Luca's POV: My Matter Is My Matter m

My body went rigid, and it felt as though someone had slapped me across the face, my skin burning with humiliation and rage.

"Luca, I am your mate!" I shouted in disbelief, the sting of his cold words and actions cutting deep, each one like a knife plunging into my chest, drawing blood. I could feel the pain slice through me.

"So?" He growled, his eyes cold and distant. My knees almost buckled under the intensity of his gaze, my teeth gritted, my body trembling, held together only by the raw anger surging through me.

"So I deserve to know anything that's going to happen!" I snapped, voice sharp and full of hurt. "If you're going to take in some whores, I, your Luna, need to know about it!"

"She is not a whore."

"Oh… she's not?" I scoffed, disbelief and disdain dripping from my voice. "Then what is she? Willow Belt's little cocksucker?"

"Camilla!" he snapped, but I wouldn't back down.

Probably noticing this, he glanced at me briefly, his words hanging in the air, "Someone like you, my mate."

And when I thought that would be all, he added in a smooth voice. "Except she is my true mate, unlike you."

I stood rigid.

I couldn't feel anything again.

My heart stopped, the world around me spinning as his words sank in.

Someone like you, my mate.

Except she is my true mate, unlike you.

I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. My knees almost gave way beneath me, and a wave of coldness washed over me. His true mate. The shock hit harder than any physical blow—this wasn't just betrayal, it was everything I'd known crumbling in an instant. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

What am I going to do now?

It was a famous thing that once one passed the age of 21 and still didn't have a mate, then the chance of one later getting one is as little as 1%. It's one out of a hundred possibilities.

My parents were never mates, but they grew to have me without a second party.

I expected the same for I and Luca. Position bound us, we were pronounced as one, but the Moon goddess never did.

I have always waited for the day we would be tied together, finally.

But now, Luca finds his mate?

I stood there, frozen, the cold emptiness of his words seeping into me. His true mate. The weight of it crashed down on me, leaving me paralyzed, my mind racing through a thousand thoughts I couldn't keep up with. What now?

My chest felt tight, the realization that everything I thought I knew about my future with Luca was a lie. He was never really mine. I had convinced myself for so long that we would be together—me, his Luna, and him, the Alpha. But now, it felt like everything I'd hoped for had been ripped away.

I was supposed to be his. He was supposed to be mine. But now, he had her. His true mate.

What happens to me now? I couldn't stay silent forever, but my mind wouldn't allow me to speak. I couldn't process the magnitude of what I had just learned. He didn't need me anymore. The thought stabbed deeper than anything else.

The age of 21—the moment when a mate bond should have been formed—has long closed on both of us, and the chance of ever having a true mate of my own was now almost nonexistent. No… that wasn't even it. Could I live without Luca? Could I live without the person I had more than a decade of love in?

What was I supposed to do now?

"She is a westerner, Luca." I said, my voice low.

"So?"

"We are in a midst of war with her family, her pack! Only a fool will be involved with a westerner with our current situation. She is dangerous. Can't you see that?" I explained, smacking the table to draw in his fleeting attention. "She can be a spy… she can be anything meant to take you down."

I tried to reason with him. "There are wars to be fought and to be won, any little missteps could literally get us right back at the starting point. You don't need that woman, Luca. You don't need a westerner." His silence made me grow even more desperate, trying to make him understand what he was blind to see.

As much as I wanted him, he stood on equal footing with the pack in my heart.

Three things I loved and wanted the most were always clear: Luca, Luna, L'umanità. And nothing could obscure that.

"Westerners are cunning." My hand made a motion of its own. I honestly found it hard to believe I would be here, explaining these things to him. "They murdered our people. They raped and killed your Aunt!"

"Enough!" He yelled at me, his Alpha aura coating the room. My wolf became obedient in an instant, and I found myself sitting humbly on the seat, against my will, forced to lower my head.

The humiliation was too much for me, and I called Maria in my head.

Meanwhile, he continued. "She is nothing like that. She is not that kind of person. I knew her. I knew what she can do and what she can't. Don't lecture me as if you do."

My lips trembled, but just as I was about to open my mouth, Maria knocked.

"Enter." I told her.

Coming in, she curtisised, then stood behind me.

But before I left, I turned to look at him, "I need an answer, Luca. Between her and me, who is more important?"

And with that, I walked away with the help of my maid.

---

LUCA'S POV

I'm glad that Donatella is okay.

The pack doctor told me she only needs to rest. It wasn't easy for a woman to be in the center of war. Good thing I found her now. Now, I have to take care of her, never letting her suffer again.

Losing her once was already painful enough, and now that she is my mate, I will never lose her again.

I glanced at the guard across the room and ordered him to fetch Camilla. I trust no one but her when it comes to handling things like this. The others might fail, but I trust she would do an excellent job.

Soon, I smelled Camilla's scent, drifting from meters away.

And then, she made her appearance.

I didn't look up from the documents, "Make room arrangements for Donatella," seeing her stillness, I added with a nod, "I trust you'll give her the best."

I hope she recognized the importance of this matter. Well, she had to. Nothing can go wrong.

Donatella needs the best.

I expected an affirmation from her, but whatever was happening, she spaced out for a solid whole minute.

Then she finally opened her mouth, her voice drifting to my ears. "Who is she?" she demanded, her tone making me frown. I don't like the feeling of being interrogated, but she always has a knack for it.

"Donatella." I responded lightly. I thought she could catch on already.

And just as I was about to focus on the documents before me, she sprouted a string of words I didn't understand.

"Are you having fun toying with my emotions, Luca?"

And here we go again, with questions I don't have an answer for, nor do I understand.

I raised my brow slightly, and she fired off with a glare. "You knew that wasn't what I asked."

Well, that's exactly what she did.

And honestly, I don't know what's wrong with her, why the outburst? Not that I wished to know, so I figured that once she's done, she will leave.

But then, she actually snatched the pen from me, and my eyes darkened as I watched the ink linger on some page.

I glanced at her, now annoyed, and responded with a growl.

"I'm not obligated to give you one."

Not at all.

My matter is my matter.

I know what I am doing.