Chapter 2: Kieran

Kieran

“Tell me again why you’re doing this, Alpha?” My pack member’s voice is grating on my nerves.

‘Get her fucking hands off of us,’ my wolf, Samson, says.

I look down and see that she’s rubbing my crotch and pressing her body against mine. I don’t even think I’m responding to her touch.

“Camila, get your hands off of me,” I growl.

“I just want to make you feel good, Alpha,” she purrs. Samson pushes forward, slamming her against the wall, holding her by her throat.

“When an Alpha tells you to take your fucking hands off of him, you do it,” he snarls in her face.

“Alpha, is everything okay?” Markus, my Beta asks, walking up.

Samson turns, snarling at him. “Get her the fuck out of my sight before we have one less pack member.” Then he turns back to Camila. “Don’t fucking touch me again.”

“Yes, Alpha,” she says, the scent of her fear practically choking me.

‘Let her go, Samson,’ I tell my wolf.

Markus pulls her out of my bedroom and then comes back in looking at the bags on the bed. “Did you need some help, Alpha?”

“No,” I growl.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it then.”

He walks out, closing the door behind him.

I have to find her. I have to find her. I need my mate. I have to find her.

“Alpha?”

I spin around, seeing my Gamma, Elias. He holds up his hands as if warding off my attack.

“Hey, Alpha. Did you need some help? You were pacing and talking to yourself. Did you want me to help you finish packing? We need to leave soon. We’re going to see if the Alpha female, the Guardian, is your mate, right? Do you remember that? And if not, there will be a lot of she-wolves there, so there’s a good chance you can find her.”

He takes a cautious step towards me. “I’m just going to help you, okay Alpha?”

I scrub my hands over my face. Fuck! I’m so close to going feral that sometimes I can’t rein Samson in. All he can think about is finding our mate. I forget to eat, I can’t sleep, I can barely focus.

“Yes, I need to finish packing and then we need to go.”

“What can I do, Alpha?” he asks.

I look at my suitcase. I have no idea how long I’ve been trying to pack, but I barely have anything in the suitcase. “Can you grab my toiletries from the bathroom?

“Absolutely.”

While he does that, I go to my closet and grab my clothes. Normally, I’d fold them neatly or hang them in a travel bag, but I’m not sure how long I have before I lose control of Samson again.

“Elias, I haven’t killed anyone, have I?” I ask him when he comes back out.

“No, Alpha. Beta Markus and I have been watching over the pack to make sure that you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Thank you.”

I’m not sure why his presence helps me to focus. Markus’ certainly doesn’t. But Elias is patient and doesn’t mind repeating things to me so that I can remember them.

“Where are we going, Elias?”

“There’s an Alpha female across the country. She’s a Guardian or something, whatever that means. It’s some huge event and you wanted to go in case she’s your mate. There will be lots of other she-wolves there, so we agreed that this was a good opportunity for you to find your mate, Alpha.”

“Right, right. The she-wolf. What’s her name?”

“Uh, Raelyn? No, Reagan. Alpha Reagan. She’s the youngest in her family and there’s some special thing, I don’t really understand it. I don’t know what it means that she’s a Guardian. Is that some sort of thing in her pack? Maybe she’s a strong warrior or something?”

I feel like I should know what a Guardian is, something that I read about once, but I honestly don’t remember, and I can’t give the energy to try to remember or Samson might take hold again.

“I guess we’ll find out when we get there. How long will it take us to get to her pack?”

“Two days Alpha, which is why we need to get going. Her birthday is tomorrow. We’re going to be lucky to make it in time for her birthday party as it is. Are you packed?”

I look around. “Elias, does it look like I have everything I need?” I ask, knowing that I can’t focus enough to know on my own.

He comes to stand beside me, looking over my clothes. “What about some workout clothes, Alpha. They may have warrior training. If you find your mate, you might feel like sparring again.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s a good idea. Can you get some workout clothes for me.”

“Absolutely, Alpha,” he says and goes to my closet to get what I need.

‘Guardians are strong. She would be a good mate to us,’ Samson says, pacing in my head. Back and forth. Back and forth.

