Chapter 18 Eighteen

• A sharp growl rumbled through my own throat, blending with the howling wind. Icrouched behind a thick wall of twisted roots, my eyes locked onto the towering castle in the distance and my fingers curled into the damp earth, my sharp nails dug deep as my body trembled with restrained rage.
• I stood motionless, my fists clenched on ine of the tree branch, my eyes blazed with fury as I watched the scene unfolding in the castle's balcony.
• There she was. The woman I had cast aside.
• Brielle Fox.
• The wolfless woman I had rejected without hesitation. The one I had deemed unworthy of being my mate, my Luna. She was weak. Pathetic.
• She was nothing but an embarrassment to my pack. Yet, instead of breaking, instead of crawling back to me and begging, she had found her way here, into the embrace of another man... No, not just any man.
• The Lycan King himself.
• My vision blurred with rage as I watched Foxy laugh, her soft voice drifting up to my ears like a haunting melody. And then she did it. She threw her arms around the King, pressing herself into him, her head resting against his chest as if he were her protector... Her savior.
• A low and gruttural snarl ripped through my throat.
• "You're going to set them on fire if you keep looking at them like that."
• A voice drawled behind me.
• I didn't turn. I knew that voice, it was Lycarus, my Beta, and the only one foolish enough to interrupt my boiling rage.
• "Tell me I'm imagining this."
• I growled, my voice laced with venom.
• "Tell me that isn't my mate, my rejected mate clinging to the King like he's her damned world."
• Lycarus exhaled slowly as he steped closer.
• "You rejected her, Alpha Alaric. You made it clear she meant nothing to you."
• My claws extended, digging into the the tree.
• "That doesn't mean she can throw herself at him."
• Lycarus scoffed.
• "You expected her to mourn you forever?"
• I spun, my eyes flashing with pure rage.
• "I expected her to know her place!"
• "And what place is that?"
• Lycarus crossed his arms.
• "Alone? Unwanted? Weak?"
• I didn't answered, my eyes still fixed on them.
• Later, I heard Lycarus sighed.
• "The King has taken an interest in her. Maybe because he sees something in her that you never did."
• My fury burned even hotter. The thought of Foxy in another man's arms protecting her like this made my wolf thrash inside me, clawing at the walls of my mind.
• I had convinced himself that she was nothing, yet here I was, watching her with an obsession that sickened me.
• "She was mine."
• I hissed.
• "You threw her away."
• My jaw tightened as I turned back to the sight of Elysia and the Lycan King. The way the King look at her, how gentle he was with her.
• It was too much.
• "This ends now..."
• I snarled.
• Lycarus tensed.
• "Alpha Alari-"
• "She belongs to me."
• I growled.
• "And I'll remind her why."
• Just as I tried to step forward, a firm hand yanked me back into the shadows. Lycarus's grip was strong, unwavering.
• "Are you mad?"
• I hissed, keeping my voice low but filled with authority.
• "Look at that castle, Alpha. The guards alone could rip us and all our warriors apart before we even make it through the outer walls."
• I spun on him and my fangs bared.
• "I don't care how many of them stand in my way. I rejected her once, but I see the truth now. She is my key to power."
• Lycarus's brow furrowed, his dark eyes scanning their surroundings before focusing back on me.
• "A wolfless woman? She holds no strength, no power, I don't see wh-"
• Before he could finish his sentence, I already cut him off with a sharp laugh, my gaze burned with something dark and possessive.
• "You think she's weak? Maybe. I think the same, for me, she's still nothing, just a lost cub my father took in. But she's the daughter of the strongest wolf, Lycarus. The blood of leadership runs through her veins. The pack may despise her now, but if I take her back, if I claim her, they will have no choice but to obey. Her lineage will bind them to me."
• Lycarus crossed his arms, his expression unreadable.
• "And you think the Lycan King will just let you waltz in and take her? He doesn't just protect his own, he destroys those who dare challenge him."
• I clenched my fists, my jaw tightened. I had waited too long to become what I am now, I own the pack now, I rule Shadow Walker pack now, and no matter how cruel I treat my own people, I still can't hold the pack trully as my own.
• Much as I hate to admit, my father, Alpha Aric was right all along, I needed her.
• And now my Pack's council is at my throat for treating Foxy the way I did that night.
• It was a mistake I would now rectify, no matter the cost.
• "We need a plan.
• Lycarus continued, his voice edged with warning.
• "Storming in now is suicide. We're outnumbered, outmatched."
• I exhaled sharply, my mind racing.
• I hated patience. I hated waiting. But Lycarus was right. The Lycan King's castle was not just a fortress, it was a death trap.
• My lips curled into a sinister smirk.
• "Then we'll lure her out."
• Lycarus stiffened.
• "How?"
• My eyes instantly gleamed with dark intent.
• "She may be protected now, but she's still wolfless, still human at her core. She has weaknesses… attachments. We'll find them. And when she steps beyond that castle's safety, she'll be mine again."
• A tense silence hung between us before Lycarus gave a slow nod.
• "Then we do this right, Alpha. No mistakes."
• I turned back toward the distant castle, my hunger for power growing stronger with each passing second.
• Soon, the wolfless woman would return to my grasp, and this time, I would never let her go.
• No matter the cost.