The Alpha's Concubine (Historical Shifter Romance)

by Claudia King

  Khelt worked his jaw back and forth, glowering past her at the tent wall. "Perhaps Vaya was treacherous, perhaps not. Perhaps Adel wanted the pack rid of her and used you to make it happen. Whatever the truth may have been, it was my place to decide it, no one else's. You should have brought your worries to me."

  "Perhaps so." Netya gave him a pleading look. "But would your distaste for Adel have blinded you to the truth?"

  "Blind me?! Spirits give me strength, Netya." He shook her by the shoulders. "How do you know that you are not the one being blinded by the witch's lies?"

  His distrust hurt. The alpha professed that he loved her, but his love was still bound to the idea of an attentive, obedient mate. That was not the woman she had become.

  "I am not just your pet concubine any more," she said. "There are things I can understand for myself."

  The frustration in Khelt's eyes softened slightly. He relaxed his grip on her shoulders. "Forgive me," he said. "I do not mean to treat you as a child, but you are still a woman, Netya. The leadership of the pack is the charge of men. Adel would have you think otherwise, and that is why you must be wary of her. Our people would not fare well under her guidance."

  "They would fare better if the two of you combined your strength rather than fighting one another. Surely agreeing to leave the outcrop is proof of that?"

  "I do not wish to have this discussion again," Khelt said, straightening up. "It is neither the time nor place. We have found a pass through the mountains, but the snows threaten to swamp it before long. I will lead the pack through at first light."

  Netya pressed her lips together stubbornly. His intentions were good, but he refused to listen. He was the alpha, and she was just his female. Everything was well between them until she attempted to step outside of that role.

  "Come," Khelt said, giving her a smile. "Sit with me by the fire. I have said my piece. Let us enjoy the evening together and rest well before tomorrow. The crossing will be difficult on all of us, and I will need your strength to help those who are less able." He tugged her close to his side, guiding her back toward the middle of the camp. Netya's feet were stubborn, but she soon gave up and relented. At least she had swayed him away from fixating on Adel. That, perhaps, was the best she could hope for.

  Fortune had been with the scouts in their search for a safe crossing. The path they had happened upon wound through a valley between two peaks, circumventing the treacherous slopes and crags that loomed higher up. It was safe, but that safety would not last long. Hail rattled down on the pack's tents during the night, and by midday they had trekked high enough into the mountains for it to turn to snow. The valley stretching before them was already clad in white. Sagging trees clung on desperately by the roots to the slopes on either side, becoming thicker farther on until they blocked the view ahead completely. The scouts assured them that the valley opened out on to a gentle slope that led down from the mountains on the opposite side, but from where they stood it seemed a long and unsteady trek. Snow was flurrying down from the higher slopes fast, and already the trail the scouts had left the previous day had been obscured. The wolves tried to follow their old scents, but even those seemed to have been scattered by the weather.

  "We will freeze in this valley if the snows catch us," Adel said. "Perhaps there is a better way."

  "What way?" Khelt growled. "The snows come to these mountains quicker than they do the plains. Every pass like this will be lost within a few days. We must push forward, while there is still time."

  "If we go north we can skirt the mountains completely," the den mother replied.

  "And how many weeks will that take us? The pack is already tired. We follow this route."

  Adel glowered after him as he strode ahead, taking the lead down into the valley. "Again he toys with fate. The snow will not stop, no matter how hard he bares his teeth at it," she said to Netya.

  "Then we must make haste, so that he does not have to."

  Netya fell back to help the others as they strode through the snow around their ankles. Most of the pack, even the elders, soon took to the legs of their wolves to fight through the cold and difficult footing. Many belongings that had been tirelessly carried across the plains were abandoned as they went, a string of discarded bundles following in the pack's wake as carrying them became too cumbersome for the increasingly four-legged group.

  Despite the stamina she had built up over the days of travelling, Netya was exhausted within a few hours. The snowfall became even thicker at the base of the valley, to the extent that the more able-bodied pack members were forced to clear a path ahead for the others. Netya's toes felt like they were freezing inside her fur-stuffed moccasins, and even with the aid of her spear as a walking pole she began to struggle.

