Ryker Dare
“Curse that sly woman,” I mumbled angry words under my breath and watched from the sidelines as she instructed her peers who now looked at her with newfound respect.
Her face was in a serious mask, calling out commands with her back ramrod-straight all the while giving off the air of authority and power. Goddess, she was so alluring.
“King.” Her voice was cool and calculating, making me straighten.
“What is it?” I began walking towards her.
“I need you to train with this group over there.” She jutted her chin in the direction of a group of teens, their eyes becoming wide at the sight of me.
“What exactly do you need me to do?”
“I need you to give them the basics of fighting. They’re quick learners but are still clumsy in some areas.” I nodded but quickly remembered that she couldn’t see.
“All right. What are you going to do?”
She suddenly smirked and pointed her thumb over her shoulder to another group of men who were checking out her figure. “I need to teach these bimbos a lesson. You can watch before you start your own training.” She whipped around and sashayed over to the group before I could answer. I glared at the men as they raked their eyes up and down her form.
“King, stay calm. I’m the one who needs to show the discipline if I’m going to be the trainer here.” With a wave of her hand, she walked up and stood in front of one tall man in particular, his eyes burning with hunger that made Axel and me angrier the longer we watched.
Rip him apart, Axel snarled, and I had to grit my teeth to keep him in check.
“So, Cole, I couldn’t help but overhear your earlier words,” Kei said with a casual smile. I was stiffer than a brick wall as I watched the man smirk.
“And what about it? I don’t know if we should let a little girl like you be in charge of training us.” He looked down at her, and I snarled, making a move to strangle the guy before Kei raised her hand, making me still.
“Is that so? Well then, I guess we’ll just have to do this the fun way, eh?” She chuckled before her hand darted out, gripping a fistful of his shirt and throwing him onto the ground. His loud grunt was the only thing that filled the air, as everybody was shocked into silence.
“Now, boys, you may all think that just because I’m a woman, I can’t fight. I think you are being sexist idiots, but hey, maybe you all just hate being one-upped by the opposite sex. Goddess knows how you all need to inflate your egos like a bunch of hot air balloons.”
The man, Cole, stumbled back to his feet. “It’s not because you’re a woman. It’s because you’re a rogue.” He spat.
I couldn’t hold Axel back any longer. Letting out a loud roar, I suddenly appeared in front of him. His face paled, and his eyes widened with fear at the livid expression on my face. Gripping his neck, I slammed his body back to the ground and held him there.
“How dare you say that to your future queen? If I were you, I would keep your mouth closed, pup.” I snarled, tightening my hold on his neck. I almost turned and snapped at the person who dared to touch me but instantly relaxed as the familiar buzzing of electricity warned me of who it was. Shooting one darker glare at the man, I let go and straightened. Just as I turned, I was met with two furious eyes that were currently bright angry red.
“Oh, Alpha Dare, would you mind coming with me for a moment? I need to have a little chat with you.” The way she actually acknowledged me as an alpha with a sickly sweet voice caused alarm bells to ring through my head.
She’s mad at you, Axel commented.
Thanks for stating the obvious. And don’t pretend that you aren’t involved with this as well, I replied dryly.
“Oh, and do tell your wolf he needs to listen extra carefully.” She turned her back and began making her way to the woods. “Everybody, do two hundred laps around the yard. Do not go into the woods until I get back.” She called over her shoulder, and instant groans and mutters followed right after but they obeyed. I took long strides after her and finally caught up right as she entered the tree line.
We stayed silent as we walked, the tall trees providing cool shade while the summer wildlife created a song that could only be replicated in real life. Finally, she stopped. I waited patiently as she turned and glared at me viciously, growling lowly with her eyes flashing with fury. Stunned doesn’t even cover what I felt from her reaction. Not even a nun cursing during prayer could have made me even more surprised.
“What did I do?” I growled, glaring down at her.
She met my eyes with a steely gaze, her lips turned down in a scowl. “What are you doing? If I want your help, I would have asked for it.” She glared at me, livid beyond relief. This reaction caused many emotions to flutter through me, annoyed that she dared to growl at me, furious with the pup called Cole, and lastly, emotionally stressed by my infuriating hormones that go into overdrive every time I was near Kei.
