Chapter 18

~Grace~

Hurriedly, I pushed through the front doors, my arms loaded with luggage. Behind me, Enzo and Samuel both struggled with my heavier suitcases.

Alex waited with folded arms by his luxury car, the trunk open. He stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Why are you bringing so much stuff?” He asked, clearly bewildered.

“I want to be well-prepared,” I huffed at him through heavy breaths. I carefully set my things down next to the car. “It’s my first time leaving the pack, after all.”

Alex let out a deep, resonating laugh, and I stopped in my tracks. What was so funny?

Instantly, Alex waved his hand dismissively toward the Betas, an amused smile on his face. “Leave the bags.”

“What?” I cried. “But that’s all my stuff! I-I need my clothes, and makeup, and-and what about my toothbrush and toothpaste and lotion and-”

Alex placed a finger to my lips, silencing me. I was too surprised by his sudden action to be upset, yet.

“I already have everything prepared for you,” he said, a wry smile forming on his lips.

What did that mean? Wasn’t there anything I could bring? Did he really have everything I needed, including clothes? I didn’t want to get there and see a bare-boned room, then regret not bringing anything.

A sudden thought crossed my mind, and I stopped to think this through. I suppose it wasn’t a permanent transfer–it should be like staying at a hotel. Yeah, that made more sense. I guess in hotels, you don’t need to bring everything, especially if it’s high-end.

And Alex definitely liked everything expensive. That wouldn’t be so bad, then.

I accepted Alex’s desire for me to not bring any bags, giving the Betas my own nod of approval. I could see the disgruntled expression they tried to hide as they began their struggle back inside.

A small pup with large blue eyes and messy hair, who had been watching us nearby, suddenly ran up to me. In his hand, he clutched onto a wolf plushie. He hugged my legs tightly with tears in his eyes.

“I’ll miss you,” he mumbled, voice muffled as he pressed his face into my jeans.

I patted the top of his head, giving him a small smile.

The pup let go of my legs and held his toy out to me. It was a gray and white wolf with black, beady eyes. It was worn and dirty from being played with outside, but it was still very cute. I gently took the toy from him.

“I’ll miss you, too,” I responded, my voice quiet with genuine sadness. I really would miss him. And the other pups. That’s probably what I’d miss most about leaving.

I held the toy out to Alex, putting on my best smile. “Can I at least bring this?”

He looked at the toy for a moment, before turning away, opening my door.

“Whatever,” he replied.

“You can’t leave!” Liam’s voice roared from the front door as rushed out, hair messy and dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. He must have just woken up.

Everyone turned to look at him, and the courtyard silenced. Liam was clearly furious, and no one liked being around an angry Alpha.

I would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked, were it not for the overwhelming feeling of annoyance that washed away any other emotion. Didn’t he know by now I was done with him? How could I make that any clearer?

Hell, I just announced my desire to divorce him in front of the entire werewolf world!

He was clearly delusional if he thought he could change my mind about leaving. I mean, what did he expect me to do? Just turn around and agree?

“You’re the Luna of this pack, you can’t go with the Lycans! They’re our enemies!” He continued, running up to us, panting.

I looked away and ignored him.

Next to me, Alex laughed loudly. “You are unworthy of Grace, and the title of Alpha King.”

Liam’s face turned red. He was being insulted on his own territory, and worse, by his most hated enemy.

Alex was playing a dangerous game, now. Was he going for the world record of how quickly to piss off an Alpha?

I moved toward the car, wishing we would just leave.

However, I felt myself get pulled against Alex’s side as he wrapped an arm around my waist. For the sake of humiliating Liam, I let him, giving Liam a dark look.

Alex looked down at Liam, a playful glint in his eye. “I cordially invite you, Liam, to a welcome party for Grace at the Black Lycan clan’s Royal Palace next week.”

That did it. Alex had pushed Liam too far.

This snapped something in Liam. No longer in public with appearances to keep up, he hunched forward and immediately shifted.

I gasped, holding onto Alex’s arm tightly. Was Liam crazy? This was outrageous!

To attack, or even threaten to attack another Alpha wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly. This could cause war!

Although Liam was a piss poor leader, he didn’t get the Alpha King title from nothing. He held immense power, and this strong aura radiated in palpable waves from his wolf form, causing me to slightly shrink back into Alex.

There were few times I had actually seen Liam shift, but I had always been by his side. There was never anything to fear. Liam was strong and could protect me, but most importantly, I never feared having to go up against him.

Looking at him now, with those sharp teeth bared in my direction, I couldn’t help but be terrified. I was helpless against him. Liam could tear any one of us here to shreds if he really wanted to.

I couldn’t stop him, I never had the incredible power he had, and the pack wouldn’t dare fight their own Alpha just so I could leave.

~Third person~

Alex calmly and methodically removed his leather jacket, handing it to Enzo, who stood beside him. Grace watched the two of them, her eyes flicking back and forth between them, clearly anxious.

Enzo caught her eye and gave her a confident nod, but she shook her head incredulously at him–it didn’t seem to calm her at all.

Rolling up his sleeves over his elbows, Alex lowered his brows, narrowing his gaze at Liam, who was snarling.

Lycans were well-known for their raw physical prowess. Even without shifting, they were an incredibly dangerous force to be reckoned with.

Lycans were especially unusual when it came to shifting, as it could cause them to go feral. That wasn’t something Alex particularly looked forward to, so he avoided it whenever he could. Even staring the snarling Alpha in the face, he planned not to shift.

His lips curled into a confident smirk, and there was a rush of excitement in his veins. He shouldn’t need to shift to defeat Liam, anyway.

Alex took a steady step forward, but Grace quickly grabbed onto his arm, holding him back.

“You’re not shifting? He could kill you!” She hissed, eyes wide in fear.

Alex grinned wickedly, eyes wild with energy. It had been a long time since he’d had a real fight, and he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit he ached for one.

Alex leaned in close to Grace, who stood still as a statue, when he suddenly licked her cheek before lunging at Liam. He bared his large fangs and let out a ferocious roar that shook the entire courtyard.

Grace pressed her back into the car, her hand over her heart in fear. ‘What is he doing? Is he crazy?!’