2

ZAND

Damn it.

I had only two goals for tonight: build an alliance with Shadow Oak and stay far away from King Orion. I spent years planning this. Years keeping myself in check. Yet in under thirty seconds, I touched King Orion's omega and challenged a Shadow Oak Alpha to a fight to the death.

She was breathtaking.

Her thick black hair sat neatly on top of her head, matching the soft shimmer of her plain dress. She wore no jewelry except for a pair of long gold hoops. Her slender neck was completely bare, and everything inside me wanted to mark it right there for everyone to see.

She was mine.

But damn it, somehow, she also belonged to him.

The doors to the room burst open, and Orion walked in with his alphas. One of them pulled Amia away. My inner wolf roared at the sight of another man touching her, and I hated how fast my blood boiled.

Orion stopped right in front of me. He glared down at me. It took every drop of willpower I didn't know I had left not to tear his eyes out just for looking at her.

"What is the meaning of this, Zand?" he asked.

I had spoken to the King only twice before. The first time was two years ago when I took control of Frostbite Ridge, and the second time was yesterday. Outside of those two meetings, I went out of my way to make sure our paths never crossed.

Now, my anger and disgust began to spill out.

Rex cleared his throat.

"He touched Omega Amia. I am sure it was just a mistake," the alpha said slowly, watching me closely.

He was clearly torn. He had good reason to like me since I helped save his own omega from her past alpha, but I had just touched another man's omega and even kissed her, though Rex was smart enough not to mention that part out loud.

The King's blue eyes turned bright yellow as his wolf pushed to the front. A heavy wave of raw power hit the room like thunder. Several wolves stumbled back and dropped to their knees.

"Why shouldn't I kill you right now?" he growled.

I thought about it for a quick second.

Then I slowly dropped to my knees before him and looked down.

If I bared my neck, I would be dead.

But I would kill him before I ever apologized for touching what belonged to me.

This was my first real chance to test the King. How would he handle a submissive wolf kneeling in silence? And what would happen if I had to fight and kill him right here in front of everyone?

Rex suddenly frowned and held up his hand.

"Your Majesty? Alpha Valor is telling me that Amia wants to speak with you in private about this. She says it is all a misunderstanding."

Orion narrowed his eyes at me.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I will let the lady speak for herself," I said, keeping my head bowed.

I could beat Rex in a fight, but I did not want to.

First, he did not deserve it. He was only trying to protect the omega.

Second, while I was a High Alpha, Rex served under Valor. I preferred to let people think Valor was stronger than me. Valor would feed Rex energy during a fight, and if I cut Rex down, people would talk. I would be revealing how strong I really was before I was ready.

The Royal Guard moved in and stood close around me as Orion and Rex walked out.

I frowned.

Why did Orion have to leave the room at all? He should be able to talk to anyone in his pack through his mind. Why did Amia have to send a message through someone else to reach him?

A moment later, Rex came back into the room. He bowed his head to show respect.

"Alpha Zander, I apologize for stepping in earlier. Omega Amia explained everything, and I hope you will accept my apology."

Everyone in the room was watching us.

I almost let out a breath of relief.

Rex was being smart by keeping quiet about the strange bond between me and the King's omega. It was a dangerous situation.

"I accept your apology, and I take back the challenge," I said.

I held out my hand, and he shook it. I was glad to see no anger in his eyes. Starting a fight with an alpha from the exact pack I needed as an ally was a terrible move.

"King Orion wants to see you," Rex said softly.

The guards stepped up beside me, escorting me toward the door.

The crowd parted to give us room, their eyes fixed on me with open curiosity.

Before the heavy doors shut behind me, I heard Rex telling everyone to go back to drinking, dancing, and celebrating.

I stepped into the side room and took a deep breath.

Orion and I were completely alone.

Damn it.

This was the one place I did not want to be. I did not need the King watching me this closely.

"Alpha Zander," Orion said in a strict, formal voice.

His power pushed into the room and wrapped around me. The sudden coldness of it almost stole my breath, but I did not resist it.

I acted like his subject.

I acted like I was beneath him.

"Your Majesty," I answered, keeping my voice tight. "Call me Zand."

His lip curled with disgust.

"Zand," he repeated. "You were nobody when you asked for permission to take over Frostbite Ridge. I gave it to you without checking your background because Frostbite Ridge could not be left without a leader, especially while Shadow Oak was in such a bad spot. Now that Shadow Oak has their omega back, I can finally focus on you and Frostbite Ridge."

I was not surprised that taking over my pack had been easy back then.

Frostbite Ridge was an empty, barren land, and the few wolves living there simply wanted to be left alone.

That suited my plans perfectly.

"I challenged High Alpha Malik fairly, and I won," I said carefully. "And I am stronger than Alpha Eldric. I did not ask to take over the whole pack, but I will not leave those wolves to suffer either. I clean up my own messes."

Orion raised an eyebrow at that last line but brushed it aside with a wave of his hand.

"Eldric is old. I am surprised his heart is still beating."

He would not last much longer anyway.

Eldric's body was failing him, and the only reason he had not walked off into the woods to die was because he hoped I would bring an omega home from this trip.

The wolves of Frostbite Ridge had lived without an omega for too long, and they were losing their minds.

My only other choice was to buy an omega from a black-market auction, and there was no way in hell I would ever do that.

"He is very sick, Sire."

"And when he dies, you will need to find another alpha to replace him. Maybe even two, if you can keep them under control. You seem like a strong wolf, and Frostbite Ridge has always needed more than two alphas to function. Malik was too weak to hold more than one."

That was because Malik was weak and ruled his pack through fear alone.

"I have thought about that," I replied.

I had thought about it, and I had already decided against it.

"And what about this road you want Shadow Oak to let you build? Where does it actually lead?"

I had to be careful with what I said next.

I could not let Orion realize how much progress I had already made with my plans, but lying directly to him was dangerous too.

"I have plans to rebuild and improve the pack's economy," I said. "The road will bring in the money we desperately need if we are going to repair the damage Alpha Malik caused."

He let out a low grunt.

"A businessman. You are a strange wolf, Zand. I know you came here looking for an omega. How lucky for you that you happened to bond with one and that she turns out to be my omega."

I decided to take a huge risk.

Amia was a danger to everything I was building, and I could not afford to make another mistake.

I looked Orion straight in the eye, refusing to look away even as his wolf shone through his glowing eyes.

I had already used my own power to conceal the mating bond so he could not sense it.

Now I had to find out if my cover would hold.

"Bonded? Is that what she told you?" I asked with a faint scoff. "That sounds like the wild imagination of an omega bored with her life, or maybe the romantic fantasies of a woman who just watched her friend find her mate."

I held his gaze without flinching.

"She is no mate of mine."