Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Kael
My wolf is purring in my mind at our mate being vulnerable enough to sleep in my lap.
I can't help but wonder what happened to bring her here.
Why would she hide in the forest in a dark cave instead of coming to the palace?
She must be aware of the rules regarding crossing the royal border.
Not to mention that we are a safe haven for any wolf.
Especially Omegas. They are precious and rare, and as the gentlest of our species, they deserve to always feel safe and be catered to.
As an Alpha, the greatest honor is for the Moon Goddess to grant an Omega mate. For our union to be blessed by her is rare, and I swear here and now that I will never take it for granted. My little wolf will be the most loved and cherished Omega in the kingdom.
My mate whines in her sleep, drawing me out of my musings. Instinctively, I purr for her, my Alpha instincts kicking in without thought. She wriggles closer to me, falling into a peaceful sleep once again.
A sigh comes from the mouth of the cave. "So I guess we're camping?" Saint asks.
"She's exhausted. I can't make her walk for hours through the dark to the palace. We'll leave in the morning once she's had time to rest."
"What is she even doing out here?" he muses.
"No idea. She obviously isn't a threat since the wards didn't sound the alarm, but whatever sent her to the royal packlands can't be good. Especially if she felt like she had to hide," I say lowly, as to not wake up my sleeping mate.
"She's your Goddess-given mate, isn't she?" Saint asks with an undertone of jealousy.
Not that I can blame him, he's been praying to the Goddess for his mate for as long as I have.
Some wolves live their entire lives without finding a compatible mate let alone a gift from the Goddess.
Saint and I both knew we wouldn't settle for someone who was simply compatible.
As the Alpha King, a Goddess-given mate will make me stronger and will help me control my wolf when he's in a rage.
She will be the calm in my storms and the queen and mother to the entire wolf kingdom.
"Yes, she is."
"I'm happy for you, Kael. This is a blessing for not only you, but the whole kingdom."
I feel the sincerity of his words, and it means a lot that even though he has every right to be upset that he doesn't have his mate, he's still able to be happy for me and our kingdom.
"I'm going to shift and run the perimeter."
"Thanks."
"It's my duty to protect the future of the kingdom."
"You're just hoping whatever she's running from gives you a good fight."
He chuckles darkly. "That too. No Omega should be scared enough to hide in a fucking cave in the middle of the woods. Something tells me she had zero intentions of coming to the palace for help."
"Me too."
Fear floods my system at the thought of what would have happened if I hadn't listened to my instincts to come out here.
She could have hidden for the night and been long gone without me ever knowing my mate was so close.
I say a quiet thank you to the Moon Goddess for not letting me ignore the pull.
I know it was her who tugged at my spirit, leading me to my mate.
I don't stop stroking my mate's beautiful fur all night.
Offering her comfort in her sleep. Anytime she whines or makes a sign of distress, I purr for her.
It's a rough and unpracticed sound that I wasn't even sure I could produce, but it seems to come naturally; it soothes her distress, and that's all that really matters to me.
I hear Saint return just before sunrise.
He shifts and dresses. "That was disappointing.
There are no signs of anyone following the future queen to the border, and the wards are still in place and strong.
It's like she just appeared out of nowhere.
Surely someone is searching for her. No one would let an Omega run unaccompanied like this. Maybe she's lost?"
She stirs in my lap and stands before shaking out her fur.
She sits on her haunches and looks at Saint, who is leaning against the wall of the cave.
A low growl rumbles in her chest, and I can't help but chuckle at her show of dominance.
What she hasn't realized yet is that Saint is now her subordinate in the kingdom's hierarchy.
It doesn't matter that she's an Omega and the weaker of the two; she's second only to me.
Saint tilts his head to the side in a show of submission. Her growl falters, and if a wolf could look confused, she does. It's adorable. I reach up and scratch behind her ear.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Saint is safe. He's my second. He will protect you to his dying breath, the same as me."
She doesn't respond, just looks between us like we're a puzzle she can't figure out.
"Can you shift for me, little wolf? I'd like to speak to you," I implore calmly, ensuring it's a request, not an order. The last thing I want is for my Alpha bark to scare her.
She sniffs my throat and runs her face over me, scent-marking me.
She steps away, and before I can bark at Saint to turn away so he doesn't see my mate's nude body, she shifts into a beautiful, fully clothed, young woman.
If I weren't so gobsmacked by her lovely features, I might have questioned how she shifted with clothes, as that's a rare talent that hasn't been seen in centuries, but as it is, I'm simply entranced by her beauty.
Like any Omega, she is downright dainty.
Barely five feet with delicate features and the lightest blonde hair.
Her eyes are an icy blue that seem to penetrate right to my soul.
Everything about her is ethereal. Her skin is so pale that I wouldn't be surprised if it shone in the moonlight.
She's gorgeous and I'm speechless in front of her beauty.
"No one should be looking for me. I made sure I wasn't followed," she says in a quiet but sure voice.
"Where are you from?" Saint questions.
She looks from me to him and back again before shaking her head.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it right now. Can you tell me your name?"
"Who are you?" she counters.
I chuckle at her fire. I like that she's not just rolling over and submitting. She has a backbone, and that will suit her well in her future position as queen.
"I'm Kael Ragnor," I reply, wondering how she will react to finding out her mate is the king of all wolfkind.
