Page 82 of Crystal Luna

She spat his title like a curse and he struggled to hide the pain in his eyes. She hadn’t used his title in years. At least, not like this. It stabbed him like a knife, twisting to make sure he felt the pain. With her head held high, she turned on her heel, rage simmering in the air around her.

As he watched her leave, realisation dawned on the two alphas.

“You touched her, didn’t you?” Asher growled, his hands turning into fists. “First you strike her and then you fuck her.”

Technically she struck him, and he hadn’t fucked her—but he couldn’t say that.

“You touched something that belonged to us.” Even Isaiah was struggling to keep calm.

“I should rip you apart.”

“She isn’t yours,” Heath calmly stated.

“She is,” Asher growled, ready to jump across the table.

Heath couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. They had no clue who they were talking about. The little girl that had fled them three years ago was dead, and they had no idea who they were inviting back to their territory.

“She won’t truly be yours until she decides she wants to be.”

“She’s clearly not your luna either,” Isaiah snipped in an attempt to hit him where it hurt.

“No. My luna died in my arms eight years ago just two rooms away from where we’re sitting,” Heath stated coldly.

“So you hoped Vel would replace her and started fucking with her.”

Heath looked up at Asher, who’s muscles were popping beneath his skin as he tried to restrain himself. “Velora couldn’t care less about being luna. Outside of being your slave, it’s the one thing she never wanted. She will bear the title you are forcing her to wear, be excellent in her duties, but deep down she will always despise you for making her do this. She won’t be yours unless she decides that you are worthy. She doesn’t make friendships, let alone give someone her love unless she deems them to be worthy. You were the ones to break her and now you will pay for it.”

The air grew thick and heavy, and Heath’s thoughts returned to Laureen and how much she would scold him for his emotional outburst. He was acting like a teenager, fighting over a girl that clearly wasn’t his. He audibly sighed, reached into one of his desk drawers, and threw one of Velora’s favourite chocolate bars at Asher.

“She loves spending the days watching the sun rise in the east and sink in the west. Caramel chocolate is her greatest weakness. And she will always choose a good dagger over a gun. Though that doesn’t mean she’ll miss her target with a bullet.”

Then, he grabbed the closest stack of papers. He returned to his work and ignored the other two in the room. He’d given them all they needed to know. The rest was on them. Now, they had to fight.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Velora

Velora’s blood boiled, burning her from within. Her head pounded, not only with anger—but betrayal. She shifted, shredding her clothes into a million pieces as she sprinted into the woods.

She didn’t want them. She hated them! Even with the bond in place she didn’t care to be with them. Why would Heath force her to return to the people who’d destroyed her? She’d trusted him to protect her and in return he was throwing her to the sharks.

She felt someone push against her mind but tightened her walls not letting anyone in. Without a second thought, her legs took her to her favourite spot: the cliff where she’d sat with Heath so many times before. The spot where he’d found her three years ago after she’d run away from the warriors.

She regretted having shredded her clothes—she wanted to enjoy the view as a human. Just as her frustration was about to come to a climax, she heard twigs crack behind her. Rayan emerged from the treeline holding one of her dresses while Wayne zipped up his jeans.

“We thought you might want this,” Rayan said, offering her the fabric.

He kept his eyes to the ground as she shifted and took the dress from him. She then sat down with the men on either side of her, looking out to the valley beneath them.

“Talk to us, girlie,” Rayan nearly begged.

She didn’t know where to start. Childishly, part of her thought that if she kept quiet then it wasn’t really happening. So she stayed quiet.

“Look, I know I’m your beta but I’m here as your friend. Whatever you tell me is between us. We know something happened between you and him, just tell us so we can help you.”

“You can’t help me.”

“Let us decide that,” Rayan pressed.