Maxim’s POV
The SUV’s engine cut off. Silence crashed down.
I sat there. Hands gripping the steering wheel. Knuckles white.
My territory. My land. My pack house rising up ahead like a fortress.
But it felt wrong. All of it felt wrong.
Because she wasn’t here.
I slamd my palm against the wheel. The horn blared. Harsh. Angry.
One of my n jumped. Looked over from where he stood guard at the entrance.
I didn’t care.
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together. The sound filled my skull.
The car door opened with more force than necessary. I stepped out. My boots hit gravel.
Grigori appeared at my side. Always there. Always watching.
"Alpha," he said carefully. "Perhaps you should—"
"Don’t." The word ca out sharp. "Don’t fucking tell what I should do."
He went quiet. Smart.
I started walking. Through the entrance. Past guards who straightened when they saw .
Past ogas who scurried out of my path.
Good. They should move. Should fear .
I was their alpha. Would be officially soon enough.
The main hall stretched out before . Empty this ti of night. Just shadows and dim lighting.
My footsteps echoed. Each one a hamr blow.
I needed sothing. Needed to break sothing. Hit sothing.
Needed—
Her.
I needed her.
My hands curled into fists. Rage burned through my chest like acid.
She was his now. Marked. Claid.
But she’d been mine first. Mine to touch. Mine to hurt. Mine to own.
The alpha king didn’t understand that. Didn’t know what I’d built with her over months of careful training.
Teaching her to submit. To fear. To need my approval even while she hated .
All that work. Gone.
"Fuck!" The word exploded from .
I grabbed a vase from a side table. Hurled it across the hall.
It shattered against the wall. Porcelain scattered across marble floors.
The sound was satisfying. But not enough.
Not nearly enough.
I kept walking. Toward my private quarters. Away from watching eyes.
A figure appeared in the hallway ahead. Female. Oga. One of the house servants.
Young. Pretty enough. Dark hair pulled back.
She saw . Started to bow. To move aside.
"You," I said. "Co here."
She froze. Uncertainty flickered across her face.
"Now."
She ca. Quickly. Head down.
Smart girl.
I grabbed her wrist. Pulled her with into my rooms.
The door slamd shut behind us.
She stood there. Trembling slightly. Eyes on the floor.
Good. She should be scared.
I moved closer. Let my presence fill the space between us.
"Take off your dress," I ordered.
Her hands went to the hem. Pulled it up and over her head without question.
Obedient. Trained.
Unlike Irina. Unlike my little rabbit who’d learned to fight back even when it was useless.
The servant stood in her undergarnts. Waiting.
I grabbed her. Spun her around. Pressed her face-first against the wall.
She gasped. Didn’t protest.
My hands found her hips. Rough. Demanding.
This would help. This would ease the rage burning through .
I pushed her underwear down. Kicked her feet apart.
My belt buckle clinked. Zipper lowered.
And then I was inside her. Hard. Fast.
She cried out. Pain or pleasure—I didn’t care which.
I set a brutal pace. Took what I wanted.
Her palms pressed flat against the wall. Supporting herself as I drove into her again and again.
But it wasn’t helping.
Because she wasn’t right. Wasn’t small enough. Fragile enough.
Wasn’t Irina.
I closed my eyes. Pictured her instead.
My Irina. Her pale hair. Her storm-blue eyes wide with fear.
Her body beneath mine. Fighting. Struggling.
Making those little sounds I loved.
"Irina," I groaned.
The servant beneath stiffened.
I didn’t care. Grabbed her hair. Pulled her head back.
"Irina," I said again. Louder this ti.
Thrust harder. Chasing the image in my head.
Her tears. Her trembling. The way she’d break apart when I pushed too far.
"Irina. Fuck. Irina."
My release hit like violence. I buried myself deep. Rode it out.
Then pulled away imdiately.
The servant stumbled. Caught herself against the wall.
I was already zipping up. Straightening my clothes.
She turned. Looked at with hurt confusion.
