Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Chapter 70

Chapter 70

"Bring them out." My voice rose above the wind. Though the sun blazed overhead, the weather itself felt strangely unsettling.

Clawface blinked at me, his steps hesitant until he was certain I meant the order. Then he and a few of the men departed to carry it out.

The uproar had become such a disturbance that I had dismissed the Council from the hall. My seat was positioned atop the porch, granting me higher ground over the rest of my subjects.

Not long after, Clawface and his men returned with the pirates. Heavy, thorned chains dragged behind the bandits as they were kicked to their knees before me.

"Have them lined up for the ingestion," I continued.

The Court fell silent, every eye fixed upon the prisoners. The scent of anticipation hung thick in the air, almost suffocating in its intensity.

Clawface crushed the dried MoonBlade wolfsbane in his palm and let the brittle flakes fall onto their tongues while his men forced their jaws open to make them swallow.

Then we waited.

Minutes stretched on, and my expression remained unreadable. I already had a feeling how this would end, and I saw no reason to lean toward either possibility.

One of the men coughed.

Within seconds, his face flushed a deep crimson, his eyes bloodshot as though the veins might burst from their sockets. His airway closed, and his shackled hands clawed desperately at his throat in a futile attempt to save himself.

Then the others followed.

Each suffered the same reaction.

The poison spread beneath their skin, darkening it as though life itself was being drained away. Only a few moments later, they collapsed to the ground.

Death had done its work. The eyes that had once reflected light had gone dull and vacant. None of them moved, their bodies lay stiff and lifeless.

My scrutiny found Leo’s face before drifting across the Council gathered below. Finally, there it was. That dauntless smirk.

’I did it...’ That arrogance and desperate need to prove his influence, to make certain I noticed his presence. Even after being absent from the Court for so long, he had managed to force his existence into the center of attention.

Bravo...

"This is an act of war!" One of the Councilmen shouted.

"We must declare war on MoonBlade immediately, Sire. Just as they’ve declared one upon us!" another voice carried through the breeze.

More voices reached me, overlapping into a chaotic chorus, but I merely rose from my seat and made my way back into the palace.

I was finished there, especially finished with looking at Leo’s face.

Though he had managed to plant himself among the members of the Court once more, I found myself strangely intrigued by whatever challenge he intended to bring next.

"It’ll be fun..." my wolf growled beneath my chest, the rumble escaping my throat.

Footsteps followed behind me, and without looking, I knew one belonged to Clawface.

Then another joined him.

Clawface snapped, "Stay back. Alpha Kai does not wish to see anyone."

The scent of an Omega invaded my senses. That familiar, once intoxicating pheromone caught my attention. Raising a finger, I glanced toward Clawface.

"Let him through."

Leo huffed as he walked past Clawface, who reluctantly stepped aside.

There was something deliberately seductive about the way he carried himself. Those hips of his, which had served me well many times before, swayed with calculated confidence as he approached.

Leo rested his hands upon his waist and lifted his face to meet my dark eyes, where faint streaks of orange glowed beneath the surface.

"Have you not won yourself a victory already?" I asked.

Standing upright, my chest broadened beneath my nylon shirt. I allowed a fraction of my aura to seep into the air, and Leo’s cheeks flushed red.

Still, he masked his reaction well, though his eyes were more focused on my nipples puffing out through the fabric than meeting my face.

"Not until you’re impressed," he replied. "And I didn’t see that."

"You still seek my approval?" I asked, my voice smooth and measured. "What are you, my little pet?"

"You’ve really not changed, have you? You’re still chasing after that thief."

His jaw tightened, and there it was; the crack I’d been waiting for.

I knew it.

Leo was an Omega I’d known for half a decade. He had never been the sort to hide his irritation for long.

He would always be that Leo.

So I stepped forward. My nails lengthened into claws, and I pressed their tips lightly against the skin beneath his jaw.

"I could kill you right here, and nothing would happen to me. Do you know that?"

"Though my uncle would fight for me. Unless you want that trouble, I’m sure you’d walk away unharmed in the end."

"Then why challenge me?"

I closed the distance between us. He could no longer speak. His nostrils were undoubtedly overwhelmed by my Alpha scent. He was breaking far faster than I’d expected.

So this was the man hidden beneath that carefully crafted facade of composure.

"I suppose you still crave me, don’t you? The way I touched you. The way I made you feel. While it’s obvious you want the Luna position for reasons more sinister than I currently understand, somewhere along the way..." I leaned close to his ear. "...you fell in love with me."

His breath hitched, and I continued to speak.

"If the cat’s got your tongue, perhaps I could help loosen it by fucking you with this nine and a half inch, thick, veiny dick. Would that do?"

I snickered as I pulled away while Leo stood frozen.

His breath was trapped in his chest, a hard swallow caught in his throat, while the bulge straining against the zipper of his trousers betrayed him.

Without wasting another second, I turned and made my way toward my chambers.

If Leo thought he knew how to play games, then he had better understand one thing.

When it came to checkmate... I was the master.

ALEX’s POV

We had spent far more hours here than we’d planned for the day.

The sun was sinking in the distance. The sky had taken on a faint orange hue while dark clouds drifted across it in scattered patches.

Marcellan’s groan pulled my attention away from the windowsill.

We were inside the tower, and before us stretched endless shelves of books, reaching so far into the distance that even the dim glow of candlelight failed to touch the farthest corners.

"Can we resume tomorrow, please?"

My back rested against the window as I studied the exhaustion written across his face.

"You’re tired already? We need to find a book that can help." I said.

"Help how?" The meaning behind his words reached me well enough. "It’s been more than a week, Luna. I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think you know how to open the doorway to this One Tree of yours." I glared at him, and he shook his head. "At least... not anymore."

"I’m not giving up."

"Neither am I."

"You sound like you are," I shot back before he could finish.

"I’m simply saying we should probably return to SilverFang, or better yet, ask MoonBlade if there’s another way to gain entrance."

I folded my arms across my chest and huffed.

"I was the one who opened the door in the first place. Not even Nathan could do it."

My gaze dropped to the brick floor. "I probably just need more time."

Marcellan had every right to be frustrated. We had spent endless days on this. We’d trained atop the mountains to clear my mind. We had even wasted time picking plums, but he was right... I still hadn’t managed to open those doors, no matter how hard I tried.

I groaned as the truth settled over me, only for something in the distance to catch my eye.

"Isn’t that some sort of gathering in the clearing?" I pointed through the window.

Beside me, Marcellan froze and narrowed his eyes. More guards were rushing toward it.

"Let’s check it out," I said, already turning for the door.

Marcellan matched my pace, but as we neared the clearing, two guards crossed their swords in front of us.

"Back off."

"You wouldn’t attack the Luna of SilverFang, nor his envoy. What have you gathered for?" My tone hardened to match my expression as I strained to see past them.

Whatever was happening, they did not want us to witness it.

"Let me through..."

"By Alpha Frederick’s orders, you’re forbidden."

My brows knitted together.

As one of the guards stepped forward, Marcellan moved in front of me. His fingers curled at his sides, ready to tear through flesh and leave only muscle and bone behind.

Then a familiar booming voice cut through the tension.

"Are you defying my orders, Luna? In my territory?"

I turned. There he was, Alpha Frederick.

"We were getting along just fine until now," I said. "What’s changed in our agreement?"

"You betrayed me, and I can no longer trust you. I was a fool to think otherwise. From this moment onward, you are forbidden from setting foot upon my lands ever again."

His words were calm.

Certain and unmistaken. What is this maddening change in him?

"What... how?" I stammered, tongue-tied and utterly blindsided by the accusation.