RYDER'S POV

My eyes couldn't be lifted from the beauty before me as she and Amelia, my younger sister, interacted; she wasn't spilling much, but I knew some secret she wished to bury and not talk about lay buried behind those eyes of hers.

I was so hooked up by her that when she asked how I wanted her to pay back, I blurted out, "Marry me." I had uttered the word out loud before I realized what had happened.

"Ryder!" Amelia's eyes changed a bit. "Come on, Ryder, you don't want to take advantage of someone in this kind of situation," Amelia said, trying to talk sense into me.

"Take advantage? Why will I? You know as much as I do that I am asexual. I don't want anything to do with any she-wolf out there; none appeals to me sexually," I said. I was asexual; I have been for as long as I could remember. I just never felt any form of pull towards any gender romantically, but looking at Maya now, I can admit I wasn't so sure anymore.

"I wonder why you want to marry her in the first place?" Amelia argued back.

"Her child!"

"What does this have to do with her child?" Amelia asked me,

"If I eventually marry her, her child will be mine automatically; that way I will secure my line without the councils of elders being on my neck every damn time," I explained, but deep within me, I knew there was more to wanting her child to be mine; I wanted her to be mine.

Amelia looked half convinced, but I knew the Miss Goody Two-shoes that was my sister was definitely still against making Maya adhere to that.

"Moreover, it will only be for 10 months; when the child is born, she can leave it here if she wishes, or she could stay here in the pack and raise it with me, as its mother, but we'd be separated after that year," I explained, trying to convince Amelia and ultimately Maya.

My wolf wanted her beside me; I didn't know why, but that was what I wanted.

"I'm so sorry, but I can't. Is there another way I could repay you?" Maya finally spoke up; it was almost as though she hated me without even completely knowing me, or was it that she hated all men in general? I would never know, since she wasn't saying much.

"Of course, you don't have to," Amelia said to her in the soft tone. "Here in the Mooresville pack, you always have to pay back what you get, but you can pay back in any other way, not necessarily what my brother proposes-marrying him," she said, eyeing me as she spoke to Maya.

"I can do anything, but I can't get married to anyone," Maya said in a final tone. Whatever it was that had happened to her, I wanted to know.

"It's fine; you can rest now and work as a slave here for the next year, then you'll be free of whatever you owe and may choose to leave afterwards," Amelia said reassuringly.

I scoffed when she acted like this; it almost seemed as though she was the alpha here and not me.

********

I stood by the window of my room, watching as different members of the pack used and maltreated Maya. It was the law; she was not one of us, and as long as she survived in our land, she could be used in any way. I wondered how long she'd survive in this place. They were more respectful to her than I'd thought they'd be. I wonder what they'll do when they find out she was from the Nightshade pack, our number one.

enemy's territory.

"Hmm! You keep watching her, why?" Amelia said from behind me. startling me. I said from behind me, startling me, and I jumped.

"Nothing, I wasn't looking at her, just worried she might be in danger around here," I said quickly.

"I know, behind all of those hard

Wolfie, features of yours lay out a generous and good man. I knew you wanted to protect her, and that's why you asked her to marry you, but why?" Amelia noted.

window just glanced back at the time to see Maya make her way into my place. In a matter of minutes, she entered the room I and Carla were in.

The room went silent for a while, no one saying anything, then Maya spoke up.

"I've accepted to do it," she announced.

"You'll do what?" I asked; Amelia looked more confused.

"Oh no, you don't have to do anything you don't want to," Amelia said to her, realizing what she had meant.

"No, I want to do it. I am tired of being stepped upon everywhere I go, I am tired of being weak, and if marrying you for a year will make everyone else fall below me, then I am ready! Plus, you guys saved my life, so if I can make your lives comfortable in any way, I'm willing to help," she explained. She sounded so angry and determined.

"One more thing, I will have to mark you." I spoke up. Amelia looked at me as though she was going to rip off my head if I didn't shut my mouth, but I ignored her and continued. "Have you ever been marked?" I asked her.

"No," she simply replied. She's pregnant; she must have been marked for the baby to come around.

"When and how did the baby come about?" I nonchalantly asked, did she just sleep with men even though they weren't mated to her? I thought, and somehow the thought of that made my heart skip.

"RYDER!!" Amelia screamed my name, calling me to order; she seems to be getting worn out with my wound-opening questions.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the right time and right question to ask," I concluded in my thoughts.

"It's fine," Maya shrugged at Amelia, then turned to me.

"I never got marked; its father never marked me. We only had fun once, and it landed in this," she replied, pointing to her stomach. Her eyes had a glint of sadness in them as she spoke, but she still managed to keep a straight face.

Then, beginning to roll up the sleeves of her clothes, she stretched out her hand to me. "Here, mark me," she said with so much conviction.

I gave her a strange look, asking with my eyes if she was sure she

nodded and then stretched out her hand more as though she was impatient to get it over with.

I gently called upon my inner wolf, my fangs began to grow out, I breathed in hard, and then, slowly, I marked her by her arm.

RYDER'S POV

I was jolted by Richard's deep voice, "Hello, Alpha Ryder."

"You are here," I said. "Alpha Caleb of Nightshade wants to discuss a peace treaty?" I asked as I paced in my room alongside my best friend and right-hand beta, Richard.

"Yes, and he wants us to fix a date as soon as possible," he responded.

"Fix a date? That's fast. What about the location?" I asked.

"He has offered to come here, to Mooresville Pack," Richard answered.

