2. THEO

Chapter 2

THEO

“Have you given it some thought?”

I glare at the man who lumbers past me with a large log and a question I wasn't expecting. Not at a time like this.

“Can you focus, please?” I scold the Beta of the Nightalker Pack. I grab a log twice the size of his and head toward the path we’d created in the forest.

“I’m trying not to think much about this wedding,” Liam pauses and sighs as he gazes down the path. With logs on either side, it’s starting to take shape.

We’re almost at the altar now.

“In that case, you shouldn’t have asked Amelia to marry you,” I throw over my shoulder as I head to the empty spot on the pathway.

I flip the log onto the ground and kick it into place. Stepping back, I take a good look at our handiwork, chest filling with pride. “Not bad.”

“Stop acting like a wedding planner and remember who you are,” Liam reminds me as he sets the log down with a groan.

Wiping at the bead of sweat caught on my brow, I sigh heavily. We’d been working all day, preparing for Liam’s marriage to the Delta’s sister this weekend.

Setting up the aisle outside, naturally, it was going to be a forest wedding.

It’s pretty cliche, if you ask me. I’m not the type for the bells and whistles of marriage.

All I truly care about is the fated mate bond. The most sacred union in the world. Each one of us has a fated mate out there. But only if we decided to embark on that journey with no guarantee that our mate exists.

I’d often hear tales about mate bonds. It was Mother’s bedtime story to my younger sister while she grew up. I’d listen from outside, eavesdropping.

Then Father would catch me in the hallway and smile. That knowing smile told me about the way he met my mother.

Through the fated mate bond. She was the daughter of an Alpha from another pack. He’d stumbled upon her from across the river. And then he just knew.

She was the one, and that’s how their love story began.

I would want nothing else than the bond they shared. Stronger than a wedding in the forest and vows taken at the altar.

But then again, I’m the Alpha of Nightwalker. I need to think about the wellbeing of the pack.

“I won’t lie, I have been thinking about it,” I admit, staring out into the void so I don’t have to face the Beta.

After all, he’s the only one who knows about my quest for the fated mate bond.

“Yeah?” he asks for confirmation as he lingers behind me.

“I don’t know, man…” I ponder out loud with a heavy-hearted sigh. “I don’t know if I can go through with it.”

“Look at it this way,” he says as he comes to stand beside me, pointing an arm ahead. “I’ve chosen this path and I’m quite content.”

I blow out a breath. “That’s because you love Amelia,” I remind him.

“Why wouldn’t you love the she-wolf you choose to marry?”

I shake my head, catching a glimpse of Liam’s frown. “There’s no greater form of love other than the fated mate bond.”

I hear Liam’s agitated exhale but say nothing as he heads back to the lawn without me. I remain there only to stare out at the wedding preparations.

The most opportune time to get married.

With marriage, a male must mark his she-wolf of choice. It seals the deal and ensures a blissful life. With promised jewels as the heaven the Moon Goddess resides in.

Now, with the unknown threat dangled over our heads, it makes sense why my Beta decided to marry. Though she is the girl he’s been in love with for nine years, he attains martyrdom in the eyes of our Lord.

If I don’t find my mate and end up killed, I will reincarnate to face my punishment.

Cyrus Savage, the Alpha of the Blackclaw Pack across the river, made a very tempting offer. As the long-time enemy of the Nightwalker Pack, he offered an alliance amid the impending threat.

Since it gains on us from Illinois, it's only a matter of time before it reaches Missouri.

It just happens to be a marriage alliance. One where the marriage to one of their own seals the deal. No longer enemies, we’d become allies and fight the war together.

It goes against my principles. My firm belief in the mate bond decreed by the Moon Goddess Herself won’t allow me to marry.

But for an alliance to protect my pack?

At the end of the day I have duties as their Alpha.

‘Alpha Theo…’ comes Delta Jarrod’s call through the mind link shared only with our pack. ‘There’s been a message delivered from Blackclaw.’

‘I’m coming,’ I reply mentally as I make my way to the pack den. Nestled in the forest, the high-tech underground bunker opens with face recognition.

Right now, we’re unable to discern if the threat can hack our phone lines. That’s why messages come as briefs delivered in envelopes.

It’s easier to sneak things the old-fashioned way.

“What did we get?” I ask as I take my seat behind the desk. With surveillance monitors decorating every wall, it’s the safest place to intercept messages from other packs.

“Another letter from the Blackclaw Alpha,” Jarrod informs me as he stands across the desk, arms folded behind him.

“What does he want now?” I groan as I slide a blade through the envelope’s seal.

“An answer, perhaps,” Jarrod offers rather sarcastically, causing me to throw daggers at him with a glare.

“It’s only been a week,” I remind him as I pull out the letter. I read it, and instantly feel anger stir up.

Jarrod must notice my ears turning red. He asks, “What is it, Theo?”

