The First Warrior Wolf

*Chapter 10: Bottle Green & Battle Lines*

_Narrator POV_

Alex pushed open the suite door.

He was dressed. Bottle green tux, black shirt, no tie. His hair was still damp from the guest suite shower, combed back but already falling into his eyes.

He stopped breathing.

Allison stood by the window.

The dress was bottle green, same shade as his tux, cut like water. Chinese mermaid style, high neck, cap sleeves, silk that drank the late afternoon light. It hugged her waist, flared at the knee, and trailed just enough to whisper on the carpet.

Her hair was down. Not curled. Not pinned. Straight, black, glossy, falling in a sheet down her back and landing on her bum.

Blood red lips. _Jade green stilettos_ strapped around her ankles, the heels high enough to make her level with his chin. Storm the pup asleep in the basket at her feet.

Alex’s mouth opened. Closed.

_Alaric_ went dead quiet. Not growling. Not snarling. Floored.

“You—” Alex tried. His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “You look—”

Allison turned. One eyebrow raised. The stilettos clicked on the tile. “Yes?”

“Like a war,” he finished, helpless. “Goddess, Ally, you look like a war I’d lose on purpose just to watch you fight.”

She snorted. Then she laughed. Real, surprised, and it knocked the air out of him.

“A war?” She stepped closer, jade heels clicking with each step. “That’s your line, Alpha Mist?”

Alex dragged a hand through his hair. “I had a speech. Had lines about your eyes and your dress and how sorry I am. Then you—” He gestured at her, at the shoes, at everything. “You happened. And now my brain’s gone.”

“Gone is a bad look for an Alpha,” she said, but her lips twitched.

“Then help me find it,” he said, rough. He reached for her, one hand hovering at her waist, not touching. “Let me—”

Her phone screamed on the vanity.

Both of them jumped. Storm yipped in his basket, awake.

Allison sighed and stepped back, heels steady, grabbing the phone. “Rose.” She answered. “We’re coming. Two minutes.”

She hung up and looked at Alex. The laughter was gone, but her eyes were softer. “We need to go. The pack’s waiting.”

Alex nodded. He offered his arm. “Luna.”

She stared at it. Then she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. The height from the stilettos put her head just under his jaw.

“Don’t trip me in these heels,” she muttered.

Alex looked down at the jade green straps. “I’d catch you before you hit the ground.”

“Exactly why I wore them,” she said. “So you’d have to.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. Almost a smile.

---

The Grand Hall was full.

Fairy lights. White and bottle green drapes. The scent of roasted meat and jacaranda. The entire pack stood when the main doors opened.

Alex walked in with Allison on his arm. Her jade stilettos clicked against the stone, each step deliberate. Loud.

Silence. Then murmurs.

Her hand tightened on Alex’s arm, but her chin stayed up. Blood red lips. Back straight. Storm-gray eyes scanning.

The main table was set front and center.

_Table One:_ Allison’s chair, Alex to her right, Lysander to her left. Across from them, Shaquille leaned back like he belonged. Jessy sat beside him, elbow in his ribs. James was on Jessy’s other side, already pouring wine. Rose and Mateo rounded out the end, everyone wearing shades of fawn or brown.

Storm’s basket was placed on the floor between Allison and Shaquille.

_Table Two_, just to the right, held the elders: *Alpha Manuel and Luna Mary, Alex’s parents*, Granny Etta and Grandpa Eric from Alex’s mother’s side, and Allison’s Aunty May and Uncle Angus from the southern territories.

Granny Etta caught sight of the jade heels and winked.

Alex pulled her chair out. She sat. The stilettos crossed neatly at the ankle. He didn’t sit until she did.

Lysander nodded at her. “Sister.”

Shaquille raised his glass. His eyes dropped to her shoes, then back to her face. “Tigeress. Bottle green and jade. You’re making a statement.”

Alex’s jaw ticked. His hand found Allison’s under the table. Not gripping. Asking.

