Page 16 of The Alpha's Mates
“We’re not actually letting her go out there alone…right?” I asked, ignoring Soren’s dig.
“Fuck no.” He set the paper down. “The Durset Pack leaders are arriving tomorrow morning.” Irritation flickered over his features. “My grandfathers could probably-”
“Soren,” Atlas warned. “This meeting is important. You’ve been working for over a month just to get them to agree to it.”
Sighing, Soren nodded. “Damn woman is already throwing a wrench into things.”
I laughed at the aggravation in his tone. “Something tells me that’s going to be a common theme with our mate. I’ll go,” I offered.
Neither looked thrilled. They both wanted to come with me. Keeping an eye on our mate had taken precedence over everything else for all of us. Unfortunately for them, Soren was the leader of this pack and Atlas was his second. They had duties that came before their own personal needs. No one would be offended if their third wasn’t at some meeting.
Even as important as it was, nothing would keep us from sending at least one of us to trail Reese. If anyone laid a claw or fang on her, their life would be forfeit.
“Thank you, Brother.”
I snorted. “No need to thank me. You’ll just be lucky if I don’t end up dragging her back here against her will. Again.”
“Something we all want to do,” Atlas said in agreement.
“You were right,” I admitted. Both of them looked surprised, but I kept going before they could comment. “She needs to come back to us of her own free will. I didn’t get a chance to give you a full report on what I found in her village.” I paused and gave Soren a dark look. “It wasn’t good. I wouldn’t want our worst enemy living there.” I recounted to them what I’d seen and heard.
“No wonder she doesn’t trust anyone,” he said, rubbing his hand over his short beard.
“This is why it’s so important to have her come back on her own. We quite literally can’t force her. She’s been through too much,” I said. “Her father and brothers are as fucking terrible as the rumors say.”
“I’d be more than happy to pay them a visit,” Atlas offered, cracking his knuckles.
“As much as I’d like to go take care of them myself, it isn’t time,” Soren told us in a grim tone. “We need to get enough of the packs on our side before we start that fight. Otherwise, everyone will think we’re trying to finish what Lenat started. Hopefully there'll be enough packs left over afterward to stand against the humans. Because that fight will be next.”
“As if we’re anything like that fucking bastard,” I growled.
“To those who don’t know us? We could be. We need to repair some of the broken relationships between packs before we move forward with our plan.” Soren tapped a finger against the desk as he thought about everything that needed to be done.
That was why tomorrow’s meeting was so important. The Durset Pack was our closest neighbor. We’d been reaching out for months, trying to mend the broken bonds between the various mountain wolf packs. If we couldn’t convince our own brethren to trust us we were never going to succeed in convincing the plains and seaside wolves that the only way to move forward was in unity.
“I’ll take good care of her,” I promised.
Soren and Atlas both nodded. They knew they could count on me. Nothing would harm her while I was around.
CHAPTER 9
Reese
Itook a cautious step out of the cell and gave Calder a suspicious look.
“You didn’t think we were going to make you eat in there, did you?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I stayed quiet. That was exactly what I thought. It was what my father and brothers would have done. When Batu had taken Hannah, he’d kept her under lock and key for over a month. He’d driven a silver spike into the ground and left her chained in his hut.
Mom tried to convince him to release her. Eventually he’d gotten sick of her pleas. The first day I’d seen my eldest brother strike my mom was the day I learned that no male could be trusted. If he would do that to his own mother, then there were no limits. I knew I’d end up killing him one day. When my mom was murdered for protecting me, the entirety of my remainingfamily was put on my list to kill. One day, I’d find somewhere safe enough for my females. Then I’d take my revenge.
Even though I knew Mom wouldn’t fault me for having to wait, the guilt still weighed heavy on me. I forced the thoughts away and focused on the man in front of me. The urge to trust him was overwhelming, but I was angry at myself for wanting to.
He motioned for me to leave the room. My heart tripped in my chest. Was I fast enough to bolt and keep out of his grasp long enough to escape into the woods? I was still wary of the fact that at any time they could go back on their word to release me. As soon as the door opened, my heart dropped. Soren and Atlas were waiting there for me.
I froze in my tracks, waiting to see what they’d do. Were they going to force a claiming on me? My breaths were coming in sharp little pants. I refused to acknowledge that it was partially from excitement.
I needed to have a sparring match with Emma as soon as possible. Work off some of this pent up energy. My body was rioting on me anytime these men were around. Whenever we fought, I always gave myself enough of a handicap that she had a fair chance. I’d let her beat the hell out of me once I got back to my pack. It was what I deserved. What I needed to get my mind back into the game and my emotions untwisted.