Skinned

Valerie

Powerful.

Aggressive.

Ruling.

It was as if the harsh wind carried Killian’s rage, hitting hard against the werewolves as they fought the urge to bend and flee from their positions.

I watched in my own torture as I felt the havoc draw nearer, my fingers curling deep and digging hard into the ground as I battled with the searing pain inflicted by the silver whip.

“Killian,” I breathed out.

Everyone took on a frigid stance as two, vivid blue eyes had emerged from the darkness of the forest and pinned them all to the ground.

Killian’s posture was straight and unwavering. The fine build of his muscles were taut and emphasized as he took one threatening step to the other, and the very thing that rendered me in awe were his eyes; they were both completely blue and aglow, and I knew that the predator that had long been hiding beneath him had surged forward to greet us all.

How much of Killian was left within those feral blue eyes was a question I couldn’t answer, because at that moment, the wild ruled the entirety of him.

It was within a small moment that his eyes landed on me, and the weight of his gaze quickly shifted to express his internal agony at the beaten sight of me, before locking his jaw tight and landing his scorching glare back on Azeil.

My fingers itched to reach out to him as I sought the comfort of his skin, my body responding all too eagerly from the draw of his strength.

I glanced at the Alpha who stood stiffly behind me, his grey eyes finally acknowledging the true contender to his crown.

Azeil had been avoiding Killian’s challenge for a long time, he thought he could put a stop to the death of his title, but all that he could do was delay his inevitable loss.

Azeil didn’t deserve to rule, nor be followed by an entire pack.

Killian’s nature was screaming out his wrath, the potential within him no longer hidden beneath the influence of a drug.

There was no turning down Killian’s challenge anymore, now that everyone witnessed the extent of his threat, Azeil had no other choice but to defend his undeserved reign.

An Alpha against the beast made solely for slaughter; both willing to fight for a purpose they held dear.

“You should know who you’re waging your war with, mutt,” Azeil spat, his lips curling back to reveal his threat.

Killian all but remained silent, but the way his body was buzzing from his brimming rage was enough to let everyone know that he was out to tear a werewolf’s throat.

More specifically, Alpha Azeil’s.

No one could sway him, not even the Alpha of my pack, and that realization alone had Azeil growling out his hostility.

“I know exactly who I’m waging my war with,” Killian bit out, his voice deep and penetrating as he let his eyes greet the Alpha menacingly, “and I won’t be forgiving when I have your throat in my hand.”

Alpha Azeil snarled and rolled his shoulders back, claws out and ready to meet an enemy’s skin.

“Shift,” Azeil venomously told Killian, who merely regarded him with a cold gaze.

“No, we’ll fight like men,” he said, the tone of his voice calm but threatening, “I don’t need to rely on what’s beneath me, not when it’s against you.”

“Azeil,” Luna Celeste called out, her eyes already showing her apparent worry.

Was she scared that her mate was at risk of losing his title? Or was she afraid for his end?

Killian was the first to make his advance, his eyes set on his prey with his claws extended and ready to tear.

Only blood will contribute to Killian’s mercy.

As soon as Killian had neared his approach on the Alpha, Azeil swiftly landed a hard blow against the left side of Killian face, the force of it sending his head wrenching to the side.

I held my breath at Killian’s collected demeanor, his face void of any pain. Azeil didn’t stop there and gained more credence to his strength as his quick hand went and gone for Killian’s neck.

But Killian’s move was transpired within a blur, his speed easily catching up to the movement of Azeil’s hand before it could even land on his skin.

Killian’s grip on the Alpha’s skin was tight and unbreakable. His other hand came up to land a grip Azeil’s elbow, and I closed my eyes to avoid seeing what he had intended to do.

A harsh snap of bone was loud enough for all the werewolves to hear, the sickening sound of it quick and painful before it was soon followed by Azeil’s scream.

“Azeil!” Celeste cried out and tried to run to her mate, but was immediately held back by Heath’s hand latching onto her arm; her beauty ruined by her unrelenting tears as she witnessed the fall of her Alpha’s name in the hierarchy.

Azeil’s arm had been bent into an awkward angle, and the agony he bore was clearly shown from the way his eyes were shut tight as he took his breath through gritted teeth.

