Authority [noun] - the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

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I could do nothing but watch as he struck Levi repeatedly with an unforgiving fist. There was a sickening crunch and blood rushed from his nose. He only stopped when Levi groaned in pain and his head lolled to the side. Kane let go of his collar and his shoulders collided into the snow with a thud.

His knuckles were bruised and bloodied as he stood up, flexing his fingers. My lungs forced me to stop holding my breath and I gasped for air as I clung to Tiana. Everyone was silent so they wouldn't catch his attention and feel his wrath next. The only people who weren't scared were the alphas and I didn't know how that was possible.

Alpha Eryx walked towards us and placed a hand on Kane's shoulder. His chest was heaving with his heavy breaths. Fury was engraved on Kane's features and I could tell he was stopping himself from taking it too far.

"You've taught him his lesson. Go clean yourself up before the dinner. The guest cabins are behind my house."

The tears pricked my eyes and the nausea gripped me by my throat. Levi was taught a lesson that alphas weren't to be challenged or disrespected.

Kane's breaths filled the silence and he shut his eyes as he calmed his breathing. Levi's blood stained his white shirt. He glanced between me and the offering in front of me and for a moment, I saw disappointment flash in his eyes. He nodded and patted Alpha Eryx's arm. The pack parted for him as he walked through the crowd and disappeared from view.

Alpha Eryx kneeled in front of Levi and looked at him with a frown. His face was swollen and bloody. Alpha slung his arm over his shoulder to haul him up. Levi was unconscious as Alpha Eryx addressed the pack. "We are all allies now. We gathered today to renew our commitment to keep the peace between our packs. I expect all of you to do your part too and show my fellow alphas the respect they deserve."

Without any further comment, he began walking with Levi, and his parents met him halfway distressed as they took him and held him up. They walked off with him and I turned in Tiana's arms to hug her tightly.

She wrapped her arms around me and I could feel her heart racing against my ear. I cried into her chest and she hugged me tighter.

The logical side of me knew what Levi had done was wrong, that he should've backed down when Kane told him to. But the other side of me, the side that only knew Kane to be the face of my nightmares hated that I was his and he wanted me—that he wasn't thinking about rejecting me too.

I felt my parents' hands on my back and stood up straight, wiping away my tears for the second time today. I wished to go back to last night and have my nightmare be a figment of my imagination.

"Come on, Rina. You should rest now," my father said softly, rubbing small circles on my back.

I nodded, drained from all the events of the day so far. I looked at Tiana. "Stay with me?"

She nodded and joined us as we walked back to my house. I didn't say anything even when I was finally in bed again. Tiana lay down beside me and we stared up at the ceiling.

"Are you going to go to the dinner?"

I sighed and tried to keep my eyes open. "I'll have to. I'm sure he'll come looking for me if I don't."

She was silent for a long moment. "What are you going to do, Rina?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Tiana. After all this time, I finally have a mate. I don't know what hurts more. The feeling I felt when I thought I didn't have one or what I feel now."

She reached for my hand and squeezed. I lifted our hands and turned them to look at what was written on her wrist.

Your beauty is the kind the poets spoke of.

My heart lurched in my chest and I smiled sadly. "This is beautiful. You have this to look forward to and I'm so happy that you do. I've never known what that's like or if he could or would feel like that about me. We're mates for a reason but am I willing to find out what that is?"

Tiana brushed her wrist with gentle fingertips and turned her head to look at me. "It seems like he's willing to." She frowned lightly. "I mean Levi challenged him for you and he beat him up."

My chest felt heavy. I didn't want to have to think about breaking Levi's heart too. "This is all so complicated, Tee." I looked back at her.

"Shutting things down with Levi is necessary even without Alpha Kane being your mate. He needs to meet his mate too."

I nodded. "Sometimes I wish I were his mate. Life would be so much easier."

Tiana chuckled. "Levi is pretty great but you're not for a reason. Maybe talk to Alpha Kane before you make a decision and make sure it's one you can live with."

I exhaled a laugh. "I have a feeling that's easier said than done."

She squeezed my hand in a silent act of support. I looked back at the ceiling and felt the tiredness grip me. I hadn't slept much the night before and it was catching up with me. I decided to finally let myself rest and hoped I would have enough energy to get me through the dinner.

—————

When I woke up a few hours later, Tiana was gently shaking my shoulder. She smiled and climbed over me.

"I'm going to go get ready. I'll see you at the hall?"

I nodded sleepily and sat up. As she left, I looked at the time and noticed I had thirty minutes to get ready. I got out of bed and looked down at my clothes. I could hardly go to the dinner in a sweater and joggers.

