He f**ked and knotted her almost every night in the past 8 years.
Yet she still believed their mating was only contractual.
“Congratulations,” she said smilingly when he found his fated mate, “Now you can reject me.”
“Now what?" He gritted his teeth.
----
Part 1: Null & Voided
Belladonna
Bella stood in the shower in the Luna’s suite, allowing the warm water to wash over her. She was pleasantly exhausted, Parker had left her suite; he was off to a mating ball in another state. She had four days now, where he wasn’t going to be there inside the pack.
She was his Luna; had been for eight years now, but she was bound to him not by her choice, had been chosen for him by her own Alpha and Luna; just to get rid of her, and she knew it.
She was the youngest child of her father, and unwanted and shunned; a bаst3rd child not born of his Mate bond, and that was why she was hated by the Luna in her home pack.
This allianced mating, that she’d been bound to at just 19 years of age. It was, she believed, her father’s Luna’s way of getting rid of her from their pack, once and for all. The only solace she had was that there was a detailed mating alliance. That did not allow for Parker to bring harm to her.
Parker came to her room, the Luna’s suite every other night to bed her, and though the sx was good, more than good, dаmed near on amazing at times, she had to admit, because he wasn’t just a man that came and took what he wanted.
No, he was a man that enjoyed sx, enjoyed knowing he pleased the woman in his bed, even if she had been sold to him. Parker could spend hours in her bed, touching and tasting her, sometimes all night long. He was not a terrible Mate to her, but he was indifferent most of the time.
She had been given to him to stop a war between their two packs, had been Marked and Mated by him, taken as his Chosen Luna, with full view of rejecting her one-day down the line. She didn’t actually mean anything to him.
He didn’t love her, and she didn’t love him. She could enjoy him being in her bed because of the Mate Bond, enjoyed it a lot, and had been known to scream with pleasure at him having his way with her. He could be utterly insatiable at times, and a part of Bella craved him; as his Mate she loved his every t***h. She actually enjoyed her heat when it came, just once a year, spent seven glorious days being mated by him, and the sx; all rough I’ve just got to have alpha-blooded needs on the surface.
Screamed in utter bliss that week multiple times a day and half all night, but it was the only time he never got out of her bed and slept in his suite.
Every time always ended the same way. The moment he couldn’t scent her heat anymore, he was up and gone from her suite. Eight years of it; nothing had changed for him. Just three days ago, her heat had ended, and he’d left in the middle of the night. She’d not even known, she had been exhausted by them mating furiously that last time, and she had slept like the dead. Then she'd woken up on her own because her heat was over.
This morning, him in her bed for a few hours before the sun rose. It was because he was going away for a mating ball and would be gone for four days. The pack he was visiting was in another state, 12 hours away, unaffiliated to him but a good opportunity for his wolves to pair up.
There was nothing unusual about him being gone for four days, seeing as how far away that pack was, sometimes it was five full days. That was nice for her, he wasn’t one to tax his wolves, and so they stopped overnight on the way there or back if necessary. Not that he informed her of his doings, she just learned it over the years.
Parker didn’t think that he was required to tell her his movements, she was only his Mate and Luna, due to the mating alliance that they had. It didn’t bother her at all, it just meant she had four days to herself this week. He always liked to have sx before he left and when he got back as well, something about he had an alpha-blooded sx drive that he needed to sate on a regular basis.
She didn’t argue about it, she had it too, there was no need to either, they both got all the tingly mate bond goodness in that bed of hers. And it was always in her bed. She’d never even seen inside the Alpha Suite; that was not a place for her to be.
Bella dressed for the day and headed downstairs, to get herself some breakfast, where she saw him and his unit all heading across the foyer and out the front door of the packhouse to leave. He nodded to her, but never said goodbye to her. No one here thought anything about it, they all knew she had been given to him. Was not his Goddess-Gifted Mate.
