Chapter 11

"Does this imply that I attacked her using a stake?" I asked, leaning back on my chair.

"That is highly impossible, Alpha. And you know it," Shikta said. She was trying to prove a point, and I could smell it.

"Tell me what you think," I asked her, studying her expression.

I know she doesn't like Luxuria. No woman should like her. Not when she was a threat to them.

Luxuria's beauty is the kind that women would kill for, a beauty that runs deeper than skin, etched into her very soul.

She carries the same allure that once had me falling heads-over-heels for Rashina. Alpha Modred was lucky to have claimed her in time before she fell into my grasp. Otherwise, there would have been no Luxuria.

I know Shikta feels insecure. I have over a hundred women who attend to my sexual needs, and she had never had the need to be jealous of them or to feel insecure. But this was different.

Shikta shifted uncomfortably on her seat, leaning forward, "Alpha, Luxuria is bad luck. There is no arguing that. Now I fear for the safety of our pack," she finally said the words I had expected her to say.

I was calm. I didn't say a word. She knew what it meant. She was sticking her nose again. And I hated that.

"Is there something else you'd like to say about her condition?" I asked, taming the rage brewing in me.

"No, Alpha." She swallowed with a small bow.

"Good. I'll return to the business of the day, then." I said dismissively, and she got the message well enough not to argue with me.

***

SHIKTA'S POV.

I stepped out of the Alpha's courtroom with a tightness in my chest. One that I hadn't felt in a very long time.

Before the cursed woman crossed paths with my Alpha, even before she arrived last night, I had been the center of Alpha Parthe's world - I could say that, considering the fact that I am the only one who gets close enough to him.

I have known Parthe since we were fifteen. My mother had sought refuge in the Wild Wolf pack when our pack was massacred by the Crimson Moon Pack.

They took us in and cared for us like we had been one of them. My mother was a powerful dark witch. Dark witches are forbidden in many regions, but Alpha Parthe doesn't discriminate against them.

He was also an AshBlood witch. But he chose to use his powers whenever it was very necessary.

His powers only trigger his demons even more. No one wants that.

One might wonder why, despite the curse, a lot of wolves would rather seek refuge here than elsewhere. Well, that's because the Wild Wolf pack is the safest pack ever known. Little wonder every Alpha wants to be in alliance with us.

Alpha Parthe might see the curse as a curse, but everyone else sees it as a blessing. Including me.

I have stood by him all these years, giving him my all and proving my worth to him, hoping that someday I'd become Luna.

But all that is being threatened by her interference.

Alpha Parthe had come home the other morning, different. He had told his Beta and Gamma about his encounter with his mate.

Thankfully, nothing is ever hidden from me as long as the Alpha spills it out to his trusted men. I always had my way of getting the information I needed.

The look in his eyes whenever he spoke about her made my stomach twist, even though he tries so hard to always mask his feelings. I have been with him long enough to see through those masks most time.

He was feeling a certain kind of tenderness for her that I didn't like.

I have done terrible things... Things I am not nearly proud of, just to be with him, including getting rid of my fated mate.

I did all that because I have been in love with Parthe since the day I set my eyes on him. I stood by him when everyone else deserted him for killing Leora.

I've walked with him through his darkest and deepest moments.

Luxuria was never going to put all my effort to waste.

I'll give her a friendly warning before I strike. And when I strike, I'll make sure it would be so hard that she won't see it coming.