Chapter 15

Kahel watched as Luxuria disappeared into the darkness.

His chest tightened, panic and regret clawing at his insides, but his legs felt like they were rooted to the ground. He couldn't move.

He had destroyed her. And he had lost her.

"Luxuria!" Kahel called out one last time, his voice desperate and hoarse, but the sound was swallowed by the night, his words lost in the cold wind that whipped through the trees.

She didn't stop. Not even a glance at him.

Rella appeared at the door, her arms wrapped loosely around her waist, a smirk curling her lips as she watched Luxuria fade into the distance. "Well, that went well," she said, her voice dripping with amusement.

Kahel's fists clenched at his sides as he turned to face her, his heart pounding with a mixture of fury and self-loathing. "Shut up, Rella."

Her smirk only widened as she stepped closer, her gaze flickering toward the direction Luxuria had run. "I told you this would happen, Kahel. You knew she'd find out eventually. Nothing stays hidden forever."

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

Kahel and Rella had been having a secret affair for almost a year now. They had decided to keep it a secret because Luxuria was the one Kahel loved.

But Rella was relentless. She kept up with the secret affair, hoping that one day, Kahel would choose her over Luxuria, and it was already happening.

With Luxuria mated to Alpha Parthe and finding out about their affair, Rella couldn't be more excited.

"Just leave. I don't want to set my eyes on you, Rella," Kahel said with a low growl, and he walked past her.

"You don't have a choice, Kahel. She is gone and belongs to someone else now," Rella said, making him halt in his tracks.

"You ever thought I'd choose you over Luxuria? You must be dreaming. What we had was nothing. It meant absolutely nothing. You were just a fling," Kahel spat without remorse, the vein on his forehead popping out in anger.

Rella was taken aback, but she quickly composed herself and prepared the best comeback Kahel had never expected.

"I am pregnant, Kahel. I'm carrying your pup..."

Whatever this was, Kahel hoped it was a cruel joke and that Rella would laugh as usual and tell him she was only joking.

But she didn't. The look in her eyes said it all.

"What did you expect from a woman you've bedded nearly every night? That I'm barren?" Her lips twisted into a cruel scoff, dripping with bitter amusement; each word was like a dagger meant to wound Kahel the more.

"You must be joking, Rella," Kahel tried to put up a brave front, but deep down, he was trembling.

What happens to Luxuria? He had vowed to get her back from that monster. What then happens?

Rella's final words pulled him out of his thoughts before she walked out on him.

"Wait until my father finds out. Then we'll know how much of a joker I am."

***

ALPHA PARTHE.

She was nowhere to be found. My new obsession had slipped through my grasp, but not for long. She would return. She had no place in the Mountain Ash Pack anymore—she belonged to me now.

When my Beta, Tervan, saw her running out of the pack, he informed me about it, but I told him to stand down. Let her go. Let her believe she was clever, that she could outrun me.

How foolish.

I also mindlinked the guards. They had strict orders—no one was to stop her. Let her think the path was clear. Let her think she was smart and still had freedom.

I almost smirked at the thought. She'd learn soon enough that her place was here, in the Wild Wolf Pack, under my control. And tonight, she'd pay for defying me.

I had to place my mark on her already to restrict her from going back to see that halfwit. A simpleton who thought he could rival me.

After my time with Shikta, I still felt empty and decided to go over to her chamber to feed my eyes and imagination some more when Tervan reached out to me.

I wonder if Luxuria would be able to handle the demons she was stirring within me, considering the fact that I was overly soft on her on our first night.

And that was because I found out that I was her first.

"Alpha, she is back," Tervan's voice came through the mind link, breaking the silence in my thoughts.

A slow smile curled my lips. Perfect.

I stormed out of my room, and the guards always stationed at my door followed me.

The coldness of the air was nothing compared to the ice in my veins, the ruthless calm that settled over me whenever I was faced with disobedience.

I saw her.

She stumbled back into the pack, her breath heavy, her face flushed from the exertion of her run. She hadn't noticed me at first, her eyes darting around as though she expected someone to stop her.

Foolish girl.

She straightened when her gaze finally met mine, her body going rigid under my cold stare.

Fear radiated off of her. It pleased me. She should be afraid.

I took slow, deliberate steps towards her. She didn't dare move. She knew she was caught.

"Luxuria," I drawled, my voice as cold and biting as the wind that whipped around us. "How kind of you to return... to your rightful place."

Her body trembled at the sound of my voice, her sapphire eyes wide with the fear she tried so hard to mask. I could see her searching for words, but none came.

Good.

Silence suited her.

I stepped closer, my gaze locked on hers, every inch of my presence reminding her of who held the power here.

"You dared to defy me." My voice was low, lethal, and controlled. "You thought you could flee? Escape me?"

I crinkled my nose. I caught a whiff of his scent on her. It made my blood boil. "I smell him all over you, little mate." The words left my mouth like venom, slow and deadly. I could see her flinch, her body trembling.

Her scent, mingled with that fool's, was a direct insult to me—a stain that I would erase.

"You dare return to me reeking of him?" I continued, my voice barely a whisper, "You'll pay dearly for this."

I saw the tears welling in her eyes, glistening in the dim light. But they didn't move me. She could cry all she wanted, but there was no mercy left in me to offer. Not after this.

With a sharp turn of my head, I addressed the guards who had followed me into the courtyard. "Take her."

Two of the guards stepped forward immediately, their hands reaching for her arms. Luxuria's eyes widened with terror, and she instinctively tried to step back, her legs buckling beneath her.

"W-what are you doing?" Her voice was shaky, barely more than a breath, and she looked up at me with desperate eyes.

"You will be locked away until I decide what to do with you," I said coldly, my gaze never leaving hers. "For now, I cannot bear the sight of you."

"No, please—" she started to plead, her voice cracking under her fear. "I didn't mean to—"

But her words were meaningless. Nothing could undo her betrayal; nothing could erase the scent of him from her skin. She needed repentance. She'll get it after spending some alone time in the dungeon.

"Lock her up in The Squalid Keep."