His control snapped...

From the moment he stumbled into this room and saw the frail looking but drop dead gorgeous blonde woman on that bed, something inside him had instantly pressed him to claim her.

Her green eyes seemed to draw him in, even more so her scent that smelled like fresh lilies in morning due.

'Who is this woman? Why am I feeling such a strange pull to her?'

Alpha Kane dragged her closer, his restraint dissolving like it had never existed. His fingers tightened around her waist, pulling her flush against him as if distance itself was unbearable.

Sarina's breath hitched.

Her heart pounded wildly, loud enough she was sure he could hear it. But she didn't push him away.

She couldn't.

Maybe it was the drug.

Maybe it was the years of quiet, foolish admiration she had buried deep inside her for the alpha. All those years of secretly watching him from the distance, quietly nursing a stupid little crush for someone who didn't even know she existed.

Or maybe...

Maybe it was the way her body didn't recoil. Not like it had when she thought it would be Alpha Jones walking through that door.

His lips hovered over hers closely and the fire inside her burned even hotter, it flared but she fought with all her might to resist the effects of that drug Emily injected her with.

"I don't know who you are..." he murmured, his voice rough, strained. "But let me love you... just for tonight."

There was something raw in his tone. Not just desire, desperation, vulnerability. It broke through her fear, broke through the restraint she was working hard to hold onto.

Sarina nodded almost immediately.

"Okay..." The whisper slipped through her lips ever so softly and that was all he needed.

His mouth crashed against hers, and the world seemed to have disappeared.

Heat surged between them, overwhelming and consuming. His kiss wasn't gentle, but it wasn't cruel either. It was urgent, like he was holding onto something slipping through his fingers.

His mouth felt hot and soft at the same time, tongue slipping through her lips making a soft moan rumble in her throat.

Sarina clung to him instinctively, she had never been kissed like this before, it felt like fire was consuming her whole body, that strange spark came sharper, blazing through everywhere he touched her.

It shot through her chest, stealing her breath.

Alpha Kane stilled for a fraction of a second. His grip tightened.

She could see in his eyes that he felt it too.

Her lips had tasted as soft as berries, he had never felt this way kissing a woman before. She was hot yet inexperienced that he had to guide her mouth to follow the rhythm of his kiss until he felt that sharp spark.

'What is this feeling?'

He stopped, gazing into her dreamy green eyes, they were moist, filled up with a sheen of desire that he also felt ten times hotter than hers. Since he set eyes on this woman, he felt like he couldn't look away.

Not even with his late wife had he ever felt something this intense... this immediate.

This...

This felt like a mate bond.

But that couldn't be...this woman couldn't be his mate. He had never once found his fated mate since he had decided to choose his previous wife as his mate.

Leonard kissed her again just to feel that spark, it burned, singed, deliciously and coiled all the way to his heart.

No, this wasn't the mate bond...this was just another effect from whatever had been in that drink he had at the party.

He couldn't control his desire, she melted beneath him, face flushed as he slowly led his erection towards her entrance, the sleek feeling of wetness made his eyes roll back as he entered her...he was too far gone in the bliss to register the momentary obstruction or the slightly pained gasp she released in that moment.

"It hurts." She whispered dazedly.

"Shh...I'll make it better."

Somewhere within the haze, he kissed her pain away, gently, gentler than he'd ever been with any other woman.

He couldn't get enough of her, even after he reached the first release, the second, the third...

Somewhere along the line it was no longer that strange intoxication driving him anymore, it was a new obsession and hunger for this woman. A hunger that couldn't be satisfied... eventually he seemed to have tired her out as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

He found himself kissing her everywhere, the strange desire to worship her, until slowly he fell asleep peacefully lulled by her addictive scent.

---

Hours later, silence filled the room.

Sarina lay curled against a strong and hard body, her head resting lightly against his chest. His arm was still draped around her, his breathing deep and steady.

For a moment, just a moment, it felt safe.

Until...

BANG!

The door slammed open.

Sarina jolted upright, panic crashing into her as reality came rushing back.

Distant voices suddenly flooded the room.

"Dad, how could you do this?!" Emily's voice rang out, sharp with anger. "Sarina was brought into the Alpha's room instead?! That creep alpha Jones almost had his way with me, luckily I tricked him into falling asleep and escaped!"

"Fuck!" Beta Simon cursed under his breath. "I gave that guard the wrong key."

Sarina's stomach dropped.

Wrong key?

So that was how she ended up with the alpha last night?

The alpha... realization slammed into her and all the memories of the way he touched her last night came crashing back.

