Page 145 of Untamed

"You don't want to rule the GriMaw, Inuit," he says quietly. "It's too far away, and you have enough on your plate.

"We know this," we - I - growl.

"Pup, are you alright?" my cat gently strokes Sarj's forehead. I feel scorching obsession make my monster snap his canines. I have to fight the beast back. I'm not about to hurt the brother I just fought another alphason to save.

Sarj nods without taking eyes filled with longing away from my mate. WhenQitsuksteps away from him, Conner holds tight to my brother, keeping him away from me. Smart of him.

My mate glides over to me, clucking her tongue, her eyes fixed to my wounds. "Mactiir, you are finished with that male?" Frowning, she presses her palms over the gashes on my thigh. "You let him harm you," she scolds me. "Silly Ogre," she mumbles under her breath.

My monster watches her with lovelorn possession. Claws sift through her golden mane, gently pulling the tangles free. I stop when I realize that I'm leaving streaks of red in her hair. Damnit, now she will smell of Cullen Grim.

My thigh has stopped bleeding, but she keeps tutting over me anyway. Any bruise or scrape gets fussed over with huffs of impatience. My monster holds still, tolerating her fussing. Alright… he fucking loves it.

Cullen Grim staggers to his feet, waving off the wolves from his pack that came to help. "He defeated me," he says, sounding stunned.

I tear my gaze away from my mate to glare at the GriMaw Alphason. "I don't want your pack, Grim. Let's make that absolutely clear. This wasn't a Challenge."

Pale and shaky, Cullen stares at me in dazed shock. "You are planning on taking over the BlueSnout?"

I shrug. "Or killing them all, we'll see, won't we?"

"You will rule the entire territory west of the lake to the mountains," he rasps out, swaying dangerously on his feet.

Conner snorts at his cousin's obvious horror. "Sucks to be knocked from the top, huh? All the GriMaw, lower than some nothing pack in the south, huh?"

Cullen turns his glare on his cousin, "this is your family being threatened," he spits. "No one wants an alpha king here."

"No," Conner growls. "My family is back in ClearHowl. You Grims kicked my dad out years ago. Too late now, anyway." He waves his hand toward me, "you already have a king, sucker."

Ice trickles down my spine, chasing away the last of the monster for now. Alpha King. It's not a title I want. I've been battling internally about being analphasonfor years, for fucks' sake. The idea of ruling over an entire swath of territory, land that used to hold several packs, makes my blood run cold.

"There, you are all better, my Mactiir," my Bliss coos gently. Her hands are patting my thigh, making me twitch with my need for her. Not the time, I remind my dick. Not that he listens.

"She's a witch," Cullen croaks.

I push my mate behind me instinctively. She plasters herself to my back but peeks out curiously, my cat.

"A witch can't rule a pack of wolves. Evil fucking creature," Cullen spits out.

"She is a Wild Luna," Rhet's voice interrupts.

"Another term for 'witch.' In GriMaw, we would have killed her at birth," Cullen claims.

The monster surges back. Heat and fury make my muscles swell, my claws click against each other, canines sharp, cutting into my lips before my jaw starts to reform.

"This isn't GriMaw," I snarl. "This is my land. My pack. My luna!" I roar in his face.

Orion Fucking-Ferax starts to laugh. We all look at him, the male in chains who should be cowed completely, having lost everything, including his freedom.

"You are not the true Alphason of the GriMaw," he states, looking at Cullen cruelly. "Your daddy was never meant to be the alpha, and neither are you. I'm not alpha, so fuck FeraxMaw, yeah? Jax's son died, and there went the RustClaw line. The Mauja met their ends at his claws," he points to me. "Blout doesn't have an heir." He pauses for a moment, a crazy grin on his face. "Are there any real alphas left?"

He smirks at me. "You're also a bastard alpha from a false pairing. But the goddess made you a fucking TrueBorn. Maybe she got sick of watching all the so-called alphas fuck up, yeah?"

"Nature," Willa whispers against the skin on my bare back. A shiver dances down my spine. She's so innocent in so many ways, but in the ways of her goddess, she's steadfast.

Orion laughs. "The fucking King, Grim. Careful you don't piss him off by insulting his Queen."

"Mactiir, the wolves are frightened," Willa murmurs.

---