by Eva Harper
The man stood up and smiled back at Theo. He then ushered us inside his packhouse. The inside looked as rustic and warm as the exterior; exposed wood beams and metal fixtures covered their first floor. Alpha Trissur ushered us into a meeting room where a group of people sat.
Theo sat at the head of the table and motioned for me to sit next to him on the left. Alpha Trissur sat on his right and introduced us formally to everyone in the room. They each bowed their heads and then began informing Theo of the situation.
The meeting took a long time, most of it spent bickering about the ways they were going to reclaim their territory. Alpha Reed Porter set up camp on the south end of their territory and was threatening to attack if Alpha Trissur did not hand over his land.
Alpha Trissur sat back in his set, wiping his hand over his peppered beard. He looked tired, and I wondered why he hadn’t handed over his position to his children yet.
“Alpha, we can’t just walk right up to him and demand that he leaves. He’ll attack on sight,” a man at the end of the table growled.
“What do you suggest we do, let him stay there?” the woman next to him snorted.
“No, Willa,” the man said condescendingly. “We need to think about the consequences before we decide our actions.”
“I agree,” Theo said lightly.
“So, what do we do?” All heads at the table looked to Theo. He looked down at his hands folded on the table.
“We contact Reed Porter first,” he said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “We ask him for a list of his demands, and then we make our next move after we know all the facts. We know he wants your land, but we need to know how much and when. Bring me up to speed when you know everything.”
Alpha Trissur nodded in agreement and stood up, pushing his chair back. The rest of the table stood as well. Theo finally rose and looked at me until I did the same. He walked out of the room, and I followed after him.
A man escorted us to a room on the third floor and informed us a guard would be stationed at the end of the hallway for our protection and our privacy. Theo let out a big breath as he sat on the large, maroon bed. The room had the same rustic features as the rest of the house; exposed beams and candlelight fixtures warmed the room.
I slid off my shoes, feet aching from the tall heels, and limped over to Theo. He laughed as I dove into the bed face first, and he ran his hand lovingly over my leg.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been as attentive today,” he apologized.
“I understand, you’ve got a lot on your plate.”
“I know, but that’s no excuse,” he stated firmly. I turned my head and rested it on my arms. He pushed my hair back from my forehead like he always did and set my feet in his lap. Slowly, he began rubbing my aching feet, and I groaned loudly in pleasure.
“This is a good apology,” I practically moaned. He chuckled and continued soothing my feet. When he was done, he brought my foot up and kissed my ankle. I giggled and tried to sit up, but he released my foot and slumped back onto the bed next to me.
“Do you know what you smell like?” His warm words tickled my ear. I shook my head, no. “You smell like nutmeg and fresh rain.”
I laughed. “I smell like nutmeg and rain?”
He nodded his nose into my cheek, inhaling my scent again. “Fresh rain, like the smell when you step outside right after the rain subsides. Like trees and flowers and everything covered in rain and dew. Everyone has a scent; humans just don’t have the sensory receptors to smell it strongly enough.”
His fingers gently ran across my exposed shoulder and drew lazy shapes on my skin. I closed my eyes and focused on the touch of his fingertips on me. I breathed happily, and as my breath washed across Theo’s face, he leaned in. I felt the heat radiating from him as he gently parted his mouth.
I opened my eyes for just a moment before his lips pressed against mine gently. It didn’t feel like the first time he kissed me. That kiss was loving and gentle, a few seconds of sweet reassurance. Theo growled playfully as my hands wove into the strands of his dark hair. His right hand gripped my waist tightly, my dress gathered in his hands.
His breathing quickened, and so did mine, but I didn’t know my next move. All we had ever done was kiss, that was as far as it ever went, but Theo’s strong hands seemed to be wanting more than just the touch of my lips. I pulled back as far as I could, unlocking my lips from his and took a deep breath. He kissed my cheek and then down to my neck.
