"You're getting good at this," Geldra told me as we walked back to the mansion. "I still don't know how you convinced the Dwights, I've been trying to buy the land from them for weeks and I swear I wasn't even close to convincing them."

I tilted my head up to see the big smile that Geldra had on her face. "I just made them see how beneficial it would be for the pack to increase our crops in these uncertain times. Plus I don't seem like I'm threatening them when I talk to them."

Geldra laughed. "Do I look that threatening?"

"I'd rather face a bear in the woods than fight you."

"You are wise, you have a better chance against the bear." Geldra joked, putting her hands in her pants pockets. "How's everything going with Almec? I saw him for a few seconds today in the morning and he seemed in a better mood."

"We haven't been able to sit down and talk yet, but we're on track. That's already a huge step forward compared to previous weeks."

"You're having a hell of a honeymoon," she said when we reached the mansion's gate. "I was thinking about asking Khalia to marry me, but after seeing you guys I'm already having second thoughts."

I looked at her offended. "You think we are an example of a bad marriage?"

"I don't think you're a bad couple, I just think the pack situation doesn't help you at all." Geldra opened the gate for me. "I have other matters to take care of, tell Khalia that I'll pick her up today when she finishes work."

Did our relationship look so bad that Geldra was afraid of getting married? Even though she tried to deny it, I couldn't get that idea out of my head as I entered the mansion.

Ignoring the noises coming from the kitchen, I climbed the stairs to go to my room. At that point the only company I wanted was Almec's and it was likely that he was still training with the warriors.

Sometimes being alone wasn't so bad, at least it allowed me to process my thoughts. That's why when I found my room empty my body finally relaxed.

I fell on my bed without even taking off my shoes and closed my eyes.

Images of my happiest moments with Almec invaded my mind; if I thought about it in detail, all of them were before our marriage. I missed that time when our worries and responsibilities were not there to interrupt us.

I missed him so much. To such a level that I could even feel the warmth of his touch brushing against my mate mark.

"I wish you could smile like that more often."

I heard Almec's voice, he sounded so real that it made me doubt and I opened my eyes.

"You're really here," I told him, reaching for his left cheek with my hand.

"I still owe you a conversation." Almec leaned into my touch and closed his eyes for a second. "I promised you I would give you an explanation today. I'm sorry I couldn't make time off earlier."

"Don't worry about it, a couple of hours doesn't make much difference." I brought his face close to me and kissed his forehead. "I'm glad you're here now."

"I'm sorry. I know you must be tired of always hearing my apologies, but I'm really sorry," Almec told me, taking off my shoes. When he finished, he lay down next to me and, wrapping his arm around my waist, he pressed my body against his. "Sometimes I feel like a bad husband, all I do is complicate your life."

"Hey, that's not true." I caressed his chest and pecked both of his cheeks. "I'm not going to lie to you, there are times when it makes me sad that you isolate yourself but I would never think that you make my life harder, if it weren't for you I wouldn't have the home I have now."

"You are too patient with me, I don't deserve it." Almec left a trail of kisses down my neck. "What do you want me to talk about first?"

"Start with wherever you want," I said, squeezing his arm.

"I guess I'll start with what you already know in part. The lycan is fighting me again, I've never felt him fight so hard and that worries me," he explained, caressing my back. "I fear that if he comes out he will be more dangerous than before, you read my family's book so you should know that the lycan you saw was not even close to its maximum power. I am afraid that not even you can stop it. "

"If your lycan side is reacting to your stress, wouldn't it help if you let me help you with your work?"

Almec shook his head. "I would be even more worried if you were close to the Moon Guardians members. My wolf gets uneasy every time he sees you near them, he must sense something wrong with the members."

"What about talking about it? Maybe it doesn't make much difference but I always feel calmer when I can express what's happening to me." I brought my face closer to his, our lips almost brushing against each other. "At least I want to know what's happening to you. There's nothing that scares me more than seeing you suffer and not knowing why."

"I'm not the best at communication but I'll try for you."

Almec grabbed the back of my neck and closed the distance between our lips with a desperate kiss. I could feel his need to keep me close by how tight he held me against him. He bit my lower lip, making me moan, and used that moment to push his tongue into my mouth.

I squeezed his arm and raised my left leg, surrounding his waist. The deeper the kiss became, the more I needed my mate.

I tried to climb on top of Almec but he stopped me.

"If we don't stop now, I don't know when I'll get the courage to continue the conversation," he told me before kissing my forehead.

"Start talking then, before I regret it," I answered, caressing his chest.

Almec sat down and grabbing me by my waist lifted me out of the bed to put me on his lap.

"I'll reward you later." He left one last kiss on my neck. "I guess it's time to talk about having kids."

"Are you sure you want to discuss it now?" I asked him, grabbing his hands that didn't stop shaking.

"Yes, you deserve to know." Almec looked down at our hands. "I don't want to have children because I don't want them to be like me."

"Like you?"

