Another day, another awkward encounter with Zaziel.

It had barely been more than twenty-four hours since our discussion in his office and in that short time I had met him at least ten times around the mansion. It was ironic that when I wanted to see him he would spend his time hiding, but when I wanted to escape from him I would find him in every corner.

Every time I tried to ignore him, pretend I wasn't seeing him, my silly wolf started screaming his name. I was already tired of hearing Zaziel's name, if someone mentioned him a murderous instinct arose in me ready to attack at any second.

He liked to pretend that nothing had happened, he preferred to keep acting cool and cocky in front of the others. Zaziel wasn't a ferocious alpha, he was a little wolf scared of his own feelings.

And what did that make me? I hadn't accepted what I felt for him either. I never told Zaziel that I missed his presence when he wasn't there, that no one could make me feel as alive as he did, that every time I saw him I longed for his touch, and that just imagining him with someone else made me furious.

I still couldn't put a name to my feelings but I did know that I wanted to be with him as long as he would allow me.

So why couldn't we even look each other in the eyes while sitting in the meeting room? We didn't even sit close, I was almost on the other side of the table, hiding behind Darla.

Opposite from me, Artec kept making gestures to complain about me taking his place next to his mate. I smirked at him and rested my head on Darla's shoulder.

"Traitor," he mouthed the words to me.

Darla joined my game and placed a kiss on the crown of my head.

"Don't leave me, love, I'll be better," He shouted at her dramatically, gaining everyone's attention.

"Will you stop playing? We have a meeting to start," Lion reprimanded us, taking his place next to Zaziel.

"We were making time because a certain beta wasn't here on time for the meeting yet," answered Artec.

"I was late because unlike you I have important things to do." Lion sent Artec a killer gaze.

"That's enough, the two of you," Zaziel interrupted them. "Let's begin with this before I regret calling all of you. Klaus tells us what you found."

Klaus adjusted his glasses and stood up. Even though it wasn't necessary, he liked to get up from his seat every time he spoke. I once asked Xara why he did it; according to her, Klaus stands up to pay more attention to our reactions. If someone isn't listening to him, he takes revenge later.

"I investigated the relationship between Callius Comrar and Dainan Zylvaris. The two had known each other for four years when Dainan took over as alpha of the Nightfall Pack, they only saw each other at the region's alpha meetings and there didn't seem to be any interest in creating an alliance among them."

"So what changed their mind?" Artec asked.

"Roselyn," Klaus looked at me. "Two years ago Callius began looking for a suitor for her. If he did it correctly that would allow him to gain an alliance with a powerful pack without even having to put his daughter at risk. Roselyn has enough status to be a good option for the alphas but Callius doesn't care about what could happen to her, that is a great advantage for him. He didn't even have to worry about finding a decent alpha, just having a powerful pack was enough."

"What an asshole," Darla murmured next to me, making me smile.

"Dainan was one of the candidates, Callius' favorite, since Nightfall has the most resources of all the packs. Callius invited Dainan to his mansion a couple of times and I understand he introduced him to Roselyn."

"Yes, he did," I confirmed. "I met him once."

"From what I was able to investigate, Callius had planned to announce the engagement two days after our attack on the mansion, and when Roselyn came with us his plans were ruined."

"But why did they start meeting now when it's been more than two months since Roselyn disappeared?" Lion asked.

"That's the funny part," Klaus grinned. "Do you remember why we attacked the pack?"

"To search for the Moon Necklace," Artec answered.

"Exactly, the necklace is rumored to have the power to turn its wearer into the most powerful wolf of all. Well, Callius knows the full story."

"Are we talking about my mother's necklace?" I interrupted Klaus.

"Yes, that one," Klaus answered. "It turns out that the Moon Necklace has the ability to increase the power of whoever wears it in both their human form and their wolf form. It is believed that if an alpha uses that power they will be invincible but there is a small problem, only the women of the Ullyus family can use it. It was passed down from generation to generation and when Roselyn's mother died she left it to her daughter, and Callius stole it from her."

"So Rose is the only person who can wear the necklace?" Darla asked.

"Yes, she is the only one and by using it she can not only increase her power but also the power of her mate. And that is where Dainan comes in. Apparently Callius had kept the secret of the necklace to himself for a long time, but after Roselyn disappeared he told Dainan the truth and promised him that when they got Roselyn back she would marry him. Now the two are doing everything they can to find her, force her to marry Dainan and thus make their two packs the strongest."

I always had my suspicions about my uncle, I didn't need to think much to realize that he had left me alive for some reason.

