by Victoria Sue
“I will stay, Sire. He needs to sleep and I will fetch him some broth when he wakes.”
Luca was torn between not wanting to let Kit out of his sight and needing to go sort out whatever was going on outside. They could both hear the shouts getting louder. “Call me when he wakes,” he ordered finally, then followed Sam out of the bedroom.
As soon as they were out of earshot Luca grabbed Sam’s arm. “Sam, what the hell is going on?”
Sam chuckled. “You, my friend, are the Alpha King.”
Luca shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he said defiantly.
“You held Hendrick’s chief gamma effortlessly with one hand. You bested seven guards without even taking your eyes off Kit. You threw a knife further than I have ever seen anyone do and with deadly accuracy. The ground shakes when you get upset for fuck’s sake.” Sam stopped. “And Kit. You saw his back, and you heard what Gabriel said.”
“But then that’s him, not me,” Luca protested.
“It’s both of you. I know one works in tandem with the other, just don’t ask me to explain the rest of it. Now,” Sam gestured to the outside, “make me your beta-commander and I’ll start whipping them into shape.”
“We can’t stay, Sam.”
Sam looked at him incredulously. “Sire, as of ten minutes ago you became the lead Alpha of Caedra when you killed Hendrick. This is your pack. This is your territory. And we are about to go kick ass.” Sam took a breath. “Then we need a plan.”
Luca swallowed. “A plan to manage Caedra?” He felt sick.
“No, sire.” Sam shook his head. “A plan to rule Askara.”
Luca stopped as they approached the stairs, shock washing over him. Rule Askara? Sam pulled on his arm and he followed him downstairs and outside...into complete bedlam. There were at least five Alphas who had decided what had just happened really hadn’t happened, claiming they had been dreaming, and all would be returning to normal. Two were getting louder and louder, trying to order the human slaves, and none of the gammas knew whose orders to follow. Alpha Malachi had a slave by the scruff of his neck for spilling wine. Karrick and Jerel, the twin sons of Alpha Teo, were fighting over who was going to get first choice of an omega at their choosing ceremony. Knives had been drawn, chairs overturned, and the guards didn’t know if they were supposed to pull them apart. In the middle of everything, Alpha Baroult was insisting, as senior Alpha now that Hendrick was dead, he should be running things.
It was chaos.
“Enough,” Luca roared, and everyone fell silent. He heard a sudden snarl and looked to his left. Gabriel was facing off his brother, Gareth. They were both half shifted and there was a young she-wolf kneeling at Gareth’s feet. Their father stood nearby, wringing his hands.
One of the gammas ran over. “Sire, we have a dispute.”
Luca stepped forward. He knew Gabriel’s brother, Gareth. He was twenty-five and taking part in this year’s choosing. He looked at the wolf.
“Stand down, both of you,” Luca clipped out. Neither of them moved. “I said, stand down!” Luca nearly yelled the order. The ground shook and everyone within twenty feet, except Sam, fell to their knees.
Luca tried to calm down. He’d never lost his temper so much in one day in his entire life. “Now, stand and tell me what is going on.”
Gareth leapt to his feet. “The omega is promised to me, both by sworn contract between Alphas Jace and Taylor.”
Luca stepped closer to her and the girl cringed. He held out his hand. “You have no need to be frightened. What’s your name?”
The girl raised a tear-stained face to his. “Danni, your Highness.”
Luca smiled and clasped her hand, drawing her upright. Gabriel took a step towards her, his face a picture of worry. Gareth growled. Luca suddenly realized what was wrong. She was contracted to the elder brother, but he had a feeling she was loved by the younger one.
“Why did your fathers enter into a marriage contract?” It was usually done to grant land and hunting rights, or the protection of a pack. Both packs were of similar size in this instance and Luca didn’t see the benefit.
“She is an omega,” Gareth bit out.
“She is my soul-mate,” Gabriel whispered.
“Tough,” sneered Gareth. “I have a signed contract.”
Well, shit, thought Luca. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. He was getting a headache and being out of action all day while he suffered through it wasn’t in his immediate plans. It wasn’t likely he was going to be able to shift and take off for a while.
