Alpha Kael's POV

"Jessica, I have to let you go, I'm so sorry if I've hurt you, but, I now have a fated mate", I said plainly, my voice void of any emotions.

Her full lips curl up in a sneer, "So that's it, Kael, after everything I've done for you."

A subtle sigh escaped my lips, this will definitely be harder than I initially thought. Jessica was the best choice for a Luna, since I thought I wouldn't get a second chance mate. But now things are different, I could barely take my eyes off my mate at the welcome dinner three nights ago.

"What we have is real, Kael", she continues, "I love you so much, I'm even ready to let go of my mate for you", she pulls me close, with a soft pout on her lips and tears streaming down her face.

I take a wide step backwards, "First, it's Alpha to you not Kael, and the deal is until we find our mates, which is the case right now".

She quickly wipes the "crocodile" tears off her face, and said, "I will have you no matter what, I will be damned if I let anyone else have you", she takes one last look at me and stomps out of my office, slamming the wooden door behind her. 

My thoughts drift to my beautiful mate, it has been three whole nights since the scary attack by the rogues. I wish I had acknowledged her as my mate. My fears had resurfaced at the sight of her.

My past and scars held me back, now I regret all of it. I want her by my side as my Luna. 

I wonder how she and Martha were able to fight off three fully grown male wolves, all by themselves. 

A loud knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. The door is pushed open by none other than my best friend and Beta, Aldin. His warm brown eyes meet mine, with a look of mischief. 

"Hi, Princess", he said aloud as he plopped himself into a chair, lifting his feet and placing them on MY TABLE!!!

A look of disdain crosses my face, giving him a menacing glare, "Take your stinky feet off my desk, and I told you a million times to stop calling me princess."

He just throws me an annoying grin, "Since you don't want me around, I won't tell you that your precious Luna is awake, and definitely not asking about you."

I shoot up so fast from my seat and speed downstairs towards the infirmary. Aldin's hard footsteps follow closely behind me. 

My heart pounding so hard against my chest, beads of sweat coated my palms, my usual cold demeanour looking extremely antsy as we approached the door.

"I never thought I'd see the day the great Alpha Kael will be so scared of a woman's wrath", Aldin cackles at my expense. 

I give him one last look before twisting the door knobs gently and letting myself in.

My beautiful mate and Maria roar with laughter, but stop abruptly at the sight of me.

Martha gives me a dark look and spins towards my mate asking, "Would you like me to stay or leave?"

Aria gives her a warm smile, "It's okay, you can leave, I'll be just fine."

"I'll be right outside the door, just call out when you need me", Martha states, her feet padded softly past me going out the door.

Aria's once cheerful demeanor turns cold almost immediately. "What do you want, Alpha", she said expressionless.

"I-I...... I'm sorry for not acknowledging you as my mate at the dinner, I take full accountability of the attack", I utter stuttering, "If I would have accepted you then maybe the attack wouldn't have happened at all."

I take a pause, staring at her entrancing hazel eyes, she let out a long sigh.

"Can I ask one thing, why did you ignore me completely?" She asks.

I don't like the coldness towards me but I deserve it and will work hard to get her back. 

"I was scared, I never thought I'd get a second chance mate, Lycans are known to have just one mate for life", I mutter, with my head hung low, "I was scared of getting attached and losing you, like I did my first mate."

"Did you even care how that will make me feel?" she said, gritting her teeth, "You made me feel so worthless."

"Anyways it's all in the past now, you can go on with YOUR JESSICA, I don't care anymore", she screams. 

I draw closer to the edge of the bed taking her tiny hands in mine, "I know you might not believe me right now but I will spend the rest of my life if possible showing you how much you mean to me."

She gives me a long look and replies, "I now know that I deserve so much more, prove your words to me, then I might consider giving you a chance."

"I'll prove it to you, I promise", I answer with conviction.

"You can come in now, idiot, and quit eavesdropping", I tell Aldin through the mindlink.

"Whatever, you are lucky to have me", he answers as he steps into the room.

"Well, well, how are you doing, pretty Luna?"Aldin said cheerfully, "Oops,  I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Handsome Aldin, Kael's Beta". He stretches his arm out giving my mate a firm handshake. 

