Chapter 4

Dominic 

I twisted the pen in my hands, listening as the council argued it out. 

In the end, it was my decision, but it was fun listening to them. 

“If we send them to our school, how will they function in society?” Vex barked, shaking his head. 

Axel didn’t seem to be paying attention, and I looked at him sharply, mind linking him to speak. He bolted up, but something was on his mind. I knew something was on his mind, and it was consuming him. 

“I’ve told you all, countless times, Alpha doesn’t want them mixing with humans until they are at least college age,” Axel reminded them. 

“They won’t be able to mix with society, though,” Vex continued, holding his hands up with disbelief. “They need to control their urges—”

“Why do they?” I asked as the room fell silent. 

Vex exchanged a worried look with the warrior to his right, Bez. “We need to be able to exist alongside them without losing control, Alpha,” Vex said, bowing his head in respect. 

“The teens will stay here until they leave school. If they can control their urges by then, they may attend a college in the city. If not, they stay here. I can’t risk them exposing us.”

Vex licked his lips as Helen, one of my favorite hunters, caught my eye. 

“With all due respect, Alpha, I think we are worried that if the teens don’t come across any humans, they may become feral.” 

“And?”

There was a pause. 

“They would attack humans,” Helen frowned, her eyes searching the room for an ally. 

Vex pursed his lips but shook his head slightly. He wasn’t willing to help her now. Even Bez stared at the table silently. 

“Humans shouldn’t be anywhere near our land,” I reminded Helen, my tone icy. “If they are, they’re trespassing. Their fate is then at the hands of whomever they cross.”

Axel was still staring into space, and I fought the urge to kick him in the balls. 

“Yes, Alpha,” Helen mumbled, her shoulders deflating. 

“The mating ceremony?” Jael said, tapping a finger on the sheet in front of her. “We have to secure our places at the ball.”

The mating ceremony was at Vallah Manor this year, a good four hours away from here. Every wolf over the age of eighteen had two years of attending balls and dances in the hope of finding their mate. 

Some were lucky enough to meet them in their packs, but usually, fated mates didn’t know one another. 

Or they could be like me, I thought with annoyance. I’d not had the fated mate bond with anyone and probably never would. I could have chosen a mate, but I hated almost everyone in the world, so it wouldn’t be something I’d ever choose. 

“The Shylans are attending.”

I snapped my head up at this, my ears pricking. This would be interesting; the Shylans were the elite of the werewolf world, and I wouldn’t mind having some of their kind in my pack. 

The riches they would bring aside, each member trained to perfection, their warriors are second to none. 

“Fine. Confirm our place,” I ordered, waving my hand dismissively. “Anything else?”

“We spotted the rogues near Harrington,” Vex muttered, as Ryle nodded beside him. 

Ryle was my best warrior after Axel and Greg, and I trusted him with my life. I doubted he would accept me when I took on the role as Alpha, but he’d bowed to me, and that was that. 

“Two of them, but there could be more,” Ryle said, tapping on the map on the wall. “We’ve got eyes everywhere, but I’d put extra wolves there.”

“Do it,” I agreed, watching as Axel rested his head on his hands, smirking as he stared at the ceiling. “Axel, can you oversee the rogue operation?”

Axel nodded without looking at me, his disrespect needling me. 

“We’re done here,” I growled, and everyone stood to leave. “Not you, Axel.” 

Axel sat back in his chair, lazily, rubbing his chin in a manner that made me want to claw his throat out. 

Cousin or not, he was behaving like a pup. 

A disrespectful one at that. 

Helen was the last to leave, and she closed the door quietly behind her while I studied Axel. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snapped, banging my fist on the table. 

Axel bolted up, giving me a crooked smile. “I’ve got a mate.” 

I blinked. 

Axel has a mate?

“Who?” I demanded, as his smile grew. 

Something was off. 

“Sasha Five,” he grinned, and a harsh laugh left my lips. 

“My brother’s fated mate?” I rasped. 

“Not anymore,” he said, clicking his tongue gleefully. 

I knew he’d probably forced her into it, and if it were anyone else, I would’ve punished him for it. 

But Sasha?

My brother was dead to me. My last promise to him was that I wouldn’t hurt her. 

Not Axel. 

“Interesting. How did Sasha take it?” I watched him as he grabbed his crotch, squeezing it. 

“Pretty well, considering.” 

“You forced her?” I said, and Axel grimaced, tilting his hand to show it was half and half. 

“Probably at the beginning. But by the end, she was enjoying it.” 

I nodded, the corners of my mouth tilting up. “She’s beautiful. You’ve done well, beta.” 

“Thank you, Alpha,” Axel bowed his head. 

He’d wanted Sasha for years. But that didn’t justify his ignorance today. 

“But you must be punished for your attitude here today. It was embarrassing.”

Axel paled, his eyebrows knitting into a deep frown. 

“Alpha?” 

“You can watch me fuck your mate.”

Axel swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat as he shook his head. 

“No.”

“No?” I echoed, sitting forward, and clasping my hands. “Either I fuck her, or the whole pack does.” 

Axel closed his eyes, but I could hear the howling of his wolf. 

He would learn not to disrespect me. 

“Be in the packhouse in one hour. Don’t touch Sasha; I don’t want your scent all over her,” I ordered. 

Axel gazed at me, clenching his jaw. 

“Me, or the entire pack,” I repeated. “You will not disobey me, beta, or I will kill you where you stand.”

Axel clenched his jaw, staring at the floor. He nodded, shoving the chair back so hard it smashed into pieces against the wall. 

“Are we clear?” I repeated, staring at Axel as he shook with rage.