Taken by the Ruthless Wolf

5.

They brought me cool water as well as my signature whiskey, which allowed me to collect myself and put all thoughts of the young woman out of my mind for another time.

Frederick Cyprus arrived first, an impressively old alpha whose wrinkles were deeper than some people’s wallets. But even in his elderly years, he still maintained the posture and commanding presence that screamed alpha. He was the end goal for all of us, considering that the life span of a pack leader was significantly shorter than anyone else among wolf shifters.

“Alpha Cyprus,” I said, standing and offering my hand. “Welcome to my table.”

“Alpha Reese,” the man returned, taking my hand firmly. “It’s been most interesting watching your rise to this position.”

“It has been a quick one, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, but you are handling it well.”

I hadn’t expected an outright compliment, so I just gave him what I hoped was a polite nod. “Here, have a seat, please. Whatever you would like, my staff will provide.”

“Your hospitality is noted.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

And that was that. The elder alpha sat and started to settle. The next alpha arrived a few minutes later, and another after ten minutes. Then the rest filed in pretty quickly until I looked at a table full of established, confident alphas.

“Thank you for meeting here tonight,” I started, sounding commanding. “I know we have much to discuss.”

“That we do,” one of the elders, Jackoby Belcroft, said, his voice a low, wizened rumble. “For starters, what do you plan to do about your moonstone situation?”

Of course, they honed right in on that. Without the moonstone, I had nothing to swear in on. And while I thought a lot of the ritual around alpha meetings was overdone, there was no ignoring that lacking a physical connection to the moon was hard to work around.

“My pack and I are willing to do a blood oath.”

There was a moment of silence, not that I could blame them. While swearing-in on the moonstone was considered incredibly binding, a blood oath was on an entirely different level. Breaking such a thing was said to call curses that could wipe out entire packs and lineages across continents.

“And what of Sawyer’s beta?” That was Christian Guivant, who was one of the youngest elder alphas.

He meant John, who had served the previous leader dutifully, and I couldn’t help but feel a streak of protectiveness even though it was a perfectly valid question. “I have a couple of prospects I am exploring as his replacement, but currently, he has been a vital part of our pack’s transition.”

John, to his credit, remained quiet and calm from where he was standing against the wall. He was a great beta and had more than earned his retirement.

“Have you considered keeping him longer?”

Oh? That I hadn’t expected. Usually, when a pack transitioned from one alpha to another, the leader was expected to establish their beta and the rest of their support system pretty expediently.

“I am interested in knowing why you would advise that,” I said diplomatically. I liked John, but I’d thought that delaying the usual proceeds would make me look weak in front of the elders.

“You are young, are you not, Mahlan?”

“Alpha Reese,” I corrected as levelly as I could. Normally, I didn’t care about such things, but I needed to establish that I was an alpha just like the men around me, and I would be respected as such. “And I’m twenty-six, currently.”

“Ah, I remember when I was twenty-six,” Cyrus mused, sipping his bourbon. “What I wouldn’t give for the knees I had before my thirties.”

There was a chorus of agreeable sounds, and I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of lumbar issues were in my future. If I lived long enough to develop any, that was. Considering what happened to the last alpha, my future was less than assured.

“Twenty-six is quite young, and John has the expertise to aid you and train whoever you choose as your long-term beta. It would be prudent not to waste such a resource.”

“I see your logic and I agree,” I said like I wasn’t intensely relieved. Even a year with John helping out would be a huge boon to me.

The conversation continued, and I could tell bit by bit that I was winning them over, especially when I got into my plans to build up our financials and security. As the leaders of wolf shifters, one of our biggest goals was to make jobs and safe spaces for other wolf shifters. Places where they could take time off for their natural, biological functions among people who understood. Places where they could build community and the vital bonds that helped so many packs keep peace with each other.

Only a couple of hundred years ago, having so many wolves in a single area would have resulted in an endless, bloody war. Territory fights were no joke. But with the increasing number of humans taking over anything and everything, our people had been forced to adapt.

Sure, there were still plenty of conflicts, evident with our dead pack leader, but we did try to avoid that for the most part.

“Well,” Alpha Hiro Watanabe said, possibly the first time he’d spoken since he arrived. He was a taciturn man whose father had immigrated to America and become the first Asian alpha in our state. He was a strict but fair leader, from what I’d heard. “I am satisfied with your plans, and I suggest we meet again in three months for an update.”

There was a chorus of agreement all around and relief flooded through me so thickly I knew that they could smell it. Oh, well, let them know that I was happy. It wasn’t a sign of weakness to be pleased that we all could reach an accord.

“In that case, let my staff get you all something to eat.”

Another chorus of positive responses. If there was one universal truth among wolf shifters, it was that pretty much everyone was always at least a little hungry.

Perhaps an hour or so passed, I wasn’t keeping track of the time, but eventually, the men wrapped up and started to leave. A few trickled off on their own, but I walked the main group out the door and to the valet station like a proper host.

Except we didn’t quite make it there. Only a few steps out the door, that same arresting scent hit me, stopping me dead in my tracks. Turning, I saw the girl exit the door and stride straight towards us.

The rest of the world fell away for a moment, leaving just her and me. I tried to move through the alphas towards her, sure that she was just as captivated by me as I was by her. My heart thundered in my chest, my body trying to jump into its wolf form as some sort of release from her pull.

But before I could get close enough, she tripped, colliding with one of the elder alphas.

I reached out, hoping to catch her, gripping her arm to make sure she stayed on her feet. A faint blush spread across her lovely features as she sent the elder a sheepish grin. I wanted her to look at me, so I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Miss! Are you all right?”

Her head swiveled towards me and… something happened. I didn’t know her nearly well enough to understand her expressions, but it seemed like a million played across her face at once.