Chapter 23 – THE NORTHERN ALPHA

“Her.”

The word stayed in the room.

I stood beside Deucalion, staring at the man who had just said it. His eyes were still fixed on me, and I did not like the way he looked at me.

“She looks beautiful.”

He finally smiled.

“I am Alpha Lucius of the North.”

He opened his arms slightly.

“Welcome to my territory.”

Deucalion’s expression remained cold. “We did not come here for a welcome.”

Lucius laughed. “I can see that.”

The doors behind us suddenly closed.

I turned.

Several armed wolves stood around the room. Some carried swords. Others had their hands near their weapons.

My stomach tightened.

Deucalion noticed. “Are we guests or prisoners?”

Lucius leaned back in his chair. “Guests, for now.”

His eyes returned to me.

I stepped closer to Deucalion.

Lucius smiled again. “Where's Damascus Blackridge? He's the one I was expecting. Let us discuss the reason you came.”

We sat around a long wooden table.

“My father has other things to attend to. I can handle all the matters here on my own.” Deucalion replied.

Lucius placed a map in the middle.

“This section belongs to the North,” he said, pointing to the northern border. “Your warriors have crossed this line several times.”

Deucalion looked at the map.

“That line was moved.”

“According to whom?”

“According to the border records of Blackridge.”

Lucius shook his head. “Old records.”

“They are still records.”

“Not if the land has changed hands.”

Deucalion’s voice became colder. “The land was never given to you.”

Lucius tapped the map. “My pack has protected that territory for years.”

“Protection does not mean ownership.”

“And sending patrols does?”

Deucalion leaned forward. “My patrols were there because your wolves were moving too close to our border.”

Lucius smiled.

“So we have the same complaint.”

“That is why we are here.”

For several minutes, they argued over the boundary.

Each side produced maps, records, and witness statements.

Lucius claimed the northern river marked the true border.

Deucalion insisted the old stone markers did.

The conversation went back and forth.

I listened carefully.

Then I noticed something. “There is a problem with your map.”

Everyone looked at me.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. “What problem?”

I pointed to the river.

“This river changed its course after the flood.”

Lucius’s smile disappeared. “The records from that year show the river moved nearly half a mile.”

Deucalion looked at the map again.

I continued. “If the river is your border, then your own records contradict your claim.”

One of the northern wolves shifted uneasily.

Lucius stared at me. “Have you studied our records?”

“No. I can read a map properly.”

Deucalion glanced at me. There was something different in his eyes. Lucius leaned forward. “You are sharper than I expected.”

“I did not come here to impress you.”

His smile returned, darker this time.

“I can see that.”

The negotiations continued. Lucius offered a temporary division. Deucalion rejected it. Deucalion offered shared patrols.

Lucius rejected that. They argued over compensation, hunting grounds, patrol routes, and the safety of the wolves living near the border.

Every solution was rejected.

Every new offer created another argument.

Hours passed.

The guards remained around us.

I began to feel trapped.

Finally, Lucius pushed the map aside. “You are wasting my time.”

Deucalion stared at him. “Then give me a solution.”

“I have one.”

Lucius pointed at me.

His eyes moved over my body slowly, openly, with clear lust.

“Leave her behind and—”

My heart stopped.

Deucalion stood immediately. His chair scraped hard against the floor.

His eyes turned red.

Several northern wolves reached for their weapons.

Deucalion’s hands tightened at his sides, but he did not move.

He took a slow breath.

Then another.

He was not the only Alpha in the room.

He could not lose control here. When his eyes returned to their normal color, his voice was calm.

“No.”

Lucius smiled. “You should at least hear the offer.”

“I heard enough.”

“Leave your Luna with me, and my pack will withdraw from the disputed territory.”

Silence filled the room. I stared at Lucius.

He was serious. Deucalion stepped closer to the table.

“She is my Luna.”

“Exactly.” Lucius leaned back.

His gaze stayed on me, heavy and hungry.

“She can become mine.”

My stomach turned. Deucalion’s expression hardened. “I am not leaving my Luna behind so she can become your fifth wife.”

Lucius chuckled. “Fifth wife?”

“Yes.”

“You make it sound unpleasant.”

“It is not happening.”

Lucius studied him.

“You came here asking me to surrender territory.”

“And I am still asking.”

“Then you should have thought about what you were willing to give.”

Deucalion’s eyes narrowed.

“I am not giving her.”

Lucius leaned farther back into his seat. “Then you should have thought about it before you came.”

The room became painfully quiet.

I could hear my own breathing.

Lucius watched us.

Something about his expression made my skin crawl.

Then one of the northern wolves moved behind me.

I heard a faint step.

I turned my head.

Too late.

Before I could understand what was happening, an armed warrior grabbed my breast from behind, squeezing it in an unwanted, intimate way.

I gasped and froze. Deucalion’s head snapped toward me.

His eyes turned red again.

And this time, I knew the meeting has shifted to something else.