First

Chapter 99

“Tatum I-”

Tatum shakes his head.

“I don’t care why you do it, I really do not want to know.”

He cares, he cares all too much, he cares and it hurts beyonds words to see the only woman he has ever loved, his wife, his Luna, sneak out behind him and remain in touch with the one man he has repeatedly told her he doesn’t want her to have anything with

She even forced him to go and save that man’s life.

A searing pain burns Tatum’s heart and he smiles bitterly at Leila but he doesn’t say anything and they both just stare at each other.

Eyes holding mixed and powerful emotions.

Ironically, the other man in his marriage happens to be his wife’s fated mate and he is out there, right now, brewing the cure for her, so he can have legal grounds to take Leila away from him and there is nothing that he can do but fold his hand and watch.

The pain he feels is nothing an entire library of encyclopaedias can explain, all the words in all the languages of the world can barely scratch the scratch of the surface, if his pain is to be transcribed into words but this is his cross to bear.

He decided a long time ago when he first set out to get the cure for Leila that he will put her happiness and wholeness above his own. selfish interests.

As much as it hurts him, he will not keep her from her fated mate.

If that is what will truly make her happy, then he will cheer for her when she leaves even though he will be crying in his heart.

14 only wishes that the little time they may still have together is spent in peace and warmth, perhaps a little love, not this bitterness and strife.

Lallatieten

“Lalla, tieten to me, Tatum finally freaks the deafening silence

between thein “As long as you want to remain Luna, you will always be

I told you, I am never letting you go but since you can neither trust me. now my words, I hope you can trust thi

Tatum baree his canine, holds his wrist to his mouth and rips it open, thick crimson liquid with a metallic shell slowly dring down the side of his arms and he closes the distance between them. He places his wounded wrist on her forehead and smears his blood all over it before he plants a kiss on it.

Leils stays completely still, a sharp contrast to her frantically racing heart. She stares at Tatum with mixed emotions in her eyes as he grabs her wrist and bites it open, then smears her blood on his own forehead.

Her heart pounds even harder.

Tatum is binding his promise to her with the sacred blood oath?

Alpha’s only bind their words in blood to another Alpha or his pack and even generations to come are forced to keep the oath.

Does he really desire her that much?

She stands on her toes and kisses his forehead as Tatum licks her wound, sending electrifying sparks through her, making Leila drop her gaze to meet his, feeling something she cannot explain and somehow she can hear their hearts beat in sync.

“I hope you can find peace in my blood oath to you. You are and will remain my Luna. I will not break my oath.”

Peace….

She cannot really have peace as long as Carmela is out there, scheming

and looking for ways to hurt her and take Tatum away from her and she sees beyond a doubt now that Tatum means his promise to never let

her go

Binding himself to her with a blood oath is more than enough to tell her that his love for her runs deep. She wonders if, like his mother’s first love, Tatum can reject Carmela for her.

If she is really going to have peace, Tatum must know and see the truth. about Carmela. As long as he is in the blind, this will always be a constant problem between them.

“Carmela also accused me of hiring the assassin, I will not mar name but you must let me clear my name, let me investigate this myself,” Leila replies in a calmer tone, pulling slightly away from Tatum.

her

“Let it go, no one will bring up the matter against you.”

“But it will remain in their hearts and will be murmured from their lips. What about the Iron claw pack? I am accused of an attempt to

assassinate their Luna, they will not let the matter rest, they will seek justice and preventing it may lead to a civil war.”

“I know that,” Tatum replies curtly. “Clayton is already on it, someone is trying to sabotage our pack, taking advantage of the rift between your and Carmela, we will get to the root of it.”

Leila frowns.

Clayton is Carmela’s puppet, letting him handle the investigation is the same thing as putting a gun in Carmela’s hands and placing her head on the target.

Carmela will not miss that shot.

I’m joining him in the investigation. As Luna, I have first rights to defend myself from an accusation like this,” Leila replies in a finite tone.

No plays to him, bowing alightly

****** own etches on his face.

XANAX Asked of it’s intention to join him in the

*****New ther not do it with her but it is her ******* Roy Alpha, he cannot disobey it.

was om

********Abotage the process of this investigation

You know that Clayton says

diy to Leila the

neo/Ave no plans to sabotage anything, I NINN the uth to be revealed,” Leila replies in a soft Con store polite smile before she takes her

de vieindly as she sits down, her aura is calm yet

Se boks nothing like the woman who came to his sa

There a something very different about her demeanour that puts him

Es his gaze ice cold.

See so why don’t you save us all the stress and tell me the truth. Why

you hire the assassin to go after that Luna?”

The calm smile remains plastered on Leila’s face and she stands up, slowly walking over to the portrait of Clayton dressed in his full warrior unltam, hanging on the wall to the left of Clayton’s desk.

in the picture he’s wearing a pair of black pants and a white military jacket with three stripes and four medals hanging from the left breast spoke and on the right pocket is the emblem of a wolf, leading three other wives into battle.

A sign that he is now the protector of the pack, the head warrior.

She slowly runs her fingers over the picture, before she turns back and looks at Clayton with a straight face.

“It is good when our dreams come true, isn’t it?” She asks.

Clayton frowns at her. “The f**k is that supposed to mean?”

“Your dream. You always wanted to be the head warrior. I remember a: kids you’d make me steal my dad’s uniform for you to wear, this very one. We’d laugh and tease you about how the huge jacket looked like a gown on you but you’d keep a straight face and stay in character, treating us as your subordinates.”

She smiles wryly at him.

“You’d spend hours talking with dad, answering all his trick questions and trying to solve cases with him. While the rest of us ran around the playground playing games, you’d sit and speculate different ways you’d catch criminals and investigate cases, you were passionate about upholding truth and justice. It’s good to see you still have that passion.”

Clayton’s frowns eases. It’s like he suddenly remembers he used to be Leila’s good friend.

From a little age, he was inspired by Leila’s father and developed a passion for this career.

The only reason he was able rise up the ranks quickly to become the youngest head warrior in the history of the pack is because of the wisdom and knowledge he got from the man.

When Leila’s father died, all of his books and journals were also willed to him, the knowledge he got from them were an integral part of his meteoric success.

Clayton feels a strong sense of guilt tugging at his heart but he quickly

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pushes it away.

“Bl**dy sentiments are not going to deter me Leila, I only stand for the

truth.”

“Like I said, I am glad you still have that passion,” Leila returns back to her seat.

She knows how infatuated Clayton is with Carmela. She only hopes that her little reminder about the boy who always wanted to defend the truth is enough to make him handle this case with a fair judgement.

“I also want the truth but you seem to already have a preconceived notion about the whole thing. Are you sure you will stand by the truth, without being influenced by outside forces?”

Clayton remains silent for a while, watching Leila’s eyes closely and the silent power that radiates from her as she holds his gaze firmly almost suffocates him.

He breaks eye contact and scoffs, drawing out a file from under his desk and throws it in front of her.

“This is all we know so far about the assassin, his father was banished from this pack to become a rogue years ago. It is how he can get in and out of the pack unnoticed, he knows our grounds well.”

Despite his bias, it hardly makes sense to him why Leila would target a random Luna.

Her reason could have been out of pure hate like Carmela suggested to him but he knows how to get the truth.

If Leila is really responsible, as the investigation proceeds, she’ll try to alter and manipulate information to fit her narrative and that is how he’ll nab her.

A simple game of giving poisoned cheese to the mouse with an

instruction not to eat, knowing it will and eventually kill itself.

He smirks sinisterly at her as she begins to check the file.

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