Chapter 124: Unavoidable Challenge
Tessa’s POV
The breeders could be dealt with later. Now that Lucian was out of the way, I had to find a way to keep committing that particular sin.
"Hey baby, you down tonight for a ride?"
That was me ... texting Kael, the big-cocked beta who had been lubricating my pussy with cum for longer than anyone in Winterwood would ever dare imagine.
"Yes, I’m down, my queen," he replied.
Perfect.
Lucian and I were still sharing the same room, technically, but he no longer had authority over me. He couldn’t question me the way he used to. And as a bonus, he hadn’t come back until evening ... I hadn’t even laid eyes on him.
If I ever found out he was fucking Selene, I already had plans to disgrace him further.
Though ... look at me. Plotting to punish someone for the exact same thing I was doing.
I almost laughed at myself. Almost.
I was too sharp for guilt. There wasn’t a single person in all of Winterwood or Morvaine who could match my level of intelligence, and I was coming for those stretched-pussy breeders very soon. There were scores to settle. But first ... Kael.
I slipped into his room and he was already in his boxers. I could see his dick print clear as day. He was ready.
We didn’t exchange a single word. I untied the robe I was wearing and let it fall. In a split second, I was completely naked.
I jumped on him like a child lunging for candy ... except this candy could get harder on command. I yanked his boxers off and went straight down.
I licked. I sucked. He moaned. I couldn’t help myself ... I went deeper, taking his cock all the way to the back of my throat. There was something deeply satisfying about it, the fullness of it, the control I had even while on my knees. Sin felt so good, and I couldn’t logically explain why it always felt better with Kael than with anyone else.
The blowjob I gave him was out of this world and he knew it.
He kept moaning as I went deeper, the sound of him hitting the back of my throat filling the quiet room. I loved that sound. I used his wet cock to massage between my breasts, riding the high of my own adrenaline. My nipples hardened. I moaned ... loud ... and I didn’t care who heard. They’d probably assume it was some woman Kael had brought home. Fine by me.
"Fuck me, Kael," I breathed, positioning myself for him. "Fuck me like you’ve been starved for a long, long time."
He pushed inside me slowly, and in the same motion, his hand wrapped around my throat ... cutting off the moan before it could escape.
He took me missionary first, desperate and focused, his pace exactly right. Every thrust rocked through me. My breasts moved with each one, and he ended that round with his mouth ... heavy kisses pressed to my lips, then lower.
Then he flipped me over.
Doggy position. He slid back in and started fucking me from behind, but I wasn’t riding him fast enough so he smacked my ass ... hard ... and I picked up the pace instantly.
Damn.
He slapped it again.
"Ahh ... harder, Kael, please ..." It was the painful kind of sweet. The kind that makes your eyes roll back.
We cycled through positions until I ended up bouncing on top of him, both of us worn completely out by the time we stopped. The man had so much stamina I genuinely wondered what he was on ... or if it was just natural.
"You’re fucking good," I told him afterward, kissing him on the lips as we lay tangled on his bed.
"Anything for you, my queen. You weren’t bad yourself," he said.
I was still riding the high. "I don’t want this to ever end, Kael. And I have a solution for that."
"What solution?" he asked.
I sat up slightly. "Now that everything is in my favour and Lucian is facing one wave of backlash after another, I want you to challenge him for the position of Alpha."
He sat up so fast he nearly knocked me sideways. "What?"
"You can win, Kael. You’re strong. And if you move now, you’re capitalising on his weakness ... which is that he no longer holds the throne." I kept my voice steady, deliberate. "Strike while the iron is cold."
"He’s my Alpha, Tessa." He was already reaching for his clothes. "I can’t betray him like that."
I stood and started dressing myself.
"And who told you he hasn’t betrayed anyone?" I let the question hang for a second. "He betrayed me, Kael. And besides ... isn’t it already betrayal to be fucking your Alpha’s Luna?"
The silence that followed was immediate. Complete. He understood in that moment that what I had said wasn’t just a plea. It was a command wrapped in silk.
"When do you think I should do it?" he asked.
"Tomorrow. Don’t waste any more time." I smoothed my robe. "And make sure you win. When you do, I’ll marry you. You’ll be Alpha, I’ll be your Luna, and we’ll handle Lucian however we see fit."
He nodded slowly.
I kissed him one last time ... long, passionate, intentional. A promise sealed with my mouth. "See you on the throne," I whispered, and then I turned and slipped out of his room.
I moved quickly down the hallway ... and then froze.
A shadow passed me. Fast. Too fast.
Fuck. Someone had been watching.
The old me would have panicked. But I came back to my senses almost immediately. I was the queen supreme. Everyone in this territory bowed to me. Fear was a luxury I no longer had time for.
I still needed a clean, permanent solution for those breeders ... but for now, I let the bigger plan move on its own timeline.
The next morning arrived, and I could barely contain myself. I was desperate to see the expression on Lucian’s face the moment the challenge was announced.
He never saw it coming.
Good. Let it be a lesson to him. Never treat people like they’re beneath you. Because the slave you dismissed today can become your captor tomorrow.
He was summoned and brought before the full Winterwood council and its citizens. I watched from my position, composed, unreadable.
Selene was there, standing among the crowd. I spotted her immediately. Stupid bitch who couldn’t stop hovering around my husband.
It wasn’t my intention for it to come to this ... is what I would have said, if I still had a heart left inside me.
The city crier stepped forward and his voice rang out across the gathered crowd.
"Lucian Thornveil, Alpha of the Winterwood territory ... your position and your seat have been challenged!"
The gasps came in waves. The shouts followed. Who would dare challenge the Alpha?
"You have no liberty to reject this challenge," the crier continued.
"Challenger ... one... two... three ... step forward."
Kael walked out. Chest wide open. Head high.
I watched Lucian’s face in that exact moment ... the recognition, the disbelief, the crack running straight through his composure.
"Kael?" he said.