[Tyler’s POV]
I sat in the throne room, trying to read the report the warriors in the West had sent to me, acting like everything was okay and pretending to be calm as I waited for Malia to show up. It had been nearly an hour since a guard had been sent to get her, and I was getting extremely anxious since she hadn’t shown up yet.
“Malia, I know this would sound annoying, but…” No! No! No! I shouldn’t start that way, I said to myself, practicing how to break the news to her.
“Um… there’s something I need to tell you.” No, that sounded terrible. Perhaps, I should be exact and direct instead of speaking like I lacked confidence.
I was still in the process of coming up with a suitable way to speak to her when I caught her scent. I quickly composed myself, rested my back and sat up straight on the throne, acting all engrossed with the report book even though I couldn’t comprehend anything that was written there at the moment.
I heard her come in and raised my head, then as she met my eyes, a smile appeared on my face. Her long shiny auburn hair fell over her shoulders in waves, and she walked towards me with a straight face, dressed in a knee-length black dress and causal beige sandals. The only jewellery she had on was a small gold necklace with a crown pendant which I had given her as a birthday present a few months ago.
“Greetings, Alpha Tyler,” she said, bowing low once she was in front of the throne.
I placed the report book on the side stool and stood up, smiling broadly at her. “Why are you being so formal?” I asked, lifting her chin with my thumb and index finger.
She gave a faint smile. “How am I being formal? You’re the Alpha King after all,” she said, then walked away from me and stopped in front of the smaller throne with fur edges which was beside my magnificent throne, and was meant for the Luna of the Pack. Her eyes settled on it and her fingers trailed along the fur used to design the edges.
“Still, you’re the woman I’m in love with. The formality that comes with being the Alpha King doesn’t apply to you,” I said, going to her and touching her shoulder softly.
To my surprise, she flinched and turned back to face me.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that, my Alpha. You disappointed everyone by not showing up to the rejection ceremony, and all of a sudden, you sent your guard to bring me to the palace. Something tells me all is not well. Do tell me what the problem is,” she said.
I sighed. “How come you know me so well? I thought I was doing a great job at concealing my feelings,” I said.
She chuckled. “Apparently, you were either doing a bad job or I just know you too well, maybe even more than you know yourself,” she said.
I didn’t say a word as I was hooked and lost while looking into her beautiful hazel eyes. I went close to her and pushed away a strand of hair that was in her face. She smiled at me, then placed a quick kiss on my lips.
“Talk to me. Whatever the issue is, you know I’ll understand,” she said, wrapping her hands around my neck as she gazed deeply into my eyes, melting my heart.
I felt terrible to have to tell her the decision I had made. She loved me, and I loved her as well. But Nivera was also there, and aside from the fact that I had a beef to settle with the vampire, I knew I also felt something for Nivera, and with her, everything felt perfect.
“I’m sorry, Malia. I made a mistake. I gave in to the mate pull, marked Nivera and made love to her,” I blurted out all at once.
Surprisingly, she didn’t seem shocked, and the smile on her face didn’t disappear either. She was still holding me with her hands around my neck.
“Say something. Why aren’t you saying anything?” I asked, filled with apprehension.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to say, Tee. I already knew that happened,” she replied.
“How?” I quizzed, puzzled.
“Instinct and common sense. If you didn’t show up to the rejection ceremony, it simply means that you already marked her and to keep your integrity, you couldn’t just reject her,” she said.
“And… and you’re cool with that?” I inquired, unable to make out what was going on in her head.
She removed her hands from my neck, then turned around and walked for a bit as though in thoughts before stopping and looking back at me with folded arms. “I won’t say I’m cool with it. It’s more like I’m not worried because there’s nothing I can do to change it. I just want to know what your plan is moving forward. You’re not planning on making her your Luna, are you?” she asked.
I tried to say something, but couldn’t. Surprising me even more, Malia gave a cunning smile and sat on the throne meant for the Luna which was something she had never done.
“Malia, what do you think…”
“If you’re planning on making her your Luna, just go ahead with announcing it. You don’t need to seek my permission first,” she said.
“I haven’t even said…”
She cut in again. “You don’t need to say it, Tee. Why else would you invite me to your throne room of all places? What’s so important and urgent that you needed to tell me? I warned you that you shouldn’t get too close to that girl, but you did anyway, claiming to be stronger than the mate pull. And now what? You want to make her your Luna? How about me? What happens to me? What?” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
I punched the wall in anger, not at her, but at myself. I knew she wasn’t okay with it and had only been pretending to be. “Malia, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have had anything to do with her. I… fuck! I just have to make her my Luna and I wish I could do something about it,” I tried to explain myself.
“People reject their mates even if they’ve already marked them or had sex with them. There is still something you can do about it,” Malia retorted.
“It’s not that easy. I need a reason to reject her after marking her. I can’t just…”
“You can just do that. It’s that easy. You kill people for failing to just greet you when you pass by, and all of a sudden, you need a good reason to do something as simple as rejecting that slave? Say the truth. It’s not that you need a good reason to reject her. It’s that you have feelings for her and can’t reject her anymore,” she said, and I could see tears cloud her eyes.
I leaned over the Luna’s throne she sat on. “Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you, Malia, and I still want you by my side,” I said to her, stroking her hair.
“What are you proposing? Do you mean for me to remain your secret lover? I’m telling you in advance, that won’t happen,” she said in a firm tone.
“Of course, I won’t hide you from the world. I’m proposing something different. Be my royal concubine and I promise you here and now that the child you give birth to shall be the next Alpha King of the Crescent Pack. I couldn’t care less for a child born by a lowly Omega,” I said to her.
Her eyes twitched as though she was seriously considering the proposal. However, all of a sudden, she burst into a hysterical laughter which went on and on, and I just looked at her with a confused expression. What was making her laugh so hard? Was she excited or was she even angrier at me?
“Oh, Tee, you should know that by now, I’ll be a fool to believe in any promise you ever make to me again,” she said.
“This time is different, I swear,” I told her, but deep down, I also doubted the sincerity of my words.
She relaxed more on the throne and sighed dramatically. “Me, a concubine? I can never be one, Tee. Who cares about a concubine? Not a single person. That’s why there’s a throne for the Luna and not one for a concubine, and as you can see, I’ve already fallen in love with the throne meant for the Luna. I can’t settle for anything less,” she said, then stood up to her feet.
“Does this mean you’re rejecting my proposal?” I asked.
She looked me dead in the eyes. “I’ll accept your proposal when it is meaningful. In the meantime, I have other matters to attend to, for example, let my dad know he can start entertaining suitors once again,” she stated and began to walk away.
Jealousy filled my heart and I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “Malia!” I thundered angrily.
She forced her hand out of my grip, staring at me with a defiant look. “Tyler!” she yelled back.
“You must stay by my side, or else…”
“Or else what? If by chance, that thing gets out of the way, I’ll come back to you. At least, then, we’d know we’re meant to be. Till then, don’t look for me,” she stated angrily and walked out, slamming the door behind her.
I growled angrily as my fangs sprouted from my mouth and overturned the long table used during meetings. Before now, I didn’t know what kind of effect she’d have on me if she ever left. And right then, I started plotting on how to get the Omega out of the way. I wanted Malia, I needed her to keep me sane, but the vampire’s face laughing hard at me couldn’t get out of my head.
“Arghhh!” I screamed out loud.
I had to do something, anything, but there were no ideas forthcoming and time was slowly running out.