Chapter 8

RENZO

I wouldn't have stopped to look at her if her voice hadn't sounded surprisingly familiar. I turned around to face her, and my eyebrows furrowed slightly when I saw a mark I wouldn't mistake for anything in the world.

My fucking mark. Resting perfectly on her neck.

She slowly raised her head to look at me, and I felt a pang in my chest as I saw a pair of soft blue eyes staring up at me, tears sliding down her face as she looked at me.

She was the woman from the previous night, and I wondered what punishment awaited her.

“Who's this?” I turned to Ansel, who seemed to be quickly devising a scheme in his head. “And what is she doing here?”

“That's my mate, you asshole!” He glared at me, anger radiating from him. I would have had his head rolling at his feet for cursing at me if I hadn't been taken aback by his comment.

Alpha's mate?

The woman who was supposed to be serving me the previous night was the Alpha's mate? How the hell was that possible?

“What was her offense?” I couldn't help but ask the question that came to mind.

The question rolled off my tongue as I shifted my gaze back to the woman, who immediately lowered her eyes to the floor the moment our gazes met.

“She's a fucking whore who showed up at our wedding bearing another man's mark, okay? Now stop asking me stupid questions as if I'm supposed to share everything that's going on in my pack with you!” he snapped, resentment dripping from every word as I stared at the woman.

A sob broke free from her chest, and I felt a pang of guilt stabbing into me like shards of glass.

“It's my fault.” I sighed, bending down on one knee to look at the woman's face.

She turned her gaze away, forcing me to grab her chin between my thumb and index finger and raise her head to look at me.

“Why didn't you tell me you had a mate? And worst of all, the Alpha?”

Tears rolled down her delicate face as she stared deep into my eyes.

I had never felt a greater need to own up to my mistake than I did at that moment. She shouldn't have been going through this humiliation if I hadn't left my mark on her.

“How could I do that? You didn't even ask me before doing whatever you pleased,” she hissed, trying to turn her head away from me.

“Ansel?” I groaned. My ability to hold my rut back was already wearing thin, and I needed to get the fuck out of there as soon as possible.

“If she rejects you as her mate, that means she's free to carry another man's mark, right?” The question rolled off my tongue before I could make sense of what I was doing.

“What? Are you for real?” Ansel burst into laughter.

I rubbed circles on my chest, wondering what was so funny about what I'd said that would make an Alpha laugh.

“If you reject him, you're free to go about your life without facing any punishment. So do it now,” I whispered to the woman, who wouldn't even look at me.

“You can't come into my pack and question my orders, Your Majesty! This is my pack, and I won't let you insult me by changing my orders. Okay?” Ansel barked like the idiot he was.

If he knew why I was in his pack, he wouldn't be running his mouth.

“Then think of it as me letting you off the hook easily. Let her go, and I'll forget about you breaking the rules.” I stood up and turned to face Ansel properly.

“You can't threaten me. I didn't do shit!” he sneered.

I slowly shook my head, trying to keep my vision clear for a little while longer.

“Then, would you rather I let you off easily, or should I let everyone here know what a shitty Alpha you are by having my men drag you down from there and drive my dagger into your throat? Which would you prefer?” I growled, anger surging through me as I wondered why he couldn't see what I was sacrificing over such a trivial matter.

He took a baby step forward, not daring to move any closer to me.

“Why do you even care about her, anyway? Do you think you're special for standing up for a shameless whore?”

“Why do I care so much?” I chuckled, glaring at him as though I could drive daggers into his skull with my eyes alone. “It's just me taking responsibility for leaving a mark on her without her consent. Now don't you dare defy my orders. Let her go.”

I turned to the woman, about whom I knew absolutely nothing.

“Let her go? On whose authority? You can't say shit like that after claiming my mate.”

“It is my command, and I don't owe you any explanation.” I hissed before turning away from him. “Kyran, take the woman and bring her to the car.”

My shoulders shuddered as I walked out of the hall. My entire body grew weaker as I dragged my feet toward the parked car.

Just a little longer. I needed to hold it in a little longer until I got back to the brothel.

“Fuck! I need a woman to cool off my rut,” I gasped as I got into the car.

“Your Majesty?!” the driver exclaimed when he saw me sweating profusely. My eyes were barely open as I groaned.

“Take me back to the brothel.”