Blaze

Seven

​One hundred three... One hundred four... One hundred five... One hundred...

​I sighed and opened my eyes, gazing blankly at the ceiling. He was once again the cause of another sleepless night. Just the thought of him caused my body to tingle.

​I wouldn't be able to sleep, yet again. With that thought, I forced my body to get up and walk into the bathroom. I waited for the water to get warm before I stepped inside, sighing in relief as the hot stream trickled down my body. Taking some shampoo onto my palm, I massaged my scalp before rinsing and applying conditioner, washing it out after a few minutes. Once I finished washing my hair, I cleaned, shaved, and scrubbed my body properly before wrapping a towel around my head and another around my torso, then exited the bathroom.

​I suddenly stopped in my tracks. My breathing accelerated when I felt a scorching gaze on me, trailing down my face, to my neck, to my exposed cleavage, to my towel-clad stomach, and down to my inner thighs. Unconsciously, my toes curled in anticipation.

​Remove the towel, my wolf excitedly whispered, thoroughly enjoying the heated gaze of our mate on our skin. I shook my head no, but my hands tightened around the fabric before letting go completely.

​The soft towel slid down my body and pooled around my ankles. I didn't know where the sudden confidence came from, but I turned around so my back was to our mate, then bent down to pick the towel up from the floor. I paused for a second before standing straight. A teasing smirk tugged at the corner of my lips as I swayed my hips sensually, turning on a provocative song in my head.

​My fingers trailed slowly from my neck to my breasts, cupping the globes in my hands. I pinched my n*****s and threw my head back, moaning lowly as the tingles shot straight to my core. Teasingly, I trailed a single finger down my stomach toward my center. Just as I pressed against my c**t, I heard a sudden movement outside, snapping me instantly out of my trance.

​I cursed under my breath. I couldn't believe I had just done that. What was I thinking? That he'll break in through the window and f**k me raw?

​Well, yeah, that was exactly what I thought somewhere deep in my mind, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he was the enemy; he had killed so many innocent members of my pack. We couldn't just forgive him for it- it wasn't fair to our fallen people.

​It has nothing to do with them. He is our mate, and we have every right to forgive him and be with him without anyone meddling in our business, my wolf growled lowly at me. For a second, I completely froze, stunned by her statement, before a wave of deep disappointment filled me.

​How could you say that? They were our pack members you're talking about! They were completely innocent. He destroyed so many families that night, and if you think I'll forgive him before this pack does, then you're highly mistaken. Stop f*****g thinking about him all the time and start putting our pack first! I angrily shouted back at her. In response, she growled in fury because she knew what I was saying was true- but that didn't mean she would easily follow my command. For her, our mate came before everything else.

​I swiftly pushed her to the back of my mind, got fully dressed, and marched out of my room, slamming the door shut with a loud thud. My anger had spiked to an all-time high, and the way my wolf kept screaming for me to go to our mate wasn't helping at all. I was furious with her. How could she be so selfish? Why couldn't she see that he had almost destroyed our entire pack? If given the chance, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the rest of them.

​She whimpered when I cursed our mate with some colorful words- some I didn't even fully understand myself- but I continued anyway. At least I could vent my frustration by cursing him out in my head.

​Would you be able to say all of that to his face? my wolf mocked from the back of my mind. I swear, if she were a physical person, I would have bashed her head against a wall. Unfortunately, she was the animal who shared a body and mind with me, and since we shared pain too, I couldn't actually harm her. So, I opted to throw some colorful words her way instead. My anger flared again when she simply snicker-ed at my mindless ranting.

​I huffed and completely blocked the link with her before making my way down to the Alpha's office. The first thing I did was organize my already neat desk- it was a habit of mine to rearrange everything daily, even though it was always perfectly in place. Once I was sure everything was where it belonged, I turned on the computer and started checking my emails.

​Ring.

​You've got to be f*****g kidding me. I couldn't deal with anyone this early, but knowing it was my work phone, I picked it up, wondering who had decided to call at such an hour.

​"Sapphire," my dad's gruff voice echoed from the other end. I perked up in my seat immediately. I wondered what was so important that he was calling me this early.

​"Hello, dad! How are you?" Anyone could detect the instant happiness in my voice. If you hadn't guessed by now, I was a total daddy's girl- his little princess. Out of everyone in my family, my dad was the one I was closest to. He spoiled me to no end and always helped me whenever I got into trouble, which was rare.

​"How can I be good when I'm so far away from my little girl?" I laughed when he faked a pained voice. The anger from earlier vanished into thin air, and my lips stretched into a genuine smile.

​"I'm sure you're doing just fine, otherwise you'd have already flown back home," I giggled, hearing him huff from the other side. "By the way, how is everything over there?" I asked, referring to my grandfather's pack, the Moon Stone Pack. He had recently passed away due to old age, leaving the pack without a leader. Since my mother was the sole heir, she had taken over the pack temporarily before passing it down to my older brother, Tristan.

​My dad wasn't ready to give his own pack up yet- he loved our territory too much. So, he decided my brother should take over the Moon Stone Pack permanently, since Tristan was already at the age to become an Alpha. My father told me he would hand our birth pack down to me when he reached the age to step down completely. It always brought tears to my eyes because I knew how much he adored this pack, and it meant everything that he trusted me to inherit it. He wanted me to practice my duties as a leader, which was why he had announced me as the temporary Alpha while he was away. Until he returned, all the decisions rested solely in my hands.

​"Your brother will take over the pack in a week, right after his mating ceremony," he replied to my earlier question. Unconsciously, an excited squeal escaped my lips, causing him to laugh. My brother was mated to my childhood best friend, Jenny. They were already mated and marked, but since Jenny would be officially taking over the Luna position, they were holding a formal mating ceremony in front of their new pack, followed by her Luna coronation.

​For us wolves, a mating ceremony is very much like a human wedding, just without the spoken vows- because our mark is the ultimate vow, connecting our souls and promising we'll be together even in the afterlife. During the ceremony, the pack throws a massive feast to congratulate the newly mated couple and celebrate the bonding of their souls.

​"That's wonderful. The sooner he takes over, the better," I commented, and my dad acknowledged it with a low hum. For a minute, the line went completely silent. I furrowed my brows in confusion, wondering what it was that my dad was suddenly hesitating to say.

​"I met with the neighboring pack of the Moon Stone Pack. We're deciding to form an alliance with them," my dad started.

​"That's good, isn't it?" I asked, completely lost as to where he was going with this.

​"The Alpha there has a son around your age who is ready to take over leadership," my dad paused again, and my confusion deepened. I didn't see how the neighboring Alpha's son was any of my business.

​"His original mate died in a rogue attack a while ago, and he needs a Luna- someone capable who can help heal his wounded heart and rule alongside him. Sapphire... when he heard about you, he formally asked for your hand in marriage."

​His words completely left me baffled, frozen, and entirely speechless.

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