Book 1: Chapter 59

A soft knock on the door and Sam stick his head in. “The first family is here.”

I nodded to him. “Send them in, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Aelia got up from the corner of my desk and leaned her back against the window. Nate set up to the left of my desk, leaning against the bookshelf. Taking up my usual spot at my desk, I laced my fingers together and waited. The first family to walk in was the Reeds and Faulks. The Reed’s daughter hadn’t shifted yet and she was supposedly the Faulks sons’ mate who had turned twenty.

The reason they were requesting an early bond was because he was going for training at the Alpha King’s palace for the next four years. So it was more understandable that they wanted to make sure the two were connected during that time. It kept both of them out of trouble. However, not only had she not shifted but they were promised to each other at birth supposedly. The Moon Goddess doesn’t give a shit about that and I didn’t either.

“Good morning. Thank you for seeing us, Alpha.”

I nodded at the older wolf, Hayes Faulks. “Happy to oblige. Especially when one of our own have been chosen to serve the Alpha King.”

The man beamed with pride and he should. The son, however, looked a little embarrassed. The entire family was focused on me and I don’t even think they were paying attention to who was in the room. Aelia was minimizing her footprint, her presence, and we already couldn’t smell her due to the crystal.

“My daughter is excited as well. Isn’t that right sweetheart?” Helen Reed pushed her daughter forward a bit.

The girl had freckles over most of her face and her hair looked wild. Her eyes shone with a mischievousness that she was holding back. In front of me, she looked meek but I could tell she was probably a handful at home and school. Neither of the couple looked all that interested in each other. A red flag that popped up in my head.

When Nate and Aelia were little, before the mate bond kicked in or their wolves showed, there was still a level of draw they had towards on another. I didn’t know if that was usual but seeing them, how protective he was, making sure she was taken care of, it was easy to tell they had a connection. It was almost like he was her brother too. It was different from how I treated her. These two seemed to not have that at all.

Leaning back, I tilted my head back to look at Aelia. She had her arms crossed and her face was fairly blank. To the unassuming, she may have just looked bored. However to me, and probably Nate as well, there was tension in her eyebrows, the slightest curve down on her lips. The flex in her biceps and even the look in her eyes all pointed to the fact that she wasn’t happy; pissed even. It was times like this I wish I could mind link her.

*'I dunno if we would want that. I feel like she’d be ranting the moment they walked in.'*

I chuckled at Eros. *'You’re probably not wrong. She’s very much not happy.'*

“Sol?” I got her attention and her eyes whipped to me, the anger dissipating just a bit.

The others seemed to be shocked someone else was in the room. She stood up from her lean and bent over my shoulder.

“How much info do you want and do you want it privately or should I just tell them?” Her voice was quiet enough just for my ears.

“Just a simple, yes or no. I don’t need anything else.”

Her eyes lifted to sweep over the families. “No, they aren’t.”

Stepping back, she leaned against the window and crossed her arms again. Chewing and stewing on all the information that was being handed to her. Even without touching the bonds. I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

“As excited as I am sure you guys are about Jake going to the Alpha King’s palace, I will have to decline your request for him and Fawn to mate before she is of age. I think it will be good for them to be separated and experience their own growing up without a bond always pulling at them. When Jake returns, you may decide then if being chosen mates is something they would like to do.”

The whole room grew quiet. The relief on the two kids faces was enough to know that they definitely didn’t have a connection. The red flag I had been feeling was spot on. However, the parents looked less than pleased.

“Alpha, I don’t think you understand. They are fated mates! They have been promised since birth!” It was Dan Reed who spoke up this time, looking between his wife and Hayes.

Nate cleared is throat, taking their attention. “Promised? By who?”

“They’re grandparents, of course!” Helen this time snapped a little bit schooled her face, realizing she just snapped at her Beta.

He snorted. “You think the Moon Goddess cares about that? About what we wolves think when our kids are born? No. She doesn’t. In fact, she cares so little that when they are born, before you even can embrace them, they are tied to their fated mate.”

I stayed quiet, a little stunned by the spitefulness in his voice as he continued. “You would deny not only your own children the happiness of being with their fated mate and what that feels like, but also denying their mate. They obviously don’t have that connection because even if you are under age, the fated bond is still there. How dare you think higher than our Goddesses’ decision to force them to be together.”

Everyone stood in silence, floored at Nate. Normally, he was the smiles of our leadership. I was Alpha, stoic, cold but determined to get things done. Sam was meek and quiet but was known for his genius behind the scenes. Nate completed us as the face of the pack. He was the one to speak to about any and all issues, being the most people forward. Then took on the bigger more architectural issues within the pack. It was rare for him to be like thing in front of pack members.

“They wouldn’t know about that, Beta. They themselves denied their fated mates for their own choices.” Aelia’s voice was low as she frowned.

They seemed shocked by her statement. Nate glared at them before turning his eyes to the floor. Dan was about to speak but I put my hand up.

“I’ve made my decision in this matter. Young Jake will go to his training without marking anyone unless he finds his fated between now and then. You will leave them alone. That’s my final say.”