Before Azeil’s knees could meet the ground beneath him, Killian’s claws were quick to meet his neck, nails digging hard and deep into his skin as Killian lifted him off the ground with ease.

Blood had started to ooze out from Azeil’s neck, and I finally saw the sudden shift of Killian’s demeanor.

"Bend,” Killian said, his voice deepening from the stronger presence of his wild stuck close beneath his skin, and his lips curled back to reveal the sharpness of his threat as he drove the King to submission.

“Fuck you,” Azeil bit out.

A deep rumbling growl escaped Killian’s throat, and he narrowed his eyes at the fool that defied him.

“Fine, let them see you bleed,” Killian said.

“Stop! Stop him, please!” Celeste sobbed, her hands reaching out to her mate as Heath kept the same tight grip on her arm.

Killian teeth had landed on Azeil’s neck, hard and unforgiving. He pulled back with a frenzied look on his face and used the force of his grip on Azeil to slam him down onto the ground.

Bruised.

Shamed.

Defeated.

Azeil remained choking on his loss as the new Alpha looked down at him. It had been so easy for Killian to put Azeil down, he did it without a spill of his own blood and a cut to his skin.

He was seamless with his strength and quick without any struggle to his movements, he had defeated an Alpha that was born and raised with the lesson of teeth and claw.

Killian’s posture had become more dominant, his influence much stronger than before as he basked in his newly acquired title; the reign that he had fairly fought for.

Killian clenched his jaw and looked at the werewolves that surrounded him.

“If this pack is plagued by the greed of this Alpha,” Killian flashed his teeth, sending all the witnesses to have their shoulders coil in submission, “then I’ll be the cure of it!”

“I won’t kill you,” Killian snarled, his hand pressing harshly against Azeil’s neck, “I want every wolf of this pack to watch you with all the shame that you have to bear, let them judge you the way they did to her.”

Celeste let out a loud cry and tried to get rid of Heath’s confining grip.

Wrath was still present in Killian as he remained standing in front of the pack, his lips parted as he took in shallow breaths, but the crease of his eyebrows had disappeared when his gaze landed on me.

Hauntingly beautiful.

The mark of his crimson onslought decorated his lips, his eyes vivid blue as he made his quick approach to me.

Killian had freed me from confines of the silver the bounded my wrists together before carefully setting me up against him while being careful not to land a touch on my mangled back.

I sent him a weak smile as his eyes harbored his vulnerability, and slowly, his left eye had began to return to its hazel color. Reaching out for his face, I gently placed my thumb against his lips to wipe away the blood.

“I’m so sorry,” Killian weakly said, placing his chin at the top of my head as his nose came down to settle on hair before he took in a slow breath. He was trembling, his hold on me almost soft as if he was afraid that he was going to cause me more pain.

“Killian,” a voice called out from behind, and Killian snarled as he turned his head over his shoulder to acknowledge Heath.

“Listen to me, we have to take Valerie to the healer,” Heath told him cautiously, “she’s bleeding to much, she’ll die if we let her stay here for too long.”

“I can help, let me,” Emma joined in, and Killian’s harsh glare was quick to regard her frigid figure.

“It’s okay, Killian,” I said, my voice held within a whisper as I failed to find the strength to my voice.

“Please, I just,” she cried, “I just want to help Valerie. I-it’s the least I can do.”

Killian remained silent, but as soon as she had tried to take a step forward, he snarled.

“Don’t come any closer,” Killian bit out, forcing Emma to flinch and have her shoulder curl forward.

“We need to get her out of here. We don’t have much time, please,” Heath told Killian, his eyes flickering from me to him.

My eyes were beginning to betray me, and my breathing was starting to become slow.

Killian lifted me from the ground and began to carry me, the voices coming from Heath almost sounding like an echo to my ears while the clarity of my vision began to decrease.

The crowd of werewolves parted to give way to their Alpha, and I could just see how they had regarded him with a bow to their heads and their hands obediently clasped in front of them.

Without holding judgment to their eyes, nor a look that depicted their rejection, they shifted their faith to Killian who bore the qualities much greater than an Alpha.

A beast harboring greater capacity was the most deserving to rule.

And Killian was the one who won their faith.

“Alpha Killian,” I laughed weakly, before my eyes finally gave out and had me drifting off to a deep slumber.