Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 24

~Nyla~

Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead even after I showered. Pacing back and forth in my room, I waited for Ren or anyone to come and tell me what was going on. Unless Adalyn was unconscious, I should be in the dungeons by now.

From the look on Luke’s face earlier, it didn’t seem like she told them what had happened last month. It was so ironic that she returned now, creating many doubts in my mind about tomorrow night.

How did she even survive?

This was why Maya told me, “Always get their jugular, even when you aren’t hungry.”

I was never a fan of drinking b***d, and being in human form and eating delicious meals satiated my hunger thoroughly, leaving no appetite for b***d. I should have at least snapped her neck to make sure. All because of Sadie.

Walking back to Ari’s crib, I wondered how I was going to sneak her out without getting noticed. I knew she got the werewolf gene because I carried her for less than six months and she had been growing too quickly.

If only there was an easier way to know about my genes in her too. I was suddenly getting worried about tomorrow when my phone rang with Rachel’s name on the screen.

We didn’t go shopping today. I was too nervous after what happened in the morning and didn’t want her to get suspicious or mention anything about my fast heartbeat and anxious babbling to Luke.

“Aren’t you coming down for dinner? There are lamb chops and smoked quail. It’s been a while since we ate together.”

“Wow, sounds delicious! I’ll be right there.”

Hoping to catch a glimpse of Luke again, I changed into a cute white lace top and black denim skirt. Setting my hair into neat waves and smearing on some natural makeup, I stepped out of my room, feeling ridiculous for wanting to look good when I might be dragged down to the dungeons at any moment for interrogation.

“How is Adalyn doing?” I asked Rachel carefully while filling my plate with a few delicacies.

I had no appetite because of anxiety, but my stomach was roaring in hunger as soon as I smelled rosemary from somewhere.

“She seems to have lost all her memories. Her wolf died too. Not sure what happened but looks like skinwalker magic.”

“Oh, how did they get to her? Aren’t they on the east side of the pack borders?” The relief I felt was exhilarating.

“Not sure because she was with Sadie and then they both disappeared. No trace of them anywhere for weeks and now she was suddenly found near our west pack borders.”

West. Of course. The ocean washes the scent away. The last time Ren spotted them was on the west end of the estate as well. But I wasn’t here to help them with their investigation of course.

“Where was she all these days? How did she survive but not the wolf?”

“Her mom was a hybrid. Fae and werewolf. Alpha Garett expected to get a superstrong son out of her. He got Adalyn with no Fae powers. I think now she’s just human with Fae and werewolf b***d but powers from neither.”

“I see.”

I never attacked a Fae before. She wasn’t a threat unless she got back her memories. I needed to act fast and make good use of tomorrow.

I walked back to the chair after filling my plate with food. More people were joining us at the ginormous table. Many pack members were already sitting near the fireplace and TV room, drinking beer.

“Is this some special occasion today? Lots of food and everyone seems to be coming here for dinner.” I knew the entire pack gathered only on every full moon. Rachel’s reply was cut short when Ryder entered the room.

“What is a slave doing here? This food isn’t fit for slaves and mistresses.” He stopped me from taking a seat.

“She’s my friend.” Rachel nudged me to sit, but my appetite died when Tiana occupied the chair next to Rachel.

“What is she doing here?” I asked Rachel quietly, but both Ryder and Tiana’s ears picked it up.

“Oh, the guts! You may have charmed the Alpha and his sister. That doesn’t mean you get to question as if you are the f*****g Luna of this pack. You are still a slave… a s*x slave. And Tiana here is Finn’s sister.”

“Beta, what did you say? This fugly bitch has charmed our Alpha? How? Is that why she was acting like he was all hers and—“

Rachel opened her mouth to stop Tiana, but Luke walked in with Travis just then, looking pissed at no one in particular. He already heard us.

“Riley, what are you doing here?”

I stood up to leave immediately. I had enough of his bullshit for one day. He would surely shame me a lot more when Ryder was around. It seemed like his dad was about to show up, and he wanted me to leave right away.

“I invited her. Why can’t she eat with us?” Rachel made a sad face at her brother.

“She can’t eat with us. She’s not one of us.” He sounded just like Ryder and the trainer. Turning to me, he continued with his insults. “What makes you think you could leave your room without asking for my permission?”

I remained silent, knowing full well he was doing this for show.

“The food you are about to eat isn’t mine. It’s the Night Walker Pack’s way of celebrating Adalyn’s return. What are you celebrating here? Go back to your room and ring Ren for dinner.”

I walked out before he even finished his sentence. The Night Walker Pack was already on my list for a while now. I have been closely studying that pack besides Ryder’s moves. They were all responsible for Red Crescent Pack’s tragic fate.

Located on the northern borders of Storm Moon Pack, they were less than three miles away from here, and that was where Ryder hid his mistress, probably his human mate he was too scared to show to the others.

It was too much to ask for Luke to show up at my door later that night. As expected, I was disappointed yet again and went to bed thinking about ways to get over him. I spent the next day the same way, hoping to see him at least for a few minutes.

The opportunity came when Rachel called me.

“I already got permission since my brother went nuts last night. Get dressed, see ya!” She seemed to be very proud of her car and was dying to show it off to me.

An orange Mustang GT with white stripes.

“I love it!”