The kids knew they were being dismissed, both looking relieved as they bared their necks and headed out. Their parents however, looked ready to argue but I gave them a raised eyebrow and let just a small amount of my aura out. Disappearing out of the room with something close to a yelp, the door shut behind them. Looking over at Nate, my brow furrowed.

“You okay?”

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Yeah. That shit just pisses me off. Forcing your kids to be in a relationship, to mate, knowing that they most-likely aren’t mates.”

“They wouldn’t know any better. They had it done to them and probably has been done for generations.” Aelia sighed. “Wolves like that, trying to mess with the bloodlines are the worst.”

My head tilted in her direction. “Are they still connected to their fated when they are marked by a chosen?”

Her mouth pursed in a thin line. “Yes and no. They get cut off from their fated. It would be cruel to force their fated to never find love just because they chose another. So the string looks…unraveled. It’s never immediate either. If they were to find their fated during the first months or even the first year, the fated bond would still be strong enough to override the chosen. But after that, it unravels. Frayed at the edges. It always makes me angry to see when it’s something that’s forced.”

She shrugged, taking a deep breath. “Some just are in love and willing to take that step with each other knowing that. Which, that’s up to them. But it should always be a choice between the two. Not something set up.”

Sighing, I rubbed my face. “Maybe I should have had Sam with me on this. I don’t want you snipping at my pack members.”

Aelia chortled. “I did nothing of the sort. That was Nate!”

“Goddess above. Is this what it would be like all the time?” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

The two of them laughed.

I mind-linked Sam. *'Do you mind sending in the next set of families please? Before I take these two numbskulls heads off?'*

Sam chuckled. *'Yes Alpha.'*

-

For the first time in years, I felt sympathy for my father. He’d done so many bad things behind the scenes. To me, to Nate, to Aelia and to our mom. Hell, the pack even suffered for it more than most of them knew. I still wondered though, what he felt when he was put in this position. When the first threat from the Hunters came in. Did he destroy his office like I had? Did he initially refuse? Was his heart ever out for his pack and his people? My mother must have been alive when he received them, did he talk to her about it? Was her final straw that he gave in? Did he suffer through it alone? Only making the decision and telling no one?

There were so many questions swirling around in my head. I wasn’t about to go to my father, not after last time. His death probably wouldn’t be what everyone needed right now. Plus, I was in a better situation than he was. Nate warned me about the issues with the Hunters. The rumors that they were gathering and that there were too many rumors to not be cautious. I had the fucking proof of it in my hands that the rumors were true.

Running my hands through my hair, I leaned against the wall. There used to be a bookshelf here. Now, it joined the others on the far end of the room. Anger rolled through me, made my hands itch. Itch to throw something, destroy anything. They were threatening my pack! Did they think I would just roll over? Give into their demands? I scoffed. We would destroy them before any even touched the edge of my territory.

A soft knock on my door made me growl. I told Sam, Nate and even Meredith to beat it and leave me the hell alone. Not even Nate had the gall to try and go against me. Did he think now would be any different? The door opened slightly and I unleashed my Alpha.

“Shut the damn door and leave me alone!”

The door stopped for a moment but to my surprise, continued to open. Looking up, Aelia stepped into the destruction and quietly shut the door behind her. It took a moment to really see her but it looked like today was not a good day for her. The circles under her eyes were carved in, she looked thinner and far more pale than normal. Still though, there was a slight smile as she took inventory of my office.

“Remodeling?”

I snorted. “Is that what it looks like to you?”

“Well, I could call it losing your cool and taking it out on inanimate objects. But you would never reach this level of absolutely losing it, would you?” Her eyebrow quirked up at me.

Sighing, I did another run through of my hand in my hair. “I’m not always put together.”

“You also don’t always make your Gamma and the head of the house have to leave for multiple days cause they can’t take it. Leaving a Beta, who really hates doing his Alphas job, in charge.”

“I didn’t…”

Aelia put her hand up. “You may not have meant it, but it’s happening.”

I leaned back against the broken desk, putting my face in my hands. There wasn’t anything to say. Hell, I didn’t even know for how long I’d been pacing. It could have been a week for all I knew.

“Sil?”

Peeling my hands away, Aelia was squatting down, her hands on my knees. Her eyes showing concern and questions.

“You didn’t ride up here today, did you?”

She chuckled. “Telling me I look like shit?”

“Depends. You gonna kick my ass if I said yes?”

This made her bark out a full laugh. “No, Alpha. I won’t kick your ass. But to answer your question; Noah drove me up.”

“Great. The angry one.”

“He’s not angry. He’s passionate. Noah believes in what he feels and isn’t afraid to show it. You, however, hide away and destroy things.”

I ran my hand over the desk that was splintered in half. “Better things than people.”

“True. Or you know…you could talk about it. Like normal people do.”

Rolling my eyes I sighed. Reaching out, I grabbed the envelope with the letter and handed it to her. She took it gingerly and opened it. I watched her read over the contents. Their threat, their request, their demand. Part of me wondered if she would react as I had but Aelia wasn’t connected to the pack anymore. This wasn’t her home, her wolves. If she had let Nate mark her, maybe but not now. Aelia finished, her face showing nothing as she folded it up and placed it back in the envelope.