I never ran as fast as I did at that moment to catch up with the fight.

The image of Zaziel shifting into his wolf form kept spinning in my mind. Surprisingly, Dainan's wolf reached the same size as him and that made me feel nervous.

It's not that I didn't trust my mate's abilities, but even the tiniest threat against him scared me. I didn't want to lose him just when I had finally accepted my feelings for him. Not when I needed him the most.

That was one of the main reasons I had for not wanting to get close to Zaziel at first, I didn't want to lose him like I had already lost the few people I cared about.

The path to the backyard was already desolate, the only signs of people I found were their bodies and the blood that decorated the floor and walls. The survivors had surely done the same thing I was doing, we all wanted to witness the fight that was going to determine the winner of the battle.

When I reached the crowd I found a new problem, I had no idea how to cross the sea of people to enter the center. The noises of the howls and the shouts of support were deafening, and the enthusiasm of those present was such that no one wanted to give up an inch of space.

"Roselyn?"

I turned towards the direction in which I heard my name. A short distance from me was Charlie, at least one of the hunters had survived.

"Can you help me get to Zaziel?" I asked him, without wasting time. I would have another chance to ask him what had happened later.

He took me by the hand and led me to an area where the rogues were. Announcing that their Luna wanted to pass, he managed to get the crowd to make way for me. Some of them even bowed their heads when I walked past them. It was surreal to me that they already considered me as someone so important.

Our mate needs our help, my wolf told me desperately.

Fear made me push past the few people left in front of me in order to reach Zaziel.

He had several injuries on his body, especially cuts on his front legs and chest. Dainan had not come out of the fight so well either. The two wolves were panting, as they looked at each other, probably waiting for their opponent to deliver the next blow.

We can't intervene in the fight, I told my wolf who kept crying for Zaziel. If only I knew how to wear my mother's necklace.

It should have come with instructions instead of leaving me adrift. I didn't have anyone from my family to explain to me how to use it, my mother wasn't with me to help me.

Dainan landed a blow on Zaziel's snout, making him flinch.

Please, mom, I can't take it anymore. I begged into nothingness in my mind, as I held the necklace.

Suddenly I could feel a strange presence behind me. I turned around and found my mother; tall, with red hair, and green eyes. She looked exactly like she did in the photos, with the difference that she was surrounded by a blanket of light.

No one else besides me seemed to be seeing her. She smiled at me and put her finger to her lips to tell me not to say anything.

"I was waiting for this moment," my mother told me, standing next to me. "I'm glad you finally have the necklace in your hands and that you've found your mate. I've been watching you and I'm proud of you. I don't have much time so I'm going to be direct. The necklace has an energy that connects with yours, I imagine you can feel it. To be able to use its power in you all you have to do is allow the energy to flow. To make it easier you can visualize it, think about what color the energy of the necklace can be and visualize how it mixes with your aura. You will feel like electricity surrounds your entire body."

"What about Zaziel?" I thought, hoping my mother could hear me.

"Your power will flow to him automatically through the mate bond. The only condition is that you love him, focus on what you feel for him, and the energy of the necklace will find him. Something tells me that it will not be difficult for you."

I needed to love him. Zaziel was important to me, my mate, the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but I had never used the word love. We expressed our affection in our own way, though the three key words never came to light.

But I did love him. I tried to deny it for a long time, to run away from my feelings to avoid being hurt by them, and still I was not able to stop my love for Zaziel.

I could do it.

I turned to thank my mother but she was gone.

Hurry, my wolf told me, making me focus on the necklace.

Just like my mother said, I could feel the static coming out of the necklace and spreading first through my hands that were holding it, and then it continued moving until it covered my entire body.

That was the easy part, passing power to Zaziel was what worried me the most. I began to remember all the moments we had lived together, letting the feelings flow to me. I no longer had anything to fear, I could accept what I truly felt for him, accept that he had become the center of my existence.

The people around me exclaimed in surprise and I knew it had worked.

I raised my head, looking for Zaziel. His wolf didn't have any wounds anymore and he had grown in size. Dainan backed away, almost colliding with the crowd.

For a second Zaziel turned his head towards me and our eyes met. I could see all the admiration present in him at that moment. Then he returned to the fight, which by then had already turned into a massacre.

Zaziel lunged at Dainan, leaving him beneath him, unable to move his body. The difference in strength was already huge and there was no way the Nightfall Pack alpha could escape my mate.

One after another, Zaziel struck several blows at Dainan. There was so much blood that the brown wolf's face was barely visible.

The crowd went wild, Zaziel's victory was imminent, so much so that some of Dainan's followers began to slip away.

Without giving much more thought, Zaziel sank his teeth into the neck of his opponent, ending the fight.

We won.

The people around me started hugging each other and shouting for victory. It was as if a party had just started.

I couldn't move my eyes from Zaziel. The instant he returned to his human form, I ran towards him, and jumped, trusting that he was going to catch me.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," I said, hitting him on the shoulder and pressing my legs against his torso.

Zaziel chuckled. With one hand he held me by my waist and with the other he stroked under my cheekbone. "It's your punishment for disappearing. Don't even think about doing something like that again."

"My apologies my good sir, the next time someone tries to kidnap me I'm going to tell them that my mate won't let me."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, I'm going to make sure Artec informs all the packs that anyone who tries to touch my Luna will be torn apart along with his pack."

"What if everyone reveals themselves?"

"Then I'll have to burn the whole world down."

"Let me know if you need any help with that." I smiled at him before smashing my lips against his.

Zaziel responded with the same intensity, with a kiss that expressed how much he had missed me. It didn't take him long to take control, his tongue taking over my mouth as he slid his hand down to squeeze my ass.

