Luna Mahira slumped down on the couch with a tired sigh as soon as she entered Alpha's office.

Alpha Aarjav's finger stopped clicking on the keypad as an amused chuckle left his lips at the sight of Luna.

"Don't laugh. You don't know how tiring it is to deal with teenagers," Luna grumbled as she saw Alpha laughing at her.

"At least you managed to get the truth out of Alina. I wonder why she never complained."

Luna stood up and walked towards where Alpha was seating.

"Complain? The girl was blatantly lying to save those bullies. If not for her racing heartbeats, I would have been fully convinced that Hritika was the one who lied to us," Luna said, throwing her hands in frustration.

"Why would she save them when they were hurting her?" Alpha queried with furrowed eyebrows.

"That's teenagers for you. It doesn't matter how much hurt you are, they don't tattle it to the elders," Luna answered, sitting down on the chair, facing Alpha.

Alpha hummed in response, thinking over Luna's words.

"If I had not mentioned that Hritika would be punished for lying, Alina would have never opened her mouth. She didn't want Hritika to be punished just because the human decided to save her. Even then Alina requested to not punish those kids severely," Luna said with a sigh.

"Oh! So that was the reason why Vivaan didn't punish those kids," Alpha exclaimed thoughtfully.

"He..he didn't?" Luna stuttered in shock.

"I am surprised that you weren't aware about it." Alpha shook his head in amusement.

"You are not angry," Luna stated, astonished by his lack of reaction.

"Why would I be angry?" Alpha asked, before praising Vivaan's effort, "He did a far better job than I had expected."

A huge smile perched up on Luna's face, hearing Alpha praise Vivaan. They were silent for a few seconds as Luna mustered up her courage to bring up the topic.

"About Nihal and Yara...," Luna trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah, I am also worried about them. How are they gonna manage? It's taking all my will to not run up to Nihal to assure him that everything would be okay and also explain him everything related to mates. It would be awkward for them to discuss everything about the mate bond," Alpha vented out his worries.

Luna let her head fall onto the table with a huge thud. Alpha automatically shut up, knowing that he had went off the track.

"You wanted to talk about something else." Alpha guessed with a sheepish smile.

Luna lifted her head back with a groan and looked at him with an expression that meant -'He was a lost cause'.

"There's a chance that Nihal may change his mind about taking over Alpha position," Luna explained her worries.

"Why would he do that? He himself said that he has no interest in ruling our species." Alpha argued, not understanding Luna's worry.

"That was before. He didn't have any idea about our species nor did he like any of us. But now with Yara on his side, he might start liking and understanding our species and that can make him change his decision." Luna made her point clear.

"He wouldn't change his decision. I know him, he is my son," Alpha said with certainty.

"The son you are meeting after nineteen years," Luna deadpanned.

"What do you want me to do then?" Alpha asked with a tired sigh.

"Train Vivaan. He is also your son and more capable to handle the pack. Train him so well that Nihal's Alpha command doesn't work on him," Luna  requested.

"Ignoring an Alpha's command is next to impossible." Alpha rejected her request straight away.

"Aarjav, you only said it's next to impossible but not impossible. Plus Vivaan isn't any regular wolf. He has Alpha blood in him." Luna insisted.

Alpha Aarjav ran his hand through his face, not knowing what to do.

It hurt Mahira to see him taking time to decide. He knew Vivaan was more capable, yet this hesitancy. Plus his instant worry about Nihal when she spoke about mates added fuel to her wound. She had never seen her mate worry for his pup. The love and concern Alpha Aarjav had showed for his human son in these few days was so much more in extent than he had for Vivaan in all these years. While concern for Vivaan was a drop, it was an ocean for Nihal.

Each and every action of his caused pain to Luna that made her blurt out furiously. "Take it as your punishment then. Council said that you cannot negotiate. Train Vivaan as a punishment of cheating us emotionally for all these years."

Alpha nodded slowly, looking at Luna with a small sad smile.

Luna groaned, cursing herself. His instant agreement made her come into senses. This wasn't like her own self.

"Let it be. There's no need for you to do this forcefully." Luna breathed out dejectedly.

"What happened now?" Alpha questioned curiously.

"You had enough of blackmails in your whole life, I don't want to add it. Just forget it, I will look for another solution," Luna muttered with a fallen face and stood up to leave.

"It will be painful and there's no guaranteed result."

Alpha's words stopped Luna in her tracks. She looked at him with hope brimming in her eyes.

"That would be his problem," Luna said as she internally cheered.

Alpha Aarjav shook his head with an amused smile.

"Inform him to meet me tomorrow at five in the morning if he is ready to endure pain," Alpha said.

Luna nodded energetically.

"Alright." Luna chirped and moved to leave the office.

"Mahira," Alpha called her before she left the cabin.

"Yes?" she raised her one eyebrow in question.

"Forget about this training as it wasn't really a punishment but a plea from a mother. When are you actually gonna punish me?" Alpha asked, desperate for a way to make up for his mistakes.

"If you so desperately want a punishment then get if from Nihal. Because giving you one would mean that I would have to forgive you after you finish that punishment and I don't want to forgive you."

Luna left after saying her piece of mind, not waiting for Alpha to respond. Her words may have sounded cruel but her eyes showed the hurt she was so desperately trying to bury.