Kael
The timing was too perfect. She arrived in the neutral zone, very close to my land, and suddenly, Shadowpine wolves appear at the border. They had been tracking her. Trying to find her.
My body slightly bristled with anger.
That bloodthirst I had sensed. They had been on a mission to kill her.
A vengeful surge of fury rippled through my body, and my wolf simmered in the swirl of anger, battle-ready. The protective rage I felt had nothing to do with the pack and everything to do with the woman resting in my camp.
"Stop. Not now," I silently admonished my wolf, struggling to keep myself and it under control.
It proved far more difficult than I expected.
"You should be more faithful to your desires!" he roared.
"Be still. I would not lose my head over a mate bond."
Even though I had said that, my lips spread open in a silent growl as my sharp teeth gnashed against each other.
"We share the same fury. The same pain. They must pay for the mere audacity for even trying to harm—"
"Don't be rash!" I hit back. "We would lose important information with them dead. A conflict with another nation is what I do not need. I will deal with them later. Be patient!"
"Kael?"
Ila's voice interrupted the brief dispute with my wolf. I returned my full attention to the wolves a short distance away, irritated at myself for being momentarily distracted.
"I was distracted by something. What?" I answered her.
"They more or less confirmed my story. They're calling her rogue wolf who escaped execution and fled."
"Ask them what this wolf looks like and what rank they previously held in their pack."
Even though I suspected she would be an omega. Her wolf presence felt so weak that the strange flow within her overshadowed everything else.
And most packs disposed of their omegas if they were too weak…
Or useless.
It didn't make sense. They wouldn't come out all the way here to dispose of a weak omega when she would have most likely died on her own out here.
A sharp uncomfortable feeling pricked at my chest.
To think she would have died.
"What does this wolf look like?" Ila questioned, eyeing the other two wolves with the man. "Would it not be best to have more wolves with you when searching for someone so dangerous?"
"We're spread out. I presumed it would not look good if there were more of us here. As you can tell," the man answered, discomfort clearly written on his face.
"I see… That is wise."
I glared at him, slightly sniffing at the air. "He is lying, Ila."
Ila frowned, but the man continued speaking, likely taking her reaction due to him not having described their so-called missing wolf.
"It's a female, a warrior rank and part of our Alpha's security detail. She is highly skilled and dangerous. But physically, she is tall, with a slender frame. Black hair and grey eyes. Her wolf form is black too."
Of course, he would have no choice but to lie. An omega would not be such a threat that they would come all the way to the border to find.
Still, the anger started to rise again. How dare they spout such lies?
Ila nodded. "We will keep an eye out for this wolf and—"
"No!"
She paused at my command.
"Tell them you found someone matching the description, but it was an omega on her final breath. Then dead. Make them leave. They're useless."
Ila voiced out my instruction, "Now that you mention it, we did come across someone with that description." She paused, watching their reaction, and true enough the man jolted, a strange interest entering his eyes.
"Please, where?" he demanded, slightly leaning forward.
Ila's frown returned. "I presume this was someone different. It was a dying omega, a very weak impoverished one as a matter of fact."
I frowned at her phrasing and the man deflated.
"Please, where exactly did you—"
"She passed her last breath and we buried her. This one passed away on our soil," Ila continued, the lie flowing smoothly from her lips. "I don't think this is the one you are searching for, but we will keep an eye for that criminal."
The man stood still for a few seconds before speaking, "Oh, yes. Thank you."
As far as those rotten wolves knew, she was dead.
Good. Let them think that.
Ila nodded. "You may continue your search, but be careful not to slip into—"
He raised a hand. "I understand. Thank you. Our Alpha would be reassured that you are also keeping watch for the wolf."
"What pack are you from? If we find this wolf, we will hold her captive and hand her over to your Alpha in the next regional territorial council."
I let out a toothy grin at Ila's tactfulness.
Make them squirm.
They would be in trouble for such a bold lie and they knew that. Their only saving grace would be to clarify later on that they had found the warrior wolf they were searching for.
"Yes, thank you." He barely shared any emotion on his face, but I could smell the chaos brewing inside him.
The man turned away from Ila and shifted back into his wolf form, offering her a brief bow and darting back into the trees from where they had come from.
The answers I needed, I would get them from her. And to think I hadn't even asked for her name.
A low growl rumbled from the base of my throat.
She had been inexplicably weak, and her appearance… what had happened to her exactly?
"You should have ripped their flesh from their bones!"
I rose from my crouched position, ignoring my wolf's taunt.
The last thing I needed was him fuelling my lingering annoyance.
She was safe.
She was with me.
And she was mine.
Even if she didn't know it yet.