Avenging Luna
Chapter 34: Mate’s On Heat

Chapter 34: Mate’s On Heat

Leila’s POV:

As I crouched down in the cold, dark cell, the weight of everything crashing down on me, I cursed the moment I ever fell for Drake. My chest tightened with a mix of pain and regret, and tears that I had been holding back for so long began to fall freely. How did it come to this? I didn’t even notice when I had started to love him—truly love him. It wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to use the bond, not get caught in it myself.

Layla, my wolf, had warned me from the beginning. She had told me that manipulating the bond was a game I was bound to lose. But I hadn’t listened. I had thought I could handle it, thought I could keep my heart out of it, but I was wrong. The bond had worked its magic, drawing me closer to Drake until the lines between manipulation and genuine affection blurred beyond recognition. And now, here I was, alone and broken, the very thing I had feared most coming to pass.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to find some warmth in the freezing cell, but there was none. The cold seeped into my bones, but it was nothing compared to the coldness that had settled in my heart. The pain of Drake’s betrayal cut deeper than anything I had ever experienced. The man who was supposed to be my mate, the one who should have protected me, had turned his back on me so easily. But I had fallen for him, and now that love was my undoing.

’How could I have been so foolish?’ I thought bitterly, wiping away the tears that wouldn’t stop coming. Layla’s warnings echoed in my mind, a constant reminder of my failure. ’You were right, Layla. I should have listened to you.’

Layla’s presence within me was weak, her own spirit as broken as mine. ’We were both fools,’ she whispered softly. ’But love does that to you. It makes you blind, makes you believe in things that aren’t real.’

I didn’t want to believe that, but what choice did I have? Drake’s actions spoke louder than any words. He had sent me to the dungeon without a second thought, had chosen to believe Lily over me. The man I had given my heart to had crushed it without hesitation.

I sank down onto the cold, hard floor, the weight of my despair pressing down on me. What was the point in fighting anymore? Drake’s betrayal had stripped me of the will to go on. I had fought for so long, for so much, and now I was just tired. Tired of the lies, tired of the pain, tired of the endless battle that seemed to have no end.

Layla tried to console me, but even she was at a loss. ’We could still fight,’ she suggested weakly. ’There’s still the recording, still a chance to prove our innocence.’

But what good would that do now? If Drake was so easily manipulated into believing Lily’s lies, what chance did I have? Even with the recording, there was no guarantee that he would listen. And if he ever found out who I really was—if he knew that I was the daughter of the man responsible for his parents’ deaths—he wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.

The thought of it made my stomach churn. Drake, the man I had come to love, would turn on me in an instant if he knew the truth. And maybe he would be right to do so. I wasn’t just some innocent victim in all of this. I had my own secrets, my own sins, and they were bound to catch up with me sooner or later.

’Maybe it’s better this way,’ I thought bitterly. ’Maybe it’s better that he never knows the truth. Let him think I’m the villain in this story. It’s easier that way.’

But even as I thought it, the pain didn’t lessen. It only grew, a relentless ache that gnawed at my insides. The truth was, I didn’t want Drake to hate me. I wanted him to love me, to see me for who I really was, but that dream was shattered now. There was no going back.

’What now, Layla?’ I asked, my voice a mere whisper in the darkness.

’I don’t know,’ she replied, equally lost. ’I just don’t know.’

Drake’s POV

I rushed to the dungeon like a man possessed, my heart pounding with a mix of fear, regret, and desperation. The reality of what I had done—of where I had sent my mate—hit me like a ton of bricks. Gile, my wolf, was furious, practically clawing at my insides, demanding control. It took everything in me to keep him at bay. If I let him take over now, in this state of agitation, he would do something we couldn’t take back. He would mark her, mate with her right there, without her consent, and that would only make her hate us more than she probably already did.

As I barged into the cell, the sight of Leila passed out on the cold, filthy floor nearly broke me. The guilt was suffocating, threatening to drown me in its depths. What kind of mate was I to let this happen? The moment her scent hit me, I knew something was terribly wrong. My senses went into overdrive, and I nearly lost control. Shit, I realized with growing horror, she’s on heat.

Gile went wild, becoming a raging, horny lunatic. It took everything I had not to give in to the primal urges, not to mate with her right then and there. My whole body was on fire, my instincts screaming at me to claim her, but I fought it with every ounce of willpower I had left. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Not like this.

Touching her forehead, I felt the intense heat radiating from her. She was burning up, and I knew I had to get her out of there, away from this filthy place. But carrying her was a challenge in itself. Her scent drove me to the brink of madness, and I knew that if I wasn’t careful, I could lose control. My thoughts raced as I realized the danger she was in—not just from me, but from every unmated wolf in the pack.

I quickly linked Lucas, ordering him to chase all the unmated wolves from the packhouse and to come help me keep them away. Her scent, powerful and intoxicating, would attract them like a moth to a flame, and even though they knew I was their Alpha, the primal urge to mate would be stronger than any fear of punishment. Reasoning wouldn’t work on them when faced with a she-wolf on heat, especially one as alluring as Leila.

But there was something different about her scent—something more potent, more dangerous. It wasn’t like the other she-wolves who went into heat. It was stronger, more powerful, and it stirred something in me that I couldn’t quite understand. This wasn’t normal. Most mates couldn’t resist mating for more than a few days after finding each other, but Leila... she was different. Her scent was unlike anything I had ever encountered.

The memory of her sparring with Lucas on the training grounds flashed through my mind. She had not only held her ground against him—a Beta—but had also managed to stand her ground against me, an Alpha. She was strong, stronger than any average wolf. I had been suspicious of her identity ever since, but I had pushed those thoughts aside, too caught up in the bond we shared. Now, with this heat and her unusual scent, those suspicions came roaring back.

As I reached the exit of the dungeon, Lucas finally arrived. But something was wrong—terribly wrong. His eyes were fixed on Leila, filled with a lust that sent a cold wave of dread down my spine. Mated wolves weren’t supposed to be affected by a she-wolf in heat. That was the whole reason I called him for help. But the way he looked at her, the way his body tensed as he adopted a fighting stance, ready to tackle her from my arms, told me everything I needed to know.

Fuck, I thought, my mind racing. If Lucas is affected, then every man in my pack, mated or not, will be gunning for her.

I couldn’t let that happen. I had already failed her once, and I wasn’t about to let it happen again. Tightening my grip on her, I prepared myself for the worst. Gile was on edge, ready to tear through anyone who dared to come near, but I knew we couldn’t fight the entire pack.

"Lucas," I growled, trying to snap him out of it, "get a grip."

But he didn’t respond, his eyes locked on Leila, his breathing heavy. I could feel the tension building, the impending threat of violence looming over us. My mind raced with possible solutions, but nothing seemed good enough. I was in deep shit, deeper than I had ever been, and I had no idea how to get out of it.

With every step I took, the reality of our situation became clearer. Leila wasn’t just any wolf. She was something more, something powerful. And whatever secrets she was hiding, they were bound to come out sooner or later. But right now, all that mattered was getting her to safety, away from the dungeon, away from the pack, and away from the storm that was brewing around her.

Because if I didn’t, I knew I’d lose her—forever.