Though the pack here was nice to her, they didn’t treat her badly at all, that had been a surprise to her, and she herself was nice to all of them. She actually liked the pack, and it seemed the pack actually liked her. Looked to her for advice even. She did her Luna duties as was required of her.
She had been sent here against her will, but actually found that she fitted in better inside this pack than her own home pack. She had respect here from this pack, from Parker to a certain degree, she thought.
She’d learned how to be a Luna to this pack, and attended to all of those duties that Parker had tasked her with, when she’d first been brought here. She had even been allowed to study with his pack’s doctor in the hospital, and now, eight years later she herself was a good doctor.
Bella specialized in the delivery of pups, and looking after the she-wolves in labour, using her Luna Calm to help them settle when fully distressed, and things got a bit on the hairy side. She’d not lost a single pup or she-wolf in the past eight years of assisting and then delivering on her own.
She was a fully registered doctor with this pack, and one day when she left, she would be a doctor for another pack somewhere else. That was the goal. Though what the really crazy thing was, was that six months after she went into heat herself, there was always an explosion of pups within the pack.
It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the pack's doctor, her mentor Annette, she shook her head and had stated “It’s you, you know.” They often laughed and joked about it. Annette had already chuckled just yesterday about getting supplies ready for pups to be born in a few months’ time.
Bella had just snorted and shaken her own head, they were currently going through that now, that heat she’d had last week was completely unexpected and out of the blue, her second one for this year. Had not been expected at all.
Annette’s theory only made Bella shake her head, she thought it was just a coincidence was all. She’d not gotten pregnant once in the past eight years of having a heat once a year.
A part of her was glad of it as well, knowing that there was a clause in her mating alliance that stated all pups she had while still bonded to Parker, were to be given to him. When he found his Goddess-Gifted Mate and rejected her, she had to leave them behind for him to raise. They were his heirs. It was not something she wanted to happen.
She knew that Parker would make her give them up as well. He followed all his alliance dealings to the letter. She also knew it was a clause he’d written into their mating alliance himself. He wasn’t willing to relinquish any child to her, he would be claiming all of them as his heirs. She might be their mother if she ever birthed any pups, but she had no rights to them; that was how she looked at that clause.
She saw him sometimes looking at her, in the weeks after her heat, assessing her, she knew, listening for a heartbeat of a pup. He wanted an heir and she, being Alpha-blooded like he was, their pup would be a pure-blooded heir for this pack. There were no pups, even though she wasn’t on birth control of any kind, he wouldn’t allow it. He was hoping for a pup between them and she knew it.
2
Belladonna
Bella thought there was no pup simply because she didn’t want one and her wolf certainly didn’t want one to a Mate that was not her Fated or that was how it felt to Bella. Neither of them were at all interested in having a pup with a Mate that was going to, at some point in time, whether it be in the near or far future, reject them for his Goddess-Gifted when she came along.
Why would anyone want to do that when they knew that their Alpha Mate would be sending them away, pretty much just tossing them out of his pack and without their pups, making them sever their kind bond to however many pups they had and loved. No she-wolf she knew would agree with that, it was insane; and neither she nor Freya, her wolf, were interested in that happening to them.
Parker had made a few comments over the years about it, and she’d stared at him, stated simply, “Maybe, Selena doesn’t want us to have a pup, Parker.”
To which he’d retort, “And maybe you’re infertile.” Sounding a bit on the angry side about it.
“Could well be,” she’d nodded at him simply. She’d not taken offense to his words.
Though she wasn’t infertile. She’d been tested a few years back along with himself after that very comment. She’d thought he’d gone away and thought about his own words, and maybe come to the conclusion that one of them was infertile.
So they’d both been tested at his request, and they were both fine and capable of conceiving a pup, apparently. It just wasn’t meant to be as far as she was concerned, and she was honestly glad of it.
Though during her heats, Parker knotted her every time he came, and she him back, liked the bloody feeling of it as much as he did, and she knew it. She understood that being knotted to one's Mate kind of made you feel whole, that it was part of the mate bond as well.
