Nightshade Shadow moon Pack Alpha POV

"Before we start the procedure, I would like to speak to Autumn alone for a moment."

"No way am I letting the two of you be alone." Gustavo replied.

"Please Gustavo, don't make things harder then they have to be." Autumn begged.

Gustavo frowned and sighed but then nodded. "Fine but don't let him persuade you that he's not a monster. He doesn't deserve your love. Neither do I, but at least I'm not a monster like he is. There's a reason that he's called the bloodlust Alpha. Please be careful my love." Gustavo warned Autumn frowned in reply. Her eyes flashing in anger.

"Dont call me that!" Autumn's wolf hissed at Gustavo who frowned. "You are NOT my mate and you Never will be! I am not some weak damsel in distress, I can take care of myself." I hid a smile as Autumn followed me into the Alpha's office.

"Before we discuss wether or not I will accept you as my mate there are a few things that I need to know. First off, what are your plans for this pack now that you've clearly decided to take this land for yourself? Secondly, how did you get past our defenses? Thirdly, what do you plan to do with or to Gustavo and the other high ranking members of this pack?"

"That depends entirely on them. If Gustavo willingly steps down, I will consider giving him a high ranking position in the pack once they have been combined."

"How would that work? I thought all of your high ranking positions were already filled? You have a bata and a Delta."

"We will figure something out. For now let us get to know each other. First off, I want you to know that the rumors about me are not true, at least not entirely."

"Explain." Autumn replied looking at me warily.

"How much do you know about me and about my curse?"

"Not much. Just the stories that I've heard about your cruel nature."

"I don't like discussing my past but as my possible future Luna, you have a right to know the truth. My father was a cruel man and he was abusive to not only to my mother and the other woman of the pack but to me as well. He delighted in causing me pain."

"One day, He ordered me to punish my mother for a crime that she didn't commit. I didn't want to, but he used his Alpha command and threatened to remove me from the position of future Alpha if I didn't do as he ordered. So I reluctantly punished her. In doing so, the Moon Goddess decided that I wasn't worthy of having a mate."

At this, Autumn's wolf let out a low growl. "It came as quite a surprise when she gave me the opportunity to meet you. I am curious, what is your relationship with Alpha Gustavo? Do you love him? If so, just say the word and I'll leave forever."

"No way I'm letting us leave just because she's in love with that pup!" My wolf hissed at me.

Autumn POV

I was shocked by what I had just heard. It was impossible no mate would ever agree to something like this. So to ensure that I heard him right I asked: "You'd do that for me?"

"Yes. I will admit that it won't be easy. I've waited for you for a long time and it would break my wolf's heart, but I'll do it if that's what really you want."

"In all honesty? I don't know what I want." Autumn replied with a sigh. "

"What do you mean you don't know what you want?!! He is our mate!!! We belong with him!" My wolf snarled at me.

"I don't want to be with a man who is heartless and from what I've heard, this Alpha is exactly that. He's the cruelest Alpha to have ever lived. He is even crueler then his late father. He has no respect for women and he hops from female to female as if it were a game. He's admitted that story of why the Moon Goddess took away his mate is true."

"His Alpha gave him a choice to either whip his mother for a crime that she didn't commit or lose his status as the future Alpha. It's obvious which he chose. The other part of the curse was that his true mate would reject him because of his abusive nature. So where does that leave us?"

"I don't care why he was cursed and I don't care about the rumors about him! I refuse to reject him. He's my mate and I shall have no other!" 

Suddenly the NSSMP Delta burst into the room and both I and the NSSMP's Alpha let out a low growl in warning hating having been disturbed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Alpha, but we have an emergency! Your bata is about to kill a member of this pack. We've tried to stop him but he won't listen to us."

The NSSMP Alpha let out a frustrated growl. "Damm it!"

I followed the NSSMP Alpha out into the court yard where his Bata had a member of our pack by his neck. "You think you can keep my mate from me?" He snarled at the man he held by his throat.

