Silver Fate

Protection

'But.. then.. Then you are..’ she stuttered, unable to finish her sentence. He nodded once, and crossed his arms defiantly.

‘What pack do you belong to?’ he asked sternly.

‘No,’ Rue answered simply. ‘I.. no. He will kill you.’

Caleb scoffed. ‘He will try,’ he corrected his mate. ‘What fool of an Alpha even thinks he can claim women that belong to his pack, without them being meant for him? Does he live above the Moon Goddess? Is he exempt from my father’s laws?’

Rue felt her heart beating so fast, she was scared it would stop. The emotions these last few days had been overwhelming her, making her feel weak and powerless. She knew that if Caleb went to Heath, a fight would be unavoidable. And it wouldn’t just be her mate that died, but also the crown prince. It would result in an awful war, that no one in her pack would survive.

Unless… Maybe Heath would let her go. He might… Right? If he knew she was mated to the crown prince?

She bit her lower lip. No… She was not convinced his pride would let her go.

‘Listen to me, Rue.’ Her heart skipped a beat as he said her name out loud. She stared unaware at his lips, while he continued: ‘There are only four territories bordering this little town. I will just go to each of them, to challenge their Alpha. And every time I go somewhere without finding you, it will result in me getting even angrier. Which will not help when I try to reason with your Alpha. Just tell me what pack you are from, right now, and save us both the effort.’

She pulled her gaze away from his lips, and saw his eyes were focused on hers. Yet, he still looked upset. Angry even.

‘And what will you do when you find my Alpha?’ she asked. ‘You will reason with him?’ she repeated what he said earlier.

Caleb shrugged, with his arms still crossed. ‘I will try, at least.’

‘And what if you fail?’ Rue pried.

‘Then I will challenge him.’

‘Caleb,’ she sighed. The anger washed from his face, instantly. Like snow melting in the sun. Within a second, she felt his lips pressed against hers again.

‘Say that again?’ he whispered in her ear, after which he peppered her neck with kisses.

‘Caleb,’ she moaned with pleasure. A chill went down her spine, as he brushed his teeth against her neck, before bringing them back to her lips. ‘I do not want you to fight him.’

‘Win from him,’ Caleb corrected her.

‘You do not know Heath.’

‘Ah, pack Sullivan.’

Cr.ap.

Caleb quickly gave her a fleeting kiss on the lips and then turned away, whistling sharply between his teeth. Within a matter of seconds, six broad, muscular men appeared from all directions and walked towards him. Each of them seemed to be incredibly well-built, as if they had been training since birth. She couldn't help but feel her face turning red as one of them winked at her. Lost in thought, she hadn't realized she was staring at him. The other five men didn't take their eyes off of Caleb.

‘Sullivan’s,’ the latter said calmly with a smile. One by one, the men transformed into large, dark-coloured wolves. Caleb was the last to transform. He turned to his mate one last time, smiled sweetly and said: ‘See you later, princess.’ Then he, too, ripped through his clothes, transforming into the most beautiful wolf she had ever seen.

But she did not get long to look at him, as a loud roar filled the air and all the wolves ran off vigorously. Into the direction of Sullivan territory.

That’s when the sound of their growls, and the appearance of their wolves, made her realize. They were those wolves from last night... What had Caleb said just now?

‘But when I saw you at the lake last night, I knew I had finally met the one.’

It was them. A part of the Royal Pack.

Is that why they stopped chasing her? Because Caleb forbade them, after he saw her and noticed their connection?

Did that mean that they weren’t scared of Heath after all?

She ran to the road, trying to find the paper bag with potions that she lost while trying to escape the prince. After she found it -which was rather quickly, thankfully- she ran towards her car. Of course, today she had to take the car…

The door to the passenger seat opened and an unknown guy jumped in. His sun-kissed curls danced around his face, as he rhythmically chewed on some gum. He seemed not to even notice her, until she scraped her throat and their eyes met. ‘Morning,’ he said simply. ‘Where are we going?’

‘We?’ she repeated to him, surprised. ‘We are not going anywhere.’

‘Caleb’s orders, princess,’ the blonde Beta said simply.

She sighed, knowing she did not have the time to fight him. ‘I do not have time to get into a discussion with you,’ she stated, as she put on her seatbelt.

The guy followed her example, and put on his own, while smirking at her. Most wolves do not wear seatbelts. Something testosterone, and something with their accelerated healing abilities. Simple car accidents barely damage them.

‘There are four emergency exits on this aircraft,’ he said, as Rue started driving.

‘Two in the front of the vehicle, two in the back,’ he moved his fingers, as if he were a steward, doing the safety briefing on an airplane. ‘In case of an emergency landing, there’s one in the front, and one in the back,’ he pointed at the front window, and back window. Then he dropped the act, and added in his own voice: ‘Are you that terrible of a driver, that you need to buckle up?’

She did not answer him.

‘In that case, make sure you do not speed. Caleb will have my head if anything happens to you.’

‘Who are you, anyway?’ she asked the unknown, yet hi-la-ri-ous guy next to her. ‘Mike. Michael, or Jean-Michèl as my French-speaking mother calls me. Pick one. Except for the lat.’ He grinned. ‘Beta to the crown prince.’

Rue scoffed sarcastically. ‘One of seven,’ she said monotone.

‘Yo, lady,’ Michael defended himself. ‘Did I misinterpret Caleb’s words, or is he your fated mate? Why the hate?’

‘Because your prince needs you more than I do, right now,’ she said while grinding her teeth. She pushed the gas pedal a bit more, hearing her car complain. ‘I do not need your stupid protection. And he does. I will never reach the pack house in time.’

‘You underestimate your crown prince, Rue,’ he called her by her name, without her ever introducing herself to him. Inwardly, she damned the stupid mind link.

‘Just keep driving carefully, and do not do anything silly,’ he continued. ‘Have a little bit of faith in the prince, alright? You do not even know him, yet.’

‘And he does not know Heath,’ she bit back.