Stefan’s POV
Two Weeks Later
He was with her.
He kicked me out, and then he took her.
And I still haven’t figured a single goddamned way to get rid of him. Sure, Levi has been asking around, he has even gone on a few trips to meet some renowned healers, but there’s nothing on that front yet. And when I asked my mother whether there was a way to reverse everything, she said no. We are stuck together, from birth to death, that’s what she said.
Something brushes against the back of my hand and I look up to find Gwen staring at me, a crease between her brows. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.” When she doesn’t look convinced, I add, looking out into the crowded hall. “I hate parties.”
She lifts an eyebrow and follows my gaze. “Well, you can’t exactly get out of this one.”
I can’t, can I? Tens of Alphas and their mates travelled from far to pay allegiance. Every last one is here, and that means one thing–I won’t be going to any battles any time soon.
As long as they all remain in line, that is.
I have been looking forward to this day for years. But now that it’s here, I can’t even soak in the moment.
It’s funny.
While I was busy fighting my enemies out there, I was nurturing another one inside me.
I rub my thumb over the back of Gwen’s hand, then lift it to my lips. “I wish I could be alone with just you.”
She gives me a wink. “You’ll be, soon.”
Fuck, the last two weeks have been torture. Trying to keep him away from her, wanting her, and thinking about whether I should tell her about what’s going on with me.
Tell her that there’s someone else hiding inside me. Someone who wants her, and someone who fooled her into having sex with him thinking it was me. How do I even explain that? Sure, this body is mine, but…
“You’re frowning again,” she points out. “It’s not just about the party, is it?”
She deserves to know. In case something else happens and…
No, I won’t let anything else happen.
Regardless, she has the right to know.
Besides, she’s my mate. My soulmate. My life partner. My queen. I should have told her the truth about what I am a long time ago.
“Let’s talk when this is over,” I tell her.
She nods. “Okay.”
The night moves along, a lot of conversation going around the room–with almost everyone trying to kiss my ass with every word that comes out of their mouth.
A little after midnight, there’s a commotion at the entrance as a new group arrives. A tall guy, flanked by six males. An Alpha I’ve never met before.
Everybody’s attention turns to the new entourage as the Alpha walks forward, reaches into someone’s plate, picks out a piece of steak, and throws it into his mouth. He chews, then looks up and addresses me. “The food is great, too bad I didn’t get an invite.”
“Who is that?” I ask Levi, who’s suddenly by my side.
Before he can answer, Andreas beats him to it. He rises from his seat and approaches the man, sizing him up. “Theodore. You’re still alive?”
Theodore?
“Never seen him in my life,” Levi tells me.
The man, Theodore, rears back as he takes in Andreas. “Andy? Is that you?” he looks around. “What are you doing here? Last time I checked, you were a lone ranger.”
Someone who knew Andreas from when he was a lone wolf…
“Things change,” Andreas tells him.
“They sure do,” he says, his attention coming back to me. He walks around Andreas and approaches my seat. “Just look at Stefan. The last time I heard of him, he was a scrawny, blind werewolf who was disowned by his pack. Now, he’s the werewolf king. Time sure can change lots of things.”
“Who is this ass?” I hear Gwen asks from beside me through clenched teeth. Good, looks like I’m not the only one catching the asshole vibes suddenly enveloping the room.
“Theodore James,” Hanna’s voice comes, and I see she’s already by Gwen’s side. “Blackrise Pack. Last time I checked, he was the Alpha’s son. Looks like he has taken up the spot.”
I frown. “Blackrise? Didn’t they move out of the area?”
I know Blackrise. They were one of the most powerful packs around until they moved. I haven’t heard anything about them for the last ten years.
“They did,” Hanna confirms. “I have no idea what he’s doing here. And you’re right, Gwen. He’s an ass.”
I get to my feet and approach him, coming to a stop a few feet from him. “Well, next time, if you’re around, you’ll get one.”
He laughs, then shakes his head. “Don’t bother. I just stopped by to let everyone know that the real king is back. Blackrise has always been the most powerful pack in the south, and we are not about to bow to a blind king. I’ll take everything back.”
Looks like the war isn’t over yet.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need it.” Then he gets all up in my face. “Unlike you. How the fuck did useless trash like you manage to dominate over tens of Alphas?”
“Stick around long enough and you’ll find out.”
“Why don’t you show me right now, Stefan? Huh?” He leans closer, so close that I must be breathing the air he is exhaling. “Show me how much of an Alpha you really are.”
“Theodore, if I were you, I would turn back while I can still walk,” Andreas drawls from behind him.
He scoffs. “I’ve never lost to anyone, Andy. Let alone a blind werewolf.” He nods at me. “I’m challenging you, Stefan. If I beat you, you drop this charade you’ve got going on. Let the best werewolf take the throne.”
“Are you kidding me?” Hanna’s voice. “You suddenly crawl out of whatever hole you’ve been hiding in for a decade and suddenly decide everything belongs to you?”
“Why, sweetheart, are you afraid your Alpha can’t handle me?”
The now silent hall–which had gone silent as everybody got busy listening in–breaks into conversation. Then suddenly, there are loud calls for a challenge. Challenging the Alpha is something that happens when someone else thinks he deserves to be at the top. Theodore seems to be wanting my crown…
Might as well give him a shot.
“I accept your challenge. Outside.”
The hall breaks into cheering as the crowd starts moving towards the exit.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this easy,” Theodore says, taking a step back.
I give him a flat smile.
Let’s give him what he wants, no?
***
“Do you have to do this?” Gwen asks, looking back at the crowd that has formed in the backyard, waiting to spectate the fight. “You could have Levi throw him out. He can’t just walk in and do what he wants.”
