The teams split off, each group heading in different directions. Riven and Raphael moved toward the rockier regions, where the ground was uneven and patches of silver-veined stone jutted out between clusters of trees. This was the best area for finding precious minerals.
Victor and Ambrose went west, scouting near the river in case they found gem deposits. The female alphas moved north, where larger, more dangerous prey had been spotted before.
And Ronan? Ronan went alone, his tall, brooding figure disappearing into the trees like so kind of lone wolf warrior.
Riven totally didn’t find that hot. Nope. Not at all.
Focus, Riven. You’re mad at him, rember?
"So," Raphael mused as they walked, scanning the terrain. "You gonna tell why you’re acting so weird?"
Riven scoffed. "What? I’m acting completely normal."
Raphael gave him a look. "You’re ignoring Ronan."
"I am NOT ignoring him!" Riven snapped too quickly. Then, realizing how defensive he sounded, he dramatically tossed his hair over his shoulder. "I just have better things to do than look at that ice cube."
Raphael’s lips twitched. "Right."
"I do!"
Raphael humd. He was not dumb, he knew that there was sothing between Riven and Ronan... He just did not believe that the Alpha would do that. He was known for his rationality and abstinence, so duty oriented that the only person he would ever be with was his mate... That is if she ever appeared.
Riven grumbled under his breath and stomped ahead, scanning the ground for signs of mineral deposits.
"Ooooh. Look at this."
Raphael crouched next to him, brushing so dirt away. "Iron ore."
"Oh." Riven wrinkled his nose. "Boring."
Raphael snorted. "Not everything can be gold and diamonds, Riven."
"Why not?" Riven pouted. "I have expensive taste."
"I can tell."
They marked the spot for excavation and moved on, continuing deeper into the hunting grounds. As they walked, Riven was painfully aware that Ronan was sowhere out there too.
Even though he wasn’t looking at him, he felt him.
And worse... So part of him wanted to.
Ronan moved silently through the trees, his senses honed on the surrounding environnt.
But even as he scouted the area, his mind kept drifting back to Riven.
To the way Riven had latched onto Raphael instead of acknowledging him.
To the way he had refused to even glance in his direction.
To the way he had seed so furious but tried to pretend otherwise.
Ronan’s jaw tightened.
He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much.
But it did.
"Screw it."
Ronan turned on his heel, his mind made up. He wasn’t going to just stand there while Riven giggled and leaned into Raphael’s space, batting his lashes like he didn’t have a care in the world.
The rage built inside him with every step he took.
His chest tightened. His hands curled into fists.
And then he saw it—Riven tilting his head at Raphael, a teasing grin on his lips.
It was infuriating.
Did Riven act like this with everyone?
Did what they shared an nothing?
Ronan’s body moved before his mind could think. He grabbed Riven by the back of his collar with a firm yank.
"You’re coming with ."
Riven stumbled slightly, caught off guard. But the mont he realised who had grabbed him, his anger flared.
He snapped his head back, glaring up at Ronan with nothing but pure fury.
"Let. . Go."
Ronan didn’t budge. If anything, his grip on Riven’s collar tightened.
Riven ripped himself free, stepping back, his wolf ears flattening in anger. His tail bristled as his eyes narrowed sharply.
"I wasn’t done talking to Raphael." His voice was low, but Ronan could hear the barely restrained rage behind it.
Ronan took a slow, calculated step forward. "You’ll do as I say."
"And if I don’t?" Riven shot back without hesitation, defiant and unyielding.
Ronan’s patience was gone. He closed the distance, his face just inches from Riven’s.
"Are you going to disobey the Alpha?" His voice was a quiet snarl, each word thick with authority.
Riven stiffened.
His wolf instincts scread at him to submit.
To bow his head.
To comply.
Too bad, he was only half a wolf.
He refused to back down.
His heart pounded against his ribs, but he clenched his jaw and stood his ground.
"You think just because you’re Alpha, I’ll roll over and listen to whatever you say?" Riven’s voice was sharp, his yellow eyes burning. "I don’t belong to you, Ronan."
Ronan felt sothing snap inside him.
The words shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did.
But they did.
He didn’t care if it made him irrational, controlling—dangerous.
He didn’t care if it made him like his predecessors, those power-hungry Alphas who only cared about control.
He didn’t care, because Riven was his.
And he was going to drag him away if he had to.
So he did.
"Hey—!" Riven gasped as Ronan grabbed his wrist this ti, yanking him forward with far too much force.
Riven struggled, digging his heels into the dirt. "Ronan, I swear to the gods—"
"Shut up and walk."
"Like hell I will—!"
Riven clawed at Ronan’s grip, but the Alpha wouldn’t let go.
It was humiliating.
Infuriating.
He wanted to bite Ronan’s damn hand off.
Ronan ignored Riven’s fury, his grip like iron as he dragged him away from the group.
But Raphael had been watching.
And he hated what he was seeing.
He wasn’t sure when his fists clenched, but they had.
He wasn’t sure when his body stiffened, but it had.
His instincts scread at him to stay still.
To stay quiet.
Because the Alpha’s word was law.
Because challenging the Alpha was unthinkable.
But watching Riven get yanked away helplessly...
Watching Riven clench his jaw and bear his fangs in anger, not submission...
It made sothing twist in Raphael’s chest.
Riven was half-human.
But wasn’t that exactly why this was unfair?
He had never been taught to submit the way Raphael and the others had. He wasn’t born into this hierarchy.
Sure, he was flirty. Playful. A little too forward sotis.
But he hadn’t done anything wrong. He did not deserve this...
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