Is there a problem, Alpha?

“We fucked up, we fucked up so damn bad,” Ryder sat in the car and closed the door, throwing a glance in the rearview mirror.

Seth slept in the backseat, her eyes tightly closed, chest lifting and falling peacefully. Even asleep, she looked like a real-life Goddess. The type of woman you could watch yet never touch.

She was like an unreachable fantasy, so many men dreamt of, yet only the blessed ones could meet.

“The King's orders,” Dominic growled back, gripping the steering wheel.

The car already left the driveway, but this time the Alpha didn't speed. Both of them needed more time with Seth, they had gotten a mere taste of whatever could happen between them, and now, Luciano jumped headfirst in their paradise.

Why did it have to be Luciano Vincent?

What was it about him that lured so many women in, and even more - a woman like Seth?

“I don't understand why it had to be him? Out of all men, she got involved with the one everyone should avoid. We're losing her as we get closer to that bastard. If he intends to claim her as his Queen, we're as good as dead, well, in the best-case scenario.” The frustration grew in Dominic, the Alpha tried his best to keep calm, but each of his attempts failed.

Breathing exercises didn't help to do anything but make him look like a fool.

Deep down, he was happy that Seth got drugged and would sleep for the car ride, perhaps even a little more. She didn't need to watch over their arguments.

Besides, it didn't seem that Seth was excited to get back to Vincent. Who would blame her?

Probably nobody would - one has to be crazy to want to end up with someone with such amounts of blood on his hands.

Seth never explained more about the Vincent part; there was a possibility that she understood that there was no her and his future.

What if she was hiding from him? What if they were making the biggest mistake in history by bringing her to Luciano? But could they do anything else? Now, he was their King, like it or not - they had to follow the orders.

“What's the worst case?” Ryder side-eyed Dominic, feeling a little intimidated by his visible anger issues.

How was death the best-case scenario? The Alpha didn't get to enjoy his life fully just yet. There were so many adventures he wanted to have, so much more life could offer. Funny enough, an Alpha could scare another Alpha quite easily.

Years ago, all men born with Alpha blood were extremely dominant by nature - born warriors and leaders. However, nowadays, the tables had turned. The same as true soulmates faded, men and women born under other powerful men changed.

No father could guess which gene his son or daughter might carry. Some Alphas, the same as in the past, were highly dominant. Some were somewhere in between, and many were somewhat submissive.

Ryder knew that he was somewhere in between, depending on the situation and the people who surrounded him. Whenever a genuinely dominant Alpha appeared near, the male often seemed to be more submissive, at least towards the unwanted guest.

Ryder would prefer to keep his distance from such men, but sometimes even avoiding them didn't help much. So, in time, the Alpha learned how to control his emotions and hide fear or excitement.

“He will keep us alive.” Dominic sighed, focusing on the road ahead of them.

He considered turning the car around and heading back to the lake house. The family property was a private territory, and the King would need an actual reason to trespass.

He could announce that his Queen was hiding in the territory, but Vincent would have no claim on Seth unless she had his mark.

Judging by everything Dominic had just seen - her body was untouched, with no marks whatsoever. Vincent would waste a lot of time until he could legally get a hold of Seth, and by then, she might ask Dominic and Ryder to mark her.

If they did - she would be theirs only; no one else could ever get in between them.

As tempting as the idea seemed, the Alpha couldn't talk himself into taking the risk. Perhaps they would save Seth, but the King could still kill them both.

If Vincent managed to kill Dominic and Ryder, he would regain the right to claim Seth as his.

Then, nothing could stop him ever again. Even if someone tried to help her out and leave another mark on her body - the King would send out his dogs to kill another man.

Dominic would take the risk if only his life were at stake, but it wasn't. The Alpha couldn't take someone's death on his hands - Ryder's or any other males. Besides, who said that the King wouldn't try to harm Seth after finding out that she chose to wear a mark of someone else to keep him away?

“But isn't that good? I don't think that I'm getting your idea,” Ryder threw his hands up in frustration.

Perhaps Dominic was hiding something from him and wouldn't confess unless Ryder kept pushing his buttons? Or was there something the Alpha knew but wouldn't share the secret information?

“No, that isn't good, you fool. Imagine life, watching someone having something you have wanted for your whole life, yet you would never have this person. I would rather drop dead than live in that castle, watch him leech on Seth each day, or listen to her screams as he uses her body throughout the night,” Dominic had to fight the urge to growl at the Alpha.