"I'm Aria, it's nice to meet you", she said with red cheeks. 

Meant for me alone, I think, already getting jealous already at their interaction. 

I shake off the thought as fast as it came, what is happening to me, my little Kitten was making me feel things I never felt before.

The door knob twists open, with Martha's head popping in with curiosity, "Can I come in now?"she asked, staring at my mate.

Aria nods briefly with a smile and turns back towards Aldin.

Martha steps into the room with a steaming cup of coffee placing it carefully by the bed for my mate. 

She joins in the conversation with Aldin as well, sporting a huge grin.

"I hope you made things right this time Cuz, you disappointed me that night, she is the strongest and most genuine she-wolf I've ever met" Maria said across the mindlink.

"I've started working on it, but I'll prove to her how much she means to me in time", I reply with a smile.

"Thank goodness you're finally getting rid of that, barbie doll, Jessica", she mutters with disgust.

I release a low chuckle, "You've always never really liked her, you know, though almost every other she-wolf in the pack adores her."

"She may be strong because of her Beta blood but she is an arrogant, egotistical bully and you know it", she replies.

I shake my head at her antics and let her be. 

The door is pushed open abruptly, in a blink I stand protectively in front of my mate, before her scent hits me.

"Speak of the devil", Martha mutters under her breath. 

A deathly silence envelopes the room as we all wait for the "guest" to state her reason for being here.

"I, Jessica Woods, challenge you, Aria, to a duel for your place as Luna, let the best woman win."

Aria's POV 

"I accept", I said with a daunting smile.

"What!!!"their screams reach my ears.

"Funny how you think, you stand a chance at me", Jessica taunts, "A little attack took you out for days."

A deep guttural growl from my mate for the disrespect makes the look on her face fade instantly.

"That should be my problem, right?", I answer, a sneer appearing on my face, "Take your plastic self out of this room before I do it for you, doll."

Kael and Aldin release gasps in pure shock, my usual timid self completely gone.

Martha sports a huge smile on her face, "This is interesting", she exclaims, "I always knew you had it in you."

Jessica quickly regains herself, "Do not think for a second that your little shenanigans mean anything", she answers quickly, "I will crush you, you better watch your back." She walks briskly out of the room.

"You definitely have your hands full with this one", Aldin finally spoke up, finally recovering from his shock.

"I look forward to it", Alpha Kael answers with  a warm smile, his blue eyes then peer in my direction, "I am not happy with this, Kitten."

My brows rise in question, surprised at the endearment, "I see no problem with my decision, Alpha", I reply, my face turns cold, "You should be happy that you finally have a chance to be with your "beloved" Jessica." I throw him a challenging look, folding my arms.

His beautiful eyes meet mine.......wait did I just say "beautiful"? This mate bond is really something, but I will not let him in so easily.

I get lost again in those orbs, a loud cough breaks me out of the trance I'm in.

"I just remembered, we have eeemmmm some shelves to clean" Martha stutters.

"No we don't............." She pulls a reluctant Aldin out of the room.

A deathly silence fills the room, it is almost suffocating. 

He kneels right by my bed, "First, I'm your mate you will not call me Alpha", I gulp at his tone, "And I have the right to be scared, you're my mate for heaven's sake, Jessica is one of the best female warriors we have and worse with Beta blood flowing in her veins."

"I can even find a way around it and prevent the contest as a whole", he continues with so much conviction. 

"Wait a minute so you're implying that I am weak?", I growl, "Not even the benefit of doubt, you feel she will definitely win, right?"

"You know that's not what I mean, I care about you, she just has years of experience and training on you", he tries to reason.

The keyword "tries", funny how my mate feels like Jessica is better than I am, that's all I can hear.

"We'll show him", Willow states deep in my mind, "In fact we need this trial, mate, needs to understand that we are not some fragile wallflower that needs his saving, the moon goddess made us his mate and Luna for a reason, we'll work our way to the top."

"Thank you, Willow", I answered, "We're in this together."

I pull myself from my thoughts, "Alpha", I mutter a little too sweetly, "I'd like to join the pack's training sessions, as you mentioned I have a lot of catching up to do", I said gritting my teeth in annoyance. 

