CHAPTER 5

ESMERAY

A firm hand grasped my waist, holding me tightly. The next thing I knew, I was in the arms of my Alpha, who was still naked. We stood there in silence as his captivating eyes gazed upon my frightened expression, soaked in tears.

"Hush, kitten," he finally broke the silence, lifting me from the ground and carrying me to his bed.

I believed time stopped in that instant as his firm hands slowly caressed the side of my thighs, making me let out a soft moan in his hands.

My Alpha was on top of me now on his bed as we locked gazes closely. I could swear to the goddess it was so magical; I couldn't believe he was the one who had rejected me earlier.

My mind was lost in his now. There was tense silence rushing over us as we maintained the same position, and his face was devoid of any emotions, so I couldn't read his thoughts.

Was my fated mate feeling the sparks I was feeling in that instant too? He wasn't inside me yet, but my defenses had already given up. I wanted my Alpha now.

My hands slowly went up, caressing his cheeks as I gazed upon my ruthless Alpha on top of me, and he growled.

Immediately, my lips became moist with his saliva as he passionately kissed me, and it was the most magical feeling I had ever experienced.

My hands instinctively made their way around his neck to pull him closer, while my legs now wrapped around his back.

He was hot; I could feel his body burning up, but I kept my eyes shut as I got lost in his lips. I sucked on his eager tongue as he reciprocated, causing me to let out a soft moan in between.

For a moment, I forgot he was ruthless. I forgot he had rejected me. From the way he kissed me, I could tell he didn't despise me at all. If anything, it felt like we could remain glued to each other forever.

His second hand went up my thighs, still wrapped around him. He gently released his lips from mine after an endless, magical moment. I bit my lower lip in pleasure, using my tongue to clean the remains of his saliva from my lips.

"You are free to go inside me, Alpha," I said in a sultry manner as he stood on the bed on his knees, my legs still widely wrapped around him, and I could see his arousal.

His gaze remained fixated on me, and as usual, I couldn't tell what he was thinking. But one thing I knew from that kiss was that my Alpha wanted me too, and it made me want him even more.

A face devoid of any emotion suddenly creased, and his beautiful crystal green eyes turned reddish.

"Get out!!" His hoarse voice came down on me like a spear to my chest, piercing through my heart, and it snapped me out of biting my lips.

"What's wrong?" I asked in desperation, my legs still wrapped around his waist.

He gave a deaf ear to my question and instead loosened my thighs around him, grabbing my wrist with his firm hands and dragging me from the bed with him.

The once charming aura I felt from him had now returned to the same aura he had when he rejected me in the chambers. My heart started pounding heavily.

"I asked you, what's wrong?" I said, holding back the tears that were rapidly building up in my eyes.

"You are wrong!"

He roared loudly like a wolf gone berserk, without giving me a backward glance, and continued dragging me towards the entrance of his tent, causing my tears to cascade down my cheeks freely.

I reluctantly tried to release his hold on my wrist, but he just grabbed me back and continued dragging me out of his tent.

"Stop!" I screamed, not knowing if the other alphas heard me from inside his tent.

He stopped dragging me and turned around to face me. I could see him burning with anger, and I didn't know why.

"I thought you wanted this, Alpha?" I said in-between sobs.

"It was a mistake."

"I know you don't despise me. At least, from that magical kiss we just shared. So why do you keep rejecting me?"

"I already told you, Princess, I am not here for you. You are simply a distraction from my main purpose, which I despise. I cannot let what happened just now repeat itself, do you hear me?!"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you despise me, Alpha!"

"I despise you, Princess! I despise this fucking kingdom and its fucking king! Do not come near me again, Princess. I will make sure you regret it."

I stepped closer to the ruthless Alpha, burning in rage before me, and looked up into his eyes.

"Then get ready to punish me because it is you that my heart wants!"

Just as I was about to carry my teary face out of his tent, Beta Leon stepped in, and my heart dropped to my belly and onto the ground.

His eyes went straight to my tear-soaked face before fixing them on my fated mate, who was still standing there naked in rage.

Leon ground his teeth in anger, and I knew what that meant. "You fucking wretch!" He roared at my mate.

Before I could fully call his name on my lips, he had already thrown a punch at my Alpha. And just when I thought it couldn't get worse than this, it worsened.

I couldn't count the number of punches Leon threw at my mate, and even when I intervened, he kept on throwing them.

My mate stood there and received every punch Leon threw at him without lifting a finger, and splashes of blood flew across the tent.

"Stay away from Princess Esmeray! If I see you anywhere near her, even the slightest inch, it will be your last breath, you fuck!"

Leon dragged me out of the tent, leaving those last words for my mate.

Seeing my childhood friend and my mate fight brought me to a low state of spirits I couldn't have imagined. And the fact that I wasn't able to do anything about it made my heart ache. If they were to meet in the future, I would prefer any other circumstances than this.

