Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 87: Victory

Chapter 87: Victory

"Yes," Lucas replied smoothly, gesturing to the seat across from him. "I ordered us some tea. Sit."

Sarah hesitated. Just for a fraction of a second. Then, gracefully, she took the seat, crossing her legs so deliberately that Lucas almost wanted to laugh.

"Is everything okay Alpha?"

Lucas offered her a charming smile.

"You were right the other day," he said, watching as her spine straightened slightly. "You have always been by my side. It was wrong of me to choose another woman as my Luna."

He could see the victory forming in her eyes.

"I would like to make amends," he added smoothly, leaning forward just enough to let the words settle between them.

Sarah exhaled slowly, a satisfied, catlike smirk curling her lips.

"Finally," she purred. "You see things the way they should be."

Lucas tilted his head, amused by how easy she was to manipulate.

He reached for the teapot and poured her a cup, watching as she took the handle delicately, her fingers brushing his just slightly longer than necessary.

"If I didn’t know better," Sarah mused, "I’d say you’re trying to seduce me."

Lucas chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Would that be such a terrible thing?"

Sarah raised a brow. "No," she admitted, "but it would be unexpected. After all, you haven’t been the Alpha I once knew."

Lucas let out a low hum. "Perhaps I was foolish."

Sarah smiled triumphantly.

God, she really thought she was winning.

"I’d like us to start all over again," she said softly.

She has no idea what’s coming.

He was going to raise her to the highest peak, let her taste the very thing she had always craved; his love, his attention, his acceptance. He was going to let her believe she had won.

And then, he would drop her so hard.

And the final blow?

He wouldn’t be the one to do it.

That honor belonged to his true Luna.

When the time came, he would make sure that Ava was the one to deliver Sarah’s final, crushing defeat. And the woman he knew would make a damn show of it. this wasn’t going to be his victory, it was going to be hers and he was going to make sure she savoured it.

Lucas just had to be patient.

He lifted his teacup, took a slow sip, and smiled at Sarah over the rim.

"Then let’s start over," he murmured. "Properly, this time."

Sarah’s eyes gleamed.

She had no idea she was already falling.

*****

Dennis stood a few steps behind Ava, watching as she stared up the hill, her arms folded tightly over her chest. He could tell what was running through her mind.

She didn’t want to be here.

She didn’t belong here.

No one wanted to be in a place like this, not unless they had nowhere else to go.

Dennis had been there once. That same moment of realization, of standing on the outskirts of what was once home, knowing he would never be welcome back. The weight of exile had been crushing at first, but he had grown used to it.

Still, she wasn’t used to it.

Not yet. She was still too fresh, too raw, too connected to the world she had been torn from.

With a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, he walked up to her, stopping just close enough to invade her space but not enough to push her away.

"I see I won’t get my favorite spot to myself anymore."

Ava didn’t respond.

Not even a glance his way.

Oof. That was cold.

"Okay, don’t shoot me," he began, hands raised in mock surrender, "but all of us here have been on the receiving end of Lucas’s rage. It’s hard to see him in a different light."

She still didn’t look at him.

Still stiff. Still lost in thought.

Dennis sighed. Women were complicated. Why couldn’t life be simpler, like farming? You plant something, you water it, it grows. Women? You say one thing, and suddenly you’re the villain of the century.

"I cannot give up on him," Ava said suddenly. She turned to him now, eyes blazing, daring him to challenge her. "I can’t. And you shouldn’t have either. He is your brother."

Dennis sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn’t," he admitted. "Or maybe I did. I don’t know anymore. It’s been so long."

He hesitated before adding, "You said earlier he killed your father, and yet you’re still willing to believe in him?"

Ava’s shoulders slumped, frustration clear on her face.

This whole thing was ridiculous, wasn’t it? She should be furious. She should want him dead. And yet...

"Lucas may be a terrible person," she said. "He’s controlled by his wolf most of the time and has the shortest fuse in the history of fuses, but the problem has always been Dorian."

"Dorian keeps him that way," Ava continued. "There are people in that pack that I care about. They deserve the Alpha I know he can be. I don’t have to be with him to achieve that."

Dennis let that sit between them for a moment.

That was... admirable.

"So what you’re saying," he said slowly, "is you want to take on Dorian."

Ava exhaled. "I don’t know," she admitted. "I just... I feel like I have to do something."

"Aren’t you tired of the people here living like this?" she asked suddenly, turning back toward the village. "Without proper medical care? Without a proper meal? Without a proper life?"

Her words stung more than they should have.

Of course he was tired of it.

But wanting change and making change were two very different things.

He found himself smiling as he took a closer look at her, really seeing her for the first time.

She was... naive.

"I see why Dorian doesn’t like you," he muttered, shaking his head.

Ava blinked. "Why?"

"Because you do influence Lucas." Dennis smirked. "And that doesn’t exactly go well with him."

Ava tilted her head slightly, her lips pressing together as she considered that.

"How about we take things one step at a time?" Dennis suggested. "Let’s find out more about your abilities first."

@Annette_Farley

@booboo: You guys are angels