Hidden Destiny

Battle Prep

Brogan is prowling the Merge with his father. The Merge is the space between the magical and human realms his family has been commissioned to guard for generations, and he takes the responsibility seriously. He assumed that his father would assign him Alpha as the eldest without forcing a showdown such as alpha trials. That happened when someone rightfully could challenge the alpha by birth. He didn’t know of anyone yet that had enough gumption to do such a thing, and while he tended to march to his beat and challenge tradition just a touch more than everyone seemed comfortable with all the time. Though, in all fairness, he tried to be a steady force of empathy and fairness between the magical beings, the wolves, and humans. He had learned as much as possible from his father and was prepared to do whatever it took to lead his pack for another generation.

His pack ran a massive empire that helped fund a large development of homes that extended pack members lived in maintenance-free. They existed in the Merge relatively peacefully, except for the challenges brought by others – all of which they fended off to date. Brogan was rich by human standards and desirable by both wolf and human thinking. The financial institutions and the technology firms we ran allowed me to run in elite circles of the human world. This allowed us to keep tabs on many of the comings and goings in the highest levels, and occasionally Brogan or his underlings had been able to quash a magical being that made it through and wreaked havoc on humans in any manner. He believed himself to be the best option for alpha – minus the one obvious issue. He had not been mated yet and didn’t see any need to rush that process.

Brogan was busy protecting those he was charged with helping, including magical beings, humans, and wolves alike. It was a tall task, and honestly, most of those he met that might be made material made him repel in disgust. The pushy females who just wanted him for his money, power, or body were not interested. He wanted a woman with as much going on in her brain as she could manage with her body. He had bedded his fair share of women over the years, but it was for physical release alone. Thus far, not one had managed to reach anything more inside of him.

“So, we need to chat,” his father said as they ran through the woods. When nearly to the edge of the Merge, he finally spoke.

Brogan stopped short and turned on him. “I don’t like that tone of voice. What is so important that you are taking me to the furthest reaches of the Merge to talk with me.”

“Wyett is intending to mount a challenge against you,” his father said with a weary tone as he shook his head.

Wyett was Brogran’s younger sibling and much more volatile than Brogan in his approach to their inherent gifts. He didn’t understand or appreciate the peace accords and thought wolves should take what they wished by force. Women, power, money, and even rule over humans were some of the things he coveted. It was a terrible sentiment beginning to gain traction amongst the packs. Brogan knew that many were loyal to his father and the more traditional life in play, though worried that he might not be strong enough to take the reins and hold off a coup by some.

“I’m not worried,” Brogan sighed. “I can hold him off in a fair fight, which I’m assuming that you are telling me is going to happen. You won’t be allowed to hand the reins over peacefully.”

“Definitely going to be a battle, which is what worries me,” Rand, his father, muttered. “I have it on good authority; he has the backing of the Levidas pack, and Selene is making noises. She intends to unite the Levidas and Virion pack, which means you or your brother must mate her.”

A shudder passed through me involuntarily. “Not ever going to be me. Selene scares me to death, and I wouldn’t go near that half-breed,” I remarked.

“You know that the Levidas pack is descended from a power liaison of witch and wolf,” his father said with wide eyes. “They are more powerful than us if they could control that power inside. Unlike many of our direct lineages, they can easily walk between magical and wolf worlds.”

“Tell me they don’t scare you,” I said to him, directly capturing my father’s gaze with my own. “They are destructive, and not one of them seems to want to be respected by magical beings. They try to lord it over our kind humans and are rash, to say the least.”

“I know,” my father inhaled. “Selene could be Wyett’s ticket to winning over you, however. I don’t know what tricks they have up their sleeves,” he sighed. “You need to find a mate and solidify others onto your side if things come to a draw.”

“I’m not going to allow that ancient ritual to make me a prisoner to some woman in the effort to solidify the title of Alpha,” Brogan rebuked his father. “Besides, I’ve not even felt anything close to mating regarding any of the women I have been with.”

His father sniffed. “You know that sleeping with a woman doesn’t qualify them for a mate based on her ability to please your base needs.”

“It’s a start,” his father murmured. “I just need you to be on guard and know that you have many hoping for failure at the alpha trials.”

“Well, you could decide to keep the position yourself until people feel better,” Brogan challenged.

His father’s face turned sad, and Brogan immediately worried about his words. There had been several bloody interactions between packs, magical beings trying to steal into the human realm. His father had lost a couple of younger pups during these battles, and they all weighed on him heavily. Times were changing, and he was tired and didn’t want to keep up the fight needed to stay relevant in the way the Alpha needed to be.

“You know I just can’t do this forever, right?” His father said. “You are wonderful at business and have continued to grow our business holdings exponentially. I know that when you find the right mate, you will make an ideal alpha. Besides that, you have a good heart, my son. I just wish you could see your more positive attributes and not focus on the negatives.”

Brogan sighed, “I know you are tired and deserve to retire. You know that I will always do what is called off for me to protect the pack, the Merge, and our traditions. I might not do it as you did, but I will hold the fort down.”

“I know you will. Just watch your back, even with your brother,” he said with a firm shake.

“Understood,” Brogan remarked, praying that he would not need to do something unfathomable to do so. Injuring or killing his brother in the alpha battles or such was something he feared. He knew that if something happened to Wyett, his mother would be heartbroken.

He changed form and took off running. He hoped the exercise would just ease the tension in his muscles. For now, he would try to relax and let things unfold as they would.