Luna On The Run!

Alpha Zane’s POV still

A menacing roar emanates from deep in my throat.

I can’t believe what’s unfolding right before my eyes. My mate glares angrily at my best friend and Beta, who turns to her with guilt written all over his face. Eric shoves the woman away, his eyes fixed on Ariel. It is as if he has been caught in the act by his girlfriend.

“What’s going on here?” I demand to know, Claw shifting his glowing eyes from Ariel to Eric.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

“Zane,” Eric exhales, tearing his eyes away from Ariel. “I didn’t know you were here with Ariel. Sybille and I were just talking, nothing more. I swear. Did I disturb you?” Why do I get the feeling he’s apologizing to my friend instead of to me?

“That’s not what I meant. Why are you and my mate looking at each other like lovers? This is not the first time I have noticed it. Is there something I should know, Beta?”

Eric runs a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated by the situation.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. As you can see, I’m here with my girlfriend. And you and the Luna have just arrived. Now you say all sorts of things that I have no answer to,” he argues. It looks like he has no intention of explaining his attitude towards my mate.

“Eric, is Ariel your mate too? What does your wolf say?” I ask him bluntly. Even before I have finished my question, he is shaking his head frantically.

“I already told you, Ariel is the Luna and your mate. I don’t share and she’s not my mate”.

But why does he sound unconvincing when he says this? My Beta is lying and I will investigate the details. The evening is over for me. My mood is at an all-time low. I am beginning to doubt whether Ariel and I will ever reach the stage of being lovers. The way she looks at Eric, that possessiveness and affection, she does not even remotely have for me.

I take her hand and turn back to the restaurant.

“Zane, what’s going on? Why are you so angry with Eric? He didn’t do anything to deserve the way you addressed him.” My mate takes my Beta’s side, the reproach in her voice is too much for me. I take her to the parking lot, open the car door for her and as soon as she gets in, I get behind the wheel.

In hushed silence, we drive to the packhouse.

When we arrive, I take her to our apartment and retire to my office. At my private bar, I pour myself a double shot of Scotch and down it in one go. A feeling of despair washes over me. After years of waiting, I have finally found my Luna. But I have to share her with a rather reluctant Alpha, my arch-rival. And when she finally joins the pack, it turns out that she does not want much from me. She keeps me at a distance and just won’t start the mating process.

And now I find out that she is in love with my Beta.

What have I done in my past and present lives to be punished like this? Selene clearly doesn’t like me very much. All I want is a mate to love and rule the pack with, a Luna for my wolf family. Although sharing is not my thing either, I am too happy to have finally met her to let her go. But things are going to get more difficult when she has no feelings for me and we will most likely have to share her with the three of us now. This is becoming an awkward situation, with me most likely on the losing end of the stick.

Kensley bursts into my room and halts in front of me.

“Zane, what’s going on? I can feel your stress in the pack link. And when I asked Eric if he knew what was wrong with you, he couldn’t give me a concrete answer either. Is it Ariel again?” He sighs wearily as he mentions my mate’s name. My mating doesn’t seem to be doing anyone in the pack any good.

“Yes. I think she is cheating on me with Eric or is in love with him. He denies everything, but the way they look at each other says it all. Their attraction when they are near each other is perceptible”. I take another big sip from my refilled glass. “Worst case scenario, Eric is her mate too and then she has three. I tell you, Kensley, that is unbearable.”

“No, I don’t think Eric has anything to do with the Luna. To be honest, Ariel seems childish to me. I often doubt that she is nearly twenty and mated,” he replies thoughtfully. “And even then, I can’t sense her wolf. No one in the pack has seen her shift. Not even once. Isn’t that strange?”

“There are so many things about Ariel that don’t make sense. I think it would be best to send her back to Gorgio. Our relationship is going nowhere, she doesn’t share the mate bond with me,” I say defeated. “And things will become even more awkward if Eric joins the triangle. It seems like the best solution, but can I handle it? I long for her so much, her absence and the knowledge that she is with Gorgio will kill me.”

Kensley continues to stare intently at the floor.

“You can reject each other. Then give her to Eric and look for a second chance mate,” he suggests. “At best, that will break the bond, you won’t feel anything for her anymore, and you’ll keep your Beta. To go on like this is too painful. Letting go might be the best course to take”.

I am startled by his advice.

Kensley is still unmated, he does not know what it is like to feel this intense desire. Giving up Ariel will be hard, but if it means regaining my balance and calming my pack, I am willing to do it. But it won’t be easy.

Kensley reads my bitterness.

“I know it’s easy for me to talk like this as an unmated wolf, Zane. But you can’t keep doing this. You whip yourself up and she gives you nothing in return,” he explains. “And then you have Alpha Gorgio who could declare war on us at any moment and you still risk losing your best friend and Beta.”

“Let me sleep on it. What you say makes a lot of sense. I can’t let my personal feelings take precedence over the interests of the pack. This is hard, man. I want her for myself so bad, my mate. And now I have to lose her. Damn!”…