Page 42 of The Alpha's Mates

“That will take another four or five days of travel,” Griff added.

We nodded. The guys had pushed us hard the day before, but we were up for the challenge. We were used to traveling fast and keeping a low profile.

“Who was in the forest last night?” I asked.

“Just a bear,” Calder replied, keeping his eyes down and on his work. No one said anything else, but the fact that none of the males were looking my way made me suspicious.

I met Emma’s gaze and she raised an eyebrow. She didn’t believe it had just been a bear either. As much as I wanted to argue, I knew now wasn’t the time or place. Soren wanted to get a move on and I didn’t want to hold us up. None of us knew what the timeline for this quest was. It would be a bitch if we were a few days short when we came to the end and missed whatever goal we were working toward.

Once camp was packed away and the area looked like no one had been there, we stripped and shifted. My wolf rejoiced in the opportunity to run and test my speed against my mates. We took breaks during the day as needed, but Soren pushed us hard and soon we came to the edge of the forest.

He slowed and stopped at the tree line. We spread out and stared down into the plains below. The mountain we werestanding on led down into a valley where the plains packs held authority.

My ruff bristled as I thought about leaving the safety of the trees behind. From this point on our chances of running into humans tripled. They liked to live in the open spaces and lower elevations. We had enough of them over on the coast, but the plains held even more. They were like locusts on the land and you never knew when you’d run into them. Not to mention, they hated us.

Soren led the way out of the trees and we followed. We ran as a group now instead of single file, though Atlas was still at the rear of the group. The males circled us, putting Emma and me at the center of a mass of wolves.

As we ran, the unease of being out in the open faded. We ran far past the time when we’d stopped yesterday just trying to get to the village. Soren pushed us even harder. He was trying to get to Cirdan Pack lands before darkness fell.

My legs were tiring, which meant Emma was probably close to being done. She was strong, but she and the twins weren’t alphas. They didn’t have the same level of stamina as the rest of us. Though the twins didn’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up.

Our group was beginning to lengthen out as Emma tired. Soren, Griff, and Calder were about ten feet in front of us, while the rest of the males stuck close to our sides. I wasn’t about to leave Emma to run at the head of the pack.

Someone must have warned Soren, because he shot a look over his shoulder and slowed his pace. He didn’t shift, but I saw reassurance on his wolf’s face. We were almost there.

We raced into a village as the last fingers of light disappeared behind the mountain at our backs. Men stepped out of grass huts, watching us with suspicion and mistrust. Waiting up ahead was a tall man with graying hair.

“Soren! Welcome!” He spread his arms out and a booming laugh filled the air.

I stuck close to Emma’s side while my mates shifted and approached the man. As much as I wanted to hear what was being said, I wanted to make sure she was okay first. She was heaving deep breaths and her legs wobbled beneath her. I flopped down to the ground, panting myself, leading the way and showing her it was fine to relax. We’d run hard all day long and I was exhausted. I never pushed my females this hard except when our immediate lives were in danger, so it’d taken its toll on Emma.

The twins laid down next to her, watching everything with solemn eyes. It was the first time I’d seen them somber. Griff and Holden were standing near us, creating a barrier between the curious plains wolves and ourselves.

Women and children began creeping out of their homes, silently studying us. When one child dashed down the steps of a hut, his father turned and barked something at him, sending him scrambling back to his mother.

This was more like what I was used to. Everyone was on edge and weren’t quite ready to accept us. This was what I’d expected of Soren’s pack. They didn’t react this way though. They took us in, gave us food and clothes. Greeted us with warm, open smiles.

Emma laid her shaggy head on my back as we listened to the low tone of the men speaking. Fine tremors wracked her body while we waited and I hoped Soren sped the greetings along for her sake. I was tired, too, but Emma wasn’t built for the day we just had. She kept up, but if the village was much further away, I would have insisted we stay one more night in the woods.

Finally, Calder turned and motioned to us as the others began to walk. As we began moving forward, Emma let out a small yelp and started to crash to the ground as her legs gave outbeneath her. The only reason she didn’t go down in a heap was because Holden caught her in his strong, capable arms.

“Shift.” She did and Holden scooped her up fully in his arms. Biting back a smile as Emma sighed, I shifted and walked beside them. My mates were still ahead of us, but I knew they were keeping an eye on us as they went. They were skilled diplomats and it showed. That wasn’t something my father had ever worried about, and thanks to my designation, I stuck to myself. I had a lot to learn if I really was going to be these males’ mate.

“Reese.”

My brows shot up as Soren motioned for me to join them. I was hesitant as I approached, but I smiled at Jessu. His eyes were shrewd as he watched me approach. I wasn’t self-conscious of my nakedness. You got over that quickly as a shifter.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” I told him as I approached.

“My pleasure,” he replied as he inclined his head. “I knew your mother.”

My steps faltered and the smile faded from my face. “You were fortunate.”

“I agree. Tenala was an amazing woman. She came to me in order to research alpha females.” His lips twitched into a smile. “It’s an honor to meet you, Reese.” He held out his hand.

Meeting Soren’s eyes, I reached out after he nodded at me, and clasped Jessu’s hand. “The honor is mine. Thank you for helping my mother.”

The smile on his face turned sad. “If only I could have. I tried to convince her to remain here, with my pack. Now I understand why she had to return home.” He shook his head, as though brushing away the memories. For a brief moment there was an emotion there in his eyes that made me wonder if Jessu had felt more for my mother than he was letting on.

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