Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

The only word that kept on playing on repeat in my head as I sat down on a chair on the porch.

Yes, that is what you just did- well done for figuring it out, Rafe.

Great, sarcastic Kai was back again.

Shut it, Kai! It's really not the right time to irritate me.

Why? Is little Rafe annoyed that the mate pull is stronger than he expected? Admit it, you prick, you like her. She stirs things inside us that we have never felt before and I don't mean only sexually. Although you should be on your knees begging her to let us have our way with her again, he chuckled.

And then you call me the prick? Fine, I will admit that she may have ruined me for all other women. But that's as far as it goes.

Oh, come on, Rafe- she is strong, opinionated, stubborn, independent, she clearly knows how to take care of herself- human or not- and she knows how to stand up to you. I know your dick twitches every time she challenges you. And if you don't want her, why did you tell her that she can't have anyone else?

Simply the mention of Riley being with somebody else, other than Aiden, made my blood boil but Kai was right- why did I say that to her? I had no right to make such a claim on her if I didn't want her to be my mate. But that was the thing- she was my mate. The Goddess had already decided on that and the urge to keep her away from all other men was immense. I couldn't help it even if I wanted. It was an instinct. It didn't change anything though.

Listen, Kai, and listen well- she will never be ours. She might be our mate because the Moon Goddess decided so, but we will not complete the ritual. I will not mark her or claim her- do you hear me?

We will see about that....

What the fuck does that mean, Kai?

It means that your decisions affect both of us and let me tell you, wolves don't do well when they have been denied their mate. I have already lost my mate-her wolf- when that scum John had taken her away from Riley. He was getting angry now, growling and pacing in my head as if he was ready to attack someone. I am not losing Riley too. So be careful, Rafe, because if you do make me lose her, you might lose me in the process as well.

What the hell? Was my wolf seriously threatening to leave me if I stayed away from Riley? Why did he have to make it harder than it already was?

Oh, and Rafe- we better make everyone who hurt our mate all those years ago pay. She lost her wolf, she lost her family, she nearly lost her heritage. Beneath all that hard exterior, I can feel that she is hurting for everything that she has been denied because of that fateful night.

I know, Kai. I can feel it too.

So you know what needs to be done, right? Our blood or not, if your father really is behind this, and if he is also responsible for what happened to us and your mother, as well as Natalia, he has to pay, Kai snarled.

He was right and I knew it. If my father was really behind everything, there were going to be consequences and he was not going to get away with it because he was my dad or my Alpha.

Just then I heard the car park and I saw Aiden make his way to me with two bags full of food.

"About time you showed up, man- I am starving."

"And there was me thinking that you were happy to see me because you needed me to save you from our feisty mate," he laughed. If only he knew.....

"We are both....." I paused thinking how to reply without lying to my best friend but not giving anything away either. I still didn't know what exactly happened back in the room and why. Obviously, we fucked. But what made me do that was still unclear to me and I was a bit anxious to dwell on what it meant going forward. "...alive."

"That's good to know," Aiden smiled and reached for the door. I thought that I got away with it until I saw him sniff the air. He turned around again to look at me, a large grin erupting on his face. "You can't fight the unavoidable, my friend," he remarked and winked at me as he entered the cabin.

Why couldn't everyone understand that I had legitimate reasons for not wanting a mate? I mean, I had to admit that it was difficult to argue my case because Riley Moreau was proving to be tougher than I thought. Despite my reservations, I was impressed by how she masterfully led a team of Alphas and Betas during the mission to save Natalia earlier today, and everyone followed her lead without even questioning her plan. She fought on par with my top warriors; hell, on par even with me and Aiden and we were some tough bastards. She was fearless and strong.

But when she threw herself in front of the energy ball to save me, my heart stopped. The fear that I experienced until I felt her breathing on top of me, even if only for a few seconds, was the reason why I couldn't accept having her as a mate. Even without us having completed the mating, what I felt towards her was strong, despite my denial, and I feared what it would be like if we did indeed embrace our bond.

Fighting this pull between us was perhaps the biggest challenge that I had ever faced. When she threw herself in front of me in the mansion all I wanted was to take her in my arms and protect her, and when she comforted me in the dungeon I knew it in my bones that only her presence could bring me peace in my moment of turmoil. And what happened in that bedroom was a fucking nightmare because I couldn't imagine ever denying myself the pleasure of her touch, her skin, her pussy. The only thing that I wanted more than anything at that moment was to claim her lips as my mine but the Goddess only knows where I managed to find the strength not to make that mistake.

