Page 15 of Marked By the Alphas

“How are you settling in so far?” I asked in a bid to ease the air between us, and she turned toward me to give me a smile that almost melted me on the spot.

“Pretty good. I have no complaints. This place is…it feels different,” she said and I chuckled, nodding my head at her response.

“How does it feel different to you?” I asked, and she shrugged her shoulders, looking into the distance in front of her like it held the answers I wanted.

“There’s a lot of powerful auras here. I sometimes feel like I’m struggling to breathe through all the powerful scents that constantly surround me,” she admitted and I hummed in understanding, but I offered no explanation yet.

I wasn’t sure where to begin explaining how we were an all-Alpha pack that had been saddled with a curse that rid our lands of Omegas. Maybe it was too early to burden her with all of thatinformation. Although she must have noticed that there weren’t any other Omegas around.

“You’ll get used to it in time,” I assured her. “Come on. Let’s do some sparring.”

“Okay,” she said, standing up and following me toward the dummies.

Conversation flowed surprisingly easily between us as we worked out. We spoke about the pack's hierarchy, about Kai and Rhys' roles in maintaining order within the pack, as well as my own place in the pack dynamics. Elara, to my surprise, was an attentive listener even as we sparred. She asked insightful questions, her curiosity sparking like a flame, and it left me feeling excited.

“Can I ask you a question?” she finally said after a particularly long pause between us.

“Sure,” I agreed, taking a break to catch my breath.

“This mark. What does it mean to your pack?” she asked, pulling the neckline of her shirt to the side to reveal the moon-shaped mark that sat perfectly at the base of her neck.

I hesitated. It was a sensitive subject.

“It’s a…” I started searching for the right words. “It’s connected to a prophecy that has been passed down through generations. The mark is supposed to signify a bond destined to restore balance within the pack,” I finally explained.

Elara looked like she was about to say something else, but the sound of approaching footsteps made her pause. Kai rounded the corner, his gaze flickering between Elara and myself witha mixture of surprise and something else that I couldn’t quite place.

Chapter 9

Kai

Earlier in the day

Elara’s abrupt departure from the table left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth and it left behind a suffocating silence that I loathed. Her untouched plate seemed to be mocking me as it sat in front of me, and it caused a hollowness to settle in my gut. Having her around over the last couple of days had awoken a confusing tangle of emotions within me. At first, it had been irritation at her defiance but that had faded quickly, and it had been replaced by this energy between us that both terrified and exhilarated me.

My encounters with Elara always seemed fragile, almost as if there were a wall of glass dangling between us, just waiting to shatter. My wolf whined restlessly at the back of my mind all day and all night.

You’re going to push her away if you keep it up,he chided. He had spent the last couple of days telling me this.

He wanted nothing more than to mark her and keep her with us, but our reasoning was very different and contradicted for the first time in our lives.

We have a duty to fulfill to the pack, and that comes first, I replied.

Before my wolf could respond, the door to the dining room was pushed open, and Smith stepped into the space, his face immediately lighting up with a grin when his eyes fell on thebreakfast spread sitting on the table. He moved to settle down quickly, before picking up a plate and filling every inch of it with as much food as it could hold. Once he was satisfied, he began stuffing his face, and I chuckled, shaking my head at his antics.

“I assume you’re here for something other than to eat all my food?” I asked, and Smith spared me a half glance before nodding and returning to eating.

“I was hoping to discuss some details about last night's patrol before the council meeting this morning. I know Rowan must have given you the highlights, but I need to understand some things for myself, too,” he finally said after swallowing. My fists clenched at the news.

I wasn’t looking forward to the council meeting scheduled to happen later this morning. Since the Omega’s arrival, the pack had been on Rhys’, Rowan’s, and my neck to give them answers and more details about her. Details that I still didn’t have. I could already anticipate that this meeting wasn’t going to be pleasant, and I didn’t think I was completely ready to face it.

“That’s right. I need to check in with Rowan so we can prepare for the meeting. What details were you hoping to discuss?” I asked. I picked up a bell on the table and rang it to call for Rose, who was my maid.

She appeared in the doorway almost immediately.

“Could you go to Rowan’s room and let him know to start preparing for the meeting?” I asked

“Of course, Alpha Kai.”

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