Page 22 of Marked By the Alphas

“Of course, Alpha. It’ll be no problem at all,” she responded and I nodded, muttering my thanks.

I spared Elara one last look where she was curled up in bed, before I moved out of the room and went to my home office, where Smith was already waiting for me. He was scribbling on a paper when I walked into the space, and he began addressing me even before he raised his head.

“I thought you would never join me. What took you so lon…” Smith trailed off, pausing in his scribbling to take a subtle sniff of the air around him. His eyes widened as he raised his eyes to meet mine. He immediately frowned.

“What happened to you? You look like you’ve been run over by a bus. What’s that scent?” he questioned. I sighed heavily for the umpteenth time that morning, before moving to settle in my chair.

There was already paperwork piled high on my desk, waiting for my attention, and I groaned internally. Why did the suspension not include someone else attending to this damn paperwork?

“I’ve had a long morning. What’s the report?” I asked dismissively, and Smith seemed to get the hint, because he simply cleared his throat and began speaking.

“So, the annual pack hunt begins tomorrow. All the plans are in place, and we have everything we need to last us through the three-day hunt. We have a list of volunteers who will help withregulating the event and to look out for any violence that might erupt.” I stopped listening to Smith’s words, my focus fractured.

The hunt.

It was a tradition of the pack that had been upheld for years and years, even before I became Alpha. Every year the hunt was held at the same time, but not this year. The hunt had to be led by me, but there was no way I could leave Elara in this condition for three days. The image of her whimpering and restless flashed across my mind.

“Are you even listening to me, Kai? Because it seems like the whole time I’ve been here and talking you’ve just been zoning out. What’s the problem?”

“The hunt cannot proceed this year,” I said, and Smith blinked twice.

“What do you mean? The hunt is held every year. We’ve spent the last month planning for it,” Smith pushed, confusion lacing his voice. I spared him a glance before focusing again on the documents in front of me.

“Unless you want to lead the hunt this year Smith, it’s canceled.”

“That’s not a decision only you get to make, Kai. You’re the most important part of the hunt. It’s part of a tradition and also a part of your responsibility. To cancel it so abruptly, especially with how fragile things are at the moment with you and other members of the council, I fear it will cause upheaval,” Smith said, his voice filled with worry.

“I understand, but there are other pressing matters that require my attention.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

And it wasn’t as if I didn’t trust Smith enough to tell him about Elara. He was my best friend and I trusted him with my life. However, I was still struggling to wrap my head around the situation myself. I didn’t think there was any use spreading the news around just yet, at least not until I had figured out what to do.

Disapproval flickered in his eyes, but I didn’t care. Thankfully, Smith didn’t pry. It was one of the many things that I appreciated about him. He simply sighed heavily before nodding and pushing himself to his feet. I felt the weight of his unspoken judgment settle on my shoulders as he excused himself to leave.

But Smith was the least of my problems at the moment. Rhys and Rowan would be home at some point, and I feared that their presence would further inflame the situation. Yet, I knew I couldn’t hide in here forever, nor could I keep Elara locked away.

I shook my head to clear it and decided to lose myself in the distraction that was the paperwork in front of me.

Eventually, the inevitable happened. The door to the home office was suddenly pushed open to reveal Rhys and Rowan. Rhys let out a low growl, his eyes flashing golden with both hunger and anger that mirrored Rowan’s.

“What’s going on?” Rhys demanded, his voice a dangerous, low rumble.

“Calm down, Rhys,” I said calmly, moving out of my seat to approach him.

“Have you been up there? Her scent is all over the hallway, and it’s driving my wolf crazy. What happened? When did it start? And why didn't you think to call us?” he asked.

“She’s in heat. I don’t think any of us should be around her right now. Anyah said…” Rowan cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

“She went into heat, and you didn’t even think to let us know! We should have been told from the moment it began Kai,” Rowan said, and Rhys made to leave the room. I knew what would come after that.

Rhys was the most playful person I knew, but he was insanely short-tempered as well. I quickly reached out to stop him from storming over to my room and kicking the door down. Thankfully, Rowan remained by the office door, watching us both as he leaned against the doorframe. He still looked agitated, but he was way calmer than Rhys.

“I don’t think it’s for the best that we all go charging into the room. She’s very vulnerable and almost delirious with her heat. She’s not in a position to make decisions at the moment. As soon as we all step into that room, it’ll be the same for us too. We have to help her, but we need to be careful,” I explained.

With a shared nod, we all trudged toward my room. The sight that greeted us as soon as I pushed the door open was both heartbreaking and arousing. Elara lay tangled in the sheets, her body trembling slightly. Her whimpers grew the moment we all stepped into the room, morphing into soft pleas.

We reached the bed, each settling on it carefully. Rhys reached out to push a strand of hair out of her face, and she shivered, causing me to swallow. I reached for the vial that Anyah had left back to help her calm down. I helped Elara sit down before feeding it to her. I watched as an instant relief moved throughher as she consumed its contents and my heart skipped a beat. This was the last vial.

We worked in silence as we tended to her needs. I could see the desire in Rhys and Rowan, and it mirrored mine, but we seemed to be in control. However, as the night wore on, that control dwindled.

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