Alpha King Mated

Chapter Two

Jackson

I looked after Cian and Odhran and finished cleaning up the camp. I turned to my steed and tied the last strap securely, then ran my palm over his thickly corded neck. He huffed out a contented sigh and clomped his hoof as if telling me he, too, was worried about leaving.

We were making our way back to the Highlands after several stops across the continent to garner peace pacts and alliances with Otherworld coalitions. For the most part, everything had gone as planned, and although the trip had been long and difficult and the thought of being home and surrounded by my creature comforts sounded perfect, there was also this gnawing feeling in my gut.

It told me maybe items weren’t as perfect at home as I’d always thought. It said that home wasn’t where I’d always believed it was. Something’s missing. The most crucial thing.

“I don't understand why we are leaving camp as soon as night is upon us.”

I glanced at Odhran. He was acting surly, but I knew it was all in good fun. He was loyal to a fault, the same as Cian. Both thick as thieves, with Cian the general of the Guard, the Southern Alpha royal army, and Odhran one of the strongest males I’d ever met, they were both assets to my realm.

I couldn’t rule as the Southern Alpha king without males who knew that with great gain came even greater sacrifice. And it was because of these two males' understanding, as well as my sentries and soldiers, that I had one hell of an otherworldly army.

I stared at the sky, where the moon was starting to rise. “I don't know, honestly.” I kept looking at the moon; there was a chill in the wind, and the air smelled different. “I just have this feeling to keep moving.”

I glanced at Cian and Odhran again, their expressions stoic. They might want to stay at camp tonight and enjoy overflowing amounts of ale and speak of battles they’d fought together, but they’d follow me no matter what and without complaint.

Cian grunted and gave a nod before heading toward the fire and dousing it. The sizzle of the flames being extinguished sounded, the scent of scorched wood filling my nose, and the smoke billowing from the charred wood and spiraling up to the night sky.

“We’ll head to the next village. I want to sleep in a bed.” The look Cian gave me said he knew I was full of s**t. I could sleep on the hard, cold ground every day for the rest of my life, and it would never bother me.

"Ava,” Cian and Odhran said in unison, not calling me out on my lies.

I lifted my hand and rubbed the sudden ache I felt in my chest. Something was off, yet I couldn’t place what it was.

I was a predator, an Alpha shifter who could track and hunt down an enemy before they even knew I was right behind them. I could filter through a hundred different aromas and find the weakest one among them. I could kill a man with my bare hands and not break a sweat.

But is this feeling seeping into the center of my chest? This tightness in my muscles, the ache in my bones? I couldn’t place it, couldn’t get a handle on it, and it made an anxiousness rise in me. Because I'd never experienced it in my over a hundred years of existence.

“Let’s head out,” I said, finishing packing things up before climbing on my steed. I clicked my tongue to get things moving, and we made our way forward, Cian and Odhran following.

I didn’t know what I was heading into, but it was something monumental.