The Alpha's Ruthless Luna

Chapter 2

"No! She's joking...! She's not alright in the head, I mean..." Diana's mom screamed in horror, throwing herself between the Alpha and her daughter, terror dripping from her gaze as she desperately tried to salvage the situation.

Diana wanted to hug her mother and tell her that, truly, she had been joking. But instead, she found herself getting even angrier.

"No, Mother. By the strength of the Moon Goddess, I will fight him and—"

"Shut up, Diana! He's supposed to be your mate..." She muttered the last part as quietly as possible, but Aiden heard it.

Of course he did.

Even if it had been the faintest whisper, he would've heard it.

"Uh-uh..." He raised a hand, his forehead creasing in confusion. "Mate... What are you talking about, woman?"

Shit.

Diana stepped between them, her small frame doing nothing to hide the fact that she had just placed herself between a furious Alpha and the woman who had given birth to her.

"Damn, he's tall..." Diana mumbled stupidly, unable to stop herself.

Aiden ignored her.

He grabbed her arm a little roughly and, with his other hand, pulled her small waist against him. She couldn't even fight him properly. Her wolf was too furious—so furious that her eyes burned with golden rage.

His fingers slipped into her hair, gripping the back of her head and pulling it backward until she was forced to face him. He lowered his face toward hers.

"You are supposed to be my mate huh... Ah you're the one they signed off?" He laughed, the sound almost manic, like he was about to devour her. "So this is supposed to be your grand introduction? You want to grab my attention? Impress me with your... stupidity?"

She wiggled against him, her rage spiraling beyond anything normal. She was dangerously close to shifting, but if she did, she would lose before the fight even began.

So she did the only thing she could think of.

She spat in his face.

The white splatter landed right on the bridge of his Roman nose, with a few droplets making their way across the rest of his face.

Aiden stared at the spit on his face.

For a moment, the entire church fell silent.

Then he laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because nobody had ever dared to do it.

“You really don't know when to be afraid, do you?”

Oh she was afraid, she was just acting on rage.

He raised a brow before releasing her.

Actually, he shoved her to the ground.

Then he crouched to her level, staring directly into her eyes—those damn eyes that somehow electrified him in the most annoying way.

"You're going to be trouble.” He told her with a sly smile.

“Well I'm not your problem to solve.” She replied him sternly, her lips strained, her eyes gleaming with fire.

He was used to looking people in the eyes until they looked away first. It was one of the easiest ways to establish dominance.

But Diana didn't look away.

Her strange blue eyes, rimmed with gold and touched with violet, held his. For one unsettling moment, Aiden felt as though she wasn't looking at his face at all.

She was looking straight through him.

Shut your damn eyes!”

Diana blinked.

Then deliberately looked away, as though he'd said nothing.

Something almost like amusement flickered across Aiden's face.

She was afraid.

Now he could see it.

Yet she still refused to obey.

Unfortunately, she would have to die for disobeying him in front of the entire pack, yet he reached out, pushed her chin back toward him, smiling more evidently.

"If you're not going to be my woman, you want to challenge me as Alpha?" he asked, his voice suddenly heavy with authority.

Diana's lips trembled.

He could see the fear in her eyes.

But beneath it was something else.

A consuming need to defy him.

"I will challenge you."

She didn't sound very convincing.

But she was stubborn.

Even with the shudder running through her body.

Aiden raised a brow, almost wishing she had chosen the first option.

Now he didn't even know what to do with her.

One blow from him would render her lifeless, and he didn't want that for his newest little redhead doll.

But she was being too stubborn.

He had to punish her, or the pack would think he was weak because of a mere woman.

"Diana... Please, just be his mate!" her mother cried out, the pain in her voice evident and heartbreaking. She already sounded like a woman mourning her child, just as Aiden's mother had mourned her son.

Diana ignored her mother.

She stood up and raised both hands, taking a fighting stance.

Aiden tried very hard not to laugh.

What did she think this was?

A human boxing ring?

Diana circled slowly.

She watched his shoulders.

His feet.

The angle of his claws.

His breathing.

Aiden stood completely still, watching her as though she were an amusing insect.

Fine.

Let him underestimate her.

She'd spent years studying the human body. She knew how joints moved, where balance failed, how a person's center of gravity shifted before they attacked.

She might not be able to overpower an Alpha.

But she didn't need to.

She only needed one opening.

"I'm waiting. Hit me first," he drawled, actually rolling his eyes.

Diana didn't know anything about werewolf fights, but she knew a little about kickboxing and wrestling.

She had actually been a champion back in the university. Despite her petite figure, she could take down someone slightly above her weight class.

Except Aiden was nowhere near slightly above her weight class.

He was in an entirely different league.

Which was exactly why she was afraid.

And he was a werewolf.

This wasn't a human opponent whose strength she could match with her own werewolf abilities.

This was a werewolf like her.

An Alpha for that matter.

A ridiculously strong and monstrous one at that.

She was definitely stupid.

But she wasn't stupid enough to hit him first.

She needed to study him.

Look for his weakness.

Find a way to actually win this.

Because if she became the Alpha, she wouldn't have to marry him.

Simple.

At least, that was the plan.

Aiden was surprised that she wasn't impulsive enough to attack him, which was not what he had expected a few minutes ago.

As a matter of fact, there was something in her eyes.

Yes.

Those electric eyes.

Something fierce.

Something familiar.

She was a fighter.

And he recognised it.

For one brief second, that earned his respect.

Now he was curious about how she fought.

Like a girl?

Or like a ruthless werewolf?

So he lowered himself into his werewolf stance, dropping onto all fours without fully shifting. He didn't see her as enough of a threat to bother with a complete transformation.

His claws slid out, ready to draw a little blood.

The audience immediately stepped backward.

Only Diana's mother remained where she was, her hands clasped together in prayer, knees pressed against the floor and eyes squeezed shut because she couldn't bear to watch.

Aiden lunged at Diana.

His body slammed into the marble.

Silence.

Aiden stared at the floor for half a second.

She had actually taken him down.

Slowly, he laughed.

“Interesting.”

Her arm locked around his neck.

Aiden could have broken her hold instantly.

But he didn't.

He wanted to see how long she could maintain it.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

His amusement slowly disappeared.

She wasn't giving up.

"Die already, you bastard!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

But then came the shock of her life.

Aiden forcefully rammed his shoulders backward, breaking her hold.

Her grip loosened.

Diana hit the marble hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.

Pain exploded through her ribs.

She tried to move.

Nothing.

Her vision blurred.

This is it.

Then she heard footsteps.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Coming toward her.

Diana looked up.

Aiden was standing over her.

And he wasn't smiling anymore

"My turn."