  Later that afternoon, her feet finally went out from under her. She tripped headlong into a drift of icy snow, the impact stinging her numb face painfully. A moment later Caspian was at her side, hauling her up and brushing the flakes from her clothing.

  "Do not let the others see you fall," he said, his expression pained with sympathy. "Those lagging behind are more exhausted than any of us. It is only our strength that keeps them going."

  Netya looked back, nodding as she squinted through the flurry of snowfall. It was so thick now that she could barely even make out the tail end of the group.

  Caspian followed her gaze. "I will go back and make sure no one falls behind. Stay strong, Netya. I know you can."

  "I will." Heat warmed her face for a moment as she squeezed his hand without thinking. She wanted him at her side, giving her the strength to keep going. He smiled at her, restraining the twitch of his fingers than threatened to squeeze back. Then he was gone, taking the shape of his wolf to wade back through the snow toward the end of the column.

  Netya forced herself to go on, gripping her spear with both hands as she hauled herself ahead of the group. Khelt called a brief rest late in the afternoon when they found shelter beneath an overhang, but the few small fires the pack were able to kindle did little to rejuvenate their spirits. The snow had slowed their progress significantly. They had not even reached the thicket of trees they had glimpsed earlier in the day.

  Adel shook her head with worry as the seers sat huddled around her fire. "He has underestimated this weather," she said. "We reached the mountains too late. A few able-bodied scouts may have been able to make this crossing yesterday, but the rest of the pack will not fare so well."

  "We must have hope," Netya said. "Khelt will lead us through this."

  "It is not too late to turn back. The snows will only get deeper the farther we go into this valley."

  "Please," Netya said, tugging at her mentor's furs, "do not make this another battle between the two of you. Not at a time like this."

  Adel stared into the fire, saying nothing. Netya prayed she would listen. The pack could not afford to falter when their spirits were already on the verge of breaking. They had to weather the storm.

  Rather than making camp in their sheltered spot, Khelt had them back on their feet within the hour. Daylight still lingered, and the snow was only getting worse. He understood as keenly as anyone that they had to make it out of the valley as soon as possible.

  Dragging herself back to her weary feet, Netya joined the procession of wolves as they shuffled out from beneath the overhang and resumed their journey. The route Khelt had chosen took them along the side of the valley, up a narrow ribbon of flat rock that served as a natural path. The snow was not so deep, and the footing more consistent, but by the time night fell the pack was walking with a sheer drop to the valley floor on their left side.

  Wind tugged at Netya's furs, whipping her hair into her face until she was forced to tie it back in a knot. She tried her best to assist those who needed help, but before long she had little energy to do anything but keep her own feet moving forward. The Moon People seemed to be faring a little better with the stamina of their wolves, but even they were struggling. Adel hurried up and down
the column tirelessly, making sure the strongest among them worked in shifts to carry the weakest upon their backs. In such a time of need, all of the den mother's regal mystique vanished. She did not hold herself back in her reserved, aloof manner while others were suffering. She was simply a seer that night, tending those in need of aid with sympathy and words of encouragement. It changed her. With the image of the stern den mother abandoned, Netya wondered whether she was looking upon the compassionate young woman who had become a seer all those years ago, before she had been traded away by her pack as a token of peace.

  Caspian was the same, carrying Wren and several of the other youngsters on his back when their legs failed them. He stayed near the rear of the group, just as he had said, making sure that if any of the stragglers fell, he would be there to pick them up. While Adel was ceaseless in giving out her instructions, Caspian barely said a word. He was not a leader. His greatest strength lay elsewhere. While he might have stepped in to give orders in the absence of anyone else, he preferred to give his aid directly, focusing on one person at a time. Perhaps that was why he was not alpha himself. He preferred to focus on the individuals. His attention was intimate, personal, and passionate. The detachment of guiding a group as a whole did not come naturally to him. He cared too much.

