FOUR
1438 Words
ARMANI POV
My fingers tapped slowly against the armrest of the throne while another terrified Alpha stood trembling before me.
“You lost three shipments?” I asked calmly.
The Alpha swallowed hard. “T-The rogues attacked near the eastern borders—”
“So you failed.” I argued
His face paled instantly. The entire throne room felt suffocating beneath my wolf’s anger. while members of my council watched carefully from their seats.
Nobody spoke when I was angry. They knew better.
The Alpha dropped to his knees immediately. “Your Majesty, please—”
“Pathetic.” The word echoed coldly through the hall.
My Beta, Julian, sighed quietly beside me like he already knew what would happen next.“You were given warriors. Resources. Territory.” I tilted my head slightly while staring down at the kneeling man.
“And yet rogues continue humiliating you.”
Sweat rolled down the Alpha’s face.“I can fix this.”
“No,” I said simply.
My wolf snarled beneath my skin violently.
Weakness disgusted him. Without another word, I rose slowly from the throne. Fear instantly spread through the room.
The Alpha began shaking harder. “Your Majesty—”
I grabbed his throat before he could finish.
Gasps echoed softly around the hall.“You know what I hate most?” I murmured coldly.
The Alpha clawed weakly at my wrist.
“Excuses.” A sickening c***k echoed through the throne room. His body collapsed lifelessly onto the marble floor.
Nobody moved or reacted.
Julian rubbed a tired hand across his face. “You could’ve just exiled him.”
“He embarrassed me.”
“That tends to shorten people’s life spans around here,” lena my delta muttered dryly from across the room. I ignored her.
One of the servants immediately dragged the body away while others cleaned the blood from the floor like this was routine.
Because it was.I returned to my throne slowly. Boredom settled heavily inside me again.
“Next matter,” I ordered coldly. An older council member stood carefully. “There have been reports from the Ashtray Pack.”
My gaze lifted lazily.“And?”
“They discovered a diamond mine near their northern territory.” Murmurs spread quietly across the room.
I remained silent. The councilman continued nervously, “The diamonds are… unusual.”
Julian frowned slightly beside me. “Unusual how?”
“They were supposedly blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.” That earned my attention.
My wolf stirred faintly beneath my skin for the first time in days. The councilman swallowed hard before continuing. “Rumors claim the diamonds possess healing properties. Some even believe they strengthen wolves.”
Superstitious fools. Yet something about it irritated my wolf strangely.
Lena leaned back . “Ashtray Pack?” she scoffed. “Since when does that filthy place deserve divine blessings?”
“Exactly,” Julian muttered.
I stared ahead silently.Ashtray Pack was insignificant, Weak, Cruel. The kind of place barely worth remembering. And yet…My wolf wouldn’t settle. A strange irritation clawed beneath my skin.
Like something was waiting there.
“Your Majesty?” Julian questioned carefully. I rose slowly from the throne.
The movement alone immediately silenced the room. “Prepare the pack warriors.”
Several council members blinked in surprise.“We’re leaving?” Julian asked.
“Yes.”
It took days to reach the ashtray pack, only to be met face to face with an arrogant young pup as an alpha “what bring you here alpha Armani”
My eyes narrowed “ Where are the diamonds bring them”
He blinked with forcing another one of his disgusting grins that made rage claw down my skin “ I have no idea-”
He couldn't finish his words because the next thing was my sword slashed the side of his face blood splattered The scent filled the air immediately. His face immediately paled.Fear followed right after it,.The entire courtyard went silent.
Even the warriors standing behind him stiffened visibly.
My sword remained pressed lightly against his throat while my wolf snarled beneath my skin, furious at the lie.
“Lie to me again,” I said quietly, “and your head will decorate my gates.”
Rane swallowed hard. For the first time since arriving, the arrogant confidence in his eyes cracked. “My apologies, Alpha King,” he said quickly, lowering his head slightly.
“I merely meant the diamonds are being prepared—”
“You merely meant to waste my time.”
My aura exploded outward instantly.
Several wolves dropped to one knee from the pressure alone. One warrior even coughed blood.
Pathetic.
Julian stepped forward calmly beside me, though even he looked irritated now. “You should consider yourself lucky,” he muttered toward Rane. “He killed an Alpha three days ago for less.”Rane visibly paled.
I slowly lowered my sword before glancing around the Ashtray Pack grounds with disgust.
The Ashtray manor disgusted me.
Too polished, Too fake. Their servants walked around with their heads lowered in fear. Expensive chandeliers hung from the ceilings, yet the scent of blood and misery still clung to the air beneath it all. Weak packs always hid their filth behind luxury.
Rane walked beside me nervously while Julian and Lena followed close behind.
“My pack is honored by your presence, Alpha King,” Rane said carefully.
I ignored him.
The only reason he was still breathing was because I wanted those diamonds first.
We entered a large chamber moments later. Guards immediately opened a pair of heavy iron doors, revealing dozens of crystals displayed across velvet cloth.
The diamonds.
The moment I stepped closer, my wolf stirred violently again.Silver light reflected faintly across the stones unnaturally.
Interesting.
Julian picked one up carefully. “These are real.”
“Of course they’re real,” Rane said quickly. “The mines were discovered months ago.”
I grabbed one silently. Power hummed faintly beneath the surface, Not enough to impress me, But enough to notice
.
Lena frowned beside me. “Strange.”
My eyes narrowed slightly.Something about the energy felt… incomplete.
Like the source wasn’t here.
“You mined all of them?” I asked coldly.
Rane nodded immediately. “Yes, Alpha King.”
Lie. My wolf snarled instantly.I slowly looked at him.Rane stiffened beneath my stare.“You smell nervous,” I murmured.
Sweat rolled down his temple immediately. “I assure you—”
“I’m bored.” The interruption startled him.
Julian blinked beside me while Lena smirked knowingly.
That never meant anything good.
I dropped the diamond back onto the table carelessly. “Show me the rest of your manor.”
Rane hesitated slightly before forcing another smile. “Of course.”
We walked through several massive halls afterward.Servants immediately bowed the second they saw me.
None dared look directly into my eyes.
But the deeper we moved through the manor…The more restless my wolf became.
Mine.
The growl slammed through my head violently. I stopped walking instantly.
Julian nearly walked into me. “Armani?”
I ignored him.
There it was again, That scent. Soft and Sweet And underneath it—Blood. My wolf went feral.
Mine.
Every instinct inside me snapped painfully to attention. Rane noticed my expression immediately and visibly tensed. “Alpha King?”
I turned slowly toward a narrow corridor leading away from the main hall.
Then I heard it. A muffled struggle.My aura exploded instantly. The walls shook, Several servants collapsed to the floor in terror.
Rane paled. “W-What—”
I was already moving. The corridor blurred past me within seconds.Then the scent hit me fully. Blood, Fear, Her.Rage unlike anything I had felt in years tore through my chest.
At the end of the corridor, a large warrior had a girl pinned harshly against the wall.
One massive hand gripped her throat while the other forced her wrists above her head. She struggled weakly beneath him.
Bruises covered her skin.Her torn dress hung loosely from her shoulders.
And her scent— Mine.
The warrior laughed cruelly. “Stop fighting, slave. Nobody’s coming to save—”
He never finished. I grabbed his skull and slammed him through the wall hard enough to c***k stone.The entire corridor shook violently.The warrior hit the ground choking on blood. My wolf roared murderously beneath my skin.
The girl stumbled backward instantly, breathing hard. Then finally…I saw her clearly.Dark hair,Bruised skin, Broken eyes filled with fear.
And somehow…Even wounded and trembling…She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
Mate.
- Writer