Luca looked down at Danni. Her wide brown eyes were brimming with tears. “What is your gift?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
“She is forbidden to say,” Gareth insisted.
Luca merely lifted one eyebrow. “Not to me, she isn’t.” Gareth took a threatening step forward and Sam immediately gestured to two of the gammas to block him. Luca ignored Gareth and looked back down at Danni. “What is your gift?”
“Divining, your Highness.”
Luca blinked. Wow, no wonder Alpha Jace had her contracted to his son. Diviners were rare, very rare. They could touch the land beneath their feet and tell immediately if it contained water, or oil, or even Tallium, the rarest and most precious jewel on Askara.
Gabriel gasped. “But I thought you were a herbalist.”
Danni blushed. “I have that gift, also. I’m so sorry.” Tears filled her eyes once more as she gazed at Gabriel. “I was told if you found out you would be banished.”
Luca glanced at Sam, his eyes hard and his lips pressed together. Werewolf law was absolute. An Alpha had two recourses open to him for the severe punishment of weres. Death, or banishment—which was in a lot of cases infinitely worse. Though Askara had five territories, in actuality there was a sixth—Arrides—a desert that was almost uninhabitable. Arrides was an island that had broken away from the mainland thousands of years ago. The twin suns both rose together above the desert and for the first few hours the joined heat was unbearable until Sorin split away, while Surya lingered. There were many theories as to why one sun lingered. Some believed that Surya was hottest in Arrides because of a curse of the Gods, making exile to Arrides a fitting punishment. Luca actually preferred it over the other arguments about gases and rotation—the story of the three goddesses that all pups were told. Surya and Sorin were twins, while Aylin was their younger sister. Surya was jealous of her twin’s joyful temperament, and her youngest sister Aylin’s grace and beauty. Surya was in love with two brothers, Nash and Paetra, but they were in love with Sorin and Aylin and never looked at Surya. One night after Surya was told that the brothers had declared their wish to mate Sorin and Aylin, in a fit of jealous rage she killed both her sisters. The gods were furious that two beautiful girls were dead, so they brought them back to life and gifted them Askara to watch over for eternity. Sorin lit the whole planet every day, and Aylin lit it every night. Surya, then, was forced to exist forever in her twin’s shadow, only ever getting the chance to watch over anything but the desert.
The ultimate reason, though, why banishment to the Arrides desert was the same as death, and that was because werewolves were pack animals. Those who survived the sparse hunting were likely to become insane because of the isolation. Arrides was only accessible by crossing the Mendrik sea, and that was impossible by any other means than a strong boat. Too wide and too rough for even the strongest werewolf to swim, it was also full of salt water, and werewolves were exactly the same as humans in that they couldn’t drink it either.
Luca came back to the present, realizing the gravity of Gabriel’s situation. “How would the punishment be enacted?” Only lead territory Alphas could institute banishment.
“My father agreed as part of the marriage contract that if I told anyone the punishment wouldn’t be given to me but to whomever I told,” Danni choked the words out. “The agreement was that the pack would be then given back to my younger brother when he was of age. My father saw w
hat happened to you, and he didn’t want the same.”
“And Hendrick as lead Alpha countersigned this,” Luca said flatly. Very clever. He was protecting the pack for his son. He didn’t want it as destitute as Luca’s own was because of the council.
“You didn’t know Danni’s gift?” Luca asked Gabriel.
Gabriel shook his head. “She is my true mate. If I am honest I would prefer she wasn’t an omega so we would be free to be together.” Gabriel was staring at Danni. His look of love was obvious, and as a second son he didn’t have to mate an omega to get granted any Alpha power.
Luca caught Gareth rolling his eyes. “Very well,” he decided. “I call a council meeting for eight a.m. tomorrow. All Alphas, Alpha-heirs, and their mates are required to be present. I will explain my intention then and rule on the omega, Danni, at the same time.” He ignored the murmurs when he said that the Alpha mates should be present. It was unusual. Mates were never consulted in any decision except concerning pups. Sam rushed to disperse everyone. Luca was ready to go see how Kit was feeling.
