CHAPTER THREE

Donavon's lost Luna

Chapter 3

Alpha Donavon

"I, Zuri Lycus, daughter of Alpha Lycus of the Edged Claws, will not, will never, and can never accept you, Donavon, as my Alpha," the girl before me said, taking me aback.

No one, not even the eldest of the elders, dared to look me in the eyes and talk more about openly declaring that she'd never accept that I was her Alpha.

I wanted her to; I needed her to succumb to self-loathing—the same pit of hell that I was.

And the look in her eyes when she told me that her father knew nothing about my father and mother—I almost took it as the truth, but I knew better than to trust the words from the mouth of a person like her, the daughter of a murderer.

I paused at my last thought. I'd officially become a murderer as well—a beast or more—but I cared less. My rage for revenge had made me not think twice before I slit his throat, and the way he looked at his daughter as if surrendering her to evil.

It hurt that he took advantage of me to derive the joy of being an Alpha only when I was of age.

And when I saw Zuri standing at the door in that black velvety dress that hung loosely on her body,.

She could pass for a goddess face card if only there hadn't been an underlying issue, one that had to do with life and death.

She had screamed her father's name in terror, and when she walked towards me and asked me what I did, I had no words to reply with.

And her slap hit my face. I smirked in surprise.

It was the first one of my entire existence.

I looked at her; her father was gone, but she bore a perfect semblance to him, so I decided she'd be his replacement in the way of punishments he was supposed to take.

"Have her thrown into the dungeon, and do not let her out until she's willing to accept that I'm her Alpha," I ordered, and she said nothing more than give in to the hands of the guards.

"Alpha Donavon," the head maid called, unsure of whether to leave or stay.

"Get out," I said angrily.

No one has done enough to make me lose my patience, but the daughter of a murderer has.

I couldn't decipher why I cared so much about her accepting that I was her Alpha.

Next day<

The guards had come to me to ask if Zuri should be let out of the dungeon.

It was unsure if she'd survive the dungeon, and I felt apprehensive for a moment, unsure of why I cared about whether she lived or died.

"Bring her out and ask her no questions; take her to the maid quarter and have her wash up; give her a new set of clothes; and let her be. I'll think of what to do next with her," I said while walking back to my room. I needed to think of what to do next to break her.

"Alpha Donavon," a maid from outside called, annoying me to my core.

"What?" I asked from inside the room.

"The pack elders are here to meet you, your Highness; they ask that you are present," she said, almost incoherently.

"Tell them to leave, and the next time they are coming into my pack house, they should notify me. I'm an Alpha and not a maid; they cannot demand that I be present at their every beck and call.

"Yes, your highness," she said, walking briskly away.

I turned back in my bed and went back to sleep, thinking about the ways I could make sure those elders knew their place.

Their plan to usurp me from the position of the Alpha would get more incessant if care wasn't taken.

I woke up later in the day and walked out of my room to the throne room when I saw her.

Zuri Lycus had in her hands a towel and a bucket of water, one of which she was using to clean.

She spotted me from the distance and made no changes except that she continued cleaning without uttering a word.

I sat down on my seat, watching how she cleaned, both of us not saying anything.

A shade of already dark purple and red smudge painted her skin, and I knew without questioning the source of it.

She cleaned the last part of the room and headed out while I watched in shock at her inhibited acts.

"Zuri," I called, and she stopped to turn back at me.

"What may I do for you?" she asked, intentionally stopping from calling my name.

I stared at her with a feeling I couldn't decipher; hate, pity, loathing, and all sorts of emotions ran through my head.

She hadn't done anything wrong to me, but the intense hatred I had for her was like a burning pyre, set freshly ablaze anytime I saw her.

"Leave," I said, and she sighed before turning to leave. The loud bang of the door had jerked me unconsciously.

"Alpha Donavon," an elder from the pack called as she walked towards me in a lousy manner.

"We requested your presence, Alpha," he said again, stopping in front of me.

I wield the sword beside me to his nape, and he regressed his steps in horror.

"I'm your Alpha, Duke; I deserve every ounce of respect from you; you do not and will never have the authority to barge into my house disrespectfully." I growled at him.

"Whenever you need to see me or we need to have an official meeting, inform me beforehand lest it'd take me nothing to unalive every single one of you and your cohorts," I said again before going back to sit. That should be enough warning for a while.