"Get out," I said.
She fled.
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
I stood there. Breathing hard.
It hadn’t helped. Hadn’t done anything except remind what I’d lost.
I crossed to the liquor cabinet. Poured whiskey. Drank it straight.
The burn did nothing.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.
"What?" I barked.
The door opened. One of my father’s n stood there.
"The forr alpha requests your presence," he said formally. "Imdiately."
My jaw clenched.
Of course. Of course he’d heard about what happened.
News traveled fast in pack politics.
"Fine." I set down my glass. Hard enough that liquid sloshed. "Tell him I’m coming."
---
Stepan—my father—sat behind his massive desk. Gray hair. Hard eyes that had seen decades of pack politics.
He looked at . Expression carefully neutral.
"Sit."
I sat. Spine straight. t his gaze without flinching.
Silence stretched between us.
He picked up a crystal tumbler. Took a slow sip. Set it down with precision.
"Tell ," he said finally. "What possessed you to assault the alpha king’s marked mate in a public establishnt?"
"Do you understand what you’ve done? What you’ve risked?"
"I understand—"
"You understand nothing!" He spun. Face flushed with anger. "Nicolas is not just any alpha. He’s the alpha king. He controls forty-two packs across this continent."
I stayed silent.
"If he decides we’ve insulted him—if he decides to make an example of us—we’re finished." Stepan’s hands gripped the window fra. "He could wipe Iron Thorn off the map. Absorb our territory. Scatter our pack."
"She’s mine," I said quietly. "She was mine for a year. I trained her. Shaped her. She belongs to ."
Stepan looked at . Sothing like disgust flickered across his features.
"You’re not listening," he said. "You’re so focused on your obsession with that girl that you can’t see the bigger picture."
He moved closer. Stopped in front of my chair.
"Iron Thorn’s survival depends on not making enemies of the alpha king. Do you understand that?"
"Yes."
"Then you’ll stay away from her. Completely." His tone left no room for argunt. "No contact. No ssages. Nothing."
My jaw clenched. "And if I don’t?"
"Then you’ll destroy us all." He leaned down. Got in my face. "Is that what you want? To be rembered as the alpha who brought down his entire pack for one oga?"
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"It ans," he said slowly, "that an alpha needs to think strategically. Needs to put the pack before personal desires."
He moved back to his desk. Sat down.
"And right now, I’m questioning whether you’re capable of that."
Rage built in my chest. Hot. Vicious.
He was threatening . Actually threatening to delay my ascension.
"You can’t do that," I said. Voice low. Dangerous.
"I can." His eyes were hard. "I’m still the recognized alpha until the ceremony. I can postpone it indefinitely if I believe you’re unfit."
My hands gripped the armrests hard enough to hurt.
"You wouldn’t."
"Try ."
We stared at each other.
All the resentnt I’d buried for years rose up like bile.
All the tis he’d second-guessed . Questioned my decisions. Treated like I was still a child.
"You’re a coward," I said quietly.
His expression didn’t change. "Excuse ?"
"You heard ." I stood. Leaned across the desk. "You’re so terrified of Nicolas that you’d rather sacrifice your own son than risk his anger."
"I’m trying to protect—"
"You’re protecting yourself." I cut him off. "You’re clinging to power because you know once I take over, things will change."
Stepan’s jaw clenched. "Sit down."
"No." I stayed standing. "You want to talk about leadership? About putting the pack first?"
I laughed. Short. Harsh.
"You’ve been holding onto the alpha position for years past when you should’ve stepped down. Everyone knows it."
"Maxim—"
"You’re weak now. Old. The pack needs young blood. Strong leadership."
I moved toward the door. Stopped. Looked back at him.
"So if you’re so afraid of the alpha king—if you think I’m too reckless to lead—then maybe you should step down now."
His face flushed. "You have no right—"
"I have every right." My voice dropped. Dangerous. "I’m your heir. Your only viable option."
I opened the door. Paused.
"I should have taken my position as the rightful alpha long ago."
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