I give her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. “He’s not doing what he wants. But I suppose he thinks so.” I unbutton my shirt then push it down my arms and put it in her arms. “This won’t take long.”
“You said that your wolf has been restless lately. What if–”
“Oh, trust me, he’s most attentive in situations like these. Don’t worry about me. Just enjoy the show.”
“I know you’re pretty good, I’ve heard stories of your prowess–”
“Only heard?” I cut in, raising an eyebrow.
Her cheeks colour. “But you don’t know this guy, or what he can do. Isn’t it weird that he walks in all of a sudden from nowhere and challenges you to fight? Who knows what he has planned–”
“Nothing as fun as what I have planned for him,” I tell her, giving her a peck on the lips this time. “I promise I won’t get hurt, so stop worrying.”
“If you do, I’ll smack you,” she threatens.
“How?”
“Huh?”
“How will you smack me? Will you bend me over your knee and spank me? Because if so, I don’t mind getting hurt a little.”
“Good idea,” she plays along, to my surprise. I figured she’d blush then hit me and call me out on my wayward thoughts. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe add a rope or two… I can find that somewhere in the house, right?”
“Are you telling me there’s a kinky side to you I’m yet to come across?” I ask as I undo my pants.
She gives me a supposedly harmless smile. “Stay alive and you’ll find out.”
“You can count on it,” I promise.
***
I have to give it to Theodore James, he’s a worthy opponent. But like every other werewolf I’ve faced off in battle in recent years, no match for me.
The fight ends with him backing away while trying to look like he didn’t lose a challenge in front of every southern Alpha. He doesn’t shift back so he doesn’t exactly give a concession speech, but I’m guessing he won’t be challenging me again any time soon.
The party picks up where we got interrupted, but this time, I don’t go back. I head upstairs, bringing Gwen with me. But before I go, I instruct Levi and Andreas to find out why Blackrise is back in the area.
“Why was he referring to you as blind?” she asks, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
I sit beside her and hold her left hand in mine. “That’s because I am. My wolf, at least.”
“How? But you can see.”
“Only in this form. I rely on my other senses when I shift.”
She shakes her head as if trying to clear it. “But I’ve seen you fight…hunt…run… You’re so good at all that, I never would have guessed.”
“That’s because I’ve spent the past five years training my beast. When I shifted for the first time at eighteen and found out my wolf was blind, my father disowned me and threw me into a dungeon. He kept me there for five years. When I–”
“What?” she interrupts, a look of horror on her face. “That’s horrible! How could a parent do such a thing?”
“In this world, Alphas can do anything to eliminate what they perceive as weakness. I’m lucky he left me alive.”
“What about your mother? Did she just stand by and watch?”
“My mother had placed all her hopes and dreams in me. She was the second Luna to my father after his first mate died. I had an older half-brother who was meant to take over as Alpha. My mother wanted me to fight him for the spot. Then I turned out blind. I became her biggest disappointment. She was ashamed of me, so she wasn’t in a hurry to plead my case.”
“Oh, God. I’m so sorry.” She moves closer and gives me a hug. “I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible that must have been.”
“I eventually escaped, so it’s all good,” I tell her when she pulls back. “And I have more than made up for the five years I lost.”
“You’re so strong, Stefan. I don’t think I would have made it through all that. Not many people would.”
I shake my head. “You would have. You are strong, Gwen. You made it through life after what happened with your mother, and when some big bad wolf came along and flipped your life upside down, you got through that too.”
She laughs. “Well, it did help that the big bad wolf wasn’t all that bad.”
“Yeah, about that…”
Her face falls at the tone of my voice. “What is it?”
“There has always been something abnormal about my wolf. Sometimes he takes over my body.”
“What do you mean?”
“We are supposed to shift at will, you know. And if you lose control of your wolf, you’ll still be conscious. But with mine, sometimes, he shifts and kicks me out. I usually wake up hours later, unaware of where I’ve been or what I’ve done.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
I nod. “It was only recently that my mother told me what’s really wrong with me. Apparently, I share my body with some ancient werewolf.”
Her frown deepens. “Wait, what?”
I nod. “That was my reaction. Weird, huh?”
“But… How…”
“She was afraid that she would miscarry me like with her earlier pregnancies. So, she did some rituals and made a deal with the spirit of a werewolf who lived five hundred years ago. If she lent him my body as a host, he would ensure I survived and lived.”
“So he is the one who kicks you out and takes over your body?”
I nod.
Gwen rises to her feet and paces. “Wow. That’s… A lot.” She stops pacing and faces me. “Has he ever done that since we met?”
“The day I bit you.”
“What?”
“The last thing I can remember from that night was coming into the basement and seeing my mother with the sword. Then I woke up next to you, and found I had bitten you.”
Her hand grasps the area where she has the mark of the bite. “Does that mean he attacked me?”
I shake my head and come to my feet too. “He was protecting you. That’s one thing I’ve gathered about his motives. He’s protective of you.”
Protective, obsessed, and a bunch of other things I’m not sure I want to tell her. He acts like she’s his mate and I’m the one in the way…
I shake my head.
“There’s something else. That night… The night of the bonding ceremony. When we went hunting. He was there.”
“What?”
“You told me that we had sex in the woods, but I don’t remember that.”
She stares at me as if processing what I just said. After several seconds, she wraps her arms around herself and shakes her head. “You’re kidding. Right?”
I shove a hand through my hair, wishing I was. “I’m sorry.”
“So you’re telling me I had sex with someone else thinking it was you?”
“Gwen, I…”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all this sooner? God, since it happened, I’ve been…” she presses a hand to her mouth, looking sick. “I need to use the bathroom,” she tells me and rushes towards the bathroom.
Yeah, I should have told her sooner.