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I open my mouth to make another lie, but at the same time, the first person comes to us for help, so I smile at the woman instead.

‘We’ll get back to it,’ Cain’s husky voice invades my mind, accompanied by a slight headache. ‘ Oh, I can mind link you now, even when you are blocking your thoughts. ’

It’s the mark, enhancing our communication abilities because despite what he thinks, we are true mates, and he bonded us for life without the possibility of rejection.

One day, he will finally connect all the dots, while I’ll be already drowning in lies…

“Alpha, Luna,” the woman bows her head in submission. She’s short, skinny, way older than me, and has a nice, familiar face.

“That’s Harriet, she works at the mini wolf care center,” Cain provides me with the information.

Oh, that’s why I feel like I know her from somewhere!

“I think we met on my first tour with Gamma. Nice to see you again.”

She nods with a smile. I admit to her that I was going to visit the center today, to observe their practices to prepare for the big educational reform we can now make since our Kingdoms are not at war anymore, but it had to be rescheduled.

Cain’s grip on my waist tightens at the mention of me losing consciousness .

Harriet starts talking about the center's needs, and all three of us exchange some ideas. They both ask me a lot of questions about the resources my dad’s Kingdon can offer, and I answer them to the best of my abilities. Harriet is a Rogue from generations and was never in a standard school system, just like Cain. It shouldn’t surprise me that they didn’t employ some freshly convicted felon we used to send their way. Not many of them are preschool teachers anyway.

We end up scheduling a meeting, when I suggest Harriet’s presence could be beneficial in drafting educational reform propositions, before asking my dad for specific resources.

Cain keeps introducing everyone to me by name and occupation, and I start to think he really does know every single pack member that well. The most shocking thing is the fact that he even learned sign language for the one werewolf who is deaf.

We continue to discuss various concerns for the whole evening, while munching on the appetizers Beta thinks are worth trying.

I’m so into finally doing some life-changing work that I don’t even mind the compromising position Cain put me in. We make only one short break when the Rogue King finally makes his presence, and a bawdy comment on my new mark, which I brush off.

I know it’s enough for Brandon to drink only Cain’s blood; he’s an Alpha under the King, whom Brandon would have to obey by the chain of power, but apparently, that’s not how they do things here.

After the Rogue King cuts Cain’s palm with a ceremonial blade over the fancy crystal goblet, he cuts his palm, too, and puts it over Cain’s hand. Their blood mixes together before dripping into the cup.

Brandon kneels before them, drinks it all like it’s water—not thick werewolf blood—then says the standard pledge to them.

Cain takes the blood-dripping ceremonial blade from his father and Brandon’s hand, with an unreadable face.

“I accept your loyalty, and welcome you and your wolf form into my pack,” he says, while making a small cut on Brandon’s palm.

I shiver with the memory of both of my pledges. The gross one with a whiskey glass full of Rogue King's blood, and the scary one choking on the blood straight from Rogue Prince's hand.

When the Rogue King leaves the ballroom shortly after, with one young warrior and three young girls I recognize as Claudia’s coworkers, Cain sits back on his chair and waves me over.

This time, I sit on his throne’s left armrest, and instead of complaining, he puts his right hand on my thigh with expectantly stretched fingers. I look at him blankly and slip my hand under his hand, wondering if that’s what he wants.

It is. He wraps his fingers around my palm, caressing the top of my hand with his thumb.

I lock my eyes with his Beta, who shrugs his shoulders before stuffing his mouth with a chocolate-covered strawberry. “I’ll bring you something to drink.”

When we finally get back to our moonlit room in the middle of the night, I’m exhausted, but so happy—I just throw my back on the bed, arms stretched, smile wide, eyes glistening.

“So, what’s the deal with your senses?” Cain asks, standing before me with his arms crossed.

My smile falls.

“And don’t tell me any bullshit, because I could felt the panic through the mark after you smelled me. Remember that you have my mark on your neck?”

I wish I could forget.

If I wasn’t already lying down, I would slam my limbs down with resignation. I sigh and think about the safest way I can say it.

