LITTLE LUNA: Alpha's second chance mate.(THE REDEMPTION SERIES)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LILITH’S POV:

I’m trying to quell the flutters in my belly -yup, they were back and they weren’t so little anymore- as I’m being carried in his warm strong arms. I felt safe and protected, forgetting my earlier worries.

He carries me out of the large room. Footsteps approach and I see more huge shirtless werewolves entering from one of the doors. So that’s the one that leads outside. I store that info for later.

“Alpha” They all bow and bare their necks in submission to him and I’m once again struck with the realization that he’s actually the Alpha.

Their eyes turn to me and I see their curious gazes. I turn beet red from the sudden attention and hide my face in his arms so they don’t see me, except it’s of no use and they do.

I feel the deep chuckle vibrating from my Alpha and I’m instantly attracted to the sound. He must find my shyness funny. As silly as it was, I’m secretly pleased.

Wait! M…my Alpha?

My eyes widen as I realized my thoughts. And once again, I’m tomato red in the face.

“Alpha, this…” The voice trails off. I could hear the curiosity dripping off it.

His arms around me tightens a bit, then it’s suddenly quiet. The kind of quiet that shows shock or surprise. I’m guessing he’s told them about us… me, being his mate. Werewolves do that, communicate through their mind-link or whatever.

I’m carried back up the stairs. I look back and see the werewolves still standing with shock on their faces. It didn’t take long though for them to snap out of it.

When we turned into the next hallway, finally out of their site, I hear them let out loud howls, one after the other. The howls don’t stop. It’s spreads, like to the whole pack and next, I hear the drums included to the never-ending howls.

I’m confused. These howls, they let it out when celebrating something. It was a werewolf thing. But why were they celebrating? Being mated to their Alpha, was that a good thing. Or perhaps, maybe it was just the moonlight pack that celebrated with howls and drum beats and here, it was a prelude to a sacrifice. And I was the lamb.

I look up to find my mate smiling at me. I’m instantly warmed up inside. There was no way my mate would let them sacrifice me. “Please, don’t kill me.” I hear myself say subconsciously. I slap a hand over my lips, embarrassed.

He chuckles and the sound reverberates through my body. He leans down a bit and places a soft kiss on my forehead that left my toes curling and me in a daze the rest of the way up.

We’re soon back in his room and he walks into the bathroom with me still in his arms. That’s where he lets me down but leads me to the sink and assists me in washing off the grease from my hands.

I’m still in a daze through out the entire process. No one’s ever been this nice to me since my mom died. I start to reminiscence my whole life in the moonlight pack. The way they let me know how different I was, how unwelcomed I was, how weak and helpless I would forever be. The joke the moon goddess played on me by having Ace be my mate, him rejecting me and choosing Silvera, the humiliations and t*****e I had gone through in his hands. From the whipping to the starving for even the slightest mistake. The harsh words and curses he’d swear at me when I supposedly ‘irritated’ him. To them, I was nothing more than a piece of trash that didn’t deserve any humane treatment. I wasn’t a being, no, I was just a ‘thing’ to soothe their anger and please their egos. No one had been kind to me. no one except Racheal.

“Hey, don’t cry… what’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?” I’m brought out of my thoughts when I hear the panic in his deep voice.

That’s when I realize that we’re back to the bedroom, he’s seated on the sofa, I’m settled in his arms and I’m crying. Maybe it was the warmth of his arms, or the tenderness in his unnatural red eyes or the worry in his voice, but I break down completely and cry my eyes out.

He doesn’t become irritated or leave me, instead he holds me and whispers very soothing words to me whilst rocking me gentle.

It takes a while for me to let it all out and calm down. I’m surprised at his patience but grateful at his tenderness.

“How are you feeling now, Lilith?” He asks pushing my hair away from my face. He wipes the left-over tears on my face as well. I almost turn into goo. Almost…

I love the way he says my name. Like I meant something to him, like I wasn’t just some useless…

“Lilith?” He calls out to me again when I don’t answer him the first time.

I just sit there, in his arms, embarrassed and not knowing what to say. With my swollen red eyes, I just sit there staring at him.

