"Alright, Warder, you've made your point. Come down from there."
"Do you concede?" I hear from a tree different from the one I had tracked him to.
Throughout the night, I tolerated his tugs on my fur and pokes to my ribs, only to find him long gone by the time I'd whip around to catch him. Since shifting into human form this morning and getting dressed, I'm left with the tattered remains of a shirt he's managed to cut from me and a knife missing from my belt sheathe. Somehow he dive-bombs and attacks, and then disappears back up into the trees in a dizzying blur of movement, like some freakish peregrine falcon.
I spin to my right and glare up into a new canopy of leaves. "It's a draw."
"It can't be a draw, Young Alpha," he says as he drops out of yet a different tree behind me and pins my back to his chest, "when you never caught me."
I whip around to face him, my fascination long eclipsed by boiling hot frustration. "I've had you cornered to these trees for nearly an hour. It's a draw."
"Or was it I who had you cornered to these trees for an hour? You weren't even looking up at the right branches."
I stare in disbelief. "Is this how you overcome your enemies? Annoy them until they explode from the fury that builds inside them?"
"Whatever gets the job done." His smile transforms his regal features, surging heat into my chest. If there's a prettier and more contrary male than him, I'm never met them.
The vampyre shrugs and holds my knife out to me. "You'll want this back. No one's ever said that I'm not generous after a victory," he teases.
"That wasn't a victory."
He doesn't bother to look behind him as he walks away. "We'll agree to disagree."
And that stokes my rage even more. I breathe through it and count to thirty as my father always preaches, then I roll my neck and shake out my limbs. "It doesn't matter," I mutter to myself. "This doesn't matter."
The vampyre looks back at me then, hazel eyes peering into my soul. "That's usually what losers say."
Delta Banks, in all his muscled glory, approaches me from the larger group in the field. "Alpha wants to meet with these wolves as soon as we can get them down to the beach," he informs me, then cringes at seeing my expression. "Everything alright?"
"There's a good chance I'm going to gag that vampyre before the end of the night. Which is saying a lot from someone who has Rainer as a brother."
Banks throws his head back in a scratchy, growling day-after-shifting laugh. "Well, maybe he won't stay for long," he offers.
And that thought manages to annoy me even further.
My father strides down the driftwood beams-cum-steps of the rocky trail to where we await him on our gritty beach, away from our pack's homes where they might come upon the new wolves and get nervous. Omi is at his back, along with the betas of his personal guard and Theta Redd, who I'm guessing is there since he's studied about vampyres more than anyone else in our pack.
"Reeve," my father reaches out and runs a hand through my hair, marking me with his scent, "how did last night go?"
"No issues. Thank you for suggesting I join them."
Alpha leans in and sniffs the curve of my neck, pausing for a fuller inhale before pulling back to look me over.
"What is it?"
"Your scent has changed."
I put my arm to my nose, inhaling up to my elbow. "I don't smell anything."
My father sniffs at me again. "You smell like—"
"Power," Omi says on an exhale from behind him as if the word might curse us all.
My father's hard, gray eyes snap from me to the small pack to my left, then to the omega stationed beside the master warder. He nears them with his strong stride and intimidating posture and swings his gaze from the vampyre to the omega to me, in that rotation, two more times before he breaks the silence gripping the group. "All of you are welcome here. We mourn your loss and will host a passing ceremony for Alpha Kells tonight. In the meantime, we've set up the nearby cottages for you."
My father studies the slight omega and then speaks to her in a calm, reverent tone. "We would be honored to have you stay with us in our pack home."
"She says she'd be honored, Alpha," I say and then hesitate as my father's features widen with astonishment. I can't say whether it's his expression or the wind coming off of the Bantagion Sea that's chilling me so deeply.
His focus volleys between me and the omega. "You can hear her?"
"Yes, Alpha," I reply, uncertain about what that means, though the admission makes me feel exposed somehow.
My father looks to Omi, privately speaking through their bond. He nods at whatever is said then addresses the pack again, leaving me to stew in discomfort.