She didn’t pull away.

Rose stood, tapping her wine glass. The hall went quiet.

“Before we eat,” Rose said, “before Alpha Alex makes a speech he didn’t prepare—”

Laughter. Alex glared. Rose grinned.

“—we toast the female who helped our pack rise to new heights. To Luna Allison Mist. The reason we’re still standing.”

The hall roared. “TO LUNA ALLISON!”

Glasses lifted.

The main doors opened again.

Jennifer walked in.

She was dressed in red. Tight. Short. Her hair was curled, lips the same shade as Allison’s. She didn’t look at anyone else. Just walked straight toward the main table, her own heels clicking on stone.

The hall went dead quiet.

Jennifer stopped three steps from Allison. She smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. Her gaze flicked down to Allison’s jade stilettos, then back up.

Jennifer’s smile widened. “I challenge you.”

The words dropped like a stone in water.

Gasps. Chairs scraped. Alpha Manuel stood at his table.

Alex was on his feet instantly. “Jennifer. No.”

Jennifer didn’t look at him. She only looked at Allison. “I challenge you for the right to be Alpha Alex’s mate. A duel. In front of the pack. Tonight.”

Lysander’s chair hit the floor as he stood. Shaquille was already up, Jessy holding his arm. Rose looked irritated.

Alex grabbed Allison’s wrist. “Allison, don’t. You don’t have to prove anything. Not to her. Not to anyone.”

Allison looked at his hand on her wrist. Then at his face. At the panic in his eyes.

Then she looked at Jennifer. At the pack. At Granny Etta, who gave her a single nod. At Lysander, who was furious. At Shaquille, who was quiet although a smile played on his face.

She pulled her wrist out of Alex’s grip. The movement made her jade stiletto shift, catching the light.

“I accept,” Allison said.

The hall exploded.

Alex’s voice broke. “Allison—”

“It’s not about you,” she said, loud enough for the pack to hear. Loud enough for the elders to hear. “I am the goddess chosen mate for Alex and I have worked hard to earn respect. Unlike you, who, although you’re the head warrior’s daughter and I will admit you are skilled, you still need to be taught a lesson in humility.”

She stepped around the table, heels clicking like a countdown, facing Jennifer. “But if the pack needs to see me bleed to believe I earned it, then I will bleed.”

She looked at Alex, and her voice was steel. “This is to prove myself to the pack. Not to you.”

Jennifer’s smile was victorious. “Tonight. After dinner. The circle.”

Allison nodded once. “Why wait. Let’s do this now.”

She walked out, heels clicking, and Rose and Jessy followed as she removed her earrings and handed them to Rose. Her hand didn’t shake. In fact, she smirked.

Alex looked worried. He crossed to Lysander, voice low. “Talk her down.”

Lysander didn’t even look at him. “No. This is important.”

Panic clawed up Alex’s throat. He spun and strode to Table Two, straight to *Alpha Manuel and Luna Mary*.

“Mom. Dad,” he said, barely keeping his voice down. “Please. Stop her. She doesn’t have to do this. Order her to stand down.”

Luna Mary didn’t stand. She just sipped her wine and looked at her son like he was a pup who’d chewed her favorite shoe.

Alpha Manuel raised an eyebrow. “Order the future Luna and spoil a good show?”

Alex blinked. “She’s not—”

“She is,” Manuel said, quiet. “She is not a pup anymore and has proven herself worth of the Luna title.”

“Shut up, boy,” Luna Mary said, not unkind. “And watch.”

Before Alex could argue, Granny Etta stood. She was grinning at Allison’s shoes. She reached out and tapped Alex’s chest with one finger.

“Come,” Granny Etta said. “Follow me to the arena. You’re about to witness why the goddess chose her and why we let her teach training to our pups.”

Alex stared at them. His parents. His grandmother. All siding with _her_.

The pack was murmuring. Alpha Manuel and Luna Mary were already standing to follow.

Dinner hadn’t even been served.