Chapter 7

• Kalen's POV:
• "Honey, what do you think about this one?" Kasia Ironwood, my chosen mate, held up an exquisite diamond necklace, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
• I gave it a cursory glance and a noncommittal nod. "It's fine."
• She frowned, clearly disappointed by my lukewarm reaction. "Only 'fine'? Kalen, this necklace was designed by the founder of Ezhara Designs herself. Do you know what that means?"
• Truth be told, I didn't really care about the nuances of fashion brands and jewelry designers. "No dear, I don't," I responded flatly.
• Kasia's plush lips turned down in a pout. "This necklace is a limited edition piece. All the clothing and jewelry personally designed by Ezhara's CEO are the most expensive and coveted items!"
• As she launched into another longwinded explanation about the prestige of the brand, I couldn't stop my eyes from roving over her aesthetic perfection. Kasia was undeniably gorgeous - her deep mahogany skin seemed to radiate a warm, sensual glow, and those high cheekbones carved her striking features into a regal, almost otherworldly visage. Her lithe figure, all lush curves accentuated by the forest green sheath dress hugging her body, beckoned for my hands to roam its tempting terrain.
• When she stepped closer, looping her arms around my waist, I breathed in the enticing floral fragrance of her hair products mingling with her natural feminine musk. "Baby, I want to look beautiful for your coronation," she murmured, gazing up at me through a fan of thick lashes. "I want everyone to see that your luna has impeccable style. Just imagine, so many important people will be there."
• I managed a tight smile and gave a curt nod of acknowledgment, my mind already drifting. As breathtaking as Kasia's appearance was, if I'm being honest, I felt no profound connection to her - no cosmic pull towards her as my eternal mate and partner. I had chosen her solely for her outward beauty and the clout her influential family could bring to solidifying my claim to the alpha title.
• There was nothing deeper than surface-level lust and ambition driving my decision to take Kasia as my luna. No divine sense of fated belonging or spiritual intertwining of souls. Just raw, carnal desire and cold pragmatism.
• "This would be the perfect opportunity for me to debut a piece from Ezhara's coveted collection at your coronation," Kasia carried on with that dreamy, wistful lilt. "Then everyone will see I have amazing taste befitting the future luna."
• The brand name triggered a flicker of recognition, but I couldn't quite place the lingering sense of familiarity. Ezhara Designs...why did that strike some deeper, discordant chord within me?
• Before I could fully grasp the clawing tendrils of unease, a fleeting image flickered across my mind's eye - a haunted pair of amethyst eyes swimming with anguished rejection, a mouth twisted into a permanent hollow curve of heartbreak...
• Raven.
• I physically shook my head, as if to dislodge the unbidden ghost of my past tormenting me. That half-breed omega was an ancient relic, a mercifully closed chapter of weakness and dishonor. Our shattered bond was little more than a dull, old ache - certainly nothing that should still rattle me after all this time.
• "Fine, get whatever you want," I snapped, perhaps more harshly than intended as I pulled away from Kasia's embrace. "I need some air. I'll be in the car."
• I barely registered her crestfallen look as I stormed out of the boutique, bursting through the door and sucking in deep lungfuls of crisp evening air. Yet even the refreshing breeze couldn't seem to banish the lingering trace of Raven's uniquely lush, earthy scent from infiltrating my senses - vanilla, jasmine and some musky, unidentifiable essence that was hers and hers alone.
• Gritting my teeth, I squeezed my eyes shut and willed away the vestiges of that fateful, brutal night so many years ago - Raven's slender shoulders trembling with heartbroken sobs, the utterly decimated look in those amethyst depths when I'd severed the frayed bond between us.
• She had never been worthy enough for me, for the greatness to which I was born. The sting of separation may have tormented us both, but it had been a necessary cruelty to preserve my ascension to true power as Alpha.
• Yet still, some deeply buried, relentlessly resilient part of me couldn't let go of the nagging disquiet over why the mere mention of a brand could resurface flashes of her face so vividly. As if her memory, her essence, was indelibly scorched into the very fabric of my subconscious, refusing to be fully erased no matter how fervently I tried to obliterate it.
• It was madness. The wistful, sentimental musings of a wolf mourning the loss of what had never truly been his to possess in the first place.
• Raven Wildheart was a remnant of the past, an unsightly blemish I had overcome to claim my rightful destiny. So why did she continue haunting the periphery of my mind like a festering phantom, clawing her way through the cracks in the armor I'd forged to protect my way of life?
• The only sane path forward was to let the buried remain buried and fix my focus wholly on what lay ahead - my imminent coronation as Alpha, and all the glory and status it would bring. Anything, or anyone else was an unforgivable distraction.
• With a guttural growl rumbling low in my chest, I viciously shoved the nagging silhouette of soft, feminine curves and soulful violet irises back into the shadows where it belonged. She would not defeat me, not after I had conquered her once already.
• Raven was a ghost of the past.
• And I was a man staring unflinchingly towards my destiny, whether haunting memories approved or not.
• Something in me told me to leave Kasai at the botique but of course I knew that was wrong. Kasia had been chosen by my father before he died, he felt she would make a perfect Luna. So since 5 years had passed since the Moon Goddess had given me a second chance mate, I had no choice but to take her as my chosen mate. The pack members needed a Luna. I knew Kasia could never be like my mother but atleast she was not a weak, half breed omega like Raven.