Chapter 18
-Your mother’s condition has worsened.
The words hit like a blade between my ribs. I went completely still.
Do as you’re told, or she won’t get the care she needs.
My hands trembled with barely restrained rage. Seriously? We had a deal, Alpha.
Henry didn’t even bother denying it. I’m ensuring you don’t waste this opportunity. This is bigger than you, Lila. No, do as you’re
told.
The mind link cut off abruptly, leaving me in the silence of my room, shaking with the urge to destroy something. Or someone.
Lila? My wolf’s voice was a whisper in the back of my mind. He must want something, she murmured, sounding just as shaken as I felt. That royal seat Damon mentioned. Henry never cared about us. He’s just using you as a pawn.
A numbness spread through me. Of course he was. And yet…
I closed my eyes, swallowing the lump in my throat.
I had no choice. I had to win.
The thought distracted me until Beta Ronan’s voice boomed through the halls, calling us to gather downstairs.
He stood at the front of the room, holding a small wooden box. “It’s time to draw lots for the combat selection challenge.”
I exhaled slowly. My luck had always been terrible. No matter what I drew, and I sent a quick prayer to the Goddess that it wasn’t the Lycan King’s Insignia, I had to win.
My pulse thundered as I stepped forward.
Damon
The image of Elena lingered.
The way her hand fit into mine, warm and delicate yet steady. The way her body moved under my touch, hesitant but unwilling to yield. The fire in her eyes when she spoke to me, as if she were daring me to look deeper, daring me to see her.
I clenched my jaw, irritated by my own thoughts. I never let a woman occupy my mind like this. She was just another candidate, just another name in the selection yet she refused to act like one.
I should have forgotten her the moment she stepped away from me. Instead, her absence clawed at me.
With a frustrated sigh, I pushed back from my desk, my chair scraping against the floor. My body was tense, my wolf restless beneath my skin.
This was ridiculous. There were at least ten women in the harem, all more than eager to warm my bed tonight. I should take one
+15 Bonus
of them, clear my mind the way I always did.
But the thought of any of them left me cold.
I exhaled sharply and called Helen to my rooms. The housekeeper arrived quickly, her expression composed as always. “Yes, Your
Majesty?”
I turned to face her, my voice lowered in thought. “Tell me about Elena Ashford.”
Helen’s lips pressed into a thin line, her disapproval evident before she even spoke. “That girl is trouble,” she said curtly. “She doesn’t dress properly and refuses to present herself well. It’s clear she doesn’t respect the selection. If I may speak plainly, Your Majesty, she should have been expelled long ago.”
I folded my arms, listening in silence.
“She is ungrateful,” Helen continued, sniffing. “Any other woman would be honored to be here, yet she behaves as if she despises it. It’s disgraceful.”
I tapped my fingers against my arm, considering her words.
Disgraceful? No. Elena’s defiance was something else. A challenge, deliberate and sharp–edged.
Zane scoffed in my mind. Maybe she was forced to come here, he mused. Not every pack is eager to send their daughters into the hands of a tyrant.
His tone was teasing, but something about the words grated against me and I tensed. We don’t actually know what kind of
woman Elena is.
And she was the only one I had been paying attention to. But she had made it painfully clear she wanted nothing to do with me.
