Lunar Temptations

Ch 10

"No!" The words left my mouth before I could check myself. Their heads snapped in my direction, surprised. Zayden, beside me, cleared his throat and spared me a chilling look. One that said, "Don't f**k up."

"No- I mean, why would you say something like that, Dad? You will live many more years, not months." Even though this was not what I meant, my words were genuine, and his deteriorating health worried me as much as the thought of marrying Zayden. "We need you. The pack needs you as their Alpha." I reassured him, but he seemed uninterested as he shook his head.

"We gave you time to prepare yourself. Five years and we didn't trouble you, now the pack needs you, not their old leaders," Dad declared. Once again, I found myself at a loss for words. "Our wolves need a new era - your era, Raya." His voice was the only sound that could be heard at the moment, and that made the harsh reality slowly dawn on me. Becoming a Luna of a pack after I marry Zayden and potentially mating with him - No... this could not happen. All of this was a mistake. I inhaled deeply to calm myself. A hand enveloped mine softly, and my breath hitched. His gesture was gentle, and somehow he knew I was anxious, just like at the ceremony when he was dragging me to the hall.

Warmth enveloped me suddenly, and all I could focus on now was his hand covering mine. "You know that this is only distracting me even more?" I whispered without looking at him. "Glad to know that my touch distracts you," he replied smugly, and the next moment, I snatched my hand from under his.

Before I could open my mouth to reply, Zayden decided to speak up. "The wedding will take place according to your wishes, Mr and Mrs Dawson. I will make sure of it."

Once again, I wanted to kill him right then and there without thinking about the consequences. One minute he was trying to calm me, and the next he agreed to do the worst thing he could do. Why? Was he bipolar or something?

"But the preparations will take a lot of time. Six months are not enough," I said and turned my head to the man beside me when uttering the last words. He seemed unfazed as usual, sitting casually in his black shirt and pants, underneath which his muscles protruded, making him look magnificently strong.

"And I said, I will take care of it," he replied, looking straight at me with those brown orbs, making a chill tear through me. He was serious - deadly serious, and I could only disagree so much in front of him. I opened my mouth to protest, but a knock interrupted us. Paul was at the door, knocking before coming in. He was the beta of our pack, so most of the time, he would be found going around our house, taking care of matters on Dad's behalf. Suddenly, I could see why Dad was so eager to hand over his duties to us. He could no longer deal with them as he used to, and Paul had been taking care of most of the matters these days.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but the matter is urgent," Paul said, glancing at Dad.

"What is it, Paul?" Dad asked. "There was a breach at the borders. A few rogues broke into the territory. However, the situation has been contained, but our guards seem to believe that some of them are still at large." The beta's words were followed by silence. The room went quiet, and the air had turned deadly. Rogues were a sensitive topic, and among any other pack matters, this was considered the most important. As for me, they reminded me of Elio. He was like any other wolf but only labelled as a rogue, and somewhere, my heart went out to some of the rogues who never meant any harm but were ruthlessly killed even after being banned as a punishment.

"Excuse us, please. We will continue this some other time," Dad said as Mom helped him to his feet. "Let me come, I should be there too." I requested because it only made sense that I too learned how to deal with these situations now that my parents planned on leaving their duties to me.

"No, you only got engaged yesterday. Take this time off and focus on each other. Besides, I believe you have a wedding to plan," Mom said, and my cheeks almost heated up out of embarrassment. Why did they both have to be so insistent on the wedding? I knew by now that it was no use to convince them otherwise, so I simply nodded and watched them leave.

Silence descended once again, and I found myself alone with a man whose presence made the air feel heavy, and I finally lost it.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" My voice boomed loudly in the quietness, but his silence in reply made the noise seem like merely a whimper. Slow and steady footsteps resounded, and in a few seconds, only a few inches remained between us. He was towering over me, and if he wanted, he could easily block my entire view with his body. His face lowered to meet my eyes, but as undaunted as he looked, his eyes were giving some of it away. His pupils dilated, and his eyes narrowed, swirling desire radiated from them.

I gulped and looked away.

It's only the mate bond affecting him, just like it is affecting you, nothing more. - I thought to myself.

A small gasp escaped my lips when he grasped my chin and made me look at him. I met his eyes, head high, not looking away this time. His eyes lowered, and he inhaled deeply, the action driving me insane with each passing second as I struggled to not let my control slip away. He could be the man I hate, but he was my mate by nature, and there was no denying it now. I felt enchanted by his presence, and his proximity had the power to drive me insane, but this man knew this too well and was slowly pushing me to my limits.

He was smelling me, while I was bathing in his scent. The male wolf had a stronger scent than a female one, and it was easier to smell another male's scent on a female quite easily for other wolves. For now, I was wrapped in his, and that bastard was smelling himself on me.

"Marrying you, Ray," he whispered, matching my gaze once again as he stepped closer to me. "That's what I am doing."