Maura's POV:
I know something was up the moment I was brought into the room with Ryland. Dylan would never show something like this to me without a reason. I look at the maid handing over my tea and I take the cup from her. I glance over at Ryland and Dylan, then back at my tea.
Glistening on the inside of the cup, just on top of my tea, sticking on the side of my cup are layers of sugar that shouldn't be there. I move the cup back and forth a few times to see a hidden message on the cup. In hard to see letters, reads the word: Act.
My father must have put this here. When he came into the room yesterday, he said that I would have to act to get through this situation. He warned me that Dylan is going to take my memories away, so if my dad made this tea, he wouldn't have done what he did on accident. I know what I have to do.
Dylan walks to me and looks at my cup, "Something wrong?" He asks me and I move the tea around in my cup, letting the tea dissolve away the sugar on the side to erase the secret message. "None at all, just thought it smelled weird."
He looks worried for a split second, but then composes himself, "Drink. It will make you feel better." I nod my head, knowing that he was worried because I might not have drunk this. I know for sure that he is trying to erase my memories now. When I take the first drink, Ryland speaks up.
"Maura, no!" He yells perfectly. I put down the cup from my lips and look at him, Dylan puts the cup back to my mouth, "Drink."
"Maura, please listen to me and don't drink that!" Ryland chokes out. I shut my eyes tight. I'm so sorry Ryland. I have to do this. Please don't be mad at me.
"Drink it now, Maura. You wanted the tea. Drink." Dylan argues.
"Maura, my Love, no matter what you did with Dylan in the past, I don't care about it. You didn't know me back then so I can't hate you for it. Please don't drink that anymore. I'd rather die than die heartbroken." He tells me. My heart is clenching too tight in my chest. I finish most of the drink, leaving some in my cup, and drop it. It falls onto the ground and shatters. The liquid falls out of it with no containment, splashing any surface it comes into contact with. I stare at the far wall, pretending to be affected by a memory eraser. Ryland screams for me, but I cannot let his words get to me. I have to act and pretend in order to get us out of this. I have to trust my dad has a plan.
"Maura, honey, are you alright?" Dylan asks me in a sweet voice. I shiver and pretend to be out of my small trance, looking around me and then to the mess on the ground. He puts his arms around me and I bring my attention to him.
I nod my head and keep eye contact with him, "Yeah... I just got really dizzy all of a sudden." I put my hand to my head. He feigns innocence, "Are you sick? Should I bring you to the doctor?"
I shake my head, "No... I think I'm fine. Just... dizzy." I say my words slowly and unsure just like a person with memory loss would. I look back down on the ground and gasp at the mess I made, "Did I do this!?" I look up at him, "It was one of my father's favorite cups!"
He shushes me and puts a hand on my cheek, "No, no honey. I dropped it when you were unbalanced. It's all my fault. I'll get someone to clean it up." He smiles at me and pets my hair. I slowly nod and take a deep breath of air. I touch my face and feel an old tear.
"Was I crying?" I ask him.
He takes a moment to come up with something, "Yes, you were upset that you were assaulted by this man here. I shouldn't have brought you down here. I just wanted to see what kind of punishment I should give him." He glances at Ryland and I follow his eyes. Ryland looks devastated.
"I was assaulted?" I ask Dylan, hugging him and place my head on his chest in a way so I can still look at Ryland. Dylan embraces me and puts his chin on my head, "Unfortunately. I was away on a business trip and he took advantage of you. Rogues are the worst."
I shake my head and stare at Ryland. Ryland looks like he could die at any moment. Tears are streaming down his face and he drops fully to the ground, forehead on the tiles. I wanted him to look at me so he can get the message that I'm faking, but he thinks this is all real. My heart hurts more than anything in the world. The way I'm clinging onto Dylan is the way I want to cling to Ryland.
"Don't kill him." I tell Dylan. He immediately asks why and I think about my response for a bit, "Everyone does wrong at some point. It is our responsibility now to teach him not to do it again. Poor rogues don't have good education."
"But he hurt you..." Dylan tries to argue back.
"And I'm still alive and well." I say back to him. He doesn't look pleased with my answer. "Promise me you won't harm him?" He looks over to Ryland and grimaces. I pull his face back to me and put our lips close together, but not touching. I make sure that my breath hits him and my voice is low and silky. I feel the goosebumps on his skin as I whisper to him. "Do this for your mate, won't you?" His hold on me tightens and he nods his head. He wants to kiss me, but I don't want to kiss him on the lips. I turn my head and give him a quick peck on the cheek like it was something I have done for years.
I look over to Ryland and see that he had sat up again just in time to see me kiss Dylan. If my words didn't break him by now, the kiss surely did. Dylan rubs my back, "Fine. I'll do whatever you ask, little mate." I smile and cuddle up to him like I used to do. He lets out a hum of satisfaction and pulls me toward the door. "Let's go now and head upstairs. Leave him to think about his life now."
