Forty

Mates existed to make one whole physically, mentally, and emotionally but as Valentine Monarch proceeded to look at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't see how any of that could be true in her case. She wasn't doing this because she loved the man the goddess had set her up with. Valentine reminded herself she was doing this for the safety of her pack. That was the most of it, to be honest. The true reason she had sold herself out so easily was to keep her family's legacy. The De' crescent had done it. They had made a pact with those murderous Alphas and remained standing six months after. In the De'crescent's case, they had something to offer the Crows. The monarch had none of that. No...the Monarch did have something. They had her and Devin would be coming to collect what belonged to him soon.

"Valentine, you look beautiful." Her friend, Abigail, a beta of the monarch pack and the sole cosmetologist chosen to prepare her for Alpha Devin said as she padded a little more powder to brighten Valentine's natural pale skin.

"I don't want to look beautiful." Valentine confided in Abigail. "Would it be cowardly if I told you I just want to run as far as I can?"

"Of course not, I know the kind of history you share with the man. I find it rather brave that you can sacrifice yourself for the sake of your people's safety and the pack's progress."

"I don't feel brave," Valentine continued, staring into her reelection as Abigail ran a pencil across her eyes. "And I would be sincerely lying to you if I said I am doing this for my people. I'm doing this for myself, Abigail. I'm doing this to preserve my family name. It's a childish banter I used to tell myself that the Crows haven't eradicated everything my family has built and honestly I wonder if the goddess supports what they are doing? They have taken everything away from me. My freedom included. What atrocities could my parents have committed?"

"Valentine," Abigail stopped her beautifying, and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't think like that. Your parents were loved by many and the only reason they were taken from us so soon is only because they stood their ground against pack convergence. I probably shouldn't be encouraging the hate you have for Alpha Devin but there is no changing what has happened, there is a time for everything under the sun and if the goddess wanted your parents back in her bosoms, there is no preventing it. If you ask me, I sense that the goddess made you Devin's mate for a reason. With time, I believe you will find out the will of the goddess."

"Is that what you told yourself when she matched you with Noah?" Valentine asked, her eyes heavy laden with tears.

"Yes." Abigail agreed. "Which is why I find us more like kindred spirits. Noah was responsible for my brother's death but if I had remained in loathing him, I might have never found out the truth." There was a crack in her voice when she completed her sentence. Even with the truth, there was no way Abigail could forget the sight of what it was like to see the corpse of her little brother. Abigail's brother had been a sentinel and that meant he worked in a field of constant danger. On one of his mission, he had shifted on a forbidden moon to protect his comrades and at the cost of his wolf going rogue. His comrades had been hesitant to kill their sentinel and falsified the reports of what happened that tragic night until Abigail's brother went berserk and murdered three human men on a forced shift. Unable to bear the horrible things he had done and too broken to take his own life, he begged his best friend and Abigail's future mate to take his life. The latter did as his sentinel wanted with great hesitance but the deed had to be done. Noah had refused to let any of his comrades tell Abigail that her brother had to be killed for the safety of others. He was fine with Abigail hating him till the day he died than allowing her to live with the fact that her brother had become a monster before he had to be put down. The truth still came out nonetheless.

A knock on the door threw both the Luna and the Beta into a frenzied reverie as Abigail immediately fished for her eyes pencil and continued working on Valentine's foxy look before the Alphas arrived.

"Luna Valentine," A voice from outside spoke.

"Yes?"

"The Alphas of Crow are seated and are diligently awaiting your arrival." The voice disclosed.

Valentine took in a deep breath before answering."I'll be with them shortly."

"I will relay your message."

Abigail hastily finished up and touched up on Valentine's hair before escorting her outside to meet her prospective groom. When they reached the door of the conference room, Valentine faltered. Luckily her friend was there all the way to support her.

"You can do this Valentine. You are strong."

Valentine swallowed her friend's words hook, line and sinker. She needed the motivation. Now more than ever. Putting in on a polite smile for the show, Valentine pushed the door open and walked right in. Her gaze caught Alpha Jason first. He looked calculated and his attention seemed to be fixated on something on his finger. Then she shifted her gaze to meet Devin Crow. Disgust immediately filled her heart. Her legs stopped working for a brief moment and she stared. He did the same but in place of the grim line that existed between her lips, Devin was smiling. The thoughts that ran through his mind were much more worse.

She looks beautiful, His thoughts had thrown out loud. Valentine felt violated that he had looked at her that way and her hate knew no bounds when some part of her seemed to enjoy that Devin thought of her as beautiful. All of a sudden, her false confidence failed her and she wondered if sacrificing herself to the monster who killed her parents was worth it. Valentine knew she had steered clear of this man to avoid any instance of the mate bond letting her do something crazy like fall in love with Devin Crow but how long could she fight Devin Crow and the undying urge to be his if she was going to be by his side 24/7? A mild push on her back by Abigail was all it took for her to regain mobility. Valentine noticed the elders were seated in a strategic way and the intent behind it was crystal clear. The seats far away from the Crow brothers were occupied leaving one next to Jason and another opposite Devin. In as much as the sight of Devin repulsed, Valentine would choose to sit with him any day to avoid unnecessary contact with Jason. Begrudgingly, Valentine chose the seat opposite Devin and sat.

"Have you made your choice, Luna Valentine?" Jason began, staring at her intently.

"I think I have," Valentine replied, stealing a look at the two brothers simultaneously. "The Monarch will be converging with the Crow but we will not sell our freedom. You will have our loyalty but that will be all."

Jason snickered, a red hue overlapping his natural grey irises."And why would I ever agree to that?" He muttered with danger laced in his tone.

"Because I have agreed to be the Devin's Luna."