The Lycan Kingpin's Captive: A Baby For The Beast

Beta's Runaway Bride: 4 - Maxim

I move back from Xiomara and lean against the wall. The gravity of what I’ve just said seems to sink in

and she crosses her arms over her ample chest.

“So, in other words, I am your prisoner,” she says, jutting out her chin in defiance and I can’t help but

chuckle.

“Are you forgetting that your father gave you away? You’re more like a gift, but one I didn’t exactly ask

for,” I say and grit my teeth.

This seems to make her eyes narrow at me. “What is that supposed to mean? If you do not want me,

there’s always an option to return to sender,” she says, and I’m not sure if she’s actually being serious,

but I burst out laughing anyway.

“Oh, Bambi, do you think that’s possible in your position? You’re the daughter of an Alpha, an important

chess piece that your father needs to move so his pack can advance,” I say and walk towards her. “You

can be lucky you were given to me and not some warrior with an affinity for violence.”

She sucks in a breath but maintains her defensive position. “You just had me bent over the counter-”

“But did I hurt you? No, I merely subdued you without using violence. You’ll soon find out that with

me…” I say, tilting her chin up. “I can make you submit without using violence.”

Her eyes grow wide at the obvious double meaning behind my words, then she pushes me back hard -

or rather, she tries to.

“I will never submit to you,” she says rather weakly and I chuckle before grabbing her wrist gently.

“Hmm, I do love a challenge. But if you’re ever looking for a shoulder to rest your legs on, you know

where to find me. Make yourself at home while you’re at it,” I say and wink at her before walking out of

the kitchen.

This entire thing has gotten me wound up so fucking tight that I know I’m going to snap at the next

person who looks my way. I don’t want this woman invading my personal space, I don’t want her scent

in my home, or to know she’s just up the fucking hallway.

So I go to the one person I can take my anger out on - Nikolaos.

I sense him in his office when I walk into the mansion and make a beeline for him, however just as I’m

about to burst in, I hear the unmistakable sound of Mia moaning. Gods, these two - you’d swear they’re

teenagers with the way they’re constantly at it like rabbits.

“You guys gonna be much longer?” I ask, hearing Mia squealing and a grin slips onto my face. “There

are pack members who require the Alpha's council and you have a fucking bedroom for this.”

“Do you mind, asshole? I’m having my second breakfast here-”

“NIKO!” Mia cries out, obviously embarrassed and I can’t help but chuckle. A few minutes later, a very

flushed Luna walks out and doesn’t meet my eye as she scurries off to wherever.

I still feel guilty for how I tricked her back then and the things I said as well as the names I called her.

Even if it was to get the truth out of her, she didn’t deserve it. But I’m always the one to play the bad

guy in this game; I just don’t know where that ends anymore.

“You better have a good reason for keeping my mate from her orgasm,” he says when I walk inside the

office and I’m about to respond when that forbidden word rings in my head.

Mate?

“Wait, what the fuck did you just call her?” I ask with an incredulous scoff. “Mia is your mate? How?”

He leans back in his office chair with a grin on his face. “On the night of the Equinox, it seems like that

was the catch to meeting your mate all along,” he says with a shake of his head. “But enough about

that, you needed to see me?”

I would congratulate him if I didn’t feel so fucking jealous. As much as all shifters pretend they don’t

care about meeting their mates, we’re all liars. We all want to meet the one who the Goddess chose for

us; some are just luckier than others.

Then again, no one deserves this more than Niko, given what he’s been through. He’s like a brother to

me and deserves all the fucking happiness in the world.

“I do,” I say, deflecting. “Xiomara is at my place right now and she looks as pissed as a cat in water. I

swear, she might kill me in my fucking sleep.”

Niko laughs out loud. “That’s exactly why I chose her for you-”

“Oh, so you don’t just want me dead, you want me DEAD dead. I see how it is,” I grumble, crossing my

arms and scowling at his amused expression. “Seriously, Niko, I can’t deal with that fucking princess.

Send me in to fight rogues, just don’t give me a fucking bride.”

Niko shakes his head and leans forward, lacing his hands together on top of his desk. “So what do you

want me to do? We need to tether ourselves to these packs who turned their backs on us, and we can

only do that through an arranged marriage, Maxim.”

I hate when he speaks like this because I fucking KNOW the reason; it’s for the good of the pack, not

because he’s out to directly punish me.

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. “Can you get me someone

who won’t stab me in the neck the second she gets? Someone who will leave me be while I do my

thing?”

Niko seems taken aback by this. “You want a different bride?”

I nod. “I can’t deal with someone like Xiomara, you know how I prefer my space. She takes up most of

that with her bratty attitude and she hasn’t even been in my home a full twenty-four hours. If you want

me to do this, get me a timid bride - someone like Gianna.”

