Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 20

~Nyla~

It has been four days that Luke returned from his trip and lay sedated in the bed most of the night. Rex was still not back and the only assurance is from Rachel’s words that the pack doctor said he was still alive.

As days passed, Luke seemed all right on the surface, but his wolf was in pain. With his dad and Ryder taking charge of things in his absence, I was extremely careful to not wander around in the daytime.

I patiently waited for it to be night so I could spend time with him again… for those precious two hours when I could lie next to him until it was time to feed Ari again. He was always sedated at night to heal faster, and his folks left him alone once it was past midnight.

Until a few days back, the pack warriors did not guard the buildings because of the enchantments, but now there were guards in every corner to stop intruders since Rex wasn’t there to detect them.

It’s funny how no one ever suspected an insider threat. Luke did, but he thought I was the one in danger from an insider. He appointed not one or two but four bodyguards for me. It never occurred to him or these hunky men that I could be the insider threat who wanted to take them all down.

I stepped out of my room at 1 AM after feeding Ari and putting her to sleep. Two of these men accompanied me to his room as usual. They never questioned my actions. To my relief, they were Luke’s trusted men and did not report to his dad or Ryder.

About a month ago, I would have jumped at this opportunity to harm Luke. I still told myself I wanted to see him suffer and take away his loved ones and pack warriors from him. And yet, here I was, standing by his bed when he was at his weakest, praying for him to get well soon.

If his wolf stays lost for another two weeks, I can lead his entire pack to their doom. With no Rex, I was free to use magic on the full moon night and not worry about luring them out in my human form and taking so much time and trouble to not get caught. But given a choice, I would ask for him to wake up right this moment than anything else.

No clue how long I spent looking at Luke’s sleeping face before closing my eyes for a little bit every night. His hair felt so soft against my fingers. I had always wanted to run my hands through what was now a tousled mop.

Sleeping by his side and finding myself in his arms when I woke up was pure bliss. I was sure he was aware of my presence even when he couldn’t feel my scent on him in the morning. If I had any doubts about it before, he cleared them tonight.

“Nyla… stay.” He pulled me close and locked me in an embrace when I moved away from him to go back to my room.

A thousand butterflies swarmed in my stomach when I heard my name roll off his tongue in a low, sexy voice. I could read his thoughts before he shifted back to his sedated state. He wanted me to spend the whole night by his side.

We were made to fit each other perfectly.

I scolded my shameless thoughts and released his grip around me. He was already back to sleep and wasn’t aware of me leaving. I looked at his handsome face once more before softly closing the door behind me.

It felt like I was betraying Wyatt every time I clung to my new mate’s magnificent, masculine torso. I almost forgot how Wyatt used to smell, now that my senses were saturated by an earthy scent mingled with firewood.

Luke’s scent brought back memories of warmth and comfort. It was just like sitting by the fireplace in Wyatt’s library and reading for hours. The oak firewood burned slowly while I was lost in the books about werewolves and humans, trying to understand them as much and as quickly as possible.

Betrayal wasn’t the only thing I felt as I lay awake next to my mate and listened to his soft breathing. Feelings of longing and affection for Luke overwhelmed me a lot these days, but the most dominant of all these was gratitude. I was really grateful to the Moon Goddess for keeping him alive.

Not sure anymore what I wanted. My heart was in shambles, and I stopped analyzing my thoughts and emotions. I just followed what my senses told me to do, to be close to him as much as possible, whenever Ari and the others allowed me to.

I stopped by the window to look at the drifting clouds. The moon was a tiny crescent today, racing to become nothing before growing full again.

I was still counting my days down to when I could overpower some people I hated the most… Ryder, for instance. He knew Luke wouldn’t let him live if he touched me without checking with him, but I hated how he looked at me with eyes full of malice.

When I was eating breakfast with Rachel the other day, he told me how he killed Riley’s husband and would do it again because it was so much fun to watch him die.

Something he said confused me though. “Should have paid more attention to his alpha’s orders instead of f*****g your hot friend.”

Maya never told me she was having an affair with Vance. She said she didn’t feel anything for him except a bit of s****l tension. I couldn’t believe she would do something like that out of spite and then lie to me about it.

Maybe the mate bond was intact until Vance got his pups from Riley? That would suck. I don’t think I will let any chosen mate of Luke’s to live beyond the point of being chosen for the Luna position. I would have to die before he can commence his mating ceremony with someone else.

