Chapter 105

Alaric’s POV

The pack elders are still in town and are eager to meet with me. I’m not sure why I thought I would find some resistance with them, perhaps because my plan lacks any true timeline, yet when I walk into that hotel banquet room that has been arranged as a meeting room space, they all stand to excitedly greet me in turn.

“Such wonderful news, Alpha,” one of them says.

“We are so proud of you,” says another.

“I haven’t done anything yet,” I say.

“Nonsense,” they reply. “You are pursuing the lost princess of BloodyMoon pack!”

“Has she accepted your advances yet, Alpha?” another asks. “After that dance at the gala, I’m sure there are wedding bells in your future.”

“Oh! And heirs!” chimes in another.

“She has not accepted yet,” I tell them. “I am still pursuing her.”

“Well, hurry things along, Alpha. There’s really no time to waste. DarkWood needs heirs, that much is certain.”

“And a Luna,” chimes in another. “We’ve been very patient with you, but it’s past time for you to settle down with a wife. The pack needs stability.”

I feel that, even without being married myself, I’ve offered the pack a certain level of stability over the years. Granted, much of that stemmed from procedures and traditions that Cara herself set in place during her time as DuskWood’s Beta and Secret Luna.

However, in her absence, there have been some duties that have fallen to the wayside. A Luna is essential in both planning of social events as well as matters of diplomacy. Without a Luna to join with other pack’s Lunas for meetups and events, he is missing a critical component of establishing friendly relations with other packs.

BloodyMoon has the same issue, as Eamon remains unmarried and unmated.

“Winning Cara’s favor will take time,” I tell the elders, wanting to temper some of their expectations. Cara can be stubborn, and I’ve hurt her deeply in the past. Even recently, I’ve hurt her. Mending these bridges and rebuilding our shaky relationship is going to take time.

At least I know she’s still attracted to me. But then, sex has never been our problem. It’s everything else, we fumble with, largely because of my inability to truly see her.

I want to blame her greed for causing the rift between us, but even with her desire for money, I should have made more of an effort for her. I should have offered her all the money in the world to keep her at my side.

Now, she had plenty of her own money as princess of BloodyMoon.

I have to win her back with more than sex, and more than money. I need to have her fall in love with me as a man. These things will take time.

The elders don’t seem to understand. They continue to prattle on about hurrying things along. Some of them have already opened a calendar to arrange the date of the wedding.

“All of this is premature,” I tell them.

“Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves,” one elder says, somewhat sheepishly. “But you cannot fault us, can you? We are very thrilled, Alpha. We’d thought you uninterested in bettering the pack, yet here you are, pursuing a woman you once despised, all for the sake of the pack.”

This confuses me instantly and I look at him strangely.

“There’s no need to be shy about it,” one of them says. “We know you only pursue her because she is a princess.”

“And the pack thanks you for it!”

Have they all gone mad? Have they forgotten that Cara was once our Beta, my right hand?

Or perhaps they do remember, and they also recall my treatment of her. Perhaps that is why they are so quick to dismiss my pursuit of her as a sacrifice I’m making for the pack.

They have no idea that I am pursuing Cara because I genuinely love her, regardless of her true identity.

I suppose it doesn’t matter what they think, not if the end result remains the same.

“I need time to pursue Cara,” I tell them. “So I will need to stay in BloodyMoon pack for a while longer. The next few weeks at least. I will be able to work remotely during the day, but my presence here is essential.”

Especially given that Cara has acquired a second suitor in the form of the mysterious Noel, a man I neither like nor trust.

He might claim to be Cara’s second chance mate, but I’m not ready to give up being Cara’s first, even if I did make a terrible mistake in rejecting her once.

I will find a way to make up to her all the terrible decisions that I’ve made in the past.

The elders break briefly to discuss the matter among themselves. After a time, they report back to me.

“We accept your request, Alpha,” the head elder says. “We will eagerly await the news of an engagement.”

Once again, they are getting ahead of themselves, but I don’t correct them.

At this point, I would settle for Cara to accept my advances and agree to date me. Yet even that feels a far way off at the moment.

I’m not giving up, though.

Cara is the woman I love, and I am going to fight for her.

Cara’s POV

Taking Colin’s advice, that morning, I seek out Landon, hoping to ask him more specific question about Noel.

I’m still not sure that I trust Noel, given that I know next to nothing about it. He might be handsome, but that alone is not enough to woo me. Not anymore. After all the pain I endured with Alaric, I need to be certain about someone before I even consider letting them into the lives of me and my children.

I don’t know what exactly I hope to accomplish with this. Even if Landon gives Noel a ringing endorsement, I’m not sure I’m willing to open my heart again.

All of my feelings are still tangled up with thoughts of Alaric. And our passion the other night…

But no. I don’t want to think of Alaric either.

He says he loves me now, but how can I believe that? He says he wants to pursue me, but where was that determination in the past?

Does he actually want me? Or is it the challenge he wants. If I was to give in, would he go right back to mistreating me as he did in the past?

When Landon is in town, he always has breakfast at one of the local cafes, so I head there hoping to catch him and speak with him privately.

Heading into the café, I spot Landon sitting in his usual table. I start to wave before I realize he’s not alone.

Before I can turn and walk away, Landon lifts his head and waves me forward. If I turned and walked out now, it would look like an insult.

Even if that’s what I really want to do.

Not because of Landon. I love Landon. I’ve become very close to most of my brothers over the past few years.

No.

The reason I want to run is because of the man sitting with him, who turns when Landon waves.

When Noel spots me, he grins from ear to ear.

“My mate!” he calls.