Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 14

~Nyla~

I rubbed my eyes wearily when I heard Ren knock on the door to bring some breakfast for me. Why doesn’t this Luke let me sleep in or leave me alone?

I got no time to rejuvenate my pendant’s energy because the full moon didn’t rise until a little before five in the morning. Sadie was a petty creature who didn’t deserve my energy to be wasted on, but her meddlesome attitude turned out to be a pain when I tried to get Adalyn to step outdoors. I had no intentions to take her down, but I had to.

Add Ren to the mix, and I thought I almost lost my chance this month. Not wanting to kill Ren, I had to muddle her memories. Sadie hated me and wouldn’t trust me at all, so it was not possible to confuse her.

I already expected Adalyn to put up a tough fight because she seemed to be as strong as Maya. Maya was unmatchable on full moon nights, of course, while these she-wolves didn’t have any such extra special powers.

What came as a nasty surprise to me was Sadie and how hard she fought. Taking down two skilled warriors and returning to my room without anyone noticing was no joke. It was already dawn when I climbed up onto the balcony and found Ari wailing at the top of her lungs.

I ran in to take her into my arms and crashed on the bed while feeding her. Who would care if the door was locked or not when completely drained? Not stupid me because I wanted Luke to replace it open and yell at me. It doesn’t look suspicious at all. His chosen mate goes missing, and I have no solid excuse for sleeping with my door open like that.

“You seemed to have caught a cold.” Ren noticed my wet cough.

“I think so. My throat feels sore.” I told her and gratefully accepted the garlic mushroom soup she passed to me. It was pretty chilly outside in the early morning.

“Should I be attending the Alpha Ceremony, Ren? Adalyn doesn’t seem to like me.” I wanted to test if she remembers anything when I bring her up.

“Oh, Adalyn went missing. I saw her talking to Sadie and someone else with long golden hair standing on the far west end. That stranger looked like some magical creature I never saw before. Her skin had a golden aura and her irises were glowing golden too. The pendant she was wearing was giving out the same golden light. She told me to forget what I saw and then held both their hands and took them somewhere. Not sure why I only remembered all this now.”

“What will you tell someone when they ask you again?”

Her eyes widened when they met mine, and she turned stiff. I dropped my gaze after a few seconds.

“Did you say you wanted more bread?” She narrowed her eyes and her forehead creased, trying to remember something, and then shook her head as if she was sleep deprived for days.

“Yes, I said I would prefer the rustic bread to go with my soup.”

“Absolutely. I’ll be right back.”

Such a sweetheart. I’d never hurt her.

My thoughts drifted back to the crisis at hand. There would be about thirty minutes of darkness before the moon sets in the evening. And that’s the same time Luke would be officially taking over the Storm Moon Pack.

I wanted to use that time to test if my baby got my useful genes to sneak her back home. I can’t risk someone using her against me. Luke knows she’s my weakness, and I’d agree to do anything if he takes her away from me.

Ari looked like me in my human body; dark eyes, dark hair, and the same scowl when she’s not fed on time. With everyone busy attending the ceremony, it would have been a perfect time to check, but not anymore.

I also needed to go somewhere far where my pendant won’t glow like a million watt bulb when I restore its energy.

I’ll have to sustain on low energy and wait until the next full moon. It will be Ryder, Luke’s dad, and his sister. I already checked the moonrise time and next month was perfect, unlike this time. I’m powerless in the daylight when the moonbeams are washed out by the sun.

Luke’s beta is not an easy target, and I’ll have to restore my full energy before trying to take him down. Adalyn and Sadie sucked out anything I had left in me.

I pressed the service button to ask for Ren.

“I changed my mind. I’m already full. No need to bring any more bread. Thank you.”

I moved Ari from her crib to my bed, now that she was in a playful mood. She was pushing my face away with her tiny palms while I was rubbing my nose against her belly and tickling her.

“WHY IS YOUR DOOR UNLOCKED AGAIN! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE?”

My baby burst into loud sobs the moment she heard Luke’s angry voice.

“I asked Ren to bring bread. Why are you bothering me so much today?!”

“Because you were going to fall asleep like that again, weren’t you?”

I was sure he wasn’t mad at me for that this time. It was open in the morning when he came. Ren had shut it and I left it unlocked now. I think he was mad because he sensed magic in this room and came running. This was my second oopsie today. I badly needed some sleep and some moonlight on my pendant for my brain to function properly.

He knows! He definitely knows I’m not a human. Does he suspect me already for Adalyn and Sadie’s disappearances?

I was so scared and lost in my assumptions, I didn’t notice Luke take Ari into his arms and apologize to her.

“How dare you touch her?! You murdered her dad and have no shame in holding her like that.” I tried to take her back, but he stood up from the bed and put her out of my reach.

“I want to hold her, and her mother too.”

What was he going crazy and yelling about just now? I know I can’t muddle my mate’s thoughts. I tested it on Wyatt already. Luke seemed to have forgotten why he was so angry just a minute back.

He wrapped his arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you and your Ari.”

He even gave the baby back. That little amount of physical touch was enough for me to read his thoughts.

He doesn’t think I was the one who performed the magic. And the fool is worried about my safety since early morning.

This mate bond really f***s you up, doesn’t it? I strayed from my goal and wasted my energy on two women I had no intentions to harm. And here he is, sitting close to the prime suspect who wants to see his doom. But his thoughts are all about protecting me.

Sparing my life was his biggest oopsie. I need no muddling magic in his case. He’s already bewitched because of the mate bond.

I still need to be careful. If not now, he will confirm his doubts if I go missing during his ceremony. He doesn’t care enough about Adalyn getting lost. Should have taken his beta down to get this ceremony postponed.

Darn it!