Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

The next morning, the sun broke through soft clouds, spilling golden light over the hills.
I sat by the window in our bedroom, already dressed, my gaze lingering over the silver olive groves that dotted the land like ancient guardians. My sketchbook lay open on my lap, pencil in hand—but it had stilled there twenty minutes ago.
So much had changed.
Since becoming Francesco’s mate—his Luna—this manor had become my home. Not just the room with its large balcony and thick velvet curtains, but the air itself, the stone floors, the land.
Everything whispered his scent and presence.
Everything accepted me.
And yet, I still didn’t know what to do with it all.
Audrey and Monica had practically become my personal assistants—though they’d scowl if I called them that. Guides, really. Guardians. And not just them—Jeremy, Jonathan, and even Joshua had all been pulled into this silent, unspoken duty of… watching me. Protecting me.
Yes, Joshua.
Turns out, having a classmate who’s secretly a warrior and your mate’s spy wasn’t as subtle as they hoped. He wasn’t bad at blending in, but it was hard to ignore how he always popped up wherever I was on campus. It felt weird. Not in a bad way. Just… odd. Like I had this invisible security bubble around me, and they were the operators.
Not that I could blame them.
No one had ever cared about me this much. Not just one person—a pack. Francesco, most of all. It was like the moment he claimed me, the pack shifted with him, forming a wall of unshakable loyalty around us. Around me.
I guess they liked seeing their Alpha smile. Liked that he didn’t walk around like a ghost anymore.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Francesco was still in bed, or maybe pretending. His arm draped lazily off the side of the mattress, chest bare and hair tousled like a storm had passed through. He looked younger in sleep, almost boyish, except for the faint scar near his collarbone—a reminder of battles I hadn’t been part of.
I stood and quietly packed my things into my bag. Sketchbook, pencils, water bottle. I was almost out the door when a familiar hand snaked around my waist and yanked me back against a warm, solid chest.
“Not going to happen, Luna mio,” Francesco murmured against my neck.
I groaned. “Francesco... Please, I really have to go to campus.”
He opened one eye lazily, but didn’t let go. “And miss our morning bath ritual? How cruel.”
“I’ll be late,” I argued, trying and failing to squirm free. “Be reasonable.”
His grip tightened with playfulness, lips brushing my cheek. I knew that look. I was losing this battle.
So I deployed my only weapon—puppy eyes.
“Don’t you dare look at me like that, woman,” he growled half-heartedly, but I could hear the crack forming in his will.
I pouted more, just for effect. “Pleaseee,” I whispered, brushing my lips over his jaw in the softest way.
Inside my mind, Mika cackled with glee. Even Lucas, Francesco’s wolf, was already melting.
“Fine!” he finally huffed. “But—”
There it was. The infamous but.
“—you agree to all conditions I may throw in.”
I nodded quickly, knowing full well I was signing a vague, ambiguous contract of Alpha proportions. But then he scooped me up effortlessly and carried me straight to the bath. I didn’t resist. His laughter, deep and unrestrained, echoed off the marble walls, and I found myself laughing too.
Later, Audrey waited beside my black Mercedes, her arms crossed and a smirk tugging at her lips.
“So,” she said as I approached, “do I like this version of Alpha Francesco more… or the terrifying pre-you version?”
I rolled my eyes and grinned, handing her my bag. “Don’t start.”
From behind us, Jonathan and Jeremy loaded their car in silence, shadows as always. Audrey raised a brow as she overheard Francesco’s voice barking last-minute instructions through the mind-link.
“Shadows following us. Seriously?” she muttered, sliding into the driver’s seat. “You’re not a queen. Yet.”
I snorted. “Don’t give him ideas.”
The campus looked the same as always—students milling about, the buzz of life uninterrupted—but the air felt different.
Heavier.
Every glance lingered longer than it used to. Every whisper felt aimed in my direction. The werewolves among the student body knew. News had traveled fast through the supernatural grapevine.
