Regally Bitten (Blood Alliance Book 3)

by Lexi C. Foss

  If you die, Raelyn will be upset. Therefore, you will tolerate my assistance and strength just as you accepted my blood.

  Had my lips not been in the process of elongating into a snout, I would have cursed. Kylan wanted to help? Fine. Just don’t distract me.

  On the contrary, wolf. I intend to guide you. Walter thinks you’re weak in your animal form; it’s why he chose it. And now that he’s seen his son’s affection for you, he’s going to use both to his advantage by having Niko attack Edon while Walter tries to kill you. It’s a classic move, one that he’ll hope to use to distract his son and thereby weaken you both.

  Thanks for the tip, I thought at him and shook out my coat.

  That wasn’t my tip, Silas. My suggestion is you hold your own against Walter until Edon is done with Niko.

  Hold my own against a three-hundred-year-old alpha. Got it.

  Three hundred twenty-two, but that’s just semantics. Use my blood. I gave you more than enough. It’s powerful. Don’t waste it.

  If I knew how to use it, I would.

  Instinct, wolf. Follow your instincts.

  Jolene stepped into the field, his expression stoic as he took in the four wolves in the courtyard. “Give them a wide berth,” he advised, sending the crowd backward to create a giant ring—one that reminded me of a much larger version of the punishment circle.

  Edon sat beside me, his wolf form slightly bigger than mine. He seemed perfectly at ease, as though we hadn’t signed up to fight to the death.

  Niko and Walter paced in expectation, their sizes rivaling Edon’s.

  Leaving me as the smallest.

  The omega.

  Great.

  With that spirit, you’ll die in two minutes, Kylan chastised. And that will upset my consort. You do not want that to happen, Silas. Trust me.

  Threats don’t really work in this situation, I informed him.

  Did you really survive all this torment just to die at the hand of an alpha you loathe? he countered. Because that would be a damn shame.

  It’s not like I want to die.

  Yeah? How about you prove it, wolf? Think about what that sadistic ass is going to do to your precious Luna. Think about what he’s already done. Channel it and use my strength. Don’t make me regret lending it to you.

  His commentary overrode whatever Jolene was saying. Something about the parameters, which I summed up to be a fight to the death or until someone submitted.

  As I was standing in a ring with three alpha males, I highly doubted the latter would occur.

  Jolene listed a few ritual rules, stating no one from the audience could interfere—which caused Kylan to snort into my head—and reiterated the terms Edon agreed to with Walter.

  “Whoever wins claims Clemente Clan as his own. If the alpha incumbent of Ernest Clan falls, his successor takes charge. Are there any objections before we begin?”

  Silence.

  “Then I hereby declare this challenge valid. You may be—”

  Walter lunged, and I reacted by dodging to my left. Fuck! I didn’t realize we would immediately start. The damn alpha hadn’t even waited for Jolene to finish. And if the snarls I heard to my right were anything to go by, Niko hadn’t either.

  A whirl of white fur raced past me just before Walter charged again.

  I dodged him, eliciting a growl from him and several gasps from the crowd. Why it shocked them, I had no idea. Nor did I have time to consider it as my attacker leapt toward me.

  Another skip away, followed by a roll and a prance to the side, had him snarling furiously.

  Apparently, he wasn’t a fan of my playing hard to get.

  Too bad for him.

  Because I wasn’t about to stop.

  All I had going for me was speed and agility. If he caught me, I was fucked. My strength didn’t match his, and we both knew it. That was why he kept trying to catch me and why I kept just out of reach.

  Shock permeated the air, followed by the pungent stench of fear.

  I couldn’t look to find out what caused it, my gaze firmly on the raging alpha coming after my tail.

  His claws swiped a little too close for comfort as I danced just out of reach again.

  If Kylan was talking, I didn’t hear him, one hundred percent of my focus on the field and my opponent. I just needed to—

  Something smacked into my back, sending me flying over the earth and directly into Walter’s path. He slammed into me at full force, his claws ripping through my side in a sharp stab of agony.

  Fuck!

