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As much as Sam was the alpha and had more numbers than I did, he didn’t have the anger I harbored in me. My alpha status was true, while his was fabricated thanks to his scheming. He had the followers but didn’t have the raw power and drive required by a genuine alpha. He was, in a sense, a sheep in wolf clothing.
When it came down to it, I’d overpower him, which was my goal.
“What do you want?” Sam asked, more reserved than usual. He was watching his step since his pack was watching, and he was at an obvious disadvantage.
“I want you to come down here and fight me.”
He froze at the top of the steps. “What?”
Amused by his crystal-clear worry, I cracked a smirk and chuckled. “You should’ve known this was coming.”
Blinking through the disbelief, Sam moved down the steps, holding his palms up in appeal. “Hold on, now. It doesn’t have to happen like this.”
I cocked a brow at him. “No? How would you like to surrender then?”
Aware of how it made him look, Sam backtracked. “This isn’t me surrendering, but since you clearly have your own followers, why don’t we settle this like diplomatic alphas?”
Growing tired of his games, it took more restraint to keep my fury down. “Don’t test my patience.”
“How about this?” Sam began, only a few hesitant steps away from me. “Instead of fighting, how about I give you a mate?”
Genuinely taken aback by the offer, I furrowed my brows. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m offering you one of our women in exchange for you leaving the grounds. No strings attached.”
Studying him closely, I didn’t say anything. It was an obvious deflection to save his skin, and while his avoidance angered me more, I didn’t refuse it straight away. My curiosity got the better of me.
“In fact,” Sam began, looking frantically at the women gathered around. His eyes lit up as he gestured toward one of them. “Ah, here we go. Jane. She doesn’t have a mate. How about you take her and go?”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I glanced over at where he pointed and found a woman standing there, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. The others near her stepped back, singling her out.
“That’s it, get over here,” Sam said, feigning pleasantry.
Obediently, albeit with some resistance, Jane stepped forward, cheeks brimming with embarrassment. She was curvier than other shifters—where they are usually athletic and muscular, she was blessed with soft hips and curves more typical of a human. Even if she seemed unique compared to the other women in the pack, there was an appeal to it. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a low bun as some smaller pieces framed her terrified face, directing my attention to her glittering blue eyes.
There was no denying her meek aura, but something about her claimed my unwavering attention. Whether it was the very fact that she was different and set apart from all the others or those alluring curves and the gentle gleam in her features, I didn’t want to stop gazing at her.
She was beautiful, and even if I had come seeking a fight, something about her disarmed me. I was intrigued and tempted just by her appearance.
Something new moved within my chest that I couldn’t ignore, like a dormant longing that had finally awakened. It seemed to snap into place, startling me.
However, the realization immediately sunk in as I inspected her. Jane Hawthorn. I didn’t know her well, but she had been around since I was a kid. Aside from how she had flourished into a woman, she hadn't changed much, and it seemed that a more reserved demeanor had followed her into adulthood.
As far as I knew, she had been an outcast. She wasn’t particularly liked, and it seemed that still rang true even then. She had volunteered so easily despite her beauty, and that reasoning clicked into place for me.
Sam meant to snub me by offering the woman few cared about. It would be no loss to him in the end. I clenched my teeth against the fury that bubbled within me.
I had every right to get angry. To cause a scene and refuse him. Even to kill him just for trying to make an idiot out of me. But the look on her face stopped me. The sheer embarrassment scribbled on her face and the way she stood there like it was a death sentence was enough.
She emanated fear, and while I knew she likely assumed I was dangerous due to Sam’s lies, something about her screamed that she needed rescuing from her bleak existence in the pack.
Even if I didn’t really know her, and even if she was being offered to me as a slight from Sam, a strange tension pulled within my chest. The urge to protect her was loud in my mind and heart despite not understanding why beyond how alluring I found her.
Interested in better understanding what that urge was, I entertained him. “What value would she bring me?”
Sam brightened since he likely expected me to blow up on him initially. He gestured for Jane to come over, and when she was close enough, he put a rough arm around her shoulders. She flinched at the contact, and it sparked a rush of anger from me.
“To sweeten the deal for you, she’s a psychic! She’ll be invaluable to your pack. In fact, her visions are always spot-on.”
