“I need you,” he whispered into my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin.

I shivered under his touch as his kiss stole my breath away. He was supposed to take off in ten minutes, and we both knew it, but I could never say no to him.

I pulled his belt and freed him.

He started kissing my neck, and my heart sped up as he gently nipped at my collarbone. My skirt ran high when he lifted me and I put my tights around his hips, hugging him tightly. I felt the fabric bite into my skin as he tore my panties. I moaned at the first contact and scratched down his shoulder as he penetrated me with one forceful thrust.

“Richard,” I breathed his name, feeling my pleasure grow as he built up his speed. It didn’t take long till the orgasm hit me, and he came into me with a husky moan.

“That was awesome,” he panted, leaning his forehead against mine, slowly putting me down.

“Yeah, but now you are going to be late,” I caressed his cheek.

“Will you miss me?” he asked, pulling his clothes back in place.

“Maybe,” I shrugged, smoothing out my skirt. I hated it when he teased me like that.

“I love you,” he whispered, and I felt myself blush.

“Yeah, sure,” I nodded, pushing him out of my room. “Now go. You will be late.”

“Moira…”

“Stay safe,” I told him, and gave him a little kiss. He just nodded and left in a hurry.

Maybe if I had known then that this was our last time, I would have been different. I would have given him the words he wanted to hear, but I said so rarely. But I didn’t know then. I thought he would return tomorrow, and things would go on as always. Oh, how I couldn’t have been more wrong.

~

“Moira?” I woke up at his voice and I sat up in my bed. I looked around, and only when I saw the room empty did I realize he had called me through the mind-link.

“Yeah?” I answered him, rubbing my face. According to the clock on my nightstand, it was only 3 in the morning.

“I need you. Can you come here?” he pleaded, and I frowned. He sounded strange.

“Be right there,” I called, and quickly grabbed my cloak. “What happened?” I asked, already heading to his room. He didn’t answer, but soon I saw him, sitting on the floor next to his door. “Richard?” I crouched down next to him, worried. He looked puzzled.

“I think I fucked it up,” he mumbled, and I frowned again.

“What?”

“I found her, Moira. My mate,” he said, and felt a painful twitch in my heart, but I made myself smile and patted his arm.

“That is good, is it not?” I tried to sound enthusiastic, but on the inside, I felt rather empty. I would lose him now.

“Yeah, but she is afraid of me now,” he sighed and hiding his face in his palms.

“Will you tell me what happened?” I sat next to him, close but not touching.

“She was attacked. Some drunkard hit on her and wanted to rape her. I arrived just in time and got her out of it. Everything happened so fast, I wasn’t even thinking. I was not in control. I brought her here and… She is afraid of me now. She started crying when I touched her,” he finished helplessly, not looking at me in the eyes.

“Did you force her?” I asked carefully.

“No, I did not! Who do you think I am?” he growled irritably. “I just wanted to hold her, but she started fighting and crying. I left her alone, and I don’t know what to do. Moira,” he said my name like a plea, finally looking at me.

“You want me to check on her?” I asked, even though I knew I would regret it big time.

“Would you?” he looked at me with hopeful eyes.

“Right. Go take a shower and pull yourself together. I will talk to her,” I nodded and stood up.

“Thank you, love”

“Don’t call me that when we are talking about your mate, for the Goddess’ sake!” I snapped his arm forcefully. To be honest, it hurt my feelings too. He calls me that now, but I would certainly lose him now. I gave him a quick kiss, then pushed him down the corridor. “Go.”

I watched him disappear in the corner before I stepped to his door. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths to collect myself, but my wolf only got more agitated. What an awful morning. I pushed the door open, grabbed a thin wrist, and I pulled the whiskey bottle from those tiny hands before I closed the door behind me.

It was completely dark, but my wolf let me see just enough and I knew the room by heart, anyway. I went to turn on the light and looked at Richard’s mate. She was shivering at the wall near the door, and pulled herself into a ball to protect herself like she thought somebody would hit her.

I didn’t know what to think about her little stunt. Was it brave or foolish? She was too short to hit Richard on the head with that bottle and probably wasn’t strong enough either to knock him out. Even without his hell of a hard skull. But she was desperate, and she tried to fight somehow. I gave her a plus for that.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” I said, but my voice sounded colder than I intended. “My name is Moira. What is yours?” I asked, and she just looked at me. She was a pretty little thing, but seemed so fragile. Her blond hair was all over the place, her face pale, and her mascara drew back circles around her baby blue eyes. She was in terrible shape and probably in shock.

“Jenny,” she answered in a small voice.

“So Jenny,” I crouched down next to her. “Richard told me you had quite a night,” I started, and I heard her heart speeding up a little. “How about you take a shower and I bring you some clothes and food, okay?” I tried to comfort her, but she just kept on trembling. I sighed.

