The Alpha's Secret Mate

chapter 8

So he was the Alpha’s son—the heir of the red moon pack in the West.

That explained the arrogance… but not the lack of skill.

Either their training had failed him, or he had simply chosen to ignore it. From what I’d seen, his movements were clumsy, his reflexes slow. In a real battle, he wouldn’t last long enough to take a second breath. Even the newest trainees in our camp could outmatch him without breaking a sweat.

A faint smirk tugged at my lips.

“I suppose I should be grateful,” I said coolly, touching the bridge of my nose. “Breaking it is all you managed. With the way you were plotting, I expected something far more impressive.”

I raised a brow at him, almost amused by the whole situation.

Before he could respond, his attention shifted to Luana.

“So,” he said, his tone laced with mockery, “you’re really going to fight me… for her?”

He laughed, low and sharp.

“You don’t even know what she is.” His eyes darkened. “That girl is nothing but bad luck. A curse. Stay close to her, and you’ll regret it. If you’re smart, you’ll walk away now. Leave her behind.”

Something inside me snapped.

A cold anger rose, steady and controlled, but burning all the same. How dare he?

But before I could speak, I felt it—the shift beside me.

Luana.

The sadness around her was almost tangible. She lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening around the edge of my coat as though it were the only thing keeping her grounded.

How many times had she heard words like that?

How many times had they been thrown at her until they started to sound like the truth?

The thought twisted something deep inside me.

Without hesitation, I slid my arm gently around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She fit against me so naturally, as if she had always belonged there.

The closeness sparked something unexpected—a quiet warmth, a subtle electric tension that traced down my spine. And then there was her scent—soft, sweet, and impossibly distracting.

For a moment, the world beyond us faded.

And all that mattered… was her.

Luana’s gaze lifted to meet mine, her wide eyes shimmering with emotion. A delicate blush warmed her cheeks, and in that instant, I knew she had felt it too.

It took every ounce of restraint not to cup her face and kiss her then and there. How could anyone dare call a woman like her unlucky? Any man would count himself blessed to have someone like her by his side. And now that I had truly seen her, I knew one thing with certainty—she was mine.

“And mine too!” Drake snarled, bitterness dripping from every word.

Reluctantly, I tore my attention away from Luana and turned toward him. Disgust curled in my chest at the sight of him.

“Bad news for you,” I said coldly. “I don’t give a damn what a germ like you has to say about my beautiful wife.”

I released Luana’s shoulder and stalked toward him. Before he could react, I grabbed him by the collar and drove my fist into him once, twice, five times in rapid succession.

“You touched what belongs to me,” I growled, my voice dark and lethal. “You’ll pay for every moment of pain you put her through.”

A flash of my wolf surged beneath my skin, and with it my rage deepened. My punches came harder, faster, and merciless. He didn’t even stand a chance. The coward could do nothing but take it.

“Stop this!”

Smith’s voice thundered through the room, and I finally released my grip. He collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap. His face was nothing but blood and bruises now, mangled beneath the force of my blows, and he was on the brink of unconsciousness.

I glanced down at my right glove and clicked my tongue in disgust. His filthy blood smeared the leather.

Disgusting.

“How dare you lay a hand on my husband like that?!” she snapped, fury blazing in her voice. “Who do you think you are?!”

The Alpha’s spoiled daughter looked ready to explode.

Behind her, Grey—my Beta—stepped into the piano room through the shattered doorway, barely breaking stride as he made his way toward me. I had told him to keep the two of them occupied. I knew they would interfere if given the chance… and if they had, things might have turned into something far worse.

“Sorry,” Grey said lightly, a crooked grin on his face, “they weren’t too interested in hearing about my legendary summer flings.”

He handed me a handkerchief along with a small bottle of sanitizer, as if we were discussing something casual instead of standing in the middle of chaos.

I took them without a word.

“My apologies for hitting your husband,” I said calmly, pulling off my gloves. My tone was almost polite—almost. “But as the Alpha of Blackwood… and Luana’s husband…”

I flicked the gloves forward. They struck his face before dropping to the floor at his feet.

A heavy silence followed.

Recognition dawned slowly—then all at once.

The moment they heard the name Alpha of Blackwood, the room shifted. Eyes widened. Tension thickened.

I poured sanitizer into my palm and rubbed my hands slowly, as though erasing every trace of him.

Then I looked up.

The expression I wore was the one my enemies feared most.

“…I believe I have every right,” I said quietly, each word deliberate, “to end him for touching my wife.”