Page 105 of Awakened
How fitting is it that this douchebag requires a future family member to call him alpha?
Thank Goddess, I wasn’t Matthew’s mate. Now, I just needed everyone else to understand that. There were political advantages to an Old Church Pack member having an Amazon mate and breaking her, which was one of the reasons I left my pack at home.
I had to walk the fine line between being polite to my superior and destroying his son and his ridiculous accusations.
I took a step closer to Alpha Stewart with my hand extended. “Alpha Stewart, nice to meet you. I’m Beta Spencer. I believe there has been some kind of misunderstanding. Your son isn’t my mate.”
A smile spread across the alpha’s lips as he shook my hand. “No need to be afraid, Celeste. You should be excited to have such a male.”
These motherfuckers wouldn’t let it go. Had the Howlers known this was going to happen? I beefed up my training per their instructions, even using their schedule. In hindsight, they had built me into a future alpha destroyer.
“This isn’t fear or false modesty—it’s the truth. He is not my mate. If I need to, I will challenge Matthew to claim myself.”
“Les, that isn’t necessary.” Seth touched my shoulder, his eyeslocked on Alpha Stewart. “Beta Spencer has said she is not your son’s mate and has asked for this to be let go. He has no claim.”
All humor left Alpha Stewart’s face. “You’re not an alpha yet, boy. You might want to watch who you’re giving orders to.”
Seth placed himself between me and the Crescent Pack Alpha, creating an imposing front. The past eight months had been very kind to him. His back was broader, and his shirt gave away hints of the sculpted perfection underneath. Seth’s arms looked sturdy enough to build a treehouse on. My eyes went lower, landing on his impressive backside when I remembered where I was, what I was doing, and what was at stake. I promised to remedy this apparent sex craving as soon as I beat the shit out of Stewart.
“It’s not an order. It’s a fact. She isn’t his mate, so he has no claim, period. If he has a problem with that, I would be happy to explain it to him more thoroughly.”
What a buzzkill.
I appreciated what Seth was doing, but it’s like he didn’t hear me when Zach tried to fight my battle.
“No, Seth, you won’t. If Matthew wants to claim me, he’ll have to fight me for it.” I turned my attention back to a silently seething Matthew. “What’s it gonna be, big boy? You into the idea of forcing a woman into being with you? You that hard up?”
Matthew lunged in my direction as I pushed Seth out of the way. I didn’t need a protector. This was my fight.
I took the brunt of the impact but didn’t lose my footing. Matthew wrapped around my torso, holding my arms down. His lips brushed the shell of my ear as he breathed out, “See how good it feels to have me wrapped around you? I bet you know a few more tricks than that frigid little girl.”
I turned to look into his eyes. “Are we fighting to death or submission? I prefer death.”
He was stunned. “Submission. It wouldn’t do to kill my mate.”
“I’ll take you to death’s door then.” I stopped fighting his hold, waiting for my moment.
Frowning, he loosened his arms.
“Don’t worry. You won’t cross the threshold.” I broke out of his hold and regrouped a few steps away. Assuming a defensive pose, I knew it was only a matter of time until he lashed out again.
Matthew didn’t disappoint. With an obnoxious choked growl, he barreled toward me. I stepped to the side at the last moment, and he flew past. “Oh, come on, Matty. You can do better than that. I have teens who know better than to let their anger get the best of them.”
My words pissed him off, but instead of acting, he looked at me, calculating his next move. We stood staring at each other like two tweens at a dance, neither willing to cross that line.
“Are you afraid now? No more rushing?”
“Just trying to figure you out. You’re an odd wolf.”
“No. I’m a smart, well-trained wolf. Now, come get some before I bring it to you.”
Matthew laughed, clearly not taking me seriously, so I decided it was time to finish this.
In three steps, I was in front of him, my fist flying into his cheek. The bones cracked under my knuckles, and blood sprayed from his mouth as his face swung to the side, but I didn’t stop there.
I drove my knee into his stomach, causing him to hunch over. Jabbing his back with my elbow, I grunted as he slumped to the ground.
Taking a step back to admire my work, I said, “You’re on your knees. Wanna call that submission?”