“Praise Goddess, my patience is already wearing thin, and we just met.” I gritted out before shoving her against the nearest tree, caging her in between my arms. “You are mine, Kei, mine. And because of this fact, no one gets to speak to you like that. So get this through your pretty little head, Lune. I will rip anyone into shreds who dares disrespect the future luna and queen as long as I live.” I ended my mini-rant with a soft caress on her cheek, my eyes softening.
“I did not spend half of my existence without a mate to let others badmouth you. Yes, I’ll probably infuriate you off beyond belief. Yes, I’ll make you want to wrap your hands around my throat and throttle me, but know that I’ll still be by your side. Nothing will ever change that because Goddess knows I’ve waited too long.”
She was silent as I finished, staring up at me with calming green eyes. They seemed to twinkle with something that made her even more beautiful.
“You know,” she finally said. “What if I was a horrible candidate for a luna? What would you have done then?”
I smirked before kissing her lightly on the forehead. “You’re the mate of the Alpha King. Of course, you’re going to be strong. I just never imagined something like you, however.”
“Thank you?”
I chuckled and pulled back, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Take that as a compliment, Lune. You’re better than my wildest dreams.”
She grinned up at me. “Why does that sound a lot more perverted than I am thinking?”
“It’s probably because your dirty mind is stuck in the gutter,” I said with the roll of my eyes.
“I guess not being a virgin doesn’t help,” she said bitterly with a sardonic smile, but as soon as she said those words, both of us froze.
“What did you just say?” My words were slow and sharp, careful to keep them even. She cursed under her breath and tilted her face away from me.
“When did I become such a blabbermouth?” she muttered, but I didn’t have the patience to wait for her answer. I reached up and gripped her chin, forcing her to face me. “What…did…you…say?” Each word was ground out through clenched teeth, the feeling of rage starting to fill my body like lava.
“It was something that I never wanted to happen,” she finally murmured, and I pulled back as if scalded. She looked up, and her eyes held hurt, but I couldn’t make myself feel for her. Even Axel was hurt and didn’t say anything in her defense.
“So what? Did you just jump into bed with any man on the streets?”
This time, as she flushed red, it wasn’t from shame. “What? Because I’m not a virgin that instantly classifies me as some harlot?”
“Well, it looked as if you weren’t going to save yourself for someone special,” I said with a sneer, ignoring the pang of pain in my chest.
She looked at me as if I had struck her, anger and betrayal shone clear in her eyes, and I instantly wished I had kept my mouth shut. She maneuvered around the tree and away from me, her eyes becoming blank.
“I’m not going to justify myself to you if you aren’t even willing to hear me out. You’re being an absolute hypocrite. And right after what you just said earlier, how can I believe you? You, who not only minutes ago, told me that you were going to stay by my side, but after you find out I’m not a virgin, you instantly just assume the worse of me?” She laughed, but it wasn’t the sweet sound that I was beginning to love. No, this was full of hurt and disbelief. And my heart clenched at the sound.
“Kei—”
She moved away from my outreached hand and gave me a venomous look. “I guess I’m going to be collecting my winnings earlier than anticipated.”
I was silent with apprehension.
“Alpha Dare, I want you to stay away from me unless it’s anything about the pack or any business related to the pack until when I deem fit you have been punished enough, got it?”
I went tense as the words finally registered in my mind. She brushed past me, and I didn’t make a move to stop her, even though everything in my being wanted to reach out and pull her against me. Axel was screaming to go get her and demand that she take back whatever she said, but a deal is a deal, and I would respect her wishes. I stood there and finally let what happened to sink in. Digging my fingers roughly into my hair and pulling did nothing to relieve the sting of her words and the guilt gnawing at my chest.
She’s right. You’re just one big hypocrite, and now, we could have potentially lost our mate because of you, Axel growled at me.
You were thinking the same things as me, Axel. That doesn’t make you any less guilty. I snarled. He didn’t reply. I ground out curses and tilted my face up to the sky, letting the rays of sun that peeked through the dense leaves blind me until I brought myself back to the dark shadows.
—I need a run. Clark, you’re in charge.
—Yes, Alpha.
I cut off the link and shifted, forcing my legs to go their fastest, knowing that staying away will make me want her more.