Bound By The Alpha’s Curse

Chapter10

CHAPTER 10

LUCIAN

The heat in my chest had nothing to do with the sun. It was pure, unadulterated irritation. I stood there, my lungs burning and my heart hammering against my ribs, looking down at the woman who had just done the impossible. Mira was covered in dirt and blood, her breathing ragged, yet she had that damn smirk on her face. It was the look of someone who had just torn a piece of my pride away in front of the entire Seattle pack.

I stared at her extended hand. It was small, bruised, and trembling from exhaustion, but she didn’t pull it back. She was mocking me with her kindness. My first instinct was to strike it away again, to let her collapse into the dirt where she belonged.

Hundreds of eyes were pinned on us. If I acted like a petulant child now, I would lose more than just a duel; I would lose the thread of fear that kept this pack in line.

I reached out and gripped her hand. Her skin was hot, likely from the fever that had been ravaging her or the sheer adrenaline of the fight, and I hauled myself up. I didn't use her strength, I had plenty of my own, but the optics were what mattered. As soon as I was on my feet, I dropped her hand.

“You fight like a cornered rat,” I gritted out, wiping a smear of blood from my jaw.

Mira didn't flinch. Instead, her smirk widened into a small, genuine smile that reached her eyes, and she leaned in slightly. “I’m looking forward to our training sessions, Alpha. I think I have a lot more to teach you.”

The audacity made my vision swim with red. She was a servant, a traitor’s daughter, and a wolf without a scent, yet she was standing in the center of my ring talking to me as if we were equals. I looked past her at the crowd. The atmosphere had shifted entirely. The whispers weren't about her weakness anymore. I saw the way the younger warriors were leaning forward, their expressions caught between confusion and a new, dangerous kind of curiosity.

Even Ronan was staring at her. He didn’t look disgusted. He looked impressed. That was the most galling part of all. My own second-in-command was finding merit in the woman who had just put his Alpha in the dirt.

Mira swayed on her feet then, her face turning a sickly shade of gray. The blood soaking through her shirt wasn't just mine; she was leaking from a dozen different cuts, and the strain of the duel was finally catching up to her. She looked like she could pass out at any second, and for some reason, the thought of her hitting the sand again made my stomach twist.

“Follow me,” I commanded, my voice cracking.

I didn't wait to see if she obeyed. I turned and started walking toward the medical wing of the palace. The pack parted for me in a wave of hushed voices. Word was already traveling. By tonight, every wolf from here to the Olympic Forest would know that Lucian Wolfe had been bested by a girl. My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it.

I heard her footsteps behind me, uneven and dragging. She was struggling to keep up, but she didn't ask for help. We reached the infirmary where Kara was already prepping bandages.

“Heal her,” I told Kara, not looking at Mira. “I want every scratch closed. She’s no use to me if she dies of an infection before the week is out.”

I turned to leave, wanting nothing more than a bottle of bourbon and a dark room, but a hand caught my sleeve. The tug was weak, but it stopped me in my tracks. I froze, staring down at where her fingers clutched the fabric of my jacket.

“Lucian,” she rasped. I looked at her, and the fire in her eyes was dampened by pain, but there was a flicker of something else there. “Are you proud? I got better. Just like you wanted.”

The question was a trap. If I said yes, I validated her rebellion. If I said no, I lied to us both. I looked at her hand, then up at her pale, blood-streaked face. I didn't say a word. I reached down, brushed her fingers off my sleeve with a cold, deliberate motion, and walked out the door.

I was halfway back to my private study when Ronan caught up to me. He was walking fast, his face set in a grim line that told me the fallout had already begun.

“The news is out,” Ronan said, falling into step beside me. “The whole pack is talking. They’re saying no one has ever seen a human, or a suppressed wolf, fight with that kind of precision.”

I rubbed my forehead in frustration, feeling a headache beginning to pulse behind my eyes. “I have eyes, Ronan. I was the one she was stabbing.”

“I didn’t expect it,” Ronan continued, his voice lower now. “I didn’t think she had that kind of strength left in her after everything Sienna did. She’s tougher than we gave her credit for. Maybe she really isn't the one who broke the…”

I stopped abruptly and glared at him. My claws began to prick at my palms, and my wolf was pacing inside my mind, snarling at the perceived betrayal. “Are you softening up to her now? Should I be worried that my Beta is losing his edge because a girl held a knife to his Alpha's throat?”

Ronan held my gaze, unblinking. “I’m being realistic. She can be an asset, or the problem. Right now, the pack sees her as a hero.”

That was the problem. A hero was a symbol, and symbols were harder to kill than people. If the pack started to rally behind Mira, my authority would crumble. I needed to remind everyone, especially Mira of exactly where she stood in the hierarchy of this pack.

A slow smirk spread across my face as a new thought took hold. It was cruel, and it was petty, but it was necessary.

“Capture her,” I said.

Ronan blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“What? She’s in the infirmary, Lucian. Kara is literally stitching her up on your orders.”

“I don’t care,” I snapped, my voice ringing off the stone walls. “As soon as she can stand, I want her in the cells. Chain her if you have to.”

“Why?” Ronan asked, his voice tinged with genuine disbelief. “She won the duel fairly. You gave your word she could stay.”

I leaned in closer to him, my eyes flashing with the gold of my wolf. “She drew a sword against her King.

She pinned her Alpha to the dirt and threatened my life in front of my people. Anyone who threatens the King with a blade belongs in a cage, Ronan. That is the law of the pack now.”