Inhaling deeply, Elise let the fresh, crisp air invade her lungs and energise her body. Kane was later than he had thought he’d be and she began to shift around restlessly, bending to touch her toes, stretching her arms over her head then twisting side to side. She stared back towards the house and wondered how much longer he’d be. As Alpha, she knew his time would not always be his own, but did that mean that her time must be spent waiting, doing nothing. Biting her lip, she stared deep into the woods. The land was calling to her. Did she dare go ahead without him?
Her father had expressly forbidden any pack member to go out by themselves. Hunters sometime laid illegal leg traps and a wolf could be caught and shot before anyone in the pack was aware. That was how her mother had died…
“Good morning.” A voice spoke behind her and she jumped. Spinning around, she saw Bryan standing just a few feet away. The sun was shining on his sandy brown hair, giving it a golden glow.
“Bryan!” She felt her heart leap with joy and she rushed over to hug him, only to have her friend back up when she was but a foot away. His movement brought her headlong rush to an immediate stop. “Bryan? What’s the matter?”
“What do you mean, what’s the matter? You know what the problem is.” Elise frowned and shook her head. “You’re mated to Kane. I can smell his scent on you.” Bryan sounded bitter and frowned at her.
His words cut like a knife into her. How could he be so cruel? “But… You know that wasn’t my choice! The Elders decided on the need for the union. You know that. You were at the ceremony yesterday and heard the speeches just as I did.”
Bryan looked away, his face grim. “I know. It’s just…” He seemed to be waging some type of internal struggle, then sighed deeply and looked at her, his hazel eyes sorrowful. “I had hoped to be your mate.”
“I know.” Elise took a step closer and laid her hand on his arm. “I’d hoped for the same thing.” She took his hand in hers. “This union was for the good of the packs, but it doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped caring for you.”
“And I still care for you.” Bryan reached out and stroked her cheek, staring intently into her eyes before switching his focus to her lips. Silence stretched between them and Elise realised that he was leaning closer to her, his intention of kissing her evident. Her conscience pricked and she knew she should step away. Bryan was not her mate; Kane was…
A twig snapped behind her before she could act and Bryan jumped away, pulling his hand from hers. They both turned to see Kane standing nearby, his eyes narrowed and glaring at them.
“Elise, I’m glad you found a way to keep yourself occupied while I was finishing off pack business.” There was an angry edge to his voice which made Elise’s skin prickle with anxiety.
“I…I was just talking to Bryan,” she stammered. Something in his expression frightened her and she stepped back.
“So I see.” Kane shot her a brief glance, and then focused his attention back on Bryan, a look of disdain on his face. “This is the…friend…you spoke of this morning?”
“Yes, this is Bryan. We’ve been friends since we were pups.”
Kane gave Bryan an almost imperceptible nod. “I’m glad you had someone to keep you company while you were waiting, but it would do your ‘friend’ well to remember that you are now my mate and off limits to all others.”
Feeling her face burn at his innuendo, Elise tried to defend her actions. “We were just talking, nothing else!”
“I do not appreciate other males standing quite so close when…talking… to my mate.” The words rumbled from his throat and Bryan stepped back, instinctively acknowledging Kane’s dominance.
“Elise, I’d better go. I…I’ll see you around.” Bryan’s voice was quiet and regretful.
“Yes, I’ll see you around…” Elise responded softly, knowing that it was unlikely Bryan would approach her again. Soon, she’d be gone and it saddened her to think that her friendship was ending. She watched Bryan turn and head back to the house, then faced Kane, anger bubbling up within her. “You didn’t need to chase him off like that.”
“I didn’t chase him off. I just let him know that you are my mate now and a proper distance needs to be maintained.”
“He was just—“
“I know what he was just doing,” Kane interrupted sharply. “I could sense his desire for you and I do not share my mate with anyone. We are bonded and you are mine. No other male is allowed to sniff around you.”
“Sniff around me?”
“Yes. Your next heat cycle is coming in about a month, isn’t it? Last night, I could already sense the growing pheromone levels in you. He might not be consciously aware of them yet but in another few days he will. That boy needs to remember you are off limits before his instincts to mount a fertile female cause him to make a grave mistake.”
Elise huffed indignantly. While heat cycles and mating instincts were not kept secret within the pack—in fact they were impossible to hide—Elise wasn’t pleased to have Kane bringing her relationship with Bryan down to such a base level. “Kane, you—”
“Elise, this conversation is over. You are my mate. Bryan will stay away. End of topic. Now, are we going for a run or not?”