"Alpha Caleb is a chameleon, Alpha, more cunning than his father; there's something he wants, something that he can't reach unless he comes inside our territory," I deduced.

"So what are you going to do, Ryder?" Richard asked.

I paused for a while to think through what to do. "What do you perhaps think he wants with us?" I asked, but he didn't react. "Do you think he could be after the moonstone?" I asked.

"The moonstone? Why?" Richard questioned. "He only has half of it, and so do you, and no one has chased after it since the Cold War; why want it now?" He added.

"He's not ordinary; Caleb has always been a power-hungry fool," I hissed out.

"Inform him we'd be coming to Nightshade instead; he doesn't have to come here," I decided sharply. "And tell him, this time around, he doesn't need to prepare two separate rooms; I won't be going with Carla, but with my new bride, Maya.'" I explained to Richard, who stood listening attentively to everything I was saying,

"Make sure to stress the bride part; he needs to know I got my Luna before he did," I stressed.

"Got it corrected. I'd pass this information to him just like you conveyed and get back to you." Richard said as he began to walk out the door, and then from the entrance, I caught sight of Maya, standing in the doorway, her face pale as though she'd seen a ghost. Nate bowed to her as he left and rushed to her side immediately.

"Hey, are you okay? You look as white as Snow; anything wrong? I asked her as

I slowly led her to the bed. She was mute, trembling as though something bad had happened.

"Maya?" I called, holding her hands in mine, trying to offer some comfort, but she took her hands from mine slowly and then turned to look me in the eye.

"Ryder, there is something you need to know," she stammered, her voice trembling more than her hands.

"Okay, what's that?" I asked in a very calm tone.

"I am from Nightshade," she declared, but I already knew that much about her.

"Yes, that's no news, well, at least to me. Is that why you're worried? You must have heard my conversation with Richard; it's totally fine. If anything, you'd know your way around your people," I reassured him.

I'm aware she was now an outlaw, but what could she have done, gotten pregnant without a husband? Well, that was a forgivable offense.

"No! I...I," she stammered. I squeezed her hands tighter to reassure her it was nothing to be worried about.

Then, at that moment, Richard arrived back in the room. "I spoke with Caleb's beta, and yes, the date is tomorrow, and he's expecting you and the Luna and your escort," Richard reported.

"Tomorrow?" I asked to be certain.

"Yes," he curtly said.

"So we might have to leave today?" I asked.

"Yes, I'll get the others ready," Richard said and disappeared through the door. I turned back to Kayla. "What were you saying?" I asked.

"I can't go to Nightshade," she declared, standing to her feet. "I'd barely escaped, and now you want me back in that place where I'll be hunted? I'm sorry, but I can't accompany you back there!" she added as she began to pace around the room.

I stood up from the bed and walked up to her. "What exactly is wrong with going back home?" I asked.

"I'm a murderer, Caleb," she burst out as tears began to fall freely from her eyes down to her cheek.

"What!...A murderer?" I asked. "Like you killed someone? A fellow wolf?" I asked again just to be sure I'd heard well.

"No, no, I didn't kill anyone," she said defensively, raising her head. "I don't know how it all happened. This baby," she pointed at her stomach, "it's Caleb's," she said.

I ran my hands through my hair and breathed in hard. "The baby is Caleb's? You mean, you were with Caleb?" I repeated.

"He was my mate; he rejected me already; he felt I was weak, and Layla, my best friend, a beta, was more fit to be his Luna," she explained, and I didn't know if I should feel relieved or not.

"And, well, he marked my best friend, Layla, and somehow, she died, and the last person she was seen with was me or something. I'm not so sure, but I ended up becoming the prime suspect, the murderer, and I only made it here with the help of my sister, who alerted me on time," she explained, rushing her words, and somehow, I could understand.

I believed her; I knew she was telling the truth. The woman before me couldn't hurt an ant, I was sure of it, so she couldn't have killed anyone, and as weak as she was, she couldn't have killed a beta.

I escaped my hand through my hair one more time, contemplating what to do. "We are going back to Nightshade," I said finally, and she rushed towards me.

"You don't understand, Ryder, I can't. I'd be hunted, killed, and that would be the end of me, of my baby," she sobbed harder.

"Well, you are not going as Maya of Nightshade Pack; you are going as Luna Maya of Mooresville Pack," I dropped the bomb. "No... I repeat, no alpha could touch the Luna of another alpha, let alone have her killed."

"Uh? Is that possible? Would the title shield me?!" she asked.

"Got that! "And when we do get back, we will be cleaning your name, and you will be coming back to Mooresville Pack with your sister," I assured her.

*****

I and Maya finally arrived in Nightshade, just as planned, and as we entered, we were ushered to a large hall where a huge wedding ceremony was taking place.

My eyes met with the groom, and it happened to be Alpha Caleb. I didn't know the bride, but she was grinning ear to ear, probably love-struck by Caleb.

I gazed at Maya, who stood beside me, but her gaze was fixed on the couple getting married, particularly the bride. She had a mixture of emotions on her face as she watched them; tears began to well up in her eyes.

"What's wrong? You know her?" I asked; of course, I knew she knew the lady; she had been a member of Nightshade until some 16 days ago.

"Yes," she answered. I turned back to look at the couple. "That is definitely my sister, Elena," she added. I immediately looked back at her, my eyes wide as though they'd jump out of their sockets anytime from now.

It sent a shiver down to her spine; tears in her eyes dropped freely now as she ran out of the hall. Thankfully, no one noticed.