Rose’s jaw dropped but she quickly shut it. “It’s wonderful to have you here, Alpha Auri.”“How can a woman be an Alpha?” Leo grumbled, he was looking away from us and I growled.“Leo, show some respect.”Auri put her hand on my arm and shook her head. 'It’s okay, Ezekiel. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s the same reaction as your elders would have toward me.'“That doesn’t make it right.” I growled. Turning back to Leo, I grabbed him by his shirt. “What the fuck is your problem?”“Zeke! Stop!” Rose put her hand on my shoulder but Auri took it off and pulled her away from me.He growled. “I want to know what the hell is wrong with you! You’ve been a disaster since we got back from the High Council.”“You think that gives you the right to insult everyone else? If you have a problem with me, then you take it to me. But you will not be disrespectful to anyone else. Auri could have removed your head for the disrespect and I would have had to just allow it!”“She’s a woman! You let her
Leo went to open his mouth but I gave him a swift glare and he shut it.“If I become Alpha, I won’t be able to see her. The Elders would be up my ass and they wouldn’t approve of a human mate. Faith agreed to be my chosen mate for show because her mate died when they both were young. I gave her a safe place and a name for herself, whereas I was covered in regards to a mate.”Rubbing my forehead, I sighed. “Does your mate know about you? What you are?”He shook his head and I groaned. “She doesn’t know. She just knows she loves me and has a pull to me. We can be apart for longer periods of time because she is human and it isn’t as strong but…Uncle, I can’t reject her. I love her.”“How long have you been seeing her?”His head fell. “Three years.”Sighing, I leaned forward, putting my elbows on the desk and placing my head in my hands. My eye contact being lost with Leo seemed to make him feel that he was free to speak.“Are you fucking kidding me? Are you stupid? You not only didn’t re
I stood with my warriors at the edge of the territory at the northern border. Leo was next to me, as was Cory. All the warriors who weren’t on patrol now lined up at the northern edge. Ahead of us, the whole of the Golden Sun pack were gathered together. Only Bryan wasn’t dressed in armor. He had his cane but he looked serious. All of them had been conversing through the mind link for the past five or ten minutes. Some of my warriors were unnerved by them, shifting back and forth.Finally, I saw a few nods and AJ, Jax, Morgan, and Hector took off. Bryan, Auri and Lucy walked over to us. I straightened and so did Leo and Cory. Auri was smiling brightly though.“Good Afternoon, Alpha Ezekiel, Beta Leo, Gamma Cory.” Bryan nodded to each of us.“Are we ready to get started?” I asked.Bryan nodded. “We want to make sure no one escapes into your territory if they run.”“So we are just cleaning up if anyone gets out of the camp after you guys clean up?”“Basically. We have our pack spread ou
I grimaced and looked back over at the beautiful wolf that was my Beta. Moving, I wiped my eyes and carefully reached out to Leo. Hector tried to help but I growled. I needed to do this. He was my Beta, my friend, my family. His body was heavy but I made sure that his head rested in the crook of my arm. I didn’t want it to look like his neck was snapped. Pulling him close to my body, I tried to get up but I stumbled. Hector’s hand went under my arms and pulled me up, as though I weighed nothing, even with Leo in my arms. I looked over at Lucy, who was sitting on a root, looking at the forest floor. She was lost in whatever she was thinking. Her eyes met mine but she looked away quickly. “She blames herself because the wolf got past her post.” Hector said quietly. Tears threatened again, but I didn’t say anything else. My arms tightened around Leo’s body and I started to walk back towards the pack territory. It was slow going but neither Hector, nor Auri, pushed me to go faster. Hect
The smoke rose into the air and I stared at the flames that were erupting from the pyre. Around me, all the pack members howled for their lost Beta. Tears streamed down my face but I didn’t make a sound. My thoughts focused only on the fire that now allowed his soul to be released from his body. Allowing his soul to be reborn again. It hurt to breathe but it had nothing to do with the smoke billowing up.One after another, they bowed their heads and tossed flowers into the center of the blaze. The flowers evaporated nearly immediately in the heat but everyone came forward. I stood off to the side, my part as Alpha already done. Rose went up last with Cory. He threw a flower into the center and so did she. True to her word though, she never looked over at me. She just turned and walked back into the forest. Cory left her side for a moment and came over to me.“Alpha…”I didn’t look away from the fire. “You should be with your mate, Gamma.”“Rose, she will come around. She will…”“Stop,
Owen turned to the table. His wolf still forward. “I hereby instate Kaden Locke as my Beta and Cory Thomas as my Gamma.” His voice was gruff and I smiled, happy that he took my advice in bringing Cory in as his Gamma. They would do well for the pack. Bringing the pack into more modern times, just as my older brother wanted to do.“Cory, you should go to Rose. She would have felt the Luna power be removed.” I looked at Owen, his eyes had gone back to their normal color. “If that is okay with your Alpha.”Owen nodded and Cory came forward, holding out his hand to me. Smiling, I shook it. “You were the best Gamma I could have asked for over the years. Take care of Rose. Make sure she has everything she could possibly want and take care of that kiddo of yours.”“I’m sorry…what?” My mother’s voice rose.Cory turned and headed out of the room. The whole group still seemed to be in shock over what had just happened. The Elders were sitting in their seats, staring at each other. My mother and
It had been three months. Three months of pain, torture and absolute hell. I loved every minute of it. We had landed in Italy and when we got to their supposed pack house, my jaw dropped. Sitting on a small peninsula, it was a three story Tuscan-style house. It was surrounded by rocks but that didn’t stop anyone from jumping into the surrounding sea. It still did have a regular pool. There were three offices, eight bedrooms, a library, a game room with a pool table and full bar, even a grand piano in the main living area.Frankly, it looked like a vacation home and was beautiful. Auri showed me to one of the larger rooms and had me settle in, making sure to take me out to fill out more of my wardrobe with local items from the nearby city. Apparently, this was just the tip of their territory.Crossing the highway a little south from it, there was a large piece of land that Auri had purchased and claimed. They were building another city in the hills for other pack members who came. Some
We lapsed into a silence except for Vale’s occasional sigh after putting a mouthful of food in his mouth. I took the opportunity to eye-fuck my mate. He was so young and still had a light in his eyes that came with being younger. There was also a hardness and an understanding of the world I knew that Bryan had been trying to drill into me since we got here. Vale saw and heard a lot from the High Council, I was sure. Both bad and good. He definitely took after Auri, though. There was a smile in everything she did, even after all the things I had heard she went through. Even after everything the previous Alpha King had done to force her out of her pack. Vale seemed to carry that same smile. “Little Alpha, are you lost somewhere in your thoughts?” I chuckled. “You know, I’m not an Alpha anymore.” Vale rolled his eyes, settling down his plate in the sink. “You will always be an Alpha, Ezekiel. Whether or not your leading a pack. You are an Alpha. My Alpha.” The last two words he growl