Chapter 6

RAIN

Growing up mostly on the battlefield, I had rarely known a woman’s warmth, except for the few times I had no choice but to relieve my rut. Even then, it began and ended in bed, nothing more.

“Why should I marry Beta Frank’s daughter?” I demanded of my father when he first proposed the arranged marriage. I had killed Frank’s son on the battlefield for spying, and ever since then I had never trusted the man. “Something about him feels wrong. I refuse to have his daughter anywhere near me.”

My father placed a hand on my shoulder. “I heard his daughter is his weakness. Use her to release your rut whenever you wish and get a son from her. Once she gives birth, toss her aside or finish her. All I need is an heir from you. Your uncle, the Alpha King, has already chosen you as the next to sit on the throne. A son would only strengthen your claim. As for Frank… I trust you can handle him yourself.”

I never gave a damn about the throne. Having a child had never been something I considered either.

Yet tonight, I had nearly lost all self-control with Sage.

Marriage had been nothing more than a duty I fulfilled to satisfy my father’s wishes. I had never planned to acknowledge Frank’s daughter, much less touch her. But she was far different from anything I had expected.

I could still feel her soft hand wrapped around my cock, stroking me with skilled confidence while those beautiful hazel eyes ignited a hunger I had long buried. Those were not the eyes of a woman who intended to retreat after I made her feel how hard I was. She was supposed to flinch. She was supposed to run or at the very least act shy. Instead, she stroked me as if I already belonged to her.

From the moment I first saw her walking down the aisle, she had looked at me with eyes that promised to steal me from myself. That look had sparked the strongest interest I had ever felt toward any woman. My mind kept drifting back to her soft lips, anything but hesitant when they kissed me back. And the way she had boldly allowed me to see her bare chest without a trace of shame in front of others…

Thinking about it now, she had wanted it all along.

She wanted me.

I flicked ash from my cigarette as I stared down at the wolf Dax had captured. The corner of my lips curled slightly.

“So she’s not as indifferent as she pretends when it comes to me having a soulmate,” I murmured.

Dax and the other wolves looked at me in confusion. “Pardon?”

I blinked and ordered flatly, “Kill him.”

The captive wolf immediately began begging, tears streaming down his face. “A-Alpha, please… I didn’t try to trespass. It was a mistake!”

I reached down, yanking him up by his hair. Blood dripped from his scalp as he screamed.

“Some mistakes get you killed,” I growled, leaning close to his face. “Since you’ve already made an unforgivable one, you might as well accept it.”

I shoved him toward the wolves surrounding him, ready to tear him apart.

“IT WASN’T A MISTAKE!” he cried desperately. “I REALLY DID INTEND TO TRESPASS BUT I DIDN’T MEAN ANY HARM!”

I raised a brow. “Who ordered you to trespass, and why?”

He crawled toward my feet. “I don’t know who he was! He stayed in the shadows. He only told me to distract the border wolves. In exchange, he promised to help me join a werewolf pack and start a new life.”

Dax stepped forward. “What did he look like?”

“I really don’t know! He never showed his face!”

Dax turned to me. “Alpha, something like this has never happened before. Could someone have used this rogue as a distraction to enter the territory?”

My eyes swept over the rogue’s strong build as he trembled. “What’s your name?”

“Justin.”

“Take him in,” I ordered Dax.

His eyes widened. “But Alpha… he’s a rogue.”

I glanced at the man once more. “That’s fine. Train him well and give him work around the pack.”

I turned to leave. Dax nodded and fell into step beside me as we headed back toward the pack house.

“Alpha,” he asked carefully, “do you trust him?”

“No,” I replied simply.

I returned to my office in the packhouse and worked through a stack of papers until I finally passed out on the sofa. Even then, sleep barely reached me.

The next morning, the female healer mind-linked me to report that the packhouse was free of the scent of heat. I headed straight there, though my mood was foul from the lack of sleep that had only grown worse over the past few days.

The moment I stepped inside, Fren came out of the dining room.

“Rain, where were you? I’ve been waiting to have breakfast with you.”

Irritation crossed my features at the sight of the food. All I wanted was sleep.

“I’m not hungry,” I stated flatly.

Just then, Sage came downstairs. Our eyes met, and the memory of last night’s kiss flashed through my mind.

“You shouldn’t skip meals, Rain. I’m worried,” Fren continued talking, but my gaze followed Sage as she quietly walked toward me.

She lifted her hand and gently brushed her fingers beneath my eyes.

“Are you not getting enough sleep?”

I blinked. She could read me without a single loud word. Curious to see what she would do next, I remained silent. She simply turned toward the kitchen and said, “Give me five minutes.”

I found myself following her in.

“Rain—” Fren tried to catch my hand, but I had already moved past her and entered the kitchen. Sage was preparing tea. I watched her without blinking. For someone raised as her father’s precious daughter, she was oddly skilled in the kitchen. She had also shown no hesitation walking barefoot across the wet, muddy ground in the rain. And despite our marriage being nothing more than a forced arrangement disguised as an alliance, she held no visible dislike or hatred toward me.

At the same time… she did not—

“Here.” She handed me a freshly made cup of warm tea. “It’s herbal, please try it. It always helps calm my mind when I can’t sleep.”

I looked at the tea, then at her, finishing the thought in my mind.

She did not fear me.

I took a sip. The taste was different from any herbal tea I had tried before. It actually soothed the irritation coiled inside me.

