Alonso's POV
Venus's moan is barely audible as I move my lips against hers. Ever since she had her first shift and recognised me as her mate, we absolutely cannot keep our hands off each other. Every chance we get, we are kissing and making out.But we are still keeping this a secret. Because in a few minutes, she is going to become the Beta of the capital pack. And we are planning to announce it to everyone then.There is a knock on the door and we know it's Dorian. Because we both put Dorian there to knock when someone is close or wants to come in.Venus and I stand a little distant, quickly ran our hands over our outfits and messy hair to look presentable. And then we appeared as if we were talking about something."It's time for the Moon Festival you guys,!" Venus's mom walks in and gives us a stern look. We both nod and agree to follow her because it's also time for Venus's Beta ceremony.The crowd is already partying and everything is so put together. Usually the capital pack parties in a wild way. The alcohol keeps coming. The music keeps blasting. And everything else of that sort.But when it's midnight and the full moon wave is at the peak, that's when every shifted wolf takes a pack run and howl our prayers to the Moon Goddess. And a tribute to the Goddess who created us.The Beta ceremony is simple, and once she was given the title as the Beta, we both slit our palms and shook our hands together. One blood, one pack, until death claims us.Venus and I hold each other's hands a little longer than necessary and just when I am about to announce the fact that we are mates, we are interrupted by the arrival of The Ocean Howlers Pack.The Alpha's family and The Beta's family are here. I still don't understand who is in charge of the pack in their absence. As much as a Gamma is capable, he is still not the Alpha.They all bow before me and I nod and raise my hand, asking them to stand again. But with a smile on my face. That's what my dad asked me to do. He asked me to smile no matter what. Because he had a deal with them. He tried telling me but every time he did, something or the other came up.My eyes fall on two people. The twin siblings. Heirs to Alpha of The Ocean Howlers Pack. The girl smiles at me sweetly but the boy looks like I snatched his plate of food and refused to give it back to him again."Alpha King, allow me to introduce my children to you," Alpha of The Ocean Howlers Pack, John Adams moves forward. I nod, out of courtesy but I have no interest knowing anything about them. I just want this over and get back to kissing my mate!"My daughter Edna Adams," he says pointing at his daughter.Edna does a decent curtsy and I nod at her. Her gray eyes are somehow complimenting her dark skin well. She is beautiful. But not as beautiful as my mate is."And my son, Cole Adams," he says pointing at his son.Cole doesn't even bother bowing to me, but a smack at the back of his head from his father did its charm. I wonder why Cole is acting this way. It's not funny. It's weird."Do enjoy your stay, Alpha John Adams. Nice meeting you two as well," I say nodding at the twins before shifting my focus to Dorian who is walking to me wide eyed.In his hands, is a huge tray draped in red velvet cloth. And in it, is the baton made of the moonstone. There are five of these and they keep moving through the packs and wherever they land, the Full Moon Festival is celebrated there.I place the baton where it is supposed to be. And I look at Venus, finally. I nod at her, asking her to come to me so we can resume announcing our mate bond to everyone. Because now is the right now.Now, because she is finally not a minor. Now, because it's the Full Moon Festival.Now, because she is my Beta and I am her Alpha King.And Now, because I can't wait to tell the whole world that Venus Gratley is my mate.But my father walks on to the stage somehow, ruining the moment again. I don't say anything yet. Because I waited patiently for five years, for this very moment. I guess I can wait for five more minutes.Venus stands just a step behind me, and her honeysuckle scent is wrapping me up in a blanket of ease. Damn, I just want to pull her and take her into my arms again."Thank you to everyone who are here today," my father addresses the crowd.Not just The Ocean Howlers Pack but a few more people from neighbouring packs are here. The representatives of the neighbouring packs, to be honest."Son, if you could join me," he calls me and it takes every ounce of my self control to walk away from Venus and on to the stage."What's this about?" I ask my father in a bare whisper, being aware that werewolf hearing sense is much stronger than anyone else."You'll see," he says and his eyes are filled with concern.I just stand there, beside him and count seconds. I cannot wait to tell the world that Venus is my freaking mate. I look at her again. She is drop dead gorgeous in her lavender dress that reached her ankles. Her auburn hair is pinned into a bun and her brown