“Something is wrong—at first I thought that’s my senses, and that’s why I inhaled your scent, but then I realized it’s my other senses.”

“What do you mean?” He starts untying his tie and unbuttoning his black shirt.

“I think I’m losing the ability to feel my true mate.” I stare at the dark ceiling.

“You get panic attacks over the now-useless mate bond? I don’t feel a fucking thing, and I assure you, it’s completely fine.”

He throws his shirt away in anger. I’m silent.

He sighs. “When? Because of our bond?”

“No,” I say with confidence that maybe I should mask, but it’s too late.

And just late in general. I’m fricking tired.

“Is he dead?”

I look at my very undead true mate with a blank expression. “No.”

“Honestly, sometimes I don’t get why you can feel that you have a true mate at all. Deep down,” he points at my chest with his finger, “You are not any less toxic than I am.”

“Hey,” I pull myself up on my elbows. “I’m good at compromising and—”

“Because you are scared of me,” he interrupts me with an arrogant smile. I rake my gaze over his ridiculously sexy body. Almost all of his clothes are thrown on the chair by the desk where his sword is.

“No. Because I’m good at teamwork, and a relationship is the most important team you can have.”

He raises his brows with amusement, “Is it?”

“Yes, and we are the team, Cain. We are the goal, and I don’t lose.”

“Funny you say that, because you don’t act like we are playing on the same team, at all.” He grins at me like he solved a puzzle, and, well, he did .

“Fuck,” I exclaim, and throw myself back on the soft bed, knowing he’s right.

“Exactly.”

“Well, you are scaring me with threesomes at the library, that was some fucked up reverse psychology, I’ll give you that; and that test and punishment is one in the form of dirty sex—”

“It wasn’t—”

“Come on,” I look at him with disappointment, and he rolls his eyes at me.

“Okay, maybe I did test your submission, and not letting you finish was a dick move, but it was just taking advantage of the obtained situation, not why I fucked you.”

“Oh, really?” I chuckle humorlessly.

“I fucked you, because I couldn’t think straight since you walked into that ballroom and commanded everyone with your presence,” he says in a calm tone, looking deep into my eyes. “You are sexy as fuck, especially when your act cracks just a little bit, and I can see then how annoyed you really are under that polite princess bullshit. And when I saw you laughing with Brandon… I couldn’t let you dance with him or any other straight guy, without first leaving post-sex scent all over you.”

Of course, it was some primal peeing on a tree thing.

He suddenly pulls me up until I sit on the edge of the mattress, and he is kneeling before me. He rests his arms on my lap and holds my hands in his. He seeks my eyes until I give in. I squeeze his hands twice, and look back into his navy-blue ones.

“What would you do in this fucked up situation, before my bad influence started rubbing off on you?” he asks.

I want to turn my head to the side, but as soon as he feels my hesitation, he squeezes my hands the same way I did, so I lock my eyes with his again.

“You are very good at the whole advice thing,” he says, “You made my job way easier and didn’t even think about yourself. Just the welfare of the pack. I’m impressed.”

“Thank you.” That was a better compliment than any sex-related one.

“So? What would you advise someone else? ”

“Communication,” I answer confidently, without a second thought.

“So, let’s talk,” he smiles up at me.

“Okay. You are a dick.”

“I’m serious.”

“Okay. Sometimes, you confuse me with all your hot and cold drama.”

His eyes twitch at the ‘drama’ word.

“Okay,” he says slowly. “That’s fair. But that’s who I am. Hot and cold and unapologetically myself.”

“I don’t want you to change—”

“Good, because I’m not going to.”

I slip out one of my hands to rake my fingers in his pitch-black hair.

“It’s just… sometimes it feels like you only act cold, to keep pretenses of this legendary ruthless rogue prince.”

“So, despite your little meltdown at Greg’s party, you think I’m honest when I’m all good and caring for you, like right now—and just acting when I’m cold?”

“Um, yes? No. I don’t know, the keeping pretenses thing makes me doubt everything, to be honest.” I put my hand back on my lap, and he immediately wraps his around it.

“I hate to break it to you, but I am this cold Rogue Alpha Prince, and it’s definitely not a game.”

