The Alpha's Mage

by Claire Cullen

  “Tread carefully,” Gage warned. “He did try to run last night.”

  “Thanks, Captain Obvious. You didn’t help with your ‘twenty lashes’ crap.”

  Gage leveled him with a look. “It had the desired effect.”

  Yeah, Knox knew that. It had been far more for his benefit than for Lorcan’s. He might be a stubborn bastard, but he wasn’t enough of one to stand by while anyone beat bloody the mage he’d stolen to save their pack.

  “Gage is right. He probably won’t be amenable to helping you.”

  “I wasn’t planning on mentioning that part.”

  As long as they were both willing—and Knox was prepared to do a lot to bring Lorcan around to his way of thinking—and both got something out of it, he didn’t see the harm in his plan. It just brought forward what would have happened naturally in a few days’ time—a temporary bond to enfold Lorcan into the magic of the pack, so that he could start to shoulder some of the burdens too long carried by Orion’s weary shoulders.

  “Try to remember that he’s a person, and not just a tool to be useful to the pack,” Orion implored as Knox turned toward the door.

  He closed his eyes and worked hard to keep from snapping at the mage.

  “I can hear his heartbeat from here, Orion. His scent is like gravity, pulling me to him. If he moved an inch right now, I would know. So don’t lecture me about seeing what he truly is.” He scrubbed a hand across his face and turned to the mage, beseeching. “I didn’t choose him for me, I promise you. That wasn’t why I asked for your help.”

  Orion canted his head to the side, wise eyes sizing him up. “I know. But that was why I helped you.”

  Knox took a step toward him. “Wait, you knew? You knew this would happen?”

  “Why do you think I agreed to your plan? You weren’t the first to suggest it, but after Joel, I knew I couldn’t bear the burden of our boundary’s magic alone any longer. It had to be you who hunted for the mage, because a pack without a boundary is a dead pack. The only way to be sure we stole the right mage was if you were the one doing the stealing.”

  Knox turned his glare on Gage. “Did you know?”

  The alpha gave one short, sharp shake of his head. “No.”

  There was no room for doubt. Knox believed him implicitly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Orion?”

  The mage looked old and tired. “I didn’t believe you’d go through with it if you thought it was for your benefit. You swallowed the whole ‘for the good of the pack’ line far easier.”

  “And it is for the good of the pack,” Gage added, his gaze on the window. Outside, cubs played among the bushes, darting in and out of view. He turned back to Knox, his expression hardening. “Do what you have to. The sooner our boundaries are safe…”

  The rest didn’t need to be said. Knox knew what he had to do. It wasn’t even that he had a problem doing it. He just wished it was more about what he wanted and less about what they needed. But that was life in a wolf pack. Every one of them had to weigh the good of the pack against their own needs. As an alpha, the responsibilities only fell more heavily on him.

  Lorcan was where he’d left him, perched on the tree trunk, his legs tucked up under him. He’d gained a few onlookers since Knox had gone inside—a couple of cubs and betas. He caught a glimpse of Barrett in the distance, lurking in the shadows. Lorcan was looking his way. There was something in the way he held himself—the set of his shoulders, the fast beat of his pulse—that told Knox he’d sensed something different about the other alpha.

  “We’re going,” he announced, turning in the direction of the pack kitchen. Someone usually brought him breakfast, like they had that morning, but lunch, if they had any, was a come-and-get-it affair.

  Lorcan fell into step beside him.

  “Who was that alpha?”

  “Which alpha?” He had to be asking about Barrett, but the less said about him, the better.

  “The one back there in the trees. I haven’t seen him before.”

  “That’s Bear—Barrett to you. Keep away from him.”

  He felt Lorcan’s curious gaze.

  “Why?”

  “Because I said so.”

  “Okay…”

  Suspecting he was only bringing more questions down upon his head, he did his best to shut the discussion down.

  “Not just him. All the alphas.”

  “You’re an alpha.”

  “I’m the exception. I’m your alpha. You keep your distance from the others.”

