The Alpha’s Only Daughter

Chapter 11

Zane’s POV

I felt like I was pushing my luck hinting at showering together, but the way she blushed and took the hand I offered her made me feel like maybe I was just lucky.

Watching her as she started the shower and felt for the perfect temperature, I couldn’t help but admire her body. She wasn’t overly toned like some she-wolves, but I could tell that she was still strong. Her height was impressive, even compared to female Lycans.

Wavy, raven hair cascaded over her delicate shoulders and down her back ending just before her round bum. I stepped forward reaching out to lightly touch and then squeeze her bottom.

She peered at me over her shoulder and smiled. Her smile was heavenly. I wanted to do anything and everything to keep her smiling.

As she stepped into the shower, I noticed a long scar on the back of her thigh, “What caused the scar on your thigh?”

I could almost feel her growl, “Dante.”

My heart began racing as I felt my wolf clawing at the surface to be released. I gripped the shower door tightly hearing the metal begin to creak. Someone had hurt my mate. Someone in this pack house had scarred my mate. I knew the mate bond was exacerbating my anger and I did my best to stifle it.

“How long ago?” was all that I could get out through my gritted teeth.

She took my hand and pulled me into the shower, “His father is the Alpha of a neighboring pack. When we were young, our fathers would take turns hosting both of us for the summer. I spent 6 summers with him from seven to thirteen.

“We we turned thirteen, our wolves came out. I had already shifted by the time I spent the summer with his pack, but he had not. He hated being younger than me. Everything was always a competition and that was something I had already beaten him at. So while I was practicing running through the woods as a wolf and getting used to my wolf form, he was seething on the sidelines.” She paused and looked at me.

My anger was boiling inside of me, but I was intent on not letting it erupt, “What did he do?”

She looked concerned, but she carried on, “One day while I was running through the woods, I ran directly into a wire trap that caught around my back leg and held me up in midair for hours. I thought a hunter had gotten me. But as I was spinning, I saw Dante walk up smiling, holding a knife. That’s when I realized he was the one who set the trap. He was no longer the young, competitive kid I grew up with. He was dangerous.

“As I was up in midair and unable to runaway or defend myself, he yanked me hard which broke my leg due to the wire trap and then cut me under my jaw. That scar has healed, but my leg required intensive surgery. That scar did not heal.”

My fury was blinding. All I could see was red. Then everything went black.

“Zane. Zane? Zane!” I could hear my mate’s voice, but I couldn’t see her. My body was beginning to shift. I quickly stepped out of the shower as the werewolf hair started popping out on my arms, trying to stop my shift. As I tore out of the bathroom into the room, I could feel my bones crunching and stretching into my wolf form—there was no stopping it.

My Lycan body barreled through the bedroom door taking it off of its hinges. I knew Dante’s smell from the day before, so I raced past every door until I caught his scent. I plowed through the door to see an empty room, but with bags still on the bed. I growled and stormed through the rest of the house until I caught his scent heading outside.

As I crashed through the glass doors to the patio, I saw the werewolf from the day before practicing combat with another werewolf. They stopped, likely hearing the damage I had caused behind me.

My eyes focused in on Dante and I began racing toward him. He began to run toward the tree line, but my Lycan body was much more powerful than his and I overcame him before he reached it, grabbing him by his back leg and tossing him back toward the pack house. His body rolled and he stood up to face me. We began circling one another.

You hurt my mate! I growled, thankful for the Lycan ability to mind-link outside of our pack.

He seemed surprised he could hear me, I don’t know you and I don’t know your mate.

Liar! I snarled.

If you hurt me, you are hurting the future Alpha of this pack and the son of the Dead Tree pack’s Alpha. They will come for you.

I growled and shortened the circle, You must not have heard, I am the new Alpha of this pack.

Oh, I see now. But from what I can also see, Layla has not been yet marked.

As we circled each other, Layla came into view on the patio, her soaking wet body covered in a sheet. Her face drawn in fear, but still looking like she was ready to shift at any moment.

Seems like maybe she’s having second thoughts about this whole mate thing? I could almost feel his smirk. And who’s to say that even if you do mark her, I won’t take over as Alpha anyway?

Rage filled me and I closed the distance attacking him until he was on his back and my teeth were on his neck. I could feel his fear beneath me. I clenched down harder.

If you look at my mate again, if you come to this pack again, if you so much as make a tiny move to take over this pack or threaten my mate in any way I will kill you.

Dante was silent, but his heart was racing.

Submit! I bit down harder until I was drawing blood from his neck.

He yelped, I submit!

I let him go. He jumped up and shifted back to his human form, running toward the pack house holding his neck to keep the blood from spewing out while he began to heal. As he ran past Layla, I stiffened, ready to attack him again if he so much as touched her.

Layla. I softened as she looked at me. Her eyes were filled with concern, but I couldn’t tell if it was about my irrational shifting or if it was about what Dante and I might have said to one another.

As I walked toward her, I shifted back. When she saw my human face, she smiled tensely and sighed.

When I approached her, she held out a towel to me, “Cover up and let’s go back inside.”

On my way back to her room, I got to behold the damage I caused inside the pack house. The patio doors looked as if a wrecking ball had crashed through them, there were deep scratches in hardwood floors, decor had been knocked off of furniture onto the floor, and the door to the bedroom Dante was staying in had exploded into shards and splinters all over the floor. I was beyond embarrassed by my behavior.

I turned to her and held her arms, “Layla, I am so sorry. I will do anything I can to fix this.”

She just smiled, “Honestly, I’m not mad. I’d probably pay for all of this damage again to see Dante bleed like that,” she gave me a sly smile, “but don’t do it again or I will make you pay for it.”

I chuckled, but I still felt bad. “At least let me help fix it.”

“Okay, Prince Zane,” she pulled me down for a kiss and sent sparks through my lips to the rest of my body.

I smiled at the kiss, “Do me a favor. Let’s not mention my title just yet. I don’t think this thing with Dante is over,” she nodded, but I could tell the situation stressed her out.

I felt bad not telling her the full truth, but I really needed to retain my anonymity until we had marked each other to keep my brother from dragging me away. And she really didn’t need anymore stress.

When we reached her bedroom door, I noticed it was off of its hinges. I looked at her and winced, “Did I mention how sorry I was?”

She nodded, “I’m only here to grab a few things. We’re moving.”

I paused, “Moving?”

I could tell she was nervous, “Well, yes. But within the pack house. It was going to happen eventually, but this morning kind of sped up the process.” I gave her a perturbed grin knowing full well that I was responsible.

“Where will we go here then?”

She didn’t look entirely happy as she said, “Um, technically it won’t be until tonight. But we’ll be moving to the Alpha and Luna’s suite.”