Lotus’ Pov

With the sunrise, it looked like a new day to me. It was over. I still could not believe that the rogue king knew about the prophecy. Very few people were aware of that. However, he got it all wrong. It was not about choosing the one with the best abilities. Instead, working together to make our abilities at their best. We were indeed blessed with the gifts of the moon goddess, just like our mother. Evalyn’s plan worked perfectly as well. When we heard that there were around five thousand of them, we knew that it would be difficult for us to win though they could not outnumber us. Maximum of the warriors we have were foreign to this territory. They will lack knowledge. Whereas those rogues had already attacked us so many times, it would be pretty easy for them to use territorial knowledge against us. So, to break their strength, Eva decided, we need to kill the leader in front of other rogues. So, I had to act like a pathetic little helpless wolf. I still cannot believe that dumb though he can catch you that easily.

Evalyn smiled at me, hugging me gently.? Everyone was returning to the packhouse. Others were coming out from the shelter.

“Lo, what are you going to do next?” Eva asked me.

What was I going to do next? I had no idea. Why was she asking me? I looked towards Eva with questions in my eyes. She gave me a meaningful gaze. I saw Damien talking to Jakey, Alex, Ben, Lawrence, and others I did not know. That was right. I almost forgot that I was sixteen and I received my birthday gift as well. My mate. My pathetic, man-whore mate who happened to be my husband as well though he never acknowledged me.? He never bothered himself to mention the fact that we were mates. He even marked me forcefully.

‘He is our mate. He even marked us!’ my wolf said to me, but there was a pain in her voice. She knew everything, but she could not help but hopelessly fell in love with that asshole.

‘True. He marked us, and we suffered. I almost lost you. When we regained ourselves, we found him almost kissing another wolf.’, I sighed. I knew I could not continue living with him like that. Every action of him hurt me a lot in the past, but the thought of those hurting me even more now knowing he was my mate. I Knew that my wolf would never give up, neither my heart would. It was making the situation worse for me.

I took another glance towards him. He was wearing only boxers. His toned muscles were covered in sweat and blood. His hair was dishevelled. How could he manage to look so hot? I could not help but admire his muscles. I always craved his affection, and now I was craving more. My wolf needed him, but I knew the moment we would go back to Blood Stone’s territory, I would see him sleeping with others.

‘Don’t even think of leaving him. We need him.’, my wolf growled in my head. I knew she would fight for her precious mate.

‘Will you be able to bear his betrayals again?’ I asked her firmly. She could not answer. Deep down, she knew the consequences of accepting him. I turned towards Evalyn. She was looking at me with sad eyes.

“I cannot be with him anymore, Eva.”, I sighed. Evalyn nodded.

“Whatever you decide, I will be with you. But Lo, no matter what he did in the past, he cared enough to bring half of his warriors to protect you.”, she said with a faint smile. I knew what she wanted to say. But I did not want to suffer anymore. Meanwhile, Lawrence came and hugged Evalyn tightly.

“I missed you, sweetheart”, he whispered. Thanks to my werewolf hearing. I could hear every single word clearly. His tone was warm. They looked so perfect. I could only dream about that kind of mate. I started to walk away. I wanted to give them some privacy. Plus, I had to think about what to do next. I was not sure if I should be staying here under Jakey. Probably I could go to some other pack, and they might accept me as a pack member. I looked at Damien one more time. He was still discussing something with others. His hand muscles were moving with each hand gesture he was making. His toned chest and belly were tempting.

Why was he still not wearing any shirt? He suddenly looked at me. I turned around. I did not want to encounter him ever again. I started to walk towards the packhouse. Suddenly I was pulled by my waist. I knew who exactly it was. Not again! Damien pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips against mine before I could say anything. His kiss was gentle. I liked his smell. I liked the way he was holding me. I liked the way he was kissing me. But I knew he would never be mine. I gathered my willpower and tried to push him away. Well, I could only try in front of his gigantic physique. I struggled to wriggle out of his hold, but all were in vain.

“Stop wiggling, Kitten”, He whispered, “let me hold you for longer”. His voice was warm. He always did that in the past. He used me to calm himself down and then threw me away once he was satisfied. It was only a matter of time before I would find him hooking up with someone else. I ran out of all my strength. I could not fight anymore.

“Why Damien? What do you want now? The day after I went to your pack, Adeline told me that marriage and mate were not for you. As time passed by, I realised that as well. You never tried to be my husband, and I was never your wife. Let me go, Damien. That will be easier for me.”, I whispered. Damien was quiet for a while. I could not hold back my tears any longer.

“Tell me the truth, Damien. Tell me about it today. Why did you do that to me?” I said again. Tears were rolling on his bare chest.

Damien pulled away. He looked into my eyes with so many emotions. He cupped my face.

“The day I received an invitation from your father, I didn’t know what he wanted from me. But I knew that your pack needed help. When your father told me about the treaty by marriage, I intended to humiliate him only. It was true that marriage and mates were not for me. But then I saw you. I saw the most amazing girl I have ever known. I tried to hold back, but I couldn’t. That smile on your face, your caramel-like hair, and your smell! I have no idea what your father said in that meeting after I saw you arranging a barbeque. A lion fell in love with a kitten. But the lion couldn’t show his kitten to other lions. There were so many. He had to protect his little kitten. So, the lion thought of hiding his kitten from everyone.” Damien paused, wiping my tears.

