The Alpha's Call Book 2
Autor
Bianca Alejandra
Leituras
266K
CapĆtulos
30
Lyla is caught in a whirlwind of emotions and responsibilities as she is pressured to choose between her two mates, Sebastian and Caspian. The council's ancient solution forces them to live together for a full moon cycle, leading to intense sexual tension and unexpected revelations. As they navigate their complex relationships, they uncover dark secrets, face dangerous enemies, and confront their deepest fears. Lyla must decide not only who her heart belongs to but also what kind of leader she wants to be.
Laying Down the Law
LYLA
Today was the most important day of my entire life...
It was a day I thought would never come, and honestlyāI still didnāt believe it was happening.
Iād gone through so much to get here: from love to loss, from happiness to heartbreakāand everything in betweenābut ultimately...
My heart was full.
Because Iād finally made my choiceāwith all of my heart.
And I knew it was the right one. He was the right one.
Like I said, today was the most important day of my life...
Because today is my mating ceremony.
The string quartet began to play as I took my first step onto the rose-petal-covered carpet.
Skye beamed at me as she spread the flowers on the path that led to the stage...
Where my mate was waiting for me.
Smiling at me like heād just won the lottery.
But it was me who couldnāt believe how lucky I was.
I had a man who would always be at my side, no matter what challenges weād face.
And weād certainly faced our fair share of unexpected challengesālooking at you, Moon Goddessābut I wouldnāt have had it any other way.
Our love had only become stronger through the unexpected, through the twists and turns of life.
And they had brought us to this moment...
Goddess, he looks so damn hot in that tux, I thought, thankful that he couldnāt see me blushing behind my veil.
I could feel the gazes of all my friends and family as I passed them. I saw my mom in the front row, tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks. I blinked fiercely.
Donāt cry, donāt cry...
And then I was at the altar, standing before the love of my life. My heart felt like it would explode as he reached forward to lift the veil from my face. My gaze rose with it, and I looked at my mate.
I saw our future shining in his eyes.
You are my future, I thought. This is my happily ever after.
TWO MONTHS AGO
It felt as though time was standing still as the council stared me down from behind their crescent-moon-shaped table.
Each set of eyes watched me intently, waiting for my answer to their question.
Will you reject your second-chance mate and commit fully to the alpha?
I turned my gaze to Sebastian, and my heart began to race.
His eyes were filled with a deep sadnessāI knew exactly what he was feeling...
Because I felt it too.
We were connected by our mating bond. We felt each otherās pain.
But I was feeling more than just Sebastianās painā¦
I felt Caspianās as well.
I couldnāt bear the thought of breaking my mating bond with either of these men. To cause that much agony to someone I lovedā¦
No matter what choice I made, someone was going to get hurt.
āLyla, please answer the question,ā Tiberius said, tapping his fingers on the table. āWe donāt have all day.ā
Give me a minute, asshole.
Youāre asking me to make a decision that will affect the rest of my lifeā¦
And not only my ownā¦
The lives of the two men who I care about most will change forever.
My mates.
I had to be sure I was making the right choice.
āLyla, your decision,ā Tiberius said, more pointedly this time. āNow.ā
Oh Goddess, I donāt know what the hell to do!
My lips parted slightly, and I began to stammer.
āIā¦Iā¦chooseā¦ā
I honestly didnāt know whose name was going to come out of my mouth.
My mind had gone completely blank, and my body was on autopilot.
My heart and my head had been disconnected, leaving me a sputtering mess.
But I had no other option.
Iād reached my final destination.
I had to make my choice.
āI chooseāā
āSTOP!ā
Sebastian shot out of his chair, and I instantly swallowed my words back into my throat.
āThis is insane,ā he growled, looking around at his council. āHow can you possibly expect her to make this decision when weāve only known each other for two weeks? Or when weāre still reeling from what happened with Silas?ā
āSilas is precisely why you should commit to this now,ā Tiberius said. āShow your strength to the pack.ā
āThis is the way itās done,ā Caius said. āItās tradition.ā
āWell, fuck tradition!ā Sebastian said, jumping over the table and joining me by my side.
I couldnāt help but smile at the way he was standing up for me.
But there were no smiles on the other side of the table.