“Your Highness?” Luca turned to see Alpha Jace, standing next to his son, Gareth. “My son Gareth and I would like to invite you to eat with us this evening. We are ready to roast a pig in your honor and we have many beautiful girls ready and willing to entertain you.” For the second time, Luca saw one of Jace’s sons roll his eyes in the space of a few minutes. This time, however, it was Gabriel. Luca sympathized. The attempt to curry favor with Luca was cringe worthy.
“Thank you for the invitation, but my mate is recovering and I intend to spend the evening here.” There, he had said it. Kit was his mate. He immediately felt settled by openly acknowledging him.
Alpha Jace looked puzzled. “I wasn’t aware Tara had suffered any injury?” To be fair, Luca hadn’t had the time or opportunity to make an announcement, and while omegas were expected to be faithful to their Alphas, the Alphas were under no such obligation. No one would so much as raise an eyebrow if Luca wanted to bed the entire pack, males or females.
“I don’t mean the omega, Tara. I mean—”
Gareth laughed in derision. “You can’t possibly mean the human servant.”
For a second Luca considered losing his temper just to see Gareth on his knees, but he found the whole thing suddenly amusing. Gareth and the other Alphas were assuming Tara must be the pure omega. Although, Luca had only just been told that a pure omega could be a human.
“I will see you both at eight.” He turned to Danni. “I would be pleased if you stayed as a guest tonight of—” Before he could say Tara’s name, Gareth lost his temper.
“You bastard. That’s what this has been all about. You want to bed the omega, to take what is mine.” But just as Gareth drew his knife and lunged for Luca, Sam stepped in front of Luca with his own. Gareth blinked, his head lowered in confusion, staring at the knife that stuck out from his rib cage.
“No,” screamed his father, catching him as Gareth’s eyes closed and he collapsed backwards. “My son.” Alpha Jace clutched at his son in complete panic.
Luca froze. If Sam hadn’t have acted so quickly, Luca may well have been dead.
“Shift!” the Alpha begged, shaking his son. But Gareth was unconscious and no one else could heal... Without thinking, Luca bent down and put his hand on Gareth’s chest. Before anyone could take a breath, a brindle-colored wolf lay panting across Alpha Jace’s legs. He let go, stepped back, and Gareth returned immediately to human.
“Sire,” Sam breathed in awe. Not one person spoke. Alpha Jace raised astonished eyes. No one except a true Alpha King could ever summon another wolf, and Gareth, unconscious and unable to do it himself, had been as good as dead.
Alpha Jace left his son sitting on the ground and stood shakily. He lowered himself to one knee and clasped his arm across his chest in the same manner Sam had earlier. “My house is yours. All that I have and all that I am.”
Luca could barely swallow. He hadn’t heard the old-fashioned vow of fealty since his grandfather had told him the stories of the Alpha Kings. He remembered the proper response, though, and would not disrespect Alpha Jace by saying any other. “I accept your house, your love, and your loyalty.” He placed a hand on Jace’s right shoulder. “Stand,” he commanded softly.
The older man stood and inclined his head respectfully. “It will be my honor to be present in the morning.” He bent and dragged his older son to his feet. Luca watched, bemused, as they hurried away.
“Still any doubt?” Sam asked, fixing his brown eyes on Luca. “Only Alpha Kings can do what you just did.”
Luca blew out a long breath. He was hungry and he was tired. He wanted to see how Kit was, and tomorrow would come too soon. “Can you manage?” Sam looked affronted. Luca grinned.
“I offer my assistance,” Gabriel said firmly after watching Danni being comforted and led away by the she-wolves. Luca saw another ten gammas all take a decisive step closer.
He smiled and clapped Sam on the back. “Don’t forget to eat. I think tomorrow will be just as long a day.”
“Longer,” Gabriel and Sam answered simultaneously. Luca chuckled, turned, and went to find his omega. He would worry about being King tomorrow.
Chapter Three
Kit was warm and before he marveled at the unusual occurrence, he snuggled further into heat...and arms that tightened automatically when he moved. He instantly knew. Luca. My mate. The Alpha King destined to heal a fractured Askara, and me, Kit, a guttersnipe bastard orphan destined to help him.
