Luna's Rejected Vengeful Mate
Luna’s Rejected Vengeful Mate Chapter 20

Blake

I opened my eyes and realised Natalia was still in my arms. I wondered what her reaction would be after she woke up before I drifted into a deep sleep. After she opened up to me the night before, things seemed to get better. Would Natalia accept my proposal and give our relationship a try? Or was she so vulnerable after her nightmare, and that was the only reason we ended up making love?

I needed to act cool and not show how afraid I was of her reaction. Maybe that way, I would give her the time to figure out and accept how things had turned out for us.

Natalia noticed I was awake, and a sad smile formed on her beautiful face. Was she sad because of what happened last night? Afraid to communicate with Aries to clarify things since Leia would hear our conversation, I tried to be as composed as possible and act on instinct, hoping she would not turn me down and ridicule me.

As if led by a strange force, my fingers softly caressed her cheeks and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. Lowering my head, I placed a butterfly k**s on her forehead and then watched her blush under my gaze.

“Did you sleep well, beautiful?” I was surprised by the huskiness in my voice-by kissing her forehead, all the events from the previous night came to mind, and I was more than eager to repeat them step by step.

Since I held her in my arms, it was not difficult for my wife to feel that my shaft was stiff and pressing up against her lower abdomen. Natalia’s face was red as a plum tomato, and she tried to avoid my gaze as she answered in a low voice, “Yes”.

“Nat, are you regretting what happened between us last night?” I carefully voiced my suspicion, trying not to scare her off.

She was having trouble replying to my question. She closed her eyes for a second, and then she whispered.

“Don’t you think that everything happened too fast? We are not even mates, for heaven’s sake. I have difficulty processing what happened last night.”

Was she trying to reject me?

I carefully freed her from my arms and sat on the bed, facing the bathroom door, avoiding looking at her on purpose. I was an Alpha, and I would not allow anyone, not even her, to see me hurt by another rejection. My voice was void of emotion when I replied to my wife’s question.

“Listen, Natalia. I know we are not mates or in love with each other. You could say that you had a good time with an old friend last night to feel better. There is a big difference, however. We are now married and bound to a contract. And as we both know, one of the contract’s terms was that we would be intimate, and I would mark you as my Luna. So, what difference does it make when we have se.x for the first time? It will not be the last, anyway. Think of it as completing one of the terms early in our marriage. That will make things easier when we complete the mating ceremony, and I put my mark on you.”

Not waiting for her reply, I stood up and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I got into the shower and turned on the water. I needed to clear my mind and thoughts.

“Blake, are you an i***t? Why did you tell her those things? Aren’t we supposed to try and have a good relationship with her? Wasn’t that what you requested from her last night? Why didn’t you tell her how you felt?”

Aries’ aggravated voice scolding me was the last thing I needed.

“f**k, Aries, what did you expect me to do? Accept her rejection of what we had last night? Would that make you feel any better?” I retorted, knowing that my wolf was right.

“Blake Hunter, the big bad Alpha, suddenly turned into pus.sy. That’s interesting,” Aries mocked. “What if that was your only chance to tell her how you feel, you i***t? Have you forgotten how disappointed you were when you realised that her big sister was your mate? Do you remember how hard you tried to avoid Natalia back then? I was so engrossed with our mate, and still, you were in love with her younger sister. You messed up big time, Blake.” Annoyed and angry with my behaviour, Aries blocked me.

Who was I trying to fool? My wolf? Aries knew I had feelings for Alpha Ray’s younger daughter. We fought when Elisabeth turned out to be my mate-I finally accepted the fact and tried to behave like a true Alpha who had found his mate. I would learn to love my mate and forget about her younger sister.

“I know you can hear me, Aries, so please give me a break, will you? I am trying not to lose face here. And I am already having difficulty doing so without you scolding me,” I murmured, afraid of what I would deal with when I went back into the room and faced Natalia. I left the shower and filled the bathtub with hot water-Natalia would need to soak her body after the night before, being her first time.

Natalia

When Blake released me from his arms and sat on the bed, not facing me, I knew I had messed up big time. Leia was the one that made me realise it, of course, when Blake replied to my question and went to the bathroom. I sat on the bed, grasping the sheets around me tightly, trying to calm down.

“For the Goddess’ sake, girl. Are you nuts? Haven’t you realised Blake was trying to make things easy for both of you? Why are you bringing up the mate bond and your stupid hesitance? Now what? What if he goes back to being the cold-hearted jackass he was when you saw him yesterday?”

“Are you telling me that he meant what he said last night? He wanted to try and make things work between us, and it wasn’t just a reaction based on what he felt after having s*x with me. Is that right?” I doubted his words, but I would never doubt Leia’s instincts.

