3. Rip
Chapter 3
Rip
T oday, of all days, my cousin decides to defy my orders.
My patience runs thin. I’m on edge, and the wolves around me notice. Most of them are keeping their distance, not wanting to provoke my anger any more than Tallie already has. She’s one of the only people here who can push my boundaries and not end up with a slashed throat.
Though she’s testing that theory today.
Especially since I should be meeting the future Luna of our pack right now, but instead I’m waiting for my cousin to be dragged back into my office. Tallie’s a fast little thing and pulls out of the guard’s grasp. “I don’t need to be manhandled, Rip,” she growls.
“No, you need to be chained to your house so I don’t have to worry about you,” I snap.
“I’m not a child!”
“Then stop fucking acting like one.” The words come out harsher than I intend, and Tallie bristles, her head bowing slightly in subservience. Guilt washes over me, but only for a moment before I push it aside, filing it away for later.
Tallie doesn’t respond, but I didn’t expect her to. The few guards around us have the decency to pretend they don’t hear the fight between cousins. Still, this moment feels too personal to have my usual guards around me. “Leave us.”
None of the alphas hesitate. They bow, showing their respect, before breaking away from us. I don’t speak until I hear the alphas’ footsteps fade down the hall. “I needed you here today, not gallivanting through the forest with patrol. You could have been hurt by the Nephilim or rogues.”
Tallie brushes a stray curl off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. She wears it down today, her long, dark brown hair falling in bouncy curls. “I was with a bunch of alphas. They wouldn’t let me get hurt, and, for the record, I can hold my own in a fight.”
Tallie then barrels over, pulling something out from her dress pocket. It takes me a moment to realize it’s the leather-bound journal I gifted to her on the Goddess’s Moon celebration.
“I went because of this.” She shoves the journal in my face, far too close for me to make out. “Oops, sorry.”
She’s not.
I take the journal from her hands and quickly look over the pages. A drawing of purple flowers takes up the left side of the journal, with arrows showing what each part is. Tallie has a map of Lycan Forest on the other side with red and black X’s.
“I’ve no clue what I’m looking at.”
Tallie frowns, clearly unimpressed with my inability to decipher her cryptic message. “I’m keeping track of where we’ve searched for wolfsbane. The red X’s are places we’ve searched before, but the black X’s are places I believe wolfsbane may be growing.”
Now that information interests me. Wolfsbane is a healing plant for my people. The search for wolfsbane has been a fruitless effort and continues to be a point of tension in my pack.
“I went with the patrol so I could search here.” Tallie points at a black X only a mile away from town, near the stream many of the pack go to when they want to cool down after a hot day.
“Did you find anything?” I attempt to hide the desperation in my voice. Wolfsbane would go a long way to help curing my people.
“No.”
The minuscule sliver of hope I allow myself to feel evaporates. I close the journal and hand it back, a heaviness in the pit of my stomach. “Then you risked yourself for nothing.”
“Not for nothing, Rip. I—we—had to know. I want to help you search for a cure. You alone may want to carry the burden of keeping our pack safe alone, but those who care about you won’t allow that to happen.”
Except it is my burden to carry alone. The pack is mine to protect and lead. I accepted that task the moment I became King Alpha. My pack is counting on me, and I refuse to be the alpha who lets his people suffer. We are going through a dangerous time—an ancient curse is coming for my people. How do you fight something you can’t see?
Which is why I contacted Ender. It was the last thing I wanted to do. No alpha wants to admit they need help, but my refusal to ask for or accept help has only made things worse. Ender helped the Dragon King, Malix, and I’m counting on him to do the same for me.
“Never mind that; we need to go.” I wave off her concerns but make a mental note to look through her journal more extensively at a later time. “Ender is here.”
“What?!” Tallie’s eyes go comically wide. “That’s today?”
“It is, and we are late to meet my wife.”
Despite knowing of our guests’ arrival, I’m not prepared to see Ender or the human he’s dragged through the portal when I enter the dining room. Tallie trails a few steps behind me, her curiosity palpable. Ender is a symbol of my weakness and inability to protect my pack. I waited for as long as I could, probably longer than I should have, but King Malix was right. I can’t protect my pack without his assistance. Not when enemies are closing in.