Ellaine Rollin was no longer just the quiet she-wolf studying art.
She had been claimed. Not by any wolf. By the Alpha Francesco Totti Lycaon.
And with that knowledge came distance.
Some stared with awe in their eyes, as if I were suddenly sacred. Others looked away quickly, almost afraid. I didn’t blame them. To them, I had gone from an outsider to someone important.
Someone... untouchable.
I hated it.
But there were three souls who hadn’t changed—because they didn’t know.
Jose, Angela, and Katrina waited near the dorm building. Human. Blissfully unaware of pack politics, mate bonds, or rogue threats.
“Damn, girl,” Angela blurted as soon as I stepped out. “Are you dating a sugar daddy or something?”
I froze mid-step. “Excuse me?!”
Katrina giggled. “Don’t pretend. Fancy car. Designer bag. And rumor has it someone bought you an apartment.”
“Then rumor has it you left the apartment,” Angela added. “So spill.”
I laughed so hard I nearly doubled over. “You think I’m dating some rich old man?”
They shrugged. “Wouldn’t blame you.”
I shook my head, still grinning.
If only they knew. Francesco wasn’t an old man in the way they thought. Chronologically? Sure. But physically, emotionally? He made mortal men look like cardboard cutouts.
The rest of the school day was peaceful enough. No drama. No rogue attacks. Just overly curious stares and whispered questions.
Then, near sunset, I stepped out of class to find him leaning against my car in the parking lot.
My Francesco...
Wearing a sleek black jacket, his golden eyes hidden behind sunglasses, exuding pure Alpha energy that had half the campus swooning—and the other half trembling.
He smiled as I walked up. “You look happier,” he said, brushing a kiss over my cheek before opening the passenger door.
I couldn’t stop giggling. “You need to hear what my human friends said about me.”
He arched an eyebrow, walking smoothly to the driver’s side. “Oh?”
“There’s a rumor,” I began as he started the engine, “that I’m dating a sugar daddy.”
He turned to me with a stunned expression, then burst out laughing—a real laugh, deep and warm. “You are,” he said casually.
I swatted his arm. “Hey?!”
“I’ve been called many things,” he murmured. “But, that’s a first.” He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “You’re my mate. You’re everything.”
We drove in silence for a while, his hand never leaving mine.
“It’s weird,” I said softly, staring out the window. “That someone like me gets this life.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, voice genuinely confused.
“I’m just… me. Ordinary. And you—well, you’re Francesco Lycaon.”
He pulled the car to a stop at a quiet overlook just outside the city. Then he cupped my face with both hands and looked straight into my soul.
“You’re not ordinary, Ellaine, you’re extraordinary… Please, don’t ever say otherwise. You have no idea what you’ve done to me.”
My heart twisted.
I opened my mouth to respond, but he leaned in and give me a longing kisses to shut me.
“I never believed someone like you could exist. But now that I have you, I’ll do anything to keep you safe. And happy.” He continue.
Tears pricked my eyes.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I leaned into him, letting his warmth seep into my bones. “Always”
Meanwhile...
Far outside Florence, under the cloak of night, danger stirred.
A figure cloaked in black moved through the trees, his scent masked, his intent deadly. Around him, rogue wolves prowled—lean, hungry, and armed.
The hunter’s blade glinted in the moonlight.
“Their protection is too tight,” he growled to his pack. “What is he hiding?”
Francesco Lycaon. The Alpha once shattered by the death of his mate, Anastasia. Broken. Silent. Barely clinging to life.
Now? He had risen. Stronger. Fiercer. Like a beast reborn.
Why?
“Could it be true?” the hunter muttered, eyes narrowed. “Another mate? Impossible.”
And yet… everything about the Alpha’s movement suggested it.
“Find out everything,” he ordered coldly. “Who she is. Where she lives. Who protects her. We’ll find the weakness in their fortress. And when we do…”
His wolves growled low and eager.
“…we strike.”