Stuck Between Two Alphas

Stuck Between Two Alphas
Ivy’s POV

I felt Leo’s rage before I saw him change.

One heartbeat he was a brown beast at my back, the next he folded down into himself and the flesh took over…muscles tightening, claws withdrawing into hands, fur pulling back like a shedding shadow. 

The change was violent and quick, a soundless tearing of animal into man. He stepped up, shielding me with his body, his fists clenched so hard I could smell the blood dripping.

He slipped into my head immediately with the mindlink. “Don’t. Don’t shift…you’ll be…”

The thought cut off and I understood before the rest arrived. He wanted me to stay wolfed so I wasn’t exposed. He didn’t trust the courtesy of enemies. He didn’t want my body on display for Raul’s eyes.

I forced down a laugh that was half a shiver. “You worry more than my father,” I sent back, but my voice stayed tucked behind Nyxara’s teeth. I let the wolf keep her shape at the edge.

Raul’s smile widened like a blade being sharpened. He moved through the gore as if it were a carpet and strode to the center of the courtyard, magnificently clean despite the mess. 

He looked like a painted noble who’d walked out of an impossible dream…except the dream had teeth. His eyes landed on me the way a cat notices something fluttering in a window.

I bit back a howl as I felt Nyxara’s irritation and anger at the closeness, remembering all the things he did to me while I was locked away in his pack.

“Wouldn’t the little queen like to transform and say hello?” he taunted, voice smooth as ice. “Don’t be rude. We all deserve the honor.”

Leo’s jaw tightened. He stepped so close his heat pressed into my nose, his human hand coming to rest over the small of my back as if to claim the space between us. 

“Did you not see the maps of destruction I left in my wake the last time I came to your territory?” he said, voice flat with cold taunts. “Do you really have a death wish coming here to die? Did Dina promise you some kind of protection? Bad news…she can’t get in. You walked into a place we built for tonight. Do you understand what that means? This will be your grave, Raul.”

Raul’s laugh was slow and soft. “Oh, I will forgive you for everything, Leo Ashton,” he said, voice deceptively warm, “if only you would hand me my mate, I’ll walk away. Give me what I need and I’ll go. No need for the kingdom to bleed.” He lifted his hands as if offering a bargain.

Leo’s face split into something hard and possessive. He moved his body to shield me further, his hand covering the curve of Nyxara’s shoulder as if daring Raul to touch even the edge of her. 

“Take another step toward my queen,” he growled, the air around him like a wire about to snap, “and I will tear you to shreds.”

Raul’s dark eyes flicked to the hand on my shoulder and to the gray fur that brushed his vision…then back to Leo. 

He took a breath and tilted his head. “Do you think I am afraid?” he asked. “You and I are the same, king. Two wolves wearing different crowns. If you will not give me what I want, then we settle this here, like kings. I will step through your lines and take my prize.”

Around us, the remnants of the fight thudded and groaned. Warriors kept on falling as howls filled the night.

Nyxara’s chest rose and fell at my side…she was close enough to lunge that I could feel her breathing and the twitch of her muscles. 

She wanted to be the one to end Raul. But this is between two Alphas.

Leo’s eyes were black coals. “I repeat, Raul. This would be your grave if you don’t take a bow. I am the Alpha King. A kingdom only needs one crown and I’m wearing it.”

Raul shrugged like a man conceding an argument he enjoyed. “Grave or not, crown or not, Leo, I will walk away with what I want. I can give you the rest. I can leave you in pieces but let you live…if you hand me my queen.” His tone was coaxing, like offering poison in a goblet of wine.

“Try it,” Leo said, voice small and cold. “Make that step. See what happens.”

Raul’s gaze flicked from Leo to me again, hungry and amused. “Very well then,” he said softly, “Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice,” he mused, winking at me.

Nyxara bristled angrily. She wanted him…wanted to bite the arrogance clean from his throat. She tightened around the edges of my mind, making room to leap if Leo faltered. Her tail brushed his calf as if to remind him she was there and capable.

The two men moved like men who had the right to any field they walked across. They closed distance slowly and deliberate…their faces set, the rest of the world folding away as if the fight would be the only truth left.

Raul ignored Leo for a minute and looked at me.

“What does it feel like, Nyxara?” he asked softly, voice low and mocking. “Hmm? Tell me…what does it feel like to be stuck between two Alphas?” 

His lips curved hatefully. “Does it finally make you feel special? Powerful? Chosen?” He leaned forward, eyes burning. “Cut your little round reincarnation trip short…and come the fuck home with me.”

I snarled, lips peeling back to reveal rows of sharp fangs. I took a step forward, ready to launch for his throat…but…

Leo struck first…faster than lightning…slamming into Raul and driving him back.

Raul’s smirk curdled into something darker and sharper. He stepped forward and the air around them seemed to pull tighter. “You and I, Leo,” he said, voice low and slick, “we are bound by the same hunger. And I won’t back down. I must leave with what is mine.”

Nyxara watched, patient and predatory. She stayed ready to strike, to end Raul in a single, perfect snap of fangs if Leo’s human pride ever gave way.

Their fists collided almost immediately again as Leo lunged with a sickening force. Bone cracked. Blood sprayed warm through the air. 

The courtyard trembled beneath the rage of their power as they fought in their human forms…no furs, no fangs…raw brutality. Rage against rage. Dominance against obsession.

They burst into motion like two halves of a single, terrible storm. Every second they fought was another second I could lose Leo. The thought of him falling made my hands numb with panic.

Leo moved with the map of war carved into his muscles, each strike measured and hard. Raul answered, cruel and practiced, landing blows that would have felled lesser beasts. They traded blood and spit, the fight up-close and dirty, two alpha men unraveling their anger into physical language.

Nyxara’s claws flexed at my sides. I watched them silently even as we fought off other wolves, but the fight I wanted was the one I couldn’t join. 

I wanted to make Raul pay for every scar he left on me. I wanted him to bleed for what he did to Nyxara.

A hard elbow slammed into Leo’s ribs…he grunted and answered with a blow that cracked Raul’s cheek. Raul smiled through blood like a man enjoying fine wine. 

They kept fighting, human blows raining down, until Nyxara’s breath matched it, slow and coiled, watching for the perfect moment to unmake Raul if needed. Her eyes flicked from Leo’s hands to Raul’s throat, counting possibilities.

I counted the seconds in my head and they felt too long.

Then suddenly, the air changed and I froze.

She’s here too?