"Please, let him go. Please I'll do anything you want but please, let him go." I heard Geraldine beg. I realized that it was Gustavo's bata and Geraldine's husband that was being held by the throat.

I heard her give a cry of anguish as we heard the snapping of his neck and watched as the NSSMP's Bata tore his heart from his chest. Instantly I felt the disconnection slumping to my feet.

Instantly, the Alpha of the NSSMP let out a loud growl and his Bata dropped the body to the floor. "You belong to me and No one keeps what's mine from me!"  He growled at Geraldine who stepped back in fear. However, the Bata found his path blocked by Gustavo. For the first time ever, I felt a deep desire to protect both of them.

Maybe it was because I noticed that she was clutching two newborns to her chest. Or maybe it was because Gustavo had chosen to give up everything for me. The thought of seeing him harmed disgusted me. Morphing into my wolf and grabbing my clothes in my mouth I rushed to her side. Once there, I quickly dressed and blocked the man's path.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" I growled but the man just laughed.

"Just who do you think you are talking to me like that?" The Bata of the Nightshade moon pack replies his voice dangerously low.

"She is this Pack's Luna and She deserves your respect." Geraldine replied.

At this, the NSSMP's bata burst into laughter. "The Luna Huh? Well, she doesn't have much time left live. She deserves to be and will be slaughtered alongside her mate. But not before my Alpha and I and our men have a little bit of fun with her."

Having heard his Bata threaten to both r*pe and kill me, the Alpha of the NSSMP let out a deep growl. Well, more of a snarl to be accurate.

Meanwhile, I looked at Geraldine in confusion. Since when did she care about how people talked to me? She wanted to take my position as Luna. "Geraldine are you alright?"

"Forgive me Luna." Geraldine replied tears streaming down her face. "My husband is dead and it's all my fault."

"Shhh. What do you mean it's all your fault?" I asked wiping the tears from her face.

"Why are you so concerned for her? She's our enemy!" My wolf hissed at me.

"No she's not. Yes, she's made some mistakes but she is still a member of this pack and therefore deserves our protection. Oh and in case you didn't notice, she's given birth. The last thing we'd want is for our pack to have orphans right?" My wolf groaned then reluctantly muttered in agreement.

"I lead them here. I helped them get past our defenses. I lead these monsters to our pack. Now this man who murdered my husband is claiming that I am his mate." Geraldine moaned.

My wolf growled in anger but I fought to maintain control. "Why would you do something like this?"

At this, Geraldine looked ashamed "I wanted Gustavo for myself. I thought that if I brought your true mate here that you'd want him. Then maybe I could be with Gustavo. That all changed when I gave birth to my son and daughter this morning during the raid. When the Bata arrived it seemed as if he was going to attack me. However, instead of doing so, he pulled me close to him."

"I immediately began calling out for help. Not from help from Gustavo, but help from my husband. When he didn't hesitate to rush to my side, I knew instantly that I had been such a fool. I let my love for Gustavo blind me."

"All I knew was that I wanted him. I hated that he chose you. I was so envious and filled with hurt that I didn't see what was right in front of me. Now he's gone and I have no one. I just want to die. I've got nothing to live for." Geraldine sobbed.

"That can be arranged wh*re." The Bata of the NSSMP replies with a smile.

I glared angrily at him before turning my attention back to Geraldine. "That's not true. You have your children to think about. They need you, this pack needs you..." I paused before continuing "I need you."

"Could someone please explain what is going on?" Gustavo demanded angrily as he cradled the two of us in his arms.

My mate let out a low growl of frustration before shrugging his shoulders and let out a slight yawn. "Your bata stood in the way of something that my bata wanted and so he killed him." He replied sounding board as if this was normal to him.

"How can you be so calm about this? I had your word that no member of my pack would be harmed yet my bata lies dead. Obviously your word means nothing." Gustavo replies angrily.

