Chapter 6 You're Asking For It

Dull cracks emanated from Serena's bones. She forced her wolf form onward. It drained her strength, exacting a brutal toll.

She never got the chance to unleash her full power. Her body suddenly slowed. Her vision went dark in waves.

Kieran, an Alpha with a powerfully built frame, broke through her defense with ease. His thick arms locked around her shoulders. Slammed her hard against the edge of the bed.

"Get off me!" Serena fought back with everything she had. Reached for her phone.

Rage churned in Kieran's eyes. He raised his hand. Flashed sharp wolf claws. Slashed them across Serena's cheek without mercy.

"Ah!"

The sound of tearing flesh spread through the room. Blood dripped steadily from her chin.

The searing pain knocked the last of the strength out of Serena. She collapsed onto the carpet. Forced out of her wolf form. Shifted back to human.

Kieran seized the moment. Ripped the phone from her hand. Hurled it against the wall.

A loud crack rang out. The phone shattered on impact. Glass scattered across the floor.

"Have you lost your mind, Lena?" Kieran looked down at her with cold indifference. A smug smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He lifted his foot. Ground the broken pieces of the phone into the floor.

"A weak little Omega, picking a fight with an Alpha?" He crouched down. Grabbed her chin roughly. Studied the three ugly gashes bleeding across her face. "Tsk. What a shame. Such a pretty face, all torn up."

Leanna stood nearby with her arms crossed. Watched the blood on the floor. Barely hiding the excitement in her eyes.

She moved to Kieran's side. Leaned against his shoulder. Voice soft and coy. "Kieran, you still went too easy on her. I hate that face of hers. She looks too much like me. It makes me sick just looking at her."

"Why not just ruin it completely? She's about to be thrown out of the pack anyway. It's not like she'll need that face to seduce anyone else."

Kieran raised an eyebrow. Genuinely considering it.

He didn't really want to destroy Lena's face—it was stunning, after all. But in his mind, Serena was nothing more than a stand-in. She could never come close to mattering as much as Leanna's happiness. He summoned his wolf claws again. Slowly raised his hand.

Just as he was about to strike, Serena let out a cold laugh.

Kieran stopped. He frowned at her. "What are you up to now?"

Serena raised her hand. Wiped the blood from her chin without a care. Her eyes steady and ice-cold.

"You'd better stop, Kieran."

"Smashing my phone won't do anything. I backed up that recording to the cloud a long time ago. Sent it to a friend for safekeeping."

Kieran's hand froze in midair.

"Listen carefully." Serena pointed to the shattered phone on the floor. "Pay for my phone and every last cent of my medical bills. All of it."

"Otherwise, you'll have a lawsuit on your hands by tomorrow morning. Attempted rape. That's not the kind of charge you ever shake off."

"You little—" Kieran shot to his feet. The smugness on his face twisting into fury. "You're lying! When did you get so calculating? You had a recording ready this whole time?"

"Go ahead and take that gamble." Serena gripped the edge of the bed and pulled herself to her feet. Half her face was covered in blood. But her spine was perfectly straight.

"But think it through. If the Alpha of the Sawyer Pack gets convicted, every pack in the Lupine Realm will be laughing at you."

"Your position won't hold. The Sawyer Pack will fall apart within a month."

Kieran's fists clenched tight. His chest heaved. His eyes were full of murder. He wanted nothing more than to snap her neck right then and there.

But he couldn't afford to take the risk. If that recording got out, the Tribunal of the Lupine Realm would show him no mercy.

He swallowed the urge to kill her. Decided to get rid of Serena for now. He'd find a way to make her pay later.

Kieran gritted his teeth. Pulled out his wallet. Yanked out a bank card. Threw it at Serena's feet.

"There's ten thousand dollars on that. More than enough to cover your cheap phone and your medical bills."

Leanna looked at the card on the floor. Frowned. "Kieran, you're being way too generous with her."

She clicked over in her heels. Pointed at Serena. "Half the pack would kill for an Alpha's attention, and you can't even show a little gratitude. And now you're trying to squeeze money out of him? You have no right to make demands."

"You want his attention so badly? Fine. It's yours." Serena met her gaze with cold contempt. "I hope one day he pins you down the same way. Humiliates you whenever he feels like it. Treats you like something he can throw away the moment he's done with you."

"You—" Leanna's face flushed red instantly.

She clutched Kieran's arm and burst into tears. "Kieran, did you hear what she just said to me? I've never been treated like this in my life!"

"If you don't stand up for me right now and make her pay for this, I don't know how I can go on!"

Seeing Leanna cry in his arms, Kieran's heart softened. And his anger surged right back.

"You're asking for it, Lena!"

Kieran roared and swung his palm hard toward Serena's bloodied cheek.

Serena didn't move. She bent down. Picked up the bank card from the floor.

"Go ahead." She met Kieran's eyes without flinching. "Is it worth making the entire Sawyer Pack a laughingstock across the Lupine Realm just to satisfy a woman and feel good for five seconds?"

Kieran's raised hand stopped cold.

He knew exactly what was at stake. If he didn't let Serena walk out of here today and that recording came out, he'd have nothing left. His reputation would be destroyed. Every pack in the Lupine Realm would cut the Sawyer Pack off completely.

The muscle at the corner of Kieran's eye twitched violently. He stared at the woman in front of him. Calm. Unfamiliar. Nothing like who she used to be.

For the first time, Serena made him uneasy.

He couldn't wrap his head around it. The quiet, obedient Lena who never raised her voice—how had she become a completely different person?