  Fight! a voice demanded. I didn’t know whom it belonged to and didn’t hang around to find out.

  I struck out at Walter with one of my paws, faster and harder than ever before, and grunted when I hit solid fur. Fighting in animal form was new to me, something I had no experience with, so I gave myself over to my wolf and let him drive my motions.

  Snap.

  Swipe.

  Duck.

  Roll.

  So fast.

  Repeat.

  Pain sliced up my back, nails digging into my flesh as I bit down on a mouthful of white fluff. And skin. Oh, yeah. I tasted blood. A lot of it. And I wanted more.

  Walter was bigger and stronger, but I had speed on my side and I used it to my advantage, returning his strikes with a vengeance. Yet it still wasn’t enough. He had me pinned, his teeth searching for purchase against my throat.

  I refused to yield, scrunching my shoulders and protecting my neck while squirming beneath him and seeking for a weakness. Anything to shove him off me, to—

  Cheers sailed into the night, and suddenly Walter was gone. Edon pinned him, their forms evenly matched, and then they began to spar over the ground in a whirl of bloody fur I couldn’t track.

  I heaved a breath, climbed to my paws, and shook out my coat. Niko’s headless form lay on the ground a few yards away, his wolf form having melted back into his human one upon death.

  Edon won.

  Not yet, a voice replied. And he’s wounded. So stop fucking around and go help him.

  I didn’t think; I acted, running after the blur of white and knocking into Walter’s side. He yelped as Edon caught his limb, his teeth shredding the leg to the bone and crushing it beneath his jaws.

  I bit Walter’s flank, forcing him to heel as Edon switched to the opposite thigh and bit down.

  Only, Walter didn’t want to stay still.

  The bastard bellowed from his throat and rolled with a force I didn’t expect, crushing me beneath him and leaving Edon somehow on top. Canines met my throat, pushing downward into my windpipe, crushing the vital—

  Edon ripped him off me with a growl and clamped down on Walter’s neck.

  The sounds that came from them both would haunt me for eternity.

  And yet, I couldn’t stop watching, fascinated by the sight of Walter bleeding. I wanted to lap it up in victory, to bathe in his torment, but the damn wolf slammed a paw on the ground, causing Edon to freeze.

  I didn’t understand at first.

  I thought something was wrong.

  And then it registered.

  Walter. Had. Fucking. Yielded.

  Oh, hell no! That bastard deserved his death and worse, not to be let off and allowed to live.

  But Edon stepped away, his lips curled to reveal his razor-sharp teeth as he watched Walter shift back into his human form with two very broken legs. He collapsed into the fetal position, like a fucking baby, and shivered.

  “It’s a fight to the death or until one of them yields,” Jolene announced, his voice grim. “The Clemente Clan alpha incumbent has yielded.”

  Insults littered the air from all sides.

  “At least Niko died with honor,” one said.

  “All for a sorry excuse for an alpha,” another added.

  “Pathetic.”

  “Weak.”

  “Kill him. He’s not worthy of life.”

  Edon returned to his human form, a variety of gashes and deep wounds marring his
athletic form, and stood. He narrowed his gaze at the male quivering on the ground. “Submit,” he growled. “Call me your alpha.”

  Walter trembled, his shoulders shaking, but his lips remained closed.

  Edon grabbed his nape and yanked him around to shout into his face. “Submit!”

  “Y-you’re the alpha,” he whispered.

  “Not good enough, old man.” Edon tossed him back onto the ground. “Not. Fucking. Good. Enough.” He kicked him in the side, causing Walter to cry out in pain. “I want to hear it from your fucking lips, you old piece of shit. I want every fucking confession, too. Or I’ll end you right now, right here.”

  Walter’s resulting grin was bloody and malicious. “You don’t have the balls to kill me, kid.”

  Edon’s eyebrows rose. “No?” He glanced at me and then to Luna. “We all know you didn’t kill Bianca, that my father somehow placed your scent all around the scene of the crime. How badly do you want to hear his admission?”

