Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
“Please keep this to yourself,” I said, adding a hint of alpha command to the words.
She frowned as she felt the compulsion, but didn’t argue.
Couldn’t argue, and I felt like a jackass. But… I also wasn’t ready for all and sundry to know, and I didn’t think Brielle would be either. I needed time to process.
And run, my wolf added, on his feet and prowling now that Brielle had hidden away from us.
“Have a good night,” I murmured and took my leave, the feeling of their eyes still burning my back as I reached the stairs and jogged down.
I ran, and I ran, and I ran. Trees blended together, melding into one endless mass of color at the edges of my vision, their unique scents coalescing into one beautiful melody of wilderness. It was where I was most comfortable, and I relished letting go, leaving the responsibility of being the high alpha’s heir behind. If I didn’t, It would crush me.
My wolf and I were a strong team, and I was grateful to have his sharper side when I needed to make tough decisions. He’d never steered me wrong, which was why his fixating on Brielle as our mate was so unexpected. She was wholly unsuitable, soft and pliant and intoxicating, yes; but even standing an inch from her, I could barely feel her wolf. She had one. Reed had seen her eyes light from within back at the clearing.
My wolf growled at the thought, still hating that Reed had something of our mate that we didn’t, even something as simple as the first glimpse of her wolf’s eyes.
Soon, I reassured him, and he ran faster before skidding around a tree and heading down a mountain, arrowing straight for the rivers’ confluence. The mighty Yukon and the Tanana cradled our territory, and the place where they met had a kind of power that no other did in this area. I hadn’t realized how far we’d run, but I could no more mistake the smell of that place than the smell of my own cabin.
My paws dug in as we ran downhill, sinking farther into the earth as my front paws bore my weight down. It wasn’t long before the rushing water grew louder and the trees broke, revealing the surging waters. It was home, in a way. And a power cradle. I didn’t know how or why, but I could sense it just the same. I’d often wondered if this was what drew me here to build a pack of my own. I slowed to a stop, tongue lolling, at the river’s edge. This place soothed me, it always had, and so long as my pack called Alaska home, I knew it always would.
I lay down on the bank, belly flush against the cool, damp earth, and rested my head on my paws, thinking over the whirlwind events of the last two weeks. Most of them brought a strong sense of pride from my wolf. We’d pulled together as a pack and knocked out the construction of two huge dormitories in a short amount of time. We’d been handed the huge challenge of hosting this event for the packs, and we’d delivered. It was an honor, and an obligation of enormous proportions. We weren’t done yet, of course, but I was damn proud of my wolves.
And then I thought about today. The influx of pack after pack from all over, squeaking in before the final deadline. Most were unmemorable, blending into a blur of faces and scents. There was one that concerned me-the Russo pack, from Virginia. They’d been giving my father a hard time for decades, constantly challenging his leadership. The fact that they’d shown up a day early and with twelve male wolves with grins on sent my internal alarms jangling. If anyone were to try something, it would be them.
Gael agreed, and he was keeping a close eye on their pack members. He could handle it, but I’d be staying on my toes as well. I had no doubts they’d try something, but we’d be ready.
The Northern Territories pack was equally large, but their only threat was some overly aggressive she-wolves. They’d been eye-fucking me since they stepped out of their transport vans, but I could ignore that. The males of their pack were old and long-since mated, and the females were the daughters of the pack leadership, hungry for my title more than who I was as a person.
Then, at the culmination of it all, was Brielle.
Brielle.
Even her name had my wolf sitting up, letting out a short whine on the bank that disappeared into the misty void above the rivers. He wanted her, wanted to bite her, claim her. Right now, with no waiting. He didn’t have the man’s compunctions about getting to know someone, or how her lack of strength would affect pack dynamics.
She is strong, my wolf growled, startling me. He rarely bothered to form words. Our connection was soul-deep, and I understood him well even without words. A simple fact of an intertwined lifetime.
She is not. She is psi. And a psi can hardly rule over alpha she-wolves.
