A smirk stretched across the Fae’s face. “Let me guess; the new Alpha did not handle such a request with much grace?”
“That is putting it mildly,” Georgeta growled. “He has shut the bond completely. Alina knows she made a mistake in asking for the space but she is young and she was scared. She has pined for him for three months, reached through their bond attempting to get him to hear her, and begged him, and still he ignores her. She is sick. She has lost a disgusting amount of weight. I fear…,” she stopped, attempting to hold back the tears and the sob that fought to break through her words. “I fear for her life. Their bond was intense and strong from the moment they met. I do not know how much more she can endure.”
Peri’s eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms in front of her. “Though I am not a mother, I feel for you. But how does this situation concern me?”
“I wish you to break their bond completely, as if they had yet to meet. They both need to heal and mature. Vasile has a lot to deal with as the new Alpha. The pack was not as healthy as he was led to believe. His father was not well for a while before his death and the pack suffered because of it. Vasile has to make it right.”
“Do you not think that he needs his mate in order to be able to be what the pack needs? Are not the males more stable with their true mate, not to mention stronger?” Peri countered.
“When they are not being insufferable asses, yes that is true.”
Peri chuckled. “How I have missed you wolves,” she paused. “But if you repeat that I will still your tongue.”
Georgeta waved her off not concerned with the Fae’s words. “Can you help her?”
“I could do what you ask, but I will not.” Peri’s words were not unkind but they were firm.
“Will you tell me why?” Georgeta asked as any hope she had put in Peri’s help slipped away.
“Do not look so forlorn she-wolf. Vasile may be hardheaded but he is no fool. He will not let true harm come to his mate. Yes, there will be consequences for his stubbornness but not at the price of your daughter’s life.
“The reason I will not interfere is because sometimes pain is necessary in order for great change to take place. There is great change needed in the Eastern Romania pack, and it will take Vasile being the wolf and the man the Great Luna has created him to be to cause that great change. He cannot do what is necessary, nor can your daughter if every obstacle is removed from her path.”
“I understand,” Georgeta said as she nodded and tears began to stream down her cheeks, her bloodshot eyes boring a hole into the Fae. “I do not like it, but I understand.”
“Have faith in your creator, Georgeta. She created Alina just as she did Vasile and she created them for each other. Perhaps, she has a plan?” Peri smiled gently at her.
“Thank you for your time, Perizada. Try not to stay away too long, alright?”
Peri nodded. “I assure you, I will keep watch. This news has captured my attention, and I imagine that I will need to pay Vasile a visit before too long.”
“How many in Vasile’s pack have expressed to you their concern regarding the Alpha pair’s death?” Emilian asked the group that sat before him. He had sent out his most trusted pack mates that were in agreement that the Eastern Romania pack needed new blood, as well as new leadership. They were tired of being the lower ranking wolves in their own pack and willing to do what was necessary to ensure they moved up in their world.
“So far we’ve got about seven-to-ten wolves per village that are willing to voice their opinion out loud,” Ivan answered. “I have a feeling that there are more who believe that the deaths were suspicious but do not want to say anything against their Alpha.”
Emilian nodded. “The more submissive wolves will not speak up. We must seek out the more dominant ones.”
“How goes the search for the bodies?” Marian asked.
The Western Romania pack Beta growled. “Too slow for my own liking. I have no idea where that mongrel buried his parents.”
“Must we have the bodies?” Izabela, Ivan’s mate, asked.
“We cannot just go around accusing the Alpha of the Eastern Romania pack of something as grotesque as this without proof,” Emilian said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Do you think his pack will listen to us after we have desecrated the graves of their beloved Alpha and his mate?” Izabela’s brow rose. “There will be many who care not what you find because they will be so blinded by their anger over the atrocity that you were willing to commit.”
“Once they get past the shock of it, they will realize the greater atrocity is that they were lied to by their Alpha for centuries, and their son has continued that deception. The greater evil will win out. Betrayal from me is expected; betrayal from their own will be enough to wipe out what I did.”
“And if it is not?” Her eyes narrowed on him.
“Then I suppose I had better kill Vasile quickly so that it matters not about their anger. The one who defeats an Alpha takes his place. I do not care how we get to the outcome just so long as it is the same―the Lupei dynasty crumbling down around the last heir of their bloodline.” Emilian clapped his hands together as he stood prompting the others to stand as well. “Now the time for talk is over. Tonight we go hunting and we will not stop until we have the bodies of the dead Alphas.”
Romanian Proverb #11
Pui migdale în nasul porcului si el spune cã e o ghindã.
Honey is not for the ass' mouth.
“May I speak with you?”