Was that all? Was that the reason behind his actions? I was his mate. I was his to love, but instead, I saw him every day with someone else. The affection, the love that was only for me, was not mine at all. Was that all he had to say? I could not stop crying. My wolf was impatient as well.

“That was not a good excuse Damien.”, I said in a low voice. I could hardly talk.

“kitten, let me ask you something. Do you know what happens when one’s mate gets physical to any other wolf?”, Damien asked looking into my eyes. I was shocked by his question. I did not expect him to ask me that. Of course, I knew. I nodded in agreement.

“One feels tremendous pain.”, I murmured.

Damien smiled. Caressing my cheek, he asked, “have you ever felt anything like that?”

I was taken aback this time. If one’s mate was betrayed, the other one felt tremendous pain. The pain was a lot to handle. Even if it was just a kiss, it was unbearable for physical intimacy. Suddenly I remembered that I felt that once while I saw him kissing that slut. It was the very same day when he thought I ran away. Apart from that, I never felt anything. Even though all those sluts used to sleep in his room, I never felt any pain. Did that mean he never did anything with them? But how could it be? Damien was not someone to resist such opportunities.

“No”, I said in shock. My voice was so low that I doubt he could even hear that.

“Do you know the meaning of that now?” Damien asked me again.

“But you..”, I could not continue, but Damien interrupted.

“Remember, the lion has to hide his kitten”, Damien said, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “Now, I want you to meet someone.” I was surprised. Whom Damien wanted me to meet? He was going to explain everything, right? Well, he did not do anything with others. But what about the kiss? I saw him kissing another wolf on the day I left the pack. But I didn’t feel any pain!

Damien held me on her waist and walked towards the packhouse. Then I saw her! I saw that wolf. She was here! That was the bitch he was kissing on that day I ran away. What was she doing here?

“Kitten, meet alpha Jackson Black, alpha of Blood Howler Pack. He is my uncle.” Damien introduced me to the warrior standing beside that girl. “And meet cousin Flora”, he smiled.

Cousin! He was involved with his cousin! I could not believe it! He kissed her!

“It’s nice to meet you, Alpha”, I greeted, and alpha gave her a fatherly smile. But I could not say anything to his cousin.

“Lotus, I wanted to tell you something. That day it was not what it looked like. I went to see Dami and went close to him to give him a friendly hug. I tipped over, but Dami caught me in time. I was out of balance, and our position was awkward.” Flora said. She looked ashamed. “I am sorry, Lotus. It was just an accident. Please don’t wrong me.”

So, that was it. They were not doing anything. That was all! They must be lying.

‘No, remember, we did not feel any pain on that day,’ my wolf shouted with joy. She was happy that she got all the explanations. It was true. I did not feel any pain on that day. I wronged Damien. I felt ashamed. I smiled a little.

“It’s ok, Flora. Let us forget about that day.” I muttered. My wolf was happy. She was delighted that her mate did those to protect her.

“Kitten, I am sorry that I marked you without your consent. I am sorry that I did not acknowledge you in front of my pack. I just wanted to keep you safe, kitten. But let me tell you one thing, I will never betray you. You will always find me watching your back.”, Damien said again, cupping my face.

“Lo, the day I went to take you back from his pack, he told me about everything. I saw his love for you in his eyes. I knew that he will always protect you with all his means.”, Jakob said, walking towards me. He continued, “The day you arrived here, Damien called me. He sent his warriors to protect you though his pack was under attack. He..”

“What? Attack! Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I shouted how he ignored telling me about the attack. It must be a rogue. Even Alex did not mention anything.

“Midnight pack.”, Damien said.

“Lo, the day he thought you ran away, he sent all the warriors to look for you. That day of the attack, he was furious because you were outside, fighting the rogues.”, Ben said this time. “and by the way, he didn’t tell me either. I found out by myself. I wondered how you didn’t find out!”

So, he cared for me. He cared for me so much that he wanted to hide me. Tears started to roll on my cheeks again.

“The man who was not for marriage and mate ended up marrying his mate.”, Damien chuckled. “And how dumb can you be? My whole pack knelt in front of you. Still, you need my acknowledgement! Kitten, you are always my Luna.” He tried to pull me close.

I was overwhelmed. He cared for me. He loved me. He did all those to protect me. It must be too hard for him to resist. But he did.? I wanted to stay longer, but he pulled away suddenly. He knelt in front of me.

“Lotus Skyler Black, I know we are married. But we did not have any ceremony before. I was too scared to let the world know about us. Will you give me the honour to marry you again? Will you come back to my pack and take your rightful position as Luna?”

He proposed to me! His deep blue eyes were mesmerising. They were asking me with so much love, hope and adoration. He wanted to marry me again. He wanted to acknowledge me. How could I say no to him?

“Yes, I will marry you again.”, I said with a smile. He stood up and pulled me closer again.

“I love you, kitten”, he whispered in my ears. I was delighted with his confession. He loved me!

“Don’t ever try to run away”, he said again. I giggled. I would never try to run away from you, Damien; I would never do that again. He pecked my lips again. I did not resist this time. He was my mate, my husband.