An Alpha for Valentine

ONE

VALENTINE

NOTE: The events of this chapter take place during the mating ritual that happens in Alpha’s captive.

My mom once told me as a child that my first heartbreak would be the first and last time I would ever truly love. Being a hopeless romantic, I hated that thought. To never love that deeply ever again. I remembered whispering to myself whenever I could, that I would never let anyone take that from me. If I could turn back the hands of time, I would. It wouldn’t be for love either. It would be for the memories. To be a teenager and love recklessly. To see the crash and burn coming but stay because those delicate moments with them mattered.

But I didn’t have those memories. My first heartbreak wasn’t what the average girl went through. He didn’t cheat because we weren't even together. The first time I met Devin Crow, I was innocent and naive, living a simple life with my parents. In a matter of seconds, he took that away from me. A simple life and a predictable future. Devin Crow murdered my parents and inadvertently bound himself to me. But instead of finishing what he started, he refused to reject me.

I was certain the reason he spared me that horrible night was simply because he was in a state of shock. So the second time our paths crossed, I begged for his rejection because there was no chance in hell we would end up together, yet, he wouldn't let me go. I remembered that had left me confused and scared, unable to understand his motives. I believed with time, he would come to his senses and realize that denying both of us our true mates was not worth my suffering. But time which was supposed to heal all wounds did nothing to appeal to his good graces.

The third time I met Devin Crow, he threatened to take away the last good memory that I had left of my parents- The Monarch pack if I did not become his Luna. It was either an alliance that would allow the Monarch to operate sovereignty or submission to the Crow pack. I had no choice but to comply. The third time I met Devin Crow, I agreed to be his Luna, a part of his pack.

It was my duty as Luna. As the only child of Monarch royalty to keep the fire burning.

The fourth time I met Devin Crow, he was inside of him and he was inside of me. It wasn’t the s*x. The ritual was an avowal of our body, mind, and soul. I didn’t just have access to Devin’s innermost thoughts. I had access to his memories.

It had started with a voice.

"Cessair, how could you betray Lucius?" The said voice cracked as she demanded an answer. My eyes flicked open to a familiar setting. I was standing at the dinner table where my father sat as another woman questioned him. She was familiar. The only surviving elder of the Crow pack after the m******e. Pearl Crow, The pack’s healer, and the twins’ biological aunt.

"Lucius," I remembered muttering to myself. The late Alpha of the Crow pack. How did my father betray him?

"Spare me the disgust, Pearl, the Silverlaws would have come for your brother anyway. If I did not lend them a hand, someone else would have."

"Who?" Pearl demanded. "My brother trusted you. He saw you as a brother but you only see him as a means. You sold him out for money. One of the things the convergence was going to fix anyway."

"The convergence was never going to happen. It was not the way the moon goddess programmed us to be. Your brother's ambitions were what killed him. Do you know how horrible it had to be for the Silverlaws to want Lucius dead? They saw into the future. Lucius was building another Babel tower. They knew what would happen if it became a success. Werewolves could skyrocket to the top of the food chain and eventually, the balance will tilt and it will definitely not be in their favor."

"No!" I yelled in their direction but they could not hear a thing I said. It was almost like I forgot that this was nothing but a mere memory. "Stop this!" I screamed. "My father would never do this. He was a good man."

"Wow," Pearl scoffed. Her voice was heavy and I could tell she struggled not to tear my father apart in that singular moment. "So you didn't want that? To be at the top of the food chain. To not have to fear those monster hunters anymore. I call bullshit Cessair. You did this out of jealousy."

"And what would I have been jealous of?" Cessair demanded, banging the table so hard that it made Pearl wince but the woman refused to back down. She had something to say and she was not leaving until she has uttered them.

"That you weren't the one," Pearl said. "If the convergence had been successful and all packs in Wentworth swore allegiance to my late brother. He would be the only Alpha. The supreme Theta. A literal god. The thought of losing the fickle title you hold repulsed you, didn't it?"

"Watch your tongue." I heard my father say. The tone he used was cold and heartless. Nothing I remembered him being like. I watched in horror as my father remained seated. He was calm and collected. It was as if he knew in his heart of hearts that he had done the proper thing. There was no empathy in sight.

"So you betrayed him for all that money. Do you even know what that cost us... What did that cost me? My brother and his wife are dead because of you. My nephews are orphans because of your selfish ambitions and I hate you for that Cessair Monarch." The intensity in the woman's eyes burned and she eased to her feet and strode towards the door with red puffy eyes. The guards at the exit opened the door as she inched closer but at the last second, the woman turned back to face my father. "I hope you get what you deserve Cessair."

The door banged shut and I was left alone with my father in the room. As the scene slowly faded out of existence, I repeated the words, "This is a lie" to myself like a mantra but the more I said it, the more it seemed to lose its potency. Like a wicked voice at the back of my mind, I heard Devin's voice whisper to me.

"Without the lie you tell yourself, you will be nothing but a shell."

My o****m came rushing a second later. But I had become too numb to even feel a thing. Abigail had been right in a sense. There was a reason the goddess set me up with a murderer in the first place. The goddess in her infinite knowledge wanted me to know the truth. The truth… The truth was that my parents who I had adored were never who they said they were. The cruel persona I had seen in that memory still burned bright in my mind palace. My parents were murdered because they played a huge role in a g******e that almost sent the Crow pack to extinction.

“Are you alright?” Devin asked me as I forced my numb body to stand.

I wished I could give him an answer. But I couldn’t. I was still reeling from what had just been revealed to me. I looked at the moon and acting on the belief that the moon goddess was there, watching me, I muttered. “How does this make things better? How does this explain things? How could my parents be monsters?”

Devin sensed my discomfort and he stepped closer to me. His hand reached out to touch my arm, but I flinched away, not ready to face him yet.

"I know this is a lot to take in," he said, his voice gentle. "But you have to understand that things are never black and white. People make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes have terrible consequences."

“I don’t want to hear it,” I retorted, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. I turned to face him, my eyes searching his face for any sign of deception. But all I saw was honesty and concern.

"All these while, I believed I was suffering because of you. But my parents played a part in that too. I grieved them and hated you! I sacrificed everything because of them. The only reason I completed this ritual is because I wanted to preserve the Monarch and their memories." I stopped just as my voice started to break. “I gave up any hopes for a new life to keep a legacy built on blood and suffering.”

"I know this is hard, but you don't have to face it alone," he said, his voice low and soothing as he approached me again. "I'm here for you, always. Whatever you need, I'll be there."

I pulled away from him, not ready to accept his comfort just yet. ‘I don’t need you to be.” I was going to say something else when a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over me. I stumbled, my vision blurring, and felt Devin's arms wrap around me, holding me steady.

"Valentine, what's wrong?" he asked, concern etched in his voice.

I opened my mouth to reply, but the words died on my lips as another wave of dizziness hit me. I felt my knees buckle and Devin caught me just in time, his arms wrapping around me as I sagged against him.

The last thing I remembered was his concerned face falling into mine before everything went black.