The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Larissa’s POV

I still remembered the shivers that peppered my skin so lightly that I may have lost my footing if I hadn’t been backed up and trapped.

I remembered the strong scent of what I couldn’t even precisely describe and his feathery breaths against the skin of my neck, and I wish I could smack myself for being unable to do anything about it. If anything, I liked it a little too much. For the first time, I saw his eyes brighten and the ring around his irises focusing entirely on me. I saw his thick eyebrows raise and his lips part, his breaths showering my skin deliciously…

I wanted to smack myself for feeling so vulnerable when he was so close to me. A few days had passed since that day, yet I couldn’t get the sensation out of my system.

For a moment, I found myself believing that somehow, just maybe he was attracted to me. My body responded in weird ways, ways that I had no control over. When was the last time? My wedding night?

Still, I was confused. He always made it clear that he didn’t want anything to do with me. He’d called me names, imprisoned me for no reason and used even the slightest opportunity to taunt me. Yet he did that. Was he attracted to me? Was he going back on his words? What if he saw me different?

Get a hold of yourself.

I shook my head in disagreement. There was no way in hell he would let himself be attracted to me, no matter how much he raised my hopes. And it stung when somewhere deep down, I wanted to believe that he had even the slightest attraction for me. I shook my head again, shaking off the excess water on my hands in the sink. The cleaned-out dishes sat by the counter, patiently waiting to be dried before they were hung up.

I picked up a dry table cloth and wiped them down quickly before patting my hands on the blue apron hanging loosely around my waist.

I remembered that the living room was yet to be cleaned that afternoon. They had been cleaned right before I took Declan to kindergarten, but with the first rains came an awful amount of dust that put all of my hard work to shame.

The alpha was still in the house, and it was only a matter of time before he yelled out my name to put his mansion in order. I made my way to the janitor’s room to pick up some cleaning supplies and continued to the living room to clean.

Just as I’d expected, the marble sculpts in the room were as if I hadn’t touched them in a week. Even the coffee table had a thin film of dust layering the glass. I dragged the buckets to the table before dipping the table cloth in water and soap, then wiped it swiftly across the table before spritzing it and wiping down again.

I finished cleaning a few minutes later and picked up my bucket in the direction of the back exit, but the sounds of hushed speaking piqued my curiosity.

They were loud enough for them to be heard, but not loud enough to cause a ruckus or for me to make out the context of their speaking. I stopped, instead turning till I was standing in front of the ever familiar room.

The same room where Annalise had claimed that I would lose my life without notifying the alpha beforehand. The door was ajar, startling me. It was usually either locked or simply shut. But it was open, and a pair of emerald eyes were staring blankly at me. I couldn’t tell if he was mad at me for appearing form nowhere, or he was simply indifferent. My head told me it had to be the former.

I coughed awkwardly seeing as his stare didn’t falter in the least. I felt uncomfortable, as though there were a fleet of ants crawling on my skin. It was the first time I was seeing him since that day. I realized I had been avoiding him since then whether I liked it or not. I suddenly remembered his displeased face when he asked me to leave that day, and it was beginning to hurt all over again.

I brought my eyes to look at him again before looking away. Letting out small ragged breaths, I forced myself to walk away from the door to his study. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t let him mess with me when he didn’t give a care in the world.

“Stop.”

One word. One word only and I halted in my tracks. I had barely even taken a step, yet my body stopped on its own with one word from him. In all honesty, I was more afraid of what he would do to me if I dared to disobey him that what would happen now that I listened to him.

“Come here.” He continued, motioning for me to go into the study with a hand gesture. I swallowed, awkwardly pointing at myself before finally pushing the door open.

I didn’t realize that he had some visitors over. They were sitting with their backs facing the door, but they turned around as soon as they heard the creaking of the door as I pushed it open.

I could recognize the alpha’s beta, Hunter with his permanent poker face. He looked at me for a brief moment before looking away. The third person, I had no idea who he was. He appeared like a more sinister version of Kylian with his hair styled in a brilliant platinum middle part that showed his forehead. His brows were dark however, arching deep enough for him to be a mean taskmaster. But the corners of his lips were lifted in a sly smirk in a way that complemented his square jaw, and his blue eyes were almost hooded by his eyelids. He had the mischief I always saw when I was captured, and his entire demeanor was off putting.

I stood there awkwardly, shifting my weight from one foot to the other when the alpha wouldn’t say anything.

