The Alphas & The Heiress

Rohanor

“Everything all set for tomorrow?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Let’s grab Varian and head out, I want to make sure the borders are clear. I don’t want any surprises tomorrow while our mystery guests are here.”

Varian you ready to head out? I mindlink my brother

It’s a bit early for the bar, don’t you think? He pokes fun.

Runidar and I will be leaving in 5, join us or don’t. I’m not in the mood for games.

It’s been three years since my twin brother Varian and I took over as Alphas, and I feel like we just hit our stride. The pack morale is high, our businesses are prosperous, and besides the occasional rogue we haven’t had anything of consequence to deal with. We’ve even made strong allies with a few other packs by offering our aid when we could. But I’m not naive enough to think it will stay this way. No one’s luck is that good.

My wolf has been on edge the past few weeks and I wonder if he senses something looming in the distance or if he’s just sulking over our latest argument. The great mate debate, a war that has been raging between Varian and me and our wolves since our 18th birthday three years ago. At first we didn’t particularly care either way if we found them or not. But the more time that’s passed the more we’ve grown attached to our bachelorhood. We answer to no one, we don’t have to deal with relationship drama on top of running an entire pack. We can have our fun and our freedom.

Our wolves are very much against this mentality. They think having mates will strengthen our bond as brothers, as alphas, in addition to the entire pack. We’ve even been encouraged by some to consider taking chosen mates. But quite frankly, there isn’t a single female, ranked or otherwise, that has proven herself to be worthy of the Luna title. Most can barely hold a conversation, let alone a weapon. We’ve been encouraging pack females to attend training sessions, but co-ed sessions have proven fruitless - at least where battle is concerned. Now we have separate training for males and females, so that’s double the training sessions. All the more reason we don’t have time for mates.

Varian is waiting in front of the packhouse when our beta, Runidar, and I walk out. The three of us start heading to the patrol stations to go over the shift schedules, any areas of weakness, etc. We’re halfway to the northern guard tower when we get a mindlink from two of our guards on the east side.

Sir there’s a man setting up camp just beyond the eastern border.

This rogue must have a death wish, setting up camp on the outskirts of established pack lands?

Hold him, we’re on our way.

My wolf is restless, his pacing is giving me a migraine. Varian links me as we make our way over.

Same, but mine’s been on edge for weeks so it’s not unusual.

We’re nearly to the clearing when I catch a faint scent of rose and lemongrass. It’s intoxicating.

Mate.

Varian is sniffing the air frantically, his eyes darkening. I know he can smell her too. Our mate.

Mate. She’s around here somewhere, I link to Varian.

We reach the clearing where the intruder is being held and Varian lets out an annoyed huff.

Her scent is all over this guy, she’ll be back. Varian nods towards the intruder.

His comment about her scent being all over the rogue is true, I can tell they spend a lot of time together. Something about that idea makes my jaw tick. I can’t prevent the thought of his hands on what’s mine from steamrolling over me. I’m enraged at the thought, and I’m equally irritated by how much it bothers me. A growl escapes me as I battle conflicting thoughts.

I now stand between Varian and Runidar facing two of our guards and the intruder. He’s very tall, almost as tall as my brother and me. His frame is larger than that of my guards but Varian and I are definitely more muscular. It’s curious. Aside from the faint scent of our mate, his scent is indeterminable. He’s certainly not human, and he’s not a wolf.

My thoughts are interrupted by a flash of metal spiraling around my guards, slicing their arms open. The man in the middle is unscathed, appearing completely unphased if not a little irritated. The guards clutch at their arms, hissing their complaints about the origin of the weapon.

“He’s not alone.” Says Runidar.

The only other scent around is hers. The weapon must have come from her. But she’s nowhere in sight. The intruder begins to mutter something under his breath when his knee gives out and he stumbles. Interesting. Our mate’s scent is growing stronger despite the lack of visibility. She’s drawing nearer. She has to be a witch of some sort, there’s no other explanation as to why she can mask her scent and conceal herself.

As her scent grows stronger, so does the sound of her heartbeat. Being an alpha has its perks. Varian and I are now acutely aware that she stands between us and her companion. Her heartbeat quickens by a fraction and then the faint scent of her arousal hits me.

In the blink of an eye she appears before us. She’s not at all what I was expecting. She’s taller than most she-wolves, she’s probably even as tall as Runidar which is saying something. She has the strangest hair. It’s almost white, but there’s a muted purple shimmer to it when the light catches her.

Every inch of her face is covered. It irritates my wolf greatly and a snarl tugs at my lip. I can tell she’s strong just by looking at her, with her arms folded across her chest I can easily see the definition of her biceps. The way she crosses her arms only serves to further pronounce her perky breasts. She’s only wearing half a shirt so her stomach is showing. I could easily run my hand under the hem and grab myself a handful of her.

Her voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “Who the fuck are you?” She demands.