Dylan ushers me out of the room first and hurries me away from the scene in there. I hear faint cries from inside the room and I feel like dying. Ryland believes that I was affected by the memory loss drink when really it never happened.
Dylan wanted me to stay with him in the room and I had to agree. Soon enough, he tried to impose himself onto me that night but I denied him saying that I was tired. The next morning, he scared me more than I have ever been scared before. He tried to rape me. After that, he then drugged me and I had no choice but to fall asleep from the chemicals as he did what he wanted to do to me. I was furious when I woke up, but I have a suspicion that he never did anything to me that night. I heard my father's voice when I was going under, so I could only hope that he barged in on us and stopped Dylan from using me.
I went to Ryland's room down in the basement to finish my plan. I ended up pretending to get hit by the unmating serum and hugged Dylan. Ryland gave me a weird face when he saw me pretend to be unmated when he knew we were not. He would have been hurt if it happened, so he knew I was acting. I searched Dylan's pockets for a key he keeps that unlock Ryland's chains, that I found out he keeps on him at all times from last night, and took it. When he shut the door to get out to get out of the room, I dropped it and kicked it under the crevasse of the door so it could reach Ryland in the center of the other room. Soon enough, Ryland had picked it up and unlocked his chains, finally free.
I let Dylan know that his plan failed and I could see the fear in his eyes. It only amplified once Ryland walked out, ready to tear Dylan apart. I hate it that Ryland suffered for so long thinking that I loved Dylan again when I was pretending the whole time. Now that the secret is out and he is out of the room, I can't tell what he is thinking or feeling. He raises his head and glares at Dylan with an unknown glint in his eyes.
Ryland takes slow steps toward Dylan and his fists start to turn white from too much pressure. Dylan has fear etched into his eyes and walks backwards but Ryland follows him. I can feel a tense situation in front of me and would like to leave, but I need to stay here and see what happens. No matter what Dylan did to me, he was once my best friend and was forced into this situation by his parents and the Alpha. He can't die, but that doesn't mean is isn't going to leave here unpunished.
Ryland lets out a growl, his nails growing longer, and his eyes darken. Dylan turns to run away, going only a few feet before Ryland reaches out and grabs his neck. Ryland throws Dylan's body onto the wall and punches him in the stomach before throwing him down on the ground, leaning over his body and punching his face. He knocked the breath out of Dylan first so he couldn't fight back as easily and then hit him for blood to pour out.
Ryland loses all control and goes on a heated rampage. Dylan is struggling for life on the floor and I have to close my eyes. I can only think of a scared boy being beaten for something he has been told to do all of his life. I hear fists hitting Dylan and Dylan fighting back, finally. He lands a few good punches and multiple scratches on Ryland, but it's nothing compared to the mutilation Ryland did on Dylan. I count to ten in my head when Ryland starts choking Dylan and his face turning red, then a slight blueish purple.
Once my time is up, I run up to both of them and put my hands on Ryland's hands to pry them away while yelling at both of them to stop. Ryland is too focused in his own world to even hear me and it frightens me. His wolf has completely taken over his whole body, tearing Dylan apart and growling and barking loudly. My wolf is even scared from this scene, but we can't blame him. Dylan did really cruel things to both of us and deserves death.
I have no choice but to try to get Ryland back in his head. My wolf would in no way intimidate his, so I have to try for the sympathy side. I jump on Ryland and wrap my arms around his neck, my lips on his left ear. I am being tossed around as he continues his punches with his right hand and his other wrapped around Dylan's neck. Dylan doesn't look good at all. I talk into Ryland's ear to soothe him and calm him down enough to stop punching. "Ryland~ my Love, please focus on me."
He slows down his punches and loosens his hand on Dylan's neck. I hug him tighter and whisper, "Come back to me, Ry. We've been away too long." His eyes return back to normal and his nails are normal again. He was in mid-shift, and thankfully didn't switch all the way. I back away a little from him so he can see me. His eyes travel from Dylan to me and I can see the change going through him. The look of savage hatred turned to worried and longing. "Ry, please stop. If you kill him, you will be in a lot of trouble."
He looks at Dylan and lets go, letting him heave in gulps of air in panic. I call for guards in my house to come and take Dylan away. I have to be careful who comes though, since some are working for Dylan and the Alpha. Ryland looks back at me and frowns, "He did you wrong. He deserves more than death."
I nod, "I agree, but we have to be smart about this. If you get in trouble by killing him, we will no longer get to be together. Please don't let this moment decide our future."
His glare towards me softens and then he stands up, "Our future...?" He tackles me into a hug and puts me to a wall, "Oh, God. I've missed you more than I could have ever imagined. More than when we were separated before." He squeezes me tighter than he had ever done before. I feel like he's trying to kill me, but I know it's out of love, so I'll bear it as much as I can. He kisses me soon after and refuses to come up for air. I let him do whatever he wants and close my eyes. He doesn't stop until we hear my father's voice.