On my orders, Thorne brought Ender and the human into the dining room. It rarely gets used, save for welcoming new guests. There haven’t been any visitors in a while since we closed our borders.
My eyes scan over the poor girl next to Ender. It’s the first time I have ever met a human. The last human in our pack died nearly seventy years before I was born. Because of this, I know little about them besides their short lifespans and fragility. They’re weaker than omegas, the lowest-ranking members of any pack.
The woman before me stands a measly five feet and some inches tall, if that. Long, jet-black hair hangs past her breasts. She’s in a tight cotton shirt, the color resembling that of a rose. It does little to hide the curves underneath.
Large breasts and a flat stomach. My guess is she didn’t get her body from working out, but rather lack of food. Ender has told me very little about my new mate, but he did mention she is used to going without.
Without what, though? Just food? Judging by the wear and tear on her clothes, I expect it to be a lot more than just nutrition. My wolf growls, unsettled. He doesn’t like that his Luna has gone without.
One of her arms is full of black ink, depicting designs ranging from flowers and birds to a serpent wrapped around her shoulder. They tell a story I’m not yet privy to.
My wolf purrs with approval.
I’m still hesitant, though.
Ender extends his gray hand for me to take. It feels like shaking hands with stone, which I suppose isn’t far off. “King Alpha Rip,” he gestures to the girl, “this is Blanchette, the new Luna of your pack.”
Not yet, she isn’t. Even as I think it, my wolf growls. He’s clearly settled on this stranger, not seeing her as a threat, but I’m not in the business of taking risks these days.
“It’s Hettie,” the human says, scowling at Ender. Blanchette—or, rather, Hettie—crosses her arms over her chest, pushing up her ample cleavage. She doesn’t greet me, and I make no attempt at greeting her either. I’m shit with small talk anyway.
“You have read over the contract then?” Ender asks when I don’t immediately respond. My focus remains on the woman at his side.
I offer him a curt nod. I’ve read and reread the same damn contract every day for the last fortnight, combing through each section until I nearly memorized the points. Countless late nights with Thorne and Tallie, going over every possible outcome.
I nearly refused Ender’s help, but then the first wolf fell to the cursed sickness.
Followed by a dozen more.
It wasn’t gradual; it happened so fast.
And more will fall unless I find my human mate. Ender is the only one able to bring humans to Mescos, so, really, there was no choice at all.
And here she is, standing right in front of me, looking both curious and disgusted by my presence. I can work with that.
“Then I need not remind you that her safety is imperative to your future,” Ender says.
“I know that,” I snap, unable to hold back my ire. “She’ll be protected.”
“ She has a fucking name, and she doesn’t like when you talk about her as if she isn’t here.” Hettie pushes her way past Ender, straight to me. This close, I see fire glowing in her eyes.
My mate has a temper. She’s going to be fun to break. And if she’s good, maybe I’ll put her back together again.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss?” I ask Ender, ignoring the human, which only seems to piss her off more.
Ender sweeps his gaze around the room before landing back on me. “Nothing, Alpha. I will be in touch.” With no further goodbyes, Ender takes his leave, opening up a portal with just a flick of his wrist.
Tallie audibly gasps when she sees the portal, something that has been missing from this world for so long to keep our human mates away, thanks to the Nephilim. Ender still possesses the ability to travel between worlds, though no one knows why. He uses it sparingly, though, and has just recently brought humans over with him.
He holds his secrets close, but his involvement is not out of the goodness of his heart. This I know.
The portal closes once Ender is through, leaving Hettie in my care for the first time. I stare down at the human before me. Too small and fragile. She won’t be permitted to walk around without protection. I don’t fear any of my pack members hurting her, but I can’t say the same for the rogues plaguing our land or the Nephilim.
Another item to add to my list: Keep the Luna alive.
Hettie stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. So I do, the first thing that comes to my mind. “You smell like a dog.”
That’s clearly the wrong fucking thing to say because her brown cheeks grow red. I swear, if she had little fangs, they would be bared right now. The thought is almost amusing.
Though, not to her, because Hettie growls, “You would know that smell, wouldn’t you?”
I’m not sure if she’s trying to insult me by comparing my dire wolf to a dog, or if I also smell like a dog, but I don’t get the chance to ask because a large golden beast rounds the corner and dives straight at me.