CHAPTER FOUR

"Why didn't you mark me?" I inquired, confusion evident in my voice.

"I want to do this the right way," Magnus replied, his gaze fixed on some distant point. "We'll announce our bond tomorrow and have a proper mating ceremony. How does that sound?"

I nodded, a smile playing on my lips. I snuggled closer to him, relishing the warmth and safety of his arms.

"That's perfect," I whispered, contentment washing over me.

When I woke up the next morning, Magnus' side of the bed was empty, as though he had never been there. The lingering scent of our passion filled the air, and I found myself revisiting the memories of the night before. The day had just started, and our love story was unfolding.

Little did I realize that the challenges and adventures we would encounter were not yet complete. Our journey had only just begun, and I was eager to discover where it would take us.

********************

Present Day

Magnus appeared vastly changed from the person I once knew. His mere presence demanded attention, sparking a torrent of hushed whispers and comments upon his arrival.

Remarks about a man bold enough to return to the pack after exile. The murmurs and gazes were impossible to overlook, yet Magnus seemed undisturbed.

"Leave immediately, while I still consider sparing your life," Lucas cautioned, his voice tinged with anger.

Magnus' nonchalance was infuriating. "You're not really this delusional, are you? What makes you think you have the ability to kill me?"

A guard began moving towards Magnus from behind, but he diffused the situation with a mocking remark. "Instruct your man to step back, so I won't have to pin him to the wall. It's an unnecessary waste of energy."

Lucas reluctantly signaled to the guard, who withdrew, eyeing Magnus warily. Tensions were escalating swiftly, and it was evident that the situation could take a risky turn.

"I have come to challenge you to the leadership of the clan."

The hall fell silent, and I was as stunned as everyone else. Challenging Lucas to a duel could only lead to one outcome: one dead alpha and another taking his place.

Lucas studied Magnus, a calculating gleam in his eyes as he assessed the potential threat. It was obvious that Lucas didn't want to risk embarrassment and death.

"That is a bit too ambitious of you," Lucas sneered. "You think you can just walk in here and demand a challenge?"

"Yes," Magnus retorted, "Because I know you're too weak, too coddled." 

Lucas' anger flared, his neck veins standing out angrily. He was getting blinded by rage, while Magnus remained calm and rational, folding the hands of his shirt negligently.

"Weak, impulsive, and unfit," Magnus taunted.

The chaos unfolded, and fear gripped me tightly. The once joyful celebration turned into a fierce battle as Lucas transformed into a wolf, clashing with Magnus. Tables and chairs were destroyed in their wild fight.

Time felt never-ending as Magnus clearly dominated the battle, playing with Lucas like a cat with its prey. The tension rose when Magnus brought Lucas down, and the air was heavy with the scent of blood.

In a desperate attempt, Lucas' loyal men charged at Magnus, and Jaxon, standing with Magnus, fought alongside him. I was terrified so I tried to hide, watching my father, the Beta, also caught in the war. I didn't want to get involved in the battle.

The intense conflict continued, and when Magnus overpowered Lucas, a chilling silence followed. Lucas' loyalists were defeated, but my father was spared by Magnus. There was grief in the air as Alpha Lucas lay defeated, his era coming to a harsh end. 

The atmosphere in the pack square was filled with uncertainty as we gathered. Magnus Kade, taking charge, sent fear through us. Our faces were sad, and we wondered what he had in store for the pack that had turned away from him.

When Magnus arrived at the Pack, he came in with a cold look and never spared me a glance. His eyes were on Alpha Lucas. The recent fighting had ended, leaving an uneasy quiet. Magnus grabbed my father, making him kneel in the square.

"Listen up, members of the Brown Pack. I'm Magnus Kade, your new Alpha. Your loyalty lies with me now," he said, his voice cutting through the tense air. The pack bowed, a usual sign for a new Alpha. 

Anxiety ate at me, especially for my father, as Magnus's plans remained hidden.

Magnus's command sliced through the charged air, "Throw him into the dungeon." 

The guards, like shadows of impending doom, seized my father, and panic surged through me. In a desperate plea, I ran to Magnus, my voice cracking as I begged, "Please let him go." But Magnus, wearing a newfound hatred in his eyes, turned to me "Get your filthy hands off me", he growled, callously pushing me away.

Then came the chilling decree that echoed like a haunting melody, "From now on, you're my mistress, Audrey." Shock gripped me, and I stammered, "What?" His cruel grin persisted, and with a heartless command, he ordered, "You heard me. Follow me." Dragging me towards the foreboding pack house, Magnus's grip was a vice, and the weight of his words bore down on me.

Tears clouded my vision as I grasped the harsh truth, I was just a pawn in Magnus's elaborate revenge plan. The pack's rejection and my defiance had forged him into an unyielding force, and now, I stood on the brink of reckoning with the consequences.

Our journey to the pack house felt like descending into shadows. Magnus's grip grew firmer with every step, a vivid emblem of the tightening hold on my life. 

His countenance, once a comforting presence, now radiated a malicious satisfaction, and his eyes, once filled with warmth, transformed into pools of impenetrable darkness. The pack square, once a symbol of unity, now observes the consequences of Magnus Kade's uprising, a rule propelled by vengeance and molded in the furnace of rejection and betrayal.

Inside the pack house, the air was heavy with an oppressive silence. Magnus's satisfaction seemed to intensify as he led me through the cold corridors. The walls echoed with the hollowness of my footsteps. The pack house, once a sanctuary, had been transformed into a fortress of my captivity.

Guiding me into a room, Magnus asserted his control with undeniable authority. The coldness of space echoed the coldness within my heart. "You're going to stay here now, and I'll do with you as I please "