He had in fact knotted her this morning, had looked right down at her while still knotted to her and sighed softly, contentedly. She knew he liked the feeling of being knotted to her. All wolves did unless they weren’t their Mate.
His blue eyes had looked into her blue ones, and he’d murmured softly as he’d looked down at her, a gentle smile on his face, “An heir would be nice, don’t you think Belladonna.” He hadn’t said it in months, and she’d been a little surprised to hear him bring it once more, she had thought he’d give up on that thought, though the way he said her name softly, almost sounded like he cared at that moment. She knew better though, he never shortened her name like everyone else inside the pack did. He was the only one to call her Belladonna, and she was certain that he did it, to remind himself she was his Chosen Mate.
“I guess it would.” She’d answered him. It was all she ever said on the subject of a pup between them.
She’d only ever actually said ‘no’ once, and it had set him and his beast off into a fit of rage. She’d not really understood that. He didn’t love her, she knew that. But she’d never dared to say it again. Because his anger over her declining to even think it was a good idea, had filtered into the pack.
The pack had been on edge over his foul mood, and she’d seen him stomping around and grating out orders at everyone. He’d been cranky about it for over a week. So now she stated she guessed it would be, instead of telling him no she didn’t want one with him. To save the pack from his temper was all, something he had, but she rarely saw, the pack rarely saw, and she had a feeling he tried not to lose it for no reason at all. The pack did like him, respect him and were happy with him as their Alpha.
Sometimes she wondered what that war with her home pack had been all about. She didn’t recall there being a war, perse, there had been a full threat of one, that much she did know. Though her father and Parker had probably not wanted that war and tried everything to stop it before it got started. She’d not been privy to that and during those two days everyone had been sequestered to their homes. Though she did know there had been a wolfen force at the border of the pack.
She shook off her thoughts, she didn’t need a trip down memory lane, that was a long time ago. She ate her breakfast in the dining room as she always did, smiled at the wolves in here eating as well. Chuckled as a boy of six climbed up onto the seat next to her and tugged on her arm “Luna, mummy’s going to have her baby today.”
“Is she now?” she’d smiled down at him.
“Yes, daddy took her to the hospital just a minute ago.”
Bella smiled at him “Are you excited to meet your little sister Franky?” she asked him.
“Yes.” He smiled big up at her “Aunty Becky is watching me.”
Bella looked up to find Rebekah his aunt walking this way. She was heavily pregnant herself. “Daisy just went into labour, Luna.” Rebekah told her as she walked over to her.
“I just heard; Franky’s excited.” She ruffled his blond hair. “How are you doing today, Becky?”
“Alright, will you be going to the hospital soon?” Becky asked.
“Yes, right after breakfast. Everything will be fine with your sister; I’ve not lost a pup yet and am not about to start today.” She reassured Becky.
Bella had gone into heat six months ago. This was going to be a busy week here inside the pack. Her last heat had been very unexpected. Had come in the middle of the night, out of nowhere and Parker had not been in the pack for it either. That first night had been agony locked in her suite, unable to sate the needs from her heat.
But he’d come back in short order, when he’d been informed she was in heat, and she’d been on him the moment he’d walked into her suite, practically ripped his pants off him and shoved him down all alpha aggression, and she ridden the hll out of him with all she’d had right by the suites' entry door.
He hadn’t cared, had enjoyed it himself, enjoyed all her heats while they lasted. He got to have sx for hours every day and half the nights as well, it was all rough and raw, both their alpha-blooded needs in full swing. They were both very aggressive about getting what they wanted during her heats. It was kind of unavoidable, she thought. Just their bloodlines.
She pulled herself from her thoughts and made her way to the pack’s hospital, pulled on her scrubs. Today she was wearing soft blue scrubs with sloths all over them; she thought they were cute.
