Chapter 9 Lucas's Jealous Rage

Chapter 9 Lucas's Jealous Rage
Lucas's POV

The news hit me like a truck.

I was in my office at Eclipse, going through quarterly reports, when my phone buzzed. A text from one of my wolves who had a cousin in Dragonclaw.

“Darius just announced his engagement. To your stepsister.”

I read it three times. Then I threw my phone across the room. It shattered against the wall, pieces scattering over the floor.

"No." I stood up so fast my chair fell backward. "No, no, no."

My wolf roared inside me, clawing at my chest. The mate bond I'd rejected flared to life, burning through every nerve. Pain exploded behind my eyes and I grabbed the desk to stay upright.

She was mine. The bond said so. The Moon Goddess said so. And now she was standing next to Darius Reed, wearing his ring, joining his pack.

I swept everything off my desk. Papers flew, my laptop crashed to the floor, pens scattered like bullets. It wasn't enough. I kicked the desk, flipped it over, felt something satisfying crunch in my foot.

"Alpha?" Someone knocked on the door. "Is everything okay?"

"Get out!" I roared and the footsteps retreated quickly. Good. I didn't want witnesses to this.

I punched the wall. Once, twice, then three times. My knuckles split open, blood smearing the paint. The bond burned hotter with each hit, like Calla was feeling every blow.

How dare she? How dare she run to him after everything? I gave her a roof over her head, paid her bills, let her live in my territory. And this was how she repaid me?

By giving herself to my worst enemy.

I slumped against the wall, breathing hard. My office looked like a war zone. Broken glass, scattered papers, blood on the walls. My reflection in what remained of the window showed blood on my knuckles and rage in my eyes.

The bond pulsed again, weaker this time but still there. I hated it. Hated that it connected me to her even after I'd severed it. Hated that she could make me feel anything at all.

She'd been invisible for years. And quite pathetic. Following me around with those puppy dog eyes, thinking I didn't notice. I'd known she had a crush on me. Everyone knew. It was embarrassing.

And I'd used it. I teased her, dismissed her, and made sure she knew her place. Because that's what she was. The charity case. The girl no one wanted.

Except now everyone wanted her.

I closed my eyes and saw her face at the club. Not the plain girl in hoodies, but the woman she'd become. Beautiful, strong, catching every eye in the room. The transformation had been instant, impossible to ignore.

And Darius had noticed too.

That's what burned the most. Not that I'd lost her. But that Darius had won. The Dragonclaw alpha, my rival, had taken something that belonged to me and paraded her around like a trophy.

Everyone would be talking about it. Laughing about it. Saying that Lucas Blackwell couldn't even keep his own stepsister loyal. That he'd rejected his mate and she'd run straight into enemy arms.

My reputation would take a hit. The pack would question my judgment. Other alphas would see weakness.

And Calla? She'd done this on purpose. To hurt me. To get revenge for the rejection.

She'd always been smarter than she looked. It didn't matter that I'd never wanted her before. What mattered was that she was mine to reject, not hers to give away.

And one thing was certain, that this fake engagement, or whatever game Darius was playing, wasn't going to last.

Calla was mine by right. The Moon Goddess had marked her for me, and no amount of running to Dragonclaw would change that. She thought she could humiliate me? Make me look weak in front of both packs?

She had another thing coming.

I'd rejected her because she wasn't good enough. She still wasn't. But I'd be damned if I let Darius Reed parade around with my mate like some kind of victory prize. I looked around my destroyed office and laughed. It sounded hollow even to my own ears.

If Calla wanted to play games, fine. I'd play. And when I was done, she'd remember exactly why she'd spent years crushing on me in the first place.

Even if I had to drag her back to Eclipse by her hair.