Page 15 of Alpha's Rise

“There was no reason for you to know. Not until now.”

Pushing from the door, Tobias stepped over to the window and looked out at the vast lands spread out against the backdrop of his family’s home. He couldn’t help but think about the days in his youth when he and Nathan had been best friends, exploring the lands together. It didn’t matter that Tobias would one day become Alpha Supreme. Everyone knew when the time came and they found their mate, Nathan would become the third person in the most powerful Alpha Triad in the United States. They had been friends.

Brayden spoke behind him. “Before Nathan left, he came to speak with me.”

Spinning around, Tobias stared in shock as Brayden kept speaking.

“He shared with me that he did not want the role the Goddess had placed him in. He wanted to live his own life on his own terms. He felt burdened that he would need to share his mate for the rest of his life. He was your friend, yes, but he wanted a different future for himself.”

Words left Tobias for a moment. Why couldn’t Nathan have shared this with him? No, he left instead. Like a coward. A moment of sadness filled him, then he… and his wolf… got pissed. “He doesn’t have a fucking choice!”

His father nodded. “Yes, he knew that as well.”

“Then what the fuck did he expect?”

“I think he hoped your mate would never show up.”

As the words came out, he knew they were true. “This cannot be true. Without a Triad, our pack is vulnerable. The Triad protects us because of the bond through our Luna. Our Queen is the tie. Why would he wish that on us?”

“Son,” Brayden started, “that, I do not know. What I know is that your mate has arrived. Which means, Nathan will have no choice but to come back. He cannot resist the pull of his mate. Does she know who you are? What she is to you?”

Tobias shook his head. “Not yet.”

“You must tell her soon. There is too much riding on her acceptance of her role in our pack and as your mate, and Nathan’s. Your mother is pack and knew the ways of our world from the time she was a young girl. The woman upstairs is human,” when Tobias threw him a look, he smiled. “Well, she’s not shifter.”

“This is going to be a fucking mess,” Tobias couldn’t help but mutter.

“In the most glorious way. Now, let’s get back out there and greet our guests. Your mother wants to go visit her friend Irene. Young Odin and his mate are bringing his cub to see her.”

Just as they opened the door, they were greeted with guards running out of the house. “Prince Tobias,” one guard came up to him. “She escaped.”

Stopping in his tracks, he turned to the man. “Who escaped?”

“The woman. The men heard a crash in your room. When they breached the door, one of the windows was broken from the inside. The woman was gone.”

“What the fuck? Don’t just stand here. Go find her.”

“Is she a danger, Son?”

He shook his head, wondering why she chose this moment to leave. She’d been here for hours without saying a peep. “I don’t think so.” Grabbing another guard who was about to leave the house. “Where are you going?”

“Our Queen is at the Jakobson home. We must retrieve her.”

“Fine. Go.” As he turned to his father, a thought flashed through his mind. “We need to get to the Jakobson house right now. I have a bad feeling about all this.”

Eight

Something woke Romi up from her nap. Sounds. People. Music. Then it hit her. Christopher.

From the time he was born, she was bonded to her godson. Whenever he was within fifty feet of her, she would feel his presence. If she tried to explain it, she couldn’t. He was here. Close by.

Tobias had lied.

He knew where her family was and intentionally kept her from them. That he had the fucking gall to lock her away in this room when she could have been with her family caused her emotions to rise and her powers to manifest. How dare he? She wanted her family right fucking now and someone was going to give her some answers.

Romi’s eyes turned white, and sparks began shooting from her fingers. If Layla or Christopher were hurt in any way, people were going to die. Closing her eyes for a moment, she focused on Christopher. Her godson was an incredibly special little boy. More than people would realize until it was too late. She had spoken with her old Commander about him, to try and understand what he was, and how he’d gotten that way.

There was no explanation. He told her that sometimes young children were born with extraordinary gifts. Based on what she’d told him about Christopher, he said he’d only heard of a handful of people who could do what her godson did. They could literally snatch the soul from a person’s body. They could see the essence of a person, to know if they were good or evil. If they wanted to, they could take on the characteristics of the person they killed. Some used their power for good, others for more selfish reasons.

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