Chapter 11: Revenge Plan
1537 Words
The entire day came to a slow end. As the crows made their way back to their wrecked up nests, Astria was having a moment of epiphany that maybe the road she chose was destined to be as rock as it could possibly get.
The realisation came from a long, deep thought that stemmed from one single rule: The only way to become an Alpha is to kill the old one.
In a civilized world that gradually came to be what it is today, the feudal system still prevailed in one way or another. The Alpha position was a thing that people still kill for, but the number had simply reduced a little. A challenger often found themself losing the fight with an Alpha and it gradually became a meaningless thing to ask for a battle to death with an Alpha.
Astria had no other choice.
As Astria was deciding a plan to act on, Bryce announced his presence by opening the door with the key.
"Can't you knock like normal people?!" Astria shouted, covering her body at the same time.
She had changed into a pair of short shorts and a tank top when the expensive clothes became too suffocating for thinking about potential murder. It proved to be efficient to think of murder in comfortable clothes. But she didn't want Bryce to see her like that!
She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over herself while glaring at his cheeky face.
"What is there to hide when I've seen everything?" Bryce boldly ran his eyes over her exposed body and winked. To his utter dismay, the beauty scenery was covered up at lightning speed.
Astria huffed and turned to eye him, "You've been out for hours. Where did you go?"
"Taking care of some business." Bryce walked up to the couch, sat down unceremoniously and reached out to drape his arm behind Astria's back.
Astria's body stiffened at the contact but relaxed slightly. At this time, Bryce was the only person around who didn't want to harm her. At least not up front.
Her mind and body were greedy. It wanted someone to rely on. Even at times like these, when her vigilance was at an all time high, she still regarded Bryce as an object she could learn from. Not the best choice though.
It was the decision made by her body and mind with complete synchronization. She couldn't deny that he was the source of comfort for her right now.
Bryce watched her relax under his touch, and the ice in his grey eyes melted until they turned to a pool of gentle current. Running his finger over the soft fabric of the couch, he lowered his eyes to the blanket that covered her skin and scoffed.
It won't be long.
He'll have her all to himself.
Astria, unaware of his beastly thoughts, told him about the thoughts she'd had while he was away. Since he didn't want to speak up about the 'business', she didn't ask twice.
Her light green eyes glazed over, repeating her thoughts to him and scrutinizing the smallest details that may be wrong.
"In the end, your goal is to get your pack. I think it's a good dream to have. But don't you think it's a bit too small?" Bryce raised his arm to support his head and questioned.
Astria turned to him in surprise. She thought he might mock her for being too ambitious.
As the facts stood, the pack she was about to fight for was not the biggest one out there but it held considerable power among the other packs.
It was already a far fetched dream to reach for it all alone. Even if she let herself loose, it was still a big feat for her.
She didn't think he would see it as a 'small' dream.
She came to the conclusion of reducing the goal to just acquiring the pack after a lot of consideration. One thing at a time.
After all, Astria didn't want anything more than to see them getting what they deserved. But those were secondary goals. Those could be achieved easily once the pack was taken. She could drag it for as long as she wanted. Besides, the longer she waits to acquire the pack, the more problems she will face later on. It wasn't ideal to wait.
"What do you mean?" Astria asked curiously. The gleam in her eyes made Bryce smile.
He loved that spark. He smirked and ran a finger over the blanket covering her thigh. Astria's lips squeezed together, and her heartbeat sped up a tiny bit. She didn't shout at him this time, too invested in knowing what he wanted to say.
"Your aunt conspired against you, your.... husband of three years cheated on you, your cousin betrayed you, and your family was torn apart. Your pack was taken away." Bryce scoffed with obvious disgust in his tone. His teeth barely moved when he mentioned the term husband. Astria listened carefully as he muttered his next words, "Thinking like this, you've lost too much. Taking the pack itself doesn't cut it. Even if you take it back, you will be leaving them a way out to keep living. Don't you want them to lose everything? Just like you did?"
Despite trying to appear gentle and caring, Bryce happened to let a bit of his malicious intentions leak. He lowered his eyes and cleared his throat, when Astria met his grey eyes again, the chill had been replaced by the comforting smiles again.
"Revenge sounds good." Astria whispered in a slight daze, "But it's a luxury I can't think of right now. My priorities are a bit different. I can't be greedy and want too many things all by myself. And I'm not saying that I don't want it. I do want revenge but just not now."
The finger grazing the thigh over the blanket stopped moving. Replacing the light touch was a heavy hand. Bryce pressed his palm on her thigh and leaned forward, their noses only a breath apart. Astria's lips opened in surprise, and her body reflexively leaned back.
The hand on her thigh was glaring hot even through the blanket. She gulped, staring directly into those grey eyes that tried to peep into her soul. Bryce blinked and lightly touched her forehead with his own.
Astria reflexively closed her eyes. Her breath became shallow and fast. She was aware of the closeness and the scent of his body mixed with the hot temperature.
Bryce was the first man to ever touch her in the most intimate way. Her body had a different reaction to him, and it intensified each time he tried to pull something like this.
Astria felt his finger on her chin and tilted it up. She opened her eyes, holding her breath to stop herself from getting drunk on his scent. She was met with a pair of gentle but determined grey eyes.
One tiny move.
That's all she needed to fall into a frenzy. She gulped again, stopping herself from indulging in something she might regret later. It was bone crushing.
He whispered onto her lips, "You can be greedy. You can want everything under the sky. You know why?"
Light green eyes were stuck on grey eyes. They were locked so tightly that Astria felt hypnotizef by then.
"Why?" She whispered.
Bryce smirked, "Because you are not alone. You have me behind you, the entire Lupine pack behind you. It isn't unreasonable for you to demand for stars. The moon will tear them off the sky and hand them to you. That's how much I can give you."
"You -"
The spell of eyes broke and another violent emotion took over. Astria kept gulping down the heaviness in her throat but it still rolled up and escaped her lips as a whimper.
Unexpectedly, her eyes conveyed the truth that her lips couldn't speak of. They were covered in hot tears that refused to fall. Her brows furrowed tightly, painting the picture of her holding back herself.
Bryce sighed, reached out, and held the back of her head. Astria was pulled into a strong and tight embrace. As soon as her forehead touched his shoulder, the tears that gathered in her eyes fell down and her shoulders shook.
"Are you moved?" Bryce tried to joke to lighten up the atmosphere, but it didn't work.
He removed his hand from her thigh and embraced her waist. He sat down and let Astria climb onto his lap. He rubbed her hair and waist to offer comfort.
"Alright, cry a little bit, but not too much. An Alpha can't develop the habit of crying too much. You don't want your opponents to think of you as a crybaby." Bryce said.
"I- hic - 'm not - hic- !" Astria wrapped her arms around his shoulders and cried without a sound.
If it wasn't for the hiccups and shaking of the shoulders, Bryce would have mistaken it as Astria trying to feel him up. It didn't sound too bad though...
"Okay. You are a fierce Alpha. How about accepting my proposal then?" Bryce took the opportunity when it presented itself.
- Writer
