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Chapter 36
Leon’s POV
turned back to the training equipment, needing an outlet for the inexplicable rage coursing through me.
‘Let’s begin, we’ve wasted enough time already.”
The training session became more intense than normal. My fist hit Ethan’s jaw, drawing blood. I followed with a hard kick to his stomach. Ethan recovered quickly and hit back with an uppercut to my chin.
The pain felt good somehow. It distracted me from my thoughts.
By the time we finally called a halt, both of us were battered and breathing heavily. Ethan’s left eye had swollen shut, his lip was split in multiple places, and he favored his right side, suggesting bruised ribs. I knew I looked little better.
“Good,” I panted, wiping blood from my nose with the back of my hand. “That’s the kind of intensity I expect from my Beta.”
Ethan nodded, his expression a mixture of exhaustion and concern. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then seemed to think better of it.
We were gathering our equipment when Maya and Lily appeared at the edge of the training grounds.
Lily rushed to Ethan’s side, her eyes widening in horror as she took in the extent of his injuries.
“Oh my God, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed, gently cradling his face between her hands. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to me. “Alpha Leon, did you do this to him? It’s just training!”
Something in her protective outrage ignited fresh anger within me. Who was she to question my methods?
If he were fighting real enemies, do you think they would hold back?” I snapped. “Ethan is your mate, yes, but don’t forget, he is also the Beta of Frostshadow Pack!”
Alpha Leon is right, Ethan interjected, placing a calming hand on Lily’s shoulder. “This is what’s required of us.”
Lily pressed her lips together, clearly unhappy but unwilling to argue further. Instead, she looped her arm through Ethan’s, pressing herself against his side with territorial intimacy. The way she tenderly examined each of his wounds, the naked devotion in her eyes as she whispered something in his ear–it was all so disgustingly public, so unnecessary.
I looked away, inexplicably irritated by their display. The mate bond made wolves behave like lovesick teenagers, stripped of dignity and self–control.
Maya chose that moment to approach, her hips swaying deliberately as she walked toward me.
‘Leon,” she purred, placing a hand on my arm. “You look exhausted. Why don’t I give you a massage tonight? Help those muscles relax…
Hjerked my arm away. “Address me as Alpha,” I corrected coldly.
Maya’s constant attempts at familiarity in public grated on me. Her pretense that we shared some special connection was becoming increasingly tiresome. While we had indeed grown up together, that history gave her no right to overstep boundaries.
A flash of embarrassment crossed her features before quickly morphing into a practiced smile. “Of course, Alpha Leon. My apologies.”
By evening, I stood in my bathroom examining the damage. The mirror reflected a face I barely recognized–my nose, though mostly healed thanks to werewolf regeneration, still carried a purplish bruise where Ethan’s fist had connected.
I touched my nose gingerly, welcoming the sharp twinge of pain. There was something cleansing about physical discomfort, something that momentarily distracted from the formless anger that had haunted me since reading Skye’s name on that envelope.
Oasisborn Pack. The name circled in my mind like a predator. Why would she join them, of all places? What could a desert wasteland pack possibly offer that Frostshadow couldn’t?
1/3
Chapter 36
I grabbed my phone and dialed Ethan. The call went straight to voicemail. I tried again with the same result
A bitter laugh escaped me. Of course. He was undoubtedly occupied with his mate, lost in the mindless pleasure of their bond while neglecting his duties to the pack–to me. The thought intensified my irritation.
Without giving myself time to reconsider, I scrolled through my contacts and placed another call. Twenty minutes later, there was a soft knock at my door.
The woman who entered was attractive in the conventional sense–tall, blonde, with a practiced smile. She was one of several pack whores.
I barely remembered her name. Melissa? Melinda?
She approached with practiced confidence, sliding her hands up my chest. “Alpha,” she breathed, her voice dropping to what she clearly thought was a seductive whisper. “I’ve missed you.”
I said nothing, simply pulling her roughly against me. Her scent was all wrong–too floral, too artificial–but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t about pleasure or connection. This was about silencing the voice in my head, drowning out the image of Skye pledging loyalty to another Alpha.
Our coupling was brutal, mechanical, a collision of flesh driven by my seething rage.
I shoved her against the wall, tearing her flimsy dress without care, exposing her skin to the cold air. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t resist as I gripped her hips with bruising force, pinning her in place.
I thrust into her with punishing intensity, each movement raw and unrelenting, chasing oblivion in the heat of her body. Her nails dug into my shoulders, leaving sharp stings I barely registered.
The bed creaked under our weight as I flipped her onto her stomach, taking her from behind with a ferocity that made her gasp, her muffled cries blending with the harsh rhythm of my thrusts.
There was no tenderness, no intimacy–only the desperate need to purge Skye’s name from my mind.
When it was over, I felt neither satisfaction nor relief, just a hollow emptiness that somehow seemed worse than the anger.
Afterward, I left her in the bed and walked to the kitchen, pouring myself a generous glass of whiskey. I’d just taken the first burning sip when my phone rang. Ethan’s name flashed on the screen.
‘I apologize for missing your call earlier, Alpha,” he began without preamble. “Regarding Oasisborn Pack–there’s very little information available. They were established only two years ago by an Alpha named Adrian. Most of their members appear to be outcasts from other packs, wolves who were rejected or exiled for various reasons.”
He paused briefly. “They don’t seem to present any threat to established territories. But I don’t understand why Skye would join them. Would you like me to send someone to investigate further?”
“No,” I replied coldly, ending the call without waiting for his response. I don’t care what pack she’s joined, I told myself. It means nothing to me.
I felt arms encircle my waist from behind as the woman–Melanie, that was her name- she murmured, her lips against my skin.
-pressed herself against my back. “Ready for
rround, Alpha?”
I shoved her away with enough force that she stumbled.
‘Get out,‘ I ordered, not bothering to look at her. “Now.”
Melanie gathered her torn dress and hurried toward the door. As she reached the threshold, I called after her.
“Wait.”
I pulled a wad of cash from my wallet and thrust it into her hand.
“Take this.”
Crowned by Fate
Chapter 37
