Defying the Lycan King

Chapter 227: A Dangerous Woman

In Crystal Moon Pack, Alpha Braxton stood, arms crossed, with his head Gamma, Gavin, at the edge of the training ground, watching with a proud smile as Kira sparred with a circle of gammas, both men and women.

She ducked low under a young gamma’s swing, hooked her arm under his, and with a sharp twist of her hips, lifted him clean off his feet and flipped him onto his back. She dropped a knee onto his chest, pinning him to the dirt.

Applause broke out around the training ground. Kira released the young gamma, sprang back up, and threw both her hands in the air in triumph, like a prize boxer.

Gavin chuckled. "She’s far better than any of us expected. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d take to it this quickly."

Braxton smiled, pride warming his whole face. "And what did you expect, from my bloodline?" he said. "She’s the Nexus, Gavin. Her strength is unmatched. And Mother’s been doing a wonderful job, teaching her how to harness it, how to control it instead of letting it control her."

Gavin nodded in agreement, watching Kira help her sparring partner back to his feet. "One month. That’s all it’s been. And she’s already crushing trained gammas like that. Can you imagine what she’ll be like once she’s a seasoned warrior?"

"My sister is a genius," Braxton said fondly. "How do you think she managed to stay top of her class all those years, even with Rolf’s cruelty hanging over her head every single day? She survived him, and she still excelled. That takes something rare." His voice softened. "I’m so proud of her."

"We all are," Gavin said warmly. "At this rate, she might actually become the next Genevieve Wolfe."

"Or better," Braxton said.

"Speaking of the Wolfes." Gavin’s tone shifted, growing more careful. "Don’t you think we’re courting serious trouble with the King? Hiding the Queen here, right under his nose?"

Braxton turned to look at his gamma and shook his head. "First of all, she is no longer his Queen. He tore up their contract before she ever set foot here. The only legal thing keeping them together right now is a piece of paper and a pending divorce. Secondly, she owes him nothing. She isn’t even the daughter of the man he believed was his enemy. That whole foundation has crumbled."

He spread his hands. "And lastly, Kira is a grown woman who makes her own decisions. She’s happy here with us. And I don’t think she has any desire to ever go back to Dravengard."

But even as the last words left his mouth, Braxton knew they were not entirely true.

He knew his sister was still hurting, still thinking about the King, still missing him, no matter how fiercely she trained or how brightly she laughed.

He had heard her crying through the walls on too many nights to count. He had seen the way her eyes lit up, just for a moment, whenever the King’s name came up, or whenever there was news from Dravengard, before she caught herself and looked away.

Since Kira couldn’t keep travelling to Aethelwulf Centralis University, Braxton had hired a private tutor for her. A young man, and a strikingly handsome one.

And Braxton had not missed the way the tutor looked at his sister. For a brief moment, he had even quietly hoped something might bloom there, something gentle and good, something that might draw her away from the pain of Dravengard for good.

But he eventually realised he couldn’t force these things. He didn’t want to interfere in her love life. He had known how much others controlled and twisted her fate over the years.

All he truly wanted was for her to grow strong enough to face a world that had been so cruel to her. And in doing that, he hoped, more than anything, that he never came across as a controlling tyrant himself, or just another person bending her to his will.

He genuinely wanted what was best for her. Only that.

"I understand all of that," Gavin said calmly. "I do. But you know as well as I do that Dravengard has stronger defences than we have. More warriors. A bigger army by far. If the Umbras come hunting for her in earnest, Kira isn’t truly safe here in Crystal Moon. We both know it."

Before Braxton could reply, Kira walked up to them, breathing hard.

Braxton’s brows knitted as he took in how pale she suddenly looked. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Kira nodded and took the water bottle Gavin held out, gulping down a long swallow. "I’m fine," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, letting out a loud, dramatic breath. "Just overwhelmed by my own brilliance. I am a dangerous woman." She wiggled her eyebrows and puffed out her chest dramatically.

Gavin and Braxton both burst out laughing.

"You’re mad," Gavin said, grinning. "I like you."

Kira smiled at him. "Well, obviously. Isn’t that exactly why we’re BFFs?"

A maid approached and bowed. "Forgive me. Alpha Braxton, Lady Kira, Gamma Gavin. Breakfast is ready, and the Luna mother, Lady Claire, asks that you all come in at once."

Braxton waved her off gently. "Tell her we’ll be there in a minute."

Once the maid scuffled away, Gavin turned back to Kira and offered her his hand with a ridiculous, sweeping bow. Kira took it, playing along.

As they started back toward the packhouse, Gavin said, "Now hold on. Are we truly BFFs? Because you once told me that a certain Kai was your forever best friend. I distinctly remember it."

Kira playfully poked him hard in the ribs with her index finger. "Kai is my day one. My ride or die. I miss him so much it hurts." Her smile turned wistful for a beat, then she carried on. "Connor is the man after my own heart. And you... well, you comfortably come in a very respectable third place."

Gavin instantly slapped a hand over his heart, stumbling sideways as if he had just been physically shot. "Ouch! Third? I thought I treated you far better than Connor ever did!"

Kira looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head firmly. "You’re trying. I’ll give you that. But no one is ever going to replace Connor in my heart." She tilted her head. "Although, now that I think about it, what is my fascination with head Gammas? Why do I adore you so much?"

Gavin’s eyes went wide with mock astonishment. "You adore me? Oh, praise the heavens! I must immediately climb to the very top of the highest mountains and scream for pure joy!"

Kira scrunched her nose at him. "Don’t flatter yourself, big guy. I just like that you’re cute, that’s all."

Then she turned to her brother. "Speaking of besties. Have you tried Jessica’s line yet today?"

Braxton sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes toward the sky. "No, Your Royal Highness. But allow me to perform my sacred morning ritual, even though we both know full well it’ll come to nothing, as it always does."

"Just try," Kira said.

Braxton pulled out his phone as they climbed the outside steps to the packhouse. He dialled the number Kira had given him, the same one he’d dialled fruitlessly every morning, afternoon and night for a month.

And it rang.

He stopped, staring at the screen, then looked up at Kira in pure bewilderment as Gavin reached past to open the door for them.

"It’s ringing," Braxton said. "Kira. It’s actually ringing."

But the moment Kira stepped over the threshold and into the house, the rich aroma of breakfast hit her all at once, and her stomach turned violently. A wave of dizziness swept over her, the room tilting sideways.

"It’s ringing?" she asked faintly, the words slurring as she felt herself pitching to the side.

Gavin lunged and caught her in his arms just before she hit the ground.