I want to punch the surprise off his face. “Sounds like your life isn’t the only thing she makes hard,

brother,” he says, chuckling and I hate him for it. “But okay; give me some time to contact her father

and arrange for her to be sent back, then I’ll get you someone else. But no changing your mind this

time, or I’ll be forced to marry YOU off to an Alpha with different tendencies.” He threatens me, but it

doesn’t meet his eyes.

“Thank you, that’s all I want-”

“But for now, you need to play the part, Maxim. I don’t know how her father will take this, if he will be

willing to take her back, or if there are other brides with your preference. So, try to make nice with her

for the time being; you don’t have to go all out, just be civil.”

“Yeah, tell her that,” I grumble and get to my feet. “I’ll go do my rounds with Levi - see you this

evening.”

Niko nods as if to dismiss me and I accept the dismissal with both hands. I can’t stand his questioning

gaze, how he looks at me as if he knows something I don’t. There’s no way Xiomara and I are

compatible; she won’t yield to me and I don’t have the patience to make her submit.

Even if she’s intoxicating as fuck. Gods, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I found her incredibly alluring; those

Bambi eyes draw me in, and her sinful curves make me wonder how soft they are. Would my fingers

sink right in? Would they leave a mark?

My traitorous cock isn’t exactly giving me a straight answer by hardening to fucking steel.

I grumble as I walk downstairs and see Levi, also known as Armata, waiting for me. He’s dressed in our

usual attire of black cargo pants, boots, and a t-shirt, but his usual placid scent and demeanor is

somehow gone.

He seems rattled.

“You okay, Lev?” I ask when I walk up to him and he gives me a terse nod.

“I am,” he lies, but that’s where I’m leaving it. We head out towards the armored SUV and I start it up.

I haven’t seen the rest of the Gammas since my return, and hopefully they’re all not worked up like Levi

here. The brides were an unwelcome addition to our peaceful lives, and I know they feel the exact

same way as me.

We don’t want this but know it would benefit our Alpha.

“Section 33 today?” I ask, and watch as Levi reaches for the tablet on the dash.

“Six unpaid tributes, three late for the last two months,” he says as he scrolls down the list of our

debtors. “Ex Rogue packs.”

I grin when he mentions this, because I am itching to sink my fists into someone’s face. Maybe this will

help with the fucked up feeling in my gut. Violence is easier to deal with than emotions.

For one, when you punch someone’s face you expect the blood and sound of bones breaking that

follow. You can’t do that when you’re faced with unnecessary emotions making you feel uneasy and

with Xiomara in my space, I don’t know what to expect.

The visits to these debtors, the blood coating my fists, and the ache in my fingers usually put me on a

bloodlust-filled high, but this time I found it harder to control myself. Levi had to pull me off a few of

these fuckers and I had to admit that seeing what I did to those poor fuckers made me feel uneasy.

I can’t do this until Niko eventually finds someone else.

“I know I’m speaking out of turn,” Levi says as we make our way back to the estate in the late evening.

“But are you okay, Beta Maxim?”

I don’t know the last time someone asked me that. You’d think with how close Niko and I are, that he

would notice my unease; but he hasn’t noticed the change in me yet. Or if he has, he’s choosing not to

care.

“There’s a woman in my home that I did not ask for,” I scoff, my eyes on the road. “No, I’m not okay.”

When my gaze flickers to Levi, I see his lips are a thin line as he nods as if he understands.

“It’s unnerving,” he says, his voice low and filled with malice. “I’m used to darkness and silence, I

welcomed it and its familiarity. But Demi’s presence is like an uncomfortable sunbeam coupled with a

constant aria being sung. I don’t know how to deal with it…so I pretend it’s not there throwing my whole

life into chaos.”

Levi’s admission floors me. The twins, although not brothers by blood who grew up in the same

orphanage, are known for their silence, so his admitting this to me is huge. Liam, or Panzer, is the more

quiet of the two, so I wonder how he’s dealing with it.

“I know what you mean,” I murmur. “But I suppose this is our new normal now and Alpha Nikolaos

needs us to accept it so our pack can be stronger.”

My wolf gives me a sarcastic look because I’m trying to convince Levi that we have to accept this when

I hate it myself. What’s a fucking Beta to do? Niko is the authority and I’m here to make sure it’s

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Levi sighs and leans back against the headrest. “I know, and I accept it; it’s just taking me a while to

catch up with everything. I accept Demi as my bride for the sake of my Alpha, but I’ll never accept her

into what’s left of my charred heart.”

I leave the conversation hanging there, blown away that he would refer to his heart as charred. It

shouldn’t surprise me, given Niko saved both him and Liam while they were being burned alive.

So I simply clap him on the back and continue the rest of the drive in silence.