eyes hold lot of love as she looks at me.Oh Thank You Moon Goddess, for giving me her as my mate. I don't know what I would do if it is someone else."The Ocean Howlers Pack had always been the backbone of the werewolf world. With the largest Naval fleet, they often played a crucial role in helping the werewolves win countless number of wars," my father says and he is not wrong.If the werewolf world is considered a body, then The Ocean Howlers Pack is the head. If there's no head, then there's nothing left. Dead."And Alpha John Adams's daughter Edna Adam's turned eighteen just over two months ago," my father says and Edna softly smiles.Everything about her screams soft. Like she is meant to be protected. Like she is made of porcelain. And she is sweet too. Not like her brother who is now staring at Dorian. Thankfully not me."Edna, if you please" my father calls her on stage too and I look at him, totally confused."Tell me this is not what I think it is," Thunder whispers and he is about to lose his shit.It can't be. Dad wouldn't do that. Not without asking me anyway. Maybe she found his mate in this pack. Maybe Dorian. That's why Cole Adams had been staring at him ever since he walked in. And obviously they'll need my approval since I am the Alpha King."A life debt was called. And a political alliance was to be made. But I cannot be more happier that the alliance is with my friend, Alpha John Adams," my father says and my legs are somehow glued to the stage, refusing to think of anything else."And as a part of that political marriage, I would like to announce you all that my son Alpha King Alonso Naylor is to be wed to Edna Adams of The Ocean Howlers Pack six months from now," my father finishes announcing and my head whips to the direction of where Venus is standing.She is just as shocked as I am, but it's the tears in her eyes that I can't bear looking at.I look at my father again, who is placing Edna's hand in mine. No no no! No!Political marriage.No no no no no. This is not happening!Alonso's POVThe entire crowd is still cheering as I get down the stage, moving towards Venus. This is a misunderstanding that I want to talk to her about. But my father's hand grabbing me by my shoulder stopped me from doing so. I guess he saw the anger in my eyes, because he stepped behind and pulled his hand away from my shoulder. I turn around to find Venus gone. "You should have asked me," I whisper, turning towards my father again and this time, he just holds my hand and takes me away from the crowd. We are walking towards the pack house in silence now. I can't catch a sniff of Venus's scent here. I guess she ran off in the other direction. I should have chased her, but I guess I should at least know what made my father do this. So I can explain to him that this is bullshit. And then go get Venus. "Are you really going to be this silent? Because back there you were making real loud noise, father" I say in a tone that came out harsher than intended. As if I care at this poin
Venus's POV I watch as we successfully send off the moonstone baton to the next werewolf pack so that they can celebrate the next Full Moon as their own Full Moon Festival. And our pack has to wait for another year to celebrate it once again. I catch the scent of salt and the ocean. I turn around to find Edna Adams. Her gray eyes warm as they look at me, and a smile so gorgeous that I can definitely say she is prettier than me. "Future Queen," Dorian bows to her and if only he knew what I am to Alonso! "Oh please. I am not one yet and that's still a long way," Edna smiles at Dorian, pushing a few strands of her blonde hair away from her face. "I am bored. And everyone in the pack house told me that the King is especially close to you," Edna pauses as she takes my appearance in,"Beta" Something about her screams differently. Because there is no way a girl can be this soft. And she has everything sorted in place. Her attire, her hair, her posture.. as if she had been groomed for t
Alonso's POVIt took me a couple of seconds to get back to normal time again. I froze up as soon as she pulled me in for a kiss. The first second, I thought I was dreaming. The second second, I was processing. And by the third second, I was already kissing Venus back. My left hand is on her waist, and my right hand at the back of her head pulling her impossibly closer to me. And for a minute, I don't care where we are standing. I don't care who might see us. I don't care if everyone from the pack is staring right at us. But this moment, where Venus is kissing me.. that is all I need. Sadly, she pulls away from the kiss but her eyes are still closed. She takes another moment before opening her eyes. Her brown eyes are still the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. And the more I stare at her eyes, the more I am falling in love with the color brown in general. "I didn't know it was a life debt," Venus whispers and how she got to know, I have no idea. But at least she got to know about it
