Chapter 2 Enlightenment

• I spent the rest of the day working on pack security and setting up meetings. There are a few alphas wanting an alliance with us. Kosta and I have become quite the power couple in werewolf society. Since we took over as alpha and luna, the pack and the businesses have grown tremendously. I put my heart and soul into making our pack the best. I got an early start. I graduated from high school when I was 16 and went to university. I graduated with a business degree at 20. Kosta has let me take the lead in our businesses. He knows that beast at negotiation and a whiz at growing businesses. I have acquired several new companies since working in the pack’s business. Kosta is still the CEO, but I am the COO of the company. I broker the deals and then call Kosta in to close the deal. Most alphas in our circle are jealous of Kosta because he has me at his side. Kosta used to be proud of me and the things I do for the pack, but lately, he has been a little resistant to the changes I have been making and is trying to pull more and more of the daily operations of the business from me. He can’t take it all because I am the sole financial backing of the pack and the businesses.
• I am known in werewolf society as a child prodigy, but don’t get it twisted. I am not all brains. I can be very deadly when needed. I train every day. I am one of the strongest wolves alive, although I keep that hidden. I can be ruthless, but fair. I know that I am the total package. I am athletic, tall with curves in the right places. I’ve never been one to compete with other she-wolves. I thought I was happy and had a good life. I thought Khalis was happy. We used to talk about finding our fated mates. I just can’t understand how or why Khalis would try to come between me and my mate. As much as I would like to believe that my bond was safe and solid, Sapphire is right about Kosta acting suspiciously lately. Kosta has been questioning me a lot lately. It’s like he woke up a different person one day. He suddenly lost trust in me, but I have never given him a reason to doubt me. I have found him outside of my door listening to business phone calls, which is crazy because he could just walk in at any time and join the conversation. I have never hidden anything I was doing from him. The worse thing is that our sex life is now nonexistent. Kosta is always too busy or too tired. He has been acting like he is not attracted to me anymore. He had the nerve to ask me why I have been trying so hard to seduce him lately. Like he didn’t just stop making love to me cold turkey all of a sudden. We went from making love every day, sometime multiple times a day, to nothing in over a month. Seems like he should have been worried if I didn’t try to seduce him. I don’t know any mated pair that has gone this long without being intimate with each other. I don’t know what the issue is. If we were not marked, I would wonder if he was cheating, but I know he is not. I would have felt it. Why did all of this suddenly become so hard? Why do I even need to seduce my goddess-given mate? It was never supposed to be this way. At least not yet. I’m only 20 years old. Much too young to be going through a dry spell while mated.
• I got so desperate at one time I asked our friends what was going on with him. Kosta tells his beta and gamma everything. I figured if there was a problem, they would tell me and I could fix it, but they just said that he was under a lot of stress. What exactly does he have to stress about? The pack is doing better than it has been in years. In half a year, the pack will be self-sufficient again and won’t need to depend on my finances to keep it afloat. I have everything set in motion for the pack to have more disposable cash and residual income. I have a feeling this has Khalis written all over it. It looks like she has already gotten a foothold in place, and Kosta is falling in line. Maybe this was their plan all along. Kosta needed me to get his pack back on track and now that they are almost completely independent, they don’t need me anymore. If that’s the case, they are in for a rude awakening. My 6-month plan depends on me closing several more deals. All of these deals are allies with my father, uncle, and grandfather. They will not work with Kosta if our bond falls apart. He would erase everything that I have done over the past three years. Well, that would be his problem.
• I got so caught up in working and thinking; I didn’t realize I worked up to dinner time. No one called me for lunch. In fact, no one called me for dinner. That is strange. Usually, one of the omegas would come to check on me when I was working too much and make sure that I eat. I guess everyone is following Kosta. Since he has not been showing me any care, they are not either. That really hurts. I sacrificed a lot for this pack. I thought they cared more than this for me. I should just go back to my room. I don’t know if I really want to be around this pack right now, especially if they could turn their backs on me this quickly. Were they all just using me for my family’s wealth?
• “We need to eat Zell. Remember, we are eating for our pup as well. Don’t let them win. We are better than this. If they show us they don’t want us here, we will leave. Remember, we are alpha born. We will rise above this. We will go back to where we are celebrated. If they turn against us, they don’t deserve us. We will sit back and let them destroy themselves.”
• “You are right Sapphire. Let’s go eat. Our pup needs sustenance.”
• I went and cleaned myself up and walked to the dining room. As soon as I walked through the door, all the talking stopped. The whole place went silent. As I walked all the way in, I saw why everyone went silent. Khalis was sitting in my seat, putting food on Kosta’s plate like she was the luna. When she saw me, she just smirked and kept doing what she was doing. Kosta just keep eating like I was not standing there. Sapphire started pushing forward. She wanted blood. I did too, but I have to think about our pup.
• “What the hell is going on, Kosta? Why is she sitting in my seat feeding you?” I growled.
• “I meant no harm, Zell. You were busy, so I decided to take care of Kosta for you. Someone needs to care for him while you are caring for other things. “Khalis said.
• “I was speaking to my mate, not his whore on the side.” I sneered.
• “You were not here for your mate, so I have been taking care of his needs,” Khalis replied.
• Sapphire pushed forward and growled loudly. Everyone in the room bowed their neck to her.
• “I could kill you in less than 30 seconds, Khalis. I would advise you not to keep crossing my line and you will find yourself very dead. You obviously have forgotten who I am. Don’t make me remind you what my family name is,” Sapphire said.
• I regained control and looked at Kosta. He didn’t even appear to be concerned. He didn’t show an ounce of regret or remorse. That actually took a little of the fight out of me. Khalis can only do what Kosta allows her to do.