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1570 Words
ROBYN:
Kane’s words stripped me naked, and for a second, my lungs went numb. My body burned with humiliation, both from the fact that I had thrown myself at the Alpha Supreme and the fact that he made that public.
Goddess, I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole, but seeing Leon crumble made me feel a little better.
His face had gone pale, and he gritted his teeth so hard I thought his jaw might burst.
“Alpha Kane…” he finally said, forcing out a stiff laugh. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding—”
“The laws of the Thorne Nation state that the first Alpha to claim an untouched woman decides whether to release her or keep her,” Kane interrupted calmly, taking a step toward Leon. “And I choose not to release her.”
My face exploded with anger.
Keep?
Was I a pet? A piece of furniture?
I opened my mouth, my voice shaking with rage. “I am not a topic for your public debate! I am not an object to be claimed or traded by—”
He cut me off simply by lifting a hand, glancing briefly down at me.
“No rush, sweetheart,” he murmured.
His low tone caused my voice to go completely numb, and my face reddened instantly. Goddess, I wanted to bite off his f*****g fingers, but my wolf was doing it again—whining submissively to his command.
Then Leon broke.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” His voice rose, and everyone stood in awe. He was screaming at the Alpha Supreme. “The Alpha Supreme has everything one could possibly wish for except a mate. A curse from the Goddess. You want to take away the only thing I have that you do not.”
What?
The murmurs rose, and my stomach dropped.
I was still trying to process my thoughts when I turned to see the man wearing a full-on smirk.
He should have been furious that his secret had just become public.
Instead, he looked pleased.
Almost like he had wanted this.
Goddess, what kind of psychopaths surrounded me?
“Interesting accusation,” he said casually.
Then he turned to me.
“A Blue Thorne woman. Daughter of one of the finest warriors in our history. Former mate to the second strongest Alpha in the nation.”
“Besides, Leon,” Kane continued, turning his attention back to my ex, “word got to me that you were far too busy with... other engagements to attend my father’s funeral. Is that a story you wish to share with the entire Thorne Pack right now? This is neutral university ground. Members from all factions are standing right here. You have the stage. Shall we discuss it?”
My eyes widened, and I almost choked on my saliva.
Goddess, he was brutal.
Even though he was humiliating me, at least Leon was going down with me.
Leon’s jaw remained clamped so tightly I prayed it would explode. His eyes flickered to mine, and I couldn’t help but smirk at him.
Leon swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
“Alpha Kane, we should…”
“In the absence of any argument, I would like to make a formal introduction.”
Kane turned away from a stammering Leon and looked up at the balconies, facing the crowd of students.
“My name is Kane Thorne. I am the new Alpha Supreme. And from this moment onward, Robyn Ford is under my direct protection. I hope to rule the pack better than my father did.”
I almost laughed as I watched Leon’s arrogance being stripped away. He stood there looking like a lost, defeated pup while the students above whispered about Kane’s sudden appearance and his striking looks.
Leon knew he had made a fool of himself, and worse, he couldn’t even storm off. According to pack law, no one walked out on the Alpha Supreme. He had to wait for Kane to leave first.
Before my brain could fully process the gravity of the situation, Kane grabbed my wrist.
A sudden, violent jolt shot straight up my spine.
He pulled me toward the dorm.
June ran after us, frantic.
“Alpha Kane, you—”
“June, stop. Don’t,” I cut her off quickly, shaking my head. The last thing I needed was more public drama. I needed to sort this out with this man in private.
“Be careful,” she whispered before bowing to Kane as we entered the dorms.
Soon, with the help of the dorm management fending off curious students, we were back in his room.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Suddenly, the reality of the situation crashed into me all over again.
I was alone with the Alpha Supreme—the most powerful Alpha in the entire Thorne Nation.
My stomach twisted with dread.
I cleared my throat and stared down at my phone instead of looking directly at him.
“Look, Alpha Kane... thank you.”
The words sounded stupid the second they left my mouth.
What exactly was I thanking him for?
Publicly announcing that I had slept with him?
“I mean...” I winced. “Not the embarrassing parts. Those were horrible. Absolutely horrible. I think I might actually die of embarrassment before the end of the day. I am never going to recover from this, but...”
A chuckle escaped his lips.
I paused.
Did he actually find my humiliation amusing?
Heat immediately rushed into my face.
Of course he did.
“Anyway,” I continued quickly before I could embarrass myself further, “I am on scholarship, and I cannot miss my classes. I have to be in school in about an hour.”
His eyes pierced through mine.
The temperature in the room suddenly felt like it had dropped ten degrees.
“Relax,” he said.
“Relax?” I scoffed, my voice higher than I wanted. “Would you say that if you were being whisked away by someone who publicly claimed you with such humiliation and could forcefully marry you? I have heard stories, and I—”
“I am not going to marry you.”
My mouth remained ajar for a second.
“You aren’t?” I said flatly, my brows creasing as he withdrew his hand.
“No.”
“So I’m going to be a slave?” I swallowed hard.
“No.”
He closed the space between us, and my throat hollowed slightly.
“I have gotten what I wanted, which is to disgrace Leon. Besides, I have two more options, and having him expose my secret to everyone helps. Now every ambitious family in the Thorne packs will send their daughters to throw themselves at me, trying to prove they are one of my remaining two options.”
Then he paused and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I know I made a spectacle of you this morning. That was entirely out of character for me. Consider this arrangement compensation for the collateral damage.”
He hadn’t outright apologized for exposing me, but this worked too.
Relief crushed my chest so hard I thought my knees might give out.
“You may go to class, but this ruse has to continue for about a week. It gets Leon off your back, my status helps you too, and it will help me find the most suitable option. My wolf is obviously attracted to you, but that is clearly not enough for me to make a choice. So, what do you say?”
About thirty minutes after my pact with Kane, I sneaked out of his room when I was sure most of the students had gone to class.
My room was farther away, so I made my way to the third floor, to June’s room.
She never went to class early, so I was sure she would still be around.
I had to tell her everything.
That I was free.
That I wasn’t being forced into an arranged marriage.
Goddess, I could almost cry.
There was no Leon to hold me back either.
Thank Goddess he hadn’t marked me.
I would die from the pain of rejection.
When I got to her room, I was about to knock when her voice boomed from behind the door.
“I think it worked, Daddy. Kane threw an entire fit because of her today in front of the school. He really thinks she is one of the three women. He fell for it completely.”
My entire body froze, and my phone nearly slipped from my fingers.
For one second, I convinced myself I had heard wrong.
June wasn’t talking about me.
She could never do anything to hurt me.
She went silent before letting out a sigh.
“No, I don’t feel bad about the Leon part. Pushing her to throw him a surprise party was the best idea. At least she finally knows about his sexuality, and she’s free.”
My chest tightened, and I stopped breathing for a second.
I tried to jog my memory back to yesterday.
She did say 204.
I was hurt, not stupid.
Every terrible thing that had happened in the last twenty-four hours suddenly rearranged itself into a completely different picture.
She had sent me to Kane, but why?
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