Chapter 4

SAGE

“R-Rain…”

Fren’s heat flooded the entire reception hall.

Every unmated male still present, including Rain’s Beta and Gamma, immediately turned and fled at lightning speed.

“Please…” Fren cried, looking up at Rain with teary, innocent eyes, as though she had no idea what she was asking of him.

I stood frozen, my gaze fixed solely on Rain. His wolf was already in his eyes, completely drawn in by Fren’s heat and their mate bond. He stared at her for a long second in visible surprise but he was still a man. He walked forward and pulled her up into his arms.

My breath caught sharply in my lungs as the scene unfolded. Fren wrapped her arms around his neck, gazing up at him with those wet eyes while secretly sending me a small, triumphant smile as if claiming ownership of him right in front of me.

Lifting her fully into his arms, Rain turned to look at me. But Fren cried out again, releasing another heavy wave of heat. Rain’s breathing grew ragged; the veins in his neck stood out.

“Rain… it hurts,” she whimpered.

He tore his gaze away from me and strode toward the exit with Fren in his arms.

Sara, who had been panicking the entire time, rushed to my side. “Luna, shouldn’t you stop this?” she asked, eyes full of worry. “You’re the Alpha’s wife. You should be the one spending the night with him.”

I drew in a shaky breath and forced a calm smile. “It’s alright. I don’t mind.”

My words carried clearly enough for Rain to hear. “I understand their mate bond. After all… one day I will find my own soulmate as well.”

With that, I turned toward the untouched meals.

At the doorway, Rain’s steps halted.

My heart pounded as I watched the tension in his shoulders. He glanced back over his shoulder at me.

“Rain,” Fren moaned, clinging tighter, “it’s so hot…”

He looked down at her, then resumed walking, exiting the hall without another word.

A heavy silence settled over the empty space. I stood alone while Sara stared at me in open panic.

“Luna… if they sleep together, she will become the permanent Luna of our pack.”

I blinked, already knowing the truth all too well. Then I glanced down at the two plates that had been prepared for Rain and me.

“Pack the food.”

Sara nodded hesitantly, studying my composed expression. “Are you alright? I thought you would fight for him.”

A small, quiet smile curved my lips.

“When I fight… no one sees it coming.”

In my previous life, I had always shaped myself into whatever others found convenient. I survived by becoming what people wanted me to be, and no one ever truly knew what I was like underneath.

But in this life…

I was going to be myself.

FREN

Everyone had already left the packhouse, leaving Rain and me alone.

I clung to him like a lifeline, flooding his senses with the sharp, overwhelming heat until he carried me into one of the empty bedrooms on the ground floor.

“Rain… why here?” I looked up at him with the soft, innocent eyes of a lamb. I had planned to claim him in his bedroom, the place that rightfully belonged to me and only me.

“This room is closer,” he replied as he stepped inside.

I smiled secretly at his impatience. Finally, the drug I had taken to force my heat was working even better than expected. If I could not have him on our first night, then I would claim him on the night of his reception with Sage.

The moment Rain set me on the bed, I pulled him down on top of me. “Rain…” I whimpered in feigned pain, reaching up to kiss him while my fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt.

He turned his face away, avoiding my lips, and pulled back.

“Rain…” I slid my hand lower, toward his pants, but he stood up from the bed entirely.

Watching him calmly adjust his clothes, I sat up in confusion. “Rain, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not in the mood.”

My eyes widened. “Not in the mood?” I could hardly believe my ears.

My heat was so fierce it had filled the entire packhouse, sharp enough to drive any male wolf into a frenzy. How could he possibly claim he wasn’t in the mood?

“I need my mate, Rain,” I crawled closer, letting my hands roam over his chest. “I’m in heat for you.” I tore open the front of my dress, revealing smooth, milky skin. “Please… love me, or I’ll die from this pain.”

Rain stepped back from my touch. “A female healer is already on her way to ease your heat. You’ll be fine shortly.”

With that, he turned to leave.

My eyes widened in pure disbelief. Instead of taking me while I sat naked and willing in front of him, he had actually arranged for a healer?

“Rain!” I cried, scrambling off the bed only to fall pitifully to the floor.

He paused and glanced down at me.

“I love you…” Tears slipped down my cheeks as I looked up at him like an abandoned lamb. “Please… hold me.” I stretched my hand toward him.

Rain blinked once, then turned away. “The healer is here. Get yourself treated.”

He left without looking back.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood. “How could he leave me during my heat?” I growled under my breath, fury burning through me.

A second later the female healer hurried into the room. She took in my state at once. The air was thick with heat, yet there was no scent of sex. Panic flared in my chest, if word spread that Rain had abandoned his soulmate during her heat, I would become a laughingstock.

I forced a proud smile onto my face. “The Alpha is tired after the long reception. He’ll return after some rest.”

Rain strode out of the packhouse with a rigid posture, only to find Sara approaching without Sage.

“Where is Sage?” he asked.

“She didn’t say anything before she left for the woods,” Sara bowed and held out the packed dinner. “Luna dismissed me after asking me to deliver this food to you.”

Rain's eyes snapped at the woods that led to the exit of the pack.