Page 26 of Alpha’s Hated Mate (Shifters of Clarion)
I lie on the ground, tasting the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. I’m not feeling the pain yet from Ellis’s blows yet but I know it’ll kick in at any moment. I need to end this quickly or I won’t last.
Ellis towers above me, bruised but standing, a smug grin splitting his face as he turns to face the gathered pack.
“Behold, I am your true Alpha,” Ellis bellows, arms spread wide. “Under my leadership, I will cleanse our proud pack and restore its rightful glory! Together, we will usher in a new era!”
The words echo in my mind, eerily familiar. Now where have I heard that before? My thoughts drift to Nadia, her twisted ambitions, her plan to “make the royal line pure again.” The same toxic ideology, just a different mouth. What is with everyone and ushering in new eras?
“Do you submit, Vaultmore?” Ellis’s boot presses against my ribs. When I don’t immediately answer, he grinds his heel deeper. “Answer me! Do you submit to me as your Alpha?”
My eyes find Saffron in the crowd. She sits rigid among the council members, chin held high despite the hatred surrounding her. Her face wears a mask of confidence, but I know her well enough to catch the fear she’s desperately trying to hide in her blue eyes.
I’m not done fighting. Not for my pack. Not for her. Not for us.
That’s when something clicks into place. I’ve been fighting Ellis all wrong. Brute force against brute force—a game I can’t win against someone with his size and experience. But I’m not just any wolf. I’m a Neutral. And like Saffron, I’m unique in ways I’m only beginning to understand.
I close my eyes, shutting out the jeers and shouts of the crowd. The world narrows, slows, quiets. I focus inward, sensing the patterns of energy flowing through me, around me. For the first time, I actively reach for that part of myself that makes me a Neutral—that allows me to balance the chaotic power of a Scarlet.
Ellis, frustrated by my silence, pulls his fist back to strike again. “Answer me!”
My eyes snap open. I move with a fluidity I’ve never known before, twisting at the last possible second. Ellis’s momentum carries him past me as I redirect his force with a simple pivot. He stumbles forward, nearly falling face-first into the dirt.
Gasps ripple through the crowd.
Ellis spins, his face contorted with rage. “Lucky dodge,” he snarls. “Won’t happen again.”
I rise to my feet, calm settling over me like a second skin. I can sense Ellis’s next move before he makes it—the subtle shift of weight, the tensing of muscles. When he lunges again, I’m already countering, using his own weight against him with minimal effort.
Again and again, Ellis attacks. Each time, I redirect, deflect, or evade—conserving my energy while he burns through his. I smell the change in his scent—sweat pouring from him, anger turning to frustration, then to fear.
“Fight me properly, coward!” he spits, his breathing ragged.
“I am fighting,” I say. “You’re just not paying attention.”
Ellis charges one final time, throwing everything into a desperate attack. I step into his space rather than away from it, surprising him. With precise movements, I sweep his legs and drive him to his knees, locking his arm behind him. Just enough pressure to control, not to break.
“Yield to me,” I command, my voice carrying across the suddenly silent field.
Ellis struggles against my hold. I press my knee into his chest, increasing the pressure just enough to make my point clear.
“Yield to me,” I repeat, quiet but firm.
The fight drains from him. His body goes limp beneath my grip.
“I submit to you, my Alpha,” he forces out through gritted teeth, the formal acknowledgment carrying to every ear present.
I release my hold and rise to my full height. Ellis remains kneeling, head bowed in defeat. The entire council chamber watches in stunned silence as I survey them, meeting each gaze directly.
“Hear me now!” My voice fills the space with authority. “I am your Alpha. Saffron Kamaria is my Luna. Anyone who cannot accept this is welcome to challenge me as Ellis did—or to leave.”
Silence hangs heavy for several heartbeats. Then, one by one, the elders and council members begin to clap, bowing their heads in acceptance. The reaction spreads like wildfire until the entire crowd erupts in cheers.
“Alpha! Alpha! Alpha!”
Apparently, they just needed a good fight to believe in me .
