“I’ll leave and let you get back to your pack. Be sure to keep an eye on Amora for me?”
“Of course, man! That’s a given.”
I nodded and then shifted into Sarge. We watched Sawyer as he shifted and took off away from me, and then I sprinted back to my territory.
You do realize prophecies sometimes have some truth to them?
I realize that, Sarge. But why would it apply to us when we have a mate and we cannot tell her because she’s not of age?
Sarge became quiet on the run back, and just as when we’d entered the Quartzite pack, we exited it without any patrols bothering us. I was sure that Sawyer would tell them to let me be from now on anytime I decided to come to see Amora.
I raced through the woods until I came to the clearing for training. Pups stood facing each other, practicing when I stepped out of the tree line. They all stopped to stare at Sarge’s massive form; some even kneeled where they stood. The confidence coming from Sarge was impressive as he held his head up high. I laughed at him as he pranced around. The sound of vehicles on the dirt road leading up to the packhouse worried me. I hadn’t been told we were expecting guests. Sarge took off back through the woods to the rear of the packhouse.
We made it there before the SUVs, and shifting quickly I ran up to my room and put on some clothes. I made my way back down the stairs as my mother and father opened the front door. Walking out behind them, I noticed that the wolves that exited the vehicles were from the Dolostone pack. The pack that my father, Axel, and my brother had gone to before he died.
“I’m right here with you.” I turned and saw Axel to the left and Lucas and Daylen to my right. I stood a little taller as my father went up to the Alpha from their pack. He looked over to me, his face stoic, but his eyes flickered between his and his wolf’s.
“Alpha Wade, what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Alpha Wade walked up to my father, grabbing his outstretched hand in the process. “I’ve come to talk more about the land disputes.”
“It’s taken you long enough to think about it.” My father escorted him past us, and he kept his eyes on me as he followed my father. The coldness in his eyes urged me to keep him in sight at all times while he was here. I never looked away from his stare as he and my father went into the packhouse.
Axel stirred beside me, and I turned to him. He never took his gaze from the older alpha. “I don’t trust him. It’s not a coincidence that when we left his territory, we were attacked by wolves a few miles from home. I’d keep your eye on him.”
“You think they are the ones who sent the wolves? Wouldn’t you recognize if they had been Dolostone wolves?” I questioned him as we made our way inside behind my mother. Axel kept pace with me now as we marched inside.
“Not if he had rogues working for them. I’m not going to let him get his hands on you. You need to be kept an eye on, and you don’t need to be running off.” Axel walked close to me as the rest of the Dolostone pack came into the packhouse behind us. “I watch you leave every week. I don’t know where, but I know you leave the territory.”
Turning on him, I glared at him. Sarge’s will pushed further to the surface. “If I remember correctly, Axel, I’m the alpha, and you will not be giving me orders. If I want to leave the territory, I will.”
Axel lowered his gaze from mine; a whimper crossed his lips as he bared his neck to me. “I understand, Nolen. But I will not let you die on me, I made my promise to keep you alive, and that is what I’ll do.”
I growled before turning my back on Axel and following my father and the older alpha to his office. I may not be the reigning Alpha yet, but I would not be told what I could and could not do by Axel.
I reached my father’s door and walked in without knocking. Yeah, it was a power move on my part, but I knew my dad wouldn’t have minded. Both Alpha’s glanced up at me, and my father motioned me forward to his desk. Alpha Wade continued to stare at me from the corner of his eye as he and my father talked about the land separating his territory from ours. I sat in one of the chairs in his office, listening to them.
It didn’t seem that they were getting anywhere with the land disputes. I didn’t perceive this ending tonight, and definitely not soon. A knock came upon the door, and whoever was behind it came into the room. The small she-wolf carried a tray with three plates filled with food. Another she-wolf followed her with glasses and a pitcher of what looked like tea. Axel’s and Lucas’s scent wafted in with the omegas, letting me know that they were out there, ready for whatever might happen in this room.
“Let’s take a break from these talks.” My father sat down at his desk, and the other alpha sat opposite him. The omega’s sat two plates in front of the two alphas. “Nolen, come grab you a plate.”
I stood from the chair, went up to the brunette she-wolf, and she handed me a plate, the taller female poured me a glass of tea. I took my food and tea over to the couch so that I would have room to spread out and eat. Setting the glass down on the maple coffee table, I started scooping mashed potatoes and green beans into my mouth. While my father and Alpha Wade sat at his desk, Wade continued to stare at me.
“So, you have two sons, Alpha Nero?” The old Alpha spoke, pointing to me with his fork. His hardened gaze glared at me; I never lowered my eyes. I knew it was a challenge, but I would never let anyone bully me again.
“Yes, had, Alpha Wade. Nolen is my youngest son. He will take over once his training is complete.” My father smiled over at me and grinned back to him; before he realized he was glaring at me, his brows knitted in confusion.
“And when will you be through with your training, boy?”
My gaze went from my father to the older Alpha as I scooped up more food from my plate. “Whenever my father says I’m finished I suppose.”
“Hmmm.” Alpha Wade continued to eat his food, turning back to my father.
Alpha Wade had been here for seven days. He nor my father would concede anything, the alpha should have left, but he didn’t. Sarge nagged at me in the back of my mind that the Dolostone alpha was up to something else, and I agreed with him. Between training and the meetings, I hadn’t been to see Amora. I tried to sit in on all the discussions, but I still had training to do, and my father would not let me miss those.
Sparing with Axel, Lucas, and Daylen was the only way to make it fair. They all were older than me and more experienced, but they still had trouble taking me down. We continued to spar into the late morning, until we heard yelling from the packhouse. We each glanced at each other before we sprinted to the commotion.
Reaching the uproar, we discovered my father and Alpha Wade bellowing at each other on the steps. My father was so angry his face was red, and his wolf seemed to be trying to make his appearance as well. I ran to the top of the steps, Axel, Lucas, and Daylen following close behind. Alpha Wade glared over at me. I could tell his wolf was at the surface. He brandished his finger at me as I took my place beside my father. “You, boy! You better be on your guard! Otherwise, you will be dead just like your brother!”