CHAPTER 47
1047 Words
(Lucian’s POV)
I stared out across the training grounds, the wind tugging at my coat as dusk approached. The sky was bleeding into amber and bruised gray, and every instinct inside me was alive—buzzing, bristling. Waiting.
Dexton had thrown the gauntlet.
A challenge for the title of Alpha. But this wasn’t about leadership. This wasn’t about honor or duty.
It was about Selene.
He couldn’t stand that I had chosen her. That I had marked her. That she was now mine.
“She was my mate,” he had hissed at me like a feral dog just hours ago. “And now you’re parading her around like some trophy.”
I had kept my calm. Barely. My fists had clenched at my sides, and every fiber of my being had screamed to strike him then and there. But I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. No. If Dexton wanted war, he’d get one on my terms.
I ran a hand through my hair and glanced at the house.
She was in there.
Selene.
Her scent lingered in the air—wildflowers and something distinctly hers, something that now belonged to me as much as I belonged to her. It grounded me. Reminded me why I was doing this.
For her.
For us.
The door creaked open, and Harper emerged. His steps were careful, his expression grim.
“They’re already gathering,” he said, his voice low. “Council members are here too.”
Of course they were. Vultures waiting to see me fall.
“Let them watch,” I replied, walking past him. “Let them see what happens to anyone who touches what’s mine.”
We moved toward the clearing just beyond the training ring. The place where blood was spilled in the name of justice and dominance. Where an Alpha’s strength was proven not with words—but with claws, with teeth, with rage.
Dexton stood at the center, arms crossed, shirtless, his chest rising and falling with sharp breaths. His eyes locked on mine as I approached, full of hatred and something worse—resentment.
“Still time to back out, Father,” he mocked. “Maybe your old bones can’t take a beating.”
I didn’t answer.
I took off my coat and handed it to Harper, then pulled my shirt over my head. The mark Selene gave me—our bond—glowed faintly on my skin. A clear reminder to everyone here that I was no longer a man driven by strategy or politics.
I was driven by love.
And that made me dangerous.
The crowd was thick. Council members in their robes stood off to the side, judging. Whispers filled the air. Some called me a fool. Others murmured about disgrace. About betrayal.
Let them speak.
I met Dexton’s gaze and stepped into the circle.
“This is your last chance,” I said evenly. “Stand down.”
He snarled, eyes flickering gold. “You think I’ll let her replace me? Let her slither her way into your life and take everything? You’re pathetic. She’s just a broken b***h you picked up from the trash I left behind.”
That was it.
The last straw.
The fury erupted inside me like a storm. I let my wolf rise to the surface—partially, just enough to fuel me. To sharpen me.
“You know nothing about her,” I growled. “But tonight, you’ll learn what it means to lose everything.”
With a roar, he lunged first.
Claws out. Fangs bared. No hesitations.
We collided like thunder and steel. I blocked his first strike, twisted, and sent him flying back. He hit the dirt but was up again in seconds. Fast. Reckless. Arrogant.
I had trained him. I knew his weaknesses. He fought with emotion—anger clouding his decisions.
I used that.
Sidestepped. Landed a blow to his ribs. Heard something crack.
He howled.
“You think she loves you?” he shouted as he charged again. “You think she’s not using you like she used me?”
“She never used you,” I spat. “You rejected her.”
He clawed at my shoulder. Blood spilled. I barely flinched.
“She didn’t deserve to be Luna!” he barked.
“No, she deserves to be more than that!”
Another hit. This time I felt it in my side.
But I gave more than I took.
Our fight blurred into a dance of violence and fury, and still the crowd watched, entranced by father and son tearing each other apart.
By the time Dexton stumbled, bloodied and breathless, his eyes wide with disbelief, I knew it was over.
I loomed over him.
Chest heaving. Fists tight.
“Yield,” I growled.
He spat blood onto the dirt.
“Yield, Dexton.”
His pride writhed like a dying animal. But he knew. They all did.
He dropped his gaze.
“I yield,” he muttered.
Silence swept through the crowd.
Then whispers. Shocks. A few even clapped—out of respect, or perhaps fear.
I turned my back on him without another word.
Harper handed me a towel. I wiped the blood from my face and caught the sight I needed most—
Selene.
She stood at the edge of the clearing, trembling, tears in her eyes. But she looked at me not with fear...
…but with love.
I walked toward her, slow but certain. Every step echoing with defiance.
The council members parted to let me pass, their expressions a mix of rage and uncertainty.
I stopped in front of her.
She reached for me first, her hand brushing my cheek.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered.
“I’ve had worse.”
Her lips trembled. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I did,” I said. “Because the world needed to see what happens when someone tries to take what’s mine.”
She swallowed, her hand now resting over the mark on my chest.
“And now?” she asked.
“Now,” I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close, “we rebuild our kingdom—on our own terms.”
Because the war wasn’t over.
But we had won the first battle. Together.
- Writer