  All through the night, no matter how hard the wind blew, no matter how thick and freezing the snowfall became, Khelt strode on ahead of his pack. When a fallen tree blocked their way, he heaved it aside before anyone could rush forward to help. He dug through heavy drifts of snow, checked for unstable footing with his own paws, and scouted the mountainside by himself when new pathways opened up. He led them on alone, never faltering, never hesitating. Like the bear that had crowned his throne, he bulled through the storm, carving a path for the others in his wake.

  Thick clouds covered the moon, and soon even the brilliant white of the landscape around them had sunk into darkness. The clean path they had been following broke up, diverging into a less precarious, but more confusing series of slopes and crannies that stretched across the side of the valley. They were high up now, and a several times Netya thought she glimpsed the tips of trees below them.

  The pack's pace began to slow. Tired wolves stumbled off the right path, slipping in heavy snowdrifts and forcing others to go back for them. The valley was becoming dangerous, and the snow had whipped itself into a blizzard. Netya lost sight of Khelt ahead of them, and the wind stole away her voice when she tried to call out. Only his tracks remained to lead them on, and the falling snow threatened to fill them almost as quickly as Netya could keep up. In her haste, she did not realise that only a few of the others remained in sight until she felt a hand shaking her shoulder.

  "We must go back!" Adel yelled over the howling wind. "The others cannot keep up. Any moment I fear one of them will slip away into the storm!"

  "Surely we are nearly out of the valley by now," Netya replied. "Khelt must be leading us on for a reason!"

  "He is lost, even those who scouted with him do not recognise this path any more! We cannot keep going. The weather only gets worse the deeper into this valley we stray."

  Netya's heart sank. After such a gruelling journey, the thought of turning back made her want to slump down in the snow and give in to her exhaustion.

  Adel glared at her. "Better to live with our despair than to walk out of this valley with the elders and the children dead. Where is he? Where is the alpha?"

  Reluctantly, Netya pointed at the set of tracks she was following. "Up ahead. Let me go with you, perhaps he knows we are nearing safety."

  "Come if you wish. Perhaps you can make him see sense again."

  Struggling up the slope together, Netya and Adel hurried arm-in-arm to try and catch up with Khelt. His long strides had led him even farther ahead than before, up a steep incline that almost felt like it was cresting the edge of the valley. Within moments they had lost sight of the pack behind them, along with any semblance of direction. Netya felt like she was fumbling blindly through the storm, clutching at hairs in the wind in her attempts to struggle on through. Khelt must know where they were going. He had to.

  After a long, breathless trek, the shape of the alpha finally emerged from the snow in front of them. He had paused at a broad, but somewhat sheltered spot beneath a sheer rock face on the right. The air was clearer of the flurrying snow, and the wind had lessened. He crouched at the edge of the open area, peering down over the barely-visible tops of the trees that clung to the cliff face just below them.

  "What are you doing!" Adel bellowed, letting go of Netya as she stumbled forward. "The pack is falling apart while you wait for them up here!"

  Khelt looked back with a start, baring his teeth the moment he saw the den mother. "I am finding my bearings so that I can lead them to safety! I can see nothing through this blizzard."

  "And you think you will see more up here? We must go back while there is still time! This valley will be the death of us."

  Khelt shook his head sharply. "We push on through the night. If we find a way down to the trees, we will be sheltered."

  "Has the cold addled your mind?! There is no pushing through this snow! It will swamp all but the strongest of us by the time we reach the end of the valley!"

  "Leaving the plains was your idea, Witch!" Khelt growled at her. "And now you would have me turn back? I have had enough of your timid plans. The pack is strong, they can endure this storm."

  "Khelt, please," Netya said. "Are we not close to safety yet?"

  He looked to her, some of the fury draining from his eyes, then shook his head. "I do not know. I cannot tell a thing in this storm. Perhaps we are already more than half way through the valley, perhaps not. My instincts tell me we must push on."

