CLAIMED BY THE RUTHLESS ALPHA

Darius POV 2

But this pack is f****d up enough that is it any wonder I’m seeing things that I’ve never seen before?

“She knows where Eden is. She can tell me what happened with Melody while she’s at it.”

The long silence tells me my beta isn’t fully on board with it. But he won’t argue now that he knows I’ve made my mind up.

Thanks, Dad, for f*****g me up so epically that my beta has to treat me with kid gloves, lest I blow up more than the five times a day I do already. May you be roasting on a spit for the next hundred years after what you did to me.

“But the others ”

“I’ll get to them,” I interrupt. “Right after I find out where Eden is. She knows, and she’ll tell me. Then I’ll deal with the others. A week will do it.”

“Or you could just come back and I’ll take care of it.”

You won’t make them suffer enough.

“You won’t do what needs doing. It has to be me.”

“Darius… I get why you want to do this, I truly do. But don’t you think it’s time you looked to the future?”

“For f**k’s sake, I’m not interested in a mate. I had one. She’s gone.”

My wolf snarls. I ignore him. Just because he’s ready to find a new mate, doesn’t mean the man is. The man still remembers the sweetness of Melody’s smile. He’ll never forget it.

“You need a Luna, Darius. There are no alphas without mates, at least none that stay alpha for long.”

I narrow my eyes. “Is that a threat?”

Dom’s tone doesn’t change. “No, it’s a warning.”

“You sure? ’Cause it sure sounded like one to me.”

“You’ve been alone for years. The women in the pack are fighting amongst themselves because you’re a young, virile ”

Briefly, I close my eyes, and then it’s my turn to pinch the bridge of my nose as I fight back the urge to laugh or cry. “Dom, seriously. Stop. I’ve heard more than I ever wanted to hear. f**k, you sound like a matchmaking aunt, not a man pushing thirty. Maybe you need to find a mate.”

“It’s the truth.” Amusement creeps into his voice, but it quickly fades. “They won’t settle down and find mates until they know you’re taken.”

“I’m not a f*****g prize stallion.”

“If that’s what it takes to get you to understand, then yes, you are the prize stallion. The one that all the women know will give her all the s*x and babies she could ever want.”

I choke out a laugh. “I’m listening.”

“Right now I’m dealing with the odd argument, but it will turn physical, especially with you not here.”

Sighing, I move around the room. Just like everything else I’ve seen so far, there’s an air of neglect about the place. The furniture and bedding are old, worn, and just plain tired.

When I think back to the stench of the pack in the dining room, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. No one gives a s**t about themselves, so why should I expect them to give a s**t about this place.

“Tell them to stop.”

“It doesn’t work. They need Luna as much as you do. You need to pick someone.”

If he’s warning me, then this is a problem. A bigger one than I realized.

The pack will put up with Dom being the temporary leader because they like and respect him. But I’m alpha. My pack is mine because they choose to be. Because I can give them something they know they can’t find anywhere else: home, security, family, stability, and belonging.

The moment they stop believing that is the moment they stop looking at me as their alpha. And they should stop because I would be the sort of leader I swore I would never be.

That’s how alphas lose control of their pack. They have two ways to regain control. By force, which never ends well, or by dealing with the problem that has triggered this loss of trust.

“Then fine. You pick one.” I think over my failure to protect Eden and Melody. “Someone who doesn’t need me to watch over them. An alpha. I have to go.”

Hanging up before Dom can respond, I swing around and come face-to-face with the older, auburn-haired shifter who thought he could sneak up on me.

“What?”

Jax’s eyes go to the phone still in my hand.

“I said, what!” I snarl when he doesn’t speak.

I tell myself the sudden and almost uncontrollable need to rip this guy’s throat out is how I feel about all the shifters here. That this need has nothing to do with the fact I just watched him shove Seraphine to the ground.

She deserved it. And if my wolf is being protective, it’s just because she’s a submissive wolf. That’s all.

He lifts his gaze to mine. Yet after a few seconds of him holding my eye, he lowers it to my chin.

“You haven’t chosen a beta, and I ”

I turn away. “I have someone in mind. You can leave.”

But he doesn’t. He doesn’t take one step outside of the house he entered without permission.

“I’m the best person for the job. The rest of the pack respects me.”

I snort. “This pack respects nothing or no one.”

“I don’t understand.” Although this shifter’s voice is full of just the right amount of respect, it’s false. He wants something from me and he doesn’t have a problem kissing my ass to get it.

Since he’s not going anywhere, and I wouldn’t mind an excuse to gut him, I turn back to him, folding my arms across my chest so he can’t see that the tips of my fingers are now claws. My wolf is close to the surface now. Too close.

“I said this pack doesn’t know the meaning of respect. But that’s okay.” I smile. When he blanches, I realize it isn’t just my hands that aren’t completely human anymore. “I can teach them.”

His gaze darts to my eyes before quickly returning to my chin.

How the f**k is Seraphine Stone able to meet my eyes, when this guy who I know is more dominant can’t hold it for two f*****g seconds?

“No doubt the fault lies with the previous alpha’s failings.” Yep, the guy loves to kiss ass. Called it.

“Was there a reason you’re here? Because I’ll be honest, I don’t like being told what to do, and I don’t like attempts to manipulate me. That might have something to do with me being alpha here, not you.”

The silence stretches out long enough for me to guess he’s busy working out another way of getting what he wants. I saved him the trouble.

“So leave. Now. While you still can.” I show him a claw-tipped hand, sharper than a blade. A partial shift isn’t all that impressive. Most alphas and betas can do it, but not many can do it with as little effort as I can.

Without a word, Jax swings around and slinks away. My instincts warn me this won’t be the last time he comes sniffing around. My wolf’s growl tells me he agrees.

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