Page 219 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Oh look, two of my three regrets,” Pierce sneered, glaring at Benjamin and the other younger wolf. “Surely here to just disappoint me even more.”

Ben didn’t even acknowledge him or show if his words affected him. He just walked straight over to us—my dad, the king, Haven, and me—and held out the papers.

“I found these,” he told me, looking me straight in the eye. “In my dad’s safe. I was finally able to get it open, and this is all that was in there. I was going to just throw them away, but then I saw her name on one of them,” he said, nodding at Haven. “And I knew I needed to show them to you.”

“The blood contracts,” King Malachi sighed as he took them, shaking his head. “I will turn these over to the thirteen crones. Along with his witch, if we can find her,” he added.

“You still have a chance to prove yourself to me. To prove you are worthy of carrying my title and being my heir,” Pierce taunted Benjamin, completely unfazed by the evidence against him his son had just turned over to the king. “You can claim Selene’s daughter as yours. Take her as your mate, and you will forever have my approval,” he said.

Ben frowned and looked at Haven, shaking his head. “I have no intention of taking someone’s fated mate away. Selene’s daughter or otherwise. The mate bond is sacred. Selene pairs us for a reason.”

“Or you, Oliver,” Pierce continued, ignoring Ben. “You can claim her. Fight for her, and when you turn 21 in a few years, you can mark her.”

“You’re delusional,” Oliver said, shaking his head, disappointment and anger in his eyes.

“Fine,” Pierce growled, his eyes swirling with rage, his teeth bared. “Fine, I will do it myself then.”

He tossed Maddie to the ground without sparing her a glance and stalked forwards. She hesitated for a moment, watching him, waiting to see what would happen. Then she sprang to her feet and sprinted to us, running straight to our dad. A choked noise came out of her, and Dad grunted at the impact, but he wrapped her up and held her close.

The others behind us rushed forward and huddled around them, murmuring words of comfort to Maddie as she clutched onto our dad. But my focus stayed on Pierce as he pointed at me.

“I, Alpha Timothy Pierce, challenge you, Future Alpha Wesley Stone, for the right to claim Selene’s daughter.”

CHAPTER 75

WESLEY

There were varying reactions to Pierce’s preposterous challenge, but most of them included some degree of a snarl or a growl. The loudest was mine, of course, but Nolan’s, Sebastian’s, and Reid’s were all a near match of hostility and volume.

How dare he. How dare he challenge me for the woman who was mine. For the mate Selene had honored me with. She had chosen me for Haven, for her daughter, and I would not let anyone take her away from me. Not again. Not in this lifetime or the next.

I moved Haven behind my body, my hands still on her hips, her hands resting on the small of my back, and her head peeking over my shoulder. There was a flurry of noise and movement around us, but my cold focus was on the bag of scum in front of me.

“What the hell does that mean?” Haven asked.

“He wants me to fight him for you,” I explained, my voice low and tight.

She tensed, her hands clutching at my shirt. “Can he do that? Try to claim me that way?” she whispered.

I looked at her, and her blue eyes were wide and fearful. My body shifted, so I faced her, taking her face in my hands and tipping her head back to look her in the eyes.

I stood close to her, my stance strong and stable and my voice steady and sure as I answered her. “You’re my fated mate. He can’t challenge me for you. And I wouldn’t fight him, anyway. You’re already mine. And you’re not an object to be fought over. You are a person.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, pup,” Pierce sneered. “She is an unmarked female and therefore still claimable.”

I growled at him and pulled Haven to me, hugging her with everything I had, my lycan snapping his jaws at Pierce in my mind. Her body trembled, and her confusion and fear were palpable. It reminded me that although she had embraced this world and her role in it with grace and without hesitation, it was all still so new to her, still full of unknowns and uncertainty.

“That can’t possibly be true,” I said, looking over at King Malachi for confirmation.

I knew our laws. Or I thought I did. There was no way there was a law that allowed a fated mate to be claimed by a challenge.

He sighed and shook his head. “He’s right, unfortunately. A challenge must be accepted and followed through with, or you forfeit.”

“Even for a fated mate? A true mate?” I pressed, unconvinced. “Even from a male who is no longer the alpha of his pack? Or even a member of it?”

“The laws are old. Ancient. From before fated mates even existed. And they state that any unmarked female can be claimed in a challenge by any male.”

“That’s barbaric,” Sebastian declared, his nose wrinkling. The king raised an eyebrow at him. “What? I know we’re part wolf, but that doesn’t mean we have to act like animals. Someone should change that law.”

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