“Theo,” I burst. He skimmed his nose along my jawline and looked into my eyes. “I don’t know what-”
“I know, love,” he said in a soothing tone. “We don’t have to do anything else.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” I rushed out.
“Little one,” Theo smiled. “There is no hurry. We have the rest of our lives for everything else.”
I nodded and rested my head back into his arm.
“Why don’t I go run you a bath, and we can just relax for a while?” he suggested. I nodded. He left the bed, and I heard the knobs to a bath turn on. As I was waiting for Theo, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I called. The door slowly opened, but no one entered. I stood up off the bed and poked my head past a wall to look at the door from a safe distance.
“Excuse me, Miss. I’m looking for Enforcer Weston,” a guard stated.
“Theo,” I beckoned over my shoulder. He came wandering out from the bathroom, white shirt now rolled up around his elbows.
“Hello, can I help you?” Theo asked kindly as he wiped water droplets from his hands onto his pants.
“Enforcer Weston,” the man greeted, bowing his head in respect. “I am to inform you Reed Porter has been contacted, and we have a list of his demands. Alpha Trissur would like you to meet him in his office.”
Theo exhaled loudly and began unrolling his sleeves.
“We’ll be right there, thank you.”
The door closed, and Theo looked at me apologetically.
“I have to put the heels back on, don’t I?” I guessed.
A Fellow Alpha
As I slid the tall boots back up my legs, Theo emptied the bathtub and slipped his suitcoat on.
“How do I look?” he said, standing before me, spinning slowly. I nodded, smiling a little, and he reached for my hand. We walked down to the office of Alpha Trissur, where two guards were stationed. They opened the door for us, and Theo pushed me in before himself. The office was smaller than the meeting room but still sizeable. Dark, mahogany wood coated the walls, desk, chairs, and the wall of books that fixated me.
“You’re a reader?” Alpha Trissur spoke to me directly for the first time.
I tucked my head in embarrassment. “I love to read,” I admitted.
Theo laughed and told him I had a whole room dedicated to books and art in his house. Alpha Trissur smiled and walked over to the wall, reaching for two books from a high shelf. They were weathered, and the spines were fragile.
“These are some of my favorite human books. They’re from long before the exchange of power,” he said as he held them affectionately. Most of the wolves I encountered referred to the time when wolves took over as “the exchange of power,” so it didn’t surprise me when he did the same. “I’ve read them so many times I could probably recite half of it back to you right now,” he said chuckling. “Why don’t you hold onto them for me?”
I looked in surprise but quickly averted my gaze in respect for him. Alpha Trissur and Theo both laughed boisterously.
“Margo, you don’t have to lower your gaze.” Theo touched my cheek as he spoke. “As my mate, you have as much authority as I do.”
I continued to keep my head low as Alpha Trissur handed me the two books. I settled myself into a large, tub chair and gently caressed the frayed spines of the books. Theo and Alpha Trissur took seats close to me with a small table between them.
I was so intrigued by the books I didn’t catch the first half of their conversat
ion. I remembered things like, “Porter’s demands,” and “half the territory.” It wasn’t until Theo called my name that I honed in on their talking.
“Your previous Alpha, Dorian, he invaded a neighboring territory, correct?” Theo questioned.
“I believe so. I was only thirteen or fourteen when it happened, so I don’t remember all the specifics.”
“Do you remember if he was reprimanded?”
I shook my head, no. “I have no idea.”
“I can’t lose any more territory, Theo. I lost good ground to the north a few months back from a bad storm, and we have yet to rebuild. If I release this land to Reed Porter, it will force me to relocate my pack members, and I simply don’t have the funds for that right now,” Alpha Trissur admitted to Theo. The wrinkles in his forehead folded with concern.
“I know, Duncan. It’s not right for him to demand this of you. His pack isn’t growing enough to even consider an expansion of territory, let alone take yours from you.”
