticipation.

Before her hand could reach the bolt, I was behind her. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I yanked her backward with force. She cried out as her body hit the ground, sliding across the cold floor.

“Let me….let me go!” she screamed, her voice breaking, tears streaming down her face as she scrambled backward.

I towered over her, my breathing heavy with rage. “You’re mine, Maria,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “You belong to me, and the sooner you accept that, the better for both of us.”

She shook her head violently, sobbing. “Please, Noleen… you don’t have to do this,” she pleaded, her voice trembling.

Ignoring her, I dragged her back toward the bed, her body thrashing wildly in protest. But I was stronger. I secured her wrists to the posts once more, the metal biting into her skin as she continued to struggle.

“You’ll give me a son,” I said coldly, my voice hollow, as though it belonged to someone else. “One the gods will accept.”

Her gasp filled the room, her face twisting with disbelief. Defiance flickered in her eyes as she spat at me, the spit landing squarely on my cheek.

“You’ll never get a son from me,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears running down her face.

I wiped my cheek, my jaw tightening in frustration. Her resistance was infuriating, maddening.

My hand flew across her face, the sharp crack echoing in the room. Her head snapped to the side, and for a moment, she stilled, her body trembling.

Leaning in close, my voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “Fight all you want, Maria. It will only make things worse for you.”

Before I could act on my threat, a sharp knock broke the tension in the room. I froze, my senses sharpening instantly.

The door creaked open, and my beta, Adel, stepped in, his expression uneasy.

“He’s here, Alpha,” Adel said, bowing slightly.

“Who?” I demanded, my voice dripping with irritation.

“Alpha Jiovanni,” he said hesitantly.

My blood ran cold at the name. “What does he want?”

Adel hesitated before answering. “He’s heard about you finding your mate. He assumed it would never happen.”

A feral grin spread across my lips. “He wants her, doesn’t he?”

“Perhaps,” Adel murmured, his gaze flickering toward Maria’s bound form.

I straightened, leaving her chained to the bed, and adjusted my clothes. My mind raced with possibilities as I stepped into the hallway. ..

Jiovanni thought he could take what was mine. He was wrong.

The door to the hall burst open, the sound of sleek footsteps reverberating through the stone corridor. I turned, my eyes locking onto a familiar figure.

“Jiovanni,” I greeted, my voice in a dangerous growl. 

He smirked, his sharp gaze assessing me.

“Long time, brother,” he mocked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I hope I’m not intruding.”

 

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PART B

Noleen’s POV 

I stood at a distance, watching him from across the room. His smug grin barely concealed the malice dripping from his words, and it was impossible to ignore the venom in his tone.

"So, you found her," he sneered, his voice full of mockery, daring me to respond.

"And  so  what?" I shot back, making sure my voice stayed steady even though his very presence unnerved me. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he got under my skin.

He leaned lazily against the wall, but his relaxed stance only made him look more like a predator sizing up his prey. His eyes narrowed as he smirked. "You remember what Father always said, don’t you? Whatever is yours… is mine."

Hearing him invoke our father sent a chill through me. Memories of the past I had worked so hard to bury began to surface, but I pushed them down with sheer willpower.

"That was a lifetime ago, brother," I said, my voice low and controlled, though anger simmered just beneath the surface. "They’re gone. I’m not bound by his rules anymore."

His grin widened, clearly enjoying how his words stirred something in me. I could feel the malice radiating off him like a dark shadow. "You know me too well," he said with a gleam in his eye. "My first move will be to turn the elders against you. After all, it won’t take much for them to see you as unfit."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought to keep my emotions in check. I couldn’t let him see the cracks forming in my composure. His words had an uncanny way of cutting deeper than I wanted to admit, and they awakened emotions I wasn’t ready to face.

“And no one—absolutely no one—will stand by your side,” he continued, his tone brimming with a twisted satisfaction.

I locked eyes with him, refusing to back down. "Shame on you, brother," I said, my voice sharp. "You want to mate with the daughter of the woman who killed our parents? The same bloodline that destroyed everything we had?"

For the first time, his confidence wavered. I saw it—a brief flicker in his expression, like a crack in his armor. But he recovered quickly, his next words landing like a punch.

"Isn’t she your mate too?"

The weight of his accusation hit me harder than I expected. My jaw clenched, and the tension between us thickened, heavy with unspoken truths neither of us wanted to face.

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, his every move calculated to provoke. "Very well," he said, his voice softer but no less menacing. "I need her. And I’ll have her."

The moment he turned to leave, I reacted without thinking. My hand shot out, grabbing his arm with more force than I intended. "Stay away from her," I growled, my voice filled with a warning I hoped he’d take seriously.

He didn’t flinch. Instead, he smirked, his arrogance infuriating. "Or what?"

"Or I’ll have my betas throw you out of my territory," I snapped, my anger barely contained.

He chuckled, his confidence unshaken. "Go ahead, Noleen. I’m not afraid of you. And besides, if I don’t take her now, I’ll claim her tomorrow at the ceremony. Right in front of you."

The audacity of his words made my blood boil. Rage surged through me, blinding me for a moment. My vision blurred as I lunged at him, my fist raised and ready to wipe that smug grin off his face.

But before I could land the punch, the door slammed open.

Tony, one of my most trusted betas, burst in, his face pale and his breathing ragged.

"Alpha," he said, his voice trembling with fear.

Everything else faded away as his next words cut through the tension like a blade.

"Adel is dead."