This chapter is dedicated to @the_pencil_writer ! Thank you so much for all the votes and comments, girl!! It motivates me a lot!!❤❤

-:Ashton's POV:-

I was getting increasingly frustrated with our mate. If only she wasn't a Crescent Moon, I would have claimed her by then already. 

She was a feisty one. She didn't fall in my feet, begging to be accepted like I originally thought she would. She maintained her distance, remained civil as long as she could, and was apparently quite popular in her pack.

That wouldn't be a surprise though, she was the daughter of the Alpha. Of course, they loved her. Even in the halls, I could hear people whispering about her as she walked by. She seemed oblivious to what her arrival has done to the school. Bree told me that the Queen Bee of the school was rather pissed off about it. Especially because all Cecelia did was exist and yet she was more beloved.

She would make a great Luna. That made Xavier puff his chest in pride. Speaking of, the mindless wolf told her his real name. Who does that? The first time we met, too? She seemed great and all, but how could he trust her without knowing her first? For all we knew, she might have been using it to weaken us! I was an Alpha and I couldn't afford that. Whenever I brought that up, Xavier would growl and jump to her defense.

Like I said, mindless.

She could dance well, I could give her that. And when she managed to get me to do a small routine in one period, I was stupefied. When I told Bree, she laughed and said, I quote, 'she's exactly right for you'. At which, I jogged her memory using two magic words 'Crescent Moon' and all was back on track.

I was already in a bad mood when Cecelia was late for school that Wednesday. What? She was my mate. I couldn't have her because of our unique situation. That did not mean I wasn't already falling for that confident, sassy, beau-

What? Well, fuck. Xavier smirked.

'And you call me whipped,' he taunted.

Anyways, I was in a bad mood. I lost it when I got the first note in my locker. A note that reeked of Crescent Moon members.

You trespass, you suffer the consequence. This means war. I warned you, Ashton.

My blood boiled at that. I knew she couldn't be trusted. I knew it. That snitch. I wanted to kill her myself. How did she even dare to do it? I was her mate! 

Crescent Moons.

"You alright, man?" Noel asked. We had sort of made up. Noel had always been the peacekeeper. Hayden was still distant and I missed my best friend. But, oh well.

I shoved the note at him. He read it and his eyes widened.

"You trespassed?" He hissed. "That too on the Crescent Moon territory of all the places you could've trespassed into?"

Hayden watched our exchange impassively.

"Keep it down!" I snapped at him, opening a mind link between the three of us.

'Why did you?' Noel asked. I gave him a pointed look.

'To meet Luna?' He guessed with a smirk. I glared at him.

'She is not your Luna!' I grit out.

'You are our Alpha, she is your mate. That makes her our Luna. It's simple math, Ashton.' Hayden said dryly. We went into the classroom for the first period and took our seats. I greeted Bree with a smile when I sat down next to her and signaled her that I was mind linking. She smiled back and went back to her work.

'Oh, so he speaks.' I deadpanned. 'She sold me off. Does that mean nothing to you?'

'How do you know it was her?' He asked.

'As long as I'm not mistaken my mate and the way you so eloquently put it, your Luna is Cecelia Rivers, the snitch has to be her.'

'Had you gone to her lands before?'

' . . . yes.'

'Score!" Noel cheered.

'Focus!'

'Right. Why is there a threat note in your locker today?'

'She loves Xavier, but she may or may not despise me.' I revealed.

'So? That's not the point.'

'The point is, she fell asleep and I had to shift to wake her up before we got caught.'

'And?' Noel prompted impatiently. Great question. 

' . . . and she flipped out.'

Hayden snorted and I glared at him again. That boy was gonna get it.

'Let me get this straight,' he contributed to the conversation, 'Luna likes your wolf better than you. To the extent that she would kick you out but let him stay?' He snickered.

Don't kill your Beta. Don't kill your Beta. I chanted to myself.

'Well, she didn't have a problem with the wolf me,' I said smugly, remembering the feel of her hands on me. Xavier laughed. I snapped out of it.

'You deceived her,' Noel accused. 'You let her think it was Xavier when in fact it was you!"