  “It’s not needed,” Jolene said, stepping onto the field with a sword. “Your father’s been tapping into the pack psyche. I’ve suspected it for years, and tonight confirmed it. He compelled his own wolves to ignite a war and then hid like a coward while they all fought for their lives.” He shook his head and glanced down at the pathetic male on the ground. “You’ve literally driven yourself mad, just like I once advised would happen if you abused the power of being alpha.”

  “Fuck you,” Walter spat, interrupting my mental reply. “You know nothing of true power. You’re just a weak old man too afraid to do what’s necessary to keep the pack alive.”

  “And it took me far too long to realize you felt that way, my son,” he replied, handing Edon the sword. “I warned you the pack psyche isn’t a place to meddle, but you’ve been playing in the minds of your wolves for too long.”

  Pack psyche, I thought, frowning. Luna mentioned that once, but I didn’t really understand it. Is it like a hive mind?

  Yes, Kylan replied. I’m not a wolf, but from what I understand, the pack psyche is a mental plane of existence that can only be reached by the alpha of a clan. It gives him the ability to check in with every member under his protection, to monitor them, and to reach out as needed. Similar to your sire link to Edon, only it requires a significant amount of focus to intrude, while your bond is far more natural.

  From Edon’s expression, he already understood all of this. He gave a humorless laugh and shook his head. “Fuck, I should have known. Of course you invaded the pack psyche. I never even considered that as a cause, but it makes so much sense. You turned everyone in this pack against me for your own gain—through brainwashing. And used them all—their scents—to frame others for crimes you committed.”

  Like the vampire, I translated, understanding. That’s why it smelled like pack. But how did he taint Bianca’s body with Luna’s scent?

  By altering the senses of those at the scene, Kylan replied. Best guess, anyway. I assume her body was removed immediately?

  I honestly didn’t know. But it was likely.

  Walter snorted. “Trust me, the brainwashing wasn’t required.” He spit out a mouthful of blood and glowered up at his son. “Everyone knows you’re a pathetic excuse for an alpha. They’ll never follow you.”

  “Not the ones you kept close, no,” Jolene interjected. “But you’re forgetting all the other wolves who reside within our boundaries. Wolves who you’ve kept out of the inner circle. Wolves you denied for far too long. Wolves you’ve left to starve.”

  “They weren’t worthy of my resources,” Walter replied. “And they seem to be doing fine on their own.”

  “Because I guided them,” Jolene growled. “I ensured they survived long enough for Edon’s new reign.”

  Edon twirled the sword, his gaze narrowing. “Which begins now.”

  Walter began to speak, but Edon didn’t give him a chance.

  The blade sliced through the air so fast I almost missed the beautiful connection to Walter’s stocky neck. Which would have been a shame because seeing him beheaded was one of the most magnificent sights of my existence.

  Almost as good as watching his head roll across the ground to the chorus of gasps.

  Luna stepped forward and spit on the old man’s corpse. “Bastard.”

  I would have smiled, but that would have looked more like a snarl in my current form.

  “I’d say that’s a fair judgment,” Jace announced conversationally. “I mean, the man did provoke a war with Silvano through his antics.”

  “Oh, they were working together,” Kylan replied. “Did I fail to mention that when I dropped his head on the ground? My bad.”

  “A royal and an alpha leading their people to unnecessary harm?” another mused, causing conversation to boom through the air and leaving me with an insane headache of noise.

  All to be ended by a screech of sound that came from an unknown source near the lodges.

  Such agony and pain, and holy Goddess…

  Lilith.

  35

  Edon

  Well, shit. This isn’t going to go over well.

  Lilith entered the circle of death with wide green eyes, her stiletto heels sinking into the earth and her pristine blonde hair frizzing from the heat. This was not her terrain and it showed.

  She took in the dead bodies of Niko and Walter, the sword in my hand, and then the field of death around us. Some of the vampires and lycans were beginning to stir, their supernatural genetics allowing them to heal—at least the ones who still had heads.

  Only silver to the heart or a beheading could keep a wolf down indefinitely.

  Which reminded me… What happened to the gun used against Silas? And who fired it?