The pack hospital had, had a uniform when she’d arrived in this pack, black scrubs, she’d gotten rid of them, thought they were very unfriendly, and some of the pack’s children who’d never been in the hospital before had shied away from the nurses and doctors on their first visit.
Now all the nurses and doctors wore fun scrubs with patterns all over them, some even tailored them to the seasons. It had helped the children relax and be comfortable. They did have a standard uniform for after war or pack attacks, when their wolves were grieving the loss of loved ones. Simple respectful scrubs that were mint green and white.
Despite being brought here as a Chosen Mate and Luna, Parker did expect her to attend all Luna duties, and she did them well. He couldn’t fault her on that. He didn’t have any complaints, and had actually told her she made a good Luna to his pack.
That had been just a few years back. She’d just smiled and nodded, accepted the compliment from him, they were few and far between, had told him in return, “I like the pack members, they’re nice to me.” and they were. "I'll always do my best for them, Parker."
The Lustrous Moon was a much nicer pack to her than her home pack had been.
3
Belladonna
It was a long four days inside the pack. Bella had delivered 17 pups over those days, she had lived inside the pack hospital itself, slept in her office, on the couch in there so she didn’t have to make the trip from the Luna suite to the hospital, which took 20 minutes at a casual stroll, it was closer to the pack's town than the packhouse, and she understood that was because it had been built to cater to the majority of the pack who lived in the town not the packhouse.
Parker was due home today around lunchtime, and she knew that the moment he was finished initiating his new pack members into his pack, and allocating them homes if they needed it, he was going to want to go right to her room and have sx.
He couldn’t go more than two days without sx on any normal given week here inside the pack. With the exception of that one week, he'd been angry. He'd stayed away from her that week; not brought his anger into her bed. But when he had crawled into bed, Goddess she'd never thought he was going to stop eating her out. Gotten multiples from him, several in fact, before she fallen asleep and woke up alone.
This was how it had been for the past eight years. She, however, was actually very tired today, exhausted, she would say, had pulled an all-nighter last night and had yet to get any sleep. Bella had delivered three pups in the past 7 hours, and Annette had delivered two herself.
Bella had received a text from him just as she was sitting down at her desk in her Luna's office, “I’ll be home in a few hours.” It had read. Bella had frowned down at it, a little confused as to why he’d sent it. He’d never done that before.
She shook it off, likely he was just letting her know that he expected them to get n@ked in her bed when he got home, because he wanted to have sx. It had been four days. Well, it wasn’t going to be like that today. She had many things to do this morning herself and was too tired for sx; he’d have to understand.
She was in all likelihood going to be in the Luna’s office when he crossed the pack border as well, because she had to now sit down and register all of those pups with the pack. Get their parents' files all up to date as well; having to register all 17 pups took time, and she didn’t make mistakes.
It was going to be a long day, and she’d probably sleep like the dead after Parker had his way with her at some point later in the afternoon. She sighed as she sat in her chair, staring at the computer screen in front of her, her eyes kept drooping and she micro napped a few times, was fighting off sleep that she desperately needed and she knew it.
She got up and looked at the time. It was just on 8am. She could sleep for two hours and then pull on her alpha-bloodline after that, to get her through the rest of the day, until she turned in for the night, she would go to bed early and she knew it. She set herself an alarm on her phone and crashed out on the couch in the Luna's office.
Woke up and stretched and got coffee, when her alarm went off, she was still tired but could function at least. Returned to her job of documenting the births of those pups, and the condition of the mothers. She hissed as pain shot through her left arm, almost felt like someone had stabbed her and dragged a knife up her arm. It only lasted a few seconds, and she rubbed her arm and shook it off. It was odd, to say the least. Never felt that happen before.
She finished documenting those pups, attached their baby pictures to the files and smiled at each one of them, she did love babies, they were so cute. All her life she’d been in a pack hospital. Her mother had died in childbirth, and she’d been raised by her grandmother, a nurse in her home pack, she’d never really had any friends, not being that she was her father’s bаst3rd daughter, not even her half siblings liked her.
