It had to be a mistake, I couldn't be Almec's mate, much less the luna of the pack. It wasn't about my insecurities anymore, the people present at that moment agreed with me.

As soon as the alpha announced his mate the crowd turned to me ready to make me fall. Flaws that I didn't think I had came to light thanks to the cries of the inhabitants, even I started to think that I represented a threat to Wild Fangs.

With so many people in the world who could fill the spot, why did Moon Goddess choose me? I wanted to believe that there was something special about me that made me the one, a reason why I was destined to stay with Almec.

I didn't feel sure I could be the luna he deserved, but I didn't want to let him go either. My most selfish side was present every time I imagined him with someone else, I didn't even want him to show the most sensitive side of him to someone other than me.

When did I become so self-centered?

"She has no idea about our traditions!"

Kilma's voice brought me back to reality. He led my detractors with incredible passion. I didn't know that someone would want to kick me out so badly.

"You are a brainless brute and yet they left you in charge of a section of fighters," Wina defended me. "Traditions can be learned, the important thing is that she is a good person, and I assure you that Valentina is a much better person than you."

"The traditions are the pillar of our community, an outsider will never understand them the same way we do," he kept fighting.

"For someone so obsessed with rules, you're forgetting that our alpha's mate is automatically our luna, you have no right to deny her authority unless you have proof of her inability to take the position. Whatever she needs to learn, Almec will teach her," Adira said. "Have a little faith in your alpha."

"How can I trust him if he abandoned us all this time?" Kilma shouted, making the crowd quiet. "Just because in these last few months he started playing leader again doesn't mean he deserves my respect."

"Kilma, that's enough," Geldra warned, approaching him. "We have more important matters now."

"More important than defending our pack from ending up led by a whore?"

I lowered my gaze. Kilma's words finally managed to defeat me. There was a limit to how much humiliation I could take in public and I had long since surpassed it.

"What did you say about my mate?"

Almec sounded furious, so much so that I didn't even dare to look at him.

"You heard perfectly what I said, I called her a who—"

Kilma didn't insult me a second time, Almec took care of silencing him. He grabbed him by the neck and lifted him a few centimeters, the more Kilma moved, the more force Almec applied.

"You can't treat your luna like that. I could expel you from the pack for what you just said."

Kilma's face was almost as red as his hair and his kicks stopped completely. He tried to dig his nails into the hand holding his neck to free himself, no matter how much he scratched the skin, Almec didn't move an inch.

"I tried to be understanding. I stay away so that you can live in peace but there is a line that I will not allow you to cross. You can say what you want about me, but don't you dare disrespect Valentina or Faustina. I hope this serves as a warning to everyone."

I didn't feel like I was the right mate for Almec, still, he was the perfect man for me. He was a blessing that came to me after so much time of suffering, the person who I knew could help me build a new life.

"Thank you for defending me, but I think he already received enough punishment," I told Almec, holding his arm. "Besides, the hunters are still at the gate."

"You're lucky she's compassionate." Almec released Kilma, letting him fall to the ground. "If this happens one more time you can say goodbye to the pack."

The sound of applause caught everyone's attention. On the other side of the gate, one of the hunters started to laugh as if he had heard the funniest joke of his life.

"This is the best show I've seen in a long time, my superiors always told me that the packs are unbeatable fun but I never believed them." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "You savages are wonderful, it's a shame we have to kill you all. Unless you do what we ask, just give us the girl and you will be safe."

"I thought it was already clear that we are not going to hand over Valentina." Almec approached the gate and looked down at the hunter, the height difference made him look even more intimidating. "Do you think we're stupid? There must be a reason why you want Valentina, I don't think you would have traveled all the miles from her old pack to here just to take one werewolf and a kid. You need her for a reason, so stop acting in such an arrogant way. Besides, there's no way that you'll leave us alone just because we do what you ask."

The hunter hit the gate, yet Almec did not react.

"Fine, we're going to do it your way. Prepare to see the destruction of your pack. It's going to be good publicity for us anyway, we'll be the hunters who killed the last lycan." He started walking away and he motioned to his companions to follow him. "See you later, Daughter of the Moon, I can't wait to make you work for me."

The hunters left but the murmurs of the crowd remained. Every word they whispered was a blow against me. They already knew there was something different about me, and they wanted to get to the bottom of it.