He snarled, and leapt to his feet, not deigning to respond. Instead, we turned and raced back up the steep bank, arrowing toward the tree line as if a grizzly was after us, but I knew, even if he wouldn’t speak again.
He was running back to our mate.
We were close to the pack headquarters when the distinct feeling of unease ran through the pack bonds, sparking my awareness. It was Reed, and the tug on the bonds left no doubts that whatever the problem was, it was urgent. My wolf kicked our speed up another notch without question. Reed was my blood brother. If he needed us, we ran like the wind.
We wove between trees, dodging limbs and leaping over downed deadfall with the ease of a predator on a hunt, kicking up dirt as we flew past obstacles. Reed was waiting for us when we rounded the corner of the main lodge and skidded to a stop to avoid hitting him. He had a pair of gray sweatpants in hand, so I quickly changed back. He didn’t beat around the bush as he passed me the pants.
“The ODL is here.”
My head snapped up, shocked. “What? Why would they be? We don’t have any omegas here. These are all adult wolves, of age to be mated. The ODL does their foul work when wolves are babies.”
“I know, and I told them that, but they’re refusing to leave.”
I snarled, irritated at the snag in our otherwise smooth execution. My father could be here at any time-he wouldn’t tell me when, because that would ruin his fun of surprising me, but I knew it would be soon-and I wasn’t going to have the Omega Defense League hanging around, causing a scene.
“Where are they?”
“I had them escorted to your office. Didn’t figure we wanted them stinking up the hallways.” He sneered, and I shared his opinion. The Omega Defense League was a necessary part of life, or so we were told. If you asked me, they were relics of a bygone era and a waste of good wolf kind.
“Let’s go. The sooner we get them out of here, the better.”
“Couldn’t agree more, Alpha, but they wouldn’t leave unless they spoke to you.”
I growled, not surprised, but highly irritated.
I stormed through the mostly quiet halls, my anger simmering hotter the closer I got to my office. It was necessary at every birth to allow a member of the Omega Defense League to come and test the child for omega powers. But with every wolf being tested and found not to be omega at birth, there was no call whatsoever for them to be here, unless they were after Gracelyn’s baby, who wasn’t due for another month, at least.
Besides, it turned my stomach, what they did. Killing innocent babies just because one of their designation had turned bad hundreds of years ago? It all seemed like a bad myth. Omegas were reputed to have special powers, strong enough to shift the dynamics of even a whole pack. Most were said to have gentle effects: healing, fertility, persuasion. Until Narcissa.
Narcissa was the first and only omega to ever have the power of war, and she used it to gather to her the strongest, most bloodthirsty wolves the world had ever seen. Then she went on a mission to find her fated mate, and none would do besides Bran Cadogan. High alpha of all Europe at the time. When she mated him, her plots expanded past one band of angry wolves and suddenly encompassed a continent.
But that was a myth from the past, and the three odious ODL representatives in front of me were a right now problem.
A lesser fae, a shifter-lynx, by the cat-piss reek of him-and a vampire, each wearing polished silver armor stamped with the interlocking ODL insignia. They stared imperiously down their noses at Gael as I shoved the office door open, letting it bounce off the wall. Gael was leaning forward, both palms planted wide on my desk, glowering back.
“To what do I owe the displeasure?” I refrained from snarling, but didn’t soften my glare. The lynx stepped forward, ducking his head briefly in a show of respect.
“Alpha Kane, we are here to investigate a report of omega magic. We will be as efficient as possible, but due process must be followed any time a report is filed.”
“I want to see the report,” Gael said. He was standing at my side now, arms crossed over his chest, but no less domineering for the shift in pose.
The lynx flinched back from the alpha bark pushing the words and held up both hands. “My comrade will be happy to provide it.” He waved for the vampire, who strolled forward in a lazy way that pissed me off. I growled, lifting just one side of my lip as he dropped the paper to my desk rather than placing it in Gael’s outstretched hand. Rude, smug bloodsucker.
Bastard.