Chapter 118
LANA
“Who told you?” My mate growls, his fists clenched tightly, as if he’s ready to lash out at someone.
“That’s not important,” I reply, watching the way he glares at each of his pack members. Jake glances at me, and I can see the concern in his eyes—he’s worried I might have said something to his Alpha.
“Of course it is,” he says in an upset tone. “You were never meant to find that out.”
With a sigh, I pull him away from the pack house, leading him toward the lake.
“I wish you had been honest with me from the beginning,” I murmur, turning to look deeply into his eyes. “You’ve suffered for so long, making me think you didn’t care. Now I realize you’ve always wanted to be near me but concealed it so well.”
He doesn’t seem pleased that I now know this side of him. Does he think it makes him appear weak? It puzzles me why he wouldn’t want me
to understand everything that he has been through.
He even lied to his mother about wanting to move in with my family because of our academy, when all along it was really because of me.
“I thought I was doing the right thing,” he admits, his jaw tightening. His eyes, glowing in the moonlight. “You saw how our announcement affected the family. I knew that would happen and was just trying to prevent this.”
I’m beginning to grasp my mate’s feelings more clearly than before. Everything he did is suddenly making so much more sense. The ache in my heart grows stronger.
“know being with you isn’t the easy choice, but I’d rather face the challenges than live my life without you,” I confess.
He looks serious as he touches my cheek. “Lana, what happened today is just a glimpse of what our life will be like from now on. My mother isn’t going to sit back and watch us be together, and neither will my father or your mother. Our relationship doesn’t have their support. No one supports it.”
I frown. “That’s not entirely true,” I whisper. “Isabella is genuinely happy for us. She always believed you had feelings for me. Your pack seems supportive as well. We have a few people who will help us along the way. We’re not alone, especially since we have each other.”
He looks taken aback that Isabella knew our truth before today.
“I wanted to shield you from the pain,” he admits, and once again my heart races at finally uncovering the truth. “My life isn’t a smooth road.
My mother-,”
Whose life is?
I place my hand over his on my cheek. “I can handle your mother, I promise.”
He leans his forehead against mine, and warmth spreads through my body at his closeness–a reminder of how badly I want to kiss him.
My cheeks flush at the thought. The bright moonlight near the shimmering lake, paired with the romantic sounds of the forest, only heightens the moment.
“Your scent,” he says, leaning down to breathe in the aroma of my neck, “has always driven me wild. From the very first moment I saw you, it took me weeks to recover from the effect your scent had on me.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks at his words. I could listen to him talk about how much he has wanted me for generations and never grow tired of
- it.
“What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you realized I was your mate?” I whisper,
“Fuck,” he replies, a serious look on his face. “Just… fuck me. I am in deep trouble.”
I lean back to look at him, trying to gauge if he’s joking, but his expression is all too earnest.
“Those were the exact words that popped into my head,” he confesses.
I narrow my eyes playfully, “And why is that?”
He chuckles softly, pulling me closer. “Because I could tell right away you were trouble. I knew you wouldn’t be like all those other women who drifted in and out of my life like leaves in the wind.”
I can only stare in disbelief. “Trouble?”
“I couldn’t take my eyes off you,” he admits, his voice low. “Your beauty captivated me. Your lips, your bright eyes, the way your hair danced when you moved–every little detail about you left a memorable mark inside of me.”
I close my eyes when he touches my lips with his finger, “your touch makes me weak to my knees.” I admit. “Every time you touch me I can’t help but yearn for more.”
His breath hitches at my words, “that is nothing compared to what it does to me.”
I let out a soft gasp as I feel his lips brush against my neck. “You drive me wild with a longing that only you can satisfy.”
I grasp his hair as he begins to nibble on the sensitive spot just below my ear. “Staying away from you all those years has been pure torture for me, Lana.”
1love hearing it; it’s music to my ears, filling me with a warmth I can’t resist.
“If you’d touched me back then, I wouldn’t have hesitated to let you all the way in.” I tease him.
His eyes flash with desire at my confession.
“All the way in?” He growls as his hand slowly slides up my thighs. “Do you mean what I think you do?”
I bit my lip nervously, “what do you think I mean?”
He reaches my panties from the slit in my dress and I immediately arch my back as he rubs his fingers against it slowly.
“I think you mean-,” I don’t have time to prepare as he slides his fingers into my opening without warning.
I cry out and he covers my mouth with a kiss. I held onto him tightly as he continues to move his finger in and out of my pussy.
He breaks the kiss and moves his mouth to my neck once more, “this. All the way in.”
I nod, “well partly,” I gasp. “Just replace your finger with something else.”
His body immediately turns to stone at my words. He is no longer moving, just standing still. With his finger still inside of me.
“You do not know what you’re asking for Laha.” He finally says.
I frown, “of course I do. I’ve been wanting this for a long time now.”
“No,” he growls. “It is way too soon.”
I gape at him, “how were you so willing to do it with all those other women but suddenly with me it’s a problem?“
His gaze softens, “because you aren’t like those other women to me. I care about you.”
Tangrily shove him away from me, forcing his finger out.
“Lanal”
“No.” I snap. “It is not fair that you claim to have all these feelings when you refuse to do something that was so easy for you to do with every other woman on this planet!”