Vasile looked up from his desk to see his third standing in the door of his office. He motioned for Ion to enter. It was the first person he had seen in more than a week not because they did not seek him out but because he had commanded that no one was to disturb him. Nine days ago he had awoken in the middle of the night gasping for breath and sweating as though he had been running through the very depths of hell as a sense of loss engulfed him. His first reaction had been to reach for her but she wanted space and he wanted to give it to her. He had felt her reaching through their bond, and several times he had nearly responded, but the selfish part in him, the part was hurt by her words, kept him from doing so. More and more he had sought out solitude, needing the quiet undisturbed time to consider all the things that needed to be done to help restore his pack to a thriving, healthy one. And even with all of that time, he was still unable to concentrate long enough to come up with a plan that did not include running back to his mate and taking her for his own. Needless to say, as his third walked in, he was not greeted with a warm welcome.
“There are rumors that someone in the Western pack is stirring up trouble in the villages,” Ion began without preamble. He was not one for small talk, and that was something Vasile had always appreciated about him.
“What kind of trouble?” Vasile asked.
“They are questioning the events of the Alpha’s deaths. They think something is amiss.”
Vasile tossed down the parchment he had been looking over and stood from his chair. He rubbed his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose trying to will away the headache that had been beating the inside of his skull like a relentless drum. When he finally looked back up at Ion his brow drew together as he saw the concerned look on his face.
“Are you alright, Alpha?” Ion asked him.
“Aside from dealing with my parents' death and the mess my father left the pack in, I am as good as can be expected.”
Ion took a deep breath seeming to consider whether or not he should ask the next questions. “What of your mate? How are you handling the separation?”
“My mate?” Vasile’s eyes narrowed. “She is fine. Why, have you heard something?” He was suddenly a lot more alert as he considered the idea that something had happened to her. He was sure he would have felt her panic, and just as he started to open the bond, Ion answered.
“No, nothing has happened. But being separated from your mate is difficult, especially when you haven’t completed the bonding
ceremony.”
Vasile let out a resigned sigh. He knew by the look in Ion’s eyes that he was not going to let it go. “I am having trouble concentrating.”
“Perhaps, you should go visit her,” he suggested.
Vasile shook his head. “I have things that need to be taken care of here and she is with her family. She is safe.”
“She may be safe, Alpha, but being safe and being well are not the same thing.”
Before Vasile could respond his office door flew open, the sound of the solid wood bouncing off of the stone wall reverberated across the room as Nicu and Alin rushed in. Both warriors’ eyes were wide, and slightly wild.
“What is going on?” Vasile asked. It was then that he heard the mounting rumble of a crowd and then yells beyond his window. He turned to go and look out but stopped at the sound of Nicu’s voice.
“Do not look, Alpha.”
The anguish in the warrior’s voice held Vasile’s attention.
“Why not?”
Alin was looking anywhere but at his face, and Nicu’s jaw was clenched so tight that Vasile was sure it would shatter at any moment.
“Answer me!” he snarled.
It was Ion who spoke through clenched teeth, his voice deep and rough. “They have your parent’s bodies.” Ion had made his way over to the window while Vasile had been questioning Nicu and was staring out at the described scene.
Vasile’s head snapped around and he moved using the speed of his wolf to the window. His heart stopped in his chest as his eyes took in the mob, and in the middle, lying in the caskets they had been buried in, were his parents.
The temperature of the room seem to drop several degrees as Vasile’s voice crooned out in the calm, contained fury he was known for. “Anyone who was the least bit involved with this is sentenced to death.”
Alina jumped as the door to the small cottage flew open and then slammed. Her father stormed in growling and muttering under his breath about stupid, high strung males.
“Is everything alright?” she asked him as she stood from the chair where she had been mending one of Serghei’s shirts.
Petre’s eyes snapped up to meet hers and widened slightly realizing that he had an audience. Alina took a step towards him and could smell the anger, fear, and worry flowing off of him.
“What has happened?” she asked and even as the question left her lips she felt a twinge of anxiety. But when she tried to reach for where it originated, it dissipated like fog rising as the cool morning air warmed.
“It is not anything you need to concern yourself with,” he told her in that infuriatingly placating tone that set her teeth on edge.
“I am not a child, Father; you do not have to protect me from all the bad things in this world,” she bit out.
“I know you are a child no longer, Alina, but I will always do everything in my power to protect you. That is what a parent does.” When he saw that she was not going to be swayed, he let out a deep breath. “There are some males from our village that are joining with other males from other villages in our pack to go listen to some lies regarding the former Alpha’s deaths. Emilian, the Beta of the Western Romanian pack, supposedly has proof that Stefan had been lying to our pack for centuries.”
Her thoughts immediately jumped to Vasile and the things he had shared with her about his parents. If what her father was saying was true, then there was definitely need to worry. Was he safe? Were they going to do something to him? She wanted to ask him, but she had given up reaching out to him. She had accepted that for now, at least, he wanted the space she had so foolishly requested. “What kind of proof? And why? Why would they accuse someone who is already dead and gone?”
“I do not know. Serghei would not say. As for why…well, ambition will make a man do many things. If Emilian is the one behind this, then it means he is looking to be Alpha. If they have proof that Vasile’s parents were not honest with the pack, then the pack will not trust him to lead.”
Alina’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Serghei is a part of these fools? Why on earth would he want Vasile overthrown?”