  Lorcan fell behind a few steps, his voice following after Knox.

  “But aren’t you guys like… brothers?”

  Not knowing how to be clear enough without spelling it out, Knox backed up a few steps and grabbed Lorcan by the upper arm, ushering him along.

  “We’re pack brothers. That’s not the same as what brothers means to you. You’re mine, and I don’t share. Keep away from them.”

  “Will they keep away from me?”

  Lorcan sounded more curious than intimidated. Knox liked that he wasn’t cowering in the face of his temper.

  “They will if they know what’s good for them.”

  “I don’t know. I mean… Declan looks bigger than you. Barrett definitely is.”

  Knox turned incredulous eyes on Lorcan, only to catch the flash of amusement in the mage’s gaze. The bastard was yanking his chain. Typical sorcerer.

  “If you want lunch, I’d be making with the compliments right now.”

  Lorcan made a face. “I guess that depends on what’s for lunch.”

  Knox looked the mage up and down, letting his gaze linger and ensuring that Lorcan saw the heat in it. The other man flushed and looked away, but he glanced right back at Knox seconds later, as if he couldn’t tear his eyes away for long.

  5

  They collected their lunch, which was some kind of meat stew and a hunk of freshly baked bread, and continued back in the direction of Knox’s hut. At least, Lorcan thought that was where they were going. He was still getting his bearings. The further they got from the center of the pack, the fewer wolves and people around. Away from all the curious eyes, he could breathe a little easier. It wasn’t just the wolf cubs, who seemed to be equally wary of and curious about him. The adults were almost as bad, whether they were in their shifter forms or not.

  He’d seen only a handful of human wolves since he’d arrived. It was a stark contrast to his one brief visit to Maken Pack’s main hall. That had felt like a visit to the center of town, with barely a wolf to be seen. The difference was striking, but he stowed that question away for later. Knox probably wouldn’t appreciate him making comparisons to the other pack. Maken Pack had been filled with modern buildings, stylishly dressed people, and other clear signs of wealth. Samhain Pack seemed to mostly consist of ramshackle huts and a handful of old brick buildings in the center. A pack held together with string and hope.

  Knox’s hut came into view, and Lorcan let out a happy sigh. His feet were starting to ache between a night of no sleep and a morning of clomping along the uneven forest floor in shoes that weren’t made for all this trekking around. The alpha didn’t go in but settled on the ground outside, his back to the wall of the hut. After a moment, Lorcan sat next to him, watching the wolf eat. Knox’s portion was easily twice as big as his, just as it had been at breakfast. But then, he’d watched Knox turn from man to wolf and back again. No wonder he’d worked up an appetite.

  “Stew’s not bad cold,” Knox said with a grunt. “But it’s better hot.”

  Lorcan could have ignored the offhand prompt to eat, but it was better if Knox thought he was being a good little mage, doing what he was told. And not, you know, planning his escape. He stuck a spoonful of stew into his mouth and hummed happily. The food here was more rough-and-ready than in Maken Pack, but at least it had real flavor. He mimicked Knox and dipped his chunk of bread into the stew, biting off a piece and chewing contentedly. Even starting later and eating slower, he fini
shed before Knox, using the heel of his bread to mop up what was left of the gravy. The only proper way to eat stew.

  That done, his mind turned to the many questions tumbling around in his head. He was hoping for a bit of downtime to better plan his disappearance. He’d gotten close the previous night, and now he was so much nearer to the boundary, and a lot closer to home than he’d expected. He wished he still had the amulet, but he’d manage without it somehow. All he needed to do was make sure his magic worked on Knox this time, too. How hard could that be?

  “What happens after lunch?” he wondered.

  “Need to check the rest of the boundary.”

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  That wasn’t the right question to ask. Knox’s eyes flashed with some nameless emotion.

  “Nothing.”

  “Right. Are all packs obsessed with their borders, then?”

  “Territory is important to us.” Knox’s voice was tight, his shoulders tense.