  "Push on blindly, and become even more lost!" Adel exclaimed. "Whether we are close to the end of the valley or not, better to retread ground we already know than fumble on in the dark. This snow hides everything from us, every pitfall and patch of ice. If we keep going, someone will fall victim to this place sooner or later!"

  "And how many will be lost in the weeks of hard travelling it will take to get around these mountains?!" Khelt retorted. "Take courage for once in your life, woman! We will make it through."

  "You care only for the strong. You would let the weak die to have your glory at conquering these mountains."

  Khelt stepped closer to her, raising his hand aggressively. Netya tried to hold him back, but he shook her off with impatience. Even she was no longer enough to soothe his anger toward Adel. The den mother held her ground, meeting his gaze without blinking, even as the snow clung to her eyelashes.

  "This is my final warning, Adel," Khelt said. "You will mind your place, and you will listen to your alpha."

  "Alpha," Adel hissed. "No man who has ever called himself that has done anything to earn my respect. You are savages, all of you."

  Khelt lashed out, striking her across the face. A cry escaped Netya's lips, but the moment she darted forward the alpha's furious voice halted her.

  "Stay back, Netya! You have no place in this."

  The blow staggered Adel, but she held her ground. Clenching her jaw tight, she drew herself back up to face Khelt.

  "Touch me again, and I will make sure your hand never strikes another woman."

  "Please," Netya said, tears brimming in her eyes. "Stop, both of you. Think of the pack."

  "I am thinking of the pack," Adel said, not looking away from Khelt for an instant. "Go on to your death out here if that is your desire. I am leading them back to safety."

  Netya wished she had a wolf of her own, for in that moment the strength of a wolf was the only thing that might have stopped them. Adel turned away, taking not a single step before Khelt snatched her by the arm, dragging his den mother back. She threw him off, yanking herself free of his grasp, and this time when his hand lashed out to strike her she ducked under the blow, blue eyes burning with fury as they took on the feral glint of her wolf. Adel's clothing peeled
and erupted into white-streaked fur, her fanged muzzle sprouting from her lips as she lunged into Khelt's chest, knocking him to the ground beneath her.

  Snow flurried around the two of them as they rolled over, Khelt's roar of outrage becoming a snarl as the jaws of his own wolf burst forward to meet Adel's. The two beasts snapped and kicked at one another, teeth clashing and locking as both struggled to come out on top.

  Netya screamed their names, clutching at Adel's fur to try and drag her off, but she might as well have been a snowflake in the wind. The two huge wolves bulled her aside like she was nothing, sending her sprawling in the snow as their vicious snarls echoed in her ears. Bitter cold filled her mouth and stung her face. This was not a challenge. There was no honour or ceremony in the howls that filled the night air. The beasts within Khelt and Adel had finally broken loose, and they meant to kill one another.

  The den mother found her footing first, taking the chance to dash away from her opponent before he could use his superior strength to his advantage. Neither wolf overshadowed the other in size, but Adel's body was sleek and slender, while Khelt's bulged with muscle. Rearing back up on his hind legs, blood dripping from his muzzle, he roared and lunged at her. Adel's reacted in an instant, swiping Khelt's right foreleg out from under him and darting under the bite that had been meant for her throat. Her jaws snatched his leg as it flailed in the air, catching him just above the paw and tightening until an audible crack split forth.

  The alpha howled with pain, stumbling headlong into the snow as he wrenched himself free with a spatter of blood. Flecks of crimson and wisps of black fur painted the snow all around them. Netya could almost taste the tang of it in the air. The bitter, coppery heat of violence.

  She crawled back to her knees, staggering through the snow toward them. Adel loomed over Khelt as the wounded wolf floundered in the snow, his blood still dripping from her teeth. Before she could lunge again, Netya hurled herself on to her mentor's back, twining her fingers into the wolf's fur as she threw all of her weight into pulling her away. It was enough to make Adel slip and falter, snarling with impatience as Netya's momentum sent her tumbling over the other side of the den mother's back and into the snow again, tufts of fur still clutched in her hands.