Kwan helped his pack mates collect their dead before returning to his room. His muscles felt heavy and achy after the long day he had. The wounds on his body were healing quickly, and the thought of a refreshing shower was the only thing on his mind.

He came to a stop when he arrived at his bedroom door. He had forgotten that Sasha was resting in his room.

Kwan's knuckles rapped softly against the door. When he was met with silence, he cautiously opened the door and peered in.

He saw her sprawled across his bed, her skin glowing in the moon's light from his window. Her mouth was slightly ajar and he could hear the gentle sound of her snoring. How can a woman look so damn beautiful even in her sleep?

Kwan silently stepped into the room. He picked out one of his underpants from his dresser before entering the bathroom.

He hastily stripped off his shorts, and the refreshing sound of the running shower greeted him as he stepped in. He ran his fingers through his hair, slick with shampoo, before scrubbing his body free of all the dirt and blood.

Kwan grabbed a towel and tied it around his waist before taking another to rub the excess water from his hair. As much as he wanted to blow dry his hair, he left it to dry naturally so that he didn't wake up Sasha.

He pulled on his underwear under the towel and walked out of the bathroom. He made his way over to his walk-in closet to find one of his joggers to put on.

His hands froze when he heard her shift around on the bed. He glanced over his shoulder and released a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still sleeping.

Kwan pulled a cozy, gray jogger from the rack and slipped it on. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a white V-neck before putting it on.

He made his way over to the bed and took a seat on the edge. His eyes slowly moved over Sasha's body, checking on her wounds.

The sight of the wound on her stomach almost healed brought a relieved sigh from his lips. "You don't know how much it scared me when I saw you fainting. I don't know what you did for my wolf and I to feel like the world would end if you should die," he whispered.

Kwan leaned closer, his finger gentle as he traced the creases in her eyebrow. A spark of electricity surged through his hand when he touched her, and he quickly jerked away in shock. He looked from his finger to her with wide eyes. No way.

His wolf yip of happiness confirmed his suspicion.

Sasha's eyes snapped open, and she stared at him with dread. "Damn it," she mumbled under breath.

"You knew," he said. His words were heavy with the surprise and hurt he was feeling inside.

Sasha sat up but said nothing.

"You knew all this time. Is that why you refused to touch me? Do you not want me as your mate?" He couldn't hide how hurt he felt after learning she was his true mate. He felt a pang in his heart as his wolf howled in anguish at the thought of her rejection. Kwan's face twisted in agony as his hand moved across his chest, trying to ease the sudden, sharp pain.

"Am I not worthy enough for you, Alpha Hemming?" he whispered.

Sasha groaned in frustration and ran her hands over her face. "It's not that I don't want you, Kwan. Goddess knows how hard it has been to keep my hands to myself. Why do you think I constantly teased you? How can I not want the man I was blessed with?"

"Then why?" Kwan asked in disbelief. His wolf whimpered in his mind, just as confused.

Sasha's gaze met his. "I'm not a simple person, cutie. I'm not like you. There are things about me you don't know and maybe when you learn these things, you won't want me."

Kwan's face contorted in disbelief as he stared at her. "So you were going to just leave without even giving us a chance? You weren't planning to give me a chance to choose whether or not I wanted to stay with my mate. You've heard me talk about how much I longed to meet my mate and this is..." His voice cracked as he felt the tears pricking his eyes.

She shook her head, her lips pressed together in frustration. "You got it all wrong, Kwan. I never planned to leave here without you. How could I possibly continue living life without you when I knew where you were?"

"You say all these words but you kept that I was your mate to yourself. You denied my touch, you—" He trailed off as a thought came to mind. "—Is that why Beta Lee didn't want me to touch you?"

He felt the warmth of the first tears sliding down his face. "Even your Beta knew I was your mate. You told her before you told me." His voice quivered as he stared at her, with his eyes filled with the pain and disappointment of being betrayed.

Sasha grimaced. "Actually, she was the one that figured it out. She realized what you were to me even before I did."

