Claiming His Tempting Mate novel Chapter 39

Savannah's POV

The next few days went smoothly. These days I meet Alisa frequently and spend time with the little girl. At first she would shy away but then she started to get comfortable around me and started to chat happily or I should say she is one kind of chatterbox who would never stop once her mouth is opened. Her mom Elsa is a wonderful woman. After spending time with her I got to know so many things. She would chat about how she met her mate and came to Dark Forest to settle down.

"How old is Alisa?"

Elsa smiled "she is 5 this year but that kid is more naughtier than other kids of her age"

"I have not seen many of the kids here. The first one I saw is Alisa"

"It's because most of the parents sent their kids to watch the training"

"At such a young age?" I raised my eyebrows. Though I know Dark Forest is different and has some rules, sending the kids to watch the training at the age when they should play and enjoy it's kind of surprising.

"You don't think like others?" I asked Elsa "I mean Alisa is here, when others are in the training field. Don't you want to send her too?"

Elsa laughed "I thought about it. And also talked about it with Hunter, but he said there's no need for that. He want his daughter to enjoy her life other than exhausting herself thinking about the training"

I nodded "I guess Hunter planned well. I also agree that kids should be disciplined from young age but 5 years is not something to put them under heavy rules"

"Alpha didn't make such rules" Elsa stated "actually he never said that kids should join the training. It's just the reputation of the pack grew with time and the mindset changed"

"I guessed so," I smiled. Hardwick is a hard ruler but I also never thought he would be too cruel to place heavy burdens on innocent kids. And I guess I was right.

"I am happy that you are finally here Luna"

I looked at Elsa's smiling face.

"After so many years we could finally see Alpha behaving normally"

"Normally?" I frowned "what do you mean by that?"

"I shouldn't be saying this but looking at you I can't help myself. As you know our pack is considered strong compared with other packs. And this was only because Alpha is really strict. Starting from training to battling everything needs to be perfect in his eyes. Why do you think the parents send their kids to the field to watch the training? It's because they want their kids to understand and become accustomed to it. We all were worried that Alpha was alone and even after so many years he couldn't find Luna. There's also rumours that the Elders of the East Side wanted to select Luna for Alpha, as the rules say an Alpha couldn't rule the pack without Luna" Elsa explained.

My eyes widened "what? You mean to select a random girl as a Luna even if she is not bound with bond?"

Elsa nodded "it seems like that"

I couldn't believe it. How can they just paster any random girl as Hardwick's Luna even though she was not his real mate? What did the elders think before coming to such a cheap conclusion? I wanted to grit my teeth till it hurt. I looked at Elsa who was quietly looking at me.

"Do you know who these elders are?" I asked.

She shook her head "actually most of the pack members have not seen any of them. Only a few close ones have seen these Elders. Hunter once went to the East Side so he told me about it. Though he didn't get the chance to meet them personally but he heard many things about them"

"What kind of things?"

"It said that those elders are 3 old men who once worked as advisers during the rule of Alpha's Grandfather. Alpha Hudson, Alpha's Grandfather used to live on the East side. He ruled the whole pack from there. Later when Alpha's father was born and took the title he settled here in the forest. Since then the East side has become the elders territory"

There are so many things. I thought inwardly. Dark Forest is more puzzling than a mystery book. But even after hearing this why do I feel like there's more to it which is still unknown to me.

"That's all?" I asked.

"I don't know how true it is but this is all Hunter heard from East Side"

I nodded "it's fine, whether it's true or not there will be a chance to know. I think I should leave now. The sun is setting already" I got up from the couch.

"Alisa likes you so much Luna. She kept nagging when you don't visit her"

I laughed "I will surely visit her in free time"

"Thank you for coming and spending time with us. Usually Luna does not visit the pack house personally unless it is a serious or important matter"

"I guess I am different then" I smiled while she laughed.

"Of course you are"

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I walked out of Elsa's house with Luina. Luina is always with me whenever I go. But I am also glad that she is here because the path of the pack is still unfamiliar in some parts so it's better she is here to guide.

"Is Hardwick free from his work?"

"I don't know Mistress. Master doesn't have a fixed time for that, '' Luina said from behind.

"Maybe I can wait. He usually finishes when it's dusk" I said and about to step forward when I bumped into something.

"Oh, that my-" my apology stopped in the middle when I saw the person's face. Surprised in heart I took a step backward.

"Daisy?" I mumbled the name. She is here? Didn't they say she was sent to the East Side for punishment? But today she is already back?

Daisy looked at me darkly. Her face was pale and void of any emotions. The pale skin makes her look like a ghostly figure. I don't know what is wrong with this girl. She always gives me a cold look and her eyes are filled with hatred.

"You are back?" I said again.

Suddenly she chuckled "why? You were not satisfied?" Her mocking tone pierced my heart like a knife. What kind of feeling is this?

"What are you talking about?"

"Please, Luna. Are you pretending to be innocent now?" She asked "are you not satisfied with the punishment that master gave me? Do you want to add more?"

"Behave yourself before Mistress" Luina said in a warning tone from behind.

Daisy glanced at her then smirked before looking at me "oh, I almost forgot about that. How can I disrespect her? She is Master's favourite isn't she? But let me tell you, whether she is the mate or not but she will never able to compare with Delaney"

Delaney? I frowned. Who is that? And why is she talking like this? From the side I saw Cora was running towards us with an anxious expression. When she heard the name Delaney her expression changed instantly and turned pale. She grabbed Daisy's arm forcefully.

