The Alphas & The Heiress

Kataria

The warriors start to arrive back at the pack house and they’re welcomed by the delicious aroma of grilled chicken, baked sweet potatoes, bacon, and an array of steamed veggies.

I notice Incandis and Syble helping themselves to the buffet of food before them and I leave to join everyone in the dining hall, figuring that they’ll soon follow. A few minutes pass but I don’t see them, so I head back into the kitchen to check.

I turn the corner into the kitchen and as expected I find them sitting at the breakfast bar. I’m surprised by the disappointment I feel that they’ve chosen to isolate themselves here together. I’ve been looking forward to getting to know them, especially Incandis. I feign surprise so I don’t come off as desperate, “Oh, there you are! Everyone’s in the dining hall, why don’t you join us?”

“I’m not keen on crowds. Thank you though, Kataria.” Syble answers politely.

“Kat.” I correct her. I can’t remember the last time someone has called me by my full name.

Incandis chuckles to himself making Syble and I both look at him curiously.

“What’s so funny?” Syble asks him, amusement evident in her voice.

“Nothing,” he says but his smirk betrays him, “it’s just she’s a wolf named Kat. It’s a bit ironic.”

I frown, I’m not sure why but hurt pierces through me, my heart aching at his words.

Syble’s fork is suspended in midair as she pauses to watch him quickly try to back pedal. “I didn’t mean it in a negative way, just making an observation.” He says, his voice laced with guilt and sincerity.

I give him a small smile and nod my head, it is ironic. “It’s fine, I never really thought of it that way.” Nervously, I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I’m not sure why I crave his approval. The need for him to regard me positively — to like me, is overwhelming.

Syble’s eyes dart between us, fascinated no doubt by how painfully awkward this interaction is between us. I’m saved from further scrutiny by the dragoness as Runidar walks into the kitchen with several of our male and female warriors.

“Impressive performance today, Syble.” Runidar compliments her, but I don’t know what he’s referring to exactly.

“When he had you in that choke hold I thought you were done for, I nearly lost it when I saw you flip him over like that.” One of the other male warriors gushes.

The women from the group listen with rapt attention. “Wait what happened, what did I miss?” one of them questions.

“You didn’t see it? She took down Alpha Rohanor!” the warrior continues.

He retells the story of Syble and Ro sparring against each other. She accuses the warrior of sprinkling embellishments into his story and humbly denies them. She starts talking to them about their training back at home and soon a crowd forms around us as she tells us of the various battles they’ve fought and the summers they spent training for survival.

For someone who says she doesn’t like crowds, she’s managed to yet again be the center of attention. She’s so at ease with herself, every wolf within earshot hangs on her every word, entranced. There’s something about her that draws everyone in, that makes her immediately likable once you get past her hardened exterior. She’s charismatic, charming, and the way Incandis looks at her — what I wouldn’t give for him to look at me like that.

Suddenly, I catch the scent of my brothers. Syble goes quiet, sniffing the air as subtly as she can. She sighs appreciatively at their scent. It’s curious, very curious. The crowd begins to shuffle making way for Ro and Varian.

Ro sends Runidar a withering glare, dominance rolls off of them making the warriors look down at their feet away from Syble. What’s their problem?

Syble meets their gaze, completely immune to their dominance. I’m waiting for their anger to spike, they’ll see this as a challenge, as disrespectful. For the last month or so they’ve been insufferable. Their mood swings have been violent, shifting with the breeze, angered over the smallest infractions. So far she has threatened them, injured two guards, defied their alpha commands, and even fought with Ro! How she’s still alive is beyond me, the only person they’d tolerate this from would be their mate…but that’s impossible, she seems so unaffected by them and they’re indifferent at best. It is all very curious though.

—

Rohanor

Syble and Incandis head back for lunch, leaving Varian and me alone in the training center.

“What the fuck was that about?” Varian immediately asks once they’re out of ear shot.

“Trust me, none of that went according to plan. She didn’t leave after her group, she stayed – with him. Then fucking Jace started sparring with her –”

Varian interrupts me, his rage burning bright. “He put his hands on her?” He grits through his teeth.

“No, actually, he didn’t land a single hit. She took him down literally with her hands behind her back.”

Varian cools but only slightly. “Ok so then how did she end up on top of you?”

“She fucking goaded me in front of every warrior in the room, deliberately. What the hell was I supposed to do? My wolf was fighting me for control the entire time, every time I got a hold of her she slipped right out, making him and me angrier. She fucking flipped me over! She’s stronger than she lets on, smarter too. She straddled me to make a show of pinning me down. But then she was bouncing around all giddy, she was so unrestrained, so happy.”

Varian shoots me a you-have-to-be-kidding-me look. But fuck him, he wasn’t there, he didn’t see her unbridled joy…her smile. Fuck, what the fuck am I saying? “Whatever man, don’t look at me like that. She was bouncing her tits all in my face, grinding in my lap, you’d have a boner too.”

