Lucien's POV:
Last night when my eyes fell upon Leia, I felt it would be easy to make her submit to me. An omega she-wolf would not defy me, a dominant alpha. And my remaining suspicion on her cleared the moment she fainted, making me realize she was weak.
However, when I met her in the morning, all of those assumptions I had made about her had shattered. She turned out to be outspoken, fiercer, and sharper.
Because she was the only she-wolf alive, I couldn't even upset her. What if she tried to kill herself just because I used some force on her? I couldn't afford that. But what made me confused was why Leia was acting defiantly when she already knew in front of an alpha, she couldn't even stand a chance.
'This woman is clever. I need to observe her keenly,' I thought.
As I changed into my usual formal attire for the important meeting with the pack's elders, I felt the presence of my youngest brother, Kieran, in the room.
"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly.
"I understand that you have your own methods to make people submit to you, but don't do it to Leia," Kieran told me.
"You sound like I punished her earlier," I chuckled and picked up my phone before sliding it into the inner pocket of my blazer.
"You scared Leia. Who told you could take her to bed like that? She is the last she-wolf, and I don't want anything to happen to her," Kieran told me. I hated it when my own brothers, including my second one, would see me as if I were a beast. In their eyes, I was a ruthless and heartless monster who didn't carry any emotions, which was also true. I hated it when anyone tried questioning my authority.
"Leave before I show you the place, Kieran!" I warned him. My intimidating gaze was enough to make him step back.
"If Dad and Mom were here, you would have been punished," Kieran said with a chuckle. "But they died because of you," he muttered.
"What did you say?" I clenched my hands, and the next second, I was before Kieran. My hand was already on his throat, but I didn't crush it. I couldn't. After all, he was my brother. But I used enough force to push him toward the door.
"Leave. Don't ruin my mood in the early morning," I said, frowning at him.
Kieran almost showed his fangs to me, but I knew he would never fight with me. He didn't have the guts to do that. "It's better for you to stay away from my path if you want to live well," I said and walked out of the room.
As I reached the living room, my eyes fell upon Leia, who was descending the stairs. She halted in the middle but resumed her confident walk. In that pale yellow knee-length dress, Leia looked more beautiful than the last night.
And I even noticed the light makeup that she had put on. Was it to seduce me?
I approached her and stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs too.
"I'm hungry," Leia told me.
"Follow me," I said and went ahead of her to the dining room.
The lines of maids greeted my sight as I stepped in. Leia was just behind me. As I took my seat, Leia sat on my left. Kieran, too, arrived in the dining room and sat on my right.
"I thought you didn't like eating with me on the same table." My comment was directed to Kieran. I narrowly gazed at Leia, who was trying to study the atmosphere.
"Can't you stay a bit calmer in front of Leia?" Kieran asked me.
"If you think she's here to be our mate, then you are wrong, Kieran. She's here to breed for us. That is why I did everything to buy her. Keep that in mind." Though I had my eyes on Kieran, those words were meant for Leia so that she would keep in mind the role she had. The earlier she would understand it, the better it would be for me.
Kieran wanted to say something, but I knew he would not dare. I instructed the maids to serve breakfast. My eyes would trace every movement of Leia, who had begun eating.
"Eat slowly, Leia," Kieran told her in his soft voice. Now, I understood why the women liked him the most among the three of us. He was quite gentle around the women. And I noticed Leia passed a small smile to Kieran.
"I was without food and water in that dungeon," Leia revealed.
"Really?" Kieran's expression turned into a grim one as if he wanted to kill the man who captured Leia.
"I can't believe the auction houses are still prevalent. But what I am most confused about is how you all found out about me," Leia said and inserted the fork in the steak before bringing it to her mouth.
"Lucien found out about you," Kieran told her. "But why were you hiding yourself?" he asked. "Lucien told us the she-wolf is untraceable because she masked her scent."
"Tell us, Leia," I said this time, curious to know what she was running from. Her fate, which was bound to the alphas like us, or something else.
"To save myself from the predators like your brother, Kieran," Leia pronounced, looking right into my eyes.
She was no ordinary omega wolf, I had realized now.
"You love to play with fire, don't you?" I asked.
"No. I am the fire, Lucien," Leia pronounced. This was the first time she had taken my name, and it sounded sweet for some reason.
"You aren't the only Alpha who desired me, that's why I burned those who tried approaching me," Leia stated.
"You'll submit to me soon, Leia. Maybe then, you don't want to be the fire anymore," I said with a confident tone.