The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Kaden’s POV

I was squatting behind one of my favorite trees in the woods, patiently waiting for my prey to come out. It was a tall deer with enchanting eyes, I had sworn it wouldn’t escape my sight. But it did, and I was determined to catch it. It also had a peculiar scent, as if it had been infused with something I couldn’t make sense of yet.

But that wasn’t the only reason I was here. I needed to put an end to the mockery of that bastard and his pack. Seeing as he was a fool with nine lives, I knew it would take more than the same old attack to destroy them once and for all.

It was an early afternoon, but the sun rays had been effectively blocked out by the canopy of branches and leaves formed by the tall trees. I heard soft rustling and I ducked out quickly, drawing out an arrow from the rack behind me and I shot it immediately. There was a loud thud that followed and a loud clap behind me.

I spun around with yet another arrow in my bow before pulling it down when I saw Jacob with a wide smile plastered on his face. He was clapping as he did, and I looked up to see his brother crouching on a tall tree branch. He was clapping as well, smiling down at me.

“Well done, Alpha Kaden.” Jacob said, still clapping. He was wearing an identical black t-shirt as I was, with grey shorts and black combat boots. Pretty faced as ever, he had his hands to his hops in an awkward fashion. “You called for us.”

“You’re late.” I snickered instead. “By a full hour. I invited you both to hunt with me, and you came late.”

“Apologies, my Lord.” This time, it was Joshua who spoke with his deep voice. It lacked the depth that my voice had, but had more depth that that of Jacob. These two were my best fighters, I couldn’t help but sometimes wonder if the heavens mistook Jacob for a woman at the time of his inception. His voice eerily reminded me of a hyena’s cackle.

“We were ambushed by some omegas late in the morning, so we had to deal with the emergencies first.” He finished and I cocked a brow. Jacob coughed harshly, sending a glare in his brother’s direction before looking at me.

“What he’s trying to say is that some omegas were brought for us to ‘take care of’. If that’s okay.” He chuckled awkwardly. I realized what he meant immediately, shaking my head in disapproval.

“I have no interest in your sexual shenanigans, you two. I called you here for an important meeting.”

“I knew hunting was a ruse!” Joshua exclaimed, jumping off the tree branch. “At your service, my Lord.”

“So I’ve been getting some reports from the Luna of the South Sea pack. She’s been sending letters that lead me to believe that Derek wasn’t the man we were looking for. I started, drawing their attention aptly. The playfulness in their eyes had disappeared completely, exactly like I wanted. I hated it when they joked about serious matters.

“But Derek was the Alpha of Moonstar pack. He dared to go against us.” Jacob noted, raising a hand to his chin.

“I believe he was being controlled by someone else. Perhaps a stronger pack than theirs. And now that the pack has been annihilated, they’re acting out by attacking smaller packs to draw attention to themselves.”

“What if they’re just doing it to expand their pack?”

“By attacking one of our allies? They know more than to do that, Jacob.” Joshua spike up, folding both arms. “I’m with Alpha Kaden on this one. They’re purposefully doing this, the question is who exactly.”

“That’s why I have a mission for you. I need you two to spy on that pack, see what’s going on there and report to me if there’s any shady business going on.” I said again, and they bowed deeply.

“Of course.” Jacob spoke up. “As long as it’s your command. My brother and I would get ready as soon as possible and be on our way.”

“Very well then. I’ll have a few of my guards come for the deer soon.”

They bowed again while I made my way out of the woods. The journey back to the house was relatively short, I also loved the soft afternoon breeze that blew against my skin and through my hair. It had been so long since I’ve had this much peace even in the middle of a storm.

As soon as I got to the mansion, I noticed a white SUV parked in the compound. It wasn’t mine, I was certain; neither was I expecting a visitor. Suspicious, I walked with careful steps to the entrance and I saw Annalise standing there with the sorriest expression on her face. Confused, I cocked a brow.

“What’s happening here?”

“I…I tried, I swear on my life!” She said all too frantically, bowing and startling me. Hunter emerged from the living room, bowing in what I assumed was an apology. Of course, the fucking lot of them must have done something wrong.

“What the fuck is going on? What did you do?” I ground out, looking around. I knew we weren’t attacked, my men were more than capable of counterattacking. But I had a bad feeling about their reaction. Sighing reluctantly, I walked through into the living room, only to see a jet black haired woman sitting on the couch, crossing one lean limb over the other.

“Oh my, Alpha Kaden. It’s pleasant to finally see you.”

