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I Want to Meet His Luna
(Ryan’s POV)
The party on my yacht ended way too early. Most guests had already left, taking the fun atmosphere with them. All that remained were empty glasses and the stink of expensive moonshine that now seemed like a waste of money.
I paced the deck like a caged animal, running my hands through my hair for the tenth time in five minutes.
“He’s going to kill me,” I muttered, glancing at Felix who stood by the railing looking annoyingly calm.
Felix adjusted his glasses with that robot–like precision of his. “I wouldn’t say kill. Maim, perhaps. Possibly dismember.”
“That’s not helping!” I snapped, feeling my wolf stir anxiously beneath my skin. My inner beast wanted to run and hide from the coming storm.
The evening breeze carried the scent of Silvercrest Harbor–salt water mixed with fish and boat fuel. Any other day, I’d find it relaxing. Today it smelled like my funeral.
“You should call Amber,” Felix suggested, checking his watch with maddening calmness. “She’s the only one who might calm him down when he’s in this mood.”
I shook my head so hard I nearly gave myself whiplash. “And make things worse? No freaking thanks!”
“The Alpha values honesty from those close to him,” Felix said, his voice flat but his meaning clear.
“I’m not calling his mate to bail me out of trouble,” I growled, the very thought making me feel pathetic. “Besides, she’s probably preparing his birthday dinner or something romantic.”
The realization hit me again like a punch to the gut. I’d not only arranged this meeting without Dominic’s knowledge, but I’d done it on his birthday. Of all the days to piss off the future Alpha King.
“Your funeral,” Felix said with a shrug that made me want to throw him overboard.
I leaned against the railing, staring at the darkening sky and contemplating my life choices. The moon would be rising soon, which would only make Dominic’s temper worse.
“Just… help me figure out how to explain this to him without ending up as fish food in the harbor,” I pleaded.
Felix’s phone buzzed. He checked it, and I watched his normally stoic face tighten just slightly. That tiny change told me
everything.
“Too late. The Alpha is requesting my presence back at headquarters. Immediately.”
My stomach dropped to my feet. “What about me? Did he mention me?”
“He didn’t mention you at all,” Felix replied, already heading toward the exit with quick, efficient steps. “I’d consider that a temporary reprieve. Or the calm before the storm.”
As Felix disappeared, I groaned and slumped against the railing. Dominic’s rage was legendary throughout the Northern Territory. Stories were told about what happened to wolves who crossed him.
I’d just served myself up on a silver platter, garnished and ready to be devoured.
(Sophia’s POV)
The plush leather seat of the yacht’s lounge felt ice cold beneath me as I stared at Dominic’s impassive face. His words echoed in my head, devastating in their simplicity.
“I’ve taken a mate.”
Just three small words. Three tiny words to shatter years of expectations and dreams I’d built my entire future around.
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I Want to Meet His Fund
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“But you promised,” I whispered, my voice shaking with emotion You said you’d wait until I was thirty. We talked about it!”
Dominic’s blue eyes–those piercing eyes I’d dreamed about for years–remained cool and distant. Not a flicker of the warmth I’d imagined so many times.
“I promised to support your career until you were thirty,” he corrected, his voice maddeningly calm. “To ensure you succeeded. To secure your place in our world.”
My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. “And then what?” I demanded, my voice rising with each word. “What did you think would happen after that?”
He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair in a gesture I’d seen a thousand times. A gesture I’d foolishly thought was special between us.
“Sophia, I promised you support and territory. Not partnership. Not love. Not a mating bond.”
The truth hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. All these years, I’d misinterpreted his words, his actions, his very presence in my life.
“So all this time…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. The humiliation was too great.
“I’ve been positioning myself as your brother,” he confirmed, his voice gentling slightly but remaining firm. “As I promised
Samuel I would.”
Samuel. My brother’s name sent a fresh wave of pain through my heart, mixing grief with my current heartbreak in a toxic
cocktail.
“I see,” I managed, though I didn’t. Not really. How could I have been so blind? So stupid?
Dominic checked his phone, his expression growing impatient. He was already mentally gone, already returning to her-
whoever she was.
“I need to go,” he said, standing up in one fluid motion.