“What will he do?” I whispered quietly to Theo, not wanting to upset Alpha Trissur further. Theo bent down to my ear.
“He’s threatening to attack. Duncan has a large pack, but it is smaller than Reed Porter’s, which would most likely result in the destruction of his pack altogether.”
“I have an ally to the west that would fight alongside us. Francis Alban,” Alpha Trissur said optimistically.
“That might work to our advantage,” Theo nodded quickly. “We will meet with him in the morning. If he still does not concede, you may need to contact Francis.”
Theo and I returned to our room, debating on drawing another bath, but I settled for a hot shower. I undressed in the bathroom and stuck my hand in to feel if the water was hot enough. Theo knocked on the door, and I quickly hopped in, letting out a squeal when the cold water hit my back.
“Do you want some help?” he called suggestively through the crack he had opened in the doorway.
“No,” I said defensively. “I’m doing just fine without you.”
“Water still cold?”
“How do you know that?” I peeked outside of the shower curtain.
“A guard just came by to tell me that the room hasn’t been used recently and that we should let the shower run for a few minutes to allow it to warm up.” I heard the teasing in his voice.
“That would have been nice to know beforehand,” I grunted.
“Aw, do you want me to come warm you up?”
“No,” I said, standing at the far end of the shower in attempts to hide from the cold.
“Are you sure?” His hand ruffled the outside of the shower curtain.
“Theo, get out of here.” He chuckled. “I mean it.”
“Okay, little wolf, put your claws away. I’m leaving.
“I’m not a wolf,” I reminded him.
I swear I heard him mutter, “not yet.”
I finished my shower and joined Theo in the massive bed. He was sitting up reading something on his phone. I slipped in next to him and began reading on the books Alpha Trissur had given me.
“Are they any good?” Theo murmured into my ear, startling me. I turned and found him reading over my shoulder.
“They’re amazing.”
“Really?” He smiled down at me. He didn’t seem too surprised. “What are they even about?”
“Romance, society, ethics, mystery, all sorts of things,” I rambled on. “This one is full of short stories about human days. It’s amazing we got anything done with all the betrayals and love triangles.”
“Things are simpler now.” Theo pressed his lips against my head and turned over to go to sleep. I stayed up until I finished half the book and then curled myself opposite of Theo.
Prey
“Margo.” My eyes flashed open, and I gulped in a huge breath. Theo was close to my face, out of bed, and standing next to me, fully dressed.
“Why do you never wake me when you first get up?” I grumbled unhappily. Theo laughed loudly and flipped the covers off me.
“Dress warmly. Try not to show a lot of skin. We’re going to pay Reed Porter a visit this morning.”
I got dressed in warm clothes and joined Theo at the small bistro table near the window where someone had delivered out breakfast.
“I want you to stay by my side today,” he said with a bite of toast in his mouth. I nodded. “The only way I know you’ll be safe is if I can have you right next to me. Not that I don’t trust Duncan’s pack, but if it came down to a choice of me or them protecting you, I’m always going to choose me.”
“Okay,” I assured him. He settled back in his chair until I finished eating. We left the dishes on the table, much to my discomfort, and descended the stairs. Alpha Trissur and a group of muscular men and women were waiting for us.
“Enforcer, Luna Regina, whenever you’re ready,” Alpha Trissur greeted us. Theo jerked his head onward with a steely gaze, and we were escorted to a black vehicle.
“He does know my name, right?” I asked softly as I buckled my seatbelt.
“Of course, he knows your name,” Theo smirked. “Luna Regina is the title given to an Enforcer’s female mate. Everything is a hierarchy, remember? Because there are only six of us, we’re often thought of like the Kings, which would make you my Queen. Luna Regina means Queen Luna. He means it out of respect. It would be Alpha Rex if the Enforcer’s mate is male as in King Alpha.”
I tucked my chin to my chest, not knowing how to respond. It was the first time someone had referred to me as a Luna Regina , and the title alone was enough to make my spine itch to sit up straighter and hold my head high.