At this, the Alpha of the Nightshade shadow moon pack's eyes flashing in anger and I could sense that his wolf was itching to take over and kill Gustavo right where he stood. He probably would have, if I hadn't placed my hand on his shoulder instantly soothing his wolf.

Ignoring Gustavo, he turned his attention to me and sighed. "I hate to have to do this, but I'm afraid that due to the circumstances a decision has to be made quickly. You need to decide now who you want as a mate."

"Like she's choose you after everything that your pack has done. Not to mention, the fact that obviously your word means nothing. No one could ever love a monster like you, not even your mate. Your an ugly beast inside and out."

This time it was me who reacted in anger. "Enough!"

"Autumn what's gotten into you?" Gustavo replied obviously confused.

"I won't have you talking to my mate with such disrespect." At this, Gustavo looked hurt.

"You would choose him over me?" He asked the pain in his voice and his gaze evident.

Feeling instantly ashamed I had to look away. "Moon goddess why is this so hard?"

"Because you love them both for different reasons." The Moon Goddess replies.

"What am I to do? Either way I choose I will wind up hurting someone. I love them both. Can't you make this choice for me?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"Having a problem Luna?" Came a deep chuckle from the corner of the room.

"You!" Gustavo growled lunging at the strange intruder but he was instantly flung backward.

"Silly mutt. You thought that you could attack me?" The man's said in amusement a smile playing on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" The Moon Goddess hissed and again the man chuckled.

"I'm here to set things right, my love."

"Don't call me that!" The Moon Goddess growled her eyes flashing in anger.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Who I am, is of no consequence. Discovering my name is both a pointless and deadly endeavor. I'm here to set the record straight. Autumn belongs to the Alpha of the Nightshade Shadow moon pack. End of discussion. You will accept this boy."

"Or what?"

"Or risk war with my clan. Trust me, that is something that none of us, including the moon goddess want. Isn't that right my Queen?." The man asks with a slight bow.

"As much as I hate to agree with him, he is right. The last thing you want, is for the royal family to become involved."

"As in the king of the werewolves?"

"Not exactly." The Moon Goddess replies with a slight wince.

"You don't mean...." Geraldine's voice trailed off and she gulped the color draining from her face. "Forgive him your highness. He didn't recognize you." Geraldine replies with a bow.

"Could someone please tell me what's going on? Who is this man? Why does everyone including the moon goddess seem afraid of him?" I demanded angrily.

"Who said anything about my being afraid of him?" The Moon Goddess replies her eyes flashing in anger causing the stranger to chuckle in amusement.

My mate walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder in an effort to calm me down. However, it wasn't working. "He's the prince of darkness." Gustavo replies.

"Satan?"

At this, the man began to laugh. "No child, I am not the devil. Though many call me his son." He replied flashing me a smile his teeth glistening in the moonlight.

"Your a vampire." I reply with a frown.

"He's not just any vampire Luna, he is the original vampire. The father of all vampires."

"Your not welcome here. Leave my lands immediately."

The man frowned and lets out a low growl. Pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "You are beginning to try my patience. It would be a shame to have to hurt such a lovely woman as yourself."

I backed away slightly and my mate pulled me to his chest and I immediately buried my head into it. "Hush now my love, there is no reason to be afraid. His majesty won't harm us."

My mate whispered to me and instantly I felt comforted and reassured that everything would be alright. Upon seeing the fear in my eyes Gustavo let out a growl his eyes flashing in anger.

"Your the blood sucking leach who practically ruined Autumn and I's wedding."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration. I simply warned you not to mark Autumn without her consent. I see that You did not heed my warning."

"She is my mate and I had every right to mark her. I'm not afraid of the likes of you. Why don't you crawl back under the rock from which you came leach." Gustavo hissed at the man.

"Uh-oh. Now you've done it...." My mate replies worriedly.

"Oh no." Geraldine groaned. "This isn't going to end well."

Instantly the man was at Gustavo's side and had him by the throat once more. "You insolent pup! How  dare you deride and disrespect me!" The man snarled at Gustavo who struggled in his grasp.