"Arrest him and these three." My father yells at six guards to arrest Dylan and three traitor guards that were on Dylan's side. I watch as they get dragged away and meet eyes with my tired father. He walks up to me and Ryland, but stops when Ryland growls at him. "I am so sorry about everything. I was a coward with it all and I hope you forgive me one day."
Ryland looks at me with confusion, but I nod my head, "He is against Dylan's plans but couldn't refuse because Alpha Zax requested all this. It's all very confusing, but we will solve it all when we take him down." I explain this to Ryland and my dad nods.
"I have this place under complete lockdown now. Dylan and his followers will be sent off to the company in a room to be questioned and tortured for what he has done to my daughter. I will spare no expense," my father looks like he is on the verge of crying while talking. He feels terrible for everything.
I frown and look at Ryland, then at my father. Ryland takes my hint and lets me loose, but doesn't let me go. "You did what you had to. It is solved temporarily but we will solve it entirely. Ryland and I are going to kill the Al-..." My father stops me and looks around.
"You should head to my office. Both of you." He says with a glance at both of us.
I look at him and try to talk again, "You didn't let me finish..." He interrupts me again, "Now."
We all head to his office and he shuts the door, locking it. "Alpha Zax hears everything. Even in our own homes. This is the only room not bugged."
I let my mouth open in an 'o' shape and explain our plan to take down the Alpha. Ryland still doesn't trust my father, but he trusts me in my decisions to tell him everything. Ryland is completely nervous and does not want to stay here any longer. My father sits back in his chair and looks even more nervous about out plan. At the end of my explanation, he nods, "I will provide any help you need. Financial assistance will be easy and I can gather guards to protect you on your mission."
I accept, eagerly, and hug my father. Ryland watches us closely, as if my father will take me away from him at any moment. I run back to Ryland's side after the hug and he pulls me close to him, eyes never leaving my father. "You two can... Um... Catch up in any room you want."
Ryland is the one to answer for us, "No. We are leaving." I turn to him and frown, but he matches mine, "You don't want to stay here after everything that has happened, right?"
I look down at the floor, "Well I really want to stay here and catch up with my family, but if you don't want to, we will leave." I look back at him and frowns more.
He looks at my father and my father frowns too, "I will assure both of your safety. My daughter is my number one priority and since you are her mate, we will protect you too."
"Mate?" I turn to my father, "You said he was my true mate before. What do you mean by this?"
He steps up to us and smiles slightly, "Yes, well... We designed the serum to unmate two people who did not mark each other yet, which was a counter for the mating serum that mated two true mates back together." He takes a deep breath, "Of course there are variations of all of this up to this point, but Dylan could never mate you two together and only could unmate you."
Ryland pushes me more to his side at the mention of Dylan's name and I nod at my father's explanation. I am the true mate of Ryland is the only thing I got from all of this. I turn to face Ryland and beam at him. He looks down at me with a frown, not understanding what my father said, and questions why I am so happy. I jump up and down, hugging him and scream, "We are real mates! 100% true mates that were made for each other!"
He pushes me away from him a little to look at me and then smiles, "really!?" I nod and he hugs me once more. My father coughs and Ryland and I stop hugging to look at him. I turn to Ryland and tell him we should head to my room. He slowly nods, looking at my dad and then back at me to lead the way.
"Maura," my father says behind us, "your mother is quite worried. Would you mind seeing her on the way?" I nod and start to jog to my mom's office with Ryland by my side. He is getting more agitated as the seconds pass.
We reach her office door and I reach for the doorknob but Ryland twist me around and pushes me onto the wall, "I can't wait a single second longer. I want you right now more than anything. If you don't let me mark you, I'm going to have to do it without your permission and I really don't want to do that."
I open my mouth to tell him I need to talk to my mom first, but he shakes his head and attacks my mouth with a kiss. We make out for a while and it starts to get heated. I'm embarrassed to be doing this in the hallway, but he doesn't care one bit. When it starts to go too far, the door opens next to us and I hear a click of heels on the ground. My face turns red at my mother's voice, "Should I expect grandpups now, or?"
Ryland gets off of me and stares at her with a reddening face. My mother laughs and crosses her arms, leaning on the doorway, "I can catch up with you later, my dear. I know Ryland needs to mark you so you two can be together again, so go ahead."
I let go of Ryland and compose myself, "Uhm... Mom..." I try to get her to leave and stop talking. She smirks at me and then looks at Ryland, "I do want grandpups, so please don't let her force you to wait."
