Amaya scoffed at him and sneered, shaking her head, her eyes filled with disdain. “Pathetic, sending someone so weak to stop me.”

She then turned to the Lycan King.

“Slapping him was an act of mercy because I didn't feel any killing intent from his attack; he was merely trying to stop me. But from now on, it will be different. If you send one, I kill one. If you send two, I kill two. Even if you send a hundred, I will kill them all. Stop trying to show your supremacy before me—I don't care about you.”

Her words felt like a challenge, igniting a competitive fire in the Lycan King's eyes, and he stared at her, his nose flaring dangerously. He appeared before Amaya, blocking her way, his eyes red with an unknown emotion, surrounded by the aura of death and destruction.

She took a step back, feeling the tight air of danger oozing out of him—almost like the one from the dead dragon in the Nightshade Forest.

He looked really angry, making her go on the defensive, knowing he was not to be trifled with. She would at least incur broken bones before successfully escaping from the room; he was definitely the stronger one. But how far could she run when he had a weird ability to teleport?

The rest watched with bated breath. Ragnar's eyes had turned a blood-red, showing that he was on the verge of losing it. But at least, they had not turned golden or changed to vertical slits. There was still hope for her.

“Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?” Amaya asked, slowly raising her hand to fight back.

The Lycan King smirked and, without warning, made a slapping motion toward her. She quickly bent to avoid it.

But no matter how much she bent or turned, his fingers were like an inescapable hook coming for her.

She made a sweeping kick at his leg and used his body to rebound to a nearby wall. The Lycan King made a grabbing motion toward her, pulling her back to her initial spot like a magnet.

“Battle of Titans. Should we record this?” a young alpha whispered, his eyes glinting with excitement.

“Are you crazy? What if the Lycan King notices and turns to you? It's a gross disrespect trying to capture him in this state. I heard that whenever his eyes change color, it means his volatile personality is about to show. Consequently, it would be easier for him to get angry and act irrationally.”

“But this girl is truly strong. She's still standing despite the pressure oozing out from him. She's a very rare one. We, sitting far away, are sweating heavily, but she has not collapsed yet.”

Amaya looked at him, her eyes guarded and calm. The best thing would be running away, but doing that would ruin her reputation and make the rest see her as a pushover. She would rather they injure themselves like a pair of rabid dogs than leave with her tail between her legs.

This was it—the moment that would determine if she would be able to keep her spot and rebuild her pack or if she would prove herself unworthy.

Without warning, Ragnar reached for her again, and she quickly tried to fight back, punching his chest hard. While he remained unmoved like a mountain, her arm vibrated in pain.

She gritted her teeth to deliver another attack, but he pinned both her hands behind her, and her eyes went wide with shock, not believing that she was subdued just like that.

The Lycan King pulled her hair back and forcefully kissed her, making her grunt into his mouth. She struggled fiercely, trying to break free, but he wouldn't budge—biting her lips mercilessly while sucking her tongue. Tears stung her eyes, and her face turned red with shame as she felt herself getting wet. She kicked him, but he blocked it with his knee.

Her attempt to kick his groin seemed to annoy him, and he removed the palm holding her head in place, spanking her butt several times.

The other alphas were speechless, unable to believe that the Lycan King, who never cared about women, would publicly grab a defiant female alpha just to show his dominance, even kissing her with such possessiveness.

He always punished rapists ruthlessly—but wasn’t he doing the same thing? He always made laws without keeping them.

Amaya broke free from his lips and bit down on his ear, drawing blood. In retaliation, he grabbed her breast and squeezed it hard, making her gasp in horror.

The moment he let go, she tried to slap him, but he blocked her hand. His eyes held a challenge as he met her stare. Her eyes blazed, nose flaring, gritting her teeth as she cursed him several times in her mind. She had never felt so ashamed in her entire life. What kind of humiliation was this?

“Remember this, Amaya—before them, you might be an Alpha King. But before me, you're just a woman, nothing else. The next time you defy me, I will strip you naked.”

“You scoundrel! You bastard! How dare you humiliate me so? I will remember today's incident—I will pay back this humiliation tenfold. Just you wait.”

Ragnar's eyes darkened. Bastard was a word he hated the most, and she had just used it on him. He trapped her again, kissing her hard.

Amaya grabbed his throat, choking him with all her might, but he wouldn't budge. He squeezed her ass hard, spanking her mercilessly to punish her for strangling him.

After a while, she finally freed herself from his grasp, leaving a bloody claw mark that ran from his lower jaw down to his shoulder blade.

“I may not hit women, but there are plenty of ways to deal with them,” he whispered as he wiped the blood from his lips, enjoying the look of fury and hatred in her eyes.

Amaya ignored him, turning to leave. As an afterthought, she added,

“The next time we meet, you won't be so smug.”

“Little girl, the Alpha Ball next month is your responsibility. You better host it well. As for the official letter, you will receive it from them. If anything goes wrong at the ball, hmm…” The Lycan King's voice rang out after her.

Amaya gritted her teeth, trying her best not to blow up and fall into the trap. She forced her legs to continue moving forward, chanting the old saying in her mind:

He who leaves, lives to fight another day.

*****

Kane looked at Amaya’s face the moment she entered the car. Her face was red and filled with murderous intent; her aura was particularly suppressing, making it difficult for him to breathe. The car was downright uncomfortable.

“Alpha, did they make things difficult for you? Did the other alphas try to suppress you?”

“Do they have such ability? Those pathetic little wastes,” she snapped, getting into the back of her modified G-Wagon.

“Alpha, you don't need to worry about them. We are doing our best to make sure our army is the strongest in the world, and with the mines and our other businesses, it will only be a matter of time before the pack is rebuilt. We don't need other packs to support us or ally with us. If we need business partnerships, we can do them with humans like we have always done. You don't need to get worked up.”

Amaya had no time nor inclination to tell him the real reason for her fury, letting him think that the other packs threatened to cut her off.

They soon arrived at their pack after a two-hour drive. Her pack was close to the council, unlike most alphas who had to use jets each time they needed to attend the council meeting.

Kane stopped before the pack house, and she got down while he went to park the car properly.

A group of women were carrying baskets of food supplies distributed by Amaya's men as palliative to ease the food scarcity in the pack because they had met the pack in a deplorable state.

“She’s that detestable, ugly monster. She’s a wicked and ruthless murderer. No one wants to be her mate because she’s so ugly and evil. I hate her. She should get out of our pack.”

Amaya's feet stopped of their own accord the moment she heard that. Her ice-cold eyes filled with anger, and she turned to the speaker.

“Were you talking about me?”