'All's fair in love and war,' I shrugged.

'Oh?' He smirked. 'What's this then?'

'A little bit of both,' I replied truthfully.

Cecelia didn't come to school that day. Or so I thought. I saw her in the hallways after the first period near her locker. And she seemed to be waiting for someone: me. Seeing her brought back the note on the forefront of my mind, and I glared at her. She glared right back, clenching her jaw and fisting her hands. Only when the bell ringed did we end that glaring contest. 

It was a tie.

After school, dad dragged me to a café in town for a meeting with Alpha Rivers. Apparently, he had received a little phone call about the trespassing too. There were no details, so I refrained from opening my mouth and telling him it was me. It was a good thing too because not long into the meeting, we found out they didn't know who the trespasser was. Which meant Cecelia did not blab. I felt increasingly guilty for thinking that she did.

The answer to her hostility in the hallway came out in the meeting too. She said got a note similar to mine. There was definitely something going on. I couldn't meet her eye after that revelation. I accused her without thinking. I led her to believe I sent a note, too. She probably didn't even think I sent that till I glared at her as if I wanted to make a hole in her skull.

Well, I fucked up big time. And Xavier didn't hesitate to let me know that. Best wolf ever. 

I talked to Noel and Hayden after the meeting and they were more than happy to know that Cecelia was in the clear. They rejoiced knowing that their Luna didn't sell me off. They laughed when they heard that dad would be questioning the kids in the pack to find out the offender when in fact it was me. Other than that, they shamed me. For the lack of faith and my assholeness towards their Luna. Not that I blamed them, but they could've been gentler about it. 

I got more notes the following days but they didn't matter anymore. They were probably just a part of some sick prank.

That week, I avoided her. Mostly out of shame. I didn't deserve her. All she had done was be civil and friendly with me and I messed up at every turn. I kissed Bree, told her to keep us a secret,  tried to reject her, and then accused her without thinking. All I'd done was push her away. The guilt and shame were keeping me from reaching out to her.

I wanted to apologize but my ego wouldn't let me. No, absolutely not. 

I had to fight myself for control every time Mathilda shaded her. Which was at every damned opportunity she would get. Be it in the cafeteria lunch line, the hallways, or the parking lot. every time Cecelia would roll her eyes and ignore her. Her pack tried to step in once or twice but she waved them off.

Not that she needed help. The lack of reaction was seriously getting to Mathilda because she seemed pissed of and ready to do something drastic. I hoped for her sake she wouldn't cross the line. Cecelia was technically her Luna.

Every night I went to the stream at our Southern border. Why? Because she came by on most nights. 

She would lay down in the grass or dip her feet in the river.  All the while she'd sit in the silence, closing her eyes and reveling in the silence of nature. Then she'd leave around midnight.

I never let her know of my presence, but I watched her from behind the trees. I knew that somehow I'd fallen for her somewhere along the way. It wasn't hard to, even with the mate bond. She was an incredible young woman. She was perfect. My luck just happened to be such that I couldn't have her.

I was surprised to see her bring a boy to the lake the following Monday. He was tall and well built. Quite handsome. She sat down with him and they talked for a while before she hit him repeatedly and he started chasing her. Her laugh echoed in the silent forest and I hated that it wasn't me who got it out of her.

I despised that boy immediately.

They ran for a while, shouting, laughing, and squealing. Then they stopped and came and sat on the riverside, dipping their legs in. I watched enviously as she put her head on his shoulder. She looked happy and content. I felt my heartache for her.

I watched in horror as she stripped her shirt off and dove into the river. Even though the boy didn't stare at her creepily, I still felt my rage building. 

Only I should have got to see her like that. She was mine.

Not long after she convinced her friend to jump in too. He cannonballed into the lake and she hit him with a wave of water as soon as he resurfaced. He made a face before going underwater and pulling her in moments later. She went in with a squeal. I neared the river carefully and soundlessly. 

What were they doing underwater?

Just when my mind flushed with uncomfortable thoughts that had Xavier growling in my headspace, they came up for air. She promptly swam behind him and slung her hand around his neck from behind, trying to drown her. That was it. I lost it upon seeing her half-naked and pressed against a shirtless male that wasn't us. Xavier took control and growled loudly.

