Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 42

Xander POV

When Alaia took charge this morning at breakfast, I was so proud, and more than a little turned on. I would have never expected the shy and timid girl who walked into her dad's office that day to become the strong, commanding Luna she now was. And I will admit there was a bit of possessiveness when she placed her hands on Matt.

I knew that he would never move on her and that her heart belonged to me, but the two of them had a connection and bond that no one could ever break. I wanted to be selfish and keep her all to myself. The sound of the guys walking into my office pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I never thought a tiny little thing like bean could be so scary, but damn. I'll think twice before I get into a fight with anybody ever again," Kade joked.

"She made me break. I've never done that before, and she made me snitch like I was a little kid," replied Matt.

I laughed a bit before I tried to reason with him. "Alaia was in full-blown Luna mode, Matt. There was nothing you could have done, so don't worry about it. I know you wouldn't rat me out to anyone else."

We laughed for a little while longer about all being chastised like we were kids again before we moved on to the topic of the day: Francesca.

"Okay, Matt. I know this is not your favorite thing to do, but I need you to get Francesca here. Preferably today. She knows that Kade hates her, and she may still think I'm close to death, being that no one has seen her around since the bonfire, so you're up." "How do you suggest I 'get her here?' We've never gotten along either, man."

"Doesn't matter, she's not marked, so she'll do whatever you want her to do."

Matt groaned when I said that. "I hate this s**t. What's going to happen when I meet my mate? She's going to think I was just running through women for sport instead of waiting for her."

"Everyone who knows you knows that isn't true, Matt. I obviously don't expect you to do anything with her. Just convince her to come to the packhouse. Once she's here, I'll take over."

"You know I'll do whatever you need me to do, Xander. I just wanted it on the record that I'm being used like a piece of meat. That's all." Matt flashed his signature smile, and I knew Francesca would be putty in his hands.

"Cool. So, while you're out, Kade and I will be downstairs in the basement having a chat with Alexi, or whoever he claims to be today. I want nothing more than to crush his skull, but for Alaia, I'll at least hear him out." "And what exactly is the plan when Francesca arrives?"

"I'm still working on it. Just link me when you are on your way back to the house so I can make sure everything is set."

"Fine. I'll head out now. I have no idea where she is, so I've got to go track her down."

"Happy hunting!"

Now to deal with Alexi.

***

Alexi POV

It had been a couple of days since I asked Alaia to help me kill Max, and I still hadn't gotten an answer. I knew it was a lot to ask of someone, but I also knew it was the only way out of this mess. It would be tough to no longer be a werewolf, but it was better than the alternative.

When Max took control, I was a spectator in my own body, with no say over what went on. Nobody should have to live like that. Luckily, since Alaia suppressed Max, I'd regained all of the memories from when I was blacked out those three weeks. Now I knew everything that went on, and I could help to make sure it was done for good. I could survive as a human. And at least I would be able to see my pack again. That was all I really want.

I heard footsteps coming down the corridor, and soon my cell was being opened.

When Kade stepped in, I admit I was happy to see him. We'd become closer since I'd been here, and it was good having someone to talk to.

Then I saw something I thought I'd never see again. Xander stepped in behind Kade, looking even more pissed off than usual. This was not going to end well for me.

"Morning, Alexi. How are you feeling today?" Kade asked.

"Uhh, I'm good, thanks."

I never took my eyes off Xander. He was going to kill me, I could feel it, and I at least wanted to see it coming.

A tense silence filled the air before Xander pulled up a chair and sat down. He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees before he spoke.

"Alexi, I'm not going to sugar coat any of this. I want you dead. How you die is inconsequential, really, so long as your death comes at my hands. But my Luna wants you alive. She wants you to be happy. Now, unlike some people in this room, I actually care about her feelings and would never do anything that would hurt her. So, I won't kill you today or tomorrow. But if you are ever a part of any other scheme to take her away from me, there isn't a place on this earth you can hide that I won't replace you. And I will kill you, slowly and painfully, and I'll enjoy every single second of it. I promise you this, on my honor."

It felt like the temperature in the room had dropped thirty degrees.

Xander held eye contact with me the entire time he spoke, and I knew he meant every word he said. His alpha aura was thick in the air, and I had no choice. I had to submit. "Yes, Alpha."

"Good. Now that's out of the way, tell me how all this started and how you were able to use dark magic. Who is the witch that was helping you?"

I knew this question would come, and no matter what I did, I knew I would have to give answers eventually. So, I opened my mouth and told my story.

"I used to mess around with a chick named Victoria. We started hooking up right around my eighteenth birthday. She hated Alaia. Probably because she could tell that I was drawn to her even when I was trying to deny it to myself. Anyway, her best friend is a witch. Her name is Cora or something like that. After the challenge, I went to Victoria and asked for her help. I told her that I wanted to make Alaia suffer for rejecting me, and she was all too happy to help."

Xander growled as he listened to me. Admittedly, it wasn't my proudest moment, but I wasn't going to lie about any of this anymore.

"So, you lied and said Alaia rejected you when it was the other way around? And how exactly were you two planning on making her suffer?"

Here it was-the moment I had been dreading.

"We were going to kill you..."

"Damn, you've got balls. I'll give you that." Xander was way too calm to have just heard that someone was planning to kill him. It was a creepy type of calm. But I continued with the story.

"So, I told her my plan, and she got me the spell I needed to transport my aura anywhere I wanted without having to actually be there. That's how I was able to talk to Alaia that day at the training grounds." "You know you scared the s**t out of her when you did that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know. I was just pissed off and hurt. I didn't mean to scare Alaia like that. And using the spell was actually how Max had the chance to take over. It was like it opened the door to him that I couldn't close. That's when I decided to stop and just accept that she was gone for good. I mean, she immediately ran to another man for comfort, then left with him. That was all I needed to convince me. But Max refused. That was when he took control. He told Victoria that we were going to move forward with torturing Alaia. She gave Max a poison that would make Alaia paranoid. She'd think you were cheating on her or plotting against her or something like that.

