Chapter 160

Nina dropped to her knees as I slowly got to my feet. She growled softly as I turned to face her. “The thing is, Nina, that I’m the stronger alpha.” I rolled my head on my shoulders. “Now I don’t say that to brag, just to state the obvious.” I finally looked at the girl on the ground and knelt. “I also won’t stand for you to bully any of my people.”

“They are my people,” Nina growled, but I just tsked her. “Not anymore.” Nix came closer to the surface, and our voices combined. “I’ve claimed these wolves.”

“You can’t claim an alpha.” Nina tried to look up. “I technically can’t claim any of them, but I have.” I patted her head. “I don’t want or need to have an alpha on the floor in front of me, but I need you to realize that I will not be pushed around. I am not your normal prey, and I will not bow down to you.”

“You will,” she whispered, but I caught her words.

So I got lower, and I whispered directly to her. “Even if you are selected by the council to become the mate of the king, I still won’t bow down to you, and there is no way for you to make me.”

Her head snapped up to meet mine. “That’s treason.”

I shook my head. “That’s honesty, one the king will agree with. The strongest wolves bow down to no one, especially a weaker wolf. If you are blessed to be his mate, he would understand there will be wolves who won’t bow to you because you are weak—in power, in aura, in disposition. You carry no weight, no ambition other than to mate the king, and no drive to make a difference. My wolf will not recognize you as the Luna Queen any more than you would recognize a beta as higher than you.”

A few of the ladies at the table covered their mouths in disbelief, but Nina looked at me as if she could kill me. She would. “When he’s mine, I’ll make him punish you for saying this.”

I laughed. “If he is the kind of man to do that, then he’s not worthy of being king either.” Everyone drew in a breath. I was bordering on revolt. I picked up my phone and called Rowan. I clicked the speaker button and waited until the call connected.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was deep, and I watched Nina tremble. “I was saying things that might come back to bite me in the ass, so I figured I should have you on the phone when I said this again so it can’t be used against me.” I looked down at my phone.

His voice was confused, but he slowly answered. “Okay?” “Okay, #50, to catch you up on the situation. I was having a pleasant lunch with my new friends, and then Nina came to bug us. She has stated more than once that she is going to be your mate, something about the council selecting her.” I knew he couldn’t agree or disagree, so I pushed on. “But my wolf said something, and I agree with her.”

“Alpha Amy, with everything going on, I’m going to need you to cut to the chase.” His voice was tight. I would ask him about it later.

“Of course, Alpha Rowan.” I watched as Nina smirked. “Nina tried to command my friends, and my wolf wouldn’t stand for it. She is a weaker wolf, and she refuses to bow down or recognize her as an equal.”

“Okay. I still don’t understand how that has to do with me.”

I wanted to smirk now, but I pushed on. “I told her even if she became the next Luna Queen, I wouldn’t bow down to her, as my wolf would still rank higher than her in everything except being your mate.”

Chapter 160

“Oh, she did, did she?”

“Yes. My wolf is a powerful alpha and will refuse to bow down to anyone she finds unworthy, and that won’t change.”

“And it shouldn’t. Wolves have to earn rank and respect, and my mate, either found or selected, will be the same. She will not be given power like some weaker Lunas are. We live by Lycan rules in my pack. Every ounce of respect and power is earned.”

Now I couldn’t hold back my smirk as I watched the color drain from Nina’s face. “Now this is the part I wanted to confess directly to you, as it could be used against me.”

“Go on.” Rowan’s voice had warmed up. He was obviously amused by the situation.

“I apologize in advance, but I said that if you punished me for not bowing down to your weak mate, then you yourself are not worthy of being king.”