“It’s good. What did you put in it?”

She smiled. “Nothing special. Just herbs I picked from the back garden early this morning.”

I nodded and continued drinking until the cup was empty.

“If you’d like, I can make you more,” she offered.

My eyes lingered on her smiling lips for a long moment. She had a small mole just above them that always drew my attention.

“Sure, bring it to my room.” I returned the empty cup to her.

“Rain, I made you breakfast. Let’s—” Fren grabbed my arm.

I turned to face her. “I usually skip breakfast. You can eat. Don’t wait for me.”

I went straight to my bedroom and into the shower. The cool water helped clear my head, but Sage’s face kept flashing through my mind. Before I fully realized it, my cock was twitching painfully, growing hard.

Breathing heavily, I reached down and stroked myself with desperate urgency, images of her bare body flooding my thoughts.

“Uhh…”

I came hard into my hand. Staring down at the mess with uneven breaths, I muttered under my breath,

“Why am I this needy all of a sudden?”

For the next two days I remained buried in pack affairs and slept in my office, but rest still eluded me. Eventually I returned to the packhouse and knocked on Sage’s bedroom door. When no answer came, I pushed it open and stepped inside.

At the same moment, she exited the bathroom completely naked and freshly showered.

Both of us froze.

My eyes moved over her without restraint, taking in the smooth lines of her body, the full curve of her breasts, and the soft place between her legs. A flush spread across her face as she quickly reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself. It wasn’t just her face that was beautiful, her entire body was.

“You’re here,” she said quietly.

I cleared my throat. “I knocked.”

“Do you need something?” she asked softly.

“Tea,” I met her eyes. “Can you make me that herbal tea again?”

She blinked in mild surprise, then nodded. “Yes.”

Later, I sat at the kitchen counter watching droplets of water fall from the ends of her hair. She had changed into an oversized top and shorts.

“I made sandwiches,” she said. “Would you like one?”

A few seconds passed before I took a bite. It tasted very different from what I usually ordered during my time outside the pack. A true homemate sandwich was something that I had never tasted before.

Her eyes lit up as she watched me.

“How is it?” she asked, hopeful and somehow… cute.

My heart gave an unexpected jolt.

“Good,” I replied.

She smiled brightly. “Please try not to go hungry no matter how busy you are. If you’re out late at night, just wake me. I’ll make you something quick.”

My wolf watched her without blinking. There was no trace of calculation behind the offer. She added ketchup for me that also looked cute.

“That’s enough,” I found myself smiling slightly. “Do you like ketchup that much?”

She nodded, “I love it and I make others fall for it too,” she smiled playfully.

My wolf stirred in my mind at her playfulness as another smile broke into my lips. “I don’t fall for things easily.”

“Are you kind of hard to get?” she blinked.

I stilled at her word. No one had ever said something like that to me. I casually leaned closer to her, “Yes, what about you?”

Our eyes locked in a heated moment before she whispered, “That you will have to find out on your own.”

Both of our wolves appeared in our eyes for a fleeting moment, as I found myself looking at her lips feeling a strange hunger bubbling in my chest until she tore her eyes.

“Here’s your tea,” she said, placing the cup beside me.

I took a secret breath to calm myself. Her scent was way too alluring.

“Where’s your sandwich?” I asked.

“I only made one. Can I have a bite?” She glanced at the sandwich in my hand.

I handed it to her. She took a bite without hesitation and returned it. “I should make more next time… for both of us.”

I took another bite and sipped the tea—

“I want a sandwich too,” Fren’s voice cut in as she entered the kitchen. “But it looks like there are none left.” She turned to me with a pout. “Rain, please let me have a bite of yours.”

My eyes flicked to Sage. Her expression remained calm as she turned away to pour herself some tea. My wolf growled low in my mind. I set the sandwich down on the plate.

“You can have it all.”

Fren caught my arm before I could leave. “I only want a bite.”

“I dislike eating someone else’s leftovers,” I said, and walked out of the kitchen without looking back.

Unknown to me, Sage, already preparing another sandwich for herself,allowed a small smile to curve her lips.

Fren crushed the sandwich in her hand and demanded, “How can he eat something you’ve already tasted, but not me?!”

Sage turned to her with an innocent expression. “A husband and wife sharing each other’s food is normal.”

“But I’m his soulmate!” Fren snapped.

Sage simply smiled and brushed past her.

“Now that,” she said lightly, “is your problem, Fren.”

I stepped out of the pack house to meet the person who had been watching me from the kitchen window for some time.

My friend, Oran.

“Since when did you start eating food made by someone other than your trusted omega?” he asked with a smirk.

“I was just hungry,” I replied, brushing the comment aside.

He smirked again. “Man, you’re lucky. A beautiful wife and a soulmate—you didn’t want either of them, yet the Moon Goddess handed you both. She’s playing favorites. I bet you’ve already had your hands on your mate. I heard she went into heat. Your father will be getting a grandson soon.”

“Not happening,” I stated flatly as we walked side by side.

He stopped and stared at me. “Wait. You mean you still haven’t slept with your mate?”

My silence was enough.

Oran’s expression shifted to genuine surprise. “Rain… you know your rut is coming, right?” he said more quietly. “Even if you dislike the idea of a child, you’ll have to get your mate pregnant and give the pack an heir.”

My wolf stirred uncomfortably at the mention of the approaching rut, letting out a low growl in the back of my mind.

“I know,” I said.