“Yes, Natalia. For a lawyer, you are pretty stupid when it comes to your personal life; I must say,” Leia scolded.

“When he comes out of the bathroom, act normal and talk to him. Tell him that you accept his proposal.”

“After he clarified that we are not in love and we just complied with one of the contract terms? You want me to accept his offer and try to make things work out between us?”

“Yes, Nat. since you have agreed to become his wife and Luna, you ought to do your best. Surprise your husband. Make him understand what a fool he is for adding those terms to his contract. Natalia, you are twenty-five, sweetheart, and you still haven’t found your mate. Why not try to be happy or at least live a good life with the one you still love? Why torture yourself and him with unnecessary grudges?”

Wow! What had gotten into my wolf since last night? Leia favoured Blake and me sorting things out, which left me utterly confused and scared.

“I am your wolf for a reason; Natalia, Blake will be one of our strongest supporters when the time comes.”

I was utterly bewildered. And before I could ask anything more, the bathroom door opened, and Blake came out, half-naked, a towel wrapped around his waist, covering his lower body but exposing his well-built muscled torso. I didn’t even realise I was staring, with my mouth wide open and my throat dry of saliva.

“I filled the bathtub with warm water for you,” Blake went for his clothes on the floor without paying any more attention to me.

“Blake, can we talk, please?” My voice came out so low I could barely hear it myself.

He turned around, holding his jeans in his hands, and said indifferently, “what’s more to say, Natalia? I thought you made your point.”

“Jerk version of Blake is back, girl, so spill the beans and take him by surprise,” Leia intervened. “I will handle him and his wolf when the time comes, don’t worry. Getting revenge doesn’t necessarily mean we kill or hurt someone, and sweet revenge is the best when it is least expected.”

So, my wolf was planning to make Blake pay for our misery, despite me being his Luna and mending things with him.

“I sure do, sweetheart. Just not how you planned to do it; my way is more effective and pleasant. You have to be patient, though.”

“Well, Natalia? I am waiting,” Blake’s indifferent voice brought me back to reality. Squeezing the sheets around my naked body and feeling uncomfortable with the look in his eyes, I cleared my throat and kept my voice as steady as possible.

“I agree that we are not mates nor in love, and it would be best for the alliance and both of us if we tried to make our relationship work until one of us replaces his mate. So, what do you think? Should we come to a compromise and start fresh?”

“As if you would admit that you still love him,” Leia giggled, and I blushed at her comment.

My eyes were on Blake, watching his reaction to my proposal. I had trained hard to perceive how others felt, although their blank faces showed nothing-it was part of my profession, and I was darn good at it. Why was I having such difficulty guessing Blake’s thoughts, though?

“Maybe because you have feelings for him, Nat. That changes everything, darling.” Leia’s explanation made me feel like I had my mother beside me, trying to comfort me with her sweet voice.

“I am more than flattered by your thoughts, Nat-and honoured,” my wolf’s voice, full of emotion and something I could not comprehend at the time, made my heart ache for a reason.

My inner conversation with my wolf didn’t stop me from seeing Blake’s expression change from confused to determined. There was a strange glint in his eyes that made me all wet and embarrassed, knowing that he could scent my arousal; for a second, I thought he would come to pin me to the bed-or I hoped he would. I was so out of my depth- never had I felt so uncomfortable and powerless.

With a smug smile on his face which made things more difficult for me, Blake turned the other way and slipped the towel off his body, standing in all his naked glory. With my eyes glued to his fine a*s, Blake spoke in a friendly tone.

“We could try and see how things turn out. It will be easier for you. While taking over your Luna duties, you will need my assistance, and it will be weird if we are cold to each other. We must convince the pack members and our allies that our marriage is stable, even though we are not mates. A few examples of successful marriages come from business agreements, and we could be one of those in the future.”

Blake turned and faced me. Coming closer to the bed, he sat at my side. He touched my forehead and smiled, “How does your head feel?”

“A lot better, thank you,” I replied, taken aback by the change in his attitude.

Blake smiled and stood up.

“I should better go to my room and get your suitcase. You need to take a bath and change clothes. Are you okay with walking by yourself?”

Again, that smug smile on his face, with concern in his eyes.

“I will manage”, I murmured, despite my aching body and the soreness I felt between my legs.

He walked to the door and turned to me with the same smug smile,

“I suggest you wear something high-necked today, Nat. Or a scarf around your neck. Unless you don’t mind showing off from the first day here.”

“What the hell?” I took my time standing up and slowly walked to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw the hickeys Blake had left all over my neck last night-no scarf or high-necked t-shirt would hide them.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. “Damn you, Blake Hunter,” I swore and entered the bathtub to ease my soreness and aching parts before entering the dining room as the Luna of the Dark Moon Stone pack for the first time.