Page 16 of The Wolf's Prince
They were outside now, the shifters he'd arrived with had already congregated to leave before Soren had even started to really fret.
“I don't care,” he snarled.
Botan rolled his dark eyes, a sneer touching his lip.
“Do you have a problem?” Soren demanded, stalking up to him.
Despite Botan being an alpha, Soren was larger than him by a few inches. He was one of the biggest alphas of the pack and although that did not guarantee becoming pack alpha, it certainly helped. Normally the others respected that fact.
But Botan had known him closely all his years and he was not the type to be bullied.
He raised his chin, sharp gaze on Soren's.
“You should not have mated that human,” he said firmly.
“Oranyhuman,” Eri added at his side.
Soren turned to look at her, managing not to glareoropen his mouth.
Eri was an omega, here with her brother Homare as a chaperone. She had made it clear more than once that Soren could have her. He wasn’t surprised that he could feel fury billowing off both her and her brother.
He found it hard to feel guilty though because soon, White Water Pack would have a new alpha and all eyes had pointed to him.
Eri had only shown Soren interest when the pack alpha, Jin had first become ill and that was a disgusting reality for him. The fact that she was more conniving than compassionate wasn’t something Soren could ignore.
He hadn't considered any of that last night though. He had been too overwhelmed by the sight of Nikolai to think straight after his eyes had first landed on him.
Nikolai had immediately screamed of danger. He carried an open air of sexuality, a love of life, and fun and laughter that drew all eyes to him. And Soren had hated that fact as much as he was drawn to it, because the moment he'd seen Nikolai, he'd known; he was his fated mate.
If not for that fact, Soren would feel guilty now. As it was, he did not feel regret, but hedidfeel foreboding.
He had awakened to Nikolai's absence and now, he would have to face the wrath of his pack. At the exact moment that he was meant to be there for them, he had disappointed them.
Finally,Soren saw Fusa sauntering toward them from the direction of the castle. Still in human form, it was clear that the beta lookedwilderthan the humans did. She moved like the animals of the forest, always alert.
As she reached them, she slowed, shaking her head at Soren.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “The prince you mated with departed in the early hours of the morning to his kingdom.”
Soren felt his mouth go dry.
Prince?
That was only mildly more alarming than the fact that Nikolai wasgone.
It wasn't as though the sky was falling, yet Soren felt like it had already started to descend and crash down around him.
He gritted his jaw as a multitude of questions ran through his head.Where is Nikolai’s kingdom? How long would it take to get there? Would he come willingly, or would Soren have to drag him home? Would Nikolai even be accepted with his pack? Would Soren be shunned for mating with someone who had already abandoned him after their first night together?
Was Nikolai worth it?
He looked around at his group slowly, most he normally considered friends. Not one of them had sympathetic eyes. They thought he deserved this.
They couldn'tallbe wrong.
If Soren stood in their shoes, it looked like their leader had chosen to mate an outsider on a whim—probably from too much drink. Those were the actions of the young, foolish, and particularly reckless alphas. It was odd that Soren had done it. Actually, just as their alpha was ending his reign, it was more than odd, it was foolish.
Sorenwantedto be the new alpha. It was something he had prepared for his entire life. Gritting his teeth, he nodded curtly.