They had to keep Seth asleep - otherwise, she could attempt to escape the car.

As a cat shifter, Seth would easily succeed - disappearing from the view faster than they could count to three. Wolves were strong and durable, but cats could mask their scent, fit into small caves to hide, and were nearly as fast as wolves.

Even if Seth wouldn't manage to run far - if she shifts into her cat, no one really could find where that woman is hiding. Playing with cats wasn't nearly as smart as others thought.

“How can you be so sure of it? And the castle? That's a little too far, pal.” Ryder crossed his arms in front of his chest.

There, he was right. Dominic obviously had something to hide - something Ryder had the right to find out. They were in this mess together. Both Alphas came up with the plan all on their own and followed each step based on their agreement.

It was about the time when Dominic became as transparent as Ryder was.

They needed more than one person for teamwork, and hopefully, the other Alpha could figure that out better sooner than later. Everyone kept rethinking their decisions, actions, and words only when the battle was over.

This wasn't that kind of situation - they had to stay on the same wave and share all the information they had. If Dominic couldn't do that for Ryder, he had to do that for Seth's safety.

That woman didn't deserve to be treated as a toy, no matter what the new King thought.

“She will carry our scent for a while now - Vincent, I mean, the King will catch on our scent all over her. If he doesn't kill us, he will make us live in his new home and serve him throughout the day. We had something he was about to claim - of course; we are about to face the consequences. He is too possessive and jealous for his own good. Trust me.” Dominic pointed out the obvious details that Ryder had no idea about.

The difference between those two was that Dominic used to spend a lot of time with Luciano.

Before his father died, their families were quite good friends, but as soon as the stepmother tried to build up a new bond based on money, the families parted their ways.

Dominic tried to recall the good old days when both Alphas were as close as only the best friends could. When they were children, the boys dreamt how they could lead the territories together one day.

Of course, back then, they had no idea about the new world order - Alphas meant nothing, most men were destined to die during the Alpha games.

Perhaps, if they would have known everything, they would come up with an idea of how to rule over the shifters together as well. Thinking about those memories made Dominic feel a little sad - he had lost an amazing friend.

Life had its ways for everyone, but for Dominic and Luciano, the fate wasn't as merciful.

Together, they could do great things, yet the best friends soon became strangers.

However, Dominic knew enough about Luciano to face the fact that they had taken too big of a risk.

Would he still do the same if he knew that Luciano was after the same woman as he was? Hell, yes! Seth was worth every obstacle he had to face. Women like her were a rarity, one any man would love to keep, all to himself.

“I think I'll sleep a little. Or just close my eyes and think about your words. Not sure how I'm feeling about everything you said. Besides, I will need to drive at one point, and a sleepy driver isn't the best thing ever. Plus, both of us need rest to deal with Seth after she wakes up. She might try to kick our asses.” Ryder laughed, twisting and turning his body in the seat until he finally found a comfortable position.

The Alpha fell asleep nearly immediately - as soon as he shut his eyes, he could feel how exhausted he was.

“Seth, kicking our asses... Why do I find it kind of hot?” Dominic whispered under his breath, finally feeling a little amused.

The Alpha couldn't deal with his own grim mood.

Usually, he didn't care about inconveniences or problems thrown at him, but everything changed as soon as Seth got involved. Was he doing the right thing? Perhaps getting away from the King's radar was the best option, but it still felt so wrong.

If only Vlad didn't tell everyone where they were. If only Dominic didn't think that he could trust his friend enough to confess his feelings and whereabouts.

Dominic knew that many people faked their support and intentions behind building friendships, but Vlad had never been one of that type of shifters. He had never been driven by greed, nor the male ever envied someone's success or wished bad things to happen to anyone.

Vlad was the type of man that nearly every woman wanted to have - especially those who loved romantic dates and emotional men. They were complete polar opposites.

Dominic and Luciano both were dominant, even though one of them seemed to be a little too controlling. Both Alphas had many things in common, making their friendship seem easier since they shared many interests and characteristics.

Vlad and Dominic, however, couldn't think of one thing they shared a passion for, even food. Both men liked different genres of music, wanted to follow different life paths, not to mention past relationships.

Focusing on the road, Dominic wondered if he had lost another friend today or if there was a possibility to mend whatever was broken.

No, Luciano wouldn't look back at the past - it wasn't in his nature.

Then again, who knew? It wasn't like they held any contact after everything.

Would Dominic still want to be friends with Vlad after the male betrayed him, even knowing so many things about his feelings? Best friends were supposed to support each other, hold on tight and die for each other.