Bella had learned to stick close to her grandmother, and she herself had worked in the pack hospital from a young age, become a runner for those that worked there, dashing off to get things they needed.
Then she had started working in the hospital at 16, had dropped out of school altogether. It was not fun for her in that school, she got bullied by her half siblings all day long. She’d had one a few months older than she was, and she was in all her classes.
Her father had not cared that she’d dropped out of school at all, he’d also never sent her off to Alpha College, she wasn’t a legitimate heir so didn’t need to go. She’d never asked to go either. She never went into the packhouse for anything, just tried to be invisible to that pack.
Her father may have claimed her as his kin, but she was not part of the Alpha’s family, though she didn’t think Parker knew that. She was in fact hated by all of her siblings; the Luna especially hated her existence. Bella kind of understood that. She’d learned at a young age her conception had seen the packs Luna be in agony with the pains of betrayal.
Though her grandmother had told her once, it wasn’t as it seemed, and not to believe that her mother was a mistress, she’d not been, hadn’t wanted to be bedded by her father, the alpha of that pack. She’d hadn’t had a choice about it, but then in the next breath she’d stated don’t blame your father either, he didn’t really want to bed your mother. It had confused her a lot. If neither had wanted it, how had it happened?
Bella pulled herself from her thoughts as her tummy rumbled, and she got up to go and have lunch. It was midday and Parker wasn’t back yet, though she didn’t think it would be far off at all. He’d text her at 7am, a few hours. She shrugged, likely they’d all stopped for food somewhere.
She was just returning to her office when she felt him come back into the pack, and he mind-linked to her near instantly, “Belladonna, meet me in the foyer.” He stated and cut the link before she could even reply to him.
She was actually in the foyer now, so took up a seat with some of the pack’s kids and watched them play a board game. They all smiled up at her, and she smiled back at them, helped that youngest one out a bit.
She looked up as Parker walked into the packhouse, and there was a woman walking next to him, quite tall, almost as tall as he was, though Bella noted she was wearing stilettos, they clicked loudly on the tiled floor as she strode along next to Parker. She looked more than annoyed to Bella.
Bella stood as was expected of her to greet him when he came home, and watched as the woman looked right at her now as well, then there was just anger in those eyes of hers. Bella saw her take a full step closer to Parker and try to reach out and curl her hand around his forearm. Parker frowned down at her and brushed it away. “I’ve explained this to you Carina,” he stated flatly “No touching at this time.”
There was more anger welling off the she-wolf now, and Bella understood right away, Parker had found his Goddess-Gifted Mate at that mating ball and though he would want to claim her for himself. He couldn’t, not until he’d rejected Bella. It was part of their mating alliance.
“Axel, please take Carina to get some lunch.” Parker addressed his Delta, and motioned for them to move on passed him. His eyes moved back to her after Axel walked Carina off, “Belladonna, my office please.” He stated casually, and turned and walked that way himself.
“Yes, Parker.” She answered him simply, she knew what this was all about, it was time for him to reject her, so he could go and claim his actual mate.
4
Belladonna
She wondered just how much he was struggling right this minute, not being able to claim his Goddess-Gifted. How much had he struggled on the full moon when scenting her out and then coming face to face with her?
Scenting her out knowing he couldn’t claim her, having that she-wolf see that he was already marked and mated by another, Bella bet that woman, Carina, she’d heard her name was, had been very confused by that. Likely been very angry about it, from what she’d just seen, clearly she hadn’t liked it at all.
Ah! That stabbing pain in her arm earlier in the day, it was likely Carina had touched Parker, and as brief as it had been, she’d felt it, that had been pains of betrayal.
That full moon night wouldn’t have been fun for her, and then the overnight stay in a hotel, and the long drive here to the pack. That she-wolf was more than ticked off about not being able to claim what was hers, but Parker, she knew, was a stickler for the rules.