Her thoughts spiraled as she glanced back at the man beside her. He was beautiful, every rigidly handsome part of his face irresistible, but she knew last night would never had happened if he wasn't under the influence of that drug Emily gave him.

He stirred and panic shot through Sarina's heart.

"Dad, fix this!" Emily hissed urgently at the very same moment...

Alpha Kane's eyes snapped open. His grey eyes were sharp, alert, and his aura felt infinitely dangerous.

The air shifted instantly into something cold and deadly.

"Alpha Kane!" Beta Simon rushed forward, his tone suddenly filled with false panic. "I'm so sorry! It seems my daughter Sarina played a dirty trick here tonight."

Sarina's head whipped toward him.

What...?

"Emily and I only found out too late," he continued smoothly. "We rushed here as soon as we could, but it seems..." He sighed dramatically. "It's already too late."

The Alpha sat up slowly, his expression hardened as his gaze swept the room landing finally on Sarina who was in bed next to him.

Sarina hoped...hoped that by some miracle he would feel whatever connection they'd had last night again, but the cold detachment in his eyes told her otherwise.

"What's going on here?" he asked, his voice cold, and authoritative.

Emily stepped forward immediately.

"Sarina has been lusting after your wealth for years, Alpha Kane." Emily said with disgust. "I never thought she'd go this far."

Sarina stared at her step-sister in disbelief.

"She drugged your drink," Emily continued, venom dripping from every word. "Just so she could spend the night with you and trap you into marriage."

"No...!" Sarina's voice broke as she scrambled forward. "I didn't! Please, Alpha Kane, it was..."

"You drugged me?" His growl cut through her words like a blade. He looked at her as if suddenly realizing why he had felt something for her last night.

"You drugged me?" His growl cut through her words like a blade. He looked at her as if suddenly realizing why he had felt something for her last night.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly, bringing a chilling coldness, as cold as his frigid expression.

"It wasn't me!" she pleaded desperately. "My father and Emily, they were trying to use you to pay off his debts! I don't even know how we ended up in the same-"

"Enough!"

The word slammed into her like a physical force. His eyes were dark, so dark she could feel his rage radiating in the air she breathed.

Those eyes that had gazed at her so sweetly, so gently last night were now filled with something she had never wanted directed at her.

Disgust.

"You disgust me." He growled menacingly, disappointment laced in his tone.

Sarina froze, her chest tightened painfully.

He stood up grabbing his clothes and pulling them on with sharp, efficient movements.

Each second felt like a lifetime.

"Alpha Kane..." she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.

He didn't hesitate.

"I don't ever want to see your face again," he said coldly. "God help you if I do."

Then he walked out.

Just like that he was gone, taking that strange, fragile connection she had felt last night with him.

"Alpha, please don't take your anger out on us!" Beta Simon hurried after him. "This daughter of mine is a disgrace, she is no longer part of my family!"

The words echoed in Sarina's ears, ringing repeatedly.

How could her own father hate her this much? How could her own father betray her and abandon her as if she was nothing, absolutely nothing.

The door slammed shut again and a cold silence settled in Sarina's heart. A sharp emptiness until a loud mocking laughter erupted in the room.

"It seems you're no longer a member of the Dawson family," Emily said with a mocking smile. "And poor thing..." She tilted her head. "The Alpha doesn't want you either."

Sarina's vision blurred with tears.

"What have I ever done to you?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "Why do you hate me so much?"

For a moment, Emily's smile faltered, then it twisted into something darker.

"Blame that face of yours," she snapped. "The one that makes every man choose you over me."

Sarina was confused by Emily's words.

"Remember Derek?" Emily continued bitterly. "He was supposed to like me. But then you showed up, smiling like you always do, and suddenly he couldn't see anyone else."

Sarina's memories flickered back to the past, she remembered the boy who had tried to woo her once before.

"I never liked Derek," she said softly. "I rejected him..."

"Who cares?!" Emily cut her off sharply. "He wanted you anyway!"

The words hit her harder than expected.

"And now?" Emily smirked. "You have nothing." She reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of cash.

"Take this as your severance pay. Don't ever think of showing your face here again!"

The notes scattered across Sarina as Emily threw them in her face. Her laughter sinking into Sarina's heart, causing it to break a thousand times faster. The tears that poured down her face burned hot, and she wished she could disappear from existence just so she could stop feeling this pain.

"Goodbye." Emily turned, waving sweetly over her shoulder as she walked out.

Her laughter echoed long after she was gone.

The silence that suddenly fell over the room felt heavy and empty.

Sarina sat there, unmoving, alone, completely alone. Slowly, she looked down at the money scattered around her.

Everything she had, her home, her family, her dignity were gone in a single night.

