Page 9 of The Alpha Wolf's Bullied Bride

That’s the part I’m afraid of. Even though I knew that the moment would come when I would have to return to Zafra, where Father will pass the torch to me and I can take up the mantle of the Alpha title, I’m dreading it right now.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Yet, now that it’s here, I don’t feel as eager as I thought I would.

A shiver courses down my spine, spreading through my fingers with an electric surge that vibrates the cell phone in my hands. I think it’s a powerful surge of the intensity of my dread until a message alert rings out.

Groaning, I lift the cellular device in front of my face when a pop-up notification on the screen shows that it’s a message from Cynthia. I look up at the heavens to give me the patience I need to reply to the she-wolf’s text.

The Moon Goddess hadn't shown me much mercy when it was discovered that we were able to get a signal out here in the Ouachita Mountains.

I heard you’re coming back! I’m excited to see you, honey! I’ve got a surprise for you when you get back!

Another agitated groan rumbles from deep within my chest as I fervently hit the screen with my thumbs to type out a response. A simple “Can’t wait!” will have to suffice.

However, there is no truth in that reply.

“Yo! Flynn!” Miles, my best friend and a trusted soldier, comes rushing across the hedge toward me. His arrival lifts my spirits momentarily, but his beaming smile reminds me that I’ll have to break the news to him.

“Food’s ready,” he informs me as he slows down, flicking a glance over his shoulder. When he nears, he notices the look of apprehension gripping my face and frowns. “Is everything okay, buddy? You look a bit tense.”

I grunt and gesture to the phone in my hand. “It’s Cynthia again.”

Miles chuckles, his frown turning confused as he cocks his head to one side. “Since when is that a bad thing? I thought you liked the attention.”

I scoff as I fling an arm over his shoulders and we both turn toward the others. “It was a nice distraction when it needed to be.”

“You mean when you needed to jack off?”

“Hey!” I throw a playful punch in his ribs. “You’d better watch what you say to me.”

“Why? ‘Cause you’re gonna be Alpha and all?” he snorts.

“Yeah…” I sigh discontentedly, the brief moment of lightheartedness lost to the qualms of the real matter at hand. “About that. Think you could spare a moment with me?”

“Are you not hungry?” he asks as I remove my arm from over his shoulder and turn toward the lush green canopies behind us.

“I’m famished. But that barbecue's gonna do me no good,” I say earnestly as I close my eyes in preparation for the shift into wolf form. With the news I just received from my father, I need more nutrients to strengthen my resolve than the cooked meat has to offer. “The others will understand soon enough.”

“Of course,” Miles vocalizes in human form just before I invoke my inner wolf and feel my limbs distend with the power I need right now.

The inner wolf comes out physically, rippling through my body as every inch of flesh spreads out with the soft caress of dark fur. When my arms hit the ground, the impact is absorbed by the large, cushioned paws of my wolf. A sense of calm washes over me then, freeing my mind from the shackles of what lies ahead for the Blood Moon Pack.

Behind me, Miles whimpers in wolf form, prompting me to turn around to face him. The chestnut fur of his wolf sways in time with the passing wind, and I nod toward the forest, beckoning for him to follow me.

“What’s up, Flynn?”Miles asks through the mind link as our wolf paws crush the loose dry leaves in search of greener pastures.

“My father called me,”I begin, slowing my steps when we near a row of fern bushes tall enough to hide the large frames of our wolves.

“The Alpha? Is everything alright in Zafra?”

I nod my wolf head, my sharp vision catching the sight of a deer’s antlers sticking out from behind a tree as it grazes richer grass a good few meters into a clearing. “For now, yes. But Blood Moon has received word of an attack on the Blackmaw Pack. One of their own has been abducted.”

“Shit…”Miles brays, the flat nostrils on his pointed muzzle flaring. “That’s very close to home.”

“Too close,”I concede, my mental voice sounding dreadfully wary. “That’s why my father has requested that we return to Zafra this weekend.”

Miles nods slowly, the piercing beads of his wolf’s blue eyes glossing over with the sadness lurking behind his eyelids. It’s a sadness that envelops his aura, allowing me to feel the emotion deeper than my own sadness over our current situation.

These past two years have turned mere boys into matured men. Still, our boyhood thrived at the bottom of what we’d named “Zafra cliff”—a cliff edge that made the perfect plummeting point to dive into the Ouachita River below. The sounds of thrill would bounce off the mountain and pool at the bottom as we swam against the rapids whenever we weren’t training or studying.

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