"A lycan, I don't want them to be a lycan. I already made up my mind years ago, I'm ready to end the lycan existence with me. I will be the last one, there is no need for anyone else to keep suffering."

"Do you still see it as a curse?" I asked him, brushing my thumbs against the back of his hands.

"That's what it is. Just because you can help me control it doesn't make it any less cruel a fate. I refuse to bring children into the world only to make them suffer like the rest of my family did for generations."

Almec hid his face against my neck, breathing in my scent. Understanding that he was trying to calm his nerves, I hugged him with all my might and kissed his head.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, I know it's hard for you to talk about your lycan side," I told him. "I'm not going to talk about having children anymore if that's what you want. I can't force you after everything you suffered. At least now I know you don't hate children."

"I don't hate them, I actually like them, but I'm afraid to get too close to them. They are so fragile that I'm afraid of hurting them."

"You never hurt Faustina," I tried to console him, stroking his hair.

"She was already eight when I met her and still I was afraid to approach her at first."

"Really? We never realized, it took less than a month for you to become her favorite person, after me, obviously."

"That's because Faustina has a good heart, just like her sister. Anyone else in your shoes would have run out of the mansion in less than a week."

"Well, they're idiots if they can't see how sweet, selfless, and kind you are." I raised his face and gave him a short kiss on his lips. "Better for Faustina and me, so we can have you all to ourselves."

Almec laughed. "I don't think anyone is fighting for your place."

"You never know, you're the alpha, you're handsome, strong, and a sweetheart, I sure must have some competition out there."

"I already told you he's busy now. You can come back another time!" Khalia's screams broke our personal bubble.

"What's that?" I asked Almec, before separating from him and sitting on the edge of the bed, to put on my shoes.

Almec ran straight to the door without waiting for me. "It seems that someone wants to break into the mansion. Stay here."

He left the room just as I finished tying my shoelaces.

Without even hesitation, I disobeyed his order and ran after him. Still, Almec gained a great distance ahead of me, reaching the entrance of the mansion first.

"I know this scent," my wolf told me. "He is one of the Moon Guardians."

"La puta que lo parió." The insult escaped me as I quickened my pace, managing to reach the stairs just in time.

"What are you doing here?" Almec asked the intruder. "Thank you Khalia, I'll take care of it from now on."

In front of him, Gaspard smiled as if he were meeting an old friend. "I came to see you, what else am I going to do here? I thought we could get to know each other a little better. I'm already tired of always being surrounded by the same people."

"You are not welcome here." Almec took another step towards Gaspard. "If you want to tell me something important, you can ask Geldra for a meeting like everyone does."

"Not in the mood to make friends?" Gaspard smirked, looking at me. "Maybe your wife would like to say hello to me."

Almec turned his head and the moment our gazes met his body tensed. His eyes turned red and his hands began to shake.

"Gaspard get out of here!" I warned him, going down the stairs.

The Moon Guardians member, however, proved to not have a shred of self-preservation patting Almec on his back.

"It seems she is willing to welcome me," he said.

It was too late, the transformation had already begun.

"Run, you fucking asshole!" I yelled at Gaspard, watching as the lycan took Almec's place.

Gaspard didn't need a second scream to run out of the mansion, the problem was that the lycan began to follow him.

For the lycan, reaching Gaspard in his human form was a piece of cake. The redhead at least showed some intelligence and shifted to gain some speed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't turn into my wolf like him if I wanted to use my powers, so even though I almost fell off the stairs because of how fast I ran, I was still far behind them.

The orange wolf and the lycan ran around the outside of the mansion, reaching the backyard.

"Almec!" I screamed, waiting for my mate to react inside the lycan.

For a moment he stopped chasing Gaspard, allowing me to close the distance between us. I extended my hand towards the lycan who already seemed to have forgotten about the orange wolf.

"Pay no attention to him," I told the lycan, taking another step toward him. "Come to me, everything is fine."

The lycan howled, slowly approaching me, then he sniffed my hand.

I was about to touch his snout when Gaspard's wolf growled behind me.

"Are you stupid? Go away if you don't want to end up dead." I yelled at him, turning my head to look at him.

The wolf growled at me once again, showing me his teeth.

The lycan became enraged and ran past me to pounce on the wolf.

"Stop, you two!" I yelled at them and without thinking I got between them.

The lycan's claw came into contact with my arm, tearing my shirt and cutting my skin. His eyes found my wound and he let out a devastating howl, kneeling next to me.

"Leave now!" I ordered Gaspard.

He listened to me and ran towards the front of the property.

At the same time, Almec regained control, returning to his human form.

"What did I do?" He said, grabbing my injured arm gently. "This is all my fault."

I cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes.

"It's okay, you were trying to protect me, Gaspard shouldn't have reacted like that," I consoled him, wiping away his tears.

"No." Almec broke free from my grasp and stood up. "I was right. This is what I meant, I'm dangerous even to you."

"It was just an accident." I tried to grab his hand, but Almec had already started running, leaving me alone in the backyard.