I push Ryland away from my mom and head down the hallway. I knew I shouldn't have gone here, but I didn't know if she was worried about me or wanted to make fun of us! We head to my room and I lock the door. Ryland walks to the bathroom and shuts the door, leaving me alone for a while. He was beaten badly, so he needs to wash up. I feel so bad for him and even worse for not being able to do anything about it.
I sit on the bed and let some tears out. I want him to hurry up and for us to be together again. I only wait a few minutes before getting impatient and run to my bathroom and bang on the door. Ryland immediately opens the door and looks at me with worry, "Are you okay?"
I shake my head and hug him. He returns the gesture and places something on the counter. I look over and see it is some red-looking antiseptic that he was going to put on his wounds. I grab it and take a cotton ball to dab some on it. I apply it on his scratches and wounds as he stands still for me. He looks worried, "Maura." I ignore him as I try to help fix him, but it looks like he is healing rather quickly. I've never seen another werewolf or human heal this quickly. "Maura." He says more firmly but I look at his wrists which are the worst. "Maura!" He grabs my hands and grabs my attention, "tell me what's wrong."
I drop the liquid and hug him, crying on his chest. He holds me and lets me cry. It takes me a while to compose myself, but I tell him what is on my mind, "I feel terrible. Everything that happened to you was because of me. I've done so many bad things and you suffered from it!"
He stops me and pushes me against the counter, "Don't you dare say anything was your fault! I don't blame you for anything, Maura! So, don't you ever say that again!" He seems upset, "I love you more than anything else. You could never do wrong in my eyes. I never want you to feel bad for something that was out of your control."
He wipes the tears pouring out of my eyes and kisses me, "I want you to feel better and recover from all of this with me. Please stop crying and start enjoying our world together. Our world starts today, right now." I open my eyes and look at him who is staring at my neck. My heartbeat is pounding faster as he comes closer to me, "I need to tell you something before I mark you."
I look into his eyes and ask him what it was. He takes in a breath and bites his lip, "I need you to mark me too."
I tilt my head and furrow my brows together, "But I don't need to. Only the Alpha and Luna do that." I smirk at him, "I thought I told you this before."
He gives me a small smile and pushes himself closer to me, "I need you to mark me."
I roll my eyes, "Ry, I can't."
He smiles more, "But you must."
"It's impossible. Only a Luna can mark her Alpha." I tell him again.
His smile is in a sloppy form when looking down at me, "Who am I?"
I laugh at him, "You are Ryland Oaks, duh!"
"And of what pack?" He asks sweetly.
I pause for a second, "You are in the Central Pack."
"Did you like the Alpha? Was he nice?" He asks.
I think for a bit, "I don't believe I met him."
His lips are right next to mine, just an inch away, "yes you have. He likes you a lot."
I let out another small laugh, "How can he like me if I don't even remember him?"
His hot breath on mine makes my heart flutter and I start to feel weak, "you are so smart, but so oblivious to what is right in front of you." His breathy laugh hits my face and his lips touch mine, "Kiss your new Alpha, won't you?"
He captures my lips in his and my body shivers from the realization. He is the Alpha of the Central pack and needs me to mark him back. Never in my entire life would I think I would be mated to the Alpha. This is something girls dream about! Is this the reason why Alpha Zax was mad about us being together!?
He moves back to look at my embarrassed face. He is going to be my new Alpha AND my mate!? I look at him and then another thought hits me, "I'm going to be a Luna..." He laughs at me and I realize that I said my thought out loud. "Oops..."
He kisses me again and then his lips form a line, "Are you okay with being a Luna? It's a lot of responsibility, but I know you can handle it."
I nod slowly, "I... I'm just so..." I can't even finish my sentence under the weight of his stare. Ryland smiles at me again and hugs me. "Ry... I..."
"Shh~" He says into my ear and kisses down to my neck, "Let's make sure no one tears us apart and solidify our love." His lips find the spot on my neck to mark me and I tense up. His teeth come out and touch my skin, then pierce it. The marking process begins and pain consumes my body. He squeezes me tighter until the pleasure surges through me. It's like he is now a part of me and connected.
When it is over, his mouth is removed from me and I know it is my turn. I extract my teeth and place it on his neck but pause from anxiousness. He holds me close and whispers, "don't be afraid. We will finally be together." I bite down and wonder what else I am supposed to do, but nature takes its course and my teeth start to feel like I put a bunch of sugar on it. Ryland tenses up for a few seconds, and then crushes me toward him. My head is pushed more on his neck as he enjoys the process and I can swear I hear my wolf whisper, "mine." I wonder if his wolf did the same thing.
When it was over, I let go and stare at him. He looks renewed, and when I see his skin, it looks completely healed. He smiles and then picks me up. He moves to the bed and throws me down on it. He hovers over me with a smile and kisses me. With every touch from him, it is amplified from our new mate bond. He stops and looks at me for a final time before we did anything else, "now I can give you what you wanted before."