Crowned by the enemy Alpha

Let their be war

CHAPTER 10

~KAELAN~•

The walk to the front gates feels like it takes both too long and not long enough. My blood is already boiling before I even see them, Damon’s guards, standing on my territory, wearing like they have any right to be here.

Finn keeps pace beside me, his expression carefully neutral, but I can feel his concern radiating off him in waves.

“Alpha,” he says quietly as we cross the courtyard. “Whatever they’re here for, we should handle this diplomatically. Starting a conflict with Moon Strike Pack right now….”

“Diplomatically?” I don’t slow my stride. “They’re on my land without permission, delivering messages from that bastard. There’s nothing diplomatic about this situation.”

“Kaelan….”

“If I had my way, I’d kill them before they even opened their mouths.”

Finn stops walking. “Alpha, please. Think about what you’re saying.”

I pause, turning to look at my Beta. My best friend. The one person who’s never afraid to tell me when I’m about to do something stupid.

“I am thinking,” I say coldly. “I’m thinking about Damon’s audacity. I’m thinking about what message could possibly be worth sending guards into enemy territory. And I’m thinking about Lyria’s face when we mentioned his name.”

“Which is exactly why you need to stay calm,” Finn insists. “Whatever this is about, losing your temper won’t help.”

He’s right. I hate that he’s right, but he is.

I take a breath, forcing the rage down to a simmer instead of a boil. “Fine. Let’s hear what they have to say.”

The guards are waiting at the main gates, flanked by my own warriors. There are three of them, two large males who look like standard pack enforcers, and one older wolf with a messenger’s satchel. That one steps forward when he sees me approaching.

“Alpha Kaelan Draven,” he says, bowing his head slightly. Not enough to show true respect, but enough to follow basic protocol. “I come bearing a message from Alpha Damon of Moon Strike Pack.”

“Then deliver it,” I say flatly. “And make it quick.”

The messenger reaches into his satchel and pulls out a sealed letter. My warriors tense, but it’s just parchment—no threat there. He holds it out to me.

I don’t take it.

“Read it aloud,” I command. “Whatever Damon has to say, he can say it in front of witnesses.”

The messenger hesitates, glancing at his companions. Then he breaks the seal and unfolds the letter.

“To Alpha Kaelan Draven of Draven Crest Pack,” he begins, his voice carrying across the courtyard. “It has come to my attention that you are currently harboring a wolf who belongs to Moon Strike Pack. Lyria Ashford was promised to me in mate bond before circumstances forced a… temporary separation.”

My hands curl into fists.

“As her rightful Alpha and intended mate,” the messenger continues, “I am formally requesting her immediate return to Moon Strike territory. This is not a negotiation. Lyria belongs to my pack, and therefore to me. I expect compliance within three days, or I will consider your refusal an act of aggression and respond accordingly.”

The courtyard goes deadly silent.

The messenger folds the letter and extends it toward me again. “Alpha Damon awaits your response.”

For a long moment, I don’t move. Don’t speak. I’m too busy trying to contain the fury that’s threatening to explode out of me like a wildfire.

Lyria belongs to him? Her rightful Alpha?

The bastard rejected her. Humiliated her in front of his entire pack. Let her family sell her into s*****y. And now he thinks he can just… demand her back? Like she’s property he left behind and decided he wants again?

“Alpha?” Finn’s voice is cautious beside me.

I take the letter from the messenger’s hand, my movements carefully controlled. Then I look up at the three wolves who had the misfortune of being chosen for this task.

“Go back to your incompetent Alpha,” I say, my voice quiet but lethal, “and tell him this: If he ever tries to claim Lyria belongs to him again, I will personally use his flesh as a feast for my pack members.”

The messengers’ faces go pale.

“She is Luna of Draven Crest now. My wife. Mine. And if Damon Vex thinks he can threaten me on my own territory, he’s even more stupid than I remember.”

I turn to leave, the letter still clenched in my fist. The conversation is over as far as I’m concerned.

“Your wife?” One of the guards, one of the enforcers, not the messenger speaks up with a sneer in his voice. “That weak little thing? Everyone knows you only took her to spite Alpha Damon. She’s not a real Luna. She’s just…”

He doesn’t get to finish.

Finn moves like lightning, grabbing the guard by the throat and slamming him against the gate post. The impact is hard enough that I hear the wood c***k.

“You will show respect to our Luna,” Finn snarls, his usually calm demeanor completely shattered. “Or I will teach you what happens to wolves who insult her on our territory.”

The other two guards reach for their weapons, but my warriors are already surrounding them, weapons drawn. The message is clear: make one wrong move, and you won’t leave here alive.

I should stop this. Should pull Finn back and send these idiots home before this escalates further.

Instead, I smile.

Finn glances at me over his shoulder, confusion flickering across his face. He knows me well enough to know that smile means nothing good.

“Let him go, Finn,” I say calmly.

“Alpha?”

“Let him go.”

Finn releases the guard, who stumbles forward, gasping and clutching his throat. He looks at me with fear and hatred in equal measure.

Good.

I turn to my own guards, the warriors who’ve been standing watch. “Take them to the dungeons.”

“Alpha?” one of my warriors questions.

“You heard me. All three of them. Lock them in the dungeons. No food. No water. They’ll stay there until I decide what to do with them.”

“You can’t…” the messenger starts to protest.

“I can do whatever I want on my own territory,” I cut him off. “You came here to threaten me. To disrespect my Luna. To make demands as if you have any power here. Now you’ll learn what happens when you challenge an Alpha in his own home.”

“Alpha Damon will consider this an act of war!” one of the enforcers shouts as my guards move to restrain them.

“Then let there be war,” I say simply. “I’m not afraid of Damon Vex.”