He grabs me by my waist and I gasp when I feel his arousal pressing against my ass, “it’s not like I don’t want you Lana. I want you more than
“Alpha!” Adrian’s voice suddenly cuts through the air, breaking the tension that had settled over us like a thick fog.
“What?” Apollo bellows, his voice echoing, clearly irked by the sudden disruption. His frustration is clear, eyes narrowing as he turns to face the source of the noise, his brow furrowed in irritation.
Adrian clears his throat, feeling the pressure of his alpha’s tone and piercing gaze. “Your mother and father are inside the pack house, they are insisting that you come speak with them. And Lana, your mother is there as well.”
My eyes widened in disbelief, a rush of panic coursing through me. This was the last thing I wanted–I can’t believe they followed us here!
Chapter 119
Chapter 119
~LANA-
Apollo takes my hand, looking down at me earnestly. “You don’t have to go in there if you’re not ready. I can take you somewhere far away until you feel up to facing them.”
The idea is tempting, but I know we can’t keep running forever. Sooner or later, we’ll have to confront them. Why not just get it over with now? I understood that it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but I was determined to mend things between us so that Apollo and I could finally be together without anything standing in our way.
“It’s okay,” I reassure him. “I have you by my side. I can face them.”
I’m still upset about what happened earlier, but I push my anger aside. Right now, we need to focus on dealing with both his mother and
mine.
As we walk into the room, hand in hand, I notice the instant shift in everyone’s demeanor; their eyes immediately darken with fury.
The atmosphere was undeniably challenging. The air felt thick with tension, and I wish I knew what to say or do to ease it.
The dim lighting added to the seriousness of the situation, creating shadows that danced across the walls. It was clear that gaining their approval would take some time.
“What are you doing here?” Apollo asks his parents, who look taken aback by his tone. They were hoping we would reconsider judging by their expressions.
“We weren’t done discussing things,” his mother replies, her voice laced with offense. “Apollo, this is a matter that affects the entire family. You need to consider everyone else too.”
He then takes a seat and surprises me by pulling me onto his lap, shocking everyone else in the room as well. “My relationship with Lana isn’t up for debate,” he asserts firmly. “I usually go along with your wishes, but this time, my priority is my mate. I can’t watch her suffer emotionally because of my choices any longer. I regret agreeing to marry Jada, and I’m truly sorry for a promise I can no longer keep.”
Ms. Reign looks displeased by his response; it’s clear she’s not accustomed to him resisting her orders. I’m relieved to see him finally putting his needs first instead of just trying to please her.
“Lana,” my mother interjects, her tone tinged with frustration, attempting to engage me now that Apollo’s mother has failed. “This is a relationship I’m not comfortable with. You know I’m married to Apollo’s father–he’s practically your brother. You can’t keep this up, even if he.is your mate.”
1 place a hand over my heart. “I would never ask you to give up on your mate if you ever found him.”
She seems taken aback by my honesty. I’ve supported her decision to remarry in the past, despite the challenges it brought to the family.
“This is different,” my stepfather interrupts. “You two are too young to truly understand your feelings for each other.”
Too young? Apollo certainly wasn’t deemed too young to be forced into an engagement with someone he had no interest in.
My mate looks frustrated that our moment was interrupted by our families. I share his frustration; it feels like every time I try to grow closer to
him, something gets in the way.
“I am not too young to know who I want to be with or who I don’t want to spend my life with,” Apollo asserts to his father. “As I’ve said before, this is a closed matter. I’ve made up my mind.”
His mother throws her hands up in exasperation. “Just as easily as you walked away from your engagement, I’m sure you can carve out some
1/2
74%
Chapter 119
space to reconsider your feelings for Lana. Don’t rush into a decision. Think about it. Please, I’m begging you. You have clearly lost your mind!”
The lengths they would go to in order to separate us are concerning.
“Lana,” my mother says, directing her attention back to me. “I hate to be this kind of mother, but you can’t stay here. You’re coming home with me where I can keep an eye on you!”
My eyes widen at her command.
I have no desire to leave without Apollo. I want to be near my mate, to spend the night wrapped up in his arms. There are so many things we still need to discuss.
“Mother,” I say, summoning courage. “I understand this is hard to accept, but I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here with my mate.”
“Your mate is your brother!” she snaps, losing her patience. “I don’t care what I have to do; I will drag you out of here if it comes to that.”
He was most definitely not my brother.
This is the first time my mother has spoken to me this way, and I can see that Apollo is upset by it. I place my hand on his to keep him from interfering. I don’t want to damage his relationship with my mother; I just need a little time to get through to her.
“Apollo,” his mother says before I can respond. “I don’t know what your plans are for tonight, but I should mention that all your siblings want to speak with you. They haven’t had a chance to talk to you since they returned from abroad for your engagement ceremony, which turned out to be a complete disaster.”
“That can wait,” Apollo replies, tightening his arms around me. “Lana and I have other matters to attend to. I’ll meet them tomorrow.“”
She narrows her eyes. “They will be leaving tonight. They came for the ceremony and have flights booked in a few hours. I know you’re not fully yourself right now, but think about your siblings, at least for tonight. You wouldn’t want anything to happen, would you?”
Anything to happen? Was that some kind of threat? Why did she say it like that?
His body tenses at her words. Whatever she means by that definitely has an impact on my mate.
2/2
