ALPHONSO’S POV
“No matter what I did with you, Rosa was going to become Luna regardless.”
“I don’t get it. Why did you pick her? I have the power! Everyone says we’re better together!”
I rolled my eyes, my anger rising again.
“Your behaviour today is exactly why it was never going to be you. You are so immature.”
“Get out!” I snapped.
Patricia’s lips parted, but I stopped.
“Don’t make me say it twice!”
She burst into tears, and reluctantly she left the office.
I let out a tired sigh, trying to keep my anger at bay.
I then called for Alpha Moncaro, and he walked into the office.
He bowed low as soon as he reached my desk.
“I apologise for my daughter’s actions, Alpha. I had no idea.”
“You walked her down the aisle and could tell it wasn’t Rosalia?” I asked the obvious question.
“Alpha Ramirez, her scent and voice were the same as Rosalia’s. Her makeup and hair were the same as well. I truly couldn’t tell,” he tried to justify.
“How are you going to pay me back for this?” I hissed.
“It’s Patricia that ruined everything.”
He better not say the same bullshit as Patricia about how I should have picked her.
I knew he favored her more than Rosalia.
Alpha Moncaro shivered.
“I got you out of your debts, but that was only if I got Rosalia,” I reminded him of our deal.
He then bowed his head low.
“Please, Alpha Ramirez, I beg you for mercy.”
“Mercy isn’t going to pay back nearly ten million euros,” I pressed.
“I’m seizing your pack and your assets, but it still isn’t worth the amount you owe.”
“Alpha, please!” He begged.
“That’ll be all,” I growled.
There was no getting out of this.
Once I was alone again, my thoughts returned to my findings at the temple.
Something wasn’t adding up.
Why would Salvador go so far as to take Rosa?
Why did they take her?
She has no ability.
Or did they do it just to piss me off?
But again, why?
They would only make an enemy of me.
There must be something I’m missing.
And I intend to find out what it is.
I called for my right-hand man and Beta, Sebastien.
“Yes, Alpha?” He asked, stepping into my office.
“What have you found so far?” I demanded.
“The sentinel Miss Moncaro bonded with is called Helio Salvador. A bastard child of the former Alpha Salvador.”
“Lorenzo has half-siblings?” I scoffed.
That explained why the two looked so similar.
“Yes, sir. He has two, a brother and a sister,” Sebastian said.
“What about the rest I asked you to find out?”
“We haven’t found anything that ties Patricia Moncaro to Salvador yet,” he went on.
“Keeping looking into it. I want you to give me all the updates on the Salvador pack.”
“Yes, sir,” he accepted the order.
He then turned away and was to leave.
“Sebastian,” I called him back.
He turned around and faced me once more.
” And then I want you to find me a witch.”
A look of shock appeared on his face.
“…A good one.” I continued.
“But sir, witches are…”
“Do it!” I ordered him.
The temple refuses to perform an unbonding ritual.
Fine.
I’ll use alternative methods no matter how extreme.
I won’t let Salvador one-up me.
Witches were heavily looked down upon in wolf society.
Mainly because they didn’t follow the moon goddess law.
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HELIO’S POV
Growing up, I was always ‘the other’.
I would watch my father and Lorenzo walk around the Salvador mansion with clean, expensive clothing whilst I was dressed in tatters.
I was never to talk to them, nor did they acknowledge my existence.
Very quickly, I learned that despite being related to the Alpha, this was my place.
The word ‘Bastard’ was thrown at me constantly.
I got used to it quickly.
I worked on several Salvador vineyards and olive estates.
‘You have to work for your stay.” One of the head servants had told me.
For most of my early childhood, that was my life.
Then everything changed when I was called to the training rings when I was around 12 years old.
My father, as the alpha, was the strongest wolf.
He would train with the sentinels to prove he was the strongest.
He had me come to the training ring where he and Lorenzo were.
“You will be his training partner. You’re only one here around Lorenzo’s age,” my father told me.
I had never spoken with him or Lorenzo up until this point.
Lorenzo who was 15 at the time, had first shifted when he was 10.
I hadn’t yet.
“Fight him,” he told Lorenzo.
Wide-eyed and trembling, I was expected to fight Lorenzo in my human form.
Lorenzo’s wolf was massive.
His golden eyes glowed, menacing and terrifying.
His attacks were fast, swift, and mercilessly powerful.
The fight was brutal.
I barely survived.
Bruises, scratches and bite marks were all over my body.
After healing, my father put me back in the ring to fight him again.
He officially assigned me as Lorenzo’s training partner.
My life became trying to survive each fight while working on the farms.
I wished I could leave, but I had nowhere else to go.
I had no education and no one to look after me.
At least I got food, a place to sleep, and clothing from working on the farms.
Then I properly met Mara when I was 15.
“The other bastard’s moving around again.” I would hear the servants whisper.
I knew father had another child with another maid.
I was ten years older than her.
I would see her at least once a week.
I would play with her whilst her mother worked.
I did my best to help her survive.
As bastard children, it was best if we kept our heads down and tried not to cause any problems.