Well, at least Dominic was more than ready to do all those things for his friends. However, both men waiting for them to arrive at the Council territory didn't seem to share his ideas about friendship.

Lost in his thoughts, Dominic didn't notice how Ryder woke up from his nap and kept staring at the Alpha.

“Pull over, let me drive,” Ryder suggested, glancing at his phone.

“Sure, whenever I will feel tired enough to switch,” Dominic winked at Ryder, chuckling as the Alpha's eyes widened. Sometimes he did this - made other men uncomfortable. At least that was funny.

“Seriously, Dominic, pull over. You look as if you are about to pass out; that is dangerous. Remember that you're not the only shifter in this car. To hell, I wouldn't care if there were only you and me in this piece of garbage. The only reason why I care about is Seth, sleeping in the backseat. We have to get her there safely, not to mention that none of us could live with ourselves if anything happened to her.” Ryder quickly glanced over his shoulder, smiling at her.

Seth was so peaceful when she slept, reminding a Goddess. Then, after she woke up, everyone got the dose of addictive sass and sarcasm.

That cat had claws, and she knew how to use them properly. Aside from those, Seth had an explosive nature; she was ready to fight anyone just to prove that she was right.

Maybe her self-confidence pulled in men like Ryder and Dominic, but even after spending just a couple of days together - Seth managed to wrap both Alphas' around her finger.

Dominic didn't object anymore. Ryder used the only person he really cared about and got whatever he wanted. The Alpha stopped the car by the road, and both men got out of it.

Dominic locked the car and tossed the key at Ryder, demonstrating a cigarette pack in his hand.

The Alpha grabbed a lighter and stepped away from the vehicle, stopping next to the first tree on his way. Dominic leaned against the tree and lit the cigarette, an unknowing smile spreading on his lips as soon as he inhaled the toxic smoke.

Ryder decided to approach the Alpha, moving slowly and carefully, avoiding challenging Dominic in any way.

“Since when you're a smoker?” Ryder didn't care about his bad habit, but somehow he had to start the conversation.

“Since forever. There is no need for a lecture, mom; we don't get the same effects as humans who smoke. We are wolves, remember?” Dominic chuckled, lifting the cigarette back to his lips. His eyes were glued on the road, deep in thoughts.

“I didn't approach you because I had a problem with your smoking,” Ryder confessed, looking a little ashamed. “I am just wondering if we are doing the right thing. You know, turning Seth in as if she was a criminal.”

Dominic almost started laughing in surprise. Somehow, Ryder couldn't stop thinking about the same thing that bothered Dominic.

The Alpha wanted to speak his mind, share the previous ideas, but he couldn't. Not now, when his actions might bring harm upon anyone who isn't Dominic himself. He had never sacrificed someone for his happiness and needs, so this wouldn't become his first time either.

“Let's get back to the car. God knows for how long Seth will be asleep and how much more time it will take for us to get back to the territory. I would rather get there before dusk.” Dominic walked towards the car, dropped his cigarette on the road, and stomped on it.

He wouldn't be happy to find out if he was responsible for the forest fire just because he was incapable of putting out his cigarette. So, each time when Dominic smoked, he made sure that every little hint of the previous heat was gone.

Ryder sat behind the steering wheel and emotionlessly stared at the road.

Both Alphas zoned out during the drive, but thankfully, all of them reached the destination safe and sound. Luciano was the first one to stomp outside the building, eyeing the car and people inside it.

The King approached the vehicle, gestured for both Alphas to get out, and whispered: “I will deal with you two later, for now - get yourself a fucking room. And stay quiet, God damn it because the Lord is my witness that I will kill every fucker who tries as much as breathe next to her. Seth needs rest.”

Luciano opened the back door, carefully unbuckled Seth, and scooped her on his hands. The King carried her towards the forest, making everyone gasp in surprise.

Dominic was the first one to react, bolting after Luciano and whisper-yelling: “Where the fuck do you think you are taking her?”

“I'm taking the Queen back to my house. Is there a problem, Alpha?” Luciano answered in the same tone, but unlike Dominic, he sounded like he was about to rip someone in shreds.

The King's aggression was probably focused on Dominic, but the Alpha didn't care. He had to make sure that Luciano wouldn't hurt Seth. Who knew what was happening in that man's mind?

“As a matter of fact, there is a problem.” Someone spoke from behind them, making both men stare in the newcomer's direction.