I looked at the clear starry sky above me and I wondered if my mother was looking down amongst them. If she was still alive, I could have asked for her advice. She was the wisest person that I had ever known and I wondered how different my life would have been if she was still alive. This was also the reason why I needed to get the answers from John.

I text Nat to check on her, relieved to hear that she was awake and well at home. I promised her to be back soon enough and then went back inside to join Aiden and Riley. Apparently, I had been outside longer than I'd realised because they were already waiting for me at the table with the ready dinner. Fortunately for me, Aiden was ready to ask Riley every question under the sun about her life in the human world, while I feigned ignorance until I made my excuses and went to check on John before going to sleep.

It was impossible to sleep though when all I could hear was Riley's melodic laugh every time that Aiden cracked a joke. They talked like they knew each other for ages and I felt a small twinge of jealousy at the fact that I could not be like that. This had always been the difference between Aiden and me when it came to women- he knew how to wine and dine them, I knew how to fuck them senseless. Right now though, I envied the ease he had in charming women. No, no just any woman- this particular one.

For fuck sake, how does this woman turn me into a pining mess?

Yet another reason why I couldn't let her get to me- I had to keep her out of my mind and my heart, if I didn't want to lose my soul in return.

By the time I woke up the next morning, the sun was already shining brightly in the sky. What the hell? I never slept late as I was usually up early in the morning to train, so to say that I was shocked when I saw that it was already 9.30 am was an understatement. I couldn't even remember the last time that I slept so well and so deeply.

You know the reason, you idiot - you just don't want to admit it. My silver-grey wolf was once again taunting me in my head.

Good morning to you too, Kai. And can you please focus? We need to get our act together to interrogate John. Did you manage to mind-link with his wolf?

Negative. If he is still in there, he is so weak that I can't really sense him. But if he doesn't have his wolf, Rafe, he will be a broken man...which we will need to use to our advantage, as much as it pains me to say that. He is still our packmate.

I put my jeans on and headed for the kitchen to grab some coffee. Kai was a grumpy bastard at times but I was no better without my coffee. I found Aiden on the porch, basking in the sun with some breakfast. I grabbed one of the sandwiches from the small table as I crashed on the deck chair next to him.

"Fuck, man, this is some good shit," I managed to say as I was happily gobbling down on what might have been the best sandwich I've had in my life. "Why is this the first time I get to try these? You better be making these for me again soon."

"It's a beer-soaked grilled cheese sandwich, mate, and it's Riley that made them, not me." I felt the food get stuck in my throat. Could there be one thing that I didn't like about this woman? One damn thing... "She went for a run but you can tell her how much you enjoyed them when she is back. Maybe she will be happy to make them for you again....soon." He was enjoying this, the prick.

"I'm heading down to the basement to see how John is doing and to get a move with the interrogation," I muttered. "You and Riley can join me whenever you are ready."

I took a glass of water and a sandwich with me and made my way to the basement. John was still out but it looked more like he was sleeping by now. I put the plate with the warm, deliciously smelling sandwich in front of him and waited for him to come to his senses. He slowly came around- the man had the appetite of a wolf, so this was bound to work.

I was helping him up when he whispered so faintly like he had no energy at all, "Water."

I grabbed the glass and brought it to his lips, letting him down it in one go before I gave him the sandwich to eat. I wasn't being soft of on him- I simply knew that we wouldn't get anything out of John if he passed out because of hunger or dehydration.

"Rafe..." he whispered again.

"Yeah, it's me, John."

"Where am I?"

"Back in Scotland, don't worry."

"Your sister?"

"She is fine. We go to her on time."

"I failed your father, Rafe...I...." He lowered his head in despair, clearly pained by whatever he was thinking about. "We didn't expect them to have magic on their side, although we should have known better. Not like we didn't know these guys." John let out a demented laugh and I wondered if he even knew what he was saying.

Gone was the secret enforcer- instead, in front of me sat a tortured man, physically and emotionally. One that had clearly been broken by his captors. I knew that this was my chance, so I pressed on even when I heard Aiden and Riley join me, although they remained in the shadows, away from John's line of sight.

"What are you talking about, John? How did you know these guys?"

"It's the same people that your father had dealings with all those years ago. I warned him against getting involved with the offspring of a demon but he had other plans. And now we are all fucked....so very fucked. If only we knew back then." He was laughing hysterically by now.