Selfish as it may be, I was worried about my mate and the burden he carried so dearly that he shut everyone out completely. Even after that magical kiss we shared.

CAESAR

'What the fuck!' I kept repeating it in my head over and over again as I recounted what had happened last night between Princess Esmeray and I in my tent.

We had just concluded stage two of the alpha fist, a test of strength, yet throughout the stage, I was regretting last night in my head.

The alphas were dropping as we progressed, and the once 200 alphas were now reduced to over 150, but I was worried.

Not about the alpha fist, but about the kiss I shared with the princess in my tent. I fear no one, so I was hardly worried about anything, yet for the first time, I felt humbled by her kiss.

'What the fuck was I thinking?' I thought I could tame her. I thought I was immune to her charms, but her physical touch is nothing compared to her physical appearance.

If Zion hadn't intervened last night, I might have actually done the most regrettable thing in my life.

Ah...fuck! I truly deserve every punch from that Beta. That's why I didn't fight back when he attacked me. I took every punch as my punishment for letting my guard down to a woman.

I was back at my tent in the warriors' chambers, and Mordax had just barged in while I was settling from the stage two battle we had just concluded. I was quite dirty from pushing the huge boulder up the mountains through the mud, but so was Mordax.

"Hey, fucker." Mordax chuckled as he entered my tent. He, too, had yet to freshen up from the mud all over his body.

"You look horrible, Mordax." I said after scanning him from head to toe.

"Look who's talking."

He approached and sat beside me by my bedside while I was distracted, taking off my sandals.

"How did you find those she-wolves we slept with last night, huh? Mine was a fucking badass." He said, laying back and staring into nothingness as if he was replaying the whole experience in his head.

I gave him a side-eye and chuckled at his words before getting back to what I was doing.

He slapped my arm and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, why so quiet? Didn't yours make you cum?"

I let out a hesitant sigh and clenched my jaw.

"Caesar, come on, don't be shy. You don't have to act tough around me. I can fucking read you." He lay back on the bed. "Well, mine was a fucking goddess. Ah...fuck, her moans, they got to me every damn time!"

"Shut the hell up, Mordax."

"What? It's not my fault your woman didn't give you enough orgasms." He chuckled at his own words.

"Actually, if Zion hadn't stopped me last night, I would have lost control with her."

"Damn."

"Get your muddy ass off my bed, Mordax."

"Who's this Luna that almost made the mighty Caesar lose control?" He sat up from the bed, his chuckle growing.

I dropped my sandals and let out a deep sigh. How could I tell Mordax I found my mate?

"Esmeray," I said without looking at him. "Princess Esmeray, and she's my fated mate." Since I couldn't find a better way to explain, I just said it bluntly.

"You fucked the princess?!"

I clenched my jaw and shot him a look, urging him to lower his voice.

"I would have if Zion hadn't intervened. He snapped me out of it."

"You're no fun, Zion. You should give Caesar a break and let him have his release in peace."

"What do you mean?" My forehead creased.

"Come on, Caesar. He never lets you take a break from your vengeful quest."

"I don't need any breaks. My quest for revenge is what has brought me this far."

"And it's getting boring. Have some fun, a little. I'm not saying you should give up on your revenge, but loosen up."

"Shut up."

"What?"

"Zion wants you to shut up."

"Well, why don't you tell him to come out here and say that himself?" He slipped an evil grin.

I chuckled at his audacity. Mordax never backed down from a challenge, no matter the strength of his opponent.

"But wait... Princess Esmeray? Your fated mate? Damn, you lucky bastard!"

"It wasn't supposed to be, Mordax."

"I know you don't care about the mating bond, but we can't deny she's stunning."

I glanced at him, remaining silent in response to his statement.

"And if she's your mate, that means you're destined to win the Alpha Fist and become the next Lycan king, right? Haha."

"For centuries, no Lycan princess has found her mate before the end of the Alpha Fist. Nothing is certain, Mordax."

"If you didn't sleep with the princess last night, then what were you two doing here?"

"Nothing. I kicked her out."

"And she punched you in the face like that for being an asshole?" Mordax asked, instantly intrigued.

I took a deep breath, ran my hand through my hair, and answered.

"No. It was her lover who did this."

"Caesar, now you're really confusing me. The princess can't have a lover."

"Well, she does, and he happens to be of royal blood."

And now, for some reason, I wished I had punched him back last night as I watched him carry her away in his arms. He obviously cared for her deeply, and it made an uncomfortable feeling stir within my chest.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Alright, lovely people, it seems our ruthless alpha is getting irritated that the Luna he rejected may be seeing someone else, which is quite unfair, don't you think? Brace yourselves, lovely people, for the next couple of chapters will be dramatic.