āDonāt be childish, Sebastian,ā Tiberius said. āThis isnāt just about the two of you. Itās about the pack.ā
āMy pack,ā Sebastian said. āIām the alpha, remember?ā
āThen start acting like it,ā Tiberius snapped back. āUntil youāre officially mated, you defer to us on pack matters.ā
Iād always thought of Sebastian as the wolf in chargeāthe alpha who you didnāt want to crossābut this council meeting was putting his position in a new light.
Sebastianās uncle looked just as intimidating as Sebastian in that moment. He meant business.
Tiberius stood up and glared at me. āShe needs to give us her answer so that we can put all this nonsense behind us.ā
āNo, this meeting is adjourned,ā Sebastian said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door.
SEBASTIAN
I took a deep breath as I led Lyla out to the pack house porch. We collapsed next to each other onto a rickety wooden swing.
Lyla rubbed my back as I placed my head in my hands.
āTiberius doesnāt know his own ass from a full moon,ā I said, frustrated. āWho the hell is he to tell me what to do?ā
But I already knew the answer to my question.
Tiberius, being my blood relative, was in charge of the council until I became mated to my luna in an official ceremony.
Which means Iām shit out of luck.
I knew the council wanted to hand the reins over to meāto finally see me fill my fatherās shoesābut the fact that they didnāt think I was ready felt like a slap in the face.
I hated that Tiberius treated me like a child, always trying to control meāever since Silas murdered my parents heād been hard on me.
He probably blames me for what happened with Silas, too.
Whatever. Tiberius can shove his judgmental claw up hisāā
āSebastian,ā Lyla said softly, pulling me from my thoughts.
I turned to look at my mate; her eyes were filled with concern.
āWhatās going to happen between us,ā she asked. āI know the council wants an answer, butāā
āDonāt say another word,ā I said, taking her hand. āI meant what I told you before.ā
āWhat do you mean?ā she said, her fingers interlocking with mine.
āI want you to feel comfortable when you make this decision,ā I responded. āI donāt want you to choose just because the council is forcing you to make a choice.ā
Especially when I donāt know if that choice is even meā¦
āDonāt worry about the council,ā I said. āTake all the time you need.ā
I tried to sound confident, but truthfully, I didnāt know how long I could stall them.
At the very least, if Lyla doesnāt end up choosing me, Iāll have more time with her.
She looked up at me with her big, beautiful doe eyes, and I found myself lost in their innocence.
This couldnāt be easy for herāfeeling the mating pull for two men.
But Iām the man whoās going to win her heart.
I leaned in close and placed my hand on her face, my thumb brushing her lips.
Her cheeks instantly flushed red.
āSebastian, waitā¦ I shouldnātā¦ā
Her words sounded hesitant, but as I placed my other hand on her waist, I felt her body relax into my touch.
āI donāt want you to think about anyone else right now,ā I growled softly in her ear. āOnly me.ā
Now that we were alone, the pull of our mating bond was intensifying, and I wanted to make Lyla forget that she even had a choice to make.
My body pressed into hers, and I felt myself hardening.
The porch swing rocked back and forth creakily as my hand moved up her body and grasped the back of her neck.
I began guiding her face toward mine as her lips partedā
āCaspian,ā Lyla said breathily.
āWhat?!ā I growled, but then I saw that Lyla was pointing behind me.
I whipped around to find Caspian glaring at me. āHope Iām not interrupting,ā he said, trying to keep his tone stable.
You definitely are.
CASPIAN
Lyla scooted away from Sebastian, and tried to smooth out the creases in her clothes.
She looked at me guiltily, but I wasnāt mad at her. Not in the slightest.
Lyla had been given two matesāshe had no control over that.
But apparently Sebastian had no control over himself.
That horny bastard needs to learn to keep his paws off my mate.
Sebastian shot me a smirk, as if he knew what I was thinking.
āMind if I join you?ā I asked, taking a seat on the bench across from Sebastian and glaring at him.
āKnock yourself out,ā Sebastian growled.
It looked like he wanted to knock me out himself.
What does this prick have that I donāt?
It only took a quick glance at my surroundings to answer that question.
Sebastianās sprawling estate.
