Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 59: Trouble

Chapter 59: Trouble

In the Crimson pack, trouble was brewing.

Garrik, the ever-calculating Beta, had been seething with silent rage. Ava and Lucas had not only humiliated his daughter, Selene, and his niece, Sharon, but they had done it in front of an audience.

And what had Leon done? Nothing.

The so-called Alpha of the Crimson Pack had sat there like a scolded pup, too weak to defend his own family’s honor. Garrik should have seen this coming. Should have known that Leon was nothing but a coward in a title he didn’t deserve.

Well, if Leon wasn’t going to act, Garrik would.

He wasn’t about to let this slide. No, his family would not be shamed.

So he reached out to the only person who had the power to do something about it.

His brother.

And Alpha Dravon of the BloodHound Pack wasted no time.

Within days, he arrived in the Crimson Pack, his presence filling the air with unspoken authority. Selene practically lit up at the sight of her father.

If anyone could take down Raventhorn, it was him.

Leon stood in his office, shoulders tense as Alpha Dravon settled into the chair across from him, an air of quiet menace surrounding him.

"So," Dravon said, leaning back, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I heard my daughter and niece were humiliated by Raventhorn." He paused, then added with a sneer, "While you watched like a newborn puppy."

Leon’s jaw tightened, but he forced himself to remain calm. "That’s not exactly what happened," he replied, carefully choosing his words. "We were in the middle of negotiating a truce. The security support you promised never arrived..."

Dravon’s expression darkened. "So this is my fault now?"

Leon sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "If you’d just let me explain..."

Dravon cut him off with a scoff. "Explain what? That you’re weak? That you let a rival Alpha insult my daughter while you stood there like a fool?" He leaned forward, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I gave you my beautiful daughter, expecting you to treat her like the Luna she was meant to be. I gave you my brother as your Beta, thinking you would appreciate his experience. I even lent you some of my strongest warriors to strengthen your pack. And what do you do?" His voice rose with each word. "You let my family become the laughingstock of Raventhorn."

Leon clenched his fists. "Alpha Dravon..."

Dravon waved him off. "You will declare war on the Silver Pack," he said, tone casual, as if he were ordering a meal. "For reasons of disrespect. The High Council has already been informed."

Leon felt his last thread of patience snap.

"No!" His voice rang through the room. "You are not the Alpha of this pack. I am."

Leon’s gaze swept the room, realization dawning. Not one person was on his side.

Selene, his supposed mate, stood beside her father, silent.

Sharon, his own Beta’s daughter, didn’t even hide the scowl on her face.

Garrik? Well, its not hard to guess whose side he was on, seeing as he invited his brother there.

This wasn’t about Selene’s humiliation.

This was about power. His power.

He had let Garrik infiltrate his pack under the guise of support. Had welcomed Selene into his home, into his bed, thinking he was securing an alliance.

His chest heaved, rage bubbling beneath the surface. "Take your people and leave," he said, voice dangerously low.

Dravon’s smirk widened. "That’s not how this works, Leon." He motioned toward Garrik. "You either declare war on Raventhorn, or my brother challenges you for the position of Alpha."

Leon exhaled, his mind racing.

If he agreed to war, he’d be fighting a battle he didn’t believe in, a war that would only weaken his pack.

If he refused, he’d have to fight Garrik for the right to remain Alpha.

His options were shit either way. Garrik was older, stronger, more experienced.

He felt the weight of his mistakes settle onto his shoulders. He had spent so much time trying to be diplomatic, trying to protect his pack, that he had missed the knife being sharpened behind his back.

He looked at Selene, standing so confidently beside her father, and realized that marrying her had been the second biggest mistake of his life.

The first?

Rejecting Ava.

He had thrown away the one woman who had been truly loyal to him. The one who had never schemed or plotted. The one who had fought for him, even when he didn’t deserve it.

And now?

He had nothing.

Only betrayal.

Only war.

Leon straightened his spine. Fine. If it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they’d get.

Because this Alpha?

He wasn’t going down without a war.

*****

Ava was suffocating.

Not literally, of course. Doctor Mary had made sure she was in perfect physical health, at least as perfect as one could be after nearly dying. But mentally? Emotionally? She was drowning.

She had never been one to stay still. Never been the kind of woman to spend her days lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.

She was allowed to take little strolls. But the moment she so much as looked at the entrance gate, Doctor Mary’s voice would ring out behind her, all stern and disapproving.

"No farther than the compound, Ava."

Ava was slowly dying of boredom.

And Lucas was treating her like she was made of glass.

He had been tremendously sweet since she woke up. The kind of sweet that would have melted her heart if she weren’t so... furious.

Men were morons.

Did he think her grief had an off switch? She would never forget. Not the pain. Not the loss. And certainly not the person responsible. She didn’t like lying to Lucas but some situations needed diplomacy.

She had been waiting.

Waiting for the moment they would be alone.

Zari entered, balancing a tray of tea. She moved like she always did; calm, collected, a picture of unwavering servitude.

Ava’s gaze locked onto her immediately.

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