Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Kael
"The wards didn't break," Saint says for the dozenth time.
"Something crossed the border. I can feel it in my soul," I growl.
He shakes his head. "And why are we wandering in the forest in the dark on two feet instead of four?"
I shake my head. "Because my wolf says so."
Saint scoffs. "Your wolf has lost his mind too."
My head whips around, and I let out a low growl. "Either shut the fuck up or go home."
He holds his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, Your Highness."
My wolf backs down at his show of submission.
I resume my walk. I'm not sure why my wolf is so on edge, he has been for hours.
I listened to Saint and the others when I told them something crossed into our land, but they reminded me the wards would have been tripped, and an alert would have sounded.
They brushed it off as a large animal, likely a predator such as a jaguar.
They suggested that I only felt the presence because it could be a threat, but isn't directly out to harm our pack.
It made sense at the time, and I was able to ignore the pull to investigate until I lay in bed, and then it was the only thing I could focus on.
As the king, I can feel the borders more deeply than anyone else; it wouldn't be the first time a large predator caused my internal alarms to sound.
Something is different this time, and I can no longer ignore the restlessness in my soul.
My blood ties the lands to me in a powerful connection that no other Alpha can hold.
It's why I am the king and not someone else.
Only the most powerful Alpha can tie the land to themself. And that's me.
I slow my steps as we come to the riverside. I breathe deeply and let out a low growl at the sweet floral scent that fills my lungs. I follow the scent to the edge of the river and see pawprints in the loose dirt on the bank.
"Do you smell that?" Saint asks, breathing deep.
I whip around and glare at him, letting out a ferocious growl. "Mine."
He tilts his head to the side in submission. "Yours. Got it. All yours."
I close my eyes and try to remind myself that Saint is my friend and my second-in-command. He's not the enemy. He can obviously see my struggle, and it's making him uneasy.
"Don't you want to find her?" he asks, drawing my attention away from my desire to rip him apart. Logically, I know he's not my competition, but my wolf doesn't care at this moment. He only sees another Alpha, and that is a threat to his mate.
Fuck me… a mate.
I've waited so long to find her that I thought for sure I never would.
Without a word, I continue my search. I follow the barely there scent toward the mouth of a cave. Everything inside me screams that she's inside. The pull to her is so strong that I can do nothing but obey as it urges me to go to her.