“Back to her?” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice. The jealousy that clawed at my insides.
“Yes,” he said simply, not even trying to soften the blow. “Back to my mate.”
The word ‘mate‘ felt like a knife twisting in my chest. A sacred bond in our world–unbreakable, eternal, beyond anything
humans could understand.
“What about the movie?” I asked desperately, grasping at anything to keep him here longer. “The resources you secured—all
the work-”
“All still yours,” he interrupted, his tone final. “I’ve fulfilled every obligation to you, Sophia. Every single one except giving you
the love between a man and a woman.”
Something inside me snapped. Years of buried pain erupted like a volcano.
“And how will you repay Samuel?” I screamed, tears streaming down my face, burning hot against my skin. “How will you repay my brother who died in that accident on Ravenclaw Bridge while you walked away?”
Dominic went completely still, guilt flashing across his features before his mask slipped back into place. That brief glimpse of vulnerability helped me regain some control over my emotions.
“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping away tears with trembling hands. “That was unfair. The accident wasn’t your fault. I know that.”
He nodded once, accepting my apology but offering nothing more. No comfort, no shared grief.
“I just need time,” I continued, trying to salvage some dignity from this wreckage. “To accept that you’ve found your mate. That
you’ve moved on.”
“Take all the time you need,” he replied, already moving toward the door like he couldn’t wait to escape. “But know that
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I Want to Meet His Lund
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nothing will change. My choice is made.”
As he left, I felt a piece of my heart go with him- -a piece I’d never get back.
My childhood flashed before my eyes–the painful memories of my parents‘ severed mate bond, the way my father had walked away without a backward glance. Samuel had been my protector then, shielding me from the worst of the fallout.
“I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” he’d promised, his young face serious beyond his years.
And he’d kept that promise until the day he died–taking Dominicout for a drive on my birthday because he knew how much I adored the young Alpha heir. The accident that took Samuel’s life had spared Dominic, though not without injury.
I remembered sitting in that hospital room, the antiseptic smell burning my nose, staring at the bandages covering Dominic’s wounds as he made his solemn vow.
“I’ll take care of her, Samuel. Like a brother. I promise.”
Like a brother. The words echoed in my mind now, mocking me. He’d never hidden his intentions. It was my own delusion that had led to this heartbreak.
I reached for Dominic’s unfinished glass of moonshine, taking a long sip and wincing at the burn. The alcohol did nothing to numb the pain that was tearing me apart from the inside.
My career as an actress and model had flourished under Dominic’s protection. Doors had opened in both human and supernatural worlds that would have remained firmly closed without his influence. He’d kept every promise he’d made–except the one I’d invented in my own desperate mind.
I hadn’t been able to reach him directly for months now, always being directed to Felix instead. And this time, when I’d tried to arrange to pick him up, Felix had said those devastating words that I’d refused to believe: “He’s having dinner with his Luna.” Luna. The official title for an Alpha’s mate. The position I’d convinced myself would one day be mine.
My phone rang, interrupting my spiral into misery. Felix’s name flashed on the screen, his timing as impeccable as ever.
“Yes?” I answered, not bothering to hide the thickness in my voice
“Ms. Winters,” Felix’s formal tone was unchanged by the emotional drama he’d just witnessed. “I wanted to confirm what the Alpha told you. He has indeed formed a mating bond, and his feelings for his Luna run exceptionally deep.”
I closed my eyes, fresh pain washing over me at this final confirmation. “Thank you for your honesty, Felix.”
“Wolfman Productions is expecting you back on set tomorrow,” he continued, ever practical. “The car will pick you up at nine.”
“Of course,” I replied automatically. “Work continues. The show must go on.”
After hanging up, I stared out at the darkening harbor, watching lights flicker on across the water. If not for Ryan Quinn’s help, I wouldn’t have even secured this meeting with Dominic. And what had it achieved? Only confirmation of what I’d refused to believe when others told me.
My phone rang again–my agent this time.
“I heard,” she said without preamble. “What will you do now?”
I looked up at the dim sky, sensing the moon about to make its appearance. In that moment, a new determination filled me, rising from the ashes of my broken dreams.
“I want to see his Luna,” I declared, my voice steadier than I felt. “I want to see where I lost.”
