Betrayed by his Luna

He doesn’t have a clue

*Bryant*

Damnation! As my carriage clatters through the streets, I can still feel the heat of her alabaster flesh against the tip of my finger. What was I thinking to dare her so? She is still remarkably naive not to realize the full extent of her betrayal and the lengths I will go to in order to make her suffer.

I had anticipated having her as my mate as I had anticipated nothing else in my life before or after. I knew that at long last I would acquire the funds that would set me free of Barkley. But it had been more than that. In spite of how it might have all appeared, her damnable dowry was only a small part of the reason I had honored a preposterous contract, the terms of which my solicitor could have no doubt relieved me with very little effort.

From the moment my mother had married the Prince, my ancestral home had been relegated to a lost pack, of no consequence. Its upkeep cost more than the income it provided, so it was left to languish, while the family took up residence at the magnificent Grantwood castle. It was there that I first caught sight of the girl who would one day become my mate.

I couldn’t deny the pleasure I felt when I initially glimpsed her smile. My own mouth had twitched when I first heard her laugh. While she played with the others, I watched from afar, and I knew, knew, in my heart and soul that she could help me bring the Moon river pack back to what it was meant to be. It could become again a place where a family would gather. It would no longer be shunned and forgotten.

I would no longer be shunned or forgotten. There were times when I felt like an outsider in my own family. Perhaps because I had always fought to keep my distance, not to readily accept another man as my father, regardless of the other man’s goodness. The eighth Alpha prince of West Cliffe could not replace what I had lost.

I had been convinced Madelyn could somehow fill the void. I had taken such damned care in preparing myself for my wedding night, bathing again, shaving again, donning fresh trousers and a silk dressing gown. I planned to be gentle with her, to take such care. I had had no intentions of rushing her.

Then I walked into the bedchamber and saw my brother in my place, and once again I was struck with the realization of being worthy of nothing… not even my own mate would remain loyal to me.

I become acutely aware of my hands aching. They are fisted so tightly… as to almost push bone through skin. I unfold them as my carriage comes to a halt. I belong to several clubs, but Duster’s gaming Room is my favorite haunt. Its owner, Jack Duster, has risen from the streets to become a powerful man. He understands a gentleman’s needs, although he has recently dispensed with his girls. Marriage no doubt is taming him.

But no matter. There are brothels aplenty if a man is in need of a warm body. At the moment, I simply need to be away from my residence. I stride through the gambling room and go into the recently renovated tobacco room, where men enjoy a cigar or pipe along with their liquor. I take a chair in a corner sitting area.

At Duster’s, customer preferences are memorized by liveried youths whom the owner had pulled from the streets and given employment. No one is left to wait for more than three minutes. I don’t even look up when my favorite brand of whiskey and a cigar are quietly set on the table beside me.

I do look up when a gentleman sits in the chair next to mine. I glare, but my brother pays me no heed.

"Thought I would see you here tonight," Barkley says. "So how did you find Madelyn?"

I arch a brow at him, and my brother merely shrugs. "She came to my residence earlier, thinking that you still lived there. She was quite surprised to discover that you had purchased a residence of your own. Do you not communicate with your Luna?"

"No." I reach for my glass, relish the slow burn as I swallow the caramel-shaded smoky-flavored brew. I set the glass down, right side up, a signal that it is to be refilled. Promptly, it is.

Barkley grabs his own drink and leans forward. "Why is she here?"

I have always wanted to dislike Barkley… simply on principle. He was born with everything: wealth, a powerful title, his mother's love, and his father's adoration. But I can't help but admire him because he has always been such an affable fellow, willing to help when needed, never keeping accounts on what was owed. Sometimes it irks me knowing that my youngest brother is the best of us. "Apparently her sister has one mating Season in which to find a suitor, or their father will force her to marry Alpha Hester."

"What has the man got against his own daughter?" Barkley muses.

I give my brother a wry grin. "If you're so appalled by the notion, why don't you offer for her?"

"Good Goddess, no! I have only just reached my majority, taken my seat in the House of Alphas. That's ample accomplishment for one year. I do not need to add taking a mate to my list of achievements." He shakes his head.

I hardly blame him. I would have not married so young if I had not been desperate for funds. But no matter when I had married, I had have honored the right to marry Madelyn that my father had reserved for me.

Barkley sips his brandy, taps his snifter. "I thought Madelyn looked well. Hale and hearty actually. I would say she spent a good deal of time roaming over your estate."