My outfit for the dinner had been picked out by my mother a week prior. We had known for quite some time that our pack would be hosting the annual treaty revision and it was a formal event. So I took the dress off its hanger and slipped it on.

It was a black satin off-the-shoulder evening dress with sleeves. It was a relief that it was floor-length because I wouldn't have wanted to have my bandage on show. I knew, however, heels were off the cards, one because we had gotten snow over the past week and two, I could barely walk comfortably barefoot. I settled on plain black boots.

I took a seat in front of my mirror and looked at my reflection. Dark brown hair and even darker eyes. A part of me wanted to put more effort in because he would be there and I wondered if this was what having a mate was like—wanting to have his attention.

I sighed and settled on a smoky eye and red lip. I didn't know what my decision would be tomorrow morning but for tonight, I wanted to imagine things were different even if it was just for once in my life.

My parents were waiting for me downstairs and I almost went with them when I felt a tugging in my chest. Despite not wanting to, I thought of him. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

My mum sighed. "The mate pull is a funny thing. As soon as you meet them, it only gets stronger. It's why rejections are done at the first meeting."

My dad frowned. "She should've rejected him."

My lips parted but my mum responded instantly.

"You were there this morning. If she rejected him after trying to kill him, he would've had no mercy on her."

My heart lurched in my chest. "Can we not talk about this please?" I asked desperately. I had experienced him killing me in my dreams—I didn't need to think about it happening in real life too.

They looked at me apologetically and nodded. We made our way out the door. Our house wasn't far from Alpha Eryx's seeing as we were the beta family but the hall was driving distance away. We lived in a large town.

The tugging in my chest came back stronger before I could get into the car and I sighed. "I'm going to go to the guest house first." I had an inkling the feeling would get worse if I didn't address it.

My dad was silent for a moment, then he conceded. "Mind-link us if you need us. Are you going to be okay to walk?"

I nodded. Resting had accelerated my healing and I was okay to walk the short distance. When I made it to the guest houses, I smelled his familiar scent and followed it to the first one. The light inside was on and before I could knock, he pulled the door open.

Our gazes met and the shiver coursed through my body. He was dressed formally in a black suit. It was the first time today that I acknowledged how handsome he was.

"You look breathtaking," he said after a drawn-out silence.

My face warmed. His first compliment. "Thank you. Can I come in?"

He stepped to the side and allowed me to pass him. I took a seat on the sofa next to the fireplace and he sat down opposite me. His hand was healing and the tears in the skin of his knuckles looked better. He addressed it first.

"He challenged me." He made a fist to look at his knuckles. "I'm not the bad guy if I do what needs to be done."

"Levi is my best friend," I exhaled a breath. "You hurt my best friend."

He clenched his jaw at my first comment. "I saw the way he looks at you...the way you look at him." He kept his eyes on mine. "Is he why you asked me to give you a choice?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Levi and I would never work. I asked you that because I don't know if I want this."

He tried to keep his expression blank but neither of us missed the way he flinched. The tugging in my chest felt like a wrench now.

"You don't want to be my mate," he stated plainly.

I looked away. "You scare me. What happened this morning scared me. How can we be mates after that?"

He pulled the sleeve of his suit jacket up and showed me his wrist. Rina. "This is how. I have no idea what is going on but our names were burned into each other's wrists. What makes you think we're going to be allowed to stay away from each other? That I'm going to be able to stay away from you?"

My eyes widened in shock and I exhaled a shaky breath. One more nightmare and I knew I would force myself to stay away from him. I couldn't let him know that he had haunted my dreams every night for the past three years.

"You're going to go back to your pack in the highlands and I'm going to stay here. That's what makes me think that."

He stared at me, unmoving. "You would deny yourself of a mate, deny your title as a luna?"

I nodded, unsure of myself. My chest tightened and I winced. This isn't natural.

He stood up and nodded curtly. It was as if he was putting a shield up around him and assuming his role as an alpha in front of me. "The conditions must be fulfilled so you can make your final choice tomorrow morning. We should get going to the dinner."

I stared at him now, uncomfortable with the silence that stretched between us. I stood up and he offered me his arm. He had had enough rejection for the night so I took it. I knew he felt the warm sensation that emanated up our arms the second we touched too. I silently allowed him to lead the way to his car.

When we reached the banquet hall, the chatter quietened. We were the last two to arrive and I tried to brush past Levi's absence. There was Kane's designated seat and an empty one next to it, which I knew had been done on purpose.

It was in our packs' best interest that we stayed together.

I kept hold of his arm and he glanced at me before walking with me to our seats. He pulled my chair out for me and gently pushed it in when I sat down. I glanced at my parents and forced a smile their way.

When he took his seat next to me, I looked at him and sighed.

I knew what my decision was going to be.