Human children were illegal in Askara without a license, and that would only be given to valued guards or those who had a trade. The Alphas remained terrified that because humans bred so easily, humans would become unmanageable in number and therefore a threat to the smaller wolf population, she-wolves only went into heat once every three years, and even then, pups were no guarantee to any except a breeder.
Kit’s mother had always told him he should never have been born. Pleasure-slaves were barred from procreating because their very profession meant that there was no guarantee the father’s identity would be known, and, what was even worse, the father might be a wolf. Any attempt to breed hybrids was a sentence of death for the mother and child.
Pleasure slaves were so careful not to become pregnant. Herbs were mixed and potions were regularly drunk, and then if those methods ever failed, the birth would be induced quickly so the baby would never survive. Kit never knew how his mother had managed to hide her pregnancy. If any of the gammas had seen her, she would have been forced into labor, and if the child survived then its throat would have been slit.
His earliest memories were of being told to be quiet. Silent. Never to cry. Never to complain of being cold or being hungry, and never ever to make a noise when he was locked away in the cupboard. He could even beg silently, fix his mother with pleading eyes as she locked him away night after night so when the men came no one would ever know she kept an illegal child.
Kit shivered and Luca’s arms tightened again. Light was just creeping into the room and he knew he had slept a long time, been helped when his own hands shook too much to hold a cup of water, been carried to the bathroom when he needed to empty his bladder; been soothed when the night terrors had woken him. Kit never slept deeply. He didn’t dare. He would stay awake as much as he could until exhaustion claimed him and he was too tired to stop the dreams and the memories.
Memories of the last night with his mother crept into him. He’d been sick. He’d begged that day as usual, and gleefully found some kitchen scraps. He was used to eating food that others threw away, but something he had eaten that day had made him sick, a belly ache that tore at his insides until he had to stuff a rag in his mouth to quiet the whimpers. He must have slept until in his fevered imagination he could feel unseen arms pulling at him, making it seem he was no longer alone in the small cupboard when he woke. Heat drenched him, and chills stripped him of his control. Of his silence. He cried. He thought his whispered entreat
ies wouldn’t be heard but suddenly the cupboard door was ripped open and the half-naked gamma that was bedding his mother bellowed in anger and summoned the guards. He had been yanked from the cupboard just as the gamma’s knife had flashed into his hand.
Then his dreams always turned red. Deep crimson rivers seemed to drown his mother’s cries as they covered her body. She had stepped in front of him as the gamma had gone to slit his throat and the knife had slashed her chest. Covered in his mother’s blood, he had run far, far away, and in the confusion, no one had stopped him. He had many hungry days after that. Unscrupulous wolves who were willing to overlook an unlicensed human child meant they simply hid that human away when any visitors arrived. Unlicensed humans, grateful for anything they could get, simply had to endure. Kit whimpered and blinked to force the images away. He felt the arms move around him as he took a shuddering breath to calm down. The hot puff of air brushed his cheek as Luca moved even closer.
“What is it?” Luca’s deep voice seeped into Kit’s skin and soothed his frantically pounding heart. Luca moved his palm across Kit’s chest and rested it there. It was so warm. “It beats as if it wants to escape, but I can’t have that,” Luca said quietly. “It belongs to me.”
Kit let the gentle finger tilt his chin until he was looking into Luca’s deep gray eyes. Kit took a deep breath. “Bad dreams, Sire,” he whispered unwilling to give them voice.
Kit closed his eyes as Luca bent and kissed his forehead. “I’m here. I won’t let you have any more bad dreams.”
“Because you said so?” Kit teased.
Luca shuffled onto his back and drew Kit down so he was resting on Luca’s chest. The heavy thump of Luca’s heart was the best thing he had ever heard. Solid, real. “Well apparently, I’m the King so I hereby decree no more nightmares.”
Kit smiled at the amusement in Luca’s tone. He took another deep breath and snaked a hand across Luca’s chest. He heard the approving rumble.