The unbreakable bond

Chapter 4 - The inheritance talk

Chapter 4 - The inheritance talk

Conall - pov

After finding my mate, my wolf has been restless. That night I stayed by her house, listening to her breathing. It seems that I really shook her, so I’ll need to be cautious. It hurts my wolf to see our mate in such a terrified state. All I wanted was to go to her and wrap my arms around her. Breathing her scent and telling her that everything would be okay. I would tell her that I will protect her and she would know that I will forever hold on to that promise. But instead, I am sitting in a bush in front of her house, using my heightened senses to feel close to her. I know that I’ll need to go back to the palace soon, but just the thought makes my wolf restless.

In the end, I sat in front of her house until the sun rose, thinking about how I can make her become mine and join my world. The run back to the castle in the forest was long. Every step I took, I felt a little bit of my heart breaking and I almost gave in to the urge to turn around and get my mate. But I can’t and even though my wolf is strong and stubborn, I will contain him. After a 3-hour run, I arrived at the palace and I could see my second-in-command standing at the gate. I slow down and shift back. I already knew what he would say, so I prepared myself.

“Hey James” I said casually.

“My alpha, where have you been? Your father has been asking for you for hours now. He is furious”, James said in a serious tone. This man has to lighten up.

“I was patrolling the weak border that was described in the report. Isn’t that what a good general does?” I said with a grin.

“Alpha, it has been hours. I don’t think it takes half a day to check a border which our warriors can check or patrol any time.” he sighs and I know he is right, but I needed to clear my head after what my father told me. I just nodded and stepped onto the palace grounds. James follows directly behind me, filling me in on the hours I missed.

“The king will make the announcement this evening, but he wants to talk and negotiate with you first. You can be grateful that he hasn’t disowned you yet”, James says. I huff.

“What difference is there? I am not the crown prince” I say, still annoyed as I think about the inheritance talk I had with my father yesterday. James looks at me apologetically and I hate it even more. Since when is a beta allowed to look down on his alpha?

“Don’t worry alpha, soon the king will realise that he made a mistake. Besides, now you have more time for the company”, James says. I know he is trying to cheer me up, but all I want right now is my mate in my arms. I sighed and we proceeded to go to the king's office. When we arrive, I knock once, but it is enough as I hear “come in” from behind the door. I open the door as James waits outside.

“Father”, I greeted him with a little bow.

“Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer me when I tried to mindlink you?” he says calmly, but I hear an angry undertone.

“I was patrolling”, I stated just as calmly and he sighed.

“A prince should not patrol, at least not alone” he says, and I hear he is getting less angry, but I am not.

“May I remind you, father, that you decided that my brother shall be the crown prince. However, there is no need for me to slack off. I am the head of the army as you offered so kindly. It is only normal for me to check our weakest borders and see if I can make them stronger. I can’t give this important task to just anyone. Who else is more trustworthy than me? Who else has better judgement than me? Isn’t it normal for me to check the weaknesses?” I said bitterly this time and my father sighed. His expression looks twisted.

“You know that and I don’t doubt you or your judgement. It seems you misunderstood my proposal yesterday. I only divided the role as king between you and your brother. Your brother does not have a military point of view. You know he is better at politics. I just wanted to give both of you a chance”, my father says, repeating his words of yesterday.

“Father, an alpha king who only reigns over the military forces is not a king but a general. Besides, it never ends well when two alphas reign on the same grounds. Sooner or later a conflict will end up in a fight for the throne”, I said, and I know my father knows it too. I think he is too weak to choose one of his sons and wants us to fight it out. But unlike my brother, I have a business outside the wolf community and it is thriving. If only I didn’t have alpha blood, I wouldn’t feel this urge to own land and a pack. I would have given up the throne if it wasn’t for my wolf. But since I met my mate yesterday, I know what I want now. I want a peaceful life with her, without all the dangers that come with being the alpha king. I thought this through when I was sitting in front of her house and that is why my father would never have anticipated my next words.

“I will make it easier for you father”, I started and I saw the confusion in his eyes. He doesn’t trust what is coming next.

“What do you mean?” he says.

“I’ve been thinking about it while I was on my patrol. I don’t want the whole kingdom, but I want my own grounds to reign as alpha” I say.

“Impossible. I will not divide the land your grandfathers and I fought for. Everything we did to have this kingdom would be in vain”, he says. But I am prepared.

“I never said I wanted my own kingdom or a lot of grounds. I only said I wanted my own pack, my own land”, I answered.

“Your brother would never agree to that”, my father said.

“I would have a lower title than him”, I say, and I know my wolf is fighting me on this. But I am doing this for our mate. For our future. “The border I’ve visited is weak for 2 fundamental reasons. Firstly, the land is excluded from a lot of the packs, so it is never visited or patrolled. Nobody showed interest in these grounds and it has become a forgotten spot, but also a weak one. Secondly, rogues like hunting there even though those grounds belong to us. What I am proposing is to draw a border here” and I point to a map that hangs above his desk. “I would have my own grounds and own pack, but it would still belong to the kingdom. I have no intention of splitting up. I will become an ordinary alpha, under the command of my brother, but with my own pack. But it means that this forgotten region will be under supervision, which means the kingdom will only gain from it.” I finished my pitch and I saw my father smiling. Probably relieved that I fixed the inheritance problem for him. He looks at the map again and I see him slightly nodding.

“Alright” he starts, “I like this proposal. I am glad that you are being the bigger man about this. I will talk about this at tomorrow's royal meeting. If the other alphas have no objection, then we will establish your new pack. How will you find pack members though?” My father asks. I smile internally, because I know I’ve already won. The royal meeting is just some formality. No ordinary alpha would oppose the decision of the royal family.

