Page 6 of The Wolf's Mate

She’s not.

I take the journal from her hands and quickly look over the pages. A drawing of purple flowers takes up the left side of the journal, with arrows showing what each part is. Tallie has a map of Lycan Forest on the other side with red and black X’s.

“I’ve no clue what I’m looking at.”

Tallie frowns, clearly unimpressed with my inability to decipher her cryptic message. “I’m keeping track of where we’ve searched for wolfsbane. The red X’s are places we’ve searched before, but the black X’s are places I believe wolfsbane may be growing.”

Now that information interests me. Wolfsbane is a healing plant for my people. The search for wolfsbane has been a fruitless effort and continues to be a point of tension in my pack.

“I went with the patrol so I could search here.” Tallie points at a black X only a mile away from town, near the stream many of the pack go to when they want to cool down after a hot day.

“Did you find anything?” I attempt to hide the desperation in my voice. Wolfsbane would go a long way to help curing my people.

“No.”

The minuscule sliver of hope I allow myself to feel evaporates. I close the journal and hand it back, a heaviness in the pit of my stomach. “Then you risked yourself for nothing.”

“Not for nothing, Rip. I—we—had to know. I want to help you search for a cure. You alone may want to carry the burden of keeping our pack safe alone, but those who care about you won’t allow that to happen.”

Except it is my burden to carry alone. The pack is mine to protect and lead. I accepted that task the moment I became King Alpha. My pack is counting on me, and I refuse to be the alpha who lets his people suffer. We are going through a dangerous time—an ancient curse is coming for my people. How do you fight something you can’t see?

Which is why I contacted Ender. It was the last thing I wanted to do. No alpha wants to admit they need help, but my refusal to ask for or accept help has only made things worse. Ender helped the Dragon King, Malix, and I’m counting on him to do the same for me.

“Never mind that; we need to go.” I wave off her concerns but make a mental note to look through her journal more extensively at a later time. “Ender is here.”

“What?!” Tallie’s eyes go comically wide. “That’s today?”

“It is, and we are late to meet my wife.”

Despite knowing of our guests’ arrival, I’m not prepared to see Ender or the human he’s dragged through the portal when I enter the dining room. Tallie trails a few steps behind me, her curiosity palpable. Ender is a symbol of my weakness and inability to protect my pack. I waited for as long as I could, probably longer than I should have, but King Malix was right. I can’t protect my pack without his assistance. Not when enemies are closing in.

On my orders, Thorne brought Ender and the human into the dining room. It rarely gets used, save for welcoming new guests. There haven’t been any visitors in a while since we closed our borders.

My eyes scan over the poor girl next to Ender. It’s the first time I have ever met a human. The last human in our pack died nearly seventy years before I was born. Because of this, I know little about them besides their short lifespans and fragility. They’re weaker than omegas, the lowest-ranking members of any pack.

The woman before me stands a measly five feet and some inches tall, if that. Long, jet-black hair hangs past her breasts. She’s in a tight cotton shirt, the color resembling that of a rose. It does little to hide the curves underneath.

Large breasts and a flat stomach. My guess is she didn’t get her body from working out, but rather lack of food. Ender has told me very little about my new mate, but he did mention she is used to going without.

Without what, though? Just food? Judging by the wear and tear on her clothes, I expect it to be a lot more than just nutrition. My wolf growls, unsettled. He doesn’t like that his Luna has gone without.

One of her arms is full of black ink, depicting designs ranging from flowers and birds to a serpent wrapped around her shoulder. They tell a story I’m not yet privy to.

My wolf purrs with approval.

I’m still hesitant, though.

Ender extends his gray hand for me to take. It feels like shaking hands with stone, which I suppose isn’t far off. “King Alpha Rip,” he gestures to the girl, “this is Blanchette, the new Luna of your pack.”

Not yet, she isn’t. Even as I think it, my wolf growls. He’s clearly settled on this stranger, not seeing her as a threat, but I’m not in the business of taking risks these days.

“It’s Hettie,” the human says, scowling at Ender. Blanchette—or, rather, Hettie—crosses her arms over her chest, pushing up her ample cleavage. She doesn’t greet me, and I make no attempt at greeting her either. I’m shit with small talk anyway.

“You have read over the contract then?” Ender asks when I don’t immediately respond. My focus remains on the woman at his side.

I offer him a curt nod. I’ve read and reread the same damn contract every day for the last fortnight, combing through each section until I nearly memorized the points. Countless late nights with Thorne and Tallie, going over every possible outcome.

I nearly refused Ender’s help, but then the first wolf fell to the cursed sickness.

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