For a moment, she considered leaving in a snit, but then realised she’d be cutting off her nose to spite her face. She loved to run and Kane was right. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t encourage a relationship with Bryan any more. It wasn’t fair to him. With a brief nod to Kane, she phased into her wolf form and headed into the forest, vaguely aware of him following behind.
The leaves crunched beneath her feet, trees and shrubs a mere blur as she raced past. Leaping over logs, skirting around trunks, she ran for the sheer love of it. Her eyes constantly scanned the horizon as she quickly adjusted her path and pace to suit the terrain. At the same time, she was aware of Kane running behind her. He’d made no attempt to pass her, but she was aware that he was holding back. His breathing was slow and steady; there was no sense of exertion coming from him.
Elise quickened her pace, curious to test the limits of the wolf behind her. Within seconds, he had adjusted his pace to hers, the distance between them remaining constant. Again and again, she tested him, running faster and faster yet he never once fell behind, nor attempted to overtake her. She knew he was toying with her and vexed, she veered off the path, heading for rougher terrain. Barrelling over a crest, she headed down a slope, her claws digging into the soil as she sought to gain traction on the slippery, leaf covered ground. At the bottom a stream meandered along and she splashed across it, before charging up the bank. Her breathing was ragged now, but she wasn’t about to give in and put on a final burst of speed, intent on jumping over a brush pile ahead of her.
Without warning she was knocked to the ground. Automatically, she began to fight, snapping and rolling, trying to evade her attacker, but to no avail. Within moments Kane had her pinned her to the ground, his teeth lightly gripping her throat.
Instinctively, she froze and whimpered in submission. Kane held on for a moment longer than let go and sat back. She sat up and phased back into human form and he did as well. He was breathing a bit faster than normal but he didn’t appear spent. On the other hand, her chest was heaving as she pulled oxygen in to nourish her protesting muscles.
“Why did you do that?” She panted.
“There’s a leg trap just ahead of you. A few more yards and you would have stepped in it.”
Elise turned and scanned the area ahead of her. Sure enough, barely visible in the carpet of leaves was a steel trap. She thought of her mother, shot to death with her leg caught in such a device and a shudder passed over her.
“Just this morning, scouts reported that more poachers had been seen in the area. We’re near the edge of the property, so I was on the lookout. Rest here for a minute. I’m going to spring that one and then see what else I can find.”
“I’m coming with you.” She stood, lifting her chin defiantly when it appeare
d that he’d have her remain behind.
“Fine, but stay behind me.” Kane gave her a stern warning look before searching for a sturdy stick and carefully pressing it against the trigger of the trap. It was an older model, with sharp metal teeth designed to dig into the flesh of any creature unfortunate enough to step in it. Elise jumped as the trap sprang shut, snapping the stick in two. She swallowed hard, thinking of how painful it would be to have her leg caught in such a device.
For another half hour, they scoured the edge of the property, discovering four more traps before Kane was satisfied that none remained. “We’ll report this to your father when we return and he can send another set of scouts out to check.” He had gathered the traps into a pile and marked the location so that they could be collected later. Traps were never sprung and then left behind. The hunters would just reset them. At least this way, the humans would be out money and time since they’d have to purchase new ones.
“Thank you.” Elise touched Kane’s arm as he stood up after hiding the traps under some brush.
“For what?”
“For stopping me. I could have snapped a bone, if I’d stepped in one of those.”
“I’m your Alpha now. It’s my job to watch out for everyone in the pack, but especially you. As my mate, you’re the most important member to me.” He stared at her intently and she flushed.
“Yes, but I should have been watching more carefully where I was going. I know these woods…I wasn’t paying attention.”
“What were you thinking about instead?”
She hesitated before answering. “You, or to be more precise, I guess I was testing you, to see if you’d keep up.”
A crooked smile appeared on his face and he reached out, cupping the back of her head and drawing her in for a quick kiss. “Rest assured Elise, no matter what you dish out, I will keep up with you.” Somehow, she knew he was speaking the truth.
They phased back into wolf form and this time Elise followed as Kane led the way back to the edge of the woods. When they arrived at the cabin, she headed for the bathroom while he went to the house to tell her father about the traps.
