Six

  River scoffed at the girl in disbelief. He wasn’t going to fight her, it was against his morals to fight a woman unless he was paired with one during training.

  Much less was he going to fight his mate as a way of taking her pack. Ryker was right, it didn’t have to be like this. Granted, he didn’t plan to accept her as his mate either but he certainly wasn’t going to get what he wanted this way.

  “You can’t be serious.” River laughed at the petite woman. She was barely tall enough to reach his shoulder, let alone take both him and his brothers on. Although, he didn’t disagree with Reid either. He was certain he would have plenty of fun throwing her around the bedroom.

  “Scared?” Brielle taunted, as she confidently placed her hands on her exposed waist. She was dying for the opportunity to show this idiot how capable she truly was.

  River chuckled again as he rolled his eyes. His deep, baritone laugh set Brielle’s nerves alight. There was something about the sound that she found melodic, heartwarming even, as butterflies surfaced in her stomach.

  “I’m not fighting a woman, let alone our mate.” He shrugged, as the use of the term mate struck a cord on his heart. “You know as well as we do, the pack needs a man to lead them. Warriors won’t respect you enough or take you seriously as Alpha, they’ll only ever see you as a Luna with added responsibilities.” River concluded as he stepped closer to the brunette.

  Kane was basking in the girl’s scent as the proximity between River and Brielle was second to none. River was doing everything he could to fight the urges his wolf was begging him to indulge in, but the longer this fiery woman stood only centimetres away the harder it was becoming to deny. 

  “Thanks for the concern, but my pack members respect me plenty. And I’m not your mate.” Brielle snapped, as she glared at River. “At least I won’t be after I reject you, what are your names?”

  “Bri, please don’t.” Ocean begged.

  “I’m sorry, O. We don’t want these idiots as our mates, trust me on this.” Brielle reasoned with her counterpart. It wasn’t exactly like it was easy for her either, she had never wanted a mate but seeing them standing before her was more difficult than she had imagined. 

  The bond had been stronger than she believed it could have been. She’d spend every passing moment desperately fighting for control over the bond, resisting the overwhelming need to throw herself into the arms of each of them.

  “Riv, please.” Ryker pleaded with his older brother. He couldn’t allow his mate to reject him, he just needed a little bit of time to convince her they were worth it. Everything he wanted was standing in front of him, he’d do anything to keep it.

  River thought for a moment, wondering what to do. As much as his heart called out to the petite brunette, he had sworn many years ago that he’d never accept his mate.

  But it had become increasingly obvious she wouldn’t be willing to give up her role as Alpha, at least not easily. If she rejected them, he may lose the opportunity to persuade her. Any feelings she held for him and his brothers due to the bond would be severed and River had a strong gut feeling she would go to great lengths to fight the merge.

  Aside from that, as much as he hated to admit it, being around her made him feel things he had never felt. The curious side of him enjoyed that, although it was a risky game and he knew it, because his intentions had remained the same.

  “Don’t worry, Ry. She’s not rejecting us.” River flashed Brielle a smug smile, enjoying watching the shade of her cheeks turn bright with fury.

  “Absolutely not. I have plans for us, princess.” Reid shot Brielle a seductive wink, causing the butterflies in her stomach to resurface.

  Refusing to get stuck in another lustful trance, Brielle turned to face her Beta and Gamma, who had both apparently lost their ability to speak throughout this whole interaction. 

  However, the grin on each of their faces told Brielle they were enjoying watching her battle with the triplets. They were using her frustration as their own personal amusement, something which they would both pay the price for later, Brielle swore to herself.

  Harlie held up her hands in surrender as Brielle shot her a warning glare. “Don’t look at me, this is all you sis.” She teased, knowing her sister would be losing her mind right about now. Plus, it wasn’t exactly like the three musketeers would ever get their hands on the pack, so she wasn’t worried.

  Brielle groaned at the lack of assistance from her sister before storming to her office door and swinging it wide open. “The only plans I have for us is you three leaving my office. Rejection or not, I’ll die before I hand over my pack to you.” She spat.

  “Listen, sparky.” River challenged. “It’s time to get on board. One way or another this alliance is happening and we will take over the leadership of this pack.”

  “Brother!” Ryker scolded, furious by River’s attitude and threats toward their mate. He couldn’t understand why River didn’t realise accepting the Alpha as their mate would ultimately lead to the merge anyway.

  But River wasn’t prepared to share the leadership, his tunnel vision only saw himself and his brothers combining and running the two packs as one.

  Brielle scoffed at the man before shaking her head. “There’s only two ways you can take this pack from me. The first being to kill me, which your wolf’s will never allow you to do if you don’t let me reject you.” She shrugged casually. “Or you challenge me to the battle of the Alpha’s, which you’d never do because your ego won’t allow you the risk of losing to a woman.”

  Ryker groaned as his mate threw a blow to his older brother’s ego. River was the most stubborn man Ryker or Reid had ever known and when his ego was called into question, he had the inability to back down, regardless of how reckless his choices could be.

  River smirked at Brielle, strangely enjoying the lack of faith she held in him. “You’re right, our wolf’s would never allow us to harm you. But I personally have no issue with challenging you to the Alpha title fair and square. If you can’t see what would be in your pack’s best interest, then I’ll just have to show it to you.”

  Brielle watched as the annoyingly handsome man creeped toward her, struggling to keep Ocean’s inner howls at bay. With each step he took, excitement of being closer to him built within her.

  “I challenge you, Sparky, to the Battle of the Alpha’s. Winner takes all.”