Lunar Temptations

Ch 5

I forgot to speak, move and even breathe in that small moment of realization that Zayden was my mate. The only thing revolving in my mind was my wish to let it be a misunderstanding but it was not. A part of my heart hated him while the other one felt strangely attracted to him, in a way a fated mate would be.

"Raya." He whispered my name and goosebumps rippled through me.

No no no, control yourself, Raya! You can't give in. He won't get to be in charge this time too. - I reminded myself.

I thought of the terrible night when he betrayed me when he did the most terrible thing one could do to anyone when he killed my boyfriend in cold blood.

I closed my eyes, constantly telling myself that this wasn't real. None of it was the truth, it must be a misunderstanding.

He can't be my mate. The man who murdered my boyfriend while I watched, couldn't possibly be my mate. I remember trembling, begging and crying before him to let Elio go but he didn't. All he kept saying was that Elio was a liar and that he was looking out for me. That was the last I had seen him before now and I had promised to avenge him and never let Zayden Castillo near me again.

"What have you done this time!?" I said through clenched teeth. His eyes darkened a shade and for a moment I was distracted by it. He featured barely resembled the Zayden I knew 5 years ago. Not only was he insanely breathtaking now but he had also become stronger, more powerful and somehow different.

The softness he possessed when we were friends was gone, not that it mattered to me.

"You're not naive. It wasn't in my hand and you have some audacity to show up as my mate on my engagement." Like a warning before thunder, his voice echoed in the empty corridor. My eyes narrowed in on him and I took a step to push him away from me.

"I don't f*****g care who you marry, Zayden Castillo. You mean nothing to me, even after somehow becoming my destined mate." I gritted out and pushed hard on his chest to distance myself from him.

I swear if I spent another moment this close to him, my wolf might give in.

The moment my hands touched his chest, a spark rocked through me. The next thing I saw was Zayden's eyes turning burning blood red, courtesy of him now being an Alpha. His hand came around my wrists, jerking my hands off him. He pushed me back a bit and losing my balance I collided with the glass behind me.

"If you don't want me to mate with you right here, then I suggest you keep your hands off me." He was now closer than before. I felt his breath fan my face and could smell his scent. I gulped slowly, then snatched my hands. His eyes went back to brown.

"Mating?" I snorted, "I don't wanna be anywhere near you, let alone mate with you."I said, looking away from him yet my body, my heart and the growing need for my mate said otherwise. A taunting smirk appeared on his face, "Is that why you had come running out of the store today?"

"I-i" I began to reason when he cut me off.

"You don't wanna be near me yet you ended up here, in the darkest place of the estate, looking for me." A wicked look crossed his face.

He knew. He had even seen me earlier at the store. The windows to the car were tinted, I couldn't see him but he could. Not only that, he had to lead me here on purpose. He was an asshole.

Suddenly it hit me... Audrey was talking about him. He was the fiance and tonight was their engagement party, which means this bond was just as unwanted to him now as it was to me.

"I didn't know it was you, otherwise -" I paused, shaking my head. "I hate you Zayden. I regret getting close to you, I regret making you my friend, I regret the night I watched you kill him." my teeth ground with anger as I spoke. "Let's pretend this never happened. You and I were never mates. You move on with Audrey and I go my way."

His face was stoic and his gaze was as deep as the ocean. A muscle in his jaw twitched and I could tell I had pissed him off.

"Reject me as your mate, or I will."

A part of me shivered hearing myself. I hadn't even turned 18 when I left, without having gotten the ability to feel my mate. Now, I was asking my mate to reject me after finally coming face to face with him after 5 years. Life had played me well.

"How is your wolf doing Raya?" with a dead look, Zayden asked. My brows furrowed and I remember my form today.

I looked away, silently.

He inhaled sharply, "I thought so."

"You ran away from me for 5 years Raya. You have deprived our wolves of this right, the right to mate." He hissed at me. "I doubt your wolf will survive long or is even fit to rule now."

He was right. I was ignoring the deteriorating health of my wolf for months now until it hit me today why it was happening. When the mated wolves don't claim each other for a long time, their wolves begin to weaken and now I had done this to us.

"I am an Alpha from the strongest of breeds but-" His eyes narrowed in on me, "What will you do, rejecting your wolf her mate?" He took a few steps away and went on to stand like a God with both his hands in his pocket. His grey suit made him look like a sculpture of a greek God.

"Hate me all you want but don't let your hate blind you." His words rang in my head, alongside Mom's words from earlier. I was the next Luna to a pack, my father had led with prosperity. Every decision of mine now would be for its welfare. I couldn't reject him and weaken my wolf, affecting my rule neither could I accept him. Besides the need for an Alpha to rule beside me was inevitable.

For a short moment, my father's sick face reflected in front of me and I clenched my fists.

"You're engaged-" I spoke like a defeated wolf.

"Not your problem. I want an answer, now." he stepped up to me threateningly. I stared at his brown orbs with hate and somewhere a desire to be close to him. Could it be possible to hate someone yet mate with them?

Guess I was about to find out.

"I, Raya Dawson accept you Zayden Castillo as my mate for the sake of my pack," I spoke, tears brimming my eyes.

His eye colour was a combination of mud and blood, his breath deepening. I could see him fighting his wolf, fighting the urge to mate with me and mark me his. Suddenly he took two steps towards me. Grabbing my hand, he began to drag me towards the staircase.

"Where are you taking me?" I protested against his huge, muscled frame yanking me down the stairs.

"I have a ring to put on your finger." He replied.