Which was a good thing for her, otherwise he could have treated her terribly over the years, and he could have marked and mated that she-wolf on the full moon, if he wasn’t a man of his word; something that she knew he actually was, and she was thankful for, because it would likely have killed her if he’d done that.
She excused herself from the children and headed into his office, followed his Beta and Gamma. She heard the door being closed by Kane, the pack Beta. “Congratulations, Parker.” She smiled, genuinely happy for him. “I see you found your Goddess-Gifted Mate.”
He nodded to her, “I have.” He stated as he sat down behind his desk “so we need to talk, you and I.” He looked right at her now.
“Why?” she asked right back “I know what this is, I was chosen, just to be rejected by you.” she knew that was the truth, wondered if her old Luna wanted her to know that and feel it. Punish her for being born by doing this to her. “Just reject me Parker, I’ll accept it.” she told him simply.
She had basically been sold to the Alpha sitting before her, she didn’t love him, her wolf didn’t love his either, their bond had never grown and flourished like all others did. It never would, or she didn’t believe that it would. The only time they spent together was in her bed, when he wanted to have sx, or she was in heat.
Never did they ever go out for a meal, never had they celebrated their mate bond with each other, she’d not even gotten a Luna Ceremony. She had been announced to the pack the morning after he’d marked and mated her and that was it. She was not his Goddess-Gifted, and only that woman would get all of him, all the things that came with being his true Luna.
Parker was frowning at her now, almost with disapproval in those blue eyes of his. He was still sitting there just staring at her, did so for a full minute as though he expected some sort of outburst from her, she thought. She wasn’t going to do that, wasn’t about to pitch a fit or kick up any kind of fuss over this.
She stood there and stared right back at him, didn’t really understand why he didn’t just issue that rejection instantly, it was why he’d called her into his office, and she knew it, because he’d brought his Goddess-Gifted home with him. Bella finally raised an eyebrow at him, when he just sat there and continued to stare at her and say nothing. She shook her head a little, “I’ll do it then.” She stated simply, “I Luna Belladonna Harrington, reject you Alpha Parker Hartly as my Mate.” She stated, he’d never given her his name, again something reserved for his Goddess-Gifted Mate only, as was the Alpha Suite.
She’d been here eight long years, and the entire time she’d resided in the Luna Suite, again a clause in the mating alliance; put in by Parker himself, she thought. To make sure she understood her place inside this pack, she supposed.
She was his Luna and fk buddy, not the love of his life. She doubted that he had any feelings at all where she was concerned, had wondered at times if he even liked her as a person. They didn’t talk often, so she wouldn’t know.
Bella felt the severing of the bond begin on her end and gritted her teeth against it, stood staring at his widened eyes at her sudden rejecting of him. Almost like he couldn’t believe she’d issued it at all, “Accept it.” she gasped out after 30 seconds of him just staring at her “It, hurts Parker. Get it over with, please.”
Again, there was that frown on his face, though now it was deepened, then he just stood up and nodded at her, “I Alpha Parker Hartly, accept your rejection Belladonna Harrington, you are no longer my Mate and Luna.”
Bella gasped as their bond severed completely, clutched at her chest as she felt him being ripped away from her. Freya's snarl echoed inside her mind at the pain she was feeling. Then there was a pair of hands on her shoulders as she started to buckle under the weight of the pain.
She could feel Shannon, the pack’s Gamma, rolling his charm over her to help ease her pain, and she was actually glad that he was there right this very minute. It hurt like a bltch, more than she had thought it would, considering their bond was nothing more than just really good sx. There was no emotional attachment between them, so she'd not expected it to hurt so much.