My eyes find Saffron again, and I move from the ring toward her. She watches me with a mixture of pride and lingering apprehension, the scent of roses growing stronger as I approach. I extend my hand to her, letting my expression soften in a way that’s reserved only for her.
Saffron places her hand in mine and she gives me one of her endearing smirks.
Councilmen Bennett and Thompson carry two ornate thrones to the center of the ring. As Saffron and I walk toward the chairs, pack members lower their heads in deference.
I guide Saffron to the smaller throne beside my own—the seat traditionally reserved for the Luna of the pack. As she takes her place—the first Scarlet wolf to occupy the position in Clarion’s history—the importance of the moment is not lost on either of us.
We sit together, united as Alpha and Luna, facing our pack as one.
As we stride through the expansive corridors of my family manor, I notice a shift in the faces around us. The earlier disdain has morphed into something foreign—respect aimed at a Scarlet wolf. They bow to both of us as we move past, and a swell of pride almost overshadows the sharp ache in my side.
I know every bow, every “Luna” or “my lady” spoken from the lips of my pack means something profound to her after years of being treated like a pariah. The victory over Ellis wasn’t just about securing my position; it was about changing everything for her.
We reach my chambers and I push open the heavy oak door, leading Saffron into my private sanctuary. The moment the door closes behind us, I let my shoulders slump. A sharp pain shoots through my ribs, and I stagger slightly.
“Aydan!” Saffron catches me before I can stumble further. “You’re bleeding.”
I glance down to see crimson seeping through my torn shirt where Ellis’s claws caught me. The adrenaline that carried me through the victory speech is fading fast, leaving behind a catalog of injuries I’d been ignoring.
“It’s nothing,” I lie, wincing as I try to straighten.
“That’s not nothing.” Saffron’s fingers hover over the bloodstain spreading across my side. She touches my forehead gently. “And this cut looks deep. I’ll take you to see the healer.” She tries to lead me back to the door.
“No, no,” I say. “I will but later. I just want to be alone with you for a while first.”
Saffron’s jaw sets in that determined way I’ve come to love. “Sit,” she commands, guiding me to the edge of my bed. “Where’s your first aid kit?”
“Bathroom cabinet,” I murmur, giving in to her care. Something about her taking control like this—unfazed by an Alpha showing weakness or the lofty grandeur of her secured position—makes me love her even more.
She returns with supplies and hovers over me, her delicate fingers working to clean the wound on my forehead first.
“I hate that you had to get hurt like this because of me,” she whispers, eyes fixed on her work.
I catch her hand and press my lips to it. “This is nothing. It’s all worth it.” Our eyes meet, and all the pain fades to background noise. “I was so afraid of losing you today. Not my position as Alpha, but the right to call you mine in front of my pack.”
Saffron’s fingers work with gentle precision as she wraps the bandage around my torso. Each brush of her skin against mine sends electricity coursing through my body, dulling the pain of my wounds.
“There,” she murmurs, securing the last of the bandage with medical tape. “That should hold until we get you to a proper healer.”
I catch her wrist as she pulls away, drawing her closer until she’s standing between my legs at the edge of the bed. My thumb traces the curve of her neck, finding the mark I left—the symbol that binds us together against all odds.
“You know what this means?” I run my finger over the raised skin of my bite. “No one can ever take you from me now. Not my pack, not your uncle the king, not anyone.”
Her breath catches. “And no one can take you from me.”
The possessiveness in her voice stirs my wolf, making him pace restlessly beneath my skin. Saffron seems to sense it, her pupils dilating as she leans into my touch.
“I should let you rest,” she says unconvincingly, even as her fingers drift down my chest to trace the defined muscles of my abdomen, careful to avoid the bandaged areas.
“I don’t want rest.” I pull her closer, wincing slightly at the movement but not caring enough to stop. “I want my Luna.”
Her scent shifts, that intoxicating rose aroma deepening with desire. I stand slowly, ignoring the protest of my injuries, and begin to undress her. First her blouse, slipping each button free with deliberate patience. Then her skirt, letting it pool at her feet until she stands before me in nothing but delicate black underwear. She’s a vision in front of me, her long red hair cascading over the front of her chest.