“Stop her, Xavier. She is leaving,” Zander kept prompting Xavier, but Kiara was gone.
With their soon-to-be Luna's abrupt departure, the hall, which had been resonating with excitement and gaiety, fell dead silent. The new Luna just walked out of the packhouse without looking back, but she had left a slew of big mouths to propagate rumors.
As they stared at Xavier standing there without Kiara, the Sirius Bright Pack's sadness deepened. Why hadn't he stopped her? He appeared to have lost something without her. His gaze had not left the door for a moment, giving the impression that she had not departed alone, but had taken their Alpha's heart and soul with her. The other guests' murmurs were picked up by Stephen's ears.
"What exactly is going on?"
"How come the pack's new Luna has run away from her own marking ceremony?"
"I had a sneaking suspicion that something was awry. What was the use of pretending if there was no marriage?"
"It seems that Alpha Xavier had never intended to obtain a Luna."
Some of the other guests, who were notorious for gossiping, slandering, and spreading rumors, began to open their mouths. Some of them were people who had planned to assault the Sirius Bright Pack in the not-too-distant future. They had a satisfied look now that Xavier's bride had fled. If he had marked and accepted the Luna as a mate, they would have lost everything to the twin brothers. Zander had already given them a lethal glare a while ago. He was going to ruin them, but everyone was now secure. He still hadn't found his mate.
Their smiling faces turned pale, as they sweated profusely when they realized Beta Kaiden and Gamma Tyler had seen their actions and heard their comments. What were those assholes saying about their Alpha? If looks could kill, they would have died long ago. The typical repercussions and terror of their mistakes were obvious for a brief period as they bit their lips and dropped their gaze. The more renowned and dignified a person was, the more frivolous their habits.
Every curious and gobsmacked eye was focused on Xavier, who seemed like a wounded animal that had been filled to the brim with seething wrath. His gaze was perpetually drawn to the door through which Kiara had exited. Dean had reached the end of his patience, and Xavier needed to act swiftly.
"What exactly is going on, Alpha? Why did Luna suddenly leave the ceremony and the pack house?" One of the elders stepped forward to inquire.
"Jennifer, Lena. Bring that rat out of his hole!!"
Xavier yelled at the top of his lungs, frightening the elder who had come to ask his Alpha a question. The elderly wolf swiftly stepped back from Xavier, as did the other pack members who had been surrounding him. They all wanted their runaway Luna to return, but no one dared to ask anything. Who had the Alpha been referring to as a rat?
Other elders observed Stephen, who had been unusually silent while observing Luna's departure. How could that old wolf keep his cool? Hadn't he been avoiding all inauspicious occasions? Why hadn't he made a fuss when Kiara abandoned his grandson?
"Aahh!" A painful groan pierced the air, drawing all attention to the side door of the ceremony hall. Where Jennifer and Lena dragged a middle-aged Sirius Bright Pack warrior brutally and threw him at Xavier and Zander's feet. His blood had stained the floor and terrified the heck out of his guests and the other wolves of the pack. Why was the warrior tortured in this manner? He looked more like a battered dog than a man. He raised his swollen eyes to behold, ruthless Alphas for mercy but Xavier’s foot slammed down onto his head causing his head smash into the cold floor, breaking the tiles, making him bleed and hurting him more. He screamed, his claws scratching the tiles unsuccessfully as he struggled. Guests put their hands over their mouths in fear. What was going on? Zander smirked, admiring his brother’s action. This was the beginning of the process of releasing his accumulated rage.
"He's the spy, Alpha. We caught him red-handed when he notified someone about Luna Kiara's departure. He was laughing and informing someone that the Luna had run away from you," Jennifer updated Xavier.
Jennifer and Leena quickly noticed this low-ranking wolf of the pack lurking out in the corridor as Kiara had been leaving. He was already secretly on the phone with someone during the ring ceremony. He had communicated the news of the ring ceremony and the breakup of the marriage to a third party over the phone with great joy.
The warrior tried to fight, even breaking his own phone, but he couldn't compete with Lena's fighting skills. In the end, the aggressive red-headed Gamma female broke his balls. She abandoned him, sobbing over his shattered eggs. When he tried to swallow the SIM card, Jennifer nearly choked him. She pushed her claws into his cheeks as she yanked the card from his mouth, fracturing his nose in the process. Pregnancy had never been an issue for her as long as her mate trusted her and allowed her to participate in the special task assigned by the twins.
The spy's attention had been drawn only to Kaiden and Tyler, as the Alphas had predicted, but he had not anticipated that Xavier would assign the mission of capturing the pack's rat to the Beta and Gamma females. When people saw the spy's damaged jaw and legs, the chattering folks lost their shits. He couldn't even crawl by himself. How ruthless might these ladies be?
