The Alpha prince’s true mate (Complete)

As she predicted

6 years later

*Marsden*

The villagers believe me to be mad. Sitting at the desk in my library, I hardly blame them. I wonder myself at my sanity, because what sane man truly believes with all his heart and soul that his dead mate remains with him? What sane man carries on conversations with her, seeks her advice, tells her about his day? It seems inconceivable, and yet I feel her presence so keenly, so strongly, especially out on the moors.

Our son doesn’t see her, doesn’t sense her nearness, but then he is only a child, even if he seems to be growing up far too quickly. Killian, prince Killian, is all of six now and such a precocious one.

I jump to my feet. “Killian! Get down from those shelves immediately!”

Rather than climb down from his perch halfway to the ceiling, he leaps. I hold my breath, waiting for the cry that would signal he’s broken his legs, but the fearless lad simply lands, bounces up to his feet, and doesn’t bother to look the least bit guilty even though he’s been chastised dozens of times for his penchant to scramble over the shelves like a wild monkey.

I walk over to a shelf, pull down a large book, and return to my desk. “Come here.”

Killian… I can’t seem to get into the habit of thinking of him as a Prince yet… wanders over, studying me with what looks to be a bit of trepidation. The boy isn’t frightened of me, but he does seem to be cautious in all things, except for climbing.

I pat my thigh. “Up you go.”

The lad clambers onto my lap. He is a wiry boy, but not unhealthily so. Like me, he’ll no doubt be a slender man, not prone to acquiring a belly. All his activity no doubt taking its toll.

“Now.” I open the book. “This is an atlas. It contains maps of many places in the world.” I find the page I seek and point to a penciled drawing. “This is a mountain. This is what you climb. Not the shelves in our library.”

The boy looks up at me with bright green eyes. “Where is it?”

“You’ll find them all over the world. Even in here in our own land. This mark here…” I point on a map, “… signals that a mountain is there. You can go through the book and find all the mountains. Then when you grow up, you can go off and climb them.”

Killian’s face breaks into a wide grin. “Will you go with me?”

“No, lad, I must stay here, watch over things. That’s what an Alpha Prince does.”

“I don’t want to be an Alpha prince. Ever.”

I ruffle my son’s thick black hair. “Someday you won’t have a choice, but until then, you can travel. I’ve taught you to read so you can start making your plans to be an intrepid explorer.”

Killian turns his attention back to the book and begins studying the drawings. I doubt this task will keep him occupied for an hour, but if it keeps him off the shelves for even a day, I’ll be content.

I look up at the soft footfall and watch as my butler approaches, carrying a salver. He extends the silver tray. “A Mr. Beck has arrived, my prince. He has three lads with him.”

I take the card, glance over it. Solicitor. Why would a solicitor bring me boys? As I rise to my feet, I manage to shift my son onto the chair. “Study the maps, Killian.”

I stride from the room, into the hallway. When I reach the foyer, I see the bespectacled man standing there, three young lads with worrisome expressions gathered around him as though he were a mother hen. The man snaps to attention.

“My Alpha prince, I’m Charles Beck, solicitor.”

“So your card said. Why are you here?”

“I brought the lads.”

“What use have I for lads?”

Beck pulls back his shoulders. “I sent you a missive, my Alpha prince. The Alpha of Ashebury, the Alpha of Greyfur, and their mates were tragically killed in a railway accident.”

I saw the article in the Alpha Times and grieved their passing. I hate death and the loss it brings. “Railway. If the Goddess meant for us to travel in such contraptions, He’d have not given us horses.”

Beck responds evenly, “Be that as it may, I had expected to see you at the funeral.”

“I don’t attend funerals. They’re ghastly depressing.” There’s little I can do for them now. Besides, I’m hesitant to leave Linnie. I fear if I leave, she might go away completely.

“Which is the reason I’ve brought the lads to you… since you didn’t retrieve them yourself.”

I shake my head, “Why bring them to me?”

“As I stated in my missive…”

“I don’t recall a missive.” I tell him.