Will the moon goddess be repentant and let me have him? After what happened with Ace, wouldn’t it be nice of her to let me have a second chance with him? He was so much better than Ace. The hurt that came from being rejected by that animal was only from the mating bond. I never cared about Ace and was grateful that he rejected me.

The hurt that would come from this stranger would be much worse. There was something about him that pulled me in… maybe it was how he acted like he actually cared, how he protected me from Ace’s men…

I dare not hope that he actually cared for me. It was probably the mating bond pushing him to do all that and he doesn’t want this.

Was this the part where he’d reject me?

Afterall, who would want a reject and an outcast? Someone as weak and useless as I was.

“Lilith, please look at me.” His voice had me hesitating but I slowly drag my eyes back to his. I didn’t realize I had looked away.

My breath hitches as I’m engulfed by the fire I see in there. I’m pulled back to last night when we were both burning up and I’m holding unto him.

Here we go… he’s going to reject me.

I hold my breath, and prepare for the pain that’s to come.

“I’m so sorry about last night, you weren’t in your right mind and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that, especially since that was your first time. It’s just been so long since anyone had ever made me feel like that again. I got caught up in the moment, I know that was selfish of me but I’ll take responsibility for you, for the rest of our lives together. So please don’t be upset and stop crying. It’s breaking my heart.”

Wait, wait, wait…hold up! Did I hear him correctly. Wasn’t this the part where he goes like: ‘last night was a mistake, I can’t have some weak thief as a mate. I, Cayenne, alpha of the redemption pack rejects you Lilith as my mate.’ And then I’d have no other choice but to accept his rejection. Wasn’t this that part?

Maybe my mind was still dazed and I mistook what he’d said. Yh, I had to have heard it wrong.

“So, you’re not rejecting me?” I ask cautiously.

He’s taken aback by my question and a frown form on his forehead. “Why the f**k would I do that? I meant every word I vowed to you last night. You are my mate Lilith, to love and care for, to respect and honor unto the end of my days. Why would I reject you?”

My insides are jumpy from his answer, but I’m still nervous. Was the moon goddess finally becoming kind?

I leave his arms and stand in front of him, hands akimbo with a confused look. Even while seated, his height still towers over mine. What is he? 7 feet? I try not to be intimidated and say my mind. “Why would you reject me? Look at me!! I’m weak and I don’t have a werewolf. Oh, I’m also a criminal on the run, in-case you haven’t heard, I murdered my previous Alpha. I’m penniless, homeless, weak and-” he lets out a dangerous growl that shuts me up. He’s suddenly angry, his face darkened.

“Never, ever talk down on yourself like that again!” he growls with a voice that has my legs weakening in fright.

In the next second, his frightening look is replaced with a gentle and guilty look as he tenderly reaches out to me, pulling me into his embrace. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn’t have, I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.” He apologizes as he places his head in the crook of my neck, letting out soft whimpers to show his repentance. It was as if the growl from before never happened. I couldn’t help but reach up to pat his head, letting him know that I was okay. I hadn’t really been scared at him, just surprised at his anger. Plus, deep down, I was pleased that he was mad for me.

“I don’t like you talking down on yourself. Lilith, you’re the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen. I don’t care if you’re a werewolf or not, you’re my mate, you don’t have to be strong. I can and will protect you. And you won’t be homeless, you have me, you have the pack. We won’t let anyone hurt you. Didn’t you hear them earlier? You are their LUNA and they love you already.” He explains the sweetest words to me in the most tender voice as if I were some fragile piece.

Then a small frown appears on his face and he looks worried, almost hesitant, then asks: “Do you not want to be my mate? Is that why you’re upset and crying earlier? You don’t want me?”

I almost burst into laughter at the absurdity, instead I shook my head when I saw his serious look. Which transformed into a cute satisfied look when he saw my answer.

“So, we’re mates?” I ask, the reality that this was happening hit me.

He smiles and I could only take in how out worldly handsome he was. He nods and says: “Forever.”

And at that moment, with a sweet satisfying feeling of being wanted and cared for, I thought: ‘maybe the moon goddess wasn’t so bad after all.’