Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 13

~Luke~

The scent of rain and raspberries filled my senses as soon as I turned the corner to reach Nyla’s room. I was sure I heard her lock the door last night, but it was ajar right now. She might have woken up a few times to feed the baby. Why leave the door open?

I pushed it further open, feeling slightly anxious about her going missing, even when her scent was strong. Seeing her safe and asleep so peacefully, a sudden sense of euphoric bliss washed over me.

She had her dainty arms wrapped around her baby in a protective grip as the baby latched onto her breast and sucked happily. She must be exhausted to have fallen asleep in the middle of feeding, with the door open like that.

I walked closer to get a better look at her face. Unless I was kissing her senseless, her crescent-shaped eyebrows were always scrunched whenever she saw me. With sweeping eyelashes, a cute button nose, and puffy heart-shaped lips, her sleeping face was urging me to rain k****s on her.

No amount of kissing or comforting would make up for what I put her through. If only I could feel her pain for her.

I know she hated me with every fiber of her being. She even hated my show of affection, but the mate bond made her a sucker for my touch. I could see her feeling crushed every time she let me touch her.

I would have never touched her if it was in my control. My wolf screamed liar at me and wanted me to take my words back.

I leaned down and ran my thumb pad over her cherry sweet lips, feeling her sweet, warm breath. Damn those lips and the way they resist my k****s. I unintentionally pinched her lower l*p, and a whimper tumbled out of her mouth while a deep frown formed on her face.

She jerked a little in her sleep, depriving the baby of— My breath got caught in my throat when I saw her exposed nipple, and a lustful haze clouded my vision and thoughts. The hungry baby found her breast again and sucked on while I watched with envy.

Her eyes snapped open, and she stifled a shriek before getting up, holding her baby close.

“It’s just me. Sorry.”

I totally deviated from why I was here. I should think about my missing to-be-luna and send search parties like crazy, but I don’t even know how many trackers were sent or if they even left the estate.

“Why are you here?” she uttered those words in a low whisper with risen brows, making sure the little one in her arms didn’t get agitated.

Strangely, I could sense fear coursing through her veins and hear her pulse thrum wildly. What was she so scared of? My intrusion?

“Why was your door left open? You are almost naked and feeding your child while giving a chance for someone to barge in. Once you go to bed, why even open this door?”

“I-I was feeling hot. Um, I… wanted to go to the balcony for some fresh air for a bit. I think so much fresh air made me too sleepy, and I just returned and crashed on the bed.”

“Well, get some rest. You look like you didn’t sleep at all. You can hand your baby to the wet nurse for a bit if you need a break.”

“No!” She stroked her baby’s head and pulled her close as if I would take her away right now.

I didn’t think much about why she looked so jumpy. She was too lost in her thoughts and worried about something to have covered her breasts properly. I was fighting the urge to climb on top of her and devour her.

Her eyes followed my gaze, and her cheeks turned a rosy red hue before she flashed me her usual scowl. Anger bubbled to the surface, and she crawled back on the bed when I stepped close to cradle her face.

“Keep your door locked unless it is Ren who knocks on the door, and me of course.” I kissed her on the forehead and remembered to tell her one more thing before leaving.

“I want you to attend my Alpha ceremony today.” Since there will be no Adalyn to join me as my luna, I didn’t see any problem with her feelings getting hurt.

“W-what? Why?”

Why? It was such a proud moment for me. My mate is the first thing I want to see when taking over, even if she can’t be standing next to me and be sworn in as my luna.

“I can’t. I don’t want to.”

“There will be no Adalyn. It will be just me doing what all Alphas do when they step up.”

I expected her to ask questions about Adalyn, but she looked annoyed as if she had other plans and I ruined them.

“I expect you to be there. It’s not a request.”

I know she hates me, but I can’t imagine not having her around. Even if it comes across like a ten-year-old’s tantrum, I don’t care. I want her there.

“And close this damned door!”

I was mad at myself for expecting things from her. She obviously hates me and my pack. Why would she care about my stupid ceremonies after I ruin her coronation?

The minute I walked down to watch my dad interrogate everyone in the kitchens and lose his temper, the dull throbbing in my head intensified.

