Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Broken Alliances

Scott had been pacing the length of Chloe room for the better part of an hour, and Chloe was fairly certain he was going to wear a hole clean through the expensive rug.

"The nerve of her," he snarled, spinning on his heel to march the other way. "You needed to hear how she spoke to me in front of everyone? ’You’re not my problem, Scott.’ As if she’s someone now. As if putting a crown on her head suddenly makes her better than me."

Chloe said nothing. She sat in bed, the blanket pulled over her naked chest, watching him stomp back and forth with a flat, unreadable expression.

They had just finished having sex, and his attention was barely there, and now he was back to Kira’s matter again.

"She thinks she’s untouchable because she’s got that overgrown mutt of a Lycan king standing behind her," Scott went. "Well, she’s not. I swear on the moon, Chloe, I’ll kill him. I’ll rip that smug king apart with my bare hands, and then we’ll see how special little Kira feels."

That was the ninth time he’d threatened to murder the Lycan King, which Chloe had been counting.

"You know," she said slowly, "for a man who claims not to care about her, you certainly do talk about her an awful lot."

Scott stopped pacing. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Scott, that it’s been two days." Chloe uncurled from the bed and rose to her feet. "Two days since the Wolf Council. And in two whole days, I don’t think you’ve gone more than ten minutes without saying her name. Kira this. Kira that. Kira looked at me like I was nothing. Kira thinks she’s so clever."

She folded her arms over her naked chest. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is, listening to you moon over another woman?"

Scott’s face twisted with disbelief. "Moon over her? Are you out of your mind? I despise her!"

"Do you, though?" Chloe arched a brow. "Because from where I’m sitting, hatred and heartbreak look remarkably similar."

"This is ridiculous." Scott threw his hands up. "You’re the one wearing my mark, Chloe. Right there on your neck for all the world to see. Why on earth would you think I still have feelings for Kira? Besides, I’m worried about your birthright."

Chloe let out a sharp laugh, that had no warmth in it.

"Oh, come off it, Scott." She pushed her hair back and tapped the faint scar on the side of her throat. "You and I both know this thing means nothing. It’s a fake. My father told you to fake a mate bond with me because it suited his little scheme, and we did it. That’s all this ever was."

Scott’s jaw tightened.

"So don’t stand there waving your precious mark at me like it’s some grand declaration of love," Chloe went on. "We’re not real mates. That mark on my neck is worth about as much as the paper my father’s documents are printed on. Which is to say, nothing at all."

For a moment Scott just stared at her, breathing hard. Then he seemed to catch himself, and he dragged a hand down his face and let out a long breath, trying for calm.

"Look," he said, softening his tone with visible effort. "This isn’t the time for us to be at each other’s throats, alright? We shouldn’t be fighting ourselves. We should be fighting her. Kira is the enemy here. She’s the one trying to snatch Moonfang out from under us. If we start turning on each other now, we’ve already lost."

It was a reasonable thing to say.

Chloe looked at him, standing there red-faced and desperate, still practically vibrating with fury over a woman who’d brushed him off in a car park.

He’s still in love with her.

But he had chosen power over whatever went on between them. And Chloe knew Scott. She knew, deep down, that for him this had never truly been about her, or even about Kira.

It had always been about the seat. The alpha seat. Scott wanted to rule Moonfang more than he wanted air, and he’d climb over anyone to get there.

If Scott still carried a flame for Kira, then all it would take was one promise, and he might flip on them without a second’s hesitation. He might help Kira claim the pack, all for the chance that she’d hand him the alpha title as thanks.

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