The Alpha's Mates (The Three Sister's War, Book 1)

Chapter 4

Soren

"You realize that's not going to hold her for long, right?" Atlas asked as he walked into my office.

Calder snarled as he continued pacing back and forth. Finding our mate and realizing she wasn't some docile creature had put him in a foul mood. "She's going to stay because we told her to stay," he said with another low growl.

I chuckled, causing his eyes to snap over to me. "She's an alpha," I told him, then paused to let that sink in. It shouldn't have surprised me, not given the prophecy my grandmother liked to pull out at every given chance and show me. "She's not likely to listen to anyone."

"How is that even possible?" Atlas asked, his brow furrowing.

"Later," I told him, my sensitive hearing picking up the sound of a rattling chain. She wouldn't break the chain, but the wood post would be toothpicks in another hour. Sooner probably. Then she'd be free, and with a silver dusted iron chain as a weapon. "I just need her to stay put long enough for Grams to speak to her."

"Why Vera?" Atlas asked. "Why aren't we going in to speak to our mate?"

When we'd first come upon the female alpha I'd sensed right away that she belonged to us. The Moon Goddess's magic was fading more and more every year, but apparently we still had the ability to sense our mates. If this kept on much longer that too would soon be lost. Grams had always said I'd know my mate because I'd feel it. She was right. The pull was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. When I first picked up her scent, I knew instantly she was ours. I'd put out a call, telepathically to my pack that she belonged to us, and to find her.

It hadn't escaped my notice that she had some cuts and that Drew had managed to catch up with her first. It was also impossible not to notice the limp that Drew had. He was the fastest wolf in our pack, even quicker than Calder, which was nearly unheard of. That she'd managed to best him told me she was smart and strong. She'd used the element of surprise to attack him. Drew wasn't small, or stupid. He was one of my best warriors. He just hadn't been expecting a female wolf to go on the attack. It also told me that our mate knew how to grant mercy. Drew had walked away from the skirmish with only a few deep cuts.

"She's not going to speak to us yet," I explained. "We're the wolves who separated her from her pack and aren't releasing her. I'm hoping Grams will be able to get her to talk."

Calder's scowl deepened. "You're going to owe me a new bed when she breaks it, Soren."

"We'll be using the mating bed soon enough," I assured him. "Atlas, did you set the guards?"

"I did. They're standing by. Just in case."

The cadres we'd sent out to track down this female's pack hadn't returned yet. They were giving them the runaround, according to Belan when he'd reported in through our mind link. It made me chuckle to think of a bunch of women outsmarting some of my best alphas. Something told me life was about to get a lot more interesting.

As amusing as it was to have a group of females presenting this much of a challenge, it was dangerous. Sooner or later another pack would catch their scent and track them down. We could be looking at a fight with one, or several packs. We needed to find them.

We'd been hearing rumors for well over a year now about a pack of females who chose to live away from packs and on their own. I could understand their reasoning, since I'd had Calder look into the situation and it sounded like the majority of them had come from pretty terrible situations. The seaside wolves were well known to be nothing but a bunch of cowards and bullies. They liked to control their women through fear and pain. Disgust was heavy on my tongue just thinking about it.