His mate, my Doom

Before the wedding that night, a maid tells me that Dante had fortified pack security, setting up ambushes and traps around the pack house.

Like that would keep him away. Crystal snorts "Crystal ." I growl under my breath.

We both know it won't.

Deep down, I know that even an army of soldiers can't keep Lucien away if he wants to get in. I fidget with my hairpin, looking out my window to the woods. It's a full moon, like the one I had met Lucien under.

 I hug myself.

I almost expect it when I see Lucien stroll into the hall, looking like he has not just gone past a whole army of guards. Werewolf warrior guards. Still, I can feel the blood in my face draining.

 He looks elegant in a black tailored three-piece suit and black handmade leather loafers. The perfect wedding guest, I think humorlessly.

He commands attention just by walking into the room. Immediately, noise fills the hall. Whispers and comments. 

Comments about the rogue who dared to attend the alpha's mating ceremony. Who dared to even return to the pack after being exiled?

Crystal was right. The mating ceremony had not even begun. He hadn't needed that much time to incapacitate more than thirty mature warriors. And he still looks like he has just stepped out of a Vogue magazine.

Beside me, Dante stiffens, his fists balling up.

"What are you doing here, Blackthorn?" He asks, gritting his teeth.

Lucien begins an almost leisurely walk to the place where we both stood, obviously unbothered by the threat of a fight. "Is that how you welcome a guest?" He asks.

"Leave now," Dante commands him. "While I still feel generous enough to spare your life."

Lucien gives a lopsided grin. 

"You're not really this delusional, are you? What makes you think you can kill me?"

A guard begins to advance behind Lucien's back.

"Tell your man off so I don't have to pin him to the wall," Lucien says dryly. "It's an unnecessary waste of energy."

Dante nods to the guard and he steps away.

"What did you do with all the guards?" Dante asks, holding Lucien's gaze.

Lucien shrugs nonchalantly. "That is anyone's guess."

"So you decide to show your face once again after murdering my wife," Dante says, stepping toward him.

"After being framed for her murder, yes," Lucien says. 

"I have come to challenge you for the leadership of the clan."

For a moment, the hall goes silent. So silent I can hear the crickets chirping. 

I am also silent. Stunned into silence. Challenging Dante to a duel could only lead to one dead body and another as an alpha.

Dante looks at Lucien and I can almost see the calculating nature of his gaze.

 He was trying to size Lucien up and determine his level of strength. Know how much he has improved over the years. Dante didn't want to risk embarrassment and death.

"That is a bit too ambitious of you." Dante sneered. "Warrior turned murderer. 

You think you can just walk in here and demand a challenge?"

"Yes," Lucien replies, taking off the gold timepiece on his wrist and letting it fall to the ground with a loud thud. 

"Because I know you're too weak, too cuddled. Everyone has lost whatever trust they once had in you because they recognize you for what you are."

I can see Dante's will beginning to break at Lucien's words. The veins on his neck stand out angrily and his breath becomes shallower. He shook with anger.

 I could see where this was going, and it was not in Dante's favor. He was getting blinded by his anger, but Lucien was still calm and rational, shedding his suit jacket negligently.

"Weak, impulsive, and unfit."

Dante roars, the hair on his face thickening to fur and his eyes flashing.

"Dante!" I call, grabbing his arm and trying to stop him before he can shift completely and accept the challenge. He looks at me and sneers, flinging his arm back and sending me crashing into the opposite wall. 

I hear Lucien's growl as I straighten, a bit dizzy.

By the time I'm conscious enough to look, they have both shifted to their wolves, Lucien's black and Dante's white. 

They circle each other in readiness to fight.

They attack each other in mid-air, clawing and lunging at each other. What had been my wedding had been turned into a conquest.

Everyone stands back, watching with bated breath as they fight, tables and chairs and décor crashing around them. It is fierce and wild, lasting for what could have been an hour but feels like an eternity. 

It is painfully obvious who had better skill, however, Lucien seems to toy with Dante as one would an opponent he knew he had every chance of beating.

I know that is a high probability.

I look around and realize that nobody is fooled or harbors any illusions about this. They don't expect Dante to emerge victorious.

I wince when Lucien claws Dante's wolf to the floor, advancing on the already weak figure. I can see the motion of Dante breathing and I hold my breath, hoping Lucien doesn't deliver the final blow. It is a fight to the death.

Lucien's wolf turns and stares me straight in the eyes. I take a step back, swallowing. 

He seems to smirk at me before turning back to Dante's form on the floor. With his jaw, he picks Dante up by the neck and slams him back down to the floor with a loud thud.

 I shudder, bile forcing itself to my throat and threatening to bring up all the whiskey I had earlier today.

He picks him up again and slams him down with the same sadistic thud.

"End it, already!" I scream, surprising not just myself but everyone in attendance. Lucien does not turn towards me this time but he stiffens. 

"You're going to kill him, right? Do it and let it all be over!"

With a growl, Lucien attacks Dante's wolf once again but this time, he sinks his teeth into Dante's wolf's neck, crushing down slowly and jerking back in one swift motion, pulling Dante's throat out.

 I close my eyes against the gory sight of blood splattered against the floors and walls and Lucien's wolf holding Dante's throat between his teeth.

Softly, menacingly, I hear it clear in my head. Run.