Alpha Jaxon POV
"Fuck" I cursed.
The pains continued to plague me. Amber was unrepentant as she stared across the room at me, a sneer on her face. "It serves you right" she spits out as I glare at her "how could you have marked me and considered keeping your fated mate!"
Somebody had ratted me out to her. I scowled "Who cares? You got what you were after. You weren't exactly complaining when I marked you, were you bitch?" I snarled.
She tosses her head, her hair cascading down her shoulders. There's a haughty expression on her face. "Look where that's gotten me" she sneers as I stare at her stony faced "shackled to you and made the laughingstock of the pack. Nobody listens to a thing I say" she snaps, turning around and placing a hand on her hip "everybody despises me and I'm meant to be their Luna!"
"Maybe if you weren't so heavy-handed with the omegas and treated the pack members with respect you wouldn't be," I said between gritted teeth "but according to Callum and Cody..."
"Oh those so-called friends of yours," she said sarcastically rolling her eyes "why aren't I surprised that you're taking their sides?" she pouts and it's not a pretty look.
"I'm meant to be fighting Callum in a duel tomorrow in case you've forgotten," I say evenly, wondering what had attracted me to this girl in the first place "So I would hardly say that we're acting as friends towards each other at the moment."
She scoffs "Oh please, as if you're going to go through with that. It's nothing more than two boys flexing their muscles and trying to outdo the other one. Pathetic" she exhales and shakes her head.
"Watch your tongue" I hiss fed up with this bitch's attitude "I may have made you the Luna of this pack, but that doesn't mean I can't take it away from you. I am the Alpha and you will respect me" I roar.
Her eyes glint. "Respect you?" her voice is mocking "your own pack doesn't even respect you right now. Unless you kill Callum" her voice is shrill and indignant "they are always going to see you as weak and pathetic."
I wince. She has no idea what she is talking about. I can't kill Callum. As angry as I am with him, I wouldn't go that far. It's bad enough that I would be making him a rogue. I never intended to take his life during the duel. I could, but I wasn't going to and she knew that.
"You would have me kill a friend to show the pack that I'm ruthless" my voice is even but my hatred began to course through my veins.
"I would have you kill him to make an example out of him" she corrected me, moving closer and narrowing her eyes "to show the pack that you are as ruthless as the rumors say. That even friendship isn't enough to save somebody from having to obey you and the rules that you've established."
I look away. Part of me is filled with contempt towards her but another part of me understands where she is coming from. It would make sense to kill Callum and show the pack just what punishment they would receive if they were to question either my or Amber's ruling. But Callum had been my friend for years. I wrestled with my conscience. Amber poked me in the chest.
"You're an Alpha, you don't have the luxury of friendship or of establishing close bonds with pack members" she hisses, her lips curving into a twisted smile "that's the price you pay for being a leader. It's the price you pay for being a good leader" she amends, trailing her finger down my chest and then bringing it up to my lips "so you have to decide what kind of leader you want to be. A mediocre one" she pauses and I narrow my eyes "or the kind that makes people fearful to even mutter your name out loud."
I let out a low growl of frustration. Her words are becoming more entrancing to me.
"How can you be so callous?" I ask.
She smirks "It's simple. You get close to people, and they hurt you. But when you're in a position of power, you can hurt people as much as you like and they can't do a damn thing about it. I'm training the omegas," she told me harshly "to respect me. A show of what you're willing to do to somebody who has always been loyal up until lately is going to prove to them that you have my back as well. I want them afraid. I want them all afraid."
She was so cold. It was a marvel to me. My wolf was not in agreement.
Being a good leader does not mean making everybody bow down to you. If you kill Callum, you are killing off one of the few links of friendship you have left. This woman does not have your best interests at heart. You should never have made her your chosen mate. You should have accepted our real mate. Now you are filling your head with fanciful ideas of forcing your mate to help us and of ruthless endeavors of taking over other packs. What is happening to you he growls.
I ignore him. He can continue to protest as much as he likes but I'm the one in control. It's my pack and I'll choose how to run it. Amber smiles at me, sensing that I'm beginning to weaken. "Jaxon, honey" she purrs, placing a hand on my chest and smiling seductively at me as I fight the urge to cringe, still not fully attracted to her as I once was "think about it this way. Great leaders are made, not born. I'm here to help you. What good would your mate have been if you weren't willing to accept her? I'm here now and I want only the best for us both and for the pack. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make our pack the strongest not just in the country, but the world" she breathes, her eyes lighting up with excitement "just picture the wealth we would have, the resources, the connections. Far superior to any other pack. We could establish our own laws and nobody would ever be able to fight us on them. Not even those pesky elders" she purred.
I liked the sound of that. I had never liked that the elders continued to butt their noses in everybody's faces. I exhale slowly and begin to nod as Amber looks at me satisfied. She's managed to get through to me. She's managed to overturn any protest I might have made. She had made so many excellent points that I couldn't remember what we had been arguing about. My wolf let out a low growl of frustration that I pointedly ignored. Screw him. I put up a block before he could spit out his annoyance towards me.
"Very well then" I say pausing, the pains in my stomach and my abdomen beginning to fade "I will take your information under advisement woman, but gods" I scowl as she smirks at me and turns away "keep your mouth shut for now. I have no more desire to hear anything more" I groan, staggering to the bed as she eyes me "All I want to do is lie down and rest."
I wanted the pains to go away. Why was I being plagued by them? Because you haven't accepted your mate's rejection my voice inside my mind mocked me. I gritted my teeth. I still wasn't going to. I wanted Riley. I wanted her back. I craved her. My wolf desired her, despite her rejection of us. It was her we thought about at night, not Amber. It was Riley that we dreamed about. It was Riley that we thought about in our private moments and her image that we masterbuted to in the shower alone. We were slowly becoming obsessed with the woman who had run from us and been denied. She filled our every waking thought and haunted our dreams. Amber had no clue thank gods or she would be even crazier than she was now.
"I'm going out" Amber muttered crossly.
I closed my eyes and turned on my side. I was certain she was heading downstairs to annoy the omegas again but I was through caring. Either that or she was having an affair, again not my concern. Once I had Riley back in my arms, back in my pack, Amber would be disposed of as she would no longer be useful. Her father would not be pleased, but I was certain that I could arrange a tragic accident to send Amber on her way to see the ferryman. I begin to breathe slowly in and out, my thoughts on the duel. Tomorrow I was going to kill a friend and to my surprise, there was no remorse or apology in me. Just a determination to show everybody not to mess with me any longer. It was time to start cutting the links of pack members who would try to sway me from my path. Callum would just be the beginning. Soon, the pack would be getting culled and only those that were most loyal would be remaining.