Page 50 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“He’s a good alpha, Martha. If you get to know him, you’ll see. Cade’s earned his position with blood, sweat and tears.”

“You’re getting very defensive, Rose. You’re not thinking of disgracing my son’s name by shacking up to another alpha so soon after his death are you?”

“First, it’s been a year, Martha. Second, I will do as I please and third, I have no intentions of having another alpha. I’ll be alpha of this pack in two months, if I have anything to do with it.”

Martha raised an eyebrow and for once, said nothing. She turned and left, leaving me more aggravated than I started.

“Red Wood Wolves, let’s get to work!” Cade’s voice echoed off the walls as he walked past the dining room. His hat, whichCharles told me they called a Stetson because of the brand, was firmly on his head, the rays of sunlight lighting up the blond hair peeking from underneath.

His people were quick to stand, cleaning up after themselves and filing out behind their alpha. That kind of respect could not be bought, and it was something that I still didn’t have. Sighing, I helped clean up what remained of breakfast before I made my way to the fields, picked up a box and started picking the fruit.

Half an hour before the lunch break, I headed up to my room to rinse and help prep lunch. Before I could reach my room, however, I felt a pair of hands circle my waist.

“I went to your room last night, but your light was already off,” Cade whispered in my ear, making my heart rate ratchet up and my core tighten.

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to sink into his arms for a moment before I ripped off the bandage.

“Cade, last night… shouldn’t have happened.”

Cade tensed behind me before he dropped his arms from around me. I felt the loss deeper than I thought I would, but turned around to face him, hoping he couldn’t see it on my face. His face was unreadable, and he was looking off to the distance.

“Got it, Princess,” he said, his eyes finally meeting mine and I saw the hurt in them, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t—take the words back.

“You’re leaving soon, and I can’t be taking up with a visiting alpha, then expect things to go back to normal. It’s a conquest for you. It’s an issue of respect for me.”And I couldn’t afford to get attached,I thought

“I’m a big boy, Bells. I can handle a rejection.” He smiled down at me and gave a little shrug, and I didn’t think I ever hated those actions more than I did just now.

Why was this hurting me more than it was hurting him? It just further proved my point. Getting involved with another alphawas out of the question. Cade left and, as I watched him retreat, I wondered why this felt like more than just a simple parting of ways for two childhood friends. This felt like my heart wanted to fracture in two.

I didn’t have time to dive into it however, so I shoved it down like I did the rest of the shit I didn’t want to deal with and got back on task. Charles needed help.

Two weeks after the Red Wood wolves arrived I was having breakfast with Adam in the dining room. We were three-quarters of the way through the harvesting and I wanted to cry. Things were looking good. Cade’s people were hard workers. They didn’t shy away from physical labor and I’d yet to hear any of them complain about the long hours.

Last week, I contacted some of our smaller vendors thanks to Violet, who found the invoices for me, and most were willing to buy from us again. If I could sell the entire stock of wine, I stood a chance at bringing the pack out of crisis.

The full moon was a few days away, so I grabbed a chunk of money from my savings and instructed Charles and Lindsay to go buy food for the celebration after breakfast today. Everyone more than earned it this month, and I was hoping some of my widows would find second-chance mates among Cade’s unmated wolves.

I wish he was our second chance,Coyo sighed.

Over the past few weeks, Cade had been respectful of my decision to end things before they started, but a small part ofme wished he would try again. I found myself annoyed whenever any woman flirted with him and with Coyo reacting the same way, she began to bring up the subject of a second-chance mate.

The prospect excited me and terrified me. I didn’t want another mate bond. I didn’t want the heartbreak. I certainly didn’t want to be luna again. I admired Mom and Dad for how they ruled the pack, but I was never able to get my pack to respect me as Crescent Moon respected Mom. I learned the hard way that their relationship was not what every alpha expected from their luna.

What kind of mate would Cade be? I found myself wondering at night lately. What kind of luna would he expect me to be if he was my second chance mate?

Would he be like Dad, who considered his luna more important than the alpha for the health of a pack and gave her a voice and vote? Or would he be like Brandon, who thought a luna’s job was to bear an heir and keep the alpha happy?

Was this pull to Cade another mate bond or simply a need for companionship and physical release? I’d heard stories of people feeling a pull to their mates before they knew they were mates.

Hell, Cory was in love with Evie since we were kids, but that could just be the fact that Evie is an amazing person and had nothing to do with the bond. I never met Brandon before the mate bond snapped into place, so I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to feel beforehand.

The other question that crossed my mind was if I was willing to accept the mate bond. I swore after Brandon died that I wouldn’t. I promised myself I would reject it, but could I do that to Cade? He wasn’t a stranger. Would I still be able to? Would I put that strain on my family’s friendship with his?

My heart and my head were warring with each other and I wasn’t sure which would win. It was exhausting and dimmedsome of my happiness knowing that I might be able to survive financially.

“Bells?” Cade’s voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I stared up at the man standing in front of the table where I was eating breakfast.

“Sorry. What?”

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