  “So I gather,” Lorcan said flatly.

  As soon as Knox finished eating, they were up and moving again. Just like before, they picked up a few shadows in the form of beta wolves who emerged from the forest to walk alongside them. Were they always watching, or was Knox signaling them somehow?

  “How often do you walk the boundary?”

  “Every day. They didn’t do that in Maken Pack?”

  “I guess they did. I wasn’t really there that long.”

  “What were you learning?”

  He pretended ignorance. “Huh?”

  “When we found you, you were in the middle of something.”

  “Oh, that.” He kept it vague. “Strengthening their boundary. Or trying to. I can’t have been much good at it, since you walked right in.”

  “That didn’t have anything to do with your magic.”

  Knox looked satisfied somehow. Lorcan must have said something right, though he wasn’t sure what.

  As they came alongside the boundary, the air heavy with magic, the wolf lost interest in conversation. He shifted after a few minutes and didn’t change back. It was slow going; Knox seemed to closely examine every inch of the ground.

  Lorcan could sense the magic there, distantly. It didn’t call to him like the Maken Pack boundary had after Colt had bitten him. As they circled the pack’s lands, he realized they were approaching the northernmost point. His home was so close, he could almost hear the sound of singing. Maybe, if Knox was distracted, and he ran really fast…

  The alpha shifted back suddenly, herding Lorcan away from the boundary and south again. Disappointment surged through him, and he pushed back against Knox’s unmoving force.

  “No.” The alpha’s hands on his arms shoved him backwards, and Lorcan stumbled. “It’s not safe.”

  He regained his footing and stared at the alpha in confusion.

  “What do you mean ‘not safe?’” He had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly what Knox was talking about. It was a struggle to keep the amusement from his face.

  “Listen.”

  Lorcan closed his eyes and heard the familiar sound of rushing water. He blinked his eyes open, meeting Knox’s intense gaze.

  “There’s a river here. It’s fast-flowing and partially underground, broken up into multiple streams under the earth. It’s dangerous to walk too near the border; the earth could give way under you at any moment. We’ve almost lost wolves to drowning before. The land beyond is thick scrubland, hard to navigate. Even a seasoned wolf can get lost. Our pack never crosses the border here or hunts in the land beyond it.”

  Wow. The pack really had no idea what was just beyond their borders. Well, Lorcan had no reason to enlighten them. Good fences made good neighbors and all that. And the best neighbor was the one you didn’t even know was there.

  “Shouldn’t your boundary keep people from crossing here, then? Or at least keep them safe from the river?”

  “Our boundary keeps unwanted people out. It’s not designed to keep us in. Or to protect us from nature.”

  There was a bit more than nature going on, but the pack’s obliviousness was a relief. It would keep his family safe, no matter what happened.

  Lorcan managed to hide his feelings, schooling his expression into thoughtful curiosity.

  “All the same, boundaries seem like powerful magic.”

  Everyone thought pure power was what they needed—the more, the better. But it was how you used magic, and not the force you put behind it, that made it what it was.

  “A pack’s boundary is a sign of strength. A signal of our power and our position. We respect other pack’s borders, and they respect ours.” There was a flicker in Knox’s eyes before he added, “Present situation excepted.”

  Because nothing said ‘we respect Maken Pack’s borders’ like breaking in and stealing one of their mages.

  Packs stayed safe by showcasing their strength, so it made sense that their boundaries would be a manifestation of that. Lorcan’s family stayed safe by keeping hidden. Kept him safe by keeping him out of sight. That hadn’t turned out so well, in the end. The mile or so between him and home right then might as well have been a hundred for all the chance he had of getting away. Other wolves might fall foul of the druid’s wards, but there was something about the way that Knox’s wolf had latched onto him. If his suspicions were right, there wasn’t a ward in existence that could keep the alpha from him. He needed to understand the wolf better before he could use his magic against him. And to do that, he’d need to get close.

