A raw, tortured scream tore out of Reynold’s throat the exact second the dagger plunged deep into his flesh.
Pain exploded through every pore of his body as Dorian cruelly twisted the blade, burying it to the hilt. Bright red blood bubbled out of the wound, spreading across the surface of the desk.
Behind him, Samantha screamed shrilly, her hands flying to her mouth as her eyes widened in pure horror.
Seth took an aggressive step forward, but a sharp, warning glare from Jake froze him dead in his tracks.
The four guards who stood in the corner of the room lowered their heads, completely paralysed by the dominance radiating from the Alpha King.
Dorian straightened slowly. He pulled out a black, silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and calmly wiped the blood from his fingers, his expression cold and aloof, as if he didn’t just pin a man to the desk.
"That blade should have been for your daughter," he muttered, his voice dropping dangerously. "For daring to assault a guest under my roof. But I do not lay my hands on women. So you get to suffer her penalty."
Reynold shot a savage death glare at Samantha, his teeth bared as his face twisted in absolute agony.
Samantha instantly lowered her head, too terrified to meet Dorian’s eyes.
"Alpha Dorian, you must understand," Reynold choked out, his voice tight and strained with pain. "She merely acted out of envy. Seeing a woman in your home gave her the wrong impression..."
"What I do," Dorian shot back, his golden eyes flashing, "and who I choose to bring into my territory is none of her fucking business. Her jealousy does not grant her a license to act like a raving lunatic."
"My daughter is your fiancée, Alpha!" Reynold argued through clenched teeth, desperation bleeding into his voice. "I know her actions were out of line, but she only did it because she loves you..."
The excuse never finished leaving his mouth.
Dorian whipped out a second silver dagger, grabbed Reynold’s other hand, and stabbed it through his palm and deep into the desk.
Reynold bellowed in absolute agony, both hands now brutally pinned to the wood. The silver burned against his shifter skin, causing fresh blood to spill over the desk.
"Defend her one more time, and the next blade will slit your throat," Dorian growled.
Unable to stand by and watch his father suffer, Seth lost his mind. With a snarl, he launched himself across the room at Dorian, shifting mid-air before Jake or Alec could step in to intercept him.
It was a fatal mistake.
Dorian didn’t even flinch. As the brown wolf barred its fangs mid-leap, his hand shot out and caught it squarely by its furry throat in a death grip.
With a violent shove, he sent the wolf flying across the room.
It crashed heavily into the far wall and dropped to the floor, whimpering in pain. The force of the impact shattered Seth’s concentration, forcing him to shift back into his human form. He lay on the rug, groaning and clutching his ribs.
"Seth!" Samantha shrieked.
Bursting into tears, she dropped to her knees and crawled toward Dorian.
"I’m sorry," she wailed, her hands reaching out to touch him. "I didn’t mean to attack her. I lost my mind and I got jealous. Please, Dorian, forgive me. Do not let my family pay for my sins."
Dorian didn’t spare her a single glance. His shoulders remained taut with fury, his curled fists twitching at his sides.
The moment her fingers brushed against his trousers, he let out a vicious snarl and kicked her hands away.
"Touch me again, and I will tear your hands from your wrists!"
Samantha trembled on the floor, sobbing hysterically as she looked up at him, her lower lip folding into a pout.
"Dorian, I’m sorry. You know how much I love you. I couldn’t bear the thought of another woman in your bed. I’ll apologize to her. I’ll beg for her forgiveness on my knees if that’s what you want! Just leave my family out of it. Please."
Dorian finally glanced at her, his gaze filled with nothing but pure disgust. There was a time when he might have softened under that innocent, pleading look. But that man was dead.
"I’ll let this slide," he said coldly. "But not because you begged."
He turned back to where Reynold was suspended, breathing heavily in a pool of his own blood. Without another word, he ripped both silver daggers out of the old man’s hands.
Reynold collapsed to his knees, cradling his violently shaking hands against his chest. Because of the silver, it would take hours before the stab wounds would heal.
Dorian slowly wiped the blades clean with his handkerchief, tossed the bloodied fabric onto Reynold’s desk, and slid the daggers back into his pockets.