“You are safe now, okay? You are our Alpha’s mate. Nobody would hurt you here.”

“Is he…” she shuttered, and finally I realized she was probably as afraid of Richard as anybody else. I suddenly felt sorry for her. That dumbass really fucked things up.

“He won’t come back tonight if you don’t want him to,” I said, trying to sound as reassuring as I could manage. “It is kind of odd, because he technically kidnapped you, but he is a good man. He won’t force it on you, but you must have felt the same urge as him. You are fated, and your wolves want to be together,” I tried to explain his stupid behavior.

“I did, but I don’t think I’m ready,” she muttered uncomfortably.

“You will meet him in the morning, and you will figure things out, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

She seemed to ease up a little and took a deep breath. At that moment, her eyes changed and I could see her wolf for a split second.

“Are you his lover?” she asked, and suddenly there was no fear or weakness in her voice. Maybe she wasn’t that hopeless after all.

I raised an eyebrow, but after a little thinking, I decided it was best to be honest and nodded. “I am.”

I saw the pain in her eyes, and for a moment I thought I heard her growl.

“Okay.” I sat on the floor next to her and looked straight into her eyes. “Listen well, because I’m only doing it once. Let’s clean up things, okay?”

She just nodded. Her wolf might have been ready to fight for her mate, but she was still afraid and unsure.

“I have known your mate since I can remember,” I began. “Yes, I am his mistress, and I’m sure you must feel bad about it, but that was before you came, so don’t worry too much. He will reject me, and make you his Luna,” I said, and my voice seemed calm and collected, even though my heart was ripping apart. Saying it out loud was like admitting that everything would be over between Richard and me, and it was painful.

The girl, Jenny, looked confused and just kept on shaking her head.

“Why?” was all she managed.

“How old are you?” I asked, which seemed to confuse her completely.

“18” she muttered.

“Richard is 25. You know, he had been searching for his mate for years, but we hadn’t thought you would be so young. He is a man, and Alpha not least, and he needed someone by his side,” I tried to explain the unexplainable.

“Why would you let me have him so easily?” she muttered, her eyes still round with disbelief.

“Because he is yours and you belong to him.” I tried to smile. That was something I always believed in, I just seemed to forget, because I really loved Richard, even though we were not fated.

“Is it this simple?”

“For me, it is,” I smiled, this time for real. “I have loved Richard for a long time now, but we always knew we were not fated. So I won’t stand in your way exactly because of that. Because I love him.” I admitted, and saying it out loud strengthened my resolve.

“Come, I will show you the bathroom. You will feel better after a hot shower,” I offered, standing up and reaching out for her. She only hesitated for a moment before accepting my hand, and I pulled her up. She was a fragile little thing, almost a head shorter than me, when even I seemed small compared to Richard.

She went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her, and I silently left. I went to the laundry room to find some clean clothes small enough for her and also took a detour to the kitchen to grab some leftover pastries.

I brought it all back to Richard’s room, and I stayed strong all along, but on the way back to my room, I saw him and I knew I had reached my limit.

“You would have to sleep in a guest room. She needs time,” I told him, not even looking up, and fled to my room.

“Moira,” he called softly, coming in after me. I collapsed on my bed, my back towards the door and let my teas fall freely. He moved soundlessly, but I felt him come to me. His warm presence, that usually made me relax, now only made things worse.

“Don’t touch me,” I scooted away when he tried to hold me.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have brought her here, and I shouldn’t have made you take care of her. Sorry. I haven’t thought about your feelings. Forgive me, please.” he kept on begging, gently caressing my hair and arm, but it only made me cry harder.

“Just leave me alone,” I whispered, holding back some violent sobs.

“No, not like this. Baby, look at me,” he pleaded, holding my face in his palm.

I looked up into his eyes, and my heart was falling into a thousand pieces. Oh, how I loved this man. His brown locks, always a bit too long, now hung damp, his beautiful brown eyes filled with sadness and guilt.

“I’m not mad at you, okay?” I caressed his face. “It is only natural you brought your mate with you. But it still hurts to lose you after so many years.”

“You won’t…” he started, but I hit him hard.

“Don’t be a dick. You will reject me officially. You can’t keep a mistress after finding your mate,” I declared without hesitation. It was something I would never agree to.

“Many Alphas do it” he said, and I could see it seriously tempted him for a minute.

“Many Alphas are assholes. But you are not.” I gently caressed his face. “You already forgot all about me when you found her. And this is the way it should be. You belong to her. Just let me cry a little to get over my little heartbreak, okay?” I whispered, tears running down my cheeks again.

“I really am sorry,” he murmured, hugging me tightly, and I could tell he really meant it. I just nodded, and he finally left me alone with my tears.