Three

Alpha Luxian's POV 

"I need to stop them," I growled, my wolf raging inside me. 

"Your actions will be very risky, Alpha." Kian's voice cut through my rage. 

"I know." My eyes never left Summer as Luna Jocelyn hauled her off like a piece of trash.

"I beg you, Alpha, don't...." Kian kept pushing. "Please think about what the guests will think if you do this. Since this is strictly forbidden."

"I don't give a damn anymore." The words slipped roughly. "You think I'll let them do that to her?"

"But Rhys hasn't rejected her yet, so you can't..."

"Then I'll make him."

Kian's protests died in his throat. He knew that tone. I was done talking.

I've known Summer was my mate all these years, since right after I lost my fourth.

I’d held back, too afraid to draw her into my own cursed existence. But the truth was, leaving her with Rhys and his mother had doomed her to a far worse fate.

***

I followed them, staying in the shadows until Luna Jocelyn left Summer locked up like an animal. The guards were nothing. A few swift moves and they were down. The door clicked open.

She was crumpled on the floor, barely conscious. My chest tightened seeing her like this.

"Summer..."

"I will save you. Hang in there." I scooped her up, feeling how light she'd gotten. Too light. Well, I wasn't sure they were feeding her enough.

Her hand found my face, weak fingers tracing my jaw. "Help me...free me from them..."

"I will...and I will make them all pay." I said with absolute assurance.

I carried her straight into that party. Let them all see. Let them all know what kind of animals they really were. The entire hall went dead silent the second I walked in.

"Oh my! Rhys look..." Virginia's shocked gasp echoed through the room.

Rhys froze like I'd put a gun to his head. His eyes went wide, finally understanding what was happening.

"Alpha Luxian, what are you doing with my wife?" He rushed over, panic making his voice crack.

"Saving her from you." Simple truth. No point in dancing around it.

"Oh, Mom...Mom...didn't you lock her up in the isolation room? Why is she with Alpha Luxian?" Rhys was losing it, yelling at his mother like a child.

"Alpha Luxian, please, you must have misunderstood." He tried to play it smooth, but sweat was beading on his forehead. "What did she say to you? Please don't believe her. She is delusional and not in her right mind. Whatever she says..."

"Shut it, Rhys!" I'd heard enough of his lies. If I wasn't holding Summer, I would have put him through the wall.

"Mom... can you back me up with Alpha Luxian?" Rhys called out like a scared pup.

The room was dead quiet. They all knew who I was. What I was capable of. None of them had the balls to cross me.

"Yeah, sweetie. Oh my, what's going on, Alpha Luxian? Why are you with my daughter-in-law?" Luna Jocelyn played innocent, but I could see the calculation in her eyes.

"I need your son to break his bond with Summer now...or I will take her by force." I kept my voice level. No need to shout when everyone was already terrified.

"She's my chosen mate and wife, Alpha! You can't do this," Rhys tried to sound tough, but his voice shook.

"She's my fated mate, Rhys. Since you and your mother are making her life hell, I'm claiming her. Leave her. Now."

I let my alpha dominance roll off me in waves. Several people in the crowd stepped back.

"Or I'll do even worse to get her from you."

"But Alpha, you are cursed. She will only meet the same fate as your previous mate with you, and I won't let that happen to her!" Rhys threw my past in my face, thinking it would hurt.

It didn't. I'd made peace with what I was.

"Listen, Rhys. Reject her now, or I'm pulling all my support from your pack. Funds, military, protection. And let's not forget how much you owe my pack. Don't forget the favors." I watched him crumble as the reality hit him.

His pack was nothing without me. They all knew it.

"You never love her, Rhys. Just let him have her," Virginia whispered, but I caught every word.

"Rhys, please don't put the pack at risk by going against him, sweetheart...After all, she is barren and is not appropriate to be your future Luna," Luna Jocelyn added her poison.

"Just do it, Rhys," Virginia pushed harder.

I watched Rhys look around the room, seeing his options disappear one by one. He knew he couldn't fight me. His pack would be destroyed if he tried.

"Do it now!" I let my alpha command ring through the hall.

Rhys took a shaky breath and looked down at Summer in my arms. For a second, I thought I saw regret in his eyes. Too little, too late.

"I, Rhys Glomarian, reject and sever all ties between us, Summer."

Perfect. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

"Great. I'm taking her to my place. Have a good time at your party tonight, and congrats!" I turned away from them all, not giving a damn about their shocked faces or whispered comments.

Summer was mine now. And I was never letting anyone hurt her again.