He nods, “Then I offer my apologies, my Alpha prince, for its being lost in the post. However, both the Alphas named you as guardian of their sons.”

I focus my gaze on the boys. I can’t recall their exact ages, but I know they are only a year or two older than Killian. The tallest has dark hair. The other two, the twins, are blond. They have so much growing up to do, so much to learn. Furrowing my brow, I give my attention back to Beck. “Why would they be foolish enough to do that?”

They knew I was in mourning; we’d barely communicated since Linnie passed.

“They obviously trusted you, my Alpha prince.”

I cackle. Had they not learned anything since the death of my mate? Had they not heard the rumors that the castle was haunted, that I was mad?

The dark-haired lad rushes forward and punches his balled fist into my gut again and again. He packs quite a wallop for his size.

“Don’t you laugh,” he shouts, tears filling his eyes. “Don’t you dare laugh at my father!”

“Easy, lad,” Beck says, pulling him back. “Nothing is accomplished with fisticuffs.”

Breathing heavily, the child doesn’t look convinced.

“Sorry, boy,” I say. “I wasn’t laughing at your father, merely the absurdity of me seeing to your care.”

“But you will honor their request,” Beck states emphatically.

What the devil am I going to do with four boys?

‘I see you with four strapping sons.’

The memory of those words is like a sharp kick to the center of my chest. Linnie could not have been referring to these boys. A she-wolf with wide hips was supposed to give me sons. Not death.

But I know in my heart that I will never again take a mate, that I will never again lie with another she-wolf, that I won’t fill another with my seed. The reality is that Linnie had seen me with four sons. And the last of them has just been delivered. I give a quick nod. “I will. For friendship’s sake.”

“Very good, my Alpha prince. If you could send some servants out to retrieve the lads’ trunks…”

“Have your driver and servant bring them in. Then be on your way.”

Beck seems to hesitate, but eventually, he kneels before the boys. “Keep your chins up, be good lads, and make your parents proud.” Then he stands and narrows his eyes at me. “I shall be checking on them.”

“No need. They’re in my care now. Be off with you as quickly as possible.” I look toward the windows. “Before it’s too late.”

With a slow nod, Beck turns on his heel and walks out. No one moves. No one speaks. The trunks are brought in. Shortly afterward, the creaking of the coach’s wheels, the pounding of the horses’ hooves signal their departure.

“Killian!” I shout, having noticed my son crouched behind some fronds. I should have known the boy wouldn’t stay put in the library. His curiosity is too great.

“Yes, Father?”

I give him a small smile, “Show them upstairs. Let them select the bedchamber they want.”

“Yes, father.”

“It’ll be dark soon,” I say, distractedly. “Don’t go out at night.”

Still reeling from the memory of Linnie’s long-ago words, I wander back into the shadowy hallway and into my library. I pour myself a glass of scotch, then I stand at the window, savoring the taste and waiting for the darkness. She never appears during the day. For some reason, my mind won’t conjure her when the sun is out. It’s more imaginative at night. Intellectually I know she isn’t still here, that ghosts don’t exist… but damned if I don’t want to believe.

I hold my vigil until the sun dips below the horizon. Just as I’m about to step out onto the terrace, the butler announces that dinner is ready to be served.

Dinner with Killian is a tradition I never break, and tonight is no exception, especially with three newly minted orphans now under my roof. Speaking with Linnie will have to wait until later.

The young maid assigned to look after Killian ensures all the boys are properly presented for dinner. I sit at the head of the table, sipping my wine as the plates are brought out. What a somber lot we are.

“Is the wind always so loud?” one of the blond-haired lads asks.

“Which one are you?” I inquire.

“Ethan.”

I look at him, “The heir?”

“No, that is I,” the other blond says haughtily. As the rightful heir would.

“So, Ethan,” I point, “Nathan and Liam and Killian.” I touch the center of my chest. “Marsden. Now we all know each other. And yes, the wind shrieks over the moors more often than not, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Did you really know our fathers?” Liam asks.