I crumple the letter between one raging fist. The ball of absurdity gets tossed into the trash can. “He changed his mind.” I look up with hatred in my eyes. “He will only accept the alliance if he takes a Nightwalker she-wolf as a bride.”

“I–” Jarrod opens his mouth, but fear is what makes him press his lips together in silence.

“He wants Anastasia,” I grouch angrily. “Give him a message from me.”

Jarrod steps up closer to the desk as he nods.

“... Tell him that I won’t be giving my sister to him in exchange for an alliance.”

Jarrod nods as I leave the room Punching the key on the side of the lift, I’m grunting as I get inside.

Fucking Cyrus Savage! Of course he’d put pressure on us, citing that the war is near. My hesitance in accepting his initial offer allowed for it to fall away.

Now there’s a new offer. And it involves my sister - a true-blooded Alpha.

The power-hungry tyrant of a leader wants to mate with another Alpha. That’s how he’ll be the most powerful Alpha in all of the States.

I can’t allow that to happen. Apart from his power-greediness, it’s my sister after all.

I’ve protected her all my life. Now I have to choose between her and the pack.

An impossible choice.

That loathing bursts through my flesh as I take on wolf form. Soaring toward the river, I need the fresh air to clear my mind.

The run does me some good. Propelling my legs forward with might, I'm faster than I usually am on a hunt.

Except, I don't have much of an appetite. Even passing an unsuspecting deer without even a whiff.

There's too much weight on my shoulders. A big decision needs to be made.

I've already made mine in the form of a refusal. It's not going to do the Nightwalker Pack any good. I know that much.

Blackclaw is the only other pack in Missouri. We don't have a choice but to accept them as allies.

But in doing so, I forsake my sister’s happiness. If I eavesdropped on bedtime stories, she was the one who heard them firsthand.

It's Anastasia's dream to find her fated mate. Just like it is mine. Growing up with parents who loved each other so deeply, it was inevitable for us to share that dream.

As I arrive at the riverbed, my steps slow down. My wolf sighs as I hang my head, staring at my own reflection on the water’s surface… I have to contemplate my decisions.

I know the refusal of the alliance will be met with resistance. It will at least give me time to think. Time to figure out a way around this, so I can spare Anastasia.

I'm deliberating my options, praying the wolf can offer me guidance. My blasted inner voice only offers me the persistent chanting of the word, ‘Mate’.

It would have been easier to give up my dream and marry for the sake of the alliance. But with my wolf believing in a fated mate bond as strongly as I do, I have no choice.

Another thing we agree on. Goddess knows I wish we didn't. But it's the wolf's very own desire that fuels mine.

Both Nightwalker Alpha-blood children can't be forsaken like this. If only I'd been more decisive, my sister wouldn't have been dragged into this.

Grunting from frustration, I'm startled when I hear rustling from the left.

I turn my head in that direction just as a stray wind billows. With it comes a sweet scent not familiar to this part of the woods.

My wolf brows furrow as I scan my surroundings for the source. To my surprise, it's not a foreign flower in the ground.

But the strange scent of a wolf.

It's clear it's a stranger, whose scent I cannot recognize. The wolf awkwardly steps over a log, looking back with frequency, almost losing its footing and crashing.

It struggles to remain upright but does so very oddly. And when it reaches the river, it drops to its belly.

Underneath the full moon glow, I notice a streak of silver on its back. Almost like a thunderbolt, it courses down its spine in a silvery shine.

Interest piqued, I slowly make my way over. The werewolf laps at the water as if it's been parched for days.

Something about the werewolf's appearance is intriguing. Perhaps the silver back. Or the desperation with which it drinks. It might even be the wolf's large frame – almost matching mine.

I've never seen a creature as extraordinary as this. As I slowly near the wolf, I hear bushes rustling behind it, my paw snaps a twig and the wolf snaps its head up.

Its fearful brown eyes are full of anxiety as it trembles. It senses the danger behind and with the river between us trapped.

Though a part of me hopes it doesn't run off. Not the Alpha wolf, who would demand that it leaves. But the humane side of me. The side that's curious to know who this is.

I see the eyes and feel the other wolves gathered below the trees on the other side of the river.

I snarl my discontent with the strength of my dominating wolf and they run back from where they came from.

As I use my senses to ensure that the other wolves are gone. I notice that the wolf by the river scrambles to its paws, but its knees cave in.

A splash! sounds when it lands in the river.

The chestnut wolf is drenched as it battles to swim to safety. Only its pointed nose sticks out of the water, grappling for air. Alarmed, I rush forward and leap into the river.

I can't stand by and watch another wolf drown before my eyes. Whoever this is, I have to save her.

It's almost as if my instinct demands it.

Grabbing the wolf by its neck with my teeth, I pull it to safety. On the Overton side of the river. Over the Nightwalker territory.

When we both land in a heap on the side, I quickly get to my paws. Water droplets fly all around us like rain. When I stop shaking the water off, our eyes meet. And the air in my lungs halt.

Just who is this werewolf?