Her hands trembled and the tears streamed down in heavy torrents. In a single night, everything had fallen apart. She'd lost her home... though it never once treated her kindly she had masochistically held onto her small family, now she realized giving everything for her father and step-sister hadn't earned their love at all. They didn't care about her, they never did.

And the alpha...he didn't know her before this, but he certainly hated her now.

"I didn't do anything..." she whispered brokenly.

But no one was there to hear her. And for the first time in her life...

Sarina had nowhere left to go.

.....

Weeks had passed since that night, yet nothing had changed.

If anything, it had gotten worse.

Alpha Leonard Kane woke with a sharp inhale, his chest rising and falling unevenly as that same, relentless ache pulsed through him.

It wasn't a physical type of pain, not entirely, but it hurt, badly.

"Why..." he muttered, dragging a hand down his face before pressing it against the left side of his chest. "Why have I been feeling this way since that night?"

His brows furrowed, the emptiness was there again. It was gnawing and constant, so unforgiving.

Her face flashed through his mind again, like it did every single day after that night.

Soft green eyes filled with tears looking up at him.

The ache intensified instantly. Leo stiffened, his jaw tightening.

"Damn it," he hissed under his breath.

Why her?

Why now?

Why couldn't he get her out of his head?

She haunted him at the worst possible times. In meetings, during patrol reports, even in his sleep.

That night replayed itself over and over again, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it.

And what angered him most was that he didn't understand why.

'Is she our mate Revan?' he asked his wolf. He could have sworn that the spark he felt from her that night had been the mate bond, but what if it was nothing but the effects of the drug she used on him?

'I don't know, she smells different, she doesn't have a wolf, I can't tell if she is our mate or not.' Revan replied. It was obvious his wolf was also slightly bewildered about the whole thing.

'But she is different...' Revan added, 'Different from Everly, different from any other she-wolf we've ever met before. When you were with her I felt...'

A low, frustrated growl built in his chest.

'Enough Revan, we can't feel things for any female ever again.'

Revan went silent in his head after that, it was evident his wolf agreed with him, even if they both had been feeling this strange and heavy longing for the past week.

'Alpha, the pack elders have arrived.'

Timothy, his beta's voice echoed through the mind link.

Leo exhaled sharply, forcing his emotions down.

"On my way."

The Moon Tower's conference room was already filled when he entered. Conversation died instantly and every head lowered in respect.

"Alpha." The pack elders echoed, standing up on their feet as he entered.

Leo gave a brief nod, taking his seat at the head of the long table.

"Let's get this over with." He announced, his eyes skimming over everyone present. He never liked to spend too much time in the presence of these people, if they weren't discussing pack matters, they would be on his neck about their next Luna, and that was a conversation he didn't like to have at all.

As if on cue with his thoughts, immediately after Elder Freya finished discussing the pack's healthcare system, she switched the topic.

From her expression, he already knew what was coming.

"Alpha," Elder Freya began carefully, her aged voice steady. "It has been three years since Luna Everly passed."

The room grew heavier immediately the previous Luna was mentioned.

Leo's expression hardened.

"We believe it is time..." the elder continued, "...time for the pack to crown a new Luna."

They had never spoken of a new Luna this directly before, usually they mentioned it stealthily, carefully even. It seemed they had grown desperate, this time speaking about it upfront without any indirect hints.

Another elder nodded in agreement, it seemed they had all planned beforehand to bring up this conversation, determined to coerce him into heeding their advice.

"Elder Freya is right, Alpha. A pack is incomplete without a Luna to stand beside its Alpha." Elder Gilbert said and they all murmured their agreements.

Luna.

The word echoed in his mind, and with it came that image again.

Her. That woman who had been in his suite that night...

On the bed, her long blonde hair scattered all around her, clothes disheveled from how he'd rumpled them, impatiently entering her because he was unable to continue controlling himself.

She was breathless, those same green eyes staring up at him.

Leo's hands clenched into fists.

Not again.

Not now.

A sharp crack echoed through the room as his fist slammed against the table.

The elders all flinched at once, though they had decided collectively to bring up this topic and push it to the alpha further, they had never expected him to have such a fierce reaction to it.

"Since when?" he said coldly, his voice dropping dangerously low, "Since when have you all taken it upon yourselves to manage my personal life?"

Silence, a thick, oppressive silence stretched. No one could dare to say a word, not with the alpha radiating this amount of rage. He never got this angry even when Luna Everly's name was mentioned in the past, why was he so furious now when they were only suggesting he crown another Luna for their pack?

"Blue Moon Pack is the strongest pack in the world," he continued, his alpha aura beginning to seep out. "We lack nothing."