Petre watched his daughter closely for any reaction to Vasile’s name but she did not bat an eye. She had not talked about him for months now, and he could tell from the tired look in her eyes that he was still keeping the bond shut tight. It had been nine days since Georgeta petitioned the fae, and despite seeing his daughter in pain, he agreed with Perizada’s decision. It was not wise to interfere with fate, and Vasile and Alina were fated for one another. As much as he did not want his daughter to hurt, he wanted her more to grow and mature. Unfortunately, more often than not, pain was a part of that process.
He watched as her brow furrowed even lower, and he could tell that she knew something that she was not sharing. He hated seeing the weight of so much on her shoulders and missed the easy going smile that use to be so readily given. But Alina was going to have to learn to be tough if she was going to be mated to someone such as Vasile―a wolf who held so much dominance, power, and strength. Maybe this experience would prepare her for the many trials she was sure to face as an Alpha female.
“Serghei is young and easily swayed by the excitement,” he reasoned.
“You sound like you are describing a puppy rather than a grown man,” she shot back.
He wanted to freeze time in that moment, to hold it still, so that he could treasure the flash of anger in her stormy, grey eyes and the tightening of her lips that betrayed the emotion that never seemed to show on her beautiful face. He had hated seeing her hurt when Vasile had closed their bond, and it had made him appreciate her spirit that he, at one time, found utterly tireless. “Whatever proof this Beta claims to have is probably a farse, and all of those who chose to follow him will realize they were fooled.”
She nodded, which was her usual form of communication. Petre watched her walk to the door struggling to think of anything more to engage her. She pulled the door open and looked over her shoulder at him. “I am meeting Sisily by the river for a little while. I will be back for supper.” Then she was gone along with their fleeting moment of reconnection.
Alina stepped around the side of the cottage into the cover of shadows and the forest. She pressed her back against the rough bark of a tree and closed her eyes as the last rays of the sun slowly began to fade. The lingering warmth did nothing to thaw the cold inside of her. She imagined she could stand within touching distance of the sun and never feel warm. Vasile had explained to her just how dangerous things would get it the pack found out that his parents had not been true mates. The trust that had been so severely damaged in Stefan’s last decade or so as Alpha was bleeding over into Vasile’s reign. If someone had indeed discovered that Vasile’s parents were not true mates, things were about to get a whole lot worse. She wished she could be there for him―wished she could lend him her strength and encouragement. Perhaps he did not need her. Maybe she would only serve to be a distraction during a time in which he would need all of his wits about him. She was sure his top wolves would protect him, not that he would ever accept protection from another. He was a dominant among dominants after all, but nonetheless she had a feeling those wolves would give their lives for him whether he wanted them to or not.
When she opened her eyes, she attempted to call on her wolf in hopes that the animal would finally answer her, but just as with her previous attempts, her wolf ignored her, as if it was sleeping and refused to wake up. Her wolf was angry that they had not pursued their mate. It felt like Alina was giving up. But in reality, Alina was just at the place where she desperately wanted Vasile to come back to her. She wanted him to choose her without her having to beg it out of him. It was the first time she could ever remember her wolf denying her help. She started to let out an exasperated sigh but was cut off by the large hand that covered her mouth.
Sergehi felt the warmth of her breath on his hand as he covered her mouth. He pulled her away from the tree further into the forest. As he pulled her back against his che
st holding her tightly to him, he took a deep breath and nearly lost himself in her familiar scent. She was beginning to struggle but stopped as soon as she heard his voice and, no doubt, caught his own scent.
“Alina,” he murmured into her neck as he continued to breathe her in. She mumbled something against his hand, and he smiled as he imagined her sharp tongue tearing into him because he had scared her.
“You cannot scream or run, alright?” he asked quietly. She nodded and he slowly uncovered her mouth and loosened his arms around her. She turned quickly and he saw the anger that danced like fire in her eyes as she glared at him. It lasted only a second and then it was gone.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked him, not even mentioning that he had just nearly accosted her.
“What do you mean?”
“My father said you were going with a group of the pack to accuse the dead of lying.” Her voice was cool, devoid of any of the warmth he was used to.
“That is why I came to talk to you,” he said as he tried to hold back the excitement. He knew that Alina could not be meant for Vasile; he knew that she was his and always had been. When Emilian had come asking for volunteers to help find some bodies, and then informed them that those bodies would give proof that Vasile was not fit to be the Alpha of the Eastern pack, Sergehi had barely been able to contain his shout of count me in. Gradually, over the days of searching the mountains, it became apparent which members of the pack truly wanted Vasile out. Only then did Emilian began to reveal more details of who they were looking for and why. Serghei could admit that he felt a little sick when the Beta told him they were going to be digging up his former Alphas’ bodies, but when he told him what they would find, any misgivings fled. When the pack found out their former Alphas were not true mates and had lied about it for centuries, there would be no way any would believe Alina and Vasile were mates, not without seeing the mating markings themselves. Since Serghei hadn’t heard any rumors about the markings changing on Vasile, then he knew the marks could not have appeared on Alina yet either.