Chasing His Betrayed Luna novel Chapter 30

ALPHA RAIDEN

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I was wowed beyond words when I stepped into my home. The whole place has been decorated for a feast I had no idea about. Larisa smiled at me, pulling me into the living room where her dad, Nolan, stood with his mate, Helen.

Andrew was also there and so was Jake, my best male warrior, who was also my gamma.

“What’s the occasion?” I asked Larisa through the mind link as she pulled me closer to her parents who I hadn’t seen in years.

I stayed away from her parents because I didn’t want them to pressure me into marrying Larisa or remind me of my parents, who had decided to abandon me and the pack since they heard that I divorced Aurelia.

I see Andrew and Jake every now and then but seeing them in my living room with Larisa’s parents seemed unusual.

“Relax. I just wanted to surprise you with a nice dinner with family and friends. It’s been a rough month if you ask me.” Larisa’s words bounced off the walls of my mind as she responded.

Helen’s face popped bright when Larisa stopped before her. “It’s lovely to see you Alpha Raiden and to be in your home.”

My response was interrupted by Nolan who scoffed, “Larisa had turned this place into her home too, darling even though she isn’t married or mated to the Alpha.” Although Nolan offered me a grin, I didn’t miss the subtext in his statement.

“It’s my home, dad. I’m Raiden’s mate and Luna even though we’re taking our time to make it official.” Larisa answered with a laugh but she also had a subtle message for me.

I would be a fool to not understand that the so-called surprise dinner with family and friends was to remind me of my duties to Larisa who has been living with me for almost six years. No doubt, this has something to do with Aurelia’s presence in the pack and her new qualities.

Larisa felt threatened by Aurelia…

That fact resonated in my head as we all settled at my dining table to eat. At first, I was worried about how I’d have to spend the next few days in the toilet if I were to eat any of the meals on the table because I assumed that Larisa had prepared them.

However, Helen voiced to me, Andrew, and Jake, “Relax, young men. I prepared the meal. It’s safe to dig in.”

Andrew laughed and Jake exhaled audibly before they started making a plate for themselves. Larisa didn’t take offense even though it was obvious that we all knew she was a bad cook. She simply made a plate for us both, beaming at me like she was bitten by a lovebug.

All through dinner, Nolan made comments about how Larisa was unmarked yet performing the duties of a Luna. Helen tried to ease the tension in the room while Andrew and Jake were awkwardly silent. They knew better than to rile me up in the middle of this.

I opened a connection between my mind and those of Andrew and Jake. “You knew about this arrangement but you didn’t tell me?” I snarled at them through the link while maintaining a neutral face.

Jake’s timid eyes shot to my face. Unlike Andrew, Jake still feared me because we weren’t close.

“Your woman ordered us to show up in your house without reason, Raiden. We didn’t know she had a surprise for you.” Andrew explained, defending himself and Jake.

Jake chimed through the link, “Yes, Alpha. We knew nothing about this.”

Nolan might be retired but he remains influential in the pack and even beyond. He and my dad were the reasons Dark Moon Pack was known as the home of power and I didn’t think about how getting involved with Nolan’s family would affect me before I fell in love with Larisa.

I was so stupid.

“You were a child so it’s allowed but you can’t remain stupid now,” Lex said to me.

Andrew was about to chip in his own two cents but I uttered, “I need to be alone.”

Without another word, I pulled off my shorts and shifted into my gigantic black wolf who picked my shorts from the floor with his paw, tossed it over his neck, and dashed off into the night with no destination in mind.

At least that was what I thought but Lex had other plans for me. Plans I only realized when I spotted Aurelia’s familiar frame in the middle of the forest.

“You need alone time with her? Here it is.” Lex stated and my bones cracked, rearranging into my human form. “Don’t mess this up.”

I put on my shorts as quietly as I could before approaching Aurelia, hoping that she would hear me out this time.

“Aurelia…” I breathed, unbelievably eager to see her pretty face but I got a puffy one instead. “You have been crying?” I asked, taking steps closer to her.

But she snarled like a wounded lioness, “Stay back!”