Her voice was awfully sweet and her poise was mannered. Even her choice of words were careful. I walked up to her just as soon as she rose to her feet. She was tall for a woman, and she was traditionally beautiful with her hair in a bun and her purple dress flowing down. What I found despicable however, was her cleavage exposure.

“My apologies, but I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

“Of course we haven’t.” She chimed, clasping both hands together before falling into a small courtesy bow. “But you have seen my gift, Kaden. My lions in love?”

Oh. I clicked my tongue at that, remembering the embarrassing gift item she had sent me. So she was the Luna of the Shadow pack. How disappointing.

“That reminds me, I haven’t seen it anywhere.” She looked up to meet my eyes with a wide smile plastered on her bright red lips. “Perhaps, you didn’t like it?”

“I -”

“I brought you some more!” She cut in with her very irritating voice, pointing to the center table I’d only just noticed. There were multiple boxes lying on it, and I watched her ramble on about the items in them. “There’s some sapphire, onyx and even obsidians! You like hunting so I thought you’d want your craftsmen to make you some weapons out of obsidians. I wanted to bring a diamond sculpt, but -”

“Are you now spying on my pack?” I said as calmly as I could, yet it slipped somehow into a growl. She didn’t flinch in the slightest, instead she shook her head and folded her arms.

“Of course not, Kaden. Is it now a crime to be in love with you?” She pouted. Did she think that disgusting thing was cute? “I came here myself just to bring these gifts to you and ask you to reconsider before pushing me away.”

“I beg to refuse your proposal, Luna.” I sighed out in annoyance and ran a hand through my hair. “You’re a beautiful woman, but I’m not interested in marriage. Let alone to a widowed Luna.”

“Is that because of your wife?” Her tone was taunting and she closed the distance between us, bringing a hand to my face. The mention of Amaya made my blood boil. She dared mention that bitch to my face?!Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I know you’re upset with her, Amaya, was it? Be mad all you want, but it doesn’t mean that you should firmly close your heart to love all around you.”

“Shut up.” I snarled, grabbing her hands and forcing them away. She giggled instead, playing with her tongue and I saw her dark pupils dilate.

“I like a fighter, Kaden.” She twirled playfully, stopping to hold my arm again. “It’s the same reason I hated my mate before he died.” Her voice fell flat. “He didn’t know how to play hard to get, or how to get what he wanted. He was a weakling, but you’re not. I love that glare, I love the fight you can bring to the table. Our packs can be united and become the strongest single pack to have ever existed.”

She continued to circle round me, whispering. “Love me, Kaden. I’m not Amaya, I’m something much more powerful.”

A loud thud pulled me out of her entrancing voice and towards the entrance. I looked to see Annalise crouching, pulling up a blonde haired woman from where she had fallen. My eyes shifted to the figure by their side. Realizing that that was Declan, my eyes widened to see Larissa finally on her feet.

Her brown eyes that always held pleas we’re almost empty, and her hair was tied up in a haggard ponytail. For some reason, I found myself wanting to read the expression on her face. Instead she stared at me briefly before looking away and awkwardly clearing her throat.

“I… Sorry.” She muttered out, picking up Declan before half jogging up the stairs. I glanced at Annalise and Hunter with the most deathly icicles I could muster. They knew better than to let this bitchy Luna into my house.

“Is that your son? I’ll take care of him too.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, shut up! Shut the fuck up!” I snapped at the woman and she finally flinched, stepping back.

“Politeness doesn’t do it for you? Fine. I don’t want to get married, let alone to a lousy bat like you. The only respect I owe you is that of your dead husband whom you’re badmouthing here. So do yourself some good and leave. And this would be the last time you would send me gifts, or I’ll burn them.”

“Obsidians don’t burn.” She taunted, laughing lightly with twinkling eyes. ” But very well, I did my best. Neither do I want a miserly person who doesn’t know a jewel when he sees one.”

She tapped my chin before walking away in confident strides. “Hmph.” I ran my hands through my hair in annoyance. I wanted to punish whoever let her into my house, the nerve of the bitch.

I looked back to the entrance, but Annalise and Hunter were nowhere in sight. My thoughts drifted back to the woman fallen there, who stared at me with empty eyes for the first time. Even if we were mates, did she think that I thought of her anymore than I did Amaya? They were both cheating bastards and she would never make it to my heart.

But she’s still your mate, you shouldn’t treat her like she’s nonexistent.

“Shut up.” I growled tiredly at my wolf, tapping at my arms a little harshly. It was better like this. I would never fall prey to another lying bitch. She could get hurt all she wanted, that was what was befitting for the likes of her.

But why then do you leave her in your house, taking care of your son? How many times have you threatened to kill her? If you really don’t care about her, I dare you to kill her.