Page 2 of The Alpha's Mates

They were alphas, and clearly formed their own cadre. It was apparent in the way they moved. Male shifters mated females in cadres of threes and fours, claiming their intended and worshiping her to the end of time. Or so it used to be. We hadn’t had that kind of love and devotion in thousands of years, as far as I knew. My pack of females had known nothing but abuse at the hands of our kind. None of us trusted them. Somewhere along the line omegas became slaves to alphas. We were fighting to break that cycle.

The three wolves in front of me stopped and waited, watching me with calculating eyes. The groups of three and four males surrounding us sat, awaiting orders. There wasn’t time to take stock, but I was easily outnumbered by thirty or so wolves. Far too many. It was a much larger pack than I’d anticipated. Our packs from back home rarely reached twenty. How was I to know the mountain wolves were so plentiful? With the pack headed up by the males in front of me, I knew that I didn’t stand a chance. The larger the pack, the stronger the leading cadre and this was the biggest pack I’d ever seen.

Females were much more rare than males, with betas—of both genders—greatly outnumbering the male alphas and female omegas. Alphas and omegas were made for each other. They fit together like puzzle pieces, the legendary omega heat drawing their alphas in and causing the alphas to tip into their rut. It wasn’t the only way that alpha males could reproduce, they could still claim a beta and impregnate her, but most males craved omegas. Mating with a beta only produced more betas. While it kept numbers up, it did nothing to strengthen the pack. Only an omega could birth an alpha. And without alphas, a pack would deteriorate and be vanquished. Our female population was dwindling every year. Most alphas were just happy at this point to find themselves a mate to claim.

I’d always been an outsider because I was even more rare than an omega. In fact, I was considered a mistake—an abomination—if my father’s words had been correct. A mutation that shouldn’t have even been allowed to happen. My mother had been the only reason I’d lived and survived until my eighteenth year. When she died, I left before my father could murder me in my sleep. I wasn’t supposed to exist.

My muscles tensed as power shimmered in the air. The leader shifted. The air sparked as he made his transformation and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Fur and flesh morphed into skin and human muscle. He stood in front of me in all his glory. And Goddess what a sight his body was.

The instant attraction that assaulted me was more than a little worrying. I didn’t lust after men. They were dangerous. Mean. More often than not, they wanted me dead. My belly fluttered as my eyes roamed over him of their own volition.

Muscle stacked on muscle, a head of shaggy black hair that was shorn short on the sides and just long enough on top to flop into his eyes. That gray, intense gaze was latched onto me and made me swallow hard.

He was studying me, trying to figure out what was so different about me. Why my scent was off to his sensitive nose. Why his instincts were howling at him. Why he was having a hard time figuring out my designation. “Who are you?” His voice demanded obedience. If he had ordered it, my ass would have hit the ground.

It was obvious that I was standing before the head alpha of the Venat Pack. There was no way this man took orders from anyone, save maybe the Moon Goddess herself. If I was right, this would likely be my last day of life. This pack was known for ripping intruders apart, limb from limb. The rumors said it didn’t matter if you were male or female. It was a rare occurrence for male shifters to kill females—even the betas werecoveted, thanks to our declining birth rates. But I was no beta, nor an omega.Iwasn’t safe.

I didn’t shift. I didn’t move, just stared him down, anger ripping through me. He had no right to demand anything from me.

He sniffed the air again, folding muscular arms over his chest. “I asked you a question.” He was calm, but I felt him push an order into his words. It was a nifty trick male alphas could do to manipulate those they commanded.

I wasn’t immune to it, though it didn’t impact me as much as a beta or omega because…

“Holy shit,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing. “You’re an alpha.”

That caused a stirring amongst his pack. The smaller gray wolf on his left shifted and now I had two naked men standing before me.

Moon Goddess help me.This male wasn’t any less impressive than his cadre mate. I was in so much trouble.

CHAPTER 2

Reese

“That can’t be right,” the newcomer growled, eyes narrowed on me.

Refusing to look away, I met his gaze. His pale blue eyes studied me, my snarl, my stance, my refusal to bow to his lead alpha’s command. It was still floating through the air, but I ignored it. “You may be right, Soren,” he finally admitted. There was awe in his tone.

Sounds of wolves, agitated animals, filled the air around me. I was used to this kind of reception. It was actually filled with less teeth and aggression than normal. The brown wolf who I’d fought before moved closer to my spot, pulling my attention to him.

The leader—the other had said his name was Soren—barked out names. “Go around. See where that tunnel lets out.”

The brown wolf and his cadre instantly complied, running up over the hill behind me. He was clearly the quickest in this packand Soren knew it. I couldn’t follow, but wasn’t worried. We’d investigated that tunnel. The best way to find where it let out was to go inside and to do that, they’d have to get through me. Going over the hill was a complete waste of time. They’d never find the exit.

I may be woefully outnumbered, but I would put up enough of a fight that my girls would have the time they needed. Even as we sat here in a standoff they got further away from us and closer to the perfect hidey hole I’d found when we first got here.

Why these alphas weren’t attacking me yet was a mystery. My father wouldn’t have hesitated. Still, I didn’t shift to ask. That would take away my advantage. I was much bigger and stronger in wolf form and could handle their attacks much easier. Especially by backing into the tunnel, where their numbers would work against them. Only one or two could fit at a time.

The dirt shifted under my paws as the walls of the tunnel arched over me, creating a natural choke point. I’d left just enough room for one wolf at a time. If they attacked as a group, I was finished, but this way there was hope.

I shook out my rust colored coat, itching to get this over with. But that was stupid. I needed to stall. Knowing that didn’t help the nerves that were like a live wire within me. I was far tooawareof the two men and the third wolf standing in front of me.

The huge mountain of a wolf standing nearby stalked forward, eyes on me.

“Atlas,” Soren warned. The hulking gray wolf showed his teeth, but stepped aside.

I perked up, ready for the upcoming fight. At least it was something to do instead of waiting while emotions I couldn’t name swirled inside my chest.

Most of the wolves stayed sitting, watching, as the three larger wolves spread out in front of me. They had theopportunity to overpower me with sheer numbers, but were choosing not to.

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