Page 7 of Bound to Enemy (Wolf Billionaire #3)

CHAPTER 7

DAXTON

I wanted to sever his hands and feed them to my hounds. I had been thinking of violent ways to punish that stupid little lap dog that she had decided to bring along with her to my pack lands.

"Your face will freeze like that if you're not careful." Elliot came up alongside me as we walked to the meeting room.

We had arrived in Blood Born almost an hour ago and my guests had been taken to their rooms to freshen up. If I had it my way, I would have put Jason in one of the cells. He didn't deserve to be walking around so freely on my land.

"I don't care," I grumbled, already feeling my annoyance bubbling up again at the thought of that wolf. "Where is she?"

I didn't need to specify who she was.

"From what I heard, she went outside to look at the lake behind the estate." Elliot gave me a knowing look. "Do you want me to have someone fetch her?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I huffed, "she can do as she pleases. We have a meeting to attend to."

I was not surprised that she went to the lake first. I had come to realize that she had an affinity for water. She liked to be near it and listen to it.

My mind took me back to the journey back to the pack lands and the way that Jason and she had been so cozy and comfortable with each other. Why did he have to be so close to her like that?

We walked to the large double doors that led to my meeting room. It was a secret nook tucked away in the corner of the manor. This was where I held the majority of my war meetings with my top generals and warriors.

It was unfortunate that this was where I had been spending the majority of my time lately. The rogues had increased their attacks and we were slowly beginning to falter. No one wanted to admit it, but we were on the brink of collapse. The pack was nervous and so was I.

This union with Alessandra was our last-ditch effort. They may not have been the most upstanding of our kind, but they knew of the ancient ways. They understood the moonstone and all its capabilities.

I walked into the large dark brown room that had a long rectangular table in the center. Lights along the walls illuminated the space but only just enough to allow us to see. My generals and warriors stood from their seats and inclined their heads in greeting.

"Welcome back, Alpha," they said in unison.

I had three of my generals and two of my warrior leaders. In total, I was meant to have eight of them in here, but the war had robbed me of my men.

I walked to the head of the table and sat in my seat, with Elliot at my right side. I gave them the signal to sit so that our meeting could begin.

"Thank you all for your patience and commitment to this pack. I know you all have a lot of questions about the arrival of our new Luna, but I ask that we get through this meeting first and then discuss my newfound nuptials."

The whole union had been kept under lock and key for months. I only found out weeks in advance. It was a shock to the pack, to say the least, and I knew that I would need to meet with my elders in due time.

"Yes, Alpha," they answered me again.

I then turned to Elliot and gave him the go-ahead.

Elliot pointed at the large map that dominated the center of the large table. "Well, from what we understand, the rogues are?—"

Before he could finish, the door barged open and in walked Alessandra with her little shadow in tow. She had changed out of her initial all-black training attire and was now in a long white gown that flowed down to the floor. Her hair cascaded down her back in loose waves and she wore a small pendant necklace that seemed to be the sigil for her pack. It was something I had never seen before on her, or maybe it had always been there and she hid it under her long-sleeved shirts.

She looked different, softer, more approachable. It was a stark difference from the strong she-wolf who had jagged edges.

"Gentlemen," she looked around the table. "I see you have started the meeting without me."

"What are you doing here?" I quipped from the end of the table. "This is a closed meeting."

Jason pulled the seat for her at the very end of the table and then came to sit at her right side. "I was told that this was a war meeting and seeing as I am to be the next Luna, then I should be here."

I rolled my eyes at her statement. "And what gives you the right to attend one of my war meetings? You are not a general or a warrior."

Her eyes narrowed on me. "You're right, I am an alpha. And though I may be marrying you, it doesn't negate the fact that I have the mark of an alpha and up until a week ago I was to inherit my pack. Don't disrespect me by trying to belittle my title. I am as much an alpha as you are, Daxton. This is an alliance, not a dictatorship. Besides, we tend to know more of the rogues than you do."

The tension in the air increased as everyone around the table looked between her and me. My generals had varied expressions of respect and disdain. Many had been against the union and those who had been opposed were likely feeling vindicated in their initial assumptions. She was showing great disrespect. But I would be remiss if I didn't admit to the fact that I was impressed by her upfront nature. She was never scared to stand for herself with both feet firmly on the ground.

Elliot looked at me and cleared his throat. "I think it would be good to have her intel on such matters. She has faced several rogues and she is a competent warrior. She knows the ins and outs of war."

I turned my head slowly in my beta's direction and gave him a look. I could not believe that he was taking her side. But he was right. She was my Luna-to-be and I needed to begin to forge some type of relationship with her regardless of my internal feelings.

I stared my mate down, trying to read the emotions in her eyes. But like every other time, she had a veil over her eyes. She never gave anything away easily and that irked me. I didn't like not being able to figure people out.

"Please, do join us."

"I wasn't asking for permission," she quipped before she looked at her shadow. She smiled up at him tenderly as if he were a child.

He placed his hand on her shoulder before he took his seat on her right side.

Why did he always have to touch her so much? Why could he not keep his hands to himself? I would need to have a word with her later. It was unacceptable behavior for another man to be touching my mate so freely, especially in front of my generals like this.

Elliot stood from his chair and pointed to the eastern border forest where we had our last incident of rogue attacks. "With the help of Blood Moon, we will be able to bolster the shields up and hopefully keep the rogues out, but if we do that, then it means that we will not be able to leave. We will be caged in here for a few weeks. But that will give us some breathing room."

I tried to pay attention, but my eyes were hard set on the two wolves at the end of the table. They were staring at each other as if they were having some kind of mental conversation. I knew they didn't share a bond because that would mean they would be mates. But it still irked me just how well they knew each other.