She doesn't even blink in acknowledgement of my name. It's like she has no idea who I am. It's surprising because everyone in the kingdom should know me by name, if not by action. When I took over, the kingdom was in turmoil. I changed the laws and brought peace to the kingdom.
Abuse from Alphas is no longer tolerated. There are laws for the packs and consequences to those who break them. For her not to know who I am means she was heavily sheltered, and it makes me wonder about her pack. It's concerning. Something I will have to investigate further one day soon.
"My name is Seraphina… My parents called me Sera."
Her whole body seems to wilt at the mention of her parents. It tells me that whatever happened to them is not a happy story.
"Seraphina is a beautiful name."
A light blush covers her cheeks at my compliment.
It makes me want to shower her in compliments and see what else will make her blush.
She's beautiful. I could stare at her forever, but there are things I need to know in order to protect her.
She's obviously running from something and is afraid.
It's intolerable that my mate is so scared.
"Can you tell me how you ended up in this cave?" I ask gently.
She sighs, sadness overtaking her features. Her whole body seems to deflate in front of me. I want to pull her into my arms and let her know that all her worries are mine and that she'll never be alone.
"My parents were killed by feral Alphas yesterday while I was out for a run. My mother always told me if anything happened to climb the wall and run east. That I would be safe if I ran east."
"You were on a run alone?" Saint asks incredulously. "An Omega by herself?"
She narrows her eyes at him, but answers calmly. "No one knows I'm an Omega. I'm not sure how you can scent me."
Her words don't make sense because of course she scents as an Omega. She is Omega. There's something she's not telling me.
"Why wouldn't we be able to scent you, sweetheart?" I ask.
She sighs again and sits across from me, wrapping her arms around her legs. She looks so tiny and alone. It breaks off a piece of my heart, and my wolf is pacing in my mind to fix it, whatever it is.
"It's complicated. My wolf is encouraging me to trust you, but I'm afraid of how you might react."
"You never have to fear me. You're my Goddess-given mate. We're fated to spend this lifetime and any future lifetimes together. Our souls are tied together forever. I'd rather end my own life than harm a hair on your beautiful head."
Her lips tip into a small smile, and her cheeks pinken with another blush.
"And him?" She points to Saint, but keeps those blue, blue eyes trained on me.
"He's oathbound to protect you to his last breath. Saint will keep your secrets safe."
Saint walks into the cave, then kneels in front of Seraphina. With a lowered head and a fist over his heart, he makes his vow…
"I vow to protect you, Seraphina Ragnor, until my last breath. My soul is bound to yours as your protector and friend. I shall answer to you and no other."
My eyebrows rise in shock as he uses his claws and slices his palm, letting his blood drip to the ground.
He just swore fealty to Sera, usurping the oath he gave me when he became my second-in-command by going a step further and making it a blood oath.
I should be pissed, but only happiness fills me because I know my best friend will keep her safe if something were to happen to me.
We wait for the drops to fall, but they seem suspended in the air. They linger for long seconds before exploding into thousands of glittering pieces. Seraphina lets out a gasp and grips her wrist in surprise.
"W-why?" she asks him. "Do you know what you've done?"
"What's happening?" I bark, putting more Alpha power into the words than I meant.
"H-he just bound us together."
"He swore an oath to you," I say, doing my best to calm down.
"Not just that. He bound himself to me forever. There are no take backs." She holds out her wrist and points to his. There, on her wrist and his, is a perfect set of tattoos. A sword surrounded by a thorned vine with roses.
"What the fuck?" I yell, feeling a rage unlike anything I've felt before at seeing Saint's mark on my mate.
Before I can lunge at him, Seraphina flings her small body onto me, wrapping herself around me like a baby koala. All my anger immediately retreats when she nuzzles my neck and face, scent-marking me. I wrap my arms around her and breathe her in, allowing our mate bond to calm me further.
"Let me explain, mate," she whispers so only I can hear.
I nod in agreement.
"First, Kael, do you intend to mark me?"
I balk at the very thought of having a mate and not marking her. I want my claim on her for everyone to see.
"I'd mark you right here and now if you'd let me, but you deserve more than this dirty cave."
She smiles and gives my cheek a quick kiss.
"This is going to sound crazy…"
Saint laughs, holding up his wrist. "I think we've surpassed crazy, Seraphina."
She giggles and nods. "Okay, so… my mother wasn't a full-blooded wolf.
Her great-great-great something grandfather mated with a faery.
They were Goddess-given mates and together did great things for both fae and wolfkind until they decided to join the Goddess in her garden.
The fae magic has been passed down to every daughter since. "
"Wait, so you're telling me that you're a faery?" Saint asks, mouth agape.
She smirks. "Yep. Well, half. I'm half-wolf, half-fae. The two combine equally in the daughters of my family line. Regardless of the number of generations between the first daughter and the newest, it will always be a fifty-fifty split.
“That's why you shouldn't have been able to scent me. My mother hid my Omega status my entire life to protect me from the Alphas in my pack. They are evil beyond measure."
"You'll have to tell me more about that later. Right now, I need to know about the mark."
She cups my cheeks. "It's nothing bad. Saint is now my protector.” She shows me her wrist again. “He's literally my sword. He's forever duty-bound to stay by my side and protect me. It surpasses any other oaths he has made in the past. It's a platonic bond, my mate. No need to be jealous."
My wolf lets out a low growl. "Except that another wolf put his mark on my mate before I did."
She giggles. "You can mark me anytime you want. I'm yours."
"Don't tempt me, little wolf."