She sank down onto her knees and had to breathe through the feeling of Parkers Mark burning off her n**k. It took several long agonizing minutes, and even Shannon's Charm wasn't really helping with the pain of it, though she could feel it being rolled over her the whole time. Her hand reached up to t***h her n**k instinctively when the mark was gone, no more was the filigree that had adorned her n**k for the past eight years, there were just two puncture marks where his fangs had buried into her that first night he’d brought her here to his pack and claimed her.
It was no longer sensitive to the t***h either, she felt nothing as she touched it where once it had brought desire. Even when she touched it herself, nothing remained right this minute.
Her eyes lifted to him, he had a hand tightly gripped onto the edge of his desk, and a fist pressed hard against his chest. He looked to be in as much pain as she was. His eyes were on hers, never left hers at all, not even when she stood herself up and gently removed Shannon’s hands from her, stating softly “I’ll be alright, Shannon. Thank you.” and she knew she would be.
“Parker, you should go and claim your Goddess-Gifted, it will resolve your pain quickly.”
“And you?” he asked, and it almost sounded to her that he was concerned about her.
“I’ll be fine. I understand our mating alliance, and I will follow it to the letter. Kane and I can sort that out. You should go and be with your Mate. She’ll be happy we’re over, and you can claim her, she can finally claim what is hers rightfully by the Goddess.”
He was frowning at her now, didn’t appear to understand her reaction to all of this. But she was finally free, released from the contract that had made her just one of his belongings. It’s all she was to him, something he owned. Now she wasn’t his anymore or wouldn’t be in 24 hours; that’s how long she had to leave this pack.
She turned to Kane, the pack’s Beta. “If you could meet me in the foyer in say an hour, we’ll finish it off properly, while Parker is marking and mating his Goddess-Gifted Mate.”
“Yes Lu… Bella.” He nodded, had almost called her Luna, like he had done so many times before, over the past eight years.
5
Parker
For eight years they had been mated to each other, and not once had Belladonna turned loving eyes on him. Not once had she even looked at the Alpha Suite as though she wanted to be in there with him; never had he even seen her glance at it. She just walked on past it like it didn’t exist for her.
Belladonna, his mate of eight years, stood before him and still felt nothing for him. She was today wearing a clean set of scrubs. Though they looked a little on the rumpled side to him, as though she’d had a nap in them. It wouldn’t surprise him at all, if she had. She was often up late in the hospital. Slept there some nights when there were a lot of babies to be delivered.
Even now standing in his office, he had expected some sort of reaction from her; to him bringing home his Goddess-Gifted Mate. But she’d not even so much as frowned at seeing Carina walk into the packhouse with him or standing there next to him, or Carina trying to t***h him in a possessive manner, right there in the packhouse foyer for all to see.
Knowing what she was to him, and Belladonna did know it, he’d never walked anywhere with a woman next to him like that before unless it was herself attending a mating ball with him, and Carina, she was all dolled up, to look her best when arriving at the pack. It had taken nearly an hour and a half to get ready in the hotel room this morning, which annoyed him greatly, having to wait for her like that. He had things to do and places to be.
Belladonna had said nothing at all about seeing her with him, hadn’t even said anything when he’d sent Carina off with his Delta, and requested Belladonna to come into his office. No, she just politely excused herself from the children she’d been sitting with; likely playing a game with them, he’d seen her do that before on many occasions.
He’d never treated her badly, respected her and craved that dаmed woman’s body more than he’d allowed himself to have her. Had held himself back from her because she didn’t have any feelings for him at all. She didn’t want a pup with him, hearing that had bloody hurt, and he’d been angry about it for a week.
They’d been together for five years when he’d bitten the bullet and finally brought it up. He had thought five years of him treating her nicely. Respectfully, and acknowledging her as his Luna would have shown her, they worked well together. Clearly not, and he had not liked the response he’d gotten at all.
Even now, he could see after eight years together, that he meant absolutely nothing to her. He couldn’t understand why her side of the mate bond didn’t grow and flourish at all. He didn’t want to issue this rejection, she was an amazing Luna, intelligent, strong and beautiful, had long wavy chestnut brown hair, that right this minute was pulled up in messy bun on top of her head. Because she’d been working in the pack hospital, but it didn’t detract from her beauty at all.