The vampyre's eyes sit on me, a brutal hot pressure poking holes in my confident stance as surely if he were sticking me with a fire iron to reveal any other hidden talents or, perhaps, vulnerabilities to exploit.
"Please rise," my father says. "Omicron Easton will come around to each cottage to address any concerns and see to any special needs. We have a pack dinner tonight at sundown where you'll be introduced to the rest of the pack. After, we'll say our blessings to Satu and have the passing ceremony. We won't keep you long, as I'm sure you all are tired after traveling and shifting."
"Thank you, Alpha," an elder replies. "Your generosity has saved us."
"Your alpha was gravely wronged and I know he would have done the same for my pack if such a tragedy were to befall me."
"He admired you very much," the male replies, eyes watering.
"You all are safe now. Tomorrow, I'll begin meeting with each of you and look forward to learning more about what you hope to do within the pack."
With that, he sweeps past me and speaks through our bond. "Come with me, son."
Shit.
∞ ∞ ∞
My father shuts the door to his office, set in the back hall of the pack house, and I sit a little straighter in the plush chair across from his desk. The scent of leather smothers me, and I mentally curse the book-lined walls as they seem to close in. I glance at the shuttered windows, yearning to throw them open and make my escape back to the coast.
He takes a seat next to me instead of behind the desk and shifts his chair to face me. His stormy eyes roam my face. "You have been blessed, Reeve. More than I have been, more than any of our ancestors who have followed Arym."
I fold my hands in my lap but don't drop my gaze—never drop my gaze—from my alpha. He sees me, his successor, as different from the others in the pack. I'm a trainee molded through each experience, masterfully sculpted each day into someone more judicious, more virtuous, more empathetic, more aware. He whittles away at the wild instincts of my wolf. Tames me, refines me, balances reason with intuition. He knows me, knows my soul—the passion and fire—knows the respect I feel for our goddess and prima alpha. That's what he uses every day to drive me and it's what he's appealing to now.
"Reeve, is the omega who you saw in your vision? Is she who you were waiting for?"
"I believe so, Alpha." I don't mention my suspicion that I was waiting for the vampyre as well. I'm not sure what to think of him yet, aside from being haughty and arrogant and too good looking.
My father places a firm hand on my knee, leaning in for support. "You're sure?"
I flash a smile and nod. "I'm positive."
"Do you know what it means? Did your vision show you anything about what we must do, or why she's come to you?"
"I'm not sure yet."
He leans back, rubbing a hand through the scruff on his jaw. "Alright. I have to admit the timing seems curious, with the recent attacks and the circumstances bringing you together."
A knock on the door has my father retreating to his leather swivel chair behind his desk. Coly pokes his head in, tone subservient. "Theta Redd is here to see you at your request, Alpha."
"Very good, Coly. Please, send him in."
Theta Redd glides into the room, his movements remarkably fluid for the day after a full moon.
"Thank you for coming," my father says.
"Of course, Alpha. How may I help?" He sits on the chair my father just vacated, adjusting it to face our leader.
"What are your thoughts on why Reeve is the only one who could hear the omega?"
Redd sits at ease, left leg crossed over his right knee. "She chooses whom she speaks to and whom her powers affect."
"Yes, but she chose to speak to me when providing a response to my father," I reply, emphasizing the last bit. Part of me wishes they all hadn't been there to witness it. Between my vision and now this, the pressure compounds until I'm too paralyzed to know what to think or do about anything.
My tutor uncrosses his leg and shifts back in his seat, a slight apprehension to his words. "She will always address the wolf she views as her alpha first."
My expression locks in perfected stoicism, yet I'm not ready to look over at my father. I'd prefer to disappear out of the room, but when I glance his way there's no sign of affront on his face, rather the corner of his mouth lifts in amusement. "I already know these answers, son. Theta Redd is here for your benefit."
"Why would she choose me as her alpha and not you?" I ask, trying not to reveal a hint of my suppressed hysterics.
