The room went deathly quiet and still. It became painfully clear to me no one ever dared stand up to him. That was the problem. No one questioned him. They were too scared. Scared enough that he intimidated a fucking Elder out of speaking and that was just bad news. They were all terrified of him.

I wasn't.

"O-okay, Gamma Tess of Blackstone, what are your concerns?" Elder Bradley stammered, glancing between Kane and I apprehensively.

"I want to know why," I said, narrowing my eyes at Kane.

"Why what?" Kane growled.

"Why did you take over those packs? Kill the pack leaders?"

"It's in the report," Kane said, clenching his fists.

"Fine," I shrugged. "Then I want to see the report."

The tension in the air was so thick, it made everyone uncomfortable. People started shifting in their seats and I felt his furious gaze turn back to his Alpha gaze. I had to take a deep breath because damn, he was strong. Stronger even than I realized. I could see why no one stood up to him. It was frightening. I could barely keep myself from submitting. I wouldn't give him the benefit. His eyes narrowed further.

"As a representative of my pack it's my right to see the report or hear the reasoning. Your choice," I said, crossing my arms and maintaining eye contact with Kane.

He was not happy. Even his Beta glanced over at me with wide eyes, probably wondering what the hell I was doing. Kane said nothing so I held out my hand.

"Report," I said sternly.

Bradley started to hand it down but Kane's eyes went to him, freezing him in place. That only pissed me off further. The fact that he could intimidate the Elders this much was bad news. They were supposed to keep everyone in check. They couldn't do that if they were afraid of pack leaders. Yet another reason the Elders were corrupt. I growled, getting Kane's attention as gasps erupted across the room.

"Choose your words carefully, Gamma," Kane said through gritted teeth.

"I don't have to, Alpha," I snapped back. "Give me a reason or give me the report. First thing you need to know about me is I don't tolerate bullshit explanations. So you choose your words carefully or hand over that goddamn report because one of the two things are going to happen whether you like it or not. You are not above the law."

If I thought I felt the full power of his stare before, I was very wrong. It hit me so hard I almost gasped. I breathed in and out heavily, fighting against the instinct which came back with a vengeance. Damn, he was strong. Way too strong. It wasn't good. He needed to be balanced out.

"Perhaps we should take a break," Bradley suggested, his tone jumping a couple octaves.

"If you need a break, Elder, take it. But not before handing over that report," I said, keeping my gaze on Kane's despite the fact it actually started to hurt a little bit.

"Everyone out," Kane growled.

This was insane. Alphas and Lunas would normally take that as a challenge and stubbornly stand their ground. But a sickening realization washed over me as the room was instantly almost completely empty except the two of us. This was bad.

Centuries ago, we had an Alpha that was so drunk with power he became the Alpha King and nearly drove us to extinction when he decided werewolves should be the only species on the planet. He was so strong it took twelve Alphas and Lunas to get him down, not to mention a combination of other species that stepped in. Of the thirty that went to face him only two survived. It took a lot of work to recover from that and we never fully did. That Alpha was the reason people even had legends of werewolves. Before that, we were hidden, but the stories passed down and it was never the same. Kane reeked of the same power and his behavior hinted he was going down the same awful path. It hurt. It hurt so much. Meeting my mate wasn't supposed to be like this.

I gave Renzo props for staying by my side just as Kane's Beta stayed at his side. When Kane's eyes started drifting to Renzo I growled, getting his attention.

"You will not intimidate my Delta out of this room as long as your Beta is here," I said firmly, standing and placing my hands on the table and standing. "Take that Alpha bullshit elsewhere. If you want to talk to me, you can do it in front of my Delta."

"You're overstepping, Gamma," he growled, rising from his seat as well.

Damn, I initially was turned on by the fact he was so much taller than I was. Not so much in the moment. He pulled off looking intimidating better than I did. But that was just looks. He had no idea who he was messing with.

"You're overstepping, Alpha," I shot back. "Either give me the report or tell me what happened. Because it sounds to me like you're killing for fun and if that's the case, you need to be disciplined by the Elders."

The fact that he didn't get mad and just gave me a dark smile scared me infinitely more than if he had just gotten angry. "I don't answer to anyone, Gamma," he smirked. "You'll do well to understand that as my mate."

"You'll do well to understand I don't answer to you," I said, crossing my arms. "You're not above the law, Kane. Get the fuck over yourself and tell me what happened or so help me, you will never see me again."

Now he was livid. He glanced at his Beta and his Beta scurried out of the room. He glanced at Renzo next and I could see Renzo shrink in his seat.

"Go," I ordered.

Renzo sent me a panicked look but I nodded and he relented, leaving the room. Now it was just the two of us.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Kane snapped, slamming his fists down on the table. "We were fine. We were more than fine until that meeting. You said you were mine. So what the fuck happened?"

