Fake Bond of the Lycan Lords

Chapter 6

Betty POV

"Shut your mouth, Betty."

Madeline's voice cuts through the muggy night air like a rusty blade. She steps between me and Adriel, her shoulders hunched, her fingernails digging so deep into her palms that fresh blood wells under her cuticles.

"You are not allowed to speak to him."

The challenge is already set. My wolf took control of my jaw five minutes ago, snapping up Madeline's bait before my brain could stop it. Now my chest feels hollow. If Madeline beats me tomorrow, the pack laws demand I reject Adriel. She will kill me, or worse, force me to watch her take my place.

I force my chin up. My spine pops. "He does not know a single rule of this territory, Madeline. I am allowed to speak to my mate."

A low, vibrating growl rips from my throat. It surprises me so much my heels leave the dirt. Behind me, three senior warriors clap their hands once in approval.

Adriel shifts his weight, his eyes flashing a dark, dangerous violet. A slow smirk spreads across his face. "Come on then, princess. Let us go inside and meet your parents."

He wraps his fingers around mine. His palm is hot, his skin rough with thick calluses. As we step over the threshold of the packhouse, Robert steps out from the shadows of the porch. He drops his head, his chin touching his chest in a silent, respectful bow.

I pull my hand back slightly, heat rising into my cheeks.

"Do not look down, Betty," Adriel murmurs, his grip tightening until my bones click. "You are my princess now. Theirs too. Robert, move behind us."

The packhouse hallway smells of stale grease and old wool. I pray the ground floor is empty, but the moment my boot hits the linoleum, a massive weight slams into my chest.

It is the Alpha’s aura.

It hits me like a wet sack of cement. My knees buckle. A sharp, pathetic whimper escapes my lips before I can teeth my jaw shut.

"Betty!" Alpha Yuna’s voice booms from the drawing room doorway. "What are you doing in my house? What are they doing here?"

A Lycan prince inside a regular werewolf packhouse is an execution order waiting to happen. Yuna is terrified, and he is taking it out on me. The psychic pressure of his aura expands, pressing against my temples until my vision blurs at the edges. It hurts. It feels like iron spikes driving into my ears.

"Yuna, drop it," Luna Imelda snaps, stepping out behind him. Her hand rests on his forearm, her fingers squeezing until his veins bulge. "Be nice. There must be an explanation."

My mother pushes past them both, her face pale. "Betty, sweetie, what is wrong?"

"Who are these men?" my dad demands, his voice cracking as he steps between me and the Alpha. "Yuna, drop the bloody aura now! The girl cannot even breathe, let alone answer you."

The heavy pressure snaps off instantly. I gasp, sucking the cold air into my lungs.

I look around the room. The Alpha, the Luna, my parents, Beta Kennedy, and her mate are all lined up against the wall. The kitchen doors swing open with a loud creak, and the Delta couple walks out, their hands covered in flour. Everyone is watching.

"I found my mate," I say, my voice steadying as I look Yuna dead in the eye. "This is Adriel. He is the prince of the Lycan kingdom. And this is his cousin, Robert. We require a private room to speak with my parents."

Yuna’s jaw drops. His mouth hangs open for three full seconds. "The prince? You are mated to the Lycan prince?"

"Congratulations, Betty," Beta Kennedy whispers, though her eyes are darting toward the floor.

"Thank you," I mutter.

Adriel steps forward. The floorboards groan under his boots. He releases a fraction of his own aura, a cold, suffocating pressure that smells of lightning and old blood.

Yuna’s knees wobble. His head jerks down, exposing the side of his neck in a hard, involuntary gesture of submission.

"Can I meet my future in-laws in private now?" Adriel asks, his voice dropping an octave.

Luna Imelda clears her throat quickly, her face tight. "Autumn. Quentin. Take Prince Adriel upstairs to your quarters. I need to give Betty something first. If that is alright with her."

"Yes, Luna," I say.

Adriel turns, his lips brushing my cheek. His stubble scratches my skin, leaving a burning trail. He follows my parents up the stairs, only dampening his aura once his boots clear the top landing.

I turn back to Imelda. Robert is still standing two inches behind my left shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest. I lift an eyebrow at him.

