Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Asher's POV There was a long silence in the Council Hall. Apparently, nobody was stupid enough to challenge me. I was a member of the royal family. My wolf was too strong. There wasn't a single person in Silver Moon Pack who could win me in a one-on-one combat. I waited for 5 minutes, and no one had spoken up. Just when I was about to move on to the next subject matter, a faint voice came from the crowd: " ...I want to challenge you." I darted my eyes to the source of that eyes. Surprisingly, the person who had spoken up was Kylie! I couldn't help but frowned-Kylie against me? Was she so angry about my decision that she had lost her mind? "You have picked a fight that you don't stand a chance winning," I said icily to her. "You can still back down now." Her mom seemed horrified. She quickly said to her daughter, J "Sweetheart you can't do this! This is Alpha Asher! You will die-" Yet Kylie shook her hand, "No I am not challenging Asher. I want to challenge her." She pointed a finger at a certain someone. Everyone turned their heads following her finger. FUCK. She was pointing at Violet! "Kylie don't do this-" Michael cried. But it was too late. Kylie had voiced out her challenge out and clear in front of everyone: "I challenge you to this fight, one-on-one. The only way to determine the winner is through death," she said with a provoking smile on her lips. "Dare to join me?" Anger flared up in me. Kylie was fucking crazy! Violet didn't have a wolf, She could die in this challenge. Or was that what Kylie wanted to do? Clenching my fists, I snapped, "Fucking ridiculous-" Yet Violet didn't let me finish, "Very well. I accepted your challenge." There was a collective intake of breath, including myself. I jerked around glaring at Violet and gritted, "Are you crazy?! No, this is not acceptable!" She whispered back to me, "Her wolf is very weak." "And you don't have a wolf!" I snarled, trying hard to keep my voice down. "It is almost impossible for you to walk out of that fight alive!" I was furious at her for doing this without talking with me first. What if I lost her in that fight? I would hate myself and live in misery and regret for the rest of my life. Yet she simply gave me a brief smile, "Don't you trust me, Asher?" "This isn't about trust for fuck's sake-" We were still holding hands. She gently squeezed my hand, "I am your mate, your Luna. This is the responsibility that I ought to take. I cannot run from it anymore. People already think of me as a traitor and liar. Let's not add coward to that list." I glared at her. How could she possibly think of this as a responsibility? This was just a stupid thing that Kylie did to provoke her. And she fell for that stupid trap! No. I couldn't accept this. I gave her a harsh look telling her that we would have this talk later and then turned back to the crowd. "Move onto the next matter," I changed the subject forcefully. "Beta Jayden and I all believe that these recent attacks by the rogues are well-organized. It is highly possible that the rogues have a leader now, a king. And he is nearby. So stay alert, keep an eye on your children, report any suspicious figures. Meeting adjourned." I ended the meeting in a very hasty way and dismissed everyone. The elders and senior members of the pack swarmed up to me. I knew they probably wanted to talk about my choice of Luna and let me know about their dissatisfaction. "Not now," I said briefly to the elders and walked right pass them. There were some unhappy boos behind my back. But I didn't have time for their bullshits. I walked straight to the Beta's family. They were leaving. But I blocked their way. "That challenge is fucking nonsense!" I snapped at Kylie, "Take it back right now!" Kylie looked back at me, still looking delicate and vulnerable, but the words coming out of her mouth was harsh: "You can't order me to take it back, not even as my Alpha." She was right, which made me even more furious. "So you are serious about this? Fight till we die?" Violet came up to us, looking at Kylie and asked. "Yes." Kylie gave her a stubborn look, "This is the only way to settle things. And you have this coming, Violet. If you haven't stolen Asher and that 7 years of me, you wouldn't be in this position right now. And just so you know, I am very confident in winning." I gritted my teeth so hard that there was a bloody taste in my mouth. Kylie's wolf was very weak. She would lose the fight against any other people in this pack, except for Violet. She knew about this very well. And she did it on purpose. She wanted to fucking kill Violet! "Hey, Violet is still family." Philip spoke up and said, "Whatever happened between you two, this is still too much." "Whatever happened?" Kylie let out a sneer, "Easy for you to say. You didn't spend 7 years with the person you loved only to have him stolen away by your sisters and all you have left is a dying wolf and a weak body. So no, this isn't too much Philip!" Jayden joined the debate with a frown, "Violet is also a victim here. You can't blame everything on her." "She stole my Luna!" Kylie shrieked at her brother. "Luna is nothing but a position! And you want to kill Violet for it! Don't you see how ridiculous this is?!" Jayden raised his voice as well. Jayden's mate Julia was standing by his side. She agreed with Jayden with a nod and said, "Violet doesn't have a wolf. She will die if you push through this. Have you forgotten about that? Or is that exactly what you are aiming for?" "No-STOP!!!" Violet's mom suddenly cried. She pulled Kylie into her arms and glared at her 3 sons, "Stop ganging up on your sister like this! Do you take pleasure from this?" "Mom! We are just trying to make her realize how crazy this fight is! Violet will die!" Jayden argued. "And Kylie might get hurt as well!" her mom blurt out, "She is already hurt actually, those emotional traumas. She has been so much over the years... Why can't you let her settle this in her own way?" My anger peaked, and so was Jayden. "You are fucking crazy!" he growled at his mother, "You caused Kylie to turn out like this! Stupid, selfish and brutal! I can't believe I have families like you!" He took Julia's hands and they stormed away. Kylie acted like she hadn't heard her brother's outburst. She looked at me, her eyes gleaming with excitement and triumph. "When I kill Violet in this fight, your matebond will snap. And you are free. I can be your Luna again," she giggled proudly.