I was looking anywhere but where he sat, recoiled in his seat with his hair tousled in many directions. He sat up as if on cue, his eyes falling into a hood. I didn’t know what I found attractive about that, he looked like a bloody psychopath.

“Get me a bottle of Domaine Leroy Richebourg Grand Cru and glasses for three. You know what that is, right?” He finally spoke up, the rich timbre of his velvety voice resonating through the room. I was certain that it only had that effect on me however, which made it all the more embarrassing.

I wanted to scoff at his assumptions. Was he mocking me with the belief that I had no idea what brand of wine he was referring to?

I simply nodded rather than throw a cheeky response and looked around. I didn’t realize he had a mini bar in his study as well. I let out a small whiff of air and walked up to where the bar stood, rummaging it quickly for the bottle he’d asked of. Picking up the glasses as well, I set them unto a bronze tray and carefully set the entire tray on the desk.

I noticed the blonde-haired man staring at me as I made my way to place the tray on the table. It was uncomfortable for me to the point where it felt like my dress had ridden up past my thigh. I shifted my attention to the alpha who was still staring at me with the blankest eyes. Did he already forget what happened that day?

“Damn, Kaden, you’ve got a fine one!” The blond slurred and recoiled into his seat. I whipped my head around sharply to look at him, straightening up immediately. He was still smirking at me before he leaned in to look at the alpha. “Do you mind me having this one? I promise I’ll return her later tonight.”

“She’s my housekeeper, you bastard.”

“Oh, come on! Just one night, Kaden. What do I bring in exchange? Diamonds? Pearls? A few thousand bucks?”

I heard Hunter cough awkwardly before pouring himself a drink. “You’re so shameless, Dolph.”

Disgusted wasn’t enough to describe how I felt in my own skin. How dare he objectify me like that? There’s nothing you can do about it, Larissa. You’re a miserable omega working in the mansion of your own mate who doesn’t want you as a housekeeper. You think you’re worth anything?

If anything, the man whose name I understood was Dolph snickered back and smirked even wider. “What good comes from being ashamed, Hunter? I want something? I think it’s sexy, I go for it!”

“I will not entertain your sexual fantasies, Dolph. So, shut it.” Alpha Kaden snapped finally and I stepped back, grateful that he said something in my defense.

The man cackled again. “Why so stubborn? It’s not like you want her either.”

“Shut the fuck up if you do not want me to declare war on your pack and annihilate everything. Trust me, you know I’m more than capable of destroying you.”

I saw his fangs lengthen in the slightest. It was almost unnoticeable, but any wolf could see that he was so close to blowing up. Dolph chuckled awkwardly, running his hands through his hair.

“N-no, no. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to upset you or anything.”

“I warned you a million times not to sexualize any omega in my pack without their consent, let alone in my presence.” He snorted back, propping himself to sit up and squared his shoulders. “The next time you pull a stunt like this, I swear I’ll use your skin as decoration for my weapons room.”

I felt my heart swell when the man backed away, almost sulking. I looked up to meet the alpha’s eyes, but he was still fixed on Dolph. I’d never been protected from sexualization like this before, if anything I’ve always been tossed to the middle like an artifact for anybody to see or touch. I couldn’t help but see him in a new light…the one who still cared about the people in his house despite his mean personality. Perhaps something had happened to him to make him the way he was.

“Aren’t you going to pour the glass?”

His gruff voice startled me from my trance, forcing me to blink back to reality. He was back to his blank stare without uttering a word.

I bit back a smile and reached out for the glass, careful not to brush the man that still ogled me before pouring out the glasses and refilling that of the alpha’s right hand man.

“You can leave now.” He finished after reaching for his glass and sipping on it ever so slowly. He was twirling the glass in his hands, motioning silently for me to leave the study.

I simply nodded and returned to the door where I had abandoned my cleaning supplies, picking them before walking out of the door. I wanted to look back and smile at him, and even thank him for standing up for me, but decided against it. I didn’t think he would appreciate it, seeing as he didn’t even break the smallest smirk.

I stood against the door instead smiling sheepishly to myself. Part of me was glad for what he did, yet a part of me couldn’t get over him kicking me out like that that night. I shouldn’t let myself be swayed by his gestures. He already said he didn’t want anything to do with me, so I shouldn’t read subtle meanings into his actions.

I wasn’t going to lie, it was bloody difficult.