Chapter 7

“Whoever ends up at the devil’s mercy is the one on the losing end.”

RENZO’S POV

A deep grunt left my mouth as I slid my hands inside my long coat. My eyes were heavy as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My expression was cold, just as it had always been. My gaze was the only thing cold about me; the rest of my body felt like it was on fire.

It would take someone very close to me to know I was on the verge of losing my mind. Not that today was any different from any other day, but my fucking rut had to kick in while I was away from the palace.

I should have been tending to my rut, but I couldn't. Not when I had some fucking werewolf shithead of an Alpha to deal with.

“Fucking stupid werewolf!” I let out a harsh growl as beads of sweat rolled down my face.

I stared deeply into the mirror, watching my body shake slightly, and hastily made a mental note of how many more hours I could last before my rut came into full swing.

Perhaps a little less than six hours if I didn't overexert myself? Or less than that?

My ears perked up slightly as I heard approaching footsteps. My hands were already on the hilt of the dagger hidden in my coat before I registered the familiar scent. I let out a deep sigh.

The door cracked open, and my Beta walked in. I watched him move closer to me through the mirror, a look of panic registering on his face.

“Your Majesty?” He gasped as he came to stand beside me at the dresser. “I heard your rut started last night. Should we postpone the visit to the pack Alpha until it subsides?”

My hand clenched around the dagger before I pulled it free, grabbed my Beta by the neck, and shoved him back against the dresser. Then I pressed the dagger to his throat.

“I'm not in the mood to have anyone decide what I should do for me,” I sneered at him.

I applied a little pressure to the dagger and let out a dark grin when I saw blood forming around the cut I'd made with the sharp blade.

Alfonso winced slightly, dropping his gaze to the blade in my hand. He knew better than anyone not to interfere with my schedule.

“I'm just worried—”

“Worried about me, huh?”

I moved the dagger away from his throat and drove a fist into his face. He staggered backward and hissed in pain.

“I'm not weak just because I'm in rut. Don't give me that shitty look, and get the car ready!” I barked, my hands shaking slightly as I moved away from him.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he groaned, wiping the blood from his neck before walking out of the room.

My shoulders heaved the moment I was left alone. I grabbed the dresser with both hands and shut my eyes, trying to control my breathing.

“I could have cooled my rut if I hadn't been so stubborn about getting another woman after that fucking werewolf ran away last night. Fucking werewolf!” I hissed, puffing out a breath, which seemed to calm my breathing a little better than before.

My eyes snapped open, and I caught sight of the empty bottle of suppressant on the dresser. A low grunt left my mouth as I panted heavily, my mouth hanging open.

“Fuck!” I groaned, my head throbbing slightly before I straightened up.

My eyes were a little darker than usual, and I knew I had to wrap things up faster than planned so I could return home.

The car is ready, Your Majesty, Alfonso's voice hummed in my mind.

I sighed before blocking the mind link.

With one last glance at my reflection in the mirror, I left the brothel room and got into the car, which was already waiting for me.

The drive to Alpha Ansel's palace wasn't long, according to the driver. I sank into the seat and shut my eyes, letting my mind wander to the woman from the previous night.

“Why did I do it?” I groaned, rubbing my neck as I remembered how foolishly I'd marked a woman who wasn't my mate.

How could I be so irrational and let my rut control my damned mind?

The way the woman had scampered out of the room last night was anything but reassuring. She seemed to be panicking, and I wondered what had been going through her mind as she left.

“We're here,” the driver announced as the door opened from the outside.

Alfonso got out of the other car and hurried toward me.

“Kyran. Alfonso.”

I turned to my Beta and one of my most trusted guards. The two stepped forward, and I nodded at them.

“You two follow me. The rest of you stay here,” I ordered.

Without waiting for their reply, I started walking toward the building. I felt my muscles tense as I made my way toward the pack palace, which shouldn't have been any concern of mine if some shithead Alpha hadn't been sending spies to gather information about my pack.

“Fucking bastards!”

“Your Majesty,” Alfonso called out.

I halted in my tracks and turned to see my Beta staring in the direction of a huge building that looked like a banquet hall.

“Yes, Alfonso?”

My glare was enough to tell him to start speaking. I hated suspense.

“I think everyone is in that place,” he mumbled, pointing toward the large building on the left. “I saw some guards walking into it.”

“Follow me.”

Without wasting another breath, we strode toward the building. I could feel my temperature rising as I entered. Just in time to witness the shithead Alpha passing judgment on some of his pack members—people I had no business with.

“Fucking idiot,” I scoffed, watching Ansel get all worked up from where he sat.

Stupid idiot was the one passing judgment when he was the one breaking the rules meant to ensure fairness between both species?

Both werewolves and Lycans shouldn't intrude on each other's packs.

That was the fucking rule, but some Alpha had grown the balls to break it by sending spies to my pack's walls.

“What's going on here?” I barked angrily when I caught sight of a half-naked woman on the floor with some guards standing beside her.

And with all those people watching?

Were werewolves really that foolish, or was their Alpha just a fucking asshole who derived joy from stripping a woman in public?

A pathetic idiot!

I waited a second. A second turned into two, and Ansel didn't even acknowledge my presence.

Really?

“I'll ask again, and you will answer me,” I growled, my shoulders jerking as every eye turned toward me.

Perfect! Just the way I loved to make my presence known.

“What is going on here, Ansel?”

Ansel hastily stood up from his seat, horror flashing across his face as he stared at me with what I could only describe as fear.

The idiot should have known what he was getting himself into the moment he decided to fuck with me by sending spies into my pack. But stupid werewolves never thought with their heads.

“K-King Hades?” he stuttered.

His hand flew to his side, obviously intending to draw a weapon. But unless he had been born that very day, he should have known better than to pull a weapon on me if he wanted to live to see the dawn of the next day.

“What are you doing here, Lycan King?” he spat venomously.

I smirked, walking down the hall toward him as quickly as I could. I wanted to get the hell out of that damn pack and return home to tend to my rut, which seemed to be kicking in faster than I'd thought I could handle.

“You... How is this possible?”

A weak grunt came from the half-naked woman kneeling on the floor as I tried to walk past her.