He gives me a thoughtful gaze for a few seconds, "Sure thing, it would even help you socialize with your pack members before I announce you as Luna."

My eyes roll to the back of my head at his assertion, but I'm too tired to argue. I hum softly in agreement. 

This will definitely be fun, I'm tired of being in the shadows and hiding myself, I think this is my second chance at life to make better decisions and find myself. 

"I'll let you rest a bit, your eyes are drooping already", he says, "Good night, Kitten". He pressed a firm kiss on my forehead before I could move away.

I shoot him a menacing glare which he just winks and chuckles in return to.

My eyes close almost immediately. I hear faint footsteps leave my room, and the door closes shut.

***

"I'm happy my bestie is finally discharged", Martha giggles, trotting beside me.

My lips stretched to a full blown smile, "Same here, shorty", I replied with a wink.

"How dare you, Ria", she says, exasperated, pointing her fingers in my face, "You're just a few inches taller, idiot."

"You sure about that?", she gives me a hard jab.

"I am planning to run away, if you continue at this rate", she continues, "You're worse than I ever was, and they call me a menace."

We burst out in a fit of giggles. Martha has a way of making me feel completely at ease, as we are heading towards Kael's office. He has been trying to dissuade me from competing with Jessica for my position, but I'm aware that it's our tradition and it must be done.

Our feet pad softly against the wooden floor. My palms feel sweaty, I feel so nervous to ask my mate to join in training with other werewolves in the pack.

We arrive at his office door in comfortable silence. Martha threw me a wink and said, "Have fun, kiddo." She leans against the wall, folding her arms.

Just as I was about to knock on the door, his deep voice reached my ears, "Come in, Kitten."

My hands twist the door knob, pushing the door open. My feet slowly step into the office. My eyes reach his blue orbs, he leans back on his chair sporting a teasing smirk.

"I was almost sure you wouldn't come", he says, "You've been running away from me, after being discharged."

I give him a glare, "No, I've just been busy."

"Busy? I've missed you so much, especially your sassy mouth", he finishes with a grin.

"Is that all you called me here for?" I say with an attitude.

A sigh escapes his lips, "I want to spend some time with you, this was the only way I could combine you to meet me."

"I told you I've not been running away, I've just had a lot on my plate these days", I answer. 

"Aria, you said you would give me a chance but you haven't even spared any time for us to get to know each other, please give me a chance I won't ruin it again, please", he utters with so much conviction. 

Butterflies fill my belly, I have missed my mate. Even my wolf, Willow howls at the back of my mind, eager to be close to him.

"Fine, I'll put in effort to make this work", I reply, "Just don't push me away again because of your fears, okay?"

"I can't even push you away now that I have had you so close to me, it's taking every ounce of my strength to push back the urge of holding you in my arms." He says, looking at me intently. 

My cheeks turn beet red at his confession.

"You know that's what has been on your mind though you put on a tough front", Willow says with a smug smile in my mind.

"Shut it, stupid", I retorted, "No one asked you."

She chuckles sweetly, drifting deep into mind. 

Kael stood up from his chair, his solid footsteps approaching me swiftly with ease. I try shifting my gaze away from him but his fingers grip my chin mildly, making me face him.

"I do not want to ruin the moment but I'm scared of you getting hurt during the tournament, would you at least consider pulling out for the meantime."

My defensive walls came up, "I won't do that....."

"Wait, let me finish", he interrupts me firmly, "I will let you compete against her but on one condition." 

"Okay, what's the catch?"

"I would like you to begin training at the pack grounds, so that it'll be a fair fight at least", he says staring into my eyes, "You are the strongest woman I know, please don't think for one second that......."

A thrill of excitement shoots through my veins, without thinking I throw my arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you so much", I interrupted him before he could finish. "Thank you for believing in me and even considering this, I accept."

He gets out of the shock at my actions and wraps his arms around me tightly. 

"It's so hard for me to keep my world at bay and make this arrangement but at least, this is a compromise", he says with a smile. "The smile on your face though makes this decision totally worth it."

I try to pry my hands off him, but he pulls me closer to him, holding me against himself.

"Maria mentioned that Aldin is in charge of training with the Enforcer, so who would be my trainer since I'm starting completely new", I ask.