The run had left her hot and sweaty and she couldn’t wait to be clean. Leaving her clothes on the bedroom floor, she padded naked into the bathroom and turned on the water, adjusting the flow and temperature. As the water cascaded down on her, she pondered the morning’s events. Kane had been polite to her…kind even. He’d saved her from severe injury in a leg trap and while he’d been a bit bossy, telling her to follow behind, she couldn’t really fault him. As Alpha, he needed a take charge attitude.
Kane’s reaction to Bryan had been interesting as well. While he hadn’t been outwardly aggressive, he hadn’t been encouraging of her relationship with the other male either. Was Kane just being instinctively territorial; she was his mate and no one else was allowed near her? Most likely that was the answer. It was too much to expect that he had any feelings toward her, beyond a sense of responsibility since she was now a member of his pack.
Elise wondered if it would always be this way; Kane showing polite interest in her, mating with her just because she was there… Would he ever come to care for her, or was she destined for a lukewarm relationship for the rest of her life? If she’d been mated to Bryan, it would have been so different… A wave of sadness washed over her and dejectedly she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a terrycloth robe.
Returning to the bedroom, she flopped down on the bed and curled up into a ball, sniffling slightly as she contemplated her future…
Chapter 3
Elise woke with a start from a deep sleep and blinked in confusion. This wasn’t her bedroom. Where was she? A noise from the foot of the bed drew her attention and she was greeted with the back view of a very well-built and very naked male. For a moment she frowned before remembering recent events. She was in a cabin with her new mate, Kane. The past twenty-four hours hadn’t been a bad dream—they were reality.
She let her head sink back onto the pillow and silently studied the man who was getting dressed before her. Muscles rippled across his back and his taut buttocks. His legs were long and sturdy, also giving evidence to his strength. As his lower anatomy disappeared from view under a pair of briefs, he glanced her way and caught her watching him.
“I see you’re awake.”
“Hmm… What time is it?” She found her voice was a bit raspy, her throat still tight from her earlier emotions.
“Almost noon—you must have been tired after our run.” He turned to grab a shirt and she noticed a long scar on his side, its pink color indicating that it was still fairly new. She vaguely recalled seeing it last night but had been otherwise occupied.
“What happened to your side?”
Kane glanced casually down at the mark. “Nothing. Just a scratch from a fight.”
“That’s way more than a scratch. Who was the fight with?”
“Another werewolf named Ryne.” Kane shrugged as if to dismiss the matter and stepped into his pants. Elise paused, wondering if she should question him further. The scar appeared to have come from a serious injury, and she was curious as to why such a vicious fight would have occurred.
“Why were you fighting?”
Kane sighed and finished doing up his zipper before turning and facing her, his arms crossed in resignation. “You aren’t going to leave this alone are you?” He quirked his brow at her.
“No. I have an inquiring mind.” Elise gave him a smirk that indicated she wasn’t planning on backing down. He might be her Alpha but she wasn’t going to let him walk all over her either. She’d come to a decision earlier that morning not to allow him to walk all over her. There was no time like the present to start showing that she had a backbone.
“Well, in that case, I suppose I should tell you. Otherwise you might ask questions of the wrong people and end up with some incorrect information.” He rubbed his hands over his face then walked to the window and stared outside while speaking. “As you know, I’m the new Alpha of my pack. Our previous leader, Zack, was killed in an accident. Ryne and I were both Betas. Half of the Elders favoured me as the new Alpha and half wanted Ryne.”
“So, did the pack vote?”
“Usually that’s what would have happened, but Ryne pulled out the old rules and declared a challenge.”
“A challenge? That’s not done anymore. It’s ridiculous! We’ve evolved beyond that.” Elise shuddered. The idea of two males fighting to the death for the leadership was barbaric.
“I agree, but he was still within his rights.”
“So… What happened?”
“We fought. I won.”
“Did you…kill him?” She almost hated to ask the question. The idea that her mate could kill a fellow werewolf was sickening.
“No. It was a long drawn out fight and we were both pretty beaten up by time it was over. He made an impulsive move. I pinned him down and could have crushed his windpipe, but I let him go.”
“And where is he now? Did he stay in the pack?”
Kane shook his head. “Ryne chose to leave. I told him he could stay—we’d been pack mates for years—but he said he wasn’t going to grovel in front of me. He was bitter and said some crazy things. In the long run, it’s probably best he’s gone. There would have been too much division in the pack if he’d stayed.”
“And is the pack united behind you now? Even Ryne’s supporters?”
“Yes. The pack mentality still runs through all of our blood. The strongest member is the leader and we instinctively accept that. I proved myself and the others are at peace with the results.”