The constant feeling of emptiness disappeared. I wasn't alone anymore, Zaziel was always with me, not physically, but in a much deeper sense.

Thanks to the mate bond, I could feel his presence all the time, which gave me peace of mind knowing that he was fine. Besides, if something were to happen to me, Zaziel would be the first to notice.

Even after sealing our bond, our relationship remained the same. Neither of us were the kind of people who enjoy being lovey-dovey thanks to the wise Moon Goddess. If Zaziel had started behaving like Artec I wouldn't have stood it for a day.

I had nothing against the gamma, he was my closest friend, but no one could deny how intense he got with Darla. That woman had a golden patience, perhaps that was why she always seemed to lack energy, she spent it all on her mate.

There was actually one important change: I moved to Zaziel's room. We thought it made no sense for us to sleep separately after consummating the bond. And it also allowed us to spend some time together, which was difficult to do with the preparations for the attack on the Crimson Fangs.

"New room?" Artec asked me, entering without asking permission.

"Didn't anyone teach you how to knock on the door?" I scolded him, giving him a gentle smack on the arm. "Someday you might interrupt an awkward situation."

"Nah, I already knew Zaziel isn't here, I saw him before I came." He sat on the sofa by the window. "Plus if I ever found you having sex, I would just enjoy the show."

"And then you say Klaus has a problem." I sat next to him.

"How is life as official mates going?" Artec winked at me. "I hope you are satisfied, although I really have no doubts about Zaziel's abilities, I have already heard several good reviews."

"I hope that's enough for you because you're not going to hear mine."

"It's a shame, I was looking forward to the details," he said, laughing. "Seriously, how are you taking this? I know you had your doubts about that."

"It turned out to be less terrifying than I imagined. Zaziel doesn't require me to chase him all the time, nor to live for him. When I was in my old pack, men always expected their mates to worship the floor they passed by. My uncle once told me that a woman's only job in the relationship was to be pretty and have children. And I was never very interested in either."

"Goddess, they have a very fucked up concept of mates. What about Darla and I? Please tell me I didn't give you that impression."

"Of course not." I smiled at him. "I thought you were a special case, an exception to the rule."

Artec sighed. "Thank goodness, you returned my soul to my body. So your idea about mates changed?"

"Yeah, to be honest I didn't expect Zaziel to be cruel to me either, maybe at first when I didn't know him well, but then I realized that I had the wrong idea. I ended up using it as an excuse not to accept that I was afraid of not being enough for him, you know, to be the alpha's mate."

"If you hadn't been enough Zaziel wouldn't have been interested in you." He squeezed my hand. "I don't think it was the fact that you were mates that made him accept you, Zaziel is very meticulous with the people he leaves in his inner circle. And the last time someone came in was more than five years ago. He wouldn't take so lightly the consummation of the bond knowing that it's forever."

Forever, those words used to strike terror in me. I didn't want to think that something could be for the rest of my life. Nothing and no one had been good enough for me not to want to walk away. And yet, upon hearing them after having sealed the mate bond, I could only feel at peace.

"Do you think I'm enough to be with him?" I asked, touching my mate's mark.

"Girl, you're fantastic, the real question is, does Zaziel deserve to be your mate? I'd say he still has some work to do, but he has a good chance of winning my approval."

Zaziel wasn't the only one I wanted to keep by my side forever. Within the rogues I found more than love, I also found friendship, a concept that was unknown to me. The first time I saw Artec I would never have thought that I would come to like him so much, and in the end, with his craziness he managed to win a place in my heart.

It wasn't even necessary to clarify that I wasn't planning on leaving the rogues after finishing my revenge. Even my desire to see my entire family burn took a backseat. Only my uncle was left, and although it had been very satisfying at the time to kill my cousin, after that I didn't feel anything special.

People said that rogues were the worst of society, only conscienceless scum joined them. Well, I was a monster who didn't even feel regret after taking a person's life for the first time, so the rogues were the perfect place for me.

"Thank you," I said to Artec, wrapping him in a hug.

"To what do I owe this honor?" He joked, hugging me back.

"For making me feel like I belong somewhere and for teaching me what friendship is."

"Stop it, you're going to make me cry." He broke the hug and ruffled my hair. "Now you're going to make me feel guilty for asking you a favor."

"Nonsense. If you need anything, tell me already."

"Today is my anniversary with Darla, I already had the whole romantic date prepared, but your dear mate put me in the group of hunters for this afternoon."

"And you want me to take your place?"

Artec looked at me with puppy eyes. "Pretty please with a cherry on top. If you do this for me I'm going to owe you a huge favor. I already asked the others but everyone has something to do."

It was impossible to say no to him.

"I can't promise you anything yet, but I'm going to try to convince Zaziel to let me go. Since my uncle started looking for me, Zaziel won't let me go into the forest."

Artec threw himself on me and crushed me in his embrace. "You are the best, the second smartest and prettiest woman of all the rogues after Darla. I'm going to pray to the Moon Goddess so you can convince Zaziel."

"I can't do anything if you don't get off me."

"Oops." Artec released me and helped me to my feet. "Go now, don't waste time."

He pushed me out of my own room, and had the nerve to stand at the door as if it was his while I walked down the hallway.

"By the way, I'm also happy that you're my friend and I'm not saying that because you're helping me." He yelled at me, making me smile.