I nod.

“But what I let you feel,” he continues, looking down at my mouth which makes me bite on my lower lip, “When I simply want to be more affectionate, is what I feel for you all the time, no matter how cold or hot I am. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it does…” I pause when I feel a weird pull on my chest. “Anyway. I think it’s… I mean… I, I care. And it’s all so new, so I’m feeling a little bit insecure, and as an Alpha, you must know how much I hate that feeling. And… I might care about you more than I would like.”

As soon as I say these raw words the pulling intensifies, and I start feeling what I should while being so close to my true mate. The subtle lemon scent overwhelms me, and I feel a bitter relief.

I didn’t lose myself after all, but I’m still in danger. Especially when Cain puts everything aside to help me with such maturity… Why doesn’t he feel it yet?

“Thank you,” I lean down to give him a chaste kiss so he won’t notice how scared I am, “I can feel the bond again.”

He pulls me by my hands to him, and kisses me back.

“Ash, I’ve been in love with you since we met and you said that defiant joke that made me draw my sword on you.” He touches the spot under my chin, where the cold blade met my skin that day, then traces his fingers until they brush the mark.

It makes me shiver with pleasure.

“I… I’m not sure what to say,” I admit, closing my eyes while Cain’s fingers travel down to the edge of my gown. “It’s one of those things that confuses me. You help me, confess something like that—while touching me in the spot where you passionately marked me, just after trying to punish me with sex in the hallway, of all things. And for what? Lying about using your laptop? Wanting to dance with other guys? Cutting your delta’s hand? I don’t even know. Do you? But the last one is on him.”

Cain smirks at me, and stands up leaving me cold and even more confused.

“Thanks for telling me what you did,” he says, while taking out a blade under the bed near my legs.

“What do you mean?”

“I had no idea where you went, or what you were doing, when Claudia tried to lie about you leaving her room earlier. My Delta didn’t tell me shit, because he knows what’s in it for him when he gets defeated by an enemy officer. ”

“An enemy officer? Is that what you really think of me? Was anything you said tonight even real?” I try to ignore the pain in my chest.

I guess I don’t have to be concerned with the possibility of better communication helping him, too, when the honesty was very one-sided and just an interrogation to him.

“What, I can’t fall in love with my enemy? You did,” he snorts.

“I didn’t fall in… Wait, hold on. Time out for pack matters,” I put my hand up in a stopping gesture, and he arches his brows and purses his lips. “Your delta. He was mind-linking someone for sure.”

“Not me. I didn’t even know he was back in my mind-reach until you mentioned him at the party, and that’s when I mind-linked him. It’s impossible unless he was in his wolf form.”

“All human. And I guess he wouldn’t try to grope me if he had a loving mate, either. Your father, then? Can the King even do that?”

We had a different pack structure back home. My father could mind-link all of the royal family, because technically—we were his pack with all other Alphas working under him with their packs—but I’m not sure he even tried to mind-link any of the commoners. He never had a reason to.

But I guess the Rogue King can do that, by the “Fuck!” Cain shouts.

I shudder because he still has the knife in his hand, and he is mad at me.

“Can you command him to confess?” I ask, not losing the blade from my sight.

“I wouldn’t be able to override my father’s commands, and he’s not that stupid not to make them airtight, so it would only accomplish telling them I know.”

“Was it your father’s idea to accept Brandon into the pack?”

He sweeps his eyes over me.

“No, it was mine, but you are asking the right questions.”

“You know he’s Colton’s brother, right?” His pack, our pack, is more important than my childhood friend’s hidden motive .

“Someone’s parents were not too original with these ‘-on’ names.”

“Cain, it’s serious…”

“The one you buried in my yard? I know.” He says, pulling me up. “I’ll help you with a dress and go to my Gamma to discuss this. Or Claudia’s room, wherever he fucks her this night.”

“I like her. Do we trust her?” I ask, when I stand up and gather my hair in the lifelong habit, so he can unzip my gown.

“Yeah,” he nods and stands behind me. “She’s my cousin.”

I fucking knew it!