Chapter 3 Three

LANDON'S POV

Blonde hair and golden-brown eyes.

I couldn't get the perfect image of her out of my head, but I have to. I never wanted a mate - I don't want one. So, why is the moon goddess doing this to me?

The images of how my father would waste his time on alcohol after my mother's death are still buried deep in my brain.

Running my hands through my dark locks in frustration, I groan before dropping the pen in my right hand onto the desk and pushing the files I was supposed to go through to the side.

I was about to get up when the door to my office was pushed open, and my Beta, Kyle, walked in. He bowed with his head down in respect before flopping down in the seat.

"Any information?" I asked Beta Kyle, getting straight to the point.

"Nothing yet, Alpha. We tried tracking her scent, but it was too weak for us to detect," he said.

Weakness.

That was something else I felt emanating from every pore in her body. Even her wolf was too weak to be detected by mine.

I don't want to be like my father, drowning in sorrow if anything happens to her once I claim her as mine. The pain of watching my mother slowly die from her illness still remains fresh in my mind, and I never want to go through that again.

"Landon?" Kyle called, snapping my attention back to him. "Hmm?" I hummed in response, indicating that I was still paying attention even though my mind was elsewhere.

"You seem lost in thought," he said while crossing his arms and resting his back on the chair, a lazy smirk on his lips.

I sighed, rubbing my eye tiredly and mimicking his posture by leaning back, though I didn't give him an answer. Not that he was asking, but more like he was stating the obvious.

"She's your mate, isn't she?" Kyle asked, and I blinked slowly at him, remaining silent before answering him truthfully. "Yes."

"I guessed as much," he mumbled while stroking the hair on his chin slowly. I rolled my eyes at that. Of course he did.

"We finally have a Luna," Kyle muttered with a happy laugh as he got up from his seat. "Someone who will finally-"

"-No," I growled, cutting off his rambling.

"What?" He stammered, stumbling a little. If I weren't observing him closely, I might not have noticed it.

When he saw the glare on my face, his eyes widened. "You'll reject her? You can't do that! She-"

"I can, and I will," I growled, standing up and forcefully pushing my chair backward, making it scrape on the wooden floor before finally falling to the ground with a thud.

"I want you to stay out of my personal affairs, Beta Kyle. This doesn't concern you."

"Understood, Alpha," Kyle said, lowering his head in submission. He then turned around to the door, ready to leave. But before he could grasp the doorknob, a knock sounded from the other side of the door, and I could easily guess who it was.

"Come in," I said while taking my chair and putting it back in its place.

LUNA'S POV

I finally found the door that said 'Alpha's Office.' I took a deep breath and bit my lip nervously before letting it go and replacing it with a bright smile.

I can't even remember the last time I had a smile so radiant on my face, and for the first time in a long while, Alpha Landon, a.k.a. my mate, was the reason behind the one on my face today.

With the smile still on my lips, I raised my hand and knocked thrice on the wooden door.

"Come in," came the husky voice of Landon.

I pushed the door open, and standing next to it was a man I had never seen before - not that I knew anyone here.

I gave the man a smile, but it instantly fell when he looked at me with pity before shuffling past me and out the door. I turned to look at his retreating back, my brows furrowing in a frown.

"Close the door," Landon muttered, causing me to look back at him before turning my head to the left and pushing the door closed.

After shutting the door, I finally took in the surroundings of Landon's office. The walls were painted a light gray color, and the wooden floor was a dark brown. In the middle of the room was a dark desk with him seated behind it, and two chairs were positioned in front of it. On his left was a rack filled with different books and maps.

Landon cleared his throat, and I snapped my gaze back to his form as he got up from his chair. He picked up a file from his desk, walked to the front, and perched on the edge.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly, but that didn't dim the bubbling energy inside me.

"I wanted to thank you," I muttered, my lips forming a smile as I took a step closer.

Landon slammed the file onto the desk, and I jumped back in fear. My eyes darted to the spread-out contents of the file before returning to Landon, who was glaring at me intensely.

"What did I say about only coming here when you need something?" Landon asked, moving towards me. I stumbled backward, my heart pounding in my chest.

I had nowhere to run, as my back was already pressed against the door, and the doorknob was digging painfully into my back. I looked left and right, but before I could attempt to escape, Landon was already standing mere inches away from me.

"I-I just w-wanted to th-thank you," I stammered, my hands trembling as I gripped the edge of my sweater.

"Thank me?" he sneered.

"Yes, thank y-you for the clothes," I added quickly, hoping he would understand why I was there and stop being so harsh.

"What?" he laughed, throwing his head back. It wasn't a happy laugh; no, he was laughing at me.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked rapidly to keep them from falling.

He leaned down to look me in the eye, his green orbs cold and distant. "Just because I got you new clothes doesn't mean I want you in my life," he spat, and I physically recoiled.

"Landon, I-" "-Don't ever touch me," he hissed, jerking his hand out of mine and using both palms to push my shoulders painfully against the door. The doorknob dug harder into my back, and I could already feel a bruise forming.

"I. Don't. Want. You," he said each word with venom before moving away from me as if I had burned him.

"Why?" I asked, my heart in my throat.

His eyes roamed over my body with disgust and his lips lifted up at the side as if he made a silent joke "You are an eyesore. Now get out," he added without sparing me a glance.

Never in my life had I felt so humiliated. Not even when Aiden pushed me to the floor in front of the whole pack and dumped a bucket of cold water on me.

A solitary tear escaped my eye, but I quickly wiped it away. With my head bowed in humiliation and my cheeks burning in embarrassment, I opened the door to Landon's office, rushed out, closed the door to my room, locked it, and sank to the floor, crying silently.