“How is everyone else getting there?” I asked, noticing there was only one vehicle for the forty-some wolves.
“Margo, we’re wolves. We’re built to run.” He winked. I scooted to the window and watched as the wolves began their transformation. It had always amazed me how shifters changed. First, they began shaking, almost like intense shivering that shook their entire bodies from their heads to their ankles. In one swift motion, the shifters would hunch over and begin to take their other form.
The normal wolves took slightly longer to shift into their wolves. Much like natural wolves, they came in a variety of colors and sizes, though most did not exceed five feet tall on all fours. It was easy to tell shifters apart from natural wolves since they were much larger and regal.
The Alpha wolves were much more exquisite, though. They seemed to shift effortlessly, painlessly into larger, more agile creatures. Alpha blood made their muscles bigger, their bones larger, and their stamina greater. Even in his older age, Alpha Trissur stood at six feet tall, with a tri-colored coat that blended into his territory. Human horror movies had gotten it wrong when they described werewolves as demon-like creatures who stood on their back legs, with fangs and blood dripping on their black pelts. Real werewolves were beautiful in the way most lethal things are.
The car started, and the wolves ran ahead of us. It was a short ride, only ten minutes before Reed Porter’s group came into view. They had set up small shelters, fires, and stations for their food. There were a lot of wolves, Theo told me one thousand, but they weren’t defensive upon our arrival.
The wolves from Alpha Trissur’s pack shifted back to their human form apart from the two wolves. Theo exited the car and held his hand out for me. I was immediately pulled into his side as a reminder that I was to stay close to him at all times.
“So, you brought our wonderful new Enforcer with you,” a man finally said. He was muscular, stocky, not as tall as Theo, but he had an aura of chaos that surrounded him.
“Reed,” Alpha Trissur addressed him unkindly. “What do you want from us, honestly?”
“I’ve already told your guards what I want,” Alpha Porter said calmly, stepping out from the group of wolves that circled around him. “Is that really so hard to understand? My pack is growing. Yours is shrinking- it simply makes sense. I don’t understand why no one will even humor me and try to un
derstand where I’m coming from.”
“Reed, you know the territory lines were drawn many years ago. They can’t be altered now,” Theo said hesitantly.
“So, this is the little human I spoke to?” Reed wondered as he tried to peek around Theo’s arm that was covering me protectively.
Theo didn’t acknowledge his question. “You and your wolves need to leave Duncan’s territory, Reed. There’s no reason to keep them on edge like this.”
“I don’t mean to threaten Duncan’s pack,” Reed said, breathing deeply and loudly through his mouth. “I just want my pack needs to be met, and since you won’t take me seriously, I had to go an alternative route. I know how close you and Duncan are, or was it your father?”
“My father has nothing to do with this,” Theo growled.
“He does,” Reed insisted. “He was the one that originally started housing humans, wasn’t he? He should have done his job and gotten rid of them when he had the chance. Now, Duncan’s pack is awarded extra land to house the humans in his pack while my pack suffers because we don’t take care of the prey.”
“You know that isn’t the reason,” Theo said placatingly.
“I understand the issue has more of personal touch now, Theo, but just remember your job is to do what’s best for us. Not them.”
Theo pushed me back softly behind the arms of two Warriors and stalked forward to Reed in the middle.
“You need to take your wolves and leave this territory,” Theo demanded. “My choice has to do only with what is just for the people here. These are our laws, Porter. You and I both know you don’t want to start a fight that goes against my position.”
Reed receded two steps and chuckled, glancing at his feet. “You’d be surprised how many Alphas would disagree with you. I guess you’re just a little too blind to see it.”
“Too blind to see what?” Theo’s body began quivering. I staggered in the hold of the wolves, but they held my arms firm, protectively.
“That little fawn is going to be the death of everything we stand for.”