“Alpha, are you ready?”

I shake my head and see that Elias has my bags packed, zipped up, and by the door. I didn’t even see him finish packing for me.

“Yeah, the sooner the better,” I say.

I follow him outside, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone. It’s all I can do to remember why I’m going out to the car. I’m glad it’s Elias and not Markus driving with me.

“Markus, take care of the pack.”

“Absolutely, Alpha. You can trust me to make sure that all will be well while you are gone.”

All isn’t well, but that’s another issue entirely.

We get in the car, with Elias driving.

“Do you know anything about Guardians, Alpha?”

“Samson does. He says they’re strong,” I say.

I think we talk more as we drive, but I lose focus and at some point, Samson takes over again.

I need to find her. I need to find her.

“Alpha, we’re here,” Elias says. My head snaps to him, ready to attack. His hands are up and he stays still, watching me. I fight to pull Samson back.

“Where are we?” I ask, looking around and not recognizing anything.

“We’re at a hotel, Alpha. We’re on our way to the birthday party of that Alpha she-wolf, the Guardian.”

“Right. Right. Why are we stopping?”

“We’ve been driving all day, Alpha, and we still have another ten to twelve hours tomorrow. I can’t keep driving without some sleep.”

“Right, okay. Where’s my room?”

“We’re sharing a room, Alpha. It’s just the two of us and I didn’t want you to get confused in the middle of the night. There are separate beds.”

I follow him into a hotel room, then go get in the shower. When I come back out, there’s food in the room.

“Why don’t you eat while I shower, Alpha?” he says.

I sit and begin eating.

I need to find her. I need to find her.

“Alpha?”

I turn, snarling until I see that it’s Elias. “Alpha you’re probably tired after a long day. Why don’t you get some sleep? I can clean up here,” he says then looks at the food. “Were you not hungry? Did you want to eat anything else?”

I shake my head and move to the bed.

“Here, take this one, Alpha. I’ll keep watch so you can sleep,” he says, moving me to the bed farthest from the door.

“You’re a good Gamma, Elias,” I say, falling into bed.

“And you’re a good Alpha. Or you will be again, hopefully.” He says the last part so quietly, I’m not sure I was meant to hear it. But even going feral, my senses are that of an Alpha.

The next morning, Elias has food delivered before I’m fully awake. Mornings are the hardest for me now. Since I don’t sleep well, once I do fall asleep, I struggle to wake up.

“Good morning, Alpha. Are you ready to start your day? Today is the Alpha she-wolf’s birthday. If we’re lucky, she’ll be your mate. As soon as you finish eating, we’ll leave,” he says.

I sit down, biting into the food he brought. It tastes like cardboard. I know I need to eat. Tonight is important, if what Elias says is true. I need my strength and energy so I can keep hold of Samson and try to find our mate.

“When are we leaving?” I ask, looking around.

“As soon as you’re done,” he says. I realize that he’s somehow packed our bags and left me a change of clothes to put on. I change and then we get in the car again.

I need to find her. I need to find her.

It’s dark when Elias pulls up to a guard gate.

“Alpha Kieran and Gamma Elias are here for Alpha Reagan’s birthday party,” I hear him say.

“The party started two hours ago, Gamma. You and your Alpha are late,” I hear the patrol say.

“We came across the country. It took us two days to get here. But we’re here now,” he says.

“Follow the road. Once you’re close to the packhouse, find any place you can to park. There are a lot of Alphas and other royalty here for Alpha Reagan’s party.”

“Thank you,” Elias says and he pulls down the drive.

“Do you want me to roll down the windows, Alpha? Maybe see if you catch her scent?” he asks.

“Who is she again?” I ask.

“Alpha Reagan. She’s a Guardian. She turned eighteen today.”

We pull up to a packhouse that has enough cars parked that I wonder where they are housing everyone.

“Who is she? A celebrity?” I ask.

“She’s a Guardian, Alpha. The last in this generation. It’s a huge party, obviously.”

When I step out of the car, the most intoxicating scent fills my nose. The forest, fresh air, and rain. It feels like ... freedom.

Before I can get control of him, Samson takes over and goes racing to find his mate.