"Adriel told me to stay," Robert whispers, his voice barely lifting the hairs on my ear. "He does not trust your Gamma right now. I am your shadow until we leave."

Luka. Our Gamma. He has been trying to claim me as his chosen mate for six months. A cold shiver runs down my arms. If Adriel had not come to the ball tonight, Luka would have used the pack witch to forge a fake mate bond. I would have been trapped here.

"Betty? Are you still in the room?"

Luna Imelda’s voice breaks my thoughts. I blink, my cheeks warming as Robert lets out a dry chuckle.

"Good," Imelda says, pulling a heavy oak box from the sideboard. She lifts the lid. "I am happy you found him. Perhaps with a Lycan by your side, your wolf will finally show herself."

Inside the box lies her old Luna ceremony dress. The white silk is thick, embroidered with silver thread along the collar. I have stared at it through the glass cabinet since I was seven years old.

"I cannot take this," I say, my fingers twitching against my trousers. "What about Madeline?"

Imelda sighs, a bitter sound. "Madeline thinks it looks ancient. She has no respect for the old ways. Even if she is my daughter, she would make a terrible Luna."

Before I can touch the silk, a piercing shriek tears through the floorboards from the lower hall.

"Daddy! Mummy! Help me!" Madeline’s voice rattles the window panes. "Everything is ruined, and it is all Betty’s fault!"

Robert steps in front of the Luna before she can move toward the door. "The girl is hysterical because her own mate rejected her five minutes ago. She does not understand it was her own cruelty that did it. Now she has challenged Miss Betty."

Imelda drops her hands into her lap. "Oh, Betty. I am so sorry. My daughter is a fool. A challenge? This is bad. I will link your parents and tell them to explain our laws to your mate."

"What is wrong with the challenge?" Robert asks, his eyes narrowing.

"Madeline challenged my position," I tell him, my throat dry. "If she wins the bout tomorrow, the law says I must reject Adriel and leave the territory."

Robert’s face contorts. A brutal growl rattles his chest. "Adriel will tear this house down before he lets that happen."

"I know," I say, looking down at my boots. "The worst part is, I am stronger than her. I could pin her in ten seconds. But I am not allowed to."

"What do you mean?" Robert demands.

Imelda steps between us. "Every warrior in training here must take an oath. They pledge never to spill the blood of the Alpha’s family. If Betty defends herself properly tomorrow, the magic of the oath will choke her."

Robert opens his mouth to speak, but the front door blows off its hinges with a loud splintering crash.

A heavy shadow falls over the threshold. Yuna’s aura returns, ten times thicker than before. It strikes the small of my back like an iron bar, throwing me face-first onto the floorboards.

"BETTY!" Yuna screams.

Robert moves like a blur. His boot clicks against the wood as he plants himself directly between my head and the Alpha's fists. His hands are up, fingers hooked into claws.

"Move aside," Yuna snarls, his muzzle lengthening as his wolf pushes forward. "You have no right to stand between me and a member of my pack."

"He doesn't," Adriel’s voice rings out from the stairs. "But I do."

I try to lift my forehead from the floor, but Yuna’s weight is too heavy. My ribs feel like they are about to crack under the pressure.

"If you do not remove your filth from my mate this instant," Adriel says, his boots hitting the bottom step with a dull thud, "I will ensure your daughter does not live to see the sunrise, let alone the challenge."

The air in the hallway turns freezing cold. Yuna stays still for two seconds, his breath rattling in his throat, before he slowly pulls his aura back.

The pressure lifts. Robert catches my arm, lifting me up until my boots find purchase on the floor.

"Yes, Alpha," I whisper, keeping my eyes on his leather boots.

"Madeline says you forced her mate to reject her," Yuna wheezes, his face red and sweating. "Is this true?"

"No," I say, my voice cracking. "Madeline attacked me in the orchard. Her mate saw what she did. He rejected her because she is cruel."

Yuna’s eyes go dark. "You are a liar. And you are weak. It is decided. I, Yuna, Alpha of the Blue Claw Pack, strip you of your rank as Top Warrior. You are cast out. You are a rogue."

A physical snap echoes inside my skull. It feels like a hot wire being pulled through my heart. The invisible threads connecting me to the pack house, to the trees, to the people in the rooms upstairs, disappear. I choke back a scream, my teeth drawing blood from my lip.

