Chapter 3

Valerie 

I watched from the doorway as Dante lost his mind.

"When the fuck did he arrive?" Dante roared.

"And why didn't anyone tell me this?"

His Beta flinched, stepping forward carefully. He leaned in close to Dante, lowering his voice to a whisper so the lingering guards wouldn't overhear. My wolf hearing caught it anyway.

"The guard on duty said King Dimitri left clear instructions, Alpha. He stated explicitly that he was not to be disturbed."

"I am the Alpha of this territory!" Dante snapped, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage. "They report to me, not him!"

"Alpha, please," the Beta whispered, his hands trembling slightly. "The guards observed his state. He was deep in his Blood-frenzy. He was battling the curse."

I saw Dante go completely rigid.

Everyone in the territories knew what usually happened when the Lycan King's curse took over. The feral, violent state left nothing but carnage in its wake. No one had ever crossed him when the curse took over and lived to tell the tale. The guards knew better than to argue with a monster; they had just let him be.

"They still should have informed me!" Dante screamed, slamming his fist onto desk so hard I heard the wood splinter. "I want the wolf on duty last night stripped of his rank! Throw him in the dungeon right now!"

"Yes, Alpha," the Beta scrambled back. "Right away."

"Damn it all," Dante cursed out loudly, pacing the length of the room. He wiped a cold sweat from the back of his neck.

For a man to make Dante react this way, he had to be impossibly powerful. Dante was ruthless, but the mere thought of an unhinged Dimitri wandering his grounds sent a visible spike of genuine terror through my ex-mate's chest.

"Get everyone to the podium," Dante commanded suddenly, his chest heaving. "Summon the entire pack. Now. We don't keep the King waiting."

I stood near the very back of the grand assembly hall. The entire pack had been dragged out of our beds and summoned to the podium. 

When the doors finally swung open, the temperature in the room plummeted to freezing.

A collective whimper rippled through the massive crowd.

Men immediately bowed their heads. Women shrank back, exposing their necks in complete submission to the dominating aura that flooded the room.

I slowly lifted my gaze.

I gasped.

It was him.

It was the stranger from last night.

The man with the shadowed eyes and burning touch. The man I had spent the most intoxicating, rule-breaking night of my life with.

He was the cursed Lycan King?

My mind spun violently. I had heard the whispers, of course. Everyone had. The terrifying rumors kept wolves awake at night. King Dimitri was a legend carved in blood. He was the most dangerous, ruthless predator to ever walk the earth. He was the wealthiest and most powerful of all the Lycans in the territories, possessing an empire that could wipe out our entire pack with a single phone call.

And he was here for the annual tribute. An inspection to ensure our loyalty.

Up close, he was even more devastatingly handsome . He emanated a dark, intoxicating energy that made my knees instantly weak.

King Dimitri walked up the steps to the podium, and immediately the King’s piercing gaze swept across the sea of trembling wolves.

And then, his dark eyes met mine.

The air completely vanished from my lungs. A wicked, knowing smirk touched the corner of his lips.

"Who is she?" Dimitri's deep voice vibrated through the entire hall, sending shivers down my spine.

He didn't break eye contact with me, but he pointed a single, dominant finger directly at the back of the room.

Dante snapped his head up, following the King’s gaze. When he saw exactly who Dimitri was pointing at, a mocking sneer twisted his face.

"Her?”

 "She's anobody, Your Majesty."

Dimitri’s eyes narrowed dangerously. A low, warning growl rumbled deep in his chest. "I asked who she is, Dante."

"She was my wife," Dante spat, his voice dripping with venom. "My fated mate. But she is utterly useless. Pathetic. Weak. She couldn't even manage to give me an heir."

I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, the humiliation burning my cheeks. The whole pack was watching. They were whispering. Laughing.

"I rejected her," Dante continued, his tone turning even more vicious. 

"I divorced her and stripped her of my Luna title. She’s nothing more than an eyesore in this pack now. A mistake I finally corrected. She means nothing to me."

"Good," Dimitri said smoothly.

 "I want her."

Dante’s smug smile instantly vanished. He blinked, completely thrown off guard. "What?!"

"Since your pathetic pack doesn't seem to have my tribute ready.”

 "I'll take her as the tribute."

He stepped off the podium, ignoring the gasps of the crowd, closing the distance until he was standing right in front of me. 

"She will be my personal breeder."