Page 2 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

She lowered her forehead and rested it between ours. “I’m sorry, guys. I swore I wasn’t going to get upset. I swore it, and yet here I am, the idiot who caught feelings and can’t let go, even though the writing has long been on the wall. It’s… it’s starting to feel like it’snevergoing to be me, you know?”

“Not to bring logic to an emotional party, but of the three of us, you’re absolutely most likely to get matched. You’re one of the strongest she-wolves in the pack, you’re outgoing, and people love you. I’m theactual weakestwolf in the whole pack. Nobody’s going to match with me, but I’m okay with that. I’ll cheer you two on, and then we can all come home to Texas, and my one true love.” I waggled my eyebrows, and they both groaned.

“You’ve got to stop calling this lab your one true love. It’s weird, even for us.” Leigh rolled her eyes at my stupid joke, but she wasn’t looking as miserable anymore. So, mission accomplished.

“Besides, just because you’re a lower designation in our pack doesn’t mean you’ll be the weakest fromallthe packs. Every pack has a psi, not just ours. I’m sure you’ll find someone, if your wolf is ready.” Shay squeezed my hand before stepping back.

My wolf. Sure, she wasraringto come out and find me a match. Not.

I wasn’t only the weakest wolf in the whole pack—the psi, only one step above an omega, and those were no longer allowed to exist—but I could barely shift. It was humiliating, and I was sure it was going to come up during all the compatibility testing. More often than not, I skipped the full-moon pack runs because there was no point. Maybe four times a year, my wolf came out to play, and she was the literal runt of the litter. I was smaller, weaker, and I could only hold the shift for about ten minutes before I blacked out. And that wasbeforeI woke up naked and human. I was a real catch by wolf standards.

I shuddered at the thought ofevery unmated male wolf in the worldseeing what a loser I was. Definitely staying married to my lab.

“Come on, let’s all go grab breakfast together. I’m sure everyone’s going to be up and talking about this,” Leigh suggested. With one last look of longing at my machines, I flipped off the lights to my lab and locked the door on my way out.

The results would be there after breakfast with my pack.

TWO

Kane

The board splintered and snapped in half beneath my bloody knuckles, but I didn’t hesitate. “Another!” I barked at my top enforcer and second-in-command, Gael.

He pulled a fresh board from the stack without comment and braced himself for the next hit. I reared back and snapped my fist through it. Just like the dozen before it, it was hollow comfort for my raging anger.

My damn, meddlesome, didn’t-know-when-to-quit father… I fell back with a snarl before Gael could pull another board from the stack, and planted my hands on my hips so I could pace. I couldn’t sit still, or I was going to start punching holes in the side of my barn, and I’d just built the damn thing. I couldn’t afford repairs right now.

Not with a quarter of the wolf population of the world descending on us within two weeks.

“Why does he think this is a good idea? One giant mating mart isn’t going to result in anything but bloodshed. That many unmated males in one place, with all those pheromones… It’s going to be chaotic, and people are going to get hurt. Why would he do this?” I was mostly talking to myself, but Reed answered nonetheless, from his position leaning casually against one of the barn’s support beams.

“Perhaps because you’re in your thirties, and he’s tired of waiting for you to woo and bite a woman on your own, hmm?”

I growled at him in response. My wolf pressed to the forefront, searching for the danger causing my rage. When all he found was our most trusted pack mates in an otherwise empty barn, he curled up with an annoyed huff.You too, buddy. I’m not ready to be mated yet, and you’re going to have to deal.He didn’t deign that worthy of a response, dropping off into sleep. Though he did flick his tail at me as if flipping me the bird before closing his eyes.She-wolf-hungry bastard.

My wolf had been delighted when I’d gotten the call from my father that morning declaring my pack grounds the site of the first all-pack gathering in centuries. The idea of all those eligible she-wolves had sent him howling and yipping with glee. Me, on the other hand, not so much.

“Regardless of why”—Gael gave Reed a pointednot-helping look—“we’ve got a lot of work to get done, and he said to start expecting people in as little as one week. Where are we going to put everyone? We’ve got some rooms in the lodge, sure, but only one bunkhouse has been completed. If we put the entire pack on it, we could advance the schedule, and have the second one done for sure, and the third dried in, if nothing else…”

I groaned, still too mad to focus on the details, even though the final decision had to be mine. That was the deal with being Alpha; you got all the power, you got all the responsibility. It wasn’t nearly as fun as it was cracked up to be. Forcing myself to calm, I closed my eyes for a moment and drew in a few deep breaths through my nose. The familiar scents of sawdust, earth, and spruce flooded my senses, bringing me a few inches back from the ledge. The overbearing, domineering, meddling—

Stop, Kane. Focus.

I shook my head to clear it and gave him a decision. “We pull everyone except Marise and Neo, because we need them free to do food preparation as well. Gracelyn is obviously unavailable, given the pregnancy. Everyone else can pitch in. Accelerate the second bunkhouse, make every room a double, and if the third bunkhouse isn’t done, that can be where the guys bunk, and the early arrivals can pitch in before the festivities start. We can also put people up in here, if needed. It wouldn’t be the first time any of us have slept wild.”

“Sounds like a plan, Alpha.” Gael ducked his head in acknowledgment and excused himself from the barn.

That only left me and Reed, my third.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I said, already back to pacing. I ran my fingers through my messy hair for what felt like the tenth time in ten minutes.

“It’s not going to be so bad. The other Alphas will know who their hotheads are, and we’ll do our best to keep everyone busy. Gracelyn is enjoying her bed-rest duties of activity planner. That was smart, by the way—give her something to do up front so she feels important, even if she can’t be up and about.”

Gracelyn was our only pregnant she-wolf, and Reed’s cousin. Sweet as a lamb, until you ticked her off. Then she knew how to use her fangs.

“Yes, well, I can’t have her hurting herself, can I? Adam would try to take my head off.”

---