Page 60 of The Wolf's Prince
Soren was not used to loss. His parents had been lost when he was so young, and despite that, he had wanted for nothing in life. He had been loved and surrounded by warmth, just as they would have wished for him.
But Alpha Jin was old now, too weak to carry on as the steadfast presence that Soren knew. That was clear by his sunken face, open mouth, and limp body.
The others were correct. He was still alive, but barely.
“What should we do?”
“We have no choice but to wait,” Soren said, his voice low, so as not to disturb Jin.
He reached out, gently taking Jin’s hand.
As a child, Jin had seemed so large. Soren remembered looking at his big strong hands in amazement. Now, they were thin and frail in his own.
He didn’t know how long he sat there watching Jin’s unmoving face before finally remembering everything else.
Kamon was chained to the mountain. Andrey was hurt. Nikolai was waiting for him.
Swallowing, Soren pushed to his feet.
The other two still hovered inside, by the door, awaiting instructions.
“You stay with him for now. I will deliver the news.”
With that, he left Jin. It felt wrong to even step away. He was sure that he would miss Jin’s last moments.
Shutting his eyes, he forced himself down to the pack center.
Everyone was moving about again, although there was still tension in the air.
There was blood drying into the rocks where they had fought but Andrey and Nikolai were nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Soren thought he was in for another blow today before turning and finding Nikolai walking toward him from the direction of their Den.
Seeing Nikolai was not the comfort it should have been though because he was wearing his princely attire again, even the shiny boots. He looked so out of place suddenly. Like he didn’t belong there at all and Soren knew that was because Nikolai had decided to return to his home.
The only mollifying factor was that Soren’s jacket was draped around his shoulders.
When Nikolai reached him, a determined look in his eyes, Soren reached out, tracing his hands over the fur collar.
“This was from my first hunt,” he said before Nikolai could speak.
That stopped his mate short.
Nikolai looked up at him with wide eyes and then reached up, placing his fingers over Soren’s, feeling the soft fur with him.
“What was it?” he asked.
“A deer,” Soren said softly. “A small one, but fully grown… I felt so guilty.”
He had enjoyed being included with the others, feeling like he was finally an alpha, right until the moment the animal stopped moving. Then, he’d hated himself.
But as Jin and the others had taught him. He had made a sacrifice for the rest of the pack. To feed his family and to keep himself warm.
It had been an important life lesson, one that all alphas endured.
He took a steadying breath.
“Where is Andrey?” he asked, moving his hands to stroke Nikolai’s hair instead.
Nikolai leaned against his touch, his eyes worried.