The pressure in the room intensified.

Several elders lowered their heads immediately, unable to withstand it.

"If anyone dares bring up the topic of a Luna to me again..." His eyes darkened. "You won't like the consequences."

"Forgive us, Alpha," they quickly said in unison. "We have overstepped."

Having no choice, all the elders quietly retreated from the conversation.

The tension lingered for a moment longer before Leo stood abruptly.

"Meeting dismissed."

He didn't wait for a response as he stalked out of the room.

Timothy stared at his back, bewildered by his reaction.

'He has never gotten angry before when the elders talk about a new Luna, why is he so furious now?'

He stormed out of the conference room, irritation still simmering beneath the surface.

"Alpha Leo."

He stopped, Tim approached carefully. It seemed like there was a ticking time bomb around the alpha, he had to be careful if he didn't want that bomb to explode on him too.

"Grand Luna is waiting for you in your office."

Leo closed his eyes briefly, rubbing his temple.

His grandmother?

"Did she say why?" he asked flatly.

Tim hesitated. "No, Alpha."

Leo exhaled slowly. Somehow he already knew what the old woman wanted to talk to him about. Who else would be behind the elders constantly reminding him to crown a new Luna?

---

The moment he stepped into his office, she stood up from the sofa.

"Why were you so harsh to the elders today? They were just thinking about what's best for the pack." Grand Luna Yolanda began to scold immediately her grandson arrived.

Her gaze was sharp and assessing, calculating even but there was no warmth there.

Grand Luna Yolanda might be considered a sweet old woman by some, but to her grandson she was strict and harsh, always determined to get him married to some alpha's daughter she was trying to arrange for him. It was no surprise she already heard what happened at the meeting with the elders even though it had just happened, the woman had eyes and ears that would report everything to her live as it happened.

"I don't plan on taking another Luna, Grandma. The sooner you accept that, the easier things will be for us all."

Ever since he lost Everly, Leo had sworn to himself that he would never have another woman by his side ever again, and he had never desired anyone until...

He immediately shut down the thought before he could remember that woman from that night again.

"A week ago," Grand Luna Yolanda began without preamble, "you had a woman in your suite."

Leo's expression didn't change but his shoulders stiffened slightly. He wasn't surprised she came to know about that, his grandmother knew absolutely everything that happened within the pack.

"Are you finally deciding to remarry?" She asked excitedly, like a child who was hoping to be given a truckload of ice cream.

He suppressed the urge to sigh.

"Who told you?" he asked instead, his tone cool even though he already knew how she must have come about the information.

Her lips curved faintly. "I have my ways."

Of course she did.

Leo shot a brief glance toward the door.

Tim was definitely going to hear about this later, from what he knew, his beta might be among one of his grandmother's sources.

"I'm not getting married," he said flatly, dashing the old woman's hopes even before she could begin to cook up weird plans.

Her eyes narrowed. "Then who was she?"

Leo stiffened, the question lingered in the air but he said no words to answer.

Who was she?

Her face surfaced again like a dream that refused to end, her tears, the fear he'd clearly seen on that gorgeous face.

And something else...

Something that twisted that strange ache in his chest even tighter.

"I don't know," he said finally, his voice quieter than before.

That wasn't entirely a lie, he didn't know her name. Didn't know where she came from even though his late father's beta had called her his daughter. He'd never even seen her before that night, though he didn't pay attention to every single member of his pack, a face that beautiful, that charming it stuck to his mind, if he'd seen her, he would never forget.

He didn't even know why she affected him the way she did, but he knew one thing...

He hadn't been able to forget her, not for a single day.

His grandmother watched him closely, studying every expression as it flickered on his face.

"Find her Leo, clearly she has occupied your mind."

Leo's gaze snapped back to hers.

"What?" he didn't think his emotions showed on his face. He was so accustomed to binding every feeling behind an indifferent expression and no one would see it.

"If a woman can linger in your mind this long," his grandmother said sharply, "then she is not ordinary. Have you thought that she might just be your fated mate?"

His jaw tightened.

"She is not," he replied coldly. "She is just a mistake that will never happen again."

But even as he said it, that ache in his chest flared again, stronger and sharper this time, like his heart was rejecting the lie he was trying to tell himself.

His grandmother didn't miss that expression which fleeted past his silver orbs. Her eyes gleamed faintly.

"You can lie to me, Leo" she said calmly. "But you cannot lie to your wolf."

Those words hit him hard and his hands tightened into strong fists.

'No Leo, she is not your mate...she can't be...' he told himself repeatedly so it wouldn't become a fact that would settle deep into his heart yet at the thought of her, something in his wolf melted and warmed up.