"I found out who you are is what happened!" I said, throwing my arms up. "You couldn't have said something to me before we went in there and I had to find out in a room full of people that my mate is known as the Alpha killer? You didn't think that information might be important for me to know?"

"You found out your mate is the strongest Alpha on this continent and probably others and that's a problem for you?" He said, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Of course that's not the problem," I snapped. "The problem is what you do with that power. You hurt and kill people. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt but your track record doesn't exactly do you any favors and neither does you using your Alpha stare to keep people from asking questions. Tell me what happened with those packs you killed."

He growled and again, I was caught off guard by his speed as he suddenly wasn't on the other side of the table. He pressed me up against the wall roughly, pinning me to it with his body. His eyes were glowing, there was a slight shake in his shoulders that had me concerned he might shift. His hands gripped my hips as another growl sounded.

"You don't fucking know me," he snapped. "You don't know anything about me other than the stupid shit that passes as news. You're making snap judgments based on nothing. You need to learn your place, Tess."

"I know my place," I snapped. "You're the one that needs to learn your place."

"You don't know your fucking place," he said, nuzzling close to my ear.

My body responded instantly as his hot breath hit my ear and neck. Goddess, I wanted him. How could I want him after knowing who he was? It was so messed up but part of me called out to him. Mate. My Mate. I needed him. But he wasn't a good person.

"You think you know my place?" I breathed, trying to remind myself that a sexual response right now was not a good idea. "You don't know the first thing about me either."

"I know you, mate," he growled, nipping at my neck, his hand sliding down to the bottom of my skirt. "I know you better than anyone else. Just like I know you're aching for me to touch you right now, aren't you?"

"Oh get over yourself," I said, swallowing hard as his fingers brushed against my skin. "You know as well as I do that I can't help it."

"Can't help what, Tess?" He asked, nuzzling against my ear. "That you want me to touch you?"

"Obviously," I said, my eyes sliding shut when his lips brushed against my skin. Goddess, I wanted that touch so much.

"That's what I thought," he said, sliding his hand up into my skirt, cupping me through my underwear and making me gasp, my hands tightening on his shoulders. "Tell me again I don't know your place,. I fucking know your place," he said, dragging his teeth along the sensitive skin below my ear. "Your place is under me while I fuck you senseless for challenging me in front of other packs like that."

Oh Goddess, I should shove him away, so why was I pulling him closer? He growled and rubbed me through my underwear. My hips had a mind of their own as they rolled against his hand. Shit, mate's really fucked with you. I needed to clear my head but I couldn't tell him to stop, I wanted him too much. There had to be another reason behind those attacks. There had to be. I could feel him and it wasn't all bad.

"Submit," he growled, pressing his forehead against mine, giving me the full power of his Alpha stare.

I almost did. That look, his touch, I felt the desire to give in. Submitting to him didn't sound so bad. I ached for him. But no. Gamma first and foremost. No one broke me. He certainly wasn't going to.

I bit back the moan and met his gaze in a challenge, removing my hands from him and clenching my fists as the discomfort of not submitting to his authority hit me. He growled in frustration and applied more pressure between my legs, making a strangled whimper of pleasure escape me. Goddess, I wanted him. I wanted him so much. I could still stand up to him and fuck him, couldn't I?

"Submit," he repeated, that gaze getting even more intense.

No. This was the moment I showed him how strong I was. How I wouldn't be pushed around. I wouldn't be controlled. It didn't matter how strong he was, he was not winning this. He wasn't going to run rampant without being challenged anymore. He was too angry, too sure of himself. That was his weakness.

I brought my hand down between his legs, over his hard cock that strained against his jeans. He faltered, groaning and breaking our eye contact. Two could play this game. I spun us around, pressing him into the wall, the action making his hand come away from me while instead, I rubbed his cock through his jeans. He moaned, his hands going to my hips and holding them tightly. I leaned over to his ear, rubbing him slowly through his jeans.

"Submit?" I asked, nipping his ear and gripping his cock. "You first," I whispered, pulling away from him and snatching that report off the table, not sparing him a second glance as I went out the door.

I exited the room and every pair of eyes went to me. They all flinched as Kane's angry growl echoed through the building, shaking the walls. But I didn't. I kept my head held high and clutched that damn report.

Submit, my ass. He would not break me.

A/N:

Heyy my loves, let me know what you thought of this chapter ❤

Oof, Tess and Kane sure had a battle of dominance in there, what'd you think of that confrontation?

Anyone else just watching literally everyone else leave the room like, oh fuck 👀🍿

Oh dear, these two are butting heads quite intensely, do you think they'll be able to work through this?

Take care my loves