"Daisy what the hell are you talking about?" She yelled.

"What did I say wrong?" Daisy almost shouted. She shook off Cora's hand and stared at her angrily. "Is that not true? She is taking her place and how can I stay silent watching all these?" Daisy pointed her fingers towards me.

Anger started to boil inside me. Though I guess this girl is somehow dissatisfied with me, she has no right to point her fingers towards me like I am somehow inferior to her. I thought she don't like me that's why she is always rude but the more I careless about her behaviour, the more she thinks she can say anything about me.

"Shut up. Did you forget your punishment already? Do you want to piss Master more?" Cora hissed.

Daisy didn't give any heed to her as she turned around and glared at me fiercely "it's all because of you. If you were not there, Delaney would be here taking her rightful place but no you have to come and ruin everything. Because of you Master punished me and all the happenings are all because of you. I will never forgive you for that. You and that family of yours only knows how to act and attract-" before she could complete my hand flew and fiercely slapped her face. The force of the slap was so hard that Daisy fell on the ground.

Cora's eyes almost popped out of its socket as she looked at Daisy then to me.

"You better watch your words before opening your mouth. I have been tolerating your nonsense because I thought you don't like me. But it doesn't mean you can say whatever you want even dragging my family in your curse. You should know your position before pointing your finger. You have no right to judge people with your narrow mindset. Let me clear your confusion, I don't fucking know about whoever Delaney is nor I have any relation with her. If you are that dissatisfied then go and complain to your master about it. If I saw you behaving like an unruly brat before me I would forget that you are a member of this pack and I won't wait for your master to make a judgment" I hissed at her before walking away.

Dealing with such a brat is not hard. It's just I don't want to force myself to look bad when I just arrived. But that doesn't mean I will restrain myself every time.

Luina didn't say anything as I walked inside my room.

"I want to be alone," I said and closed the door.

What's wrong with this pack? One is trying to kill me and the other one is refusing to tell me anything. How will I understand anything if he doesn't want to talk about it? How will I solve this problem when I don't know the root cause? At first I thought it was just a misunderstanding. But looking at Daisy and how she behaved today I can clearly say that there's more that I don't know. But more importantly who is Delaney? And why Daisy was saying it should be Delaney in my place?

What kind of relation does Hardwick and Delaney have? If there's nothing that Daisy would not be this angry. That girl even went forward killing me. Is it all for that girl named Delaney? But why? I never know who Delaney is but Daisy is throwing all the blame on me like I have snatched someone's mate? My eyes widened.

Wait... Mate? Is Delaney Hardwick's mate? Could that be possible? Because I also have two mates and if I put things in possible chances then I guess it could be possible too.

"What are you thinking?" I jumped in shock when I heard the voice behind me. I turned around and saw Hardwick standing behind me.

"Do you want me to die out of shock?" I rubbed my chest trying to smooth the racing heart.

"What happened? You looked annoyed today?" He frowned.

I threw a hard glare at him "should not I?" Forcing a smile I said again "I have encountered such a good omen that I couldn't help but feel angry"

"Good omen?" Hardwick looked at me with confusion.

"The good omen is named Daisy"

"What?" He looked startled then something flashed in his eyes "what did she do?"

"You didn't know that she was here?" I frowned.

"Tell me what she did?"

"Oh, she was delighted to see me. Her excitement could be seen in the curses that she threw towards me. Looks like she was not satisfied cursing me alone so she decided to drag my family too"

I can see Hardwick's eyes darkened hearing me.

"I don't know what kind of enmity she has with me but I won't tolerate anyone who insults my family. I do respect the pack members and can also ignore some of their mistakes but there's some things which can't be ignored. So I slapped her today. I am telling you because I want you to know everything. I can endure anything but not insults when it's triggered my self respect and the respect of my family"

"I didn't know that she was here. Looks like I have just put some bunch of fools who can't even inform me about serious matters in time. I need to deal with him properly so there won't be any mistake next time" Hardwick said through gritted teeth.

"You are against her?"

"I don't want anyone who harms my mate. She has done something that unforgivable"

I looked at his eyes and could see the sincerity in them. His dominating brown eyes always bewitched me and managed to drag me in some fantasy. Whatever Daisy said flashed in my mind again. There's so many points of doubt in my mind currently which I don't know how to deal with. But suddenly mom's advice rang in my ear.

No, doubting him could only lead to dissatisfaction and then it will create misunderstanding. I really don't want our relationship to build like this. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Daisy said something else too. I don't know if I should believe her or not. But things has become like this so I have to interfere in between even if you don't like it"

"What are you trying to say?" He asked.

I looked into his eyes. I want him to know how determined I am that he could not back away from my question.

"At first I thought it was kind of a misunderstanding but today she behaved like my presence was a huge sin for her that she wanted to kill me right away. I would have ignored her but even if I wanted to I couldn't. Because she said something that might be related to you"

"What did she say?" Hardwick's voice became hard and cold.

"Forget about what she said. I want to ask you something"

He didn't say anything but his eyes were answering everything.

I didn't back away before I looked at him and asked what I wanted to know.

"Who is Delaney?"