The accusing looks were too many to take at that time so I hid behind my shield.

"I want to go back to the mansion," I whispered to Almec as I hugged his arm.

"Let's go, I think cooling our minds is the best for everyone now," he answered before talking to the crowd. "Return to your homes for today, do not let the hunters manipulate you, we will get out of this together. Tomorrow we will have news about the matter, if you have any questions you can talk to Geldra."

"I got this," the beta told us as she passed next to us. "Feinid is going to take care of the victims and their families."

We walk back to the mansion wrapped in silence. I released Almec's arm, moving away a little towards the side, and he didn't try to reach out for me. An invisible wall grew between the two, however, I did not feel angry coming from any of us. It was as if we wanted to process what was happening alone but without losing the other out of sight.

"Do you want me to accompany you to your room or do you prefer to be alone?" Almec asked me when we crossed the entrance door.

"Actually, I want to go to the library. Can you come with me? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course." He smiled and extended his hand towards me, it was as if the wall had collapsed.

The usual cheerful atmosphere of the library was replaced by a sense of sadness, or perhaps it was only me who felt trapped by the enormous amount of information I had to process.

The hunters were my biggest concern but also the matter I wanted to forget. What I really wanted to understand was Almec's mind and the bond that united us.

"Since when do you know I'm your mate?" I asked him, sitting on the armchair with my legs crossed.

"Since I met you, my wolf felt it first. We were running through the forest when your scent caught my wolf's attention. As soon as we discovered that you were in danger I lost control of my wolf and when I recovered consciousness I saw the hunters dead. "

"Did you think I also knew that you were my mate?"

"Yes, at first I was sure you were going to recognize me and I will not deny that your reaction confused me a lot."

"Sorry." I looked down. "It must have been horrible for you. Did you think I was rejecting you?"

Almec held my chin carefully and lifted my head. "You don't have to be sorry for that, it's not your fault. And to answer your question, yes, I thought you were rejecting me, and I always thought that it would be a possibility considering that I'm a lycan."

The emotions that passed through my body were too many, so much so that I couldn't even process them all. I was overwhelmed, bombarded by worries, guilt, and happiness at the same time. My only reaction was to cry to let it out.

"I'm really sorry. I'm not like this. I'm supposed to be the strong older sister and not a crybaby."

"Come here."

Almec didn't need to say anything else, he just opened his arms to receive me and I jumped towards him without hesitation. I snuggled against him, sitting on his lap while he hugged me tightly.

"It's alright, you don't always have to be the strongest, it's a very heavy burden, and now I'm here to help you." Almec caressed my back. "There is nothing to apologize for, sometimes feelings are difficult for everyone to handle, and repressing them is only going to hurt you, believe me, I am speaking from experience."

"I didn't want to cry today. I'm happy to be your mate, really, but it seems like I'm suffering because of it."

"Don't worry about that. You're here with me, that's what matters to me. What really scares me is the possibility that one day you'll realize who I really am and decide to leave. That's why I never said anything, I should have told you the truth from day one, but I was afraid that you wouldn't believe me or that you would hate being a lycan's mate. Actually, I expected you to be angry with me for hiding the truth."

"I'm not angry; I didn't even think about that. I'm surprised. When I lost connection with my wolf I also lost hope of finding a mate. I never aspired to the same thing as most werewolves, I just wanted to find a safe place to live with Faustina."

"I didn't think I would have a mate either, it's strange for lycans to find their mate. My father never found his, my mother had lost her mate in an accident, and they both found love in each other." Almec kissed the crown of my head. "I wasn't expecting you but I couldn't be happier to have found you. I still can't believe someone so kind, intelligent, and brave is my mate."

His words made me blush. My heart was filled with warmth, my dream of living with Almec forever seemed part of my reality. After so much suffering, the Moon Goddess gave me the best gift of all.

"You can forget the fear of me leaving," I said, looking up. "I'm planning on staying here forever."

Almec smiled at me and kissed my forehead. "I promise I'll work hard so you never have a reason to leave. But first I'm going to need your permission."

"Permission for what?" I tilted my head, confused.

"To court you. You are my mate and I want to do it the right way. Although I must confess that I already got a little ahead of myself. I couldn't resist the desire to give you my gifts."

"It still surprises me to see someone who upholds the old traditions." I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "You have my permission, it would be an honor, my alpha."