Chapter 1 #2
“Who would win in a fight against me? You?” I dared.
He visibly grimaced at the prospect of facing me in a fight.
He and I both knew who would win if we clashed.
His hands twitched and his eyes flickered around the room.
The room had gone silent. There was no doubt in my mind that everyone was watching.
Ashleigh included.
I allowed my gaze to slide over to her. She’d taken her seat at the head table. Her green eyes were stormy, fully focused on the exchange between me and her father. She looked furious that I would challenge his authority like this.
I was about to take it one step further.
“How dare you!” Amir exclaimed furiously.
“How about it, Amir? Could you defeat me?” I taunted him.
My inner wolf roared with excitement. The alpha I’d always resisted burned through me with wild abandon and at long last, I finally let him out.
For as long as I can remember, Amir had sat as the head of our pack unchallenged, like he had forgotten that his seat of power was an earned one rather than an inherited one.
He’d kept it by way of money, blackmail, and unending nepotism.
An alpha challenging another alpha was a basic law of nature that would never disappear and now that I’d done it so publicly, he would be unable to sweep it under the rug like he usually did.
Amir picked up his wine goblet, covering up his distress with a big gulp. Augustus sat beside him with obvious arrogant interest. No matter how much he allied himself with Amir, it was clear that the vampire still thought himself better than all of us.
“Of course I can,” Amir blurted, and I grinned knowingly. I took a step toward him, and he visibly flinched, which only made the beast inside me preen with glee.
“Seize him!” Amir exclaimed and I stood a bit taller. I turned my head, catching Theo’s gaze and then the rest of the soldiers that typically followed my orders. None of them made a move toward me. Instead, they looked to me for direction first. I grinned. They would choose me over him in a second.
I’d earned their respect. Amir, on the other hand, had not.
“Amir, I challenge you as alpha. I will save you the embarrassment of a drunk fight since you’ve partaken in much of the free-flowing wine here tonight.
Tomorrow, we will determine who is worthy of the title of pack leader of the Crimson Shadow pack,” I declared boldly.
My voice reverberated off the walls all around me and the ensuing silence that followed was like music to my ears.
Amir’s face paled and beside him, Augustus looked like he was witnessing the most exciting entertainment in the world.
“I’m not afraid of the likes of you, Elijah. I accept your challenge.” Amir’s gaze was furious. By the way his fingers were clenching, he was having extreme difficulty keeping his anger at bay.
“Good. Then I will see you tomorrow here at noon,” I spat, and I turned away with every intention of leaving.
“I did not give you permission to go,” Amir snarled.
“Are you going to stop me yourself?” I asked pointedly, glancing around to the men who surrounded us.
None of them made a single move toward me.
Amir’s hands tightened into fists and his nose scrunched in anger.
He lifted his chin to say something more, but the loud scrape of a chair against the tile echoed throughout the room instead.
Ashleigh had stood up and slammed her hands on the table.
My gaze slid to hers.
Her eyes burned into mine, showcasing in a single instant more spirit than her alpha father. Her fierceness drew me in, and I turned my full attention to her. I wanted to reach out, wrap my hand around that pretty, dainty throat, and kiss her like she’d never been kissed before.
Ashleigh had been expected to marry a high-standing gentleman of a rival clan a while back, but she’d refused the match and now her father was scrambling to marry her off to another in his vie for more power. It didn’t matter though. She was my mate.
I wouldn’t allow her to refuse a man like me, not ever.
“Get out,” she snarled.
“Or what, Ashleigh?” I answered gently.
Her upper lip curled adorably, but I could see her nipples pebbling through the draped fabric of her dress. I cocked my head to the side and made a show of scenting the air.
The aroma of her arousal was just as sharp as I’d expected it to be. I cleared my throat and decided to reveal my intentions for her, at least a little bit.
“When I defeat your father in combat tomorrow, I’m going to take not only your pack, but you as my prize,” I vowed, and her face twisted with anger.
“I’ll never be yours. You’re nothing more than a brute,” she spat, almost in disgust. Her pretty lips pouted as she turned away, both scared and aroused at the prospect of belonging to me.
There was a very slight hint of curiosity in the way her eyes flicked back to meet mine, but I turned away first.
“It’s only a matter of time, mate,” I promised, and I walked out of the room with my head held high, thoroughly enjoying the way the scent of her arousal only grew stronger after that.
* * *
That night, I waited up in my room. I was not foolish enough to sleep the night I challenged my alpha for his position.
I peeked out of my window, watching how a number of wolves had been positioned strategically on the grounds in a way to cut off any escape routes.
Boldly, I walked out onto my balcony, looking over the compound and watching as the Malkovians took their leave.
The treaties had been signed, the deals made. The show was over now.
By morning, it would just be wolf shifters here. Amir probably didn’t want the vampires to witness how gloriously badly he would do in combat tomorrow.