“It all seems very foggy now. There was someone else with them too, I think. I heard their conversation, but I can’t remember now.” I heard Ren look very confused.

“What do you mean, someone else? Who? A ghost? And why can’t you remember?” My dad is the worst kind of investigator, and I’m sure Ren forgot everything after seeing his fury.

He had been pushing me a lot to take Adalyn as my luna and was reluctant to let me step up as the Alpha officially, although I already had my beta and gamma lined up and we were the ones doing all the work.

Adalyn is Leah’s stepsister and daughter of the Night Walker Pack’s Alpha, Alpha Garrett. When Leah’s mom died giving birth to her, he married a second time, hoping to have a boy this time. He got Adalyn instead, who was fiercer than any male warrior in my pack.

Alpha Garrett gave up on his hopes to father a son when his second wife miscarried a few times. He ignored Leah because she had no interest in the pack wars or family businesses. She went to law school against his wishes, while Adalyn did everything he expected of her.

When Leah turned out to be my mate, saying that he was disconsolate would be an understatement. He wanted to marry his daughters off to the alphas of the strongest packs. I was a nobody back then. He already saw how my brother ran the pack, and he thought it was awful.

My brother and I did enough to protect our pack borders but never cared to wage wars and make conquests. The day he got killed was the first time my wolf saw red. After losing Leah only weeks later, Rex and I have turned into heartless beasts.

Just like Alpha Garrett, my dad, Alpha Caine, is also overly ambitious but lacks the skill to win wars or be intimidating enough to the other packs. Alpha Garrett pushed his nephews, Ryder and Finn, who were also my cousins, to be my beta and gamma. They were bloodthirsty, immoral bastards who wouldn’t think for a second before killing.

Taking down Wyatt’s pack wouldn’t have been possible without the ever conspiring Night Walker Pack. They had reached the venue the day before and studied the Red Crescent Pack’s geographical weaknesses and secret escape routes and tunnels.

Adalyn kept a close eye on the women of their pack but mistook Riley for Nyla because they both were due soon. When eating dinner together with many guest packs the night before the attack, Vance stole a look at Nyla’s friend who was his true mate. Adalyn thought he was looking at Nyla and assumed her to be his wife. She chased Riley down and killed her while Nyla escaped.

“Put her in the dungeons and help her clear the fog.” Alpha Garrett stared Ren down when my dad couldn’t extract any useful information from her.

“Ren is my personal maid. It’s not her job to pay attention to Adalyn’s conversations with the kitchen maids.” I told Ren to leave and mind linked her to let her know Nyla was awake and needed breakfast.

“You seem to be unbothered by Adalyn’s disappearance. You do understand you are expected to go look for her, don’t you, Alpha?” Adalyn’s dad thinks he can tell me what I should be doing. I would never leave the estate grounds for the entire day when Nyla is here.

“The Alpha Ceremony will still happen as planned. I will take her as my luna when we find her.”

“Luke, Adalyn was in our territory when she went missing. It’s an insult to our power and authority if an enemy harmed her while she was under our protection.” Alpha Garrett already brainwashed my dad, as usual.

“The trackers have already mindlinked me. Adalyn’s scent wasn’t found anywhere near our borders. Neither did they find her body. So nobody took her by force into their territory. She’s probably somewhere around and alive.”

“As the future Alpha, that’s not enough. You should do more.” Alpha Garrett keeps reminding me I’m not in charge yet.

“Stop telling me what to do. You should know your daughter is replaceable and should be your priority, not mine. I’m already doing enough by not choosing someone else as my mate tonight.”

“Does he make any sense to you these days? He led us all into war, destroyed Red Crescent Pack, and terrorized everybody into submission, but renounced the Alpha King title. Now he’s giving up on the best luna he can ever get. His priorities have changed suddenly.”

“The politics and responsibilities that come with that Alpha King title are a headache. I don’t feel the need to control other packs and stroke my ego by making a bunch of rules and asking them to abide. But if anyone else wants to rule over my pack, they will of course get destroyed, just like the Red Crescent Pack.”

My bloodthirsty cousins, who didn’t want to take on more responsibility or relocate the pack to Wyatt’s palace, agreed with me and said in unison, “We don’t submit. We slaughter.”