"Yuna, what have you done?" Imelda gasps, her hand over her mouth.

"Mummy, shut up," Madeline spits from the doorway. Her hair is tangled, her dress torn at the shoulder. "If she is a rogue, she cannot stay on our land. I want my revenge now."

Robert glares at her like she is a monster.

"I will fight her," I say through gritted teeth, stepping out from behind Robert. "Let me stay until tomorrow."

"Fine," Yuna says. "You may stay on the territory until the prince departs. But you sleep outside the packhouse."

He turns his back on me.

"She will stay with us at the Lycan manor," Adriel says, his arms wrapping around my waist from behind. He lifts me cleanly off the floor, pulling my back against his chest. "Her parents can come to the border to say their goodbyes."

He carries me through the shattered front door. Robert follows close behind, the wooden box with the Luna dress tucked securely under his arm.

Down by the main iron gates, the rest of the Lycan guard is waiting. Ian and Luka are standing near the tarmac road.

"Prince Adriel. Princess Betty," the men shout in unison, dropping to one knee.

I look up at Adriel, my eyelids heavy. "Why are they all here?"

"I called them," he says simply.

"But the ball - "

"No one stayed at the ball after what happened to the girl," Leonardo says, stepping out from the line of trees. He shrugs his broad shoulders. "They were all too terrified to speak to us."

"Oh," I murmur. A massive yawn splits my jaw.

"Hold tight, Betty," Adriel warns. "I am going to shift. We will reach the manor faster on four legs."

Before I can slide down his body, the sound of tearing cotton fills the air. Greyish-brown fur erupts along his forearms. His spine stretches, his ribs expanding with a series of wet, popping sounds as his Lycan takes form. He grows to eight feet tall, his fur thick and golden-brown, his eyes turning a sharp, bright purple.

He presses his wet muzzle into the crook of my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin. I let out a weak giggle. He huffs, a sound like low thunder, laughing back.

He sets off into the deep forest at a long, swinging trot. Around us, the other guards shift into their wolves, their heavy paws thudding against the damp pine needles as they form a tight circle around his flanks.

My inner wolf stirs for the first time in years, her head lifting at the scent of the pack. Then, a sharp scent hits my nose.

Bitter almonds and pine. Luka.

I turn my head toward the left flank. Luka is running parallel to us, his gray wolf form sleek and fast. I lift a hand and wave at him through the dark. He looks back, his tail wagging once, before a massive roar shakes the leaves above us.

Adriel stops dead. The entire line of wolves skids to a halt, their claws tearing into the dirt.

He drops me onto a patch of moss. Ian catches my shoulder before I can tumble backward into a briar bush.

Before I can ask what is wrong, Adriel’s massive fist smashes directly into Luka’s jaw. Luka is thrown five feet backward into a birch tree. He doesn't even try to shift back or defend himself; he just lies in the dirt, taking the blows as Adriel rains his fists down on his skull.

"No, stop him," I cry, grabbing Ian’s leather jacket. "He will kill him!"

"Why should we?" Leonardo asks, his eyes fixed on the blood pooling in the dirt. "This is our way, Miss Betty. The prince must establish dominance."

I try to step forward to pull Adriel away, but a sudden white-hot pain fires through my stomach. My legs turn to water. I hit the dirt on my knees, a jagged scream tearing from my throat as I clutch my ribs.

"Miss Betty? What is it?" Ian kneels beside me, his hands hovering over my shoulders.

I cannot speak. The pain is intense. It feels like someone has taken a skinning knife to my shoulders, peeling the flesh back inch by inch. My bones begin to snap, bending backward against their joints.

"Calm down, please," Ian shouts, his voice sounding like it is underwater.

"Prince Adriel, stop!" Leonardo screams into the trees. "Stop now! The princess is shifting! She needs you!"

I look down at my hands. Through the blur of my tears, I see thick, midnight-black fur sprouting from the back of my knuckles.

The guards gasp. Adriel drops Luka and rushes toward me, his purple eyes wide with panic. His lips are moving, but the sound of my own bones cracking drowns him out. Black spots dance across my eyes. The forest goes completely dark, and for the first time in my life, my head hits the moss and I go under.