“I did indeed. We were best mates. As a matter of fact, your fathers met your mothers at a ball here. The ball where the Undecided Alphas decided who they would wed. Then we all got busy with our mates and our children... and time went on.”

“I don’t want to be here,” Ethan says, mutiny in his voice. So he’s going to be the one who requires a firmer hand.

“There is much in life that we do not want, but we adjust.” I glance over at the butler. “Inform the cook: a double heaping of dessert for each of the boys tonight.”

“You don’t have many servants about,” Liam says. “Are you poor?”

I chuckle darkly, “Hardly. I don’t need them, and I don’t like having people around. Haven’t decided yet if I’m keeping you lot.”

“Send us home. We don’t care,” Ethan declares.

“I can’t do that. I’d have to send you to a workhouse. Horrid place that. So you’d best behave.”

He huffs, “I’m not afraid.”

“I’d wager that makes you the only one at the table who isn’t.”

“Are you afraid?” Nathan asks.

I nod, “Of course I am. Afraid I’ll let your fathers down. They were good men. I admired them very much. Someday I’ll tell you stories about them.”

“I want them to stay,” Killian announces. “If you let them stay, I won’t climb the shelves anymore.”

“Did you think that was up for negotiation?”

Killian nods, his hair flopping onto his brow. Chuckling, I ruffle the dark strands. “You don’t even know what negotiation means. Anyway, I suspect they’ll be staying. For a while.”

After dinner, I hand them over to Sarah and begin my walk over the moors. The hairs on the nape of my neck rise, and I imagine the boys are watching from a window. I’m grateful when I’m finally beyond their sight. I don’t need anyone to witness me speaking as though to myself. I’d made the mistake of asking a few of the servants if they’d seen my mate wandering about. One of the reasons I have only a handful of servants now is that few want to be associated with a madman.

So be it. Killian’s and my needs are simple. The lads who came to me today will have to adjust.

I reach the oak tree and stand before her grave. Her presence is strongest here. “Dear Goddess, Linnie, you were right. I have four boys. Ashebury’s and Greyfur’s sons.”

“I know,” she says. “They’re afraid.”

“They want to run off. At least one of them does. I’ll have to keep a close watch until they realize they can’t escape as they’ve nowhere else to go, no way to survive.” I shake my head. “What am I going to do with four boys?”

She smiles, “Love them.”

“You were the one who was so good at loving.”

“You’ll be a good father to them. You understand the pain of loss, but they also need softness. They need a mother. It’s time for you to move on, my love. To take another mate.”

It isn’t the first time she urges me to marry. We've argued about it on more than one occasion. “I will never love another. You own my heart. I saw what being unloved did to my mother. I would never ask another to suffer as she did.”

“You would be kind to her and generous,” she says.

“But I would not love her, and she would know it.” I shake my head. “I haven’t got it in me to be that cruel. The lads won’t lack for a she-wolf’s touch. Sarah will spoil them well enough. I suspect Cook will slip them biscuits and sweets.”

She sighs, “You’re a stubborn man, Marsden.”

“I adopted my mate’s trait for stubbornness.”

“You need to lock the doors and windows,” she says.

I furrow my brow. “Why?”

“To keep me out.”

I shake my head, “I like you coming into the residence.”

“And I enjoy visiting with you there, but I don’t want to frighten the lads. It’ll be easier on me if I'm not tempted to go in.”

“I miss you so damned much, Linnie.”

“I’m here, Marsden. I’m always here.”

But I can’t hold her or kiss her or make love to her. “Do you remember the rainy afternoon when we made love in the music room?”

She smiles. “On top of the piano.”

“And beneath it. Sometimes I think that’s my favorite day, but then I’ll remember another. We had some good days, Linnie. And nights. I don’t know if that makes being separated from you harder or easier.” I sigh. “I don’t know if I have it in me to raise these lads.”

“You do. You’re stronger than you realize.”

I swallow, “Only as long as I have you.”

“You’ll always have me.”