Venus's POVMy entire body feels so ignited and Alonso didn't even do anything yet. He just touched my bare skin and I felt so many emotions that I had never felt before. But before he does anything more, he gently cups my ass and taps twice. I took the hint and jumped up. Alonso caught me and I wrapped my legs around his torso. He walks towards my room. And for once, I feel glad that we have known each other since we were kids. He doesn't need me to tell where to go and what to do. "Other than consent even though you are his mate?" Dawn giggles in the back of my head. Alonso is a gentleman that way, I guess. To wait until I gave him my consent to proceed. We did go intimate here and there but never the sex level intimate. So this is killing me now. Knowing that I will be having sex with Alonso Naylor in a few minutes. He opens the door by himself with my back facing the room, and my face buried at the nape of his neck. His scent of musk and citrus is literally making me and my wo
Alonso's POV I am mentally still at Venus's place. My tongue has the lingering taste of her, when I sucked my fingers as soon as she hit her orgasm all over my hand. I still cannot get the picture out. The way her body reacted to my touch, the way she moaned my name, the way she screamed during her release, the way she fell asleep just minutes after all of that. My father clears his throat, bringing me back to the harsh reality. I just gave him a stern look. It's been a while since I smiled at him. I don't know if I am more angry at him or more disappointed. I guess both. My father tilts his head towards Edna who is also at the dining table, chewing her potatoes in a soft manner. With every bite she is taking, her left hand goes in front of her mouth muting whatever faint chew noises that somehow got away. Venus wouldn't have cared about it if she had a plate of potatoes before her. She loves potatoes and often ate mine and Dorian's too, when we were kids. "How was your day, Edna
Venus's POVI stare at Edna, not even attempting to look guilty. For hell I care, I will rip everyone's throats who ask me to stay away from my mate. "Oh My God," Edna's hands are now not cupping her mouth anymore. Her right hand is an inch away from her face and her left hand is on her heart. How is she doing everything so elegantly.? Was she groomed to be this way since the beginning?? Because even though she is an Alpha's daughter, she was supposed to be trained. Especially since she has a twin brother. When there are more than one Alpha child, the pack goes to whoever wins the title duel. And the duel doesn't necessarily have to end up with killing because after all they are siblings. But they have to win it by pinning the other one down. So considering that, she should have been trained for combat and duel. But she doesn't look like that at all! Something feels strange about it. "What is happening here?" Edna asks again, and her face is slowly showing signs of calmness. Tha
Venus's POV I lift Dorian up, grabbing the collar of his shirt and he shrieks once before he twisted my wrist and got out of my grip. Now Dorian and I are growling at each other, moving in a perfect circle, waiting for the opponent to strike first. The crowd around us is going wild. We are having a weekend war. Everyone in the pack who gets training done everyday participates in this. And they usually go by ranks. Alpha King never participates in this, because if he enters the fighting rink, then no one but him would emerge victorious. His power exceeds all of our pack members' powers combined. So I am always stuck with Dorian, being next in line to me. "Afraid again, Dorian?" I smirk at him, and then wink, making him lose his cool for a second. He raises his arm, aiming for my ribs but his movements then get too predictable that just after a minute, he is already on the ground, groaning with pain. Dorian was the one who taught me many of these fight skills, but the Beta blood i
Venus's POV Dorian didn't let me go, and didn't let his hand get off my face either.. until we reached a safe distance from the fighting grounds. And as soon as he let me go, I kicked his leg making him scream in low case. "Ow! That hurts but you have a goddamn reason," Dorian says, hopping for a minute. His werewolf might have healed it in a second. He is being just as dramatic as I can be with him. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" I ask him, even though a theory has already formed in my mind. I just want him to tell me about it instead. "He is my mate," Dorian says in a bare whisper. Never mind. All the theories I formed in my mind literally jumped straight out of the window. Cole is Dorian's mate? Dorian is gay? How come I never knew that? Well, maybe because he doesn't act like the stereotypical gay person. "And before you say something, let me tell you all about it," Dorian says. He goes on and on and on about how he found this on the day of the Full Moon Festival