My father nods toward Redd to answer, enlisting his more academic and analytical approach to help me see reason. "The omega attaches itself to the source of most power in the pack. In this pack, she has deemed that to be you." Redd looks decidedly uncomfortable now, shoulders stiffening, fearful he's insulted our alpha in the process of his explanation.
"It's alright, Redd. Reeve's power is indeed growing, and quickly. Even I can feel the sway of it."
"What do we do from here?"
My father grins at my question, full of confidence and affection. "Son, you do not need to do anything. Your power will strengthen, you will transition to an alpha apprentice, and when you're ready, you will take over the pack." He shifts his focus to Redd. "Now, Theta, what do you know about an alpha wolf and a master warder?"
Oh hell.
My tutor crosses his leg again, looking grateful to be changing topics. "It's one of Satu's most coveted gifts. It goes beyond even a wolf's bond, merging their souls in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. Once a master warder chooses the alpha they wish to commit to, it syncs them completely."
"How?" I ask.
Redd continues. "For the bond to occur the two must go through a commitment ceremony, calling forth the power of Satu. The physical link between the two is as important as the spiritual."
I don't peek at my father. I don't need to. His cautious evaluation is like a hand gripping my throat.
"Are you going to ask him to commit to you?" I ask and can't explain why I hold my breath awaiting his answer, but everything about this situation feels deeply personal and precarious.
"No. In time, I thought to have him commit to you."
"Me?" I hardly keep the "oh shit" out of my tone, unsure that I actually want to hear him confirm the answer.
"His presence here would certainly strengthen our pack against the immediate threat of the attacks and for what's left of my reign and it would allow us greater authority in the Council. With you sharing a bond with an omega and a warder, you'd be the most powerful alpha in our world."
He looks at me then. Really looks at me—the crack of concern in my gaze, my quickening breaths. "I'm going to make him an offer to tempt him to stay," he says. "That will give you both time to acquaint yourselves and see if a bond may work between you."
I rub over my face, a heavy exhale forced between my fingers. "You want to house a vampyre here?" Surely, I am not hearing this correctly.
"Yes, a vampyre that led a pack of banished wolves to safety, survivors of an attack his king, no doubt, orchestrated."
"It could be a trap, Father."
"Vampyres are many things, Reeve, including too proud and cocksure for their own good. If a vampyre bearing the mark of the priestesses is saving wolves, that is a strategic and declarative action. And right now, I believe that our pack is safer with a vampyre here than without one."
My gut plummets, swooping down into the lowest part of my belly with a sickening turn. I lift my eyes to my alpha and cold shock races along my neck and down my back. "You're sure about this?"
His face, always as stable as a mountain, gleams with assurance. "I am. Theta Redd, please compile anything you think could be relevant about vampyres, and warders specifically. We look forward to learning about whatever you may find."
"Of course, Alpha." He nods then turns to me. "Young Alpha."
He whisks out of the room and I eye his chair like a detonated landmine, vibrating from the aftermath of my father's orders. "This is risky, Alpha."
My father sits back and grunts in assent. "That it is, son. But it is also a rare opportunity."
"If you think so, then I will too, but it's going to take me time to get used to him. I can't help but feel closed off around him...protective of the pack."
"As I would expect, Reeve. I'm used to vampyres from interacting with the Council, but this is your first time. Our pack has been far removed from other species. I don't think you'll be the only one needing time to adjust." He extends his hands—the size of bear claws—over his desk and gestures for me to grip them. I grab hold of him and meet his gaze. "I cannot sit by and do nothing. I cannot tolerate the fear our pack feels when traveling through communal lands or to markets, or each time a stranger comes within several miles of our borders. We cannot live like this, held prisoner to our own lands because of a foreign king, hoping to avoid the same fate as the Jewel River wolves. He will not rob us of our right to feel safe within our own homes. Give the vampyre a chance to earn your trust before you dismiss him. If it's not meant to be, so be it."
As if I could dismiss someone like this master warder. Someone whose presence seems to take up too much space. Someone whose infuriating smirk taunts my thoughts and raises my hackles. Someone who makes me want to prove myself just to shut him up.
"I'll do my best, Alpha."