  None of the other vampires had fought with silver, telling me they were trying to minimize the damage. A fact that further proved my father and Silvano had been working together.

  Except the attack went far beyond the means necessary to stage a coup.

  So what had Silvano wanted to gain, exactly? He couldn’t take over the territory if it still thrived with wolves, and as only a handful were truly dead, he stood no chance in owning Clemente Clan.

  “Why?” Lilith demanded, her eyes on Silvano’s head. “Who took his life?”

  “I did,” Kylan replied, his stance relaxed. “It was the only way to stop the fighting. Once I held his extinguished life in my hands, his vampires fell to my control. And I commanded them to cease their violent nonsense.”

  Lilith gaped at him. Then glanced around again, taking in their audience—wolves, vampires, royals, alphas, mates. She shook her head as if to clear it, her face far more pale than usual beneath the moon.

  There were over a hundred gathered in this field. Most of whom were naked and covered in blood.

  She studied Walter’s remains, then narrowed her gaze at me. “I assume you’re now in charge here?”

  “Unofficially,” I replied, straightening my spine. “We never had a chance to finish the rituals given the unexpected attack led by Silvano.”

  While I was technically the Clemente Alpha now, I hadn’t ascended properly, so I didn’t have access to the pack psyche yet. However, that wouldn’t stop me from handling any challenges thrown my way. I might not have the mental power, but I did possess the physical means to stand my ground.

  “Find us a meeting location, preferably out of the mud,” she said, her voice ringing with an authority that ruffled the fur of my inner wolf. “I want all royals and alphas in attendance to report at once for an emergency council meeting.”

  Of course she did.

  “Meanwhile, everyone else—clean yourselves up. We are not animals,” she seethed, turning on her heel before I could correct that statement. I had no idea where she thought she was going. Maybe back to her car, or just to the gravel road to clean off her ruined shoes.

  “We can use the main lodge,” I called after her and added some directions for her to follow.

  She didn’t acknowledge m
e but did turn the way I suggested. With a shake of my head, I turned to address my wolves.

  “Gather the dead,” I instructed. “We’ll mourn them properly tomorrow. Move anyone who is healing and not yet awake to a safe location.” I took in the still vampires, then focused on Kylan, as he’d claimed to be in charge of them now. “Silvano’s vampires are welcome to collect their dead however they desire. My wolves won’t interfere.” I added that last part with a sharp glance toward the lycans in question. “We are at peace.”

  “For now,” a vampire put in, his dark hair blending into the night. He approached Kylan, his casual attire of jeans and a T-shirt vastly different from all the royals in attendance. And were those tattoos peeking out beneath the hem, on his bicep? How strange. He almost appeared more wolfish than vampy.

  “I will not bow to you,” he announced flatly, his focus on Kylan.

  “An unwise decision, but one I can respect,” the royal replied. “For now.”

  “As Silvano’s oldest vampire on site, I will attend the council meeting in representation of his lands,” the male added, ignoring the lingering threat in Kylan’s tone. These two clearly had a history of some kind.

  “Of course. We look forward to your explanation of what happened here.” Kylan grinned. “I’m sure it’s quite a tale.” He pointedly turned his back on the ballsy vamp and addressed the crowd. “You heard Lilith—clean yourselves up. And if anyone draws a weapon or instigates another fight in our absence, I will dispense with you as I did Silvano.”

  A shudder seemed to traverse the crowd, Kylan’s reputation for cruelty working strongly in his favor. No one wanted to go against the supposedly mad royal.

  Not even me.

  And his blood ran through my progeny’s system.

  Fuck.

  I turned to Luna, my palm finding her nape as I tugged her in for a kiss that she reciprocated on a sigh. “Stay close to Silas. I don’t know how this is going to go.”

  She nodded and cupped my cheek. “We’ll be waiting for you.”

  “I know,” I whispered, running my tongue across her bottom lip. “You owe me a bite, little mate.” Something I would request right now—while we still had a full moon above our heads—if I couldn’t feel everyone’s eyes on me. Alas, duty called.