Kwan growled. He felt deceived by the one who was supposed to love him. "Do you think that makes it any better, Alpha Hemming?" His eyes fluttered shut, becoming no more than thin slits. "Are you hiding your scent?" He asked as the thought suddenly crossed his mind.

She turned her face away from him. "I need to go. My pack is in danger. We can talk about this when I come back for you."

She tried to get past him, but he grabbed her hand. He could feel the tingles and from her small gasp, he knew she felt them too.

"Sasha, are you hiding your scent?" His voice was a low growl. His wolf had had enough of his mate's rejection.

Sasha's eyes snapped up to his. "I am hiding my scent—"

Kwan snatched his hand away from her as if it was burnt. He got up from the bed to leave the room. But her hand gripped his shirt, stopping him.

He glanced at her over his shoulder with a brow raised in inquiry. He had reached his limit of being stabbed in the heart by his own mate.

Her eyes were pleading with him to understand. "I'm hiding my scent, but it's not because of you. It's something I have to do to protect me and my pack."

Kwan removed her hand from his shirt. It was killing him inside to be cold to his mate, but she had hurt him. "You said you need to get back to your pack, so let's go."

Sasha blinked up at him with confusion in her eyes. "You're not mad at me anymore?"

He shook his head. "I didn't say I wasn't mad or hurt. I'm telling you that we're going to go protect your pack." Goddess, help me. The face she was making almost made him cave in.

His mate was a strong, badass Alpha, but here she was looking at him with the most adorable face. Her green eyes were wide like a hopeful puppy.

She narrowed her eyes at him. He could tell the moment the rage consumed her confusion.

"You are not coming along, Kwan," she said through gritted teeth.

An animalistic growl resonated from his throat as his wolf emerged. "The hell I'm not. You think I'm going to allow my mate to go against that evil witch and her minions by herself? You can forget that idea, Sasha."

Sasha folded her arms across her chest and stared up at him.

His eyes drifted from her face to her breasts that were pushed up. Playing dirty, mate.

"You are their Alpha now. You can't just leave," she said with a smug smirk.

Kwan's eyes snapped up to hers. A smirk made its way onto his lips. "I'm not their alpha. I can go wherever my mate is."

Her smirk slipped from her lips, and she dropped her hands to her side. "You're not going." Her posture was rigid, and she spoke with a sharpness that signaled her finality.

He smiled, his white teeth showing, as he leaned down next to her ear. His lips softly brushed her ear as he whispered, "who is going to stop me?"

A gasp of surprise left her lips as stepped away from him. "You... You... You're not going." She stammered those words before rushing out of his room.

Kwan's shoulders shook with a hearty chuckle. His mate was a vixen when she was in control. But as soon as he had the upper hand, she turned into a putty in his hand.

I may be hurt by your decision, mate. But I will never allow you to fight your battles alone.

He hurriedly packed his suitcase with all the essentials and clothes he needed. He did not doubt that his mate would leave him if he didn't reach the vehicles before she did.

***

Kwan smiled to himself as he sat next to his pissed off mate. She was not happy that he was already in the vehicle when her team had arrived.

Beta Lee looked at him before looking over at her Alpha. "Should I be worried? I don't know if you realized, but the woman beside you is quite close to blowing a gasket. And you're smiling like all is well."

Kwan glanced at his mate, who was staring at the seat like she wanted to rip it apart. He shrugged. "She's pissed and I'm hurt. I don't think she has the right to blow a gasket until she sees her true enemy."

Beta Lee let out a loud laugh. "I like you. You're the perfect mate for my best friend." She turned to face the front after saying that.

Kwan eased himself into the soft leather car seat, feeling its warmth envelop him. He was excited to see what the Crescent Moon Pack looked like. He heard stories as a child about how huge their land was.

Trees that exuded a mysterious energy surrounded them. Rivers flowed through their territory and how blessed their soil was. All things that he wanted to witness with his own eyes.

He could have asked his mate about her territory. But he was too prideful and hurt to talk to her after what she had done. He closed his eyes and welcomed the stillness of sleep that washed over him.