"Victoria was on board with this because a crazy Alaia is a miserable one. And then she'd probably leave you, which would destroy her even more. Max liked the plan because it would drive a wedge between the two of you, giving him the chance to move in and take her back."

Calm Xander was gone. His eyes were now jet black, and he was seething with rage, hearing all of the plotting that went on behind his back.

I looked over at Kade to see if I should keep going, and he nodded his head. So, I took a deep breath and continued.

"So, Victoria found some omega to sneak into Aaron's alpha ceremony and slip the poison in Alaia's drink. I guess that's when her wolf kicked in, and you guys found out that something was up. Victoria and Max were pissed, and I was being pushed further and further away from the helm. I was starting just to get bits and pieces of consciousness, followed by long periods of being blacked out. Around that time, Max decided that my fake plan to kill you was now a real one. He needed you gone so that he could have Alaia. Obviously, Victoria wasn't going to help with that part, so he told her that he didn't want her implicated in any of this. She needed to lay low until you were dead, and then they could finish off Alaia before starting their lives together.

"Victoria then recruited her sister, Francesca, and she took it from there. She was the one who had the waiter poison you at the Luna ceremony, but she didn't know that it would kill you. She just thought it would weaken you so the rogues could come in and take Alaia. Victoria kept that part a secret. Soooo, yeah. That's pretty much it."

The room filled with an uncomfortable silence.

Xander looked at me for a few more moments before he stood up and walked out of the cell.

When he didn't come back, I looked over to Kade and asked, "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

"I can't say for sure, but...yeah. Probably."

He then walked out as well, before locking me in.

Well, I can't really say that I blame him.

***

Matt POV

I'm a tracker and a damn good one at that, but how am I supposed to replace a chick who thinks she's murdered her alpha?

For all I know, she's left the country, and Xander wants me to get her back to the house today.

I remembered that she used to hang around with another girl named Shelly sometimes, so I figured I would start there. She was also unmarked, so I should have been able to get something out of her. I walked into the common room and looked around. It was full of younger wolves playing video games or just sitting around talking. I found Shelly sitting on some guy's lap, whispering in his ear.

I hated to be a c**k block, but duty called.

"Hey Shelly, how's it going? I haven't seen you around here in a while."

I walked over and plopped down on the couch beside her and the poor guy she was with and flashed a smile at her.

She blushed a deep red and swallowed the lump in her throat before she shuddered. "H-Hi, Gamma. It's good to see you." "Just call me Matt. We're friends, right?"

She tucked a strand of bleached blonde hair behind her ear and sat up straight, thrusting her chest out toward me. Yep, this confirmed it. I definitely preferred brunettes.

"Sure, Matt, I'd love to be friends with you."

"What the f**k, man?"

I figured I should probably let the guy off the hook a bit, so he didn't feel completely emasculated.

Dude, just chill out. I just want to ask her a few questions. I'll give her right back.

What do you mean 'chill out?' This is my girlfriend, and she's f*****g flirting with you like I'm not even here.

I didn't have time for this s**t; I already didn't want to be here in the first place.

Listen, you're going to calm down and relax. As I said, you'll get her right back in five minutes-hopefully, less. Don't f**k with me on this, or you'll have bigger problems than your w***e of a girlfriend flirting with guys in front of you.

I didn't want to pull rank, but I was the third in command, and he needed to respect that.

He finally nodded, and I turned my attention back to Shelly, who was suggestively licking her cherry red lips at me.

"Wanna take a walk with me real quick? I promise I'll bring you right back."

Another smile had her on her feet and clinging to my arm in a flash.

"I'll go anywhere you want me to. Just lead the way."

Damn, I felt like some type of high-class prostitute or something. I mouthed sorry to her boyfriend before I turned and walked out of the room with Shelly following closely behind.

Laughter broke out in the room once we rounded the corner. That poor guy was never going to hear the end of this, but I had to do what I had to do.

As soon as we were outside, I stopped and turned around. Shelly was so damn close that she almost walked right into my chest, but I sidestepped before she could make contact. I already didn't want to take her from her boyfriend, and I really didn't want to send her back to him covered in my scent. She was staring up at me with a creepy-a's smile on her face. I needed to get this over with and get the hell away from her.

"Shelly?"

She didn't answer; she just continued to smile and twirl her hair around her fingers.

"Shelly?"

She finally heard me and jumped back a bit. "Sorry, handsome, I guess I was daydreaming. What did you want to talk about?"

I had lost all patience with this whole thing, so I just ripped the band-aid off. "Where is Francesca?"

She frowned when she heard my question. "Why are you looking for her when you have me right here? I'm much better than she could ever be." She made a move forward to wrap me in a hug, but again, I sidestepped.

She frowned once more, so I gave her my most innocence smile and said, "I just need to talk to her. Please?"

She moaned out loud as she fought off a shiver. And I'm also pretty sure that I'd just caught the scent of her arousal.

Gross.

"Oh, well, she's in her apartment in Jade City. She moved there a couple of weeks ago. I can text you the address if you give me your number."

"Can you just tell me? I'm sure I'll remember."

Smile.

"747 Oak View Place, Apartment 29."

"Thanks, Shelly, I'll see you around."

I quickly turned and walked away, not even waiting for a response. I felt terrible for leaving her dazed, confused, and, no doubt, crazy horny, but that was her boyfriend's problem now.

Xander owed me big time for this shit.