Chapter 4 THE CHALLENGE

CHAPTER 4 | THE CHALLENGE

DAMIEN

Lyra was my mate…our mate. I knew from the moment she stepped into this pack. Her sweet scent dragged me to the pack borders just in time to save her from impending doom.

The moment I saw her, bloody, battered, and vulnerable, I knew I would die to protect her for the rest of my life.

It was against the rules for me to have a mate, but I couldn't bring myself to reject her. I was going to keep her around, even if it ended my life for good.

After injecting her with just enough Moonflower to heal her wounds, I decided to give her an opportunity to leave. I needed to know if she could survive alone in the wild as a rogue, so I initiated a game to test her. The best skill anyone could have in the wild was the ability to run and hide.

She didn’t just fail, she failed woefully. She wouldn’t last a second as a rogue. She’d be torn apart immediately. Even though I knew the risk attached to my decision to keep her, and what it would mean for my fate, I chose to take the chance for her, especially after checking her history at the Crescent pack.

Lyra Onyxvale deserved a great life, and I was determined to give her that. I would move mountains for her, and give her every single thing she needed.

I wasn’t so surprised when she turned out to be Damian’s mate too. I kind of expected and even wanted it. We have always had a habit of sharing things, including women. I knew that our mates wouldn’t be different.

“She lost. Bring her.” I told my brother with a smirk before turning around to head back to our mansion.

I could hear Lyra thrashing in Damian’s arms, yelling obscenities and empty threats.

“If you don’t let me go this instant, I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget, assholes.” She yelled at the top of her lungs.

She’s feisty, just the way I like my women. Even with her big belly and exhaustion, even when she was barely recognizable, scars and blood coating her body like a second skin, she still looked sinfully attractive.

We took her back to the mansion, where the table was already laid out for our guest. Adrian Smith, a Lycan who had always challenged my position as Lycan King, was coming here today for an alliance. We were finally going to settle our score and be civil toward each other. If that didn’t work out, a war was going to break out.

“Let me go, please?” Lyra begged again, on the verge of tears.

I couldn’t keep looking at her when she held so much pain in her eyes. Even though I wanted her to fear me, I didn’t want her to cry because of me.

If only she knew I was keeping her here for her own safety.

“Take her to the guest room, Damian. Make sure she has enough water and food to last her for the night. We don’t need drama tonight.” I stated with a defeated sigh.

I watched my twin take her up the stairs, hoping that she calmed down and rested. She needed it.

“Is everything set?” I asked my Beta.

“Yes, everything is ready. All our men are armed and alert. Adrian is unpredictable. I don’t think he’ll surrender without a fight.”

I turned toward him, only to see that his eyes were not on me but on Damian and Lyra’s retreating backs.

“What do you plan to do with her, Alpha?”

I walked over to the dinner table to inspect everything. “Anything I deem fit. For now, I’ll keep her around until I’m sure how to go about this. I don’t want to drag her into my cursed fate.”

Silas, the Beta, glared at me. “You want to keep a woman pregnant with another man’s child? I heard your brother also claimed her. Are you both out of your goddamn minds? What could you possibly find attractive in the body of a woman already damaged by another man?”

I was about to lunge at him to teach him a lesson, but Damian, rushing forward with the speed of lightning, beat me to it. He was already holding him up by the throat, strangling the life out of him before I could react.

“Don’t you ever speak about Lyra in that manner again. You will speak to her with respect. If her name so much as falls out of your mouth in a disrespectful manner, I’ll rip your tongue out and feed it to the dogs. The only reason I’m letting you go is because you are the Beta.”

Damian threw him across the room with such force that he hit the wall and left a dent in it.

He was lucky Damian came at him first. He wouldn’t be alive if I had attacked him. Turning to my Gamma, who had just arrived, I gave him instructions. “1000 lashes for the Beta. The whip must be soaked in Wolfsbane. Don’t stop even after he’s bleeding and has passed out.”

He nodded in understanding, and my men dragged him out in shame.

It was silent for a while, each of us in our thoughts, until my brother broke the silence. “You know her, don’t you? She was the one…that night at the Crescent pack? The one who…”

“Yes,” I cut him off, not wanting him to finish the sentence since the maids were around. “We’ll discuss her later. Right now, we have to focus on the arrival of Adrian. Nothing must go wrong. If anything does, it must be in our favor.”

As if on cue, Adrian walked in, nose in the air and in everybody’s business. His arrogance could be smelled from a mile away.

“Damien! Damian! Buddies! How great it is to see y’all.”

It took every ounce of strength in me not to be hostile toward him. Forcing a smile on my face that looked more like a grimace, I welcomed him. “Welcome, Adrian. Dinner has been served. I had the maids make something special today. Your favorite.” I ended it with a painful wink.

Just as rehearsed, barely clothed maids, dressed only in seductive lingerie, walked in with plates of food in hand. They swayed their hips in ways that attracted Adrian. His eyes bulged, licking his lips like a hungry animal. He fell for the bait…good.

We sat at the table, the maids serving Adrian as he ogled them. “You have beautiful women here,” he said, never taking his eyes off them.

“You can have any of them as a gift for the alliance.”

He nodded in approval, checking them out to decide which one he’d like.

I knew he would make sure the alliance was sealed so he could have a taste of one of the girls.

He probably thought they were innocent maids serving this pack. Unbeknownst to him, they were actually strippers I hired specially for this occasion.

The maid assigned to oversee Lyra suddenly rushed down, obviously terrified.

“What’s going on?”

She crouched, whispering for my ears alone. “Miss Onyxvale has refused to eat or drink anything. She threatened to harm herself if you don’t let her go.”

A scream was heard from the stairs before Lyra rushed down, frantically threatening anyone who came close to her with a knife.

“What are you doing, Lyra? Go back in. We’ll talk about this later.”

“No, I want to leave.”

“Lyra, please. Don’t—”

Adrian cut Damian off, pointing at Lyra. “I want her. She’s the gift I want to take home tonight.”

I clenched my fists, anger bubbling in me. I took a deep breath to keep it from rising to the surface. “She isn’t an option. She’s ours.”

Adrian smirked, his eyes dark with greed. “That makes her even more desirable. I challenge you for her. If I win, Lyra leaves with me tonight. If I lose, you can kill me.”

The hall fell silent.

Lyra’s hand shook around the knife. Damian’s glare burned.

And I knew then that Adrian hadn’t come for peace. He had come for her.