They instantly let each other go and pressed their backs to each other, alert.

Xavier growled louder as we stepped out. The boy positioned himself between me and her and we growled even louder. How dare he? Cecelia seemed to understand right away.

"Umm, Julian? You're making it worse," she said. I did a double-take as jealousy flooded every fiber of my being almost as if a dam had broken. Julian. The guy she loved. He was confused but she quickly explained, telling him it's me and almost letting my wolf's name slip out.

He was mad and went as far as calling me a douchebag. Xavier snarled at the disrespect. Cecelia panickily positioned herself between us, ordering us to behave. She told him off gently for insulting me. He didn't seem pleased to be reminded that I was an Alpha.

Good.

"Ashton, what are you doing here?" She finally demanded. Ah, the question of the hour. And what will be the correct answer to that? Definitely not spying? Naww. 

Think, Ash. Think. 

While I was at that, she haughtily told me to shift and talk. Right, I forgot I couldn't speak to non-pack wolves as a wolf.

I was about to shift when she warned me to cover myself before I did that. I smirked internally as I shifted back as naked as the day I was born and she flushed before she buried her face in his chest. He scowled at me, evidently displeased.

I could care less.

I decided to hide my temper with sarcasm.

"Oh, sweetheart you can look," I said faux sweetly. "After all it's nothing you've never seen before."

Julian clearly didn't know that and he obviously didn't like it. I smirked wider. 

"I hate you, Ashton," she groused.

"Feeling's mutual, babe," I lied flatly before spewing, "Now, who the fuck is this guy?!" Despite knowing who. I wanted to hear it from her own mouth.

She did not like it. She was very resistant in revealing his identity, probably forgetting that she said his name once before already. I tried to play the mate card but that backfired horribly. I couldn't help but accuse her of not being innocent either. There she was, half-naked in the river with another wolf. She definitely wasn't innocent. Even if I did sort of give her the benefit of doubt earlier. 

She never explicitly said she was in love with him, but she never denied it either. Seeing their level of comfort with each other and knowing they weren't relatives (I did my research on her family), I could think of nothing else. They loved each other. And that made Xavier whimper, knowing that she wasn't very pleased with us right then.

When she finally did introduce us, she made her displeasure crystal clear. Then she tugged at Julian's arm and he slung it around her shoulders. 

I saw red.

"Don't touch her!" I hissed at him before I could stop myself.

She didn't give him a chance to reply before she burst on me.

"Fuck off, you hypocrite." She flipped me off, facing me again. "He has more right to touch me than you ever will. So why don't you do us both a favor and go fuck your 'Bree'!"

"Don't talk to me that way," I seethed.

"Don't talk to her that way," Julian interrupted for the first time, shaking with rage. I felt an evil sense of satisfaction at his reaction but couldn't help and agree with his words on the inside. She was my mate, my equal. What I did was out of line. But he had no right to tell me that.

"You stay out of this." I screamed at Julian at the same time she retorted, "I'll do what I fucking want."

"We're leaving," she stated, leaving no room for argument. She didn't hesitate to scold me and snap at me to 'get my act together by tomorrow'. My sorry ass was on self-destruction mode that day, so it taunted her. She didn't appreciate it.

The night ended with her screaming at me that she hated and me storming back all the way to my house. I face-planted into my bed and groaned.

I really was pathetic.

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A/N:-

Heyy!! So, here's a new update! I tried to fill the days I skipped a little. It's Ashton's PoV again. I was legit scared when I started it, but I felt it was important to the story so I gave it a shot anyway!

I hope you liked it!!

So, Ashton isn't as bad as Cecelia thinks. In fact, he's kinda falling for our girl! Too bad Cecelia borderline hates him. Poor misunderstood soul. 

Now that Julian is in the picture, what's going to happen? Will Ashton's jealousy keep on getting the best of him? Will it drive them further apart or will it somehow end up bringing them closer??

What do you think? Comment your thoughts and theories here! 

QOTD: Showers or baths?

Tap that star on your way out!!

Until next time, all my love,
xoxo.