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56. Court (Clay POV)
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Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 57. Minor Grievances (Lexi POV)
Luke walked into the room just as I was about to apply a second coat of mascara. His eyes locked onto mine through the mirror, and something in his gaze gave me pause. "Go with the waterproof mascara today," he advised softly."Why?" I tilted my head, intrigued but confused. "What should I expect?"His eyes searched mine before he spoke. "We're going to be in a room where people's personal problems, their grievances, and sins are laid bare for judgment. It gets emotionally charged."I paused, taking in his words. My mascara brush dangled from my fingertips. "So, we're going to be hearing people's personal issues and watching them get, what, sentenced?"He nodded. "In a manner of speaking, yes. It's part of what holds us together as a pack. We're a community, and like any community, there are rules. When you break them, you face consequences.""Consequences that are administered out in public?""Yes. Public accountability is key. But you may find some of the infractions minor, even tri
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 58. I Needed This (Luke POV)
The room was saturated with a solemnity that clawed at old wounds. The last time I was in a setting like this, my life had been dismantled, my identity as part of the pack revoked. I'd been ousted by my former pack, shunned by the very people who were supposed to be my family. The memory was a frigid gust, chilling my resolve, making the moment feel like an echo of a past I had tried to escape but never fully could. And then there was the treaty. My father had pushed me to sign it after kicking me out, and I'd laughed in his face, swearing that not even the devil himself could force my hand. Yet here I was, ink still fresh on the paper, having signed it at Clay's insistence. I was back in pack dynamics, and it gnawed at me, another tether to a past I was never sure I wanted to revisit. Lexi's presence next to me shifted subtly, and I felt her discomfort and surprise as her eyes fell on the holding cells. Oh, if she only knew the weight these walls and bars carried, the lives they had
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 59. My Pack (Lexi POV)
I sat in the dimly lit security office, disconnected fragments of what had just happened swirling through my mind. Courtrooms were supposed to be places of justice and order, but I had witnessed a raw exhibition of primal power led by Clay. My boyfriend? The term felt inadequate, almost juvenile, for the potent male figure he had become in that room.When he'd read that paper, his eyes scanning over the text, I had felt it—an almost imperceptible shift in the atmosphere. It was as if the air had thickened, charged with an energy so intense it was palpable. And then I saw the way the wolves in the room started to physically diminish, their shoulders hunching, eyes downcast. Some seemed to cower, shrinking into their own forms as if trying to escape the oppressive weight of Clay's energy. A select few others seemed intrigued, as if the shocking transformation somehow drew them in.My eyes had darted to Luke, expecting to see him similarly subdued, but he was different. I caught a flicke
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 60. Reflection (Luke POV)
Water streamed down my face, a relentless flood washing away the filth but leaving the emotional grime untouched. I stood motionless, letting the water crash over me as if it could cleanse the memories that resurfaced today. My fists clenched involuntarily, knuckles whitening under the spray.That courtroom, that atmosphere. It had all hurled me back to the day of my own ousting. I could feel it, as vivid as ever. The vicious, raw sensation that clawed its way up my spine the moment my fate was sealed. Every fiber of my being had screamed in resistance, an inarticulate howl of protest against the unbearable decree. It was like an uncontrolled blaze, this rage that swarmed my senses, so overwhelming that I'd lost myself completely in it for a moment.My father's voice, cold and remorseless, cut through the haze of my fury. "You are nothing but a worthless, pathetic piece of trash, Luke. Now get the fuck out of my sight." His words slammed into me, each syllable a serrated blade twisti
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 61. Arena (Clay POV)
The day of the pack meeting descended upon us faster than the winter storm bearing down on us as we left for the school. Before I knew it, we walked into the local werewolf high school arena where Luke and I had once been students. We played football together on this very field. There was a strange sense of déjà vu, like revisiting a dream but with the edges blurred by reality. Typically, these gatherings occurred in the auditorium, but today was different. Challenges were in the air, and this space would save the trouble of transitioning from talk to combat.I led Lexi toward the Luna section, my footsteps hesitant. For a moment, the idea of leaving her there crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. There wasn't another human Luna at the moment, and the werewolf Lunas would bombard her with questions the second Luke and I stepped away. I could feel their curiosity already, almost prickling my skin.In stark contrast to my guarded demeanor, Luke radiated a sense of effortless, a
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 62. Challenges (Luke POV)
Pulling on black pants and a white button-down, I surveyed my reflection in the full-length mirror against the bedroom wall. My fingers grazed over a sleek, dark tie resting on the counter, but I hesitated. I glanced in the mirror at the mark on my neck, exposed to anyone who bothered to look closely. It was tempting to button up the collar and hide the intimate brand that linked me to Clay and Lexi. The werewolf world didn't know about us, not in the way that mattered. Yet, even as I considered the tie, I pushed it aside.I could almost hear the whispers and feel the questioning glances, each one a stab at my newly complicated identity. But there was no real point in hiding it. Our kind wasn't easily fooled. Their senses would alert them to the oddity among us. Rumors spread like wildfire, especially about a prodigal Alpha-to-be who left for the human world and returned...different. My shirt stayed open, and the mark remained exposed. A symbolic, if futile, 'come and get me' to anyon
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 63. Brutal (Clay POV)
I took each step toward the pit deliberately, as if trying to slow down time itself. Every crunch of gravel beneath my boots was a metronome, counting the seconds to the inevitable conflict. The crowd that gathered sounded like a storm, a constant hum of voices rolling like thunder, punctuated by the occasional laughter or sharp words like a lightning flash.Yet, my thoughts were an intricate maze of strategy. Each calculated movement, every imaginable maneuver or lunge, unfurled in my mind like a well-choreographed dance. Then, Lexi's voice broke through, her question about her surname like a ripple in a still pond, disrupting my concentration.The Council had inquired what name Lexi should carry. I had impulsively decided to keep her name, questioning whether she'd even want to be a Carmichael. In that instant, hearing her voice filled with playful disappointment, a wave of regret washed over me. I'd made a choice for her without asking, underestimating her readiness to be part of
Rival Alphas: Dance of Desire 64. Golden (Luke POV)
My eyes locked onto the savage ballet unfurling below, a heart-wrenching dance of snarls, fur, and fangs. Clay and Trevor circled each other, predatory and feral, in a pit now an arena of ancestral rites and simmering rivalries.Every part of me was in a state of upheaval. My brother had been rash and arrogant, traits I recognized because they lived in me, too. But it was Clay in the pit, the person I had grown to trust and love, fighting my fight. It felt like I was watching a clash between two divergent parts of my own soul.I gripped the edge of the barrier that separated the spectators from the combatants, my knuckles turning white from the strain. The tension was so thick I felt like I could reach out and grab it. And then, like a knife through the fog, the impulse surged within me. I wished it were me down there. I wished I could carry the weight of this moment for Clay. I turned my eyes to Lexi. She stood there, solid and resilient next to me, in the eye of this storm. She st
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