04

Diana

Mate? I thought, realizing I was still half-plastered against his chest. Shoving him away, I took a couple of steps back, not believing that Alpha Valen of the Moonstone pack was my freaking mate!

No! There’s no way that’s possible. Something must be wrong somewhere because…I put a pause on my thoughts when I noticed he was staring at me, a small smirk on his lips.

“What are you doing here? Who invited you?” I demanded, folding my arms across my chest. I mean, there’s no way Lucien must have invited him since he was currently talking plans about attacking his pack.

“Is that a way to greet an old friend?” He responded, his eyes dancing with the same amusement.

Before I could respond, I felt someone come beside me, wrapping their arm loosely around my waist. “There’s my wife…” Lucien said with a hint of possessiveness in his voice as his eyes sized Valen up and down.

I tried to move out of his grasp but he only pulled me closer, suffocating me with his blasted scent.

“Lucien.”

“Valen,” Lucien responded to his greetings in the same voice that Valen used in acknowledging him. “Shall I introduce you to my stupid wife? She’s really stupid if you ask me.” He chuckled like he just made a funny joke.

To top it, he lowered his head towards mine, forcing his lips against mine.

All attempts to push him away proved fruitless but to my relief, Valen shoved him away from him. “The lady doesn’t want it.” He stated, far too calmly in a way that made him entirely scared because I could glimpse the anger in his blue eyes and the way his fist clenched and unclenched as if fighting the urge to punch something, preferably Lucien.

“And who the hell are you to make that decision? This is my f*****g wife and I can do whatever the hell I want with her!” Lucien growled, moving up to him in a threatening manner.

Valen didn’t back down or make any move, it was as if he didn’t perceive him as a threat which seemed to further make Lucien angry. I looked back and forth between the two men, wanting to be anywhere but there. Once again, my escape plan has been disrupted.

“A real man doesn’t call his wife stupid. It looks to me that you don’t deserve to breathe the same air as her, talk more of claiming her as yours.” Valen responded and I found myself staring at him, my heart fluttering at how handsome he looked.

Lucien must have noticed me staring at him because he forcefully pulled my face back to his, grabbing my jaw and squeezing it. “Look at me Diana, only me! If I find your eyes on him one more time, I will blind you.” His threat sent shivers of fear down my body, causing me to visibly flinch.

“Keep your filthy hands off her!” Valen growled, losing his cool and punching Lucien across the face. I moved away from the two when Lucien retaliated by punching him back.

“You should have minded your business! She’s mine!” Lucien growled again as the two broke into a violent fight, punching, and kicking at each other. I stood there watching with a horrified expression, having no idea what to do.

And since Valen seemed to be winning, a big part of me was hesitant to stop the fight but since Valen was here for a social gathering I doubt he brought many guards with him because if this fight were to escalate, it might turn into the war Lucien badly wanted with Valen dying on the spot. “Stop! Both of you!” I yelled.

Hearing my voice, Valen stopped hitting Lucien and stepped away from him but Lucien didn’t. Using the fact that he was distracted by me against him, Lucien hit him, knocking him to the ground, and then proceeded to hit him with a stick he picked up from the door.

He then marched towards me, grabbing me by the hair, he slammed his mouth on mine. Forcing me to take the brutal force of his kiss, I bite his lips, drawing out blood and as punishment, he pulled my hair tighter, making me cry out into his mouth.

“This is between you and I, Lucien, don’t hurt her.” Valen warned in a deadly voice, blood dripping out from the corner of his mouth. Using the back of his hand, he wiped it away. His eyes were glued to me the whole time, at that moment I fret my heart contracted with an emotion I couldn’t comprehend.

Lucien finally lifted his head, his fingers still wrapped tightly around my hair. “You want her right?” He taunted. “It kills you that I get to have her however I want right? To use her and toss her away? Guess what Valen, she’s my mindless toy. A toy I’m going to hand over to you, if you win the bet. Because I Alpha Lucien challenge you to a f*****g game of combat, no claws, no weapons or fangs, just your fists.” he declared, arrogantly, pushing me away.

Tears blurred my vision as I collided on the floor, I didn’t bother getting up. I was too humiliated to, so I just lay on the ground sobbing out my heart as my husband fought the man I still can’t believe is my soulmate in a hand combat with me being the winning trophy.

The commotion finally alerted the guests from inside the party and everyone rushed out to watch the fight between two powerful Alphas.

As people started placing their bets on who would win, a guard pulled me up on the floor, thrusting me into a chair.

I turned away from the scene, forcing back the emotions threatening to wreck my entire body. Finally gathering the courage, I looked at what now seemed to be a fighting ring. Lucien was injured already, he had blood dripping down his forehead.

The corner of his eyes was blistered and dripping down with blood as well, he also had scratches all over the side of his face while Valen on the other hand seemed less injured.

Each time someone the crowd was supporting threw a punch that knocked down the other, the crowd world cheered and raised their bet higher. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

How many more ways will Lucien think of humiliating me? What have I done to him to deserve such treatment? My hand crept up my face, recalling how he had hit me across the face.

If Lucien wins this fight, I might as well kill myself, rather than be with him…constantly being abused, humiliated, and manipulated.

I looked up, my eyes briefly locking with Valen, who winked at me. Lucien caught that and it drove him crazy, due to his anger, his punches got sloppy because while he was emotional, Valen's move was more calculative until he threw the last punch, basically knocking Lucien down.

The crowd went silent, waiting for Lucien to get up but he couldn’t, sixty seconds passed with no movement from Lucien.

This automatically declared Alpha Valen the winner and the people who had placed a bet on him being the winner cheered while the others stared silently, probably not believing that their Alpha had lost the fight.

Unconcerned by the chaos happening around him, Valen approached Lucien where he was lying down in defeat.

Bending down beside him, he said something loud enough for everyone watching to hear. “She wasn’t yours to begin with Lucien, I simply took back what was meant to always be mine. Thanks for giving me back my mate!”