Don't be so pushy, make it seem like a suggestion rather than a demand. I repeated the rules over and over again to gain Zaziel's favor. Even though nothing was ever guaranteed when it came to convincing him, I was the one with the best chance of winning against him.

I asked around if anyone knew where Zaziel was until I discovered that he was in his office.

"What do you need?" He asked me as soon as he entered the room, without looking up from the desk.

I approached his side and began to caress his arm. "Why do you assume I need something?"

"I had my suspicions when you came in quietly." Zaziel grabbed me by the waist and made me sit on his lap. "But now I'm sure you want something."

I batted my eyelashes at him. "It's a small request, aren't you going to make me happy?"

"It depends on what you want, if I have to choose between putting you out of danger and granting you the favor you want, I'm going to choose the first option."

"I know, you're worried about what might happen to me, it makes me feel safe when you do that." I kissed him and then rested my head on his chest. "Can I replace Artec in the hunt? It's just for today."

"You know I can't allow that," Zaziel said, stroking my hair. "Nothing guarantees that you will be safe outside the mansion. And your uncle must be looking for you even more after you sent him the head of his daughter."

I smiled remembering the special box I prepared for him. It was a shame that I wasn't there to see his reaction, his expression at that instant must have been like a work of art.

"Can't we make an exception for today? No one else can supplant Artec and today is his anniversary with Darla." My fingers ran across his chest, drawing imaginary circles. "If I can't go, maybe you can find someone else to go in his place, or change his turn with someone else."

"Artec already asked me to make the change, it's not that simple, the others already have other tasks in charge. Can't they celebrate another day?"

I raised my head, taking distance. All of Zaziel's frustration could be seen on his face, preparing an invasion to two packs was not simple and he had the greatest responsibility of all. For a second I felt bad for causing him more problems, until I remembered how happy Artec was when I told him I would help him.

"It's not just any date, it's an anniversary, besides, when else are they going to be free to go out? I doubt there will be much free time before the invasion."

"Then they can wait until after the invasion."

"It's only going to be for a few hours," I insisted, in the sweetest tone of voice possible. "I promise that I will take all the security measures you want."

Zaziel slammed his hand on the table. The noise made me jump a little on his legs, I didn't expect him to react that way.

"I already told you you're not going, period," he shouted. "Why can't you understand something that simple?"

"You can't control my life." I stood up, walking away from Zaziel.

"I'm your mate, you should respect what I tell you."

The anger present in his eyes combined with his words reminded me of the worst time of my life. It didn't matter that a part of me told me that Zaziel was trying to protect me, I couldn't help but compare him to my uncle.

Something I promised myself when I ran away from my family was that I would never let anyone else control me. I refused to suffer the same thing again. It was my life and I made my decisions.

"I don't give a fuck who you are," I yelled at him with all the fury I had suppressed. "I'm tired of being locked up, I'm tired of following orders. You yourself said that being your mate doesn't mean that I'm different from the rest of the members, if anyone else had offered to take Artec's place you wouldn't have resisted. Do you not trust me?"

He stood in front of me, making clear the difference in sizes between the two of us. Typical of men, trying to use their muscles to intimidate those who are smaller than them.

"Do you want to go that bad? Go, but don't come back crying when things don't go as you expect."

"Perfect, that's all I wanted." I turned around, bumping his chest with my shoulder.

"Don't bother me anymore unless you've matured."

I felt a pang in my heart, the derogatory way in which he referred to me hurt me. Zaziel was the person who I hoped would be able to understand me more than anyone else and apparently I was wrong.

×

It was not my first time joining a hunting group, however, doing it without the company of my friends was very different. The eight members who were going to hunt with me knew me as the new one or as Zaziel's mate. One way or another it meant that I had not yet earned their respect.

Something told me that neither of them wanted to make the alpha angry because they made sure to always leave me in the middle. At least my wolf didn't feel uncomfortable with their presence, she was actually happy to be protected. I bet she thought she was a queen with her bodyguard following her.

After the first hour had passed I had already hunted a couple of rabbits and a wild boar, the rest had a greater loot. The difference dampened my spirits a little, and in a way, motivated me to try harder.

"Let's put everything on the wagon," Charlie, the group leader, said.

In our human form, we begin to fill the cart with the dead animals, so that we can then pull it with our wolves. The only thing left to do was load a deer when we heard footsteps.

We were immediately on guard.

There was no doubt that they were other werewolves from their scent, and that meant a menace for us.

"Protect the future Luna," Charlie ordered them, standing next to me.

I was about to contradict him when six large wolves emerged from the trees.

The fight between the two sides began. The wolves rushed at each other, wounding each other with their claws and fangs.

After shifting I saw my companions fall dead to the ground without being able to do anything. Charlie's wolf didn't move from his position in front of me, cornering me against a tree.

I wanted to fight, that's what I had trained for, especially when the enemy already outnumbered us. Judging by the fierceness with which the invaders were trying to get to me, I assumed that I was their target.

I can't let them die because of me, I thought.

Using a second of Charlie's distraction I shifted into my human form, and passed behind him through a small gap.

"I'll go with you, but leave them alone," I shouted, getting everyone's attention.

My two companions who survived tried to run towards me to save me again, but it was too late.

One of the enemies, in his human form, had already slipped behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck.

Oxygen stopped entering my body and little by little my vision became cloudy.

"Your uncle is going to be very happy," my captor told me before I vanished.