I wondered how Maya was doing. Unlike Wyatt’s place which was so perfect to make monthly visits, it would take me a while to go home from here.

Ari’s sharp cry pulled me back to the present as I walked down the hallway. Coming back to sleep in my room was weird. The bed was too big and cold without Luke by my side.

I woke up before sunrise and walked to the training grounds with Rachel and the others when I heard a commotion in the locker rooms and walked back.

“What? Really?” Rachel squealed in delight and ran to Luke’s building to meet him.

Rex was back. I wanted to go see him too, but I stayed planted in my place, not overdoing anything more than what the rest of the girls did. It was impossible to focus when we went back to train. I knew Rex would want to see me right now. Too bad he wouldn’t be free for a while.

I couldn’t wait until Luke came down to the kitchen for lunch. I checked with a bodyguard of mine to show me where the meeting room was. It was definitely a drawn-out meeting if he was stuck in there for so long with his dad and other important pack members.

The bodyguard took me through a short corridor with glass walls followed by sliding glass doors that separated Luke’s building from the office. While the packhouse and the Alpha’s residence were all beautifully decorated, the office building was ultramodern with highly sophisticated technology.

The door to the meeting room was slightly open as I had hoped for. I just wanted to steal a quick glance at his face and then leave. The meeting seemed to have ended just a few minutes back. The conference room was a multibillion company room, rich with furnishings and an airy, well-illuminated space.

What do these people do to afford such luxury? I’m sure they got extra wealthy after plundering the Alpha King’s palace, but they seemed to be pretty dominant and powerful already.

If only Wyatt had visited this territory at least once to have not underestimated how strong Luke had grown in two years.

I forgot all about Wyatt when my eyes fell on my mate. Dressed in an elegant midnight blue suit, he was listening to someone talking in an agitated voice. I moved closer to get a better look.

“They should run away with their tails tucked between their legs. What exactly did you do that they dared to attack you and succeed?” It was Luke’s dad, and he always had a dangerous air about him.

“They didn’t succeed. I killed them all.” Luke seemed to have a headache.

“Succeed? How could you let Finn die?” His dad’s voice was thick with contempt.

“They used magic. What do you expect me to do, dad? I’m getting tired of repeating myself.”

“Is this because of a woman again? You know Skinwalkers can sense your weakness.”

“Again, for the third time, there is no woman.”

“How do you explain the sweet scent on you then? You didn’t have Rex to know, but every time I visited you in the morning, I could feel it. It’s probably the smell of a f*****g woman you were so busy f*****g before your trip. Didn’t expect you to repeat the mistake and let someone make you so weak again.”

I stepped away from the door. Luke probably caught my scent already while his dad didn’t. I smelled like vanilla and roses to Wyatt. I wondered what I was like for Luke.

“Your pack won’t respect you and your authority if you are at the mercy of some woman.”

I heard Luke lose his shit at his dad as I ran away from the office and into the dining area to eat lunch with Rachel. She skipped school and was complaining about how she got just five minutes of her brother’s time before he had to get back to work.

She jumped from her seat as my eyes fell on emerald green eyes staring me back with nonchalance for just a second before ignoring my existence.

“Go back to your room. I need to talk to her.” He told me in a cold voice when I sat down to eat.

I hated how my eyes instantly watered up. I was dying to see him and hear his voice, but all he reminded me of right now was the cruel man who threw Ari into the air before forcing me to sit in his chopper.

“Didn’t you hear me the first time?” He was using his alpha tone on me, and it pissed me off.

He ordered my bodyguard to take me back to my room in a firm and emotionless tone. His iciness was probably not a sudden switch he turned on because of his dad’s words. Maybe he had already planned to treat me like this and reject me the day he left on his trip.

Should it matter? It’s my fault I ended up falling into his charms.

Gulping back my tears, I got up from my seat and ran upstairs. Unlike what his dad said, it’s me who had become so weak to tear up so easily at his behavior. It’s not like he was nice to me when I called him last week.

He didn’t miss me, and neither should I. He probably got laid many times with many women and quenched whatever l**t that stemmed from the mate bond for me. That’s what this mate bond was about—l**t.

I’m suffering from a serious case of unrequited l**t right now, I told myself and slammed my door shut.