Normally she would wear it out, and it fell around her shoulders or down her back in a lovely wavy cascade. She had brilliant blue eyes that could sparkle like the ocean at times and a very kissable mouth.
The whole pack liked her, she’d learned everything about all of them over the years, attended to all the Luna’s duties, she was not only his Luna, but was a brilliant pack doctor as well. The woman loved babies, they made her light up from the inside out, and that smiled when she looked down at them; pure joy in her blue eyes. It was infectious the way she smiled.
She always had a smile for the little ones. He couldn’t understand why they’d not had pups. She would make a great mother, and he knew it. Their children would be loved and adored by her. He’d not once in the past eight years seen her even raise her voice to a little one, not even a teenager.
She’d looked a little exasperated at times, when she got those repeat offenders to her Luna’s office, to be admonished by their Luna for getting into fights, but never did she yell at them. She was a kind soul to everyone.
She’d not even argued about being mated off to him, had stood there in her father’s office at just 19 years old, untouched by anyone inside her home pack, he’d taken her virginity, she’d not even known how to k**s. Very unusual for an alpha-blooded female of 19 years of age.
She had just stood there in her father’s office and said nothing at all. Not one single word to anyone in that room, as they’d discussed that Mating Alliance, what clauses he wanted, what her father had wanted for her as well. She’d said nothing in his car on the way to this very pack, had sat and stared out the window the entire time.
Nothing until he’d initiated her into his pack, until he’d cut his palm and then hers, and pressed their palms together, asked, as her new Alpha, to pledge loyalty to him and his pack. She’d not even really looked at him until that very moment either, just once in her father’s office only. He recalled her that day here in his office, she'd looked at their hands, taken in a long breath and then had just accepted him as her new Alpha.
It had been the first time he’d heard her voice. Soft to his own ears even then, he’d put that down to her being unhappy about the Mating Alliance, and he knew she was unhappy. Shannon had told him via the mind-link ‘She’s unhappy, but resigned to it, not going to argue or fight you about Marking and Mating her.’ And she hadn’t.
He’d also known she had never been with anyone. Her own father had told him as much, and Shannon had confirmed that, for him, she was nervous about not knowing what to do in the bedroom. He’d been more than experienced, so it wasn’t really an issue, and he’d not Mated her until they’d both marked each other. It would lessen the pain for her and he knew it. He’d also not rushed the job, taken his time and tried to take care of her, bring about pleasure for her, and show her he wasn’t going to be a brute of a Mate, and that he wasn't out to hurt her.
Now to hear her congratulate him, it felt very odd to him, and Vex’s ears, which had flattened back against his head and annoyance rolled right off his beast at her words, she actually meant it, it was there in her tone. She was genuinely happy for him, it appeared. Their own Mate confused them to no end. If she’d walked into this packhouse trailing a Goddess-Gifted Mate, he’d likely have tried to take that man's head clean off. Would have been very angry to see another that was getting to t***h what was his.
But no, she just smiled right at him, the perfectly happy smile she had when she looked at babies, real happiness there on the surface not only for him to see, but to know it was actually for him, she really was happy for him right this very minute; That he had found his Goddess-Gifted Mate.
Vex wanted to snarl at her for seeing her so happy about him being gifted to another, but turned and stalked off away to the back of his mind, ‘I’m not voicing it.’ he snarled at Parker and lay down inside his mind to watch her from back there. She’d been mated by his wolf in human form as often as she had been by Parker himself. They were both attached to her and both wanted her.
His wolf was annoyed as much as Parker was right this very minute that she could be so bloody happy for them, it was not what he wanted to see from her; not at all. She and Carina were two very different people from what he’d seen so far. Belladonna was the better of the two of them, and he knew it.
