Page 8 of The Alpha's Arranged Bride

Agnar slipped a pair of black boxers on and set the rest of the clothes on the kitchen table beside the first aid kits. Several, because they were often needed. It was a long drive through the desert and hospitals were something that not many of them were willing to do for obvious reasons.

“Shower first,” Blake said, bending his head to assess the bleeding. “No. This one.” He pointed to a nasty series of bite wounds that started high up on his neck and ended on his shoulder. How he hadn’t had his jugular torn out was beyond him. Skill, maybe, but more like luck. “This one needs to be stitched. It’s deep. It’s bleeding.”

They were all bleeding, but he agreed with that assessment. He threw on some iodine and threaded the needle for his son. Blake had put on a brave face so far, but when he had to slick that needle in and out of his father’s skin to do up the nasty gashes the best he could, his hands shook. There were other spots that were leaking, puddling on the floor. He must have left a trail to the house. Were there some wondering if their alpha would live to see morning? Were they already picking out a new leader? They’d be disappointed that he didn’t die. Come morning, he’d be a different man.

He’d lost his belief in a unified pack after being set on by five wolves and nearly stabbed in the back by his own beta. He’d left them all there in a state of disarray and chaos. Come morning, there’d be a reckoning, and whoever survived wasn’t going to like it. He’d let them live, but they’d never see the inside of pack walls again. And as for Alexander, if he survived having his limb shorn away like fleece off a sheep, he’d wish he hadn’t.

“What happened?” Blake finally gave in to his curiosity.

Levi padded across the kitchen to the fridge and poured three glasses of milk. He silently brought them all to the table, balancing them with care. The last thing Agnar wanted was milk. His stomach roiled, but he drained the glass anyway.

Blake ignored the milk until he was done, then he picked up the glass and took a long drag. Levi drained half of his and didn’t bother to wipe the milk mustache away. He pulled out one of the wooden chairs and sat across the square table, studying Agnar and his brother with undisguised interest, waiting for what was sure to be a good story.

“I was challenged.”

Blake hesitated, glass in hand. “Are you still alpha?”

“Of course.” Any father wanted his sons to believe in his strength, but he also didn’t want them to be afraid. It was bad enough that they were seeing him bleed all over the kitchen, looking little better than a package of ground beef. “Five of them set on me.”

Neither boy expected that. They shared a disbelieving look with each other. “Why?”

“Some people here don’t like the peace.”

“Five at once, though?” Even a ten-year-old was clearly disgusted. “That’s not how we do a challenge.”

“It was either fight them or lose the confidence of the entire pack. Much of being a leader is what people perceive you to be. You have to be strong, and you have to fight, even knowing that you won’t win.”

“But you could have died!” Levi’s eyes welled with tears.

His boys were tough as they came. They both knew how to hunt, were well trained with a battle axe, and were coming along in their hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. Blake wanted to be a healer one day or a wiseman. He had the head for it and the talent. He hadn’t started training with Tecchus yet, but he would within the next few months. Agnar wanted to wait, even though Blake’s interest in healing never had wavered. If anything, it only grew stronger over the years. He’d doubled his interest in herbs and was pouring through books on anatomy.

Blake kept his feelings close, but it was no secret to Agnar that he didn’t believe in killing and despised war. Did that disappoint him as a father? Of course not. You could still be a great warrior in a skill that was honed and never used and let the mind rule instead.

Levi loved his lessons. He loved play-fighting. He loved hunting. He wasn’t the least bit interested in lore or medicine, but he was enthralled by nature. He was so curious about every bird and insect he saw, about the way the rocks formed, how fossils came to be, and he had endless questions about space.

“I didn’t, though.”

Blake sensed there was more. “What else?”

“Alexander tried to stab me after it was over. Unchallenged.”

Levi gasped and reached for Blake’s hand.

“That’s very… historic.” Blake might be obsessed with medicine, but he also loved ancient history, particularly ancient Rome. “And utterly cowardly. Your own beta?”

“I’ve known for some time that he wasn’t to be trusted. He probably worked up the wolves already restless in peace time, to resort to open challenge. He wanted to make sure I didn’t come out the other side.”

“If they’d won, they would have come for us.”

A black sensation roared through his head. He should have made sure Alexander was dead before he left. He shouldn’t have been merciful. His only thought was getting out of there, not knowing how injured he was, but in pain all over, before he collapsed for everyone to see. He needed to get himself and his mate somewhere private.

Blake was right. And if those men had come, led by Alexander, they wouldn’t have been merciful to his children. He was the first alpha who had not killed a former alpha’s family when he won. During his contest, Vespar wouldn’t have stopped until he was dead and so the fight had gone on until it was the last man standing. That had been him, and he became the new Phaethon alpha.

“I had no choice but to win, then. As long as I’m alpha, you’re both safe. If I ever think this place is too dangerous for you, I’ll send you away.”

“Where? Where would we go?” Levi didn’t like the thought of being separated from him. He rushed to him and threw his arms around his neck, heedless of all the wounds. Agnar didn’t even notice the pain. Blake was more careful, setting his hand on his father’s knee.

“Up north. Wyoming. The new peace. My new mate comes from a large pack. They would take you and keep you safe. Even if the peace pact is with me, they would provide a home for any wolf seeking sanctuary, I’m certain. They’re good people. But there are good people here too. The majority aren’t like the ones who challenged me tonight, and certainly none are like Alexander. He’s been an embittered bad seed, growing into a poisonous plant that spreads toxins to others for a long time.”

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