He chuckles softly, "You think I'd let anyone else train you mmmmmm?"

My brows knot in confusion, "I don't understand?"

He rolls his eyes, "You're mine in every way and mine to train, now do you get it?"

I blush deeply "S...sure", I stutter and get shy.

A smile lit his usually cold demeanour, his scars making him look so handsome. 

"I have one last request to make of you", he says, getting nervous all of a sudden. 

"Shoot", I say with a reassuring smile.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

Aria's POV 

"Yes, I'd love to", I say, breaking the silence. 

I'd love to give this a chance, that's the least I can do. I won't let my fears rear their head back again and ruin my second chance at love.

He let out a sigh in relief, "I thought you would decline my offer, this means a whole lot to me. I'd love to know everything about you", he says, "Your dress is in your room, be ready by eight, Kitten."

"Okay, I look forward to it, Alpha", I muttered with inflamed cheeks.

His eyes darken at my words, "Do well to behave, Kitten." His lips stretch out in a smile, "I love it when you call me, Alpha."

"Jeez I'm leaving now", I answer, "You're making me feel all shy."

I wiggle out of his loving arms, rushing out of his office. His loud laughter can be heard down the hallway. 

Unfortunately for me I have a horrible sense of direction. The hallway feels like it is closing in on me, I wish I hadn't rushed out of Kael's office. My pack is yet to be officially joined with the Cantara Pack. 

"Are you lost, scum", a harsh feminine voice pulled me from my thoughts. 

I raise my head in question towards the familiar voice. Jessica is standing right in front of me, with folded arms leaning against the wall. A hateful gaze directed at me.

"Are you following me?" I ask in question, guarding the expression on my face.

"You're not worth my time", she answers with spite.

I roll my eyes at her antics, "Okay, what is it you want this time?" I say, "You're wasting my precious time."

"You feel so smug thinking you have won", Jessica says in my face. "Watch your back cause, Kael is mine."

"It's Alpha Kael to you, remember?" I gloat.

Her eyes switched to an orange hue, her wolf surfacing fighting from dominance. She takes a step inching close to me, "You'd wish you never said that, Runt", she growls out. 

Her eyes were glazed over for a short-time, it seems as if she is speaking to someone through the mindlink, "Enjoy your date", she finishes with a smirk.

How did she know that we are having a date? Someone is bipolar it seems. Well, her problem, I'd love to see the dress Kael picked out for me. I can't wait to impress my mate, blushing at the thought.

I follow Jessica's sweet perfume, and find myself in the familiar parts of the hallway leading to my room. I opened the door to my room but something wasn't right, someone had entered my room.

I took a deep whiff of the scent but it didn't seem familiar. I know Martha was here but her scent was really faint, I'll figure it all out later.

My eyes scan the room in suspicion to find anything amiss, and there it was lying on my bed. Tears pricked at my eyes, in hurt and disbelief. 

"Ari, are you alright?" Martha's voice resounds behind me.

I spare her a quick glance, pushing myself forward. I kneel beside my bed picking up the beautiful dress and heels delivered to my room now in shreds.

A sharp gasp fills the room. "That two-faced mutt", Martha says with her eyes darkening in fury. We both know who did this without any spoken words. She spins abruptly, heading towards the door.

"It's fine, right now I just need to find a dress for my date, I'll deal with this later." I answer, wrapping my hands firmly around her arms to prevent her from doing anything rash.

"I have the perfect dress and fitting shoes for you", she says, giving me a reassuring smile. 

"Really? But you're a size smaller than I am, right?" I say utterly discouraged. It was already almost time for my date and I had nothing fitting for it.

"Well, my Dad got me a gift for my last birthday but it never really fit since it's a size bigger than I am."

A subtle sigh of relief escapes my lips, my demeanour brightens almost immediately.

"Well what are you standing there for, let's go!" I move swiftly past her, heading towards her room. 

Our feet thud loudly as we hasten to catch up with time. We slip into Martha's room, completely disorganised and in disarray. 

"Oops, I'm so sorry it's just so stressful to tidy things out with my numerous clothes", She says, batting her lashes at me innocently. 

"That's what you said the last fifty times, idiot", I say bursting into a fit of giggles. She joined me in as we relished in the moment.

