LUXURIA'S POV.
The smell of dew made my eyes flutter open. I stirred lazily on whatever surface I was lying on.
I blinked, disoriented, as my eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the misty woods.
Then, everything snapped into focus.
I bolted upright, my breath catching in my throat as I took in my surroundings.
My eyes darted around the misty woods before resting on the figure lying beside me - naked.
My heart pounded wildly as fragments of the previous night came crashing back into my mind.
I gasped, pressing a trembling hand to my mouth as I realized what had happened. "Oh, Goddess. What did I do?" I whispered, my voice shaking as I stared at him - the monster lay peacefully beside me. The man I had feared, and yet...
Is he really a monster?
No. He lay there, still as death, but there was nothing monstrous about him now. His features were sharp, chiseled, and devastatingly handsome.
His short, black hair fell over his forehead, covering a part of the scar at the right side of his forehead, just a little above his brow.
Despite his features, it didn't change the fact that he was the monster everyone feared. Yet, I had allowed him to go intimate with me. Goddess!
My stomach churned with fear, guilt, and something else—something I couldn't name but felt deep in my core. I needed to get away, to escape, before he would wake up and realize what had happened.
There was no need for a rejection. All I had to do was run and hide... Make sure he never finds me. Besides, he doesn't know me from anywhere.
Holding my breath, I began to inch away from him, moving slowly, cautiously, praying that the soft rustle of leaves beneath me wouldn't rouse him.
Step by step, I moved back, my gaze never leaving his sleeping form. When I was finally a few feet away, I turned and bolted, sprinting through the forest as fast as my legs would carry me. My only goal was to reach the border of my pack. Maybe if I got there, I could pretend this night never happened.
Maybe if I returned home, I could forget the feeling of his touch, the way his voice—thick, smoky, and dangerous—had sent shivers down my spine. Maybe I could forget the intoxicating pull of the bond.
I couldn't believe it—couldn't believe I had been intimate with him, that I had let myself fall into his arms, that I had allowed the bond to take control. And now, the thought of him waking up and coming after me sent a fresh wave of terror through me.
"Luxuria... What do we do? I am scared," Xurie, my wolf, asked with a whimper from the back of my mind.
"I do not know, Xurie. We made a mistake last night, and we must make sure he doesn't get to see us ever again," I encouraged my wolf. I know she was drawn to our mate. But this was best for us.
I reached the stream that marked the boundary between the North and the South, my lungs burning as I splashed through the icy water.
I only stopped briefly to pick up my dress from where I had hidden them.
I didn't hesitate, not even to catch my breath. I had to keep moving… I had to get back to the safety of my pack, even though the word "safety" seemed far from me as far as my family was concerned.
How could I face my pack, my father, knowing what had happened? How could I face Kahel? The guilt was heart-wrenching.
Just as if fate was intentionally punishing me, I ran into Kahel just at the border. He had come to make sure the guards on patrol were doing their jobs diligently.
The last time, rogues attacked our pack because of the negligence of the guards on duty. Thankfully, we were able to fight them all off.
Kahel was the Beta of our pack. He took over after his father died a few months ago from a strange illness.
"Luxuria..." Kahel called with creased brows. "Where are you coming from so early?" He asked me in his usual sweet, calming voice.
I couldn't look at him. The guilt ate right into me. I had washed myself in the stream, hoping to wash off my mate's scent from my skin. I hoped against hope that he wouldn't find out. It would break him.
Kahel and I had been in love for so long now. We both decided to make each other chosen mates. Now that he had assumed the Beta position, he was ready to have a mate. We were already making preparations to tell Alpha Odren about it soon.
"I... I went for a run," I said, swallowing hard.
His face creased into a frown, "Is it about home?" He asked me. His kindness and care were killing me slowly.
I nodded to his question, and he pulled me into a hug.
Our relationship had been a secret. Only a few trusted people knew about it.
The calmness of the woods didn't ease my guilt. I wondered why Kahel never heard the rapid beating of my heart.
He cupped my face and tilted my head to look him in his deep blue eyes, but I avoided his innocent gaze.
"Is there something else wrong? You know you can talk to me," Kahel said to me, and I died of guilt.
I was silent.
"I had prepared a little surprise for you last night. I looked for you, but Rella told me you..." At the mention of Rella, my stomach churned even more.
I stopped him mid-sentence, "I just went to clear my head, Kahel."
I didn't want to hear a word about Rella. The woman who wouldn't hesitate to take Kahel away from me the moment I accepted the cruel fate the Moon Goddess had placed on me.
"My love... I do not like seeing you this sad. It hurts me." Kahel said, worry lines etching his face.
That was it. I couldn't stand it anymore. The dam in my eyes threatened to break. I pushed him off of me and ran past him, covering my mouth to suppress the sobs that threatened to tear out of my throat.
***
ALPHA PARTHE'S POV
The dawn was quiet, the woods still and shrouded in mist. Yet, even in the eerie calm, I could sense her. My mate.
The moment she stirred beside me, her scent—a heady mixture of fear, confusion, and something far sweeter—tugged at the edge of my consciousness.
Her buttery, silken skin brushed against the leaves, and even in sleep, I felt her soft, cautious movement. My senses, cursed as they were, never dulled. Not even in slumber.
As she began to inch away, her heartbeat quickening with each cautious step, my eyes snapped open.
Instinct, fueled by the desire to possess her, screamed at me to act, to seize her before she could flee. But I remained still, my lips curving into a cruel smile as I watched her attempt to escape.
'How foolish she is,' I thought, the amusement tinged with a darker satisfaction. She had no idea what I was capable of—no idea that every breath she took, every step she made, was as loud to me as a shout in the dead of night.
This curse of mine—this abomination that marked me as the monster of the North—had its advantages. My senses were a hundredfold sharper than any other Alpha's.
My vision could pierce through the darkest of nights, my hearing could detect the slightest of sounds, and my sense of smell was so acute that the scent of her sweat, fear, and arousal still lingered on my tongue. I could even sense the shift in her emotions, the conflict between fear and the irresistible pull of our bond.
The way she trembled, the way her sapphire eyes darted around in desperation as she sought to escape the inevitable—oh, how it thrilled me. But I waited, letting her think she had a chance.
She didn't know that I could hear the frantic pounding of her heart as if it were a drumbeat in my ears. She didn't know that her scent—so uniquely hers, so intoxicating—was a trail she couldn't hide. She didn't know that every step she took away from me only led me closer to her.
I watched as she finally bolted, her bare feet barely making a sound on the damp earth.
She was barely at a height of five-foot-four. Petite and fragile. Just the way I like them.
She shifted back into her wolf form, a beautiful white creature that seemed to glide through the trees. But no matter how fast she ran, no matter how desperately she tried to escape, she couldn't outrun me. Not now. Not ever.
By now, she would have reached the border of her pack. She would think she was safe, that the distance between us would somehow shield her from the consequences of what had happened. But she was wrong. The bond between us was too strong, and I knew her too well already.
She was mine. My mate. My property. And I would not let her go.
The cruel smile never left my face as I turned in the direction she had fled.
"I know just where to find her."