First

Chapter 111

“I would be glad if she isn’t, Tatum replies nonchalantly with no sort of hostility much to Leila’s surprise.

The way she cocks her head and looks at Tatum with wide eyes shows ample evidence of her shock and Tatum cups her face and plugs a soft wet kiss on her lips.

“Don’t look so surprised. I love you baby girl and I hate that I have to divide my attention between you and her. I know you hate it but she’s a stick up my throat, I can’t get rid of her but there’s no way her mark is fake or anything like that, Alina confirmed it years ago.

“Carmi is my mate but my wolf doesn’t feel anything

her right now, so you

don’t have to worry, I’m all yours,” Tatum replies, playfully pinching her nose at the end of his sentence.

A tight smile forms on Leila’s lips and her heart becomes weary, remembering the mutilated corpse of Alina.

“What about the recording? You heard it, she-

“Leila….my sweet pea, listen to me. You and I are all that matters. Just know, no matter what, I will always have your back and I will always be here for you, okay? You have no reason to fret.”

He’s doing it again, just like she feared. He is not letting her get across to him. He believes Carmela is his mate while she is the woman that he love and he

has chosen.

He chose to love her even when he knows he has a mate, she cannot help but imagine how much sweeter their lives will be if he understands that he has been tricked and Carmela is not his actual mate but he just won’t shut up and let her talk.

“Do you know why I went to see Alina yesterday?”

“Why?”

“Look, I wanted you to hear this directly from her but unfortunately she was murdered before I could get a recorded conversation. About six months before

Carmela got the mark, she paid their household a visit and in a drunken state, she told them what the phoenix mark looked like-”

Tatum opens his mouth and she quickly clamps her hand over it, shaking her head at him.

“Just let me finish. They knew about the mark before it got on Carmela, your wolf feels nothing for her, what if the mark is fake and she’s not actually your mate?”

Tatum’s heart pounds heavily in his chest and he squints at Leila. It is a possibility that has crossed his mind in the past admittedly.

His wolf even feels more calm and comfortable around Leila than it ever does around Carmela but Alina confirmed the mark as real and Carmela was only ten, her father, the respected beta of the pack at the time, there is no way they forged the whole thing.

No, they cannot deceive the entire pack or play games with the hope of the people.

The singular reason he still spends time with Carmela and does not keep too much of a distance from her is because of what her presence may yet bring to the pack and its subjects.

“Leila, don’t mention this to anyone else, it is treasonous and Alina is dead, even if she said that, you have no proof of it,” he replies curtly.

He does not want her getting herself involved in any more scandals where people have to judge and disrespect her again.

Why can she not just find assurance in his words and let everything regarding Carmela be?

Leila smiles at him, a fake and bitter smile..

What was she doing telling him anyway? This is why she has to prove that Carmela is not his mate by herself.

“I won’t mention it to anyone, it was just a thought,” she replies calmly, the smile still plastered on her lips.

Tatum cups her face, his eyes holding an apologetic sullen look in them. “I

cannot pretend that I know how it feels to be in your shoes but I know that I will keep my promise to you.”

Leila finds his words reassuring and she knows she has to prove the truth, for him and for their future together.

Tatum really loves her, she can see and feel it now. Even if he doesn’t believe her, he keeps reminding her of his promise to her, that he will never break it.

A knock sounds on their door at this moment and Tatum groans. “Enter.”

“Alpha, Luna,” Theo bows slightly, “apologies for the intrusion this early morning. Can I see you privately Alpha, it’s urgent.”

“Speak freely, the Luna and I have no secret,” Tatum replies, glancing at Leila with a small smile.

“A mob is on its way here, they found-”

Just then, Leila is thrown away from their conversation by the mindlink in her head.

Clayton’s voice sounds loud and clear…

‘I know you didn’t do it but you have a lot of explaining to do. Your blood samples were found all over Alina’s fingers. It was the only foreign piece of DNA we found on her. The council has ordered that we bring you in for interrogation.‘

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