His Royal Pack House that felt more like a palace.
Servants milling around, waiting on him paw and claw.
Oh, rightā¦ Heās the fucking royal alpha.
There was a part of me that had thought Iād never live up to Sebastian.
He had it all, including Lylaā¦
But then that fateful moonbeam hit me at the second-chance ceremony.
And Lyla was no longer just Sebastianāsā¦
She was mine too.
But weāre BOTH bound to herā¦
We all sat in silence on the porch, chirping crickets filling the emptiness.
The tension was awkward, hanging in the thick, humid air.
Lyla looked up and parted her lips like she was about to say something, but instead just gave me a faint smile.
It wasnāt much, but it still made my heart skip a beat.
The sunlight was hitting her red hair just right, and it looked like she was on fire.
Iād gladly burn up in her flamesā¦
I smiled back, doing my best to avoid Sebastianās death glare that I could see from the corner of my eye.
Nothing would stop me from appreciating the beauty of this goddess in front of me.
Lylaās smile faltered after a moment, and I snapped back to reality.
None of us had any idea how we were going to navigate this mess.
Lyla had told me that whatever happened between us, weād figure it out together.
I just had to trust that sheād stay true to her wordā¦
Because I had no intention of leaving her side.
LYLA
I glanced back and forth between my matesāthe two men who each held a piece of my heartā¦
Theyād both continued to stand by my side through my uncertainty.
And theyād both put themselves in danger when Silas had tried to hurt me and Skye.
I knew Iād have to make a choice about who I wanted to spend my life with, butā¦
Losing either one of them felt like too much to bear.
At that thought, a darkness filled my mind, and though I tried to fight it, I lost the battle.
Maybe they would both be better off without you.
You donāt deserve them anyway.
I wondered if my dark thoughts held some truth.
I was hurting two people I loved by not making a choice.
But I would be hurting myself by choosing the wrong mateā¦
I didnāt know what was worse.
Goddess, this is so confusing!
I just needed space to think.
Maybe it would be best if I went away for a while.
Gave myself a chance to clear my head and sort out my feelings.
Then I could make a choice without the pressure of the councilāespecially Tiberius.
āOh good, youāre all here.ā
I turned around to see Tiberius stepping onto the porch.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appearā¦
He looked at us one by one, unable to hide his disapproving expression. āThe council needs to confer with you immediately.ā
āAll of us?ā Sebastian asked, surprised.
āYes, this concerns all three of you,ā Tiberius replied.
***
I stood anxiously between Sebastian and Caspian as we faced the council.
Tiberius was flanked by Caius and Magnolia on one side, and by Titus and Tonya on the other.
In the center of the crescent moon table was a thick, dusty book. It looked like it couldāve been hundreds of years old.
What are we all doing here?
I was beginning to feel like I was on trial.
Do I need to get a lawyer?
But then Tiberius broke the silence. āThis situation isā¦unprecedentedā¦to say the least.ā
Magnolia moved around in her chair uncomfortably, while Tiberius continued. āBy that I mean having a destined mate and a second-chance mate simultaneously. Itās simply unheard of.ā
āWell, except for one case,ā Tonya chimed in. Titus nodded as she spoke.
āYes, I was getting to that,ā Tiberius said, annoyed. āSince you three seem dead set on giving this mating decision all the time in the worldā¦ā
Tiberiusās eyes moved to Sebastian. āWe had to go excruciatingly far back in the annals of pack history to find some semblance of a solution.ā
āThis has happened once before in the Royal Pack,ā Caius explained. āAnd the resolutionā¦well, itās a bit unorthodox.ā
āJust spit it out,ā Sebastian growled.
āYeah, stop beating around the bush,ā Caspian said, agreeing with Sebastian for the first time ever.
Tiberius cleared his throat, then flipped open the heavy book. Dust flew everywhere.
His finger ran across the weathered page as he read aloud.
āAccording to ancient pack law, when a werewolf is torn between mates, all three wolves must live together for one full cycle of the moonā¦ā
Tiberiusās eyes flicked to me, and my heart leapt into my throat.
āUntil the she-wolf makes her decision.ā
Livingā¦
TOGETHER?!
Oh dear Goddess, what have I gotten myself into?
