Chapter 53 - My Omega Queen

POV: Grace

“Mark her! Mark her!” The crowd began chanting as Jason stepped closer once again, carefully. The she-wolves clinging to him halted when Chloe stepped in front of me and stretched her neck, popping it. The moonlight peered from between the houses just at the right moment for me to see the edge of Chloe’s grin. The fur of her wolf had already begun to appear on her forearms and her excitement at the prospect of beating these punks was palpable.

This is like her hobby. After all, she always used to beat my bullies, whereas my title forced me into withholding my powers when it came to hurting pack members.

It wouldn’t look good for my image, is what my teachers and supervisors used to say.

The sight was almost laughable. These drunk idiots were chanting and dancing around, completely unaware that they were standing so close to death. I couldn’t help a sigh escape my lips at how the whole situation unfolded. Images of the aftermath began showing up at the front of my mind; my father scolding me, Michael punishing Chloe, and how I’d be Alpha commanded to sit still and wait for Jason to mark me for our little nightly adventure.

Perhaps there was still a way to get out of this situation without beating anyone to a pulp.

My hand reached to grab Chloe’s forearm and yank her to my side. “Don’t”, I whispered. She peeked at me with a confused and disappointed expression, “Let’s not cause a scene.”

“But he’s-… they’re-“ She began with frustration, but I simply shook my head in response. Though hesitantly, Chloe gritted her teeth and finally stepped back.

One would expect the Beta wolf to be the level-headed, calm, and reasonable one, compared to the Alpha. Yet, in our relationship, Chloe has always had to deal with the limits imposed on me since a young age. Everything I couldn’t do, she made up for, regardless of the consequences.

My parents have always desired me to demand respect from my pack members without using violence since that would mean that I’d lead them through fear. That kind of leadership has been proven to be inefficient at best, leading to uprisings and hidden plots against the throne.

However, my parents, as wise and powerful as they are, followed an ideology that lacked the consideration of a highly important fact; We are dealing with werewolves here. Wild beings that run on instincts alone, whose blood itself orders and demands a controlled hierarchy. Only the higher-ranked werewolves are able to control their natural instincts as well as we do.

My eyes made contact with Chloe’s as I tried to gauge how engaged her wolf was. “I got this.” My lips moved to say, but without any sound coming out.

Then I put on my most practiced mask when dealing with political affairs, and turned toward the Silver Fangs’ second-born Prince.

Let’s just say it would be mostly unwise to hurt or kill our host’s son.

“Jason,” I begin with a clear voice, “as we’ve already discussed, our marking ceremony will be held tomorrow.” I paused to glance at the moon thoughtfully, “More exactly, in about 18 hours.”

The crowd stopped chanting by now, tilting their ears to hear the discussion.

Jason clearly noticed all the eyes trailing between the two of us as he shifted uncomfortably on his legs. He then cleared his throat before speaking, “Grace, my love, but it cannot be a coincidence that you’ve just happened to walk by. I can only assume that the Moon Goddess has brought you here to confirm her blessing and is now waiting for our unification.”

His way of addressing me triggered my gag reflex. Luckily, I stopped it in time before I humiliated him publicly.

“It’s just politics, Grace. Breathe in, breathe out”, I repeated in my mind like a mantra to calm myself down and avoid punching his face in.

Meanwhile, Jason took another step forward and I felt Chloe tense up beside me. I stood my ground without backing away.

“You are making a mistake, Jason” I spoke with authority, my eyes narrowing on him, “My wolf will never accept you.”

“And why is that, Your Highness?” Jason came closer again, standing right in front of me now, towering over me, “I’m the second-born son of an Alpha, free of obligations toward the Silver Fangs and willing to take on the role. Besides, I believe I am not half-bad looking, and my companions, “he gestured toward the she-wolves standing in the circle, “can also confirm that I know how to truly satisfy my partners. What’s there not to accept? I would make you so happy.”

The crowd let out chuckles and sounds of approval.

His close proximity made Raksha stir inside of me, despite her still giving me the cold shoulder. A low growl resonated from my chest as a warning.

Just politics. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

I whispered low enough only for the two of us to hear, “I already have a mate. Back off.” But the words came out laced with more rage than I had wished, as my fangs began elongating.

Jason’s eyes trailed toward the fair skin on the spot where my neck met my collarbone, then rose again to meet mine with a sly grin etched on his face. He replied in a whisper, “He should have claimed you while he still had the chance, then. His mistake.”

Before I could give out a retort, Jason nodded toward the crowd behind me. I didn’t get to turn my head before suddenly two pack warriors grabbed me by my forearms, holding my arms forcefully tight against my body. Then, one of them kicked me in the hollow at the back of my knees and brought me down.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

“What the f*ck are you guys doing?!” I shouted at the pack warriors when I noticed three other gorillas holding down Chloe. They were chuckling, utterly oblivious to the fact that my previous standing command toward Chloe was the only thing between them and a painful death. She looked at me pleading, begging me to release her from the command. Yet I did not, knowing she would certainly kill them, especially after their most recent acts.

Despite being drunk, the raw strength of two trained pack warriors was not to be taken lightly. “The King will surely hear about this.” I threatened them.

But the ignorant fools replied, “By then, we will be friends of the Crown. Even the King will have a hard time putting his hand on us.” Then the one talking turned toward Jason, “Right, Jason? Mark her now, fast, before she shifts.”

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Yea! Mark her! Mark her” The crowd began chanting again as if they had never stopped.

Raksha paced anxiously inside my head, dying to dig her claws inside Jason’s chest. I could feel her desire to rip his heart out and trample it in the dirt. She whined as I kept refusing to let her out.

Jason raised his hand and tilted my chin up with two of his fingers. He looked me in the eyes and I could almost see a semblance of pity, or sadness in them as he spoke, “You’ll learn to love me in time, Grace.”

Breathe in, breathe out.

The moonlight reflected in the tips of his fangs as his face got closer and closer before I felt the coldness of their tips touching my skin.

F*ck politics.

I’ll go to war if it means I get to kill this guy.

But just as I was about to offer Raksha complete control over my body, with no regard for what happened to the people around me, a shadow swept across the scene. Suddenly, in an instant, Jason was hurled into the midst of the crowd, propelled by an unseen force.

And before me stood a figure of wild, primal rage.