Kade stepped out as soon as Sarah had left, his pulse drumming in his ears. He could still hear the echo of his father's words lingering in the air.
"Dad, what do you think you are doing?"
Dorian turned slowly, his expression unreadable, but Kade saw the flicker of irritation behind his father's tired eyes. He had seen that look too many tis before, but tonight, sothing inside him snapped.
"What do you an?" Dorian asked, his voice calm.
Kade scoffed. "I just heard you plotting against the Alpha's concubine."
Dorian exhaled sharply, his patience hanging by a thread. "She needs to be put in her place."
Kade ran a hand through his hair, an incredulous laugh escaping his lips. "What place? What exactly has she done wrong? Because she saved a man's life?"
"She is making the Alpha weak," Dorian explained as if he were imparting wisdom to a dim-witted child.
Kade's jaw tensed. "You think rcy is weakness? You approve of the bloodthirst of the Alpha?" He looked at the man who had raised him and wasn't sure he recognized him.
Dorian's nostrils flared. "He can tone it down a bit, but yes, his brutality makes us stronger, more powerful. Our pack has grown exponentially since he beca Alpha."
Kade stared, his chest tightening. He had idolized his father as a child, had hung onto his every word, but now, those words twisted inside him.
"I cannot believe you right now," Kade murmured. "The man you caught tonight, all he wanted to do was get food to his parents who chose Alpha Dennis. He explained that to you countless tis, but you still chose to bring him in. What have you beco?"
Dorian slamd his fist against the wooden table. "You will not speak to that way!" he thundered, his voice shaking the very walls.
Kade t his father's glare for a mont longer, then turned on his heel. He didn't need to say another word. The finality in his movents spoke volus.
With a sharp inhale, he bolted through the door, his body already shifting midair, fur bursting through his skin in a seamless transition. His paws barely touched the ground before he propelled himself forward, the wind rushing past him. His wolf, a massive grey beast, cut through the darkened forest, his heart pounding with one singular thought.
Ava.
She had to see reason. She had to leave this godforsaken place with him. She was too good for these people. How couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she see that he truly loved her and would do anything to protect her? Why didn't she understand that her being alive was more important to him than her being Luna?
Trees blurred past him, their leaves whispering secrets to the night as he ran faster, fueled by desperation.
*****
Lucas stood in front of his mirror, his naked reflection stared back at him, his broad chest rising and falling as frustration simred beneath his skin.
His Little Virgin. His Ava.
His fingers flexed against the wood of the dresser. His jaw clenched. She wasn't even in the room, yet she was everywhere.
Her scent lingered in his chambers. Her laughter, her sharp words, the way she looked at him like she could see past his title, past the dominance, straight into his damn soul.
She had won.
And he didn't know whether to be furious...
Or to surrender.
Lucas let out a sharp breath and ran a hand through his hair. No. He refused to lose to her. He refused to be owned by a woman, no matter how fiercely she pulled at sothing inside him. He grabbed a pair of shorts, tugged them on, and stord out of his chambers, feet carrying him in only one direction.
As he walked through the estate, his frustration festered.
He should have her quarters moved closer to his. It was ridiculous. The great Alpha Lucas Raventhorn sneaking into his concubine's room in the middle of the night like so little bitch.
He could have ordered her to co to him. That was what she was supposed to do. That was how this arrangent worked.
So why didn't he?
Lucas growled under his breath.
Because she had him wrapped around her little fucking finger, that's why.
As he neared the concubines' wing, his sharp ears caught the sound of hushed whispers, then silence as the guards outside the concubines quarters spotted him. They smartly averted their eyes, pretending they hadn't just witnessed their mighty alpha sneaking into a woman's room.
Perfect. Just fucking perfect.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was a disaster zone.
Hairbrushes.
Broken perfu bottles.
Containers tossed across the floor.
Lucas arched a brow, then exhaled sharply. So she had heard about Sarah.
Typical.
Sarah was his concubine. He had every right to summon her. So what did Ava expect? That he would forget all the others just because of her?
...Actually, he had already lost interest in them.
Fuck.
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he looked down at the ss. His black card would suffer for this little tantrum of hers.
Still, instead of annoyance, a slow smirk curled at the edge of his lips. Ava. Always fiery.
His gaze flickered to the bed, where she lay, her back turned to him, curled up beneath the blankets. Her shoulders rose and fell evenly.
Careful not to wake her, Lucas slid onto the bed, his larger fra sinking into the mattress. Then, without hesitation, he draped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, inhaling her scent, feeling the warmth of her against him.
He needed this.
Needed her.
He just didn't know how to say it.
In the darkness, Ava stirred when she felt the bed dip, and then a familiar, possessive arm wrapped around her. Even before opening her eyes, she knew.
Lucas.
A slow, satisfied smile curled her lips.
Fuck Dorian.
Fuck Sarah.
Alpha Lucas was hers.
Lucas had never known patience. It wasn't in his nature.
He was a conqueror. A taker. A man who bent the world to his will with the sheer force of his dominance.
But with Ava?
He found himself savoring monts he would have otherwise rushed through.
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