Page 9 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

It was the fae who dared speak again, defying my orders. “Normally, you are correct, sir, but with a report of any kind, we have two weeks to investigate any potential omega—”

The door to my office slammed open, revealing my father, face twisted in a snarl as he stalked forward. The fact that he was graying at the temples did nothing to lessen his terrifying presence, and even after five centuries of life, he was in prime physical condition. His dominance dwarfed mine, a fact my wolf bristled against.

“What is the meaning of this?” The words were ice-cold and calm, and even I took a half step back at the unspoken threat in them.

The lynx crumpled to the floor under his gaze, but the fae and the vampire stood frozen, as if clutched in his fist.

“Speak!” he barked again, this time laced with full power, and words tried to spew forth out of my own mouth. Only the fact that the order wasn’t directed at me personally allowed me to keep them in.

The vampire grimaced as words poured out against his will. “We are investigating a report of omega energies. We will be here for two weeks, as per the Interspecies Governing Council’s writ. We have provided a copy of the report and will take our leave for the night.”

My father took another menacing step forward. “You can do your cowardly sniffing from a distance, but if you touch one hair on a single wolf’s head under my protection, I’ll end you, council be damned. Leave.”

The fae reached down, scooped up the quivering lynx under one arm, and hauled him out behind the vampire, who’d used his supernatural speed to bolt out the door so fast, he seemed to vanish. My father’s second, Dimitri, shoved the door shut on their heels with one booted foot.

“Sergei will see that they leave the borders of your land. I sensed them and posted him at the door. One day, we will be rid of the ODL entirely, and their foul ways.” He strode forward and dropped easily into one of my guest chairs across from my desk. “Sit. Tell me what’s going on.”

SEVEN

Kane

Itook my seat reluctantly, something about my father’s swooping in and booting the intruders from my office leaving me feeling like a chastised child, not a powerful alpha in my own right. I knew it wasn’t fair to think that way—he was leader of all wolves, after all. Of course he was stronger than I, with my one pack.

It still rankled, the feeling like someone running their hand the wrong way up my wolf’s back, and I did my best to shove aside my wounded pride as I faced him across the hand-carved cedar desk.

“They’ve shown up with a bogus anonymous tip, and they’re sniffing around our one pregnant she-wolf.”

Reed stiffened near imperceptibly at Gael’s words, and a murderous light glinted in my father’s eyes. We took women’s maternal safety seriously, as it was deeply personal to us. For Reed, it didn’t get more personal than his only cousin’s first pup.

“I assume you’ve already got an idea of who submitted this tip?”

“We suspect the Russo pack, but we have no proof yet,” Gael answered, his tone professional. I appreciated that he didn’t go straight for the pitchforks as my first enforcer, but it also underlined that I needed to pull back my own judgments until there were facts on the table. It wouldn’t do to be shown as dealing unfairly with any of the packs under our family’s control, and I had to be forever cognizant of that. The joys of being alpha son of the high alpha. All the power you could ever want, in a tight, tight muzzle of fairness. My wolf rumbled in my mind, annoyed at the man-made distinction. He saw things so simply. Tear the throats out of any and all threats, then run through the woods howling with glee. Simple; easy to remember.

“I take it you’ve already got a plan in place to get that proof? I’d love a reason to take a strip out of their hides.” My father’s grin was vicious, and I couldn’t blame him. They’d been a kink in his tail for decades.

“I’ve got two of my best men on rotation, keeping an eye on them at all times. My men know to stay unobtrusive, but stay close enough that they can stop them if they get up to anything dangerous,” Gael confirmed.

“Hassling Gracelyn when she’s this close to her due date isn’tdangerousenough for you?” Reed snarled, an uncharacteristic lapse in control. He was worried for his cousin.

“You know that’s not true, Reed,” I placated, standing and laying a hand on his shoulder. He stilled at my touch, but the tension in his shoulders was enough to snap a lesser wolf in half. “Gael is being smart. He’s not being blinded by the obvious threat and is keeping an eye open for the wolf that waits in darkness. You wouldn’t want him to miss something when we don’t have the facts, would you?”

“No, Alpha,” he said, dropping his head and rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He was exhausted and worried. My wolf sensed it from the pack bond, but even if he hadn’t, I could see it in the lines of his face. “Apologies, Gael.” He grimaced toward our friend and blood brother, who waved him away.

“Not necessary.”

I gave his shoulder a small squeeze. “Go rest, both of you. We’ve got a long day tomorrow, and not enough dark hours left between now and then.”

They both gave quick nods in deference to my station, then left the office. My father stood slowly, appraising the exchange with those ever-calculating steely eyes of his. To my surprise, he also headed for the door, but paused at the last moment with his hand on the knob.

“You’re a good Alpha, son. Seeing to the needs of your people. But remember that as Alpha, you have to make the hard decisions, even when you don’t want to.” He pinned me with one last inscrutable gaze, then left the room, his man at his heels.

With the ominous reminder echoing in my head, I flicked off the light and headed for my own bed. The one where I definitely wasn’t going to have dirty dreams about Brielle keeping me up all night.

EIGHT

Brielle

The milling crowd of wolves the next morning was more than I’d ever seen in one place, and I knew without a doubt the memory of this day would be burned into my senses for as long as I lived, even if I’d slept like utter poo. The scent of pine and the sharp tang of excitement mixed with a low undertone of bitter anxiety hung like a cloud over the group, with occasional snarls ripping through the air as one wolf or another got too excited and was immediately rounded upon by his Alpha. It was enough to rip me fully out of the dreams that had left me tortured and sweating, tangled in the sheets, wishing they were Kane’s hot, hard body.

---