"I didn't notice." The lie rolls easily off my tongue. I had noticed every detail about her. Her upswept cinnamon hair. The gentle slope of her throat. The fire in her sunset blue eyes when I had ordered her to unbutton her bodice. She had wanted to tell me to go to the devil. Three years ago, she'd run from me. Tonight, She had stood up to me. What had happened to strengthen that backbone?

But I had noticed more. So much more. The heat of her skin against my finger. The quiver of her muscles as my touch lingered. Her rose scent wafting enticingly around her.

I had spoken true. I no longer want her as my mate, but that doesn't mean I don't want her beneath me. Traitorous wench. How can I desire her? Because she is a she-wolf, and I am a man. It is as simple as that. It has nothing to do with the blue of her eyes or the fine figure she presents. Or the defiance. She-wolves desire me, grant my every wish in an effort to please and tame me. But in the end, they bore me with solicitousness. Madelyn infuriates me.

I reach for my glass again, losing count of how many I have emptied while Barkley and I sit here. The liquor flows through me, mingling with memories, the past and present brushing against each other. Only now, after seeing her tonight, do I realize how young she was when we married.

More sixteen than seventeen. Why did her father and I think that a single day, her birthday, would transform her from a girl into a grown she-wolf? She was thinner then, but now she has filled out, more curves, more... she-wolf. Back then, she wasn't so far removed from being a child.

"I know the situation with your mate is none of my business," Barkley starts.

"No, it's not." I tell him.

He sighs. "Is that why you avoid me? Because you don't want to hear my opinion?"

"Our paths rarely cross because I'm busy with matters that require my attention." I mumble.

"Based on the rumors, those matters mostly involve she-wolves." He says.

I clench my jaw. "Are you judging me?"

"No," Barkley shakes his head. "I can't say I wouldn't do the same in your shoes. Only I would be more discreet."

"Not if you don't care about the she-wolf." I huff.

He shakes his head, "She's still your mate. That should earn her some consideration."

I don't want to argue about my indiscretions. Madelyn set the terms of our marriage first. I knew I might never have her love, but I thought I would at least have her loyalty. Then I walked into her chamber and realized even that was too much to ask.

I remember telling her when I left her at the pack house, "You have made it clear you feel no affection for me. Fine. We will have a marriage in name only until I say otherwise. You will stay here, I will be in Town. Until you bear me an heir, keep your legs closed. If you're with child by another, I will ruin you. The law may say it's mine, but society will know the truth."

She had screamed, "I hate you!" as I walked away. I laughed, so she wouldn't see that her words cut me. I didn't want to be cruel, but she left me no choice. My anger was boundless, my pride wouldn't let me accept less than I deserved.

Over the years, I have had reports about her. Few visitors, only she-wolves, her cousin, her sister. No men. She spent a lot of time alone, with only servants and pack members for company. No wonder she's so attached to the estate. What else does she have?

"Do you remember when her family visited?" Barkley asks, changing the subject. I know him well enough to know there's usually a reason behind his randomness. "She was always so lively."

"And yet you always hid from her." I say.

He grins, "It was part of the game."

I remember once, she couldn't have been more than seven, while I was fifteen. I was sitting in a chair in the library reading when she barged in, looking for my brothers. I gave her a harsh glare, and she promptly retreated.

"I knew you could make her leave!" Barkley, all of eight, gloated as he scampered out from beneath the desk where he had been hiding.

I wasn't as pleased with the outcome as Barkley. I was afraid I had frightened her. I was torn. I knew someday I was to marry her, but I also knew I had to look out for my brother.

"What are you reading?" Barkley asked.

"The Last of the Wild. It's about life in America."

"Isn't it the same there?" He had asked,

I had spoken my head, "No."

"Are you going to travel there?" He asked.

"I can't. I have responsibilities here."

Responsibilities that have always weighed on me, duties that would be easier to bear with the dowry that came with marrying Madelyn. I never questioned it, never doubted it, never wondered if she did.

"I always liked her," Barkley says now. When I glare at him, he shrugs. "Not as much as Blake did, of course. They were inseparable until he discovered what was hidden beneath skirts and found interests elsewhere."

I don't need the reminders.

"So what are you going to do about this situation with Madelyn?" Barkley asks.

I answer with brutal honesty. "Haven't a bloody clue."