“Me too, Ry! 760 horsepower! It’s my brother’s gift. You should also ask him for one since he missed your birthday. He’ll buy you anything you want. Do you also like supercars?”

“Er… My driving skills are quite… lacking, I should say.”

I had never seen a car until last year. After three failed attempts to get my license, Wyatt gave up on me.

“You can ask for some expensive jewelry then. Make him spend money on you. He wants to.”

Her face lit up as she sped on the freeway and took the exit to the town square. My bodyguards closely followed us everywhere we went.

We grabbed some coffee, and then she showed me around the place. Unlike Wyatt’s city, which had a mix of humans and werewolves with the latter hiding their identity, this town was exclusively a werewolf town. They ran schools, bars, and everything, while humans were a minority, mostly here because of their mates.

We drove back through the woods and took a dirt road to pass by the waterfalls.

“Don’t you think this town is very beautiful?” She waved her hand towards the beautiful rainbow that played over the gushing water. “My dad and Alpha Garett have been pushing my brother to move to where the Red Crescent Pack used to be. You lived in both places. Tell him if you really like this place.”

As if he would care about my opinion. I would love to move back because my home was really close to there.

“Where are we going?” Rachel left the car for the driver to take care of and took me through a different building.

“Thought of saying hello to Adalyn. She’ll be going back to her pack with her dad in a few hours.”

My fears about being caught returned. Everywhere I went, it felt like Tiana was following me. She was sitting on the study chair next to Adalyn’s bed and drinking some lemonade iced tea with her.

“Hello, guys! I brought you some mini donuts from the coffee place we went to.” Rachel handed a brown bag to her while Adalyn’s eyes met mine.

“You…!” She was hyperventilating and shivering like a leaf.

“Dell, relax. This is Riley. She’s a fri—“

Adalyn dropped the donuts on the floor, jumped out of her bed screaming, and ran out the door facing the woods before I understood what happened.

F**k! Don’t tell me I jogged all her memories back.

There wasn’t a day I regretted walking her and Sadie to their deaths. “Matters of the heart” would have been far less complicated if she had become the Luna, forcing Luke to reject me and let me go along with my revenge plans without feeling like a terrible person.

Rachel dismissed Adalyn’s behavior when all she could talk about was gibberish. I sighed in relief again. Ignoring Tiana’s conspiracy theories about how I killed Adalyn’s wolf, I walked back to my room, feeling flustered about the fast approaching night.

With four men guarding my door, I wasn’t sure how to get out of the building. And now Adalyn was back, making me look very suspicious. I should stay locked in my room as Luke wanted me to. Could have avoided the fight with Tiana and her loud mouth, telling everyone I wanted to kill her and Adalyn. It won’t be too long before Luke puts the two and two together.

It was a cloudy night, with the moon hidden most of the time. Should still be plenty to energize my stone.

After dinner, I told Eric I would like to spend the night with their Alpha and walked towards Luke’s room. He would think I don’t have an ounce of shame if I went to meet him. So I took my dagger to look like I was mad at him. I just needed enough time to get the bodyguards off my back.

Opening the door loud enough to wake him up in case he had fallen asleep, I walked to the bed to watch his sleeping face before raising the dagger. There were talks about Adalyn becoming his Luna soon. He would naturally assume I was mad at him, especially after how he deprived me of the delicious quail last night.

“Let go of me!” I struggled under his hot shirtless body, pretending to be surprised that he caught me. He looked at my dagger mockingly.

“Did you really think you could take me down with this?”

No, of course, I didn’t. What I also didn’t expect was that he would use it to rip my top off.

Crap! How was I going to leave the building? Poor planning for sure.

“Please, let me go.”

I was very close to forgetting about everything and just wrapping my arms around him when his naked chest touched mine. His wolf was super excited about me visiting him. Crushing my lips with his, he kissed me deeply, forcing me to surrender completely.

“Luke…” I pulled him closer and shut my eyes as his lips trailed down my neck with passion.

“Do you really want me dead?” His warm breath sent shudders down my spine while he cupped my breasts.

Those sinful thoughts running through his mind were driving me crazy with desire. I lost control of my body and my m***s as he licked his way down from my stomach, making small circles around my nub with his thumb.

Goosebumps littered my skin when I heard the strain in his voice as he g*****d. His stubble rubbed against the inside of my thighs, and I tugged at his hair, wanting nothing else. Moonlight streamed into the room through the blinds suddenly, and a ray of light touched my stone.

I got up instantly, pushing him away. I was such an idiot to have forgotten why I came here.

“Lend me your shirt!”

He huffed out a laugh and pulled me close. Lying on his back and straddling me over him, he pushed a stray lock of my hair and looked into my eyes. I was too lost in his eyes and the way they looked at me. Leaning in, I wanted to k**s him before leaving, but my pendant took a peek at the worst time possible.

“What is this? Doesn’t look like a moonstone.”

I told him it was nothing special and hid it completely under the blanket I had wrapped around me. He refused to let me go.

“You don’t know how many times I walked past your room last night. Please sleep here, just for tonight.”

I buried myself in his arms and lied quietly on his shoulder. His k****s were so sweet and he meant every word he said and a lot more. He had missed me more than I ever imagined, and he wasn’t sure how long he could go on without giving in completely.

I closed my eyes, unable to handle his thoughts.