"Alpha… I…" The spy attempted to justify his actions, only to receive a severe kick in the head from Xavier. He was tossed across the ground like a rag doll, crippled and on the verge of death. While taking a long and furious breath, Xavier's gaze returned to the entrance through which Kiara had escaped. Even though he couldn't see her, he could sense every step she took away from him.
When Xavier had walked to his room through the back door to wash his face after puking, he had been greeted with a mind-link from Kaiden. Not just to Xavier, but also to Zander and Tyler.
Someone that was attending the ceremony had shared a photo of Kiara and Xavier kissing and exchanging rings. That was not all, every occurrence, small and large that had occurred during the wedding had been relayed to someone else. Simultaneously, there had been an intelligence attempt to sabotage the marking ceremony by spreading rumors and asking irrelevant questions about it. Stephen, who had joined the mind-link with his grandsons, revealed that the rings had been stolen an hour before the ceremony, but Grandpa had a spare set of rings in the same size and design in his pocket.
Someone had planned to ruin the wedding, but they had carefully kept their identity hidden among the guests. There was only one way to find them: pretend to break up the marriage!
This strategy was devised by all of the highest-ranking men. Zander was aware of his brother's decision to let Kiara leave. Everyone had been acting, and it had worked because this obnoxious rodent had been apprehended. Zander had already vented his rage by kicking his stomach until he vomited a large amount of blood, which fulfilled the Alpha's need for vengeance at the moment. This warrior had the audacity to betray his pack, his people, and his Alphas.
Xavier's murderous hands stretched down and drew the bastard up to face him. The infuriated Alpha's long, sharp claws had come out to dig deep into the low life's flesh, causing him to bleed. He yelled at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to save his life, but he had already lost too much strength.
"Who are you working for?" Xavier's menacing voice was slow and deep, yet there was a concealed warning not to lie or he would lose another ounce of the pathetic and desperate minute of his worthless life. The eyes of the middle-aged guilty wolf were wide open as if they were about to jump out of his skull in terror. His frail frame trembled like a dried leaf. The moment he resolved to defraud his Alpha and pack flashed through his head, when he had accepted the dirty money, he had already sealed his date and time of death.
"I… I am sorry, Alpha. I don't know him…” Xavier's claws sunk further into the criminal's neck as soon as he dared to repeat those meaningless words, which were certainly not the ideal responses to the short-tempered Alpha. The low-life wolf turned to face the guests in an instant, where Xavier's other hand seized his hair, pulled his head up to the ceiling, and tore his throat out in front of everyone. The last noises from the wolf were those of blood gurgling as he took his final breath.
“What did you say? She ran away from me?” Xavier chuckled darkly into the dying wolf's ears, still grasping his hair and practically ripping his hair out of his head as his emerald eyes returned to the entrance. "She can't even get away from me, not in her fucking nightmares!" As the Alpha snapped his neck, he spoke to the man's ears. The lifeless corpse collapsed onto the floor. A few young women cried in terror, attempting to hide behind their mates so they wouldn't witness the violence or Xavier's monstrous actions.
“Move!” When Zander saw Xavier dashing out of the packhouse, he yelled the command. Dean had taken charge, and in this state, he was capable of killing anyone who got in his way. Guests immediately cleared the path, letting the Alpha vanish into the woods' thick darkness. Dead quiet descended in the hall as they could only ask themselves the questions they were dying to know. Where had the Alpha gone? Why was he so enraged? The deceased spy could not be the only perpetrator. Everyone, both familiar and unfamiliar with Xavier's demeanor, was taken aback by what had just happened. No one dared to so much as glance at the carcass of the wolf laying on the ground covered in blood. Zander was irritated by the filth on the floor. "Move this body out of the hall as soon as possible and clean the floor!" The Alpha gave a vehement order. This day should not have ended in blood, a dead body, and the new Luna's escape. He could tell his brother had gone insane over his woman. If he couldn't find her or she managed to flee the pack, Xavier would start killing people.
"Alpha, we were unable to obtain any information from him," Kaiden was filled with remorse and hatred. They were able to trace the spy but were ineffective at making him talk. He had been killed.
"Check his bank account and track the account number from which he received a large unexplained deposit..." When a wolf's growl resonated over the woods, Zander came to a halt at his command.
“Who was that!” Tyler and Kaiden uttered as they took a cautious glance around. The Sirius Bright Pack, as well as all of the guests, were terrified. Zander moved closer to the entrance, his eyes locked on the woods where he had seen his brother go. It was most certainly not Xavier's growl. It was some unknown wolf. Because the entire pack was in the hall, who was the other wolf in the woods? Was that an enemy of the pack that had attacked?
***
When Xavier arrived in the midst of the woods, tracking Kiara's scent, his heart began to race. He could sense that she was close by. He could feel her every move. He had anticipated that she would not pass the territory boundary line. But the bizarre thing was that her rose and chocolate fragrance had become much stronger and more appealing than earlier, Dean had become absolutely inebriated by it as a result.