Never hurt her face. That was one of his most important rules, I thought he did it to avoid conflicts with the council and it turned out to have other reasons that I didn't imagine. He had to make sure that I looked pretty to the other alphas. As if those pigs cared about my face.

"What exactly doing everything they can include?" Zaziel asked.

Within his eyes, a storm was unleashed that threatened to destroy everyone in his path. His posture tensed, even at such a distance from him I could see how the pen in his hand was about to break.

"They deployed all the resources of their packs to find Roselyn, they hired a group of trackers to look for her, and since yesterday they are offering a millionaire reward for any reliable information on her whereabouts."

"I have a question, if Roselyn already has a destined mate, how can someone else bond with her?" Artec asked.

"You can always force a bond mate as long as the person is not bonded to someone else." Even Lion seemed disgusted with my uncle's plan. "It is painful for the person who is forced and their wolf may never recover from the shock."

"And then they say that we are the monsters," Artec said before starting to curse my uncle and Dainan under his breath.

"We will accelerate our preparation for the invasion, and add Nightfall, we will take care of them after destroying the Crimson Fangs," Zaziel announced. "I want you to reinforce our security. Let everyone know that if anyone touches a single hair of Roselyn's head I want them to be brought to me alive, I will take care of breaking them."

He meant it, the aura that came off of Zaziel showed that he was willing to crush them. I didn't think anyone was capable of imagining what he had planned, something about his attitude told me that hell was waiting for them.

The rest of those present trembled at Zaziel's attitude, but not me. I felt ecstatic, what could be scary for others, gave me security. No one was going to be able to touch me because Zaziel was there to protect me.

"Lion, send your people to survey both packs; Artec, make sure everyone is ready to go into battle; Klaus, you already know what to do; Darla, I'll leave you in charge of getting the rest of the weapons," Zaziel gave the orders. "I will talk to our allies."

"What about me?" I asked.

"You're staying with me." Zaziel put the pen on the table. "Go to work now, we can't waste our time."

They immediately got up and ran towards the door as if they were being chased by a ghost.

I also left my seat but much calmer than them.

"Not you," Zaziel said, pointing at me. "I told you you're going to stay with me, come here."

The atmosphere became tense once again. My uncle's plan didn't matter to me anymore, the entire rat family could do whatever they wanted. I was already used to their crap.

Having another serious conversation with Zaziel scared me more than my possible kidnapping. My stupid heart wasn't going to take it again if Zaziel went back to pretending that nothing was happening between us.

"Hurry up," he told me.

"Why don't you move out of your fancy chair?" I replied.

Great, I had already reacted badly. It was his fault for making me nervous.

"Because I'm the alpha and you are already standing."

Zaziel stretched out his arm when I was close, put it around my waist, and pulled me, making me sit on his right leg.

"I have something to say." He lifted my shirt a little and started caressing my abdomen. "You win."

I looked at him confused. "What did I win?"

"I confess. I would rather destroy the world than allow someone to take you from me," Zaziel said. He rested his face against my neck and inhaled. "And yes, the night at the bar I was jealous."

My heart skipped a beat and my entire body was enveloped by a feeling of happiness unknown to me.

I wanted to scream, dance, and laugh, what I had waited for so long was already in front of me and I felt complete.

"Your uncle and alpha Zylvaris made the worst mistake of their lives. As Klaus spoke I could only imagine breaking their bones one by one for even daring to plan to harm you," Zaziel continued, placing kisses on my neck between words. "I want to let them and the rest of the world know that they can't have you, I want everyone to know who your true mate is."

I couldn't control myself anymore. I put my hand on his cheek and guided his face up until I could see his eyes.

"Are you saying what I think you are?" I asked him, full of hope.

Zaziel gave my waist a squeeze. "I'm saying that I want you to be mine. Let's let everyone know that you're my mate."

I smiled at him. "And what about you? Will you be mine?"

"If that's what you want, I'm all yours."

Instead of answering with my words I moved my face closer to his until our lips touched. Zaziel slipped his hand under my shirt down my back and with the other he held my hair. After what seemed like the longest seconds ever, he kissed me.

The heat in my body rose with that kiss that was so different from the first, but still maintained the same passion. There was no longer impulsiveness, there was a purpose: the need to convey how much we wanted each other.

Zaziel put his arm around my waist and lifted me up so I could straddle him while still kissing me. His touch was surprisingly gentle, making my warmth focus on my chest.

"I'll take it as a yes," he said when we broke the kiss.

"Yes, without a doubt."

"Good, 'cause I don't plan on getting away from you."