Chapter 15
1191 Words
The Crescent Moon Pack
After showing the guests to their rooms, Lily went back to alpha Duncan’s office. Although she was hesitant to go to him because of their argument earlier that day, she still walked towards his office. She needed to know how the presence of his mate was affecting him. Lily pushed the door open without warning and was surprised to find the alpha attending to paperwork.
The blank expression on his face gave nothing away. She could not even tell if he was affected by April’s presence. He looked up when she walked in and dropped the paper he was attending to.
“I have settled the guest in. Which means we can head to our own bed.” She caressed his thigh as she spoke.
“You go ahead. I will go to bed when I am done here.”
“I want you in our bed tonight, Duncan. It has been long since you last held me.”
Alpha Duncan knew she wanted s*x. However, he felt no desire for her anymore and the only thing on his mind at the moment was how to right his wrong.
He had decided to replace his fated mate when he was living like a rogue. That decision was made when he was broken, and even though he was still broken, he had realised that the first step towards healing for him was to have his fated mate by his side.
“We have not slept in the same bed for weeks and I do not intend to do so tonight.”
“What do you mean? What is the excuse today?”
“I am not in the mood for it.”
“This must be some kind of sick joke. It has been over a month now since we last had s*x, and over two weeks of any form of intimacy.” Lily fumed at alpha Duncan.
She had left him alone after they returned from the full moon pack because he had lapsed into another bout of depression. After two weeks, it appeared her patience had paid off when he tried to mark her. When that attempt failed, he had stayed away from her, and she thought it was because of her physical weakness. However, she was having a rethink.
“Look Lily, you have every right to be angr-.”
“Does this have anything to do with April?” Lily asked, cutting him off.
Alpha Duncan knew that the main answer to that question was a resounding yes, but he refrained from saying so.
His silence scared Lily so much that she hurried out of the office as fast as she could.
He watched her flee his office and sighed at the mess he had made. In a bid to take charge of his life, he has created a greater problem. He always knew that he did not love Lily, but the past weeks had opened his eyes to the fact that Lily would never make a good Luna. She only wanted the title because of the power that comes with it. He debated within himself, trying to figure a way out of his situation without having to hurt Lily.
The gentle light filtering into his office from the corners of the curtain announced a new dawn. He stood up and did not even flinch from sitting up in his chair all night.
He took quick steps to his room and hurriedly freshened up. His resolve to speak with Lily pushed him to skip some of his morning routine. When he was done, he went to the room they once shared and, luckily for him, an omega was leaving from having just cleaned the room.
Lily ignored him and carried on applying her make-up. When she was done, she put her things away and made to walk past him towards the door, but alpha Duncan stopped her by holding her hands.
“Can we talk?”
“No, I have guests to attend to, and I do not want to look like a sloppy Luna.”
Lily wanted to escape from his presence as fast as she could, because she had a negative premonition of what he was about to say.
“That is what I want us to talk about.” Alpha Duncan said in a tired voice.
After a few seconds of contemplation, she walked to one of the armchairs and sat down. Alpha Duncan sat facing her. He knew he needed to go straight to the point, because there was no way he could say this without hurting her.
“There is no need for you to keep acting as the Luna.” He blurted.
His words sounded like shattering glass to Lily’s ears, followed by a deafening silence.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because so far it is not working.”
Her reaction surprised him. He had expected her to kick and scream, but her silence and dry, glistening eyes threw him.
“Is it because it is not working or because of your mate?”
“Lily, you know my intention was to have you as the Luna of this pack, but no matter how we try, it is not just working.”
“So, you are going back on your promise to me?”
“It is a hard decision for me, but I have to break that promise. The pack is not thriving as it is.”
“This is not just about your pack, but your desire for your mate. Are you denying the fact that you are beginning to fall for her?”
Venom dripped from her every word.
“Does it not bother you that I seem to have lost my wolf because I attempted to mark you? How can I lead a pack without Idris?”
“How long have you been planning this?”
“I just came to this conclusion yesterday afternoon. I want what is best for this pack.”
“And obviously, that is not me.” Lily scoffed at herself in derision.
“We have been back for months now, but yet the pack has seen no meaningful improvement. Even the land itself seems to be dying.”
She stood up and walked to the window. Turning her back to the alpha, she took in the view before her, and vowed in her heart that if she would not be the Luna of this pack, then no one would.
Alpha Duncan stood up to leave, but Lily’s voice stopped him.
“You still have to reject her.”
His confusion must have been amusing because, at that point, Lily shook her head and chuckled softly. She reminded him that the only way she could fully recover was for him to neutralise his venom within her, and this could only be achieved by rejecting his mate, again.
The alpha contemplated this for a moment. He knew he had to look for a way to achieve this without rejecting April again. He was still kicking himself for his first mistake.
“I will make sure you are fine.”
- Writer