"Go get a room!" Lion shouted at us, making us separate.

"Everything is fine with me, keep going, I was enjoying the show," Artec said, earning a look of hatred from Lion.

"Why do you always have to act that way? Don't you have some decency?" The beta asked the gamma.

"Why do you always have to act like an old lady?" Artec fired back.

"Seems like we will have to wait for our alone time," I said to Zaziel, before leaving a peck on his cheek. "They also want their alpha's attention."

Zaziel started laughing, probably at the ridiculousness of the situation. We had just finished a battle and they were already behaving as if nothing had happened.

"This is nothing, knowing them I'm sure they're going to want to throw a big party to celebrate." He said, helping me to my feet.

"Of course there's going to be a party," Artec answered. "Besides, we have to give our Luna the proper welcome."

×

"Are you ready to go to the party?" Zaziel asked me, standing behind me. He looked at me in the reflection of the mirror and kissed my shoulder.

"Mentally I don't know if I'm ready to celebrate with those crazy people. Anything can happen when you put Artec and alcohol together, but I guess that makes it more fun." My eyes stayed focused for a minute on my mother's necklace that looked perfect in combination with the golden color of my mermaid dress. "How do I look?"

Zaziel turned me around and placed his hand on my back. "Breathtaking, as always," he told me before kissing my forehead.

"Enough to convince you to stay by my side?"

"I can assure you that I have no intention of leaving your side all night."

"I didn't mean just tonight." I fixed his tie and rested my hand on his chest where his heart should be. "I meant forever."

"It would be a dream come true for me," he whispered in my ear. "Don't complain in the future when you get tired of me."

The way his voice softened when he said that made my heart skip a beat. I could feel that Zaziel meant it, he intended to stay by my side for the rest of my life just as I wanted.

Months ago, if someone had told me that I would free myself from my family and find someone to love, I would have laughed at them. Love was nothing more than a lie from fantasy stories to me, I couldn't understand how someone could love another person so much.

I thought it was impossible and yet I had come to love the man most feared by every one of the packs.

"Are you sure you want to stay?" I caressed his cheek. "I still have a lot of traumas to overcome and I'm not the most stable person. You saw me while I was torturing my cousin, I'm not much different from a monster."

"Kitten, I don't think you realize who you're talking to. I've lost count of how many people I murdered and how many I tortured to get information out of them." Zaziel grabbed my hand and rested his forehead against mine. "I think that's why Moon Goddess brought us together, the perfect monster couple, I bet soon everyone will shiver when they think of us. What do you say? Should we set up our reign of terror?"

"Maybe after I get some rest, right now I want to do nothing for the next few weeks." I pecked his lips, smearing them with my lipstick. "But I can't deny that your proposal is tempting."

"Then we'll start the fun after your mini vacations. I can't wait for the world to meet the luna of the rogues and bow down to her."

Zaziel let go of my hand and grabbed me by the neck. Then he crashed his lips against mine with a ferocity that almost made me want to forget about the party and spend the entire night worshiping his body.

"Yesterday, when you were fighting Dainan I realized something," I said when we broke the kiss.

"Let me guess, you realized how badass I am."

"Other than that." I brought his hand to my mouth and kissed it. "When I met you, I thought Moon Goddess was playing with me, you were too arrogant and rude."

"Ouch,"

"Just let me finish. I was wrong. Yes, I still think you are a bit arrogant, but you are also generous with your people, an excellent leader, attentive, a born protector, and even sweet when we are alone. There is no one else with whom I would like to spend the rest of my days. " I paused and looked into his eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, kitten." Zaziel filled my face with kisses, making me giggle. "You are the only person who managed to steal my heart. Now you will have to take charge and let me follow you forever. But without marriage, I refuse to make the traditionalist old people happy."

"No marriage and no children." I chuckled and I showed him my little finger. "It is a promise."

"I like your plan, we must be made for each other. Besides, without children I will not have to share you." Zaziel linked his finger with mine. "As much as I would love to be here with you all night, we have a party to attend."

"After you, my love," I said, holding his hand.

We left the room with our arms intertwined. I felt like I was in a fantasy story, like I had found my prince. Although our lives were very different from the classic romance stories.

"It was time for you to arrive," Artec shouted at us when he saw us approaching the door of the backyard. "Everyone is waiting for you to start the party. Hurry up, I want to start drinking."

He pushed us into the garden where the group members were gathered.

Artec guided us to a large table full of food, raised a glass filled with champagne, and hit it with a spoon to get everyone's attention.

"Our alpha has something to say," he announced.

Zaziel took a step forward and held my hand.

"First of all I want to thank you for accompanying me once again in battle and I would like to make a minute of silence for those who left us today." Zaziel looked at the ground and the others imitated him. "Second, I would like to make an announcement. From now on the rogues have a luna, I could not have asked for a better person than Roselyn to accompany me to lead the group. I hope everyone shows her the respect she deserves and accompanies us in this new stage. "

A new stage, without a doubt that was the best way to describe what was about to happen.

I was more than ready to start my new life, the life that I had always dreamed of, next to the most important person in the world for me.

Hi beautiful readers ❤️ I wanted to thank you for being next to me during this journey, I had fun writing the book and reading your reactions to the story.

I can't express with words how thankful I am for your support and I hope that you liked the book. If you did, please remember to add it to your reading list so more people can find it. Also you can follow me to get notified when my next work gets publish.

If you liked this book you can check my Wattpad Original series "Wild Fangs", a werewolf romance story inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

I love you all and I wish you the best.

Bel.