The Omega Queen

Ten

Erin watched the scenery pass by with mild curiosity. Alexander studied her. She was relaxed, and he felt at ease as well. It seemed she wasn’t apprehensive in his presence and that was a comfort. When they reached the massive international airport, her eyes widened in awe.

Alexander couldn’t help but smile at her astonishment. It was yet another clue to her past. Her previous pack probably didn’t live near a large city, which wasn’t uncommon for wolves, but in an area dominated by desert there were precious few places with resources to support a pack. If they did live near a human populace, it was probably a small town or rural community.

Keeping separate from human habitation was increasingly difficult and Alexander knew of a few packs that embraced metropolitan areas. He wasn’t overly fond of the idea himself, but it did make securing supplies easier. Hopefully, she wouldn’t feel isolated by the remote location of his own pack.

As they disembarked from the vehicle and made their way to their gate, Erin grew anxious. She nervously scanned the crowds. Argo stirred, ready to defend his mate. Alexander studied their surroundings while keeping his wolf in check. As far as he could tell, there was nothing particularly dangerous around them. Turning his attention back to her, he touched her hand to gain her attention.

When she looked at him, Alexander asked, “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?”

She shook her head. Her answer didn’t satisfy him, so she wrote her response: there are a lot of people.

Alexander read her note, suddenly understanding. It should have been obvious she was not comfortable with large crowds. Even in the diner she had kept to the kitchen. Raising her hand to his lips, he kissed it.

“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I am right here. Nothing will happen to you.”

Erin didn’t dare meet his gaze as she nodded, feeling her face warm. She wasn’t used to such attention, and the intensity of his gaze was difficult to meet. Alexander’s wolf settled, though it remained vigilant and strained its senses to keep watch for any threats.

Their escort emerged to meet them. Nathan claimed their bags while Alexander placed a hand on Erin’s back to direct her. Several of their guards gave her curious looks but remained silent as they followed along to where the private plane waited. The plane was not large, barely more than a Cessna, but still roomy enough for them to travel in comfort.

Alexander didn’t pay much attention to the flight crew. They were paid well and had been working for him for quite some time. He hurried Erin onboard, hoping she would be more comfortable once they could sit. Encouraging her to take the window seat, Alexander settled beside her. Stowing their bags, Nathan sat in the seat across from them.

Neither spoke as the flight crew finished their final checks while they waited for clearance to take off. Erin watched, fascinated by the process. She had never flown before, so all of it was new and interesting. Alexander couldn’t help but smile at her open wonder about something he considered trivial. It made him wonder just how remote her original pack had been. Surely, there had to be at least one town nearby so they could shop for supplies.

Unless they were completely self-sufficient, but that was exceedingly rare. Werewolves were not particularly talented when it came to agriculture and raising livestock was difficult. While they could generally fool humans, animals innately sensed their predatory natures and were wary of them. It didn’t stop some packs from trying and a few had success to varying degrees.

Still, it remained a fact that growing food and tending livestock were generally easier for humans. Therefore, a symbiotic relationship with humans was usually the best course. Unfortunately, humans were suspicious and jealous by nature. They didn’t particularly care for any creature that was stronger, more powerful and longer-lived than themselves.

Most supernatural creatures kept their distance or hid their nature whenever they dealt with humans. It was safer and, for the most part, humans had no idea what kind of beings shared their world. Vampires and Shifters were rare exceptions, though they too once stayed in the shadows.

In the past, they had to deal with hunters who quietly carried on a one-sided war against the supernatural. It didn’t help that some creatures treated humans as food, vampires especially, since their main source of sustenance was blood. The Dark Ages had been particularly brutal.

But now, in the modern age, they had some semblance of peace. They were able to negotiate and create treaties that allowed them to live side-by-side. Alexander would be a fool to think all hostility was dead, but he generally didn’t have to worry about human-led governments nuking his pack from space.

For the most part, they governed themselves. Packs maintained and controlled their own territories and anyone living on it fell under their jurisdiction rather than human authorities. Some humans claimed they preferred to live under wolf rule and protection. He wondered just how Erin’s pack handled humans near their territory or what history they might have had with indigenous tribes. There was so much about Wendigo culture he didn’t know.

Precious little was known about their history and that was mostly the fault of his predecessors. They hadn’t been interested in getting to know their new neighbors, only in carving out their own place. The wendigo packs had always been secretive and, given the aggression of the invaders, had no reason to seek a dialog with them. He wondered if Erin would even answer his questions about what her pack was like.

Alexander leaned back in his seat. For the first time since finding his mate, he was feeling a faint sense of dread. Surely, they couldn’t be that different, right? The Goddess had chosen them as mates for a reason. She wouldn’t have done this if they had no common ground. It had to be a sign that she wanted her children to be closer.

They were, after all, both werewolves. Wolves were wolves regardless of their historical culture. And yet, they couldn’t even communicate properly. She couldn’t speak, only sign or write her responses. Supposedly, that would be rectified once she was marked and joined the pack link, but they didn’t know for certain. What if she couldn’t join the link?

No. That was impossible.

If Wulvers, Baraks, Vargulfr and Gurki could all join, there was no reason to believe Wendigos were an exception. Hell, other shifters could join the link if their mate was a wolf.

He was just tying himself in knots for no reason. Alexander looked again at Erin. She didn’t seem the least bit concerned as she watched the activity outside the window. Just what was she thinking about?

‘You could learn her language,’ Argo suggested.

‘What?’

‘The gestures she makes with her hands. You could learn it.’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Why not? Since you are being such a whiny sod. It makes it difficult to focus on my Mate.’

‘Can you sense anything from her?’

‘Of course I can. Unlike you, we don’t need words to express ourselves.’

The mate bond was different for their wolves, who didn’t communicate with words. Their bond allowed them to feel each other’s emotions and moods and if they were in close proximity they could do so without a mark.

‘What do you sense from her?’

‘They are apprehensive, scared.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you are an i***t. You are too hesitant. You haven’t given them the comfort they need to know we will not reject them.’

‘What? But I…’

‘You need to fuckin’ act like a king and show her she is your queen. Clear out all those stupid thoughts in your head.’

‘Right,’ Alexander sighed, reaching for Erin’s hand. He kissed it and looked up to see she was staring at him with a startled expression.

“We’ll be taking off soon, amour, to your new home, with me.”[1]

A small smile touched her lips as her cheeks grew warm. Then she looked away and went back to the window. It seemed she was too embarrassed to hold his gaze, but she seemed comforted.