"John, get it together. You need to get your wolf to flush the drugs out of your system or he won't be able to come out and let you heal." I needed him with a clear mind to get to the bottom of this.

"My wolf? My wolf..." he cackled, "my wolf is dead, my boy. Gone. Taken away from me in a blink of an eye. Just like they did to Scott and Travis. Except they were lucky enough to die quickly. My fate is far worse. It's ironic- the same weapon that I had used years ago was used against me. Perhaps it's the Goddess' punishment."

"Punishment? For what, John?" He was now rocking back and forth in his seat like he had lost his mind.

"For that little girl all those years ago. The Moreau girl....I saw her the other week. I should have known that it was a sign, that the Moon Goddess was angry that we sided with demons and magic against our own kind." I saw Riley curl her fingers in anger, despite the stoic expression on her face. I myself was struggling to remain calm, especially when Kai was ready to come out and tear John apart for what he had done to our mate.

"John, mate, you will need to be more specific than that. These people are out to get all shifters, so I need to know who we are up against."

"You should ask your father...I can't..."

"You can and you will tell me. I am my father's heir, the future Alpha, and you have sworn allegiance to our pack, whether you still have your wolf or not."

"Allegiance doesn't matter anymore, you fool," he snarled while he lunged forward at me but the handcuffs kept him restrained. "Only the Goddess can judge me now. It's to her that I need to repent and to ask her to end my misery."

That's when I saw Riley make her way over to me, standing by my side as her eyes were fixated on John. The moment he saw her, he went speechless.

"Y-y-y-ou......," John stuttered. "You are here to punish me. I know that the Goddess sent you."

Riley took a step towards him, and John recoiled in fear. I was shocked to see him like this, bearing no resemblance to his old self.

"I remember you. I remember how you tried to grab me out of the car, as my parents lay dead at the front. I remember how you took my wolf away from me," she said in a calm, composed manner which made her sound more terrifying. "I want to know why."

"Forgive me, daughter of Margot Moreau," John spoke, tears streaming down the face of this man that I previously used to consider unbeatable. He was a mountain of a man whom everyone feared and yet here he was, crying his eyes out and begging for forgiveness. "I was following orders. It's my Alpha who made the deal with the cambion- we simply needed to extract the animals of your family. But the crash complicated things. So we couldn't deliver what the Alpha had promised...."

John stopped for a second before he looked over to me. " And then we failed you, Rafe."

"Me?"

"Years later, we had all forgotten about what had happened until they captured your mother and you. Collecting what they were due is what the note to your father said. When I went down to that mansion to negotiate, they had already made it clear that they would only allow for one of you to walk free. It tore me apart to leave our Luna there but your father's instructions were clear- you are the heir of the pack, so your safety was to be ensured."

"My safety was to be ensured? I was saved by a guard, John- you and my father did fuck all to save me or my mother." The anger inside me was starting to bubble up with every word I was hearing.

"No, Rafe, the guard letting you go was part of our agreement to maintain our connection with them a secret."

I lurched forward, grabbing John by the neck and squeezing it as I lifted him as far off his seat as the handcuffs allowed. He was struggling to breathe and I contemplated squeezing tighter to end his scumbag life.

"You. Left. My. Mother. To. Die," I said and I tightened my grip around his neck with every word.

"Do.... it," he replied with a strained voice. "End my misery, Rafe." That's when I felt her hand on my shoulder and all my anger fizzled out. She was my calm, and that soothed and petrified me at the same time.

"Let him go, Rafe. We still need answers."

I was in awe how she managed to remain so serene on the outside despite the emotions that I was sure were raging inside her. I dropped John in his seat and walked away from him.

"What was the deal you made in exchange for Rafe's life, John?" Riley continued with the interrogation, while John kept looking at her like she was sent to be his avenger.

"That the Alpha would pull the reins on any investigation on what they did with some shifters." I saw a recognition flash in Riley's eyes like she was connecting the dots in her mind.

"Why did they take Natalia then?" she pushed on.

"To teach my Alpha a lesson, as they felt that he was not delivering again. Your brother and the Council were getting pretty nosy, despite my Alpha's efforts to stop them."

"What was the deal that Alpha Macalister made in exchange for my family's wolves then?"

"That only the Alpha knows. We were never informed of the details."

"And what about the cambion. What is his name?"

"They call him Mr X but his real name...... is Markolf."