“Watch your tone, witch.” Runidar snaps at her. He probably thinks we haven’t killed her where she stands because she’s a female, truthfully I’m considering making an exception. But my fascination with her is winning out.

“I’m no witch, dog.”

She’s got a smart mouth, Varian links me.

Indeed she does. I know a few things I’d like to do to a smart mouth like hers. Fuck. I have got to keep my wolf under control or he’ll take her right here in the woods.

Runidar lunges for her, “I’ll cut your fucking tongue out!” I put an arm out to block him from reaching her as she sinks into a fighting stance with zero hesitation. Where the fuck did she come from?

Calm down Runidar, you’re better than harming a woman, a blind one at that. Varian chastises Runidar through the link, glossing over the fact that she’s his would-be Luna.

“Enough,” I roar. My wolf is at the surface, protective of our mate even if she is begging for a fight. “Who the fuck are you and why are you skirting around our borders?”

“What even are you?,” Varian asks. “You claim you’re not a witch, and you don’t smell like a wolf.”

“We made sure to set up camp outside of the borders, you have no claim to the grounds where we stand. Besides, my si-- Syble, ahem, Syble and I have a meeting with the alphas of Shadow Moon tomorrow.” The man says.

Syble. The way he stutters out her name doesn’t go unnoticed, as if even he knows it doesn’t suit her.

I’m not waiting until tomorrow. Runidar, have Kat prepare a guest room for them. I link Varian and Runidar. Actually, make that two rooms.

Yes, Alpha.

“Come.” I motion for everyone to head over to the packhouse. From behind me I hear Syble’s heartbeat increase again and then the telltale sound of her blade cutting through the air. I’ve obviously misjudged her, I didn’t think she’d actually do it, didn’t think she could. How can this blind… whatever she is think she stands a chance against two alphas?

I rotate around and catch her blade. I wish I could see her face and watch as surprise catches her features. I look again at the man she’s with, he hasn’t moved once. Not to interfere, not to defend her. He almost looks...bored. Maybe he needs a little incentive.

Most ranked wolves are born with useful, sometimes lethal, abilities. My brother and I were born with the ability to wield fire; create it, absorb it, transfer heat from it. Let’s see what they do with this. I ignite her blade, engulfing it in flames, and throw it hard right back to her.

Not only does he not jump to her aid, she doesn’t even try to dodge the flaming blade heading straight towards her. She calmly steps to the side and catches it, like her blade is a bird landing in the hands of it’s caretaker. I don’t let the fire extinguish. She’s not only holding it but inspecting it as if I embellished it with decoration.

I’m surprised by how infuriated I am. She confounds me at every turn. Besides Varian, there’s not a single wolf on this side of the country that can withstand our fire. It’s what makes our pack so feared. So why isn’t she afraid? How is she so unaffected by the mate bond? I’ve seen other she-wolves mate within the hour because of the strength of the bond.

A thought hits me and it’s like I’ve been punched in the chest with a brick. What if she’s mated with this fool? This man that hasn’t lifted a finger in her defense? My wolf is pressing me for control, he wants to kill this man and punish her for betraying us.

My wolf wins.

I’m putting an end to this.

“Ro, don’t.” Varian warns out loud.

I ignore him and walk over to her. I stop directly in front of her. Rage, jealousy, desire all fighting one another for dominance. This is exactly why we’ve avoided taking a mate. I’ve known her for five fucking seconds and she’s already driving me insane. Standing this close to her, close enough to touch her, I know I don’t have it in me to hurt her. But I can’t say the same for her companion.

With my eyes locked on him, I use my wolf speed to try to push her to the side, but she steps out of my reach. I look to see where she’s gone when her fist connects with my jaw, breaking both it and undoubtedly her hand. Fuck she’s strong.

The man has finally found reason to come running to her side. He tries to step towards me but she stops him and resets the broken bones in her hand. I don’t know many men who could stomach resetting their own bones and here she is doing it like she’s checking the time. I’m snapping my jaw back into place when Varian links me.

She’s lying to us. There’s no way she should have been able to land a hit on you, she has to be able to see.

My brows knit together in confusion. He’s right. I thought her throwing the blade was a reckless attempt to scare us off, but now that I think back on it her aim was dead on -- intentional.

“You can see me.” I’m not asking, I’m telling her. I want her to know that I know she’s hiding something.

“Maybe it’s your lumbering form giving away your every move.”

Goddess I wish our she-wolves had half her fire. I suppress a groan, the thought of punishing her smart mouth all consuming. My wolf has never been more enticed, feeling the thrill of the hunt and she’s his prey. I can sense Varian’s wolf snarl at her insolence. She won’t be so bold when I get that mask off her face. I smirk at the thought of exposing her.

“You said you have a meeting with the alphas tomorrow?”

Her boy toy puffs his chest, “That’s right.”

“Come, they’ll meet with you tonight.”