His wolf desired to take over his human, but the Alpha refused, increasing his speed until he heard the lethal and vicious snarl of a wolf that had broken into the forest. Xavier came to a complete stop and took a deep breath. Who was this unknown wolf in his territory?!
"Aahhh!!" When he heard the familiar voice, Xavier's head snapped to the right as he hurried towards it. What the heck was that individual doing in the middle of the forest at that precise moment? He followed the screaming until he got to the center of the forest, where a wolf was staring at the young man who had been sitting on the muddy ground, sweating and quivering before a savage wolf.
"Alpha," Cole's gaze was drawn to Xavier, who charged into the terrible situation like a King. That's what he was to this pack and his people. His eyes were locked on the wolf, whose eyes were the first thing that caused Xavier to blink in admiration. The Omega shifted his gaze between them. His Alpha's eyes shone with confidence! He'd now understood why this man was known as the Alpha. He had stepped forward to protect him despite Cole's knowledge that Xavier had some unresolved issues with him. Xavier stood between the Omega and the invader, the ferocious, deadly wolf like shield.
"Leave!" When he received his Alpha's command, the young Omega's shocked grey eyes looked at Xavier. Did he order him to leave? Wouldn't this unknown wolf murder him? Xavier's massive body had eclipsed the trembling Omega, allowing him to flee and escape the scene. "Fuck off!" Xavier growled, gazing over his shoulder at the young man, who sprang to his feet and ran away. Cole had ended up in the woods, drinking under the moonlight, after seeing the ring ceremony and Kiara's kiss with Xavier. He'd been so lost and depressed that he hadn't heard a wolf approaching. But he had no idea he'd be confronted by an unfamiliar and deadly wolf that attacked him nearly twice. He hadn't been able to get away from his claws fast enough. If Xavier had not appeared, he would have been devoured by the wolf.
Taking advantage of a second opportunity given to him by fate, the young man began to run quickly, but his steps came to a stop in a flurry as soon as he heard Alpha whisper gently, "Kiara."
Cole froze in horror. Was Kara lost in the woods? Where? He had to save her from the ferocious wolf or she would be attacked. He looked back, but he had already run a great distance. Then he realized that the wolf that had attempted to attack him had been none other than Kiara. But how exactly? Had she shifted? Why hadn't he realized that the wolf was female? Then he raised his eyes to the sky, where the full moon was shining brightly. Obviously, she hadn't been able to control her wolf side under the full moon! She had reached the age of 18, it was time for her first shift into her wolf. Fuck! Obviously, he wouldn't have been able to beat an Alpha blood like her, and his wolf had surrendered to her despite the fact that it was her first time shifting. But how could Xavier recognize her in her wolf form?
"Kiara, it's me. Xavier…" he kept his gaze fixed on his lovely she-wolf, who had transformed without her awareness. Dean took a step closer to observe his mate, causing Xavier's eyes to shine. Kiara's wolf was stunning, like her human counterpart! She had dark chocolatey eyes with golden flecks that glowed with bloodlust. The chilly breeze that had passed through her silky snow-white fur kissed Xavier's skin and made him feel like he was in heaven. He had forgotten how to breathe after seeing her.
Obviously, it was an unexpected moment in her life. She had experienced physical agony when her bones had fractured and rearranged. Her shifting had heightened her scent, screaming that she was a virgin, unmated, and unmarked she-wolf. She would easily draw any danger to her way. As the notion of Kiara being stolen by another guy crossed Xavier's thoughts, he clenched his palms at his sides. She was his woman. Only his! Even though she was growling at him, he couldn't help but step closer to her.
Kiara had not anticipated running into Xavier again. Why was he here? She had informed her wolf that they would never see their mate again once she had left the pack house. Venus had become enraged, insane, and aggressive at the idea. The wolf had also witnessed that their mate had not intervened. He allowed them to leave. He hadn't wanted them. Kiara was pleased that she shifted, even though it hurt since it meant that she could protect herself from attackers after she left the Sirius Bright Pack. Wolf always desired blood after the first shift, that's what Venus and Kiara were up to. Their minds had been taken over by blood lust. She wanted to leap on the Alpha in front of her because he smelt so good, orange and whisky. Her mouth watered again like it had previously. However, she couldn't take her mate's blood. She couldn't take anything from him since she'd learned that he wasn't hers. She was heartbroken but she refused to show it.
Xavier saw Kiara taking her step back. She intended to sprint to the other side of the clearing. If she did, she would be able to escape the pack.
“Stop!” She had already fled, just as he had predicted. Kiara ran for about half a minute before transforming into her human form. She might murder several innocent people if she stayed in her wolf form. The first shift had sapped all of her energy and strength. She was dizzy and exhausted. After leaving the territory, she decided to go hunting.