“Don’t worry about that. I know a lot of rogues who would like to be part of a pack again. This would also solve the rogue problem. Besides, every lone wolf will be welcome. And I still have my group of personally trained guards. I don’t think you would oppose them joining me? It could be a small parting gift”, I said with a smirk. I can see my father uncomfortably sliding on his chair.

“I don’t think the rogues are a good idea, son. Most of them have turned insane by now anyway. I will let your guards join you if they want. Did you think about a pack name already? How about a packhouse? training grounds?” my father asks, seeming a little less enthusiastic about my idea. I feel annoyance rising inside me, but I won’t give up.

“My pack will be called Wild Wolf Pack and don’t worry about the packhouse. I have enough personal budget for one since my business is doing very well. With the right forces, my pack will be operational in half a year. Enough time left before you descend the throne.” I smirk because I know what my father thinks about right now. He cannot oppose me and if not for his weak decision-making, he would know that I would have been the perfect alpha king.

“Alright son, write a report to officially request it at the royal meeting tomorrow” he sighs and gives in. My father has never been strong-willed. If it wasn’t for the peaceful area he reigned in, he wouldn’t have accomplished a lot. Sure, the people love him. He is friendly and invested a lot in education and technology, but he just doesn’t know a lot about war. I guess that's where my brother got it from.

“I’ll be on my way then, you can expect the report on your desk by tonight” I said before making my exit. The last thing I hear is him sighing.

_________________________________________________

I filled James in on my plan and I could see his approval during my explanation. He already listed a few families who would be more than willing to join us.

We went to our offices to write the report which would decide the outcome of tomorrow's meeting, but all I can think about is my mate. Her blue-greyish eyes still haunt me whenever I close my eyes. I groaned in frustration and decided that once the report was written, I would go back to the tavern. I can tell my father and James that I just wanted to inspect my future pack.

Once we are done with the report, I prepare myself for the run, but James cuts me off.

“Where are you going to Alpha? We have a lot to prepare for tomorrow” he says. I can’t deny it, but I also cannot tell him that I found my mate and desperately need to see her. Even if it is from a distance. I’ll tell him once we have my pack.

“I want to run around our future pack's border. Mentally place the packhouse, training grounds, hospital and so on. I have a lot to prepare if I want it to be done in a few months”, I said and continued preparing for my leave.

“I can do it for you, don’t you think you’ll need to sleep and revise as much as possible?” James asks me. “It is at least a 5-hour run to get there. You won’t be back in time.”

“3 hours” I say.

“What?” He asks confused.

“It is only 3 hours for me, I am faster than everyone else” I said with a smug look. I can see the defeat in James’s eyes, since he knows he can’t win once I set my mind on something.

“Just make sure you are back on time” he says with a sigh and I nod. That is the only thing I do before shifting and running.

The run is shorter than usual. It seems that the promise to see our mate has spiked up my wolf. He is faster and stronger as he wants to travel the distance as fast as possible. When we arrive at the little tavern, I shift back and go in with a smile. To my disappointment, I don’t smell her when I open the door. Behind the bar, I saw a 30-year old man with short black hair and brown eyes. He looks at me and smiles friendly.

“Welcome sir, take a seat and I'll take your order” he said, still smiling. My previous smile vanishes off my face and a deep frown starts to form as I still don’t smell her. I do as he says and he comes and takes my order.

“What can I get you?” he asks.

“The waitress who was working here yesterday” I said with an irritated voice. The man looks at me with a frown.

“Chloe?” he asks. The more he talks, the more annoyed I become.

“Alena” I said with annoyance in my voice.

“I am afraid she does not work today. She finished her last shift yesterday since the academic year starts in two weeks or so” he says, finally giving me some useful information.

“Give me her number, I’ll call her then.” I saw worry rise in his eyes and I didn’t like it. Who is he to ignore my order? He sat down in front of me and I could see that he was going to interrogate me. My wolf is getting impatient, as I had promised we would see our mate, but this man is wasting our time. I raise my eyebrow as I watched his every move. I can sense that he feels pressured by my aura, but he won’t let it show.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Conall Wild” I replied without emotion.

“How do you know her?” he continued the interrogation. I raised my eyebrow again. He is seriously going to keep asking me questions instead of following my orders. I adjust my posture and straighten my back to make me appear bigger. I want to intimidate this man until he pisses off and gives me her number.

“I saw her work here” I answered.

“Why do you need her number?” he asks and I can hear his heartbeat fasten as my aura becomes stronger. He is getting more scared. Good.

“I have a business proposal for her” I said, still with no emotion.

“What kind of proposal? Are you trying to steal my staff?” he asks. He shifts in his chair, visibly uncomfortable.

“I think that is none of your business. It is a proposal for her and I would like to talk to her. Besides, I am not going to steal your staff, didn’t you say it was her last shift here, anyways?” I answered his questions. He is at a loss for words but regains his thoughts after a few seconds.

“I won’t give you her number” he says. I felt my wolf's anger rise. This man is trying to stand between me and my mate and I am barely able to contain my anger myself. My wolf growls, but I stiffen it by clearing my throat.

“Then, I’ll leave my number. Make sure to give it to her and to tell her about my job offer. I expect her to call within 48 hours” I dropped my business card and stood up. I was already outside before the man could say anything.

Before I went back to the palace, I visited her house and sat in front of it. I could hear her talking to a woman. Probably her mother. They are laughing about something and it is the best sound I’ve ever heard in my life.