Chapter 3

My wolf whined in my head, desperate to relay something to me, but unable to articulate what it actually was.

My brain hurt, trying to keep my haughty glare on Duke and focus on why my poor wolf was crying so hard. I could picture her in my mind clearly, scratching and pawing at her face in a desperate attempt to remove whatever it was that was causing her such anguish. It was all I could do not to wince as her pain became my pain.

I hated that we were not as connected as we should have been, that I had suppressed her for so many years. I wanted desperately to comfort her but I knew that she would understand that I had to deal with Duke first. It had been too long. I was unprepared for the force of him, the way his scent slammed into me, caressing all my senses. Damn him!

"Close your mouth, Alpha" I muttered sarcastically, my voice dripping with disdain. "You're acting as though you weren't expecting me, despite having spent the past week begging and pleading with me to return back to this hell hole"

He recovered quickly, I'll give him that. As soon as my words were uttered, his mouth snapped shut, his back straightened and a loud, threatening growl vibrated around the room - a clear warning that I was already pushing my luck.

Good.

He deserved nothing from me. Not after what he did. He was lucky that all he was dealing with was my bad temper and mean spirited attitude. Goddess knew that innocent wolves had suffered far worse from me as I spent years healing.

"Oh, I expected you, Grace. I could smell you the minute you hit the five-mile border. I forget sometimes that you don't know what it's like to have the superior senses. Speaking of which, how is your wolf?" He grinned nastily.

I simply smiled, my voice as sweet as honey. "Oh you know, same old same old, we can't all be blessed with the powers of the great and powerful Alpha Duke, can we? Such is life" I shrugged, walking further into the room, making a big display of sashaying my hips as I walked over to the small sofa. I watched him watch me, his eyes unable to look anywhere else but at my legs that I deliberately put on display for him.

Oh, he really had no idea of what I knew. If he would just look at me, really look at me, for once in his life, he would see all the telltale signs that I was different. No human could get this kind of skin, flawless and golden, there wasn't a blemish on me. I had been told many times by members of my new pack that ever since I accepted my wolf and she, in turn, accepted me, I had seemed to glow from the inside out, the air around me humming with the powers I possessed.

He may have been able to smell me at the border, but I was in front of him now and he couldn't even scent the aroma of a wolf ready to burst free and that's the way I planned on keeping it.

Myself, on the other hand, oh I was aware and I was revelling in the knowledge that I was still inside him somewhere, still capable of turning his life upside down. I had heard his breath hitch when I walked in the room. I witnessed his eyes dilate as they roamed up and down my body, his blood pounding through his veins as his heart thundered in his chest.

"I see you've still got the same knack for making cheap remarks and hitting your enemy where it hurts," I said, looking up at him through my long lashes, batting them innocently.

"Was it a cheap remark?" he replied, his composure returning as he sat opposite me, leaning forward until his elbows were rested on his knees. "or just the truth that you're still unable to handle?"

Kill him My wolf roared through her pain. All in good time, I promise. "I have no disillusion about myself." I shrugged again, "you always did believe the worst of me though, so it's hardly surprising you still think I'm that 15-year-old girl who's wolf had abandoned her."

"Why wouldn't she? Everyone else in your life abandoned you - with good reason, might I add. Its no wonder she didn't want to stick around a moment longer than she needed to."

Let me out! Don't react Grace, don't let him know that his words still have the power to cut you like a knife. Don't let him know that he still has a hold on you! You're over this, you are!

"Maybe everyone else in my life was unable to see my worth - you certainly seemed taken at one point"

"I was Alpha in training, it was my duty to take care of those who were a danger to the pack. You knew how much you were lowering the standards of every other member here"

Grace... Don't let him do this! Let me out, I will show him just how much of a danger we can be! I ignored her, feeling my anger begin to build. That is not what happened and he knew it. "Duke, please, we both know that's not what happened. Or... Maybe it is. Maybe you're in the habit of seducing 15-year-olds? Is that how you get them to improve? Dangle the ultimate golden carrot in front of their face to give them the push they needed?" I spat at him, my body tensing.

He glared at me, his nostrils flaring and I knew at that moment I had hit a nerve. The air around us began to crackle, seeming as though it was ready to spark into flames with the tiniest movement either of us made.

"I hardly seduced you, Grace. You threw yourself at me, the same way you threw yourself at..."

I was on my feet in seconds, glaring down at him with such venom and hatred his eyes blazed with surprise. "Don't" I hissed, "don't you fucking dare"

I could feel the skin on my face begin to tingle, the begins of the change causing bumps to spring to life as my bones realigned. My canines elongated and my eyes burned as red as blood.

Give in to me, Grace. We can end this now. We can get justice for the innocence that was stolen from you! No one will ever doubt what we are capable of again!

No! I internally roared back at my wolf. Not like this. I would clear my name first and then rip the heart clean out of Duke's chest. To kill him now would look like an omission of guilt. We had a plan, my wolf and I, now was not the time to forget it.

I braced my hand against my forehead as I closed my eyes, pleading with my wolf to back off for the time being. She would get her chance.

I waited until the last tingle left my skin before I turned back round to the seat I had vacated seconds earlier. All in all, my outburst hadn't been more than a few seconds long, but it was enough to have revealed more than I had ever wanted to so soon. Duke looked at me with suspicion, a light beginning to spring behind his eyes.

Grace... my wolf panted when Duke stood up and slowly walked towards us. Grace, MOVE! She screeched, seeming almost frantic.

Duke bent low, grabbing my chin in his hands as he looked deep into my eyes. "Submit" he demanded, his tone low and cold. It sent shivers down my spine as the authority hit me. No...

Grace, I'm sorry she panted, rolling over, removing all traces of her dominance from my body.

I knew now why she had been afraid to let him get closer, why she had panicked at his approach. Mate, she purred, offering herself to the wolf that had been chosen for her by the Moon Goddess herself.

This was not part of the plan!

Duke's POV

"That's better" I smirked, feeling her wolf submit to me almost immediately. "I had no idea she was so powerful or that she existed at all... interesting development" I murmured as Grace ripped her jaw out of my grasp, twisting her head to the side so fiercely it was a wonder she didn't hurt herself. "Clearly not powerful enough though. No more or less than I was expecting. A man comes along and she's on her back - I guess you two are more alike than I thought! Tell me, did she appear before or after you seduced every male in this pack or did she..."

My head snapped back as Grace's fist connected with my nose. I had been expecting a dramatic slap, I hadn't expected a punch to the nose. I could barely hear the words she spat at me over the loud crack that was still ringing in my ears. "You have no idea what you're talking about! You have no idea about me or my wold or the life we live! Ugh! Why am I not surprised that you are still the nasty, spiteful, suspicious bastard you were back then?! I will never submit to you, Duke. You may have my wolf under control, but she does not, will not and has never owned me. Not for a second. We live harmoniously together but ultimately, decisions on our life are mine to make and mine alone."

"Grace..." I began, only to be interrupted as the heal of her palm connected with my nose, slamming upwards. Bloody spurted in all directions as I tried to cover the stem with my hands.

"No!" She screamed, "I won't let you do this to me! Fuck you!" her knee came up and sure enough, she hit her target, causing me to double over as my dick began to throb and my balls felt as though they had been shot up my body. Had I not been so surprised I would have retaliated. As it was, I was unprepared for her arm as it karate chopped across my back, sending me to the floor in a heap that was unacceptable for an Alpha of my standing before she flew out of the door and back out of my life.