"And how will we activate the shields? Even if we can get them up, we will need to bolster them to make sure that they hold in place." General Rade spoke up. "We need to know exactly when to raise the shields because we could raise them now, but it would be pointless if they aren't planning to attack now."

Elliot nodded and started explaining what the plan was, but my eyes remained trained on the two wolves.

Little dipshit leaned in her direction and whispered something in her ear as Elliot continued to speak. She turned her head to face him and smiled before she nodded and blushed.

Blushed? She just fucking blushed in his direction.

What the hell had he said to her?

"...and now we are almost certain that they will be coming before the winter solstice." Elliott's words came in one ear and exited out of the other. My entire focus was on my mate and the little shit that was next to her.

Alessandra whispered something in his ear and placed her hand on his bicep.

Why was her hand even on him anyway? There was no need for her to touch him at all. In fact, why were they sitting together? Was she not meant to be my Luna and at my side?

Woah, I had no idea where all this anger was stemming from. I sounded like a possessive husband or something.

Which I was most definitely not. They were being disrespectful and not paying attention in a war briefing even though they had barged in here like they were meant to be here.

I mean, she was, but Jason was most certainly not needed here. He carried no real rank in my pack. This meeting was only for my beta and my highest-ranked generals.

When they stared into each other's eyes, my wolf all but lurched forward and caused me to slam my hand on the table.

The table shook under my heavy hand, and all pairs of eyes looked to me. But my eyes were focused on a singular pair of blue-grey orbs.

"Umm..." Elliot looked over the table nervously, "alpha? Is everything okay?"

I wanted to simply swallow my pride and allow the meeting to continue, but I had seen enough. I was tired of being disrespected.

"Care to share your thoughts, Alessandra?" I stared her dead in the eyes. "Seeing as both you and your friend here are having a more intriguing conversation. Would you happen to know how to stop the possible rogue attacks that are likely to heighten within the next two weeks?"

We stared at each other with heated and hard gazes. She ground her teeth together in annoyance; it was so loud that I could hear it all the way across the large table.

"We were actually discussing how my pack was able to deduce this information weeks ago. So, all that you are revealing to us is already known information due to our intelligence." She straightened her back and folded her arms over her chest. "Our borders are in the south. We get hit with far more rogues than you, alpha. So we tend to know more about their movements and how they go about with their tactics. And while your attempt to interpret their movements is cute, you are all wrong."

"Wrong?" I scoffed. "You think we are wrong? Need I remind you that we have a stronger army and more advanced skills than your pack."

The rage brightened her eyes to an electric blue. "And yet you are still all so embarrassingly wrong. If you had just stopped to think for a moment and take your head out of your ass, you would know that they are trying to find the crater."

"Crater?" What the hell was she on about?

She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes as if to try and breathe through her annoyance. "How stupid are you people? But what am I to expect from a knucklehead alpha."

The silence in the room was so deafening that I could hear the steady heartbeats that surrounded me. All my generals looked between me and my betrothed.

No one, and I mean no one, in the history of my leadership had ever dared to speak to me that way. And those who even attempted to be that foolish quickly found my iron fist.

With lightning speed, I rose from my chair and stormed toward my mate. But before I could get anywhere near her, the little mutt rose from his seat and intercepted me.

"I think you may want to calm down a little, alpha," he had the nerve to press his palm against my chest. "I'm going to need you to take a few steps away from my alpha."

My nostrils flared, "Do not forget whose pack soil you stand on, mutt."

That word cut through him like a bitter knife. "Who are you calling mutt? I owe you nothing, Daxton, remember that. I am here to protect her, and right now you seem like a threat to her well-being. So I will not ask you again. Step. Away."

I took two steps closer, bringing me toe to toe with that little clown. He had been getting on my nerves from the moment I had set my sights on him.

"She's my mate, you're on my soil, so unless you want me to throw you into a cell, I would suggest that you move aside so I can have a word with my wife."

I had no idea where all of this anger had come from. Usually, I was calm and collected, especially in the eyes of my leadership. I never wanted to seem out of control or on edge. I always needed to have my wits about me. But seeing him hold her in ways that she would never allow me, did something to my brain chemistry. I still didn't want her; she was not the bride that I would have chosen for myself. But still, no one else could have her.

"Okay, enough," Alessandra came to stand between me and her little pet. She pressed her palms on both of our chests and shoved us apart. "You two are acting like dogs trying to piss on a damn fire hydrant. Stop."

I was about to say something, but then Jason had the nerve to place his hand on top of hers and thread his fingers through hers.

What. The. Fuck.

He was touching her again, and this time there was no defending that as simply being friendly. This man was teetering on the line very finely, and I would not stand for it.

Red, that's all I could see. Fucking red.

The rage roared into my bloodstream. All I could see, feel, and think of was the anger. I shoved Alessandra to the side and grabbed her friend by the neck. I slammed his back against the wall, causing the room to shake a tad due to the pressure I had inflicted on it.

Jason clawed at my hand, but my grip only tightened until his face started changing color.

Kill him. My wolf egged me to finish the job, but I had to keep my composure.

My mate still liked this one, and I couldn't afford to piss her off that much. We were barely on speaking terms as it was. The last thing she needed was me taking away one of her closest friends.

Jason's eyes cut to the floor, and they widened. I snapped my neck in the direction he was looking at and stilled.

On the floor was my mate with a big gashing wound on the side of her head, blood dripping down the side of her face.

My stomach dropped.

Elliot was at her side, trying to help her center herself as she blinked her eyes from the floor.

I had hurt her.