“We need to stay away from her, it’s literally playing with fire. The sooner we find her people the sooner we can break the bond and send her home.” Varian says, but there’s an uncertainty to his voice, like he doesn’t want to believe the words that are coming out of his own mouth.

We walk back to the house in silence. We head straight for the dining hall to invite Syble and Incandis to the tracker’s meeting but there’s no one around. That’s odd. Varian nudges me and gestures for the kitchen. I can hear Syble’s voice, she’s telling someone about the battles she and Incandis have fought together, and how they’ve trained together. Seems they do a lot together. The irritating thought roots itself into my mind, forcing me to conjure up all kinds of scenarios of things they could do together.

We turn the corner to find a large crowd of people huddled around her listening to her story. She’s captivating, commanding attention effortlessly, the pack is hanging on her every word. I can tell she’s speaking truthfully, she’s not bragging or exaggerating…she’s being honest and forthright, and they love her for it.

Then I see it. She lifts her nose to the air ever so slightly, a small smile playing on her lips and I can hear her appreciative sigh. She can smell us, she’s drawn to us. All at once fear, panic, and an unknown feeling begin clawing at my chest threatening to drown me. If it’s just us who knows about and feels the mate bond then we have control…but if she’s feeling it too, and she finds out – fuck! This is exactly why mates are messy, my control could be quickly slipping through my fingers like sand through the cracks.

Shut them down, Varian. We can’t have her embedding herself into the pack only for us to uproot her and send her home. The pack will be furious, they’ll rebel.

Varian’s dominance pours off of him, every member immediately looks to the floor not daring to make eye contact. That is, no one but her. She looks directly at us and smiles, completely disarming us with ease.

“You are all dismissed.” Varian says and the members depart with haste. “Runidar, we have that meeting in five minutes.”

You’re not inviting Syble and Incandis? I mindlink Varian, surprised by his change of plan.

I’m honestly not sure I’ll be able to concentrate. I think it’s better if we just maintain our distance. He replies.

I know he’s right, my wolf doesn’t agree, but the more we’re near her, the more we will have to fight the bond.

“Is it the trackers meeting?” Syble asks. “We’d like to join, we’re eager to hear what the trackers have found.”

Varian lets out a defeated sigh but agrees immediately making me think maybe he’s slightly relieved that the idea to join was hers rather than his. “Sure, that’s fine. Conference room then, five minutes.”

We head out of the kitchen towards the conference room.

“So much for keeping our distance.” Varian mutters under his breath making a rare smile tug at the corners of my mouth.

A few minutes later we are all seated at the large oak table with a map of the territory in its center.

“Let’s begin, I think some introductions are in order.” I look towards Incandis and Syble addressing them specifically. “Syble, you’ve met Jace, our Gamma.” She knocked him on his ass at training before coming after me.

She smiles at him as he sulks with his arms crossed over his chest, looking away from everyone at the table. “Then there’s our delta, Ash, our lead tracker, Baron, and his team.”

Incandis looks to Syble almost in deference, before speaking. “Good to meet all of you, thank you for aiding our search. Were you able to find anything during today’s search?”

Baron looks at me and I nod my permission for him to speak freely. “We haven’t yet picked up on the scent of your missing members; however, we have been picking up traces of an unknown scent in various locations.”

“Rogues?” Varian asks.

“No, sir. It’s hard to place. It’s very faint and widespread, it’s strongest in these areas here.” He draws a few circles on the map. Syble leans in closer, then stands, pushing her chair back with her legs, both hands flat on the table as she assesses the map.

“You’re sure these are the locations you picked up the scent?” She says slowly, quietly. Her tone sends an icy chill through everyone in the room.

Baron swallows hard, almost like he’s crushed under the weight of her words. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What is the significance of these locations?” I ask her.

“These locations were the same that were marked ‘DH’ by the members who went missing.” She stands upright and crosses her arms over her chest not looking away from the map. “Something, or someone, is still out there.”

“Baron, when will you and your team be ready to continue searching?” Varian asks.

“A few hours, sir.”

“Very well. Go rest, we will head out again in 3 hours.”

Everyone stands up and files out of the room, Incandis and Syble are among the last to leave. From inside the room I can hear Incandis speaking softly to her as they walk down the hall.

“We’re going to find them.” He says to her but she doesn’t respond. “You want to get some fresh air, we could fly?”

“Maybe. First I need a shower. Can you check in with Xander and Malin?” She says, her words becoming softer and softer as they amble further away from the room.

I’m beginning to notice that he’s a mouthpiece for her – he defers to her, submits to her. In front of others, he does most of the talking but only after getting nonverbal permission from her. Once they’re alone, she calls the shots.

If we accepted her as our mate, is that what life would be like? In constant battle for dominance? Life would never be dull, that’s for sure.

She’s an inextinguishable spitfire.