She had nowhere to go, but she could live alone in the woods as long as Venus was with her, but Xavier's arrival reminded her of everything that had happened that night. She refused to let her tears fall from her eyes as she continued walking miserably on her trembling legs. Soon, everything became blurry before her eyes, and she began to drop to the ground. Until the big bad Alpha leaped in front of her, pulling her up into his embrace before she collapsed onto the ground.
"Didn't you hear me? Didn't I tell you to stop?" Staring down at her crimson face, Xavier asked. Kiara attempted to open her eyes, feeling comfortable in her mate's embrace. She had her head on his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat. Why was his heartbeat so rapid, as if he was scared?
“I have no reason to stop,” Xavier heard Kiara whisper as he felt her naked breasts against his. Fuck! He was getting hard! His hand wove itself into her hair, gently clutching at it. As his arm curled tightly around her tiny waist, her small face turned up to gaze at his face.
“Taste my blood,” he stated as his greedy eyes moved from her breast to her lips. Kiara was stunned by Xavier's proposal. What exactly had he said?
“I can’t,” she shook her head. "I will find a substitute," she insisted, but the Alpha scowled. What exactly had she meant by "substitute"? Would she feed herself with the blood of another man? With those grim thoughts, Xavier's expression darkened. Kiara felt him raise her nude legs up and securely wrap them around his waist.
"Nothing can substitute me in your life," he whispered, staring at her rosy lips hungrily as his large hands cradled her hips, firmly holding her. Her gaze was fixed on him as she put her hands around his neck. “Do it,” One of his hands moved her tenderly to his neck, where he encouraged her to taste his blood. He moaned internally as soon as Kiara's lips brushed his sensitive marking spot. Dean pushed his neck against the softness of her lips, waiting for her canine teeth to sink into his flesh, but Kiara seemed taken aback. If she buried her canines in his neck, she may inadvertently mark him. It was a huge risk. She remained to stare at his marking spot, swallowing her lust, and suffering. It was torturous to be so close to your mate but unable to mark him.
“Do it!” Xavier continued yearning for it. But Kiara bit her lip, shedding tears on his shoulder helplessly. He clasped her hair once again, drawing her close to his face, admiring her tear-streaked red cheeks. His heart skipped a beat as he saw her desperate gaze. Kiara closed her eyes with a pained moan when she felt his sharp canines plunge deep into her marking spot. What was he doing? He delved further and deeper until he located the spot. Kiara moaned loudly as his canines pulled out of her skin, then he kissed and sucked her sensitive skin. “Mark me!” Xavier led her back to his neck. Kiara, who had been lost in pleasure and pain had not realized when her wolf sunk her canines into her mate's neck, marking him deep into his soul and forever sealing their bond. She licked the spot closed. Xavier tightened his grasp on Kiara's hot little shaking body, sighing in ecstasy. He was puzzled over how the marking could be so pleasurable. Their bond drew them closer until they had become one.
When Kiara had finished tasting his blood and marking him, Xavier's eager hands let her body fill his arms. Her eyes were closed as she struggled to take a breath. She was exhausted, yet she could feel herself in a possessive grip that was taking her someplace. She blinked, her eyes open to find Xavier. He drew her up even higher, causing her to wrap her arms around his neck.
“Where are you taking me?” She wondered, not looking anywhere except at him.
“Back to the packhouse. Who told you you could leave?” He lifted his brows in a challenge but was unable to intimidate her. Had she forgotten about his pledge to catch her if she tried to leave?
"You don't want me," she reminded him. Returning to his world was pointless since he didn't desire her.
“I don't want a mate,” he reminded her.
“Aren't those things the same?” She questioned. He came to a halt and looked down at her, giving her his entire attention.
"I don't need a mate, but I do need a surrogate. Our contract is still in effect and it will not be terminated until you deliver a child. I haven't changed my mind," he said quietly, his gaze fixed on her leaning against his chest.
"Does that imply we'll be together for a year like you said?" She inquired, raising his heartbeat with her innocence. His body was on fire as a result of her doing so.
“Yes, only for a year,” he cleared his throat and resumed walking. Kiara smiled as she nodded her head. It appears that the Moon Goddess granted her permission to remain with her mate for a year regardless of her position as a surrogate. It was preferable to rejection, even if it was only for a few months, Kiara wanted to enjoy her mate's warmth. Not to be greedy. It was enough for her because she had never anticipated anything greater in her life.
“And even if I had known you were my mate from the beginning…” Kiara lifted her gaze when she noticed he had been giving her the answer that she had cut off back on the stage. Xavier paused and halted his walk to look down at the angel in his arms. Her big eyes were curious and beautiful.
“I would have chosen only you, no other woman,” he assured her, capturing her lips softly. Kiara closed her eyes, losing herself to him.