Nathan
I had been uneasy as Maxwell spun in my mind, and I hated it. I hated it so much because I was slipping out of control, and my wolf wasn't one known to cause me to be unstable.
If anything, he had always been the opposite. One of the best, strongest, most powerful, and rare. The very reason ruling at such a tender age had never truly been a burden for me. Aside from the curse that ran through our lineage, weighing down generations of Alpha's, leaving them broken, vulnerable, and eventually dejected, forced to pass the mantle to younger heirs who would rule until they found their mates, until she bore a child… and then died, continuing the same cursed cycle, aside from all of that, the moon had still blessed our bloodline with unmatched power and relentless bravery.
We were cursed, yes… but we were unstoppable. Impenetrable. Ruthless when it came to anything that threatened what was ours. That was why we had remained dominant for so long, facing fewer wars and threats than most packs, until this year. Until Alpha king Benjamin decided to challenge us, claiming the lands that stretched across our eastern borders.
And now… now he was trying to take her.
I knew better than to believe it was anything simple. He didn't take women to cherish them. He took them to make them disappear, just like the countless brides before her. I wasn't naive enough to believe they simply died. No. There was something darker beneath it, something hidden beneath layers of fear and silence. People either chose not to care… or they feared him too deeply to question it, to dig for the truth buried beneath his bloodstained reign.
But truthfully… I had never concerned myself with it before. I knew almost nothing about his first mate, Diane, the same lady rumored to have led to a curse that I'm not certain ever existed.
I exhaled sharply as I felt his presence looming somewhere in the training ground. My eyes followed over, and there he stood looming ahead, his posture relaxed, with arms actually tucked into his pant pockets, like he owned the ground beneath his feet. And that was the problem… he usually felt the entire world revolved around him and every other alpha or person must subdue under his feet, one of the very reasons I hated his guts.
But as my focus sharpened, Maxwell stirred again, uneasy, restless, agitated.
And I knew why.
Her.
The girl inside my manor.
I could feel her uneasiness in my line of thoughts.
I turned and moved without thinking. My strides quick and urgent, Maxwell took over even before I could stop him, racing towards the manor with urgency, going through the back dark tunnel with a small door, the fastest alternate means from the hunting ground. He followed her scent until I was standing in my room, but I was met with the ruffling duvet and then her cold absence.
Maxwell saw red as he took off, pulling through the door towards the reception stand, and there Lawrence sat, head bowed, his form trembling, but Maxwell's eyes glowed in the distance. What mattered now was finding her, and Lawrence would have to come later.
Her scent lingered faintly in the air, drifting outward, toward the open grounds beyond the manor. That alone sent a sharp jolt through me.
She shouldn't be outside.
Not alone. Not exposed.
We moved instantly, pushing through the doors and into the open just as she stepped forward… and collided straight into my chest.
Her body tensed on impact, her eyes widening in shock, her heartbeat spiking so loudly it echoed against my senses. The sound was enough to unsettle even Maxwell, but then… it slowed.
Gradually. Carefully.
As she inhaled.
Recognizing.
Her head lowered, resting gently against my chest as a soft, shaky breath slipped past her lips.
Relief.
I forced control back, shifting fully into myself again, though the tension still clung tightly to my muscles. Without hesitation, I scooped her up on her feet bridal style and returned back towards the manor.
I could feel eyes on us, dozens of them. Watching. Whispering. Some filled with curiosity, others with resentment, even envy.
But none dared step forward.
None dared challenge me.
And I made sure of that.
When I reached the reception stand again, I walked straight past Lawrence without a word. His punishment would come, but not now. Maxwell's presence lingered heavily in my mind, urging restraint, urging focus..
Inside the room, I placed her gently on the bed, stepping back just enough to study her. Her eyes remained fixed on me, wide and uncertain, as if trying to understand something she couldn't quite grasp.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her voice soft but rough around the edges.
"You shouldn't have left this room without my approval."
Her expression faltered instantly.
"I'm sorry… I had to," she said, her voice smaller now. "I needed water. I was… really thirsty
Right on cue, her stomach rumbled, the response that got me so upset.
The sound hit something sharp inside me.
"Didn't anyone bring you food or water?"
She shook her head slowly. "There was nothing when I woke up… and my throat, still burns."
My jaw tightened.
"Stay here. Don't step outside again," I said firmly, already turning toward the door as anger surged through me again.
By the time I returned to the reception, Lawrence had already dropped to his knees.
"Alpha Nathan, I'm so sorry if I upset you in any way. The orders from the cafeteria didn't come, and when she had asked for water and food, I didn't have any choice but to direct her towards the cafeteria," he explained, but I was so furious as hell.
"Why didn't you mindlink me when you didn't see them? Why didn't you inform me when she came asking for water? Instead, you let her leave outside there? Do you know the severity of the damage your negligence would have brought?"
Lawrence curled up in my arms as I gripped into his collar, his eyes widening and going red. "I'm sorry, Alpha Nathan. I promise it won't repeat itself again," he said as I dropped him down, and he fell onto the floor with a brutal splash, curling up into himself.
"It better never repeat itself," I said and turned towards the cafeteria in quick strides.
By the time I got there, the staff manager saw me and instantly dropped on his knees, his body coiling stiff under my great rage.
"We're sorry, Alpha Nathan," he stammered. "We couldn't attend to your request immediately, but the food is being prepared now…"
My gaze shifted past him and I saw ten staff seated idle behind the counter.
"You had no time?" My voice was calm, but deadly. "Yet your staff sit there doing nothing?"
His silence was answer enough.
"Perhaps I should replace you," I continued coldly. "Or remove your head entirely. Incompetence has no place here."
"Please don't remove me, Alpha. I have no other job to sustain my family with," he pleaded desperately, but I had already gone into the mindlink, issuing the command.
As one of the Alphas of the strongest and most powerful ancient packs that existed, I had the right to order his immediate removal from his seat, and no one could question that, except of course…
His scent reached me before his presence did. "You would do no such thing, Alpha Nathan."
I didn't have to turn for Maxwell to turn red.