Protecting His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #4)

Chapter 1

Lambda jumped down the stairs outside his townhouse, two at a time. After finishing a particularly brutal security shift, he was ready for some downtime with his friends. The roaming packs of wolves were getting bolder, coming closer and closer to the boundaries of Luven. A fact he didn’t like. There was nothing wrong with wanting to live your wolf life like a wild animal, but they needed to leave the rest of them in peace. Plus, there were too many humans in Luven. They couldn’t fight in a war between wolves.

He rolled his neck a few times and tried to put the stress of work out of his mind. They were safe in the city limits; no band of wolves had crossed into the actual city for decades. Plus, Alpha was a strong leader. If there was danger, he’d lead them through the fray.

The sun hung low in the sky, a tapestry of clouds chasing it to the horizon, but each day grew longer with the changing seasons. Unlike most of the wolves, Lambda liked the spring and summer weather. He didn’t mind the heat crawling over his skin, and he loved any excuse to swim in the nearby lakes every morning.

“Lambda!” Iota called. “Did you hear?”

“Hear what?” Lambda asked, going to walk beside him. Gamma had invited their entire group over for a boys’ night. There’d be a pile of meat to grill and some good, old-fashioned brotherhood time.

“We’re having another ritual tomorrow. One of the women from the dragons is being released!”

“Wow, already?”

“I know. Only been a week. I know it’s hell and all, watching, but I really hope she’s mine. What I would give for a mate to come home to every night. Someone to…well, you know.” His low voice was laced with excitement.

Lambda, on the other hand, didn’t want to get his hopes up. There was no guarantee this woman would be the mate of any of them. Plus, after Millonia’s attempted ritual a week earlier, he knew things could get dicey fast. And Lambda liked living in Luven. He didn’t have a family with a cozy cabin in the woods. Everything in his life, at the moment, fell within the city limits.

“When’s your next shift?” Iota asked.

“Tomorrow. I’m guessing they’ll switch me until after the ritual. One of the mated wolves can take the morning. I just finished a round. These roaming bands are getting very brave.”

“Did you see any?” Iota asked.

“Nah, but I could smell them. A group of at least twelve east of here. I don’t know what they want. They could never take Luven. Our numbers are insurmountable.”

“Maybe they caught wind of women escaping the dragons?” Iota suggested. “Lot of land between the wall and Luven. Plus, we really only know where Balaur is. There might be dozens of dragon cities east of here near the wall. After hearing Tella talk about her ordeal, none of those women would be able to put up much of a fight against a band of wolves. And if they feed ‘em,” Iota shrugged, “probably better than starving while wandering the Emptylands.”

Lambda nodded. He’d always thought his mate would be a wolf—someone from one of the far-flung settlements or maybe Muchan. Now, he had four friends mated to humans, all who came from pretty shitty lives beforehand. It stirred something in his soul, thinking she could come from one of those places. Even without knowing her, Lambda was preemptively livid if anyone had treated his mate poorly.

But it was best not to get his hopes up. There was a good chance this woman wasn’t for him. She was either someone else’s mate, or no one’s. Lambda was logical, and odds were, he’d be as single tomorrow as he was tonight.

They settled into silence, walking the rest of the way to Gamma’s. It was a nice spring night, the air cool with a hint of rain. A storm would blow in tonight.

*

“I’m late, I know.” Rho rushed into Gamma’s. The rest of them—Gamma, Epsilon, Iota, Chi, and Lambda—sat around a table on the back porch, waiting for the food to finish cooking.

“Stuck at work?” Epsilon asked, handing him a beer.

“Well…” Rho stalled.

“Pretty sure I could hear your walls shaking when I walked by,” Lambda muttered.

Rho’s cheeks pinkened. “Uh, yes. I was with Phaebe.”

“Lucky bastard,” Iota grumbled. Gamma set the plate of steaks on the table beside the biscuits and roasted veggies. Lambda’s stomach grumbled audibly. He hadn’t eaten since lunch, and he didn’t like to go more than a couple hours between meals.

“Phaebe went to the hospital earlier today. She knows who’s being released.”

“Shit, start with that!” Iota yelled.

“I can’t tell you much, you know. But, she’s around Phaebe’s age. Old enough to mate, not too old for any of you.” Rho shrugged. “It’s weird having so many rituals at once.”

“You didn’t even have to go to the last one,” Lambda pointed out. “Not my favorite thing to think Sigma might kill all of us.” When Millonia changed her mind and didn’t want Alpha’s protection, Sigma had turned into a wild animal—willing to lay down his life to protect his mate from harm. Luckily, it hadn’t come to that.

Rho nodded. “I hope they’re doing ok. Juniper Knoll is nice but…I don’t know. After living in Luven for so long, it’d be hard to go back to a rougher life.”

“We’re all a bunch of pampered wolves,” Gamma joked. “We like our warm showers and light bulbs and—” he raised his glass to Chi—“a bakery in town.”

Chi smiled and nodded.

“A toast to Sigma. That poor bastard is building his own house right now. I don’t envy him.” They all raised their beers.

Lambda’s heart panged. Sigma and Rho were his best friends. Now that one was mated and one was gone, he was feeling a deep sense of change in his life.

He didn’t like it.

Lambda liked routine. He liked his hours working security, his quiet time at home, and his evenings with friends. But it was all changing. Sigma was gone, Rho adored Phaebe, Gamma couldn’t stop making children, and Epsilon was enamored with Tella. Who knew what this new woman would bring? Would Iota be leaving also? He eyed Chi. The man made a good pastry but the two of them had never been close. Was his future to be filled with silent nights sitting beside a man he barely knew?

He slumped against his chair. Part of his life was slipping through his fingers like water.

“What about a hunt in a few weeks?” Epsilon asked. “Before the summer heat makes any fur unbearable?”

“Definitely. Gotta fill the stores before the baby comes,” Gamma added. “Nothing like a wolf in her belly to make Jaine crave deer.”

“Where is Jaine?” Iota asked.

“She and Phaebe went over to hang out with Tella. And the kids went to a babysitter’s house. But we’ve only got her until midnight and if you think I’m paying a babysitter without spending some serious time with my mate, well, you don’t have kids.”

Epsilon barked a laugh. “You heard the dad. Grab a plate and dig in!”

Lambda sighed. What had happened to their wild brotherhood?