She walks into her closet and steps out with a beautiful red dress and stilettos. She throws them towards me, points towards the bathroom. "Go wash off, so I can work my magic."

***

I stare at my luscious curves in the mirror. The shade of my dress compliments my tan skin. 

A sharp whistle distracts me, "You look ethereal, too beautiful to put into words." Martha compliments.

Red hue quickly fills my cheeks, "Are you sure he'd love this?" I shyly take out hair from my face.

"Of course he will, just you wait", she says. "I love you bestie, don't forget chin up and eyes high and proud."

I hug her tightly. "Most importantly have fun", she finishes as she pushes me out of the door. 

The scent of my mate quickly fills my nostrils, I peer beneath my lashes and see him staring with so much intensity. This makes my knees weak, no one has ever made me feel so cherished. He's staring at me as if I mean the world to him, his eyes though guarded say it all.

"You look rather dashing", I mention with so much confidence though my palms were so sweaty.

He clears his throat, "Thank you, Kitten, you look extremely beautiful, I can't put it into words."

"Thank you, Alpha", I tease him lightly, taking his outstretched arm.

"Keep pushing it, Kitten", he says with so much conviction, "Hopefully, you don't regret your actions, because my resolve is slowly breaking to pieces especially after seeing you in that dress."

"It'll be a short drive to our destination", Kael mentions making small talk.

We slowly steer towards the front door, I caught a whiff of Alpha Omari,  or better still the dead beat that rejected me, thinking I was unworthy. I am so grateful that he did reject me, now I have a second chance with a stronger mate that is beautiful inside out. I school my emotions incase of any altercation.

"Good evening, Alpha Kael", Omari mentions with a scowl on his face.

My mate raises his brows in question, "Good evening, Alpha Omari", he answers. 

"You seem to be on your way out", Omari asks Kael, though his eyes are fixated on me. I return his gesture with a condescending look. 

A possessive growl pushes past my mate's lips as he pushes me completely behind him. He then wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me alongside him until we get to a black sleek car.

His arm pulls the car door open, and I take a seat. He then walks swiftly towards his side, opens the door, steps in and we drive off.

I get comfortable in his leather seats. I've never been in a car before, moreso an expensive one like this. He then places his large palm on my thigh drawing random patterns. 

"Are you okay?" I ask due to the silence that fills the car.

He then gives me a long gaze, "Is there something going on that I should know?" His voice is calm but his eyes say a completely different story. He was pissed, that was obvious 

"There's nothing going on between us, if that's what you're asking", I say defensively, pushing his arms away.

He releases a sigh, "I'm sorry if I pissed you off, I just detest the way he was staring at you like he wanted every ounce of you." 

I still didn't look at him, staring out the window as if it was so interesting. 

"I'm sorry for ruining our date night, can we start over, mmmm?" He mutters.

"Just promised me your head wouldn't start having wild thoughts when someone behaves like that, I can't control them but I want nothing to do with them, okay?" I answer.

I may have overreacted as well, I'm yet to tell him about my rejection. I will in time, trust needs to be built though.

"I'm sorry for blowing things out of proportion", I finish with a smile.

He veers into a dark parking lot, he then kisses my fingers making me blush hard. We get out of the car and head towards the fine dining.

"I wanted something simple, decent but elegant so you'd be comfortable", he mutters as our feet hit the tarred road. "Let's see if you'd like it."

He pushes the twin doors open and we walk into the nice diner, taking our seats. It is so tranquil and homely with menus spread across the tables.

A waiter walks up to us, bows in respect and takes our orders. We did small talk here and there.

"I am considering merging the packs together officially, Omari proposed the idea since your pack was destroyed and it seems you will be here a long while if not forever, what do you think?"

My eyes widen in surprise, is my mate already asking me for my opinion on matters. I'm not even Luna yet officially. 

"I think it's a beautiful idea, it will give the pack more stability and they would be able to enjoy privileges aligned with being a part of the Cantara pack", I answer with a smile pulling on my lips.

"I wouldn't lie, I only considered this for selfish reasons", he says with a smirk.

"What's that?" 

"I'll have you by my side forever, no questions asked", he replies as if he won a lottery. 

"Speaking of forever, can I join pack training tomorrow?"