  They ate dinner sitting around a fire outside the pack kitchen. It was long after dark, and there weren’t many others there, but a few wolves wandered in and out while they ate. People were far easier to tell apart than wolves, to Lorcan at least, but he tried to pay attention to the colors of their coats and any distinctive markings. So far, he’d seen a few cubs of varying sizes and maybe a dozen different adult wolves. He tried to do a rough count of the few he’d seen in human form but got distracted by thoughts of what he needed to do to get out of there. If he had any chance of escape, he had to make sure Knox didn’t have his guard up. If that meant making nice with the wolf, then so be it.

  Knox had his head turned upward, his eyes watching the sky between the trees. “It’s getting late.”

  Lorcan followed his gaze. The crescent moon was high in the sky, bathing them in its light. Did Knox feel the pull of it? Did he sense it, even when he couldn’t see it?

  “Come on.”

  Knox gathered their plates and brought them inside while Lorcan got to his feet and waited. They walked back to his hut, the silence heavy between them. Lorcan didn’t know how to get what he wanted, but he guessed sleeping in the bed would be a start.

  He never even got to suggest it. As soon as they were inside, Knox turned to him. Lorcan felt the heat of his gaze as it trailed slowly down his body.

  “Show me your wolf mark.”

  Lorcan took a step toward the door. “What? Why?”

  “Show me.”

  Knox pointed to the center of the floor where Lorcan had knelt the night before. The wolf’s stubborn nature meant he either gave the alpha what he wanted, or Knox would take it. His feet carried him to the middle of the room, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt as he weighed his options. He was lucky, he supposed. Wolf marks could appear anywhere on a mage, according to the few mentions he’d seen of them in books. At least he only had to take his shirt off. He tugged it up and over his head and clutched the material close, as if that might ward off whatever was coming.

  Knox’s eyes scanned his chest, reaching out to pull the shirt from his grasp. Lorcan stepped out of reach and turned, putting his back to the alpha. The motion revealed his mage mark where it sat between his shoulder blades. He let his shirt fall, dropping his chin and drawing his arms around his chest. It gave Knox the best view of what he desired to see.

  Lorcan had been born with his mark, like every wolf mage that came before him. No matter if they were druid,
sorcerer, clairvoyant, or anything else. Marked from birth, the moon on their skin told everyone their destiny.

  He heard Knox shuffle closer before his fingertips brushed lightly across the skin just above the mark.

  The alpha’s voice was a hushed whisper.

  “I’ve never seen one before. It’s a crescent moon, just like the one in the sky.”

  Lorcan swallowed hard at the awe in the wolf’s voice. It took two attempts before he could speak.

  “It’s always a true reflection.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s full when the moon is full. Gone when the moon is new.” He’d seen it himself, in mirrors, fascinated by the changes in his body.

  “The moon has a pull over wolves. The way it waxes and wanes.” Knox’s fingers traced across his skin. “Your mark works the same way.”

  Lorcan shivered at the heat in Knox’s hand. Everywhere the alpha touched tingled.

  “It does?”

  “Uh-huh. You know what the mark means, right?”

  Everyone knew what a wolf mark meant.

  “That I can act as a conduit between the magic and the shifter worlds.”

  There was a pause, and then Knox circled him, brushing against him as he did, until they were face to face. Those fingers that had caressed his mark touched his chin.

  “A wolf mark means you belong to the wolves. You are pack. It’s your destiny.”

  “…Destiny?” No one in his family had ever used that word to describe what he was, what he had. They’d called it something very different. Curse.

  6

  The idea that Lorcan didn’t know what it meant to be a mage, to carry a wolf mark, was a hard truth to swallow. Lorcan’s wide eyes watched as Knox circled him again, wanting a second look at the crescent moon painting his back. He’d been careful to keep his touch light the first time, but now he let his hand splay across it. A feeling of power surged through him, pleasure tingling across his skin. He slid his hands to Lorcan’s shoulders and pressed, urging the mage to his knees. Lorcan resisted briefly before submitting, folding gracefully to the floor. Knox moved with him, settling between his legs.