"Your daughter has exactly until dusk to travel down to the North and deliver a formal apology to my guest," he commanded. "Failure to do so will result in my full wrath."
He turned his head, casting a look of utter contempt at Seth who was still sprawled, groaning on the floor.
"Furthermore, because of your son’s blatant disrespect, I expect the Bennington pack to pay triple their standard tribute in taxes, effective immediately. The North will cease all trading agreements with your merchants, and every income you once benefited from is officially revoked."
Reynold’s face turned completely pale. The Bennington pack had always received special incentives from the North for years. It was those incentives that kept his pack from falling completely into debt.
Now, with the incentives gone, and with their taxes tripled, his already dying pack would be ruined in months.
"Alpha, please, I beg of you," he pleaded, dragging himself forward on his elbows across the floor. "My pack will be ruined. Please, let this pass. Consider the fact that you and my daughter are to be wed!"
"I am only marrying your daughter to strengthen our borders against the soulless rogues," Dorian cut him down, his words slicing through the room like ice. "It is a political arrangement, Reynold, not an avenue for you to think I will let this disrespect slide."
He dragged his searing gaze back to Samantha who was still sobbing softly on her knees.
"Until dusk," he muttered and stormed out of the room.
Jake and Alec silently followed, leaving behind a heavy silence.
The moment the front doors slammed shut, Samantha scrambled to her father’s side, trying to lift him.
"Get the healer!" she screamed at the guards. "Now!"
Reynold swallowed his remaining pride, allowing her to help him up onto the sofa. But the moment he was seated, he violently snatched his arms away from her grasp and glared at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Do you see what your stupidity has caused?" he hissed, his voice shaking. "I would strike you right now if my hands weren’t ruined!"
Samantha recoiled, utterly terrified by the raw hatred in her father’s expression.
Seth finally struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall. Reynold instantly turned his fury on him.
"And you! You foolish, reckless child! Did you honestly believe you could challenge the Alpha King? A werewolf going up against a pure-blooded Lycan? What the hell were you thinking?"
"I couldn’t just stand there and watch you suffer, Father!" Seth retorted defensively. "Being the Alpha King doesn’t give him the right to treat us like garbage!"
"You made everything ten times worse!" Reynold bellowed. "Because of you, the entire pack will now suffer the consequences!"
The doors opened as the guards rushed back in with the pack healer, but Reynold snarled savagely at them.
"Get out! All of you, get out!"
Once the room was empty again, he fixed his furious eyes back on Samantha. "You better start packing your things. You are traveling to the North."
"You’ve got to be joking, Daddy!" Samantha snapped, her voice turning haughty again. "I only said I would apologize to ease Dorian’s wrath. You don’t expect me to actually apologize to that trash, do you?"
"Utter one more word of defiance, and I swear to the Moon Goddess I will disown you before the entire pack, Samantha," Reynold swore, his voice dead serious. "If you want your marriage to Alpha Dorian to happen, you will go down there and you will beg that girl for forgiveness!"
He turned his head away, his face twisting into a bitter scowl.
"As for the Alpha King, he has crossed a line today. I will not let this mistreatment go without consequences."
...
Dorian’s rage finally began to cool as the SUV crossed into the borders of his territory.
He leaned his head back against the leather seat and shut his eyes, his mind instantly conjuring Alyssa’s delicate features.
He couldn’t wait to see her, to feel her soft skin beneath his fingers, and watch her smile brighten up the room again.
"Alpha, don’t you think you went a bit too far with the punishments?" Jake asked cautiously from behind the wheel, watching the rearview mirror as he pulled into the mansion’s driveway.
Beside him in the passenger seat, Alec blinked rapidly, throwing a silent command through the link to tell the beta to shut his mouth.
Fortunately for Jake, Dorian was in too good of a mood to care. He ignored the question and stepped out of the car before Alec could hurry to open the door.
He strode into the mansion and hurried up the stairs, making a beeline for his bedroom.
But as he approached the door, he heard the faint sound of Nina’s voice, accompanied by Pandora trying to explain herself to Alyssa, while Anthony apologized for the chaos of that morning.
He gripped the knob and pushed the door open, pausing on the threshold as he took in the surprising sight before him.