Page 4 (1/1)

Anghel walked further into the rooin the grieving process Stefan and Daciana Lupei had been two of theAlphas of separate packs had never hindered their relationship Though he was the Alpha of the Western Romanian pack and Vasile now the Alpha of the Eastern Roe how he felt for the son of his old friend He ached for him He hurt with him and he knew there were no words that could heal him Maybe time would heal but even that would be only a salve to the wound, not a cure

"You will deal with it because you ainst the stone walls "You are Alpha now; you are no pup You are a century old and you knohat it means to be Alpha and I don’t remind you of that because I care little for your pain I remind you of that because there will be some who see your position as weak They will think you an easy target, and when that happens they will do so foolish"

Vasile snarled He didn’t want to hear it, though he kneas true His father’s pack for the most part was united, but there were always one or two upstarts who thought they could run things better There were always a couple who thought they should be the leaders, but they didn’t understand if you were ruht in the local pub If you were meant to lead, then you led because the wolf inside of you refused to follow Vasile kneas a leader not just by birthright but by the wolf that lived inside of him His wolf bowed only to his father, and that was only out of respect He could have beaten Stefan in a challenge years ago, but he would not disrespect his father or mother in such a way And now here he was, Alpha of the Eastern Pack, only a few short years later He didn’t have to worry about whether he e his Alpha, because his Alpha was dead

"You hel urged "You one on to be with the Great Luna, the Eastern Ro and has a new Alpha, just as powerful as the old one"

"I know you are right, and I trust you just as et hel nodded "It was unexpected to say the least May I ask how it happened?"

Vasile’s shoulders tensed This was the part that he dreaded This hat he did not want anyone to know because he did not want them to think any less of his father or his mother "Do you want the official story or the one my father would have you know because of your friendship?"

When Anghel siave him a pointed look he continued "You have heard that old wolves can sometimes become crazed?"

Anghel’s brow furrowed and he nodded slowly "But that usually happens to unmated males not ones who have found their true mates"

Vasile’s eyes slowly met the Western Romanian pack Alpha’s The next words were ones that had not been uttered since his father had spoken theo and told him never to tell anyone "My hel’s eyes narrow and his brow furrowed "They weretis? They changed; I saw thehel said as his eyes widened

Vasile motioned for him to take a seat at the table that dominated the center of the roo his body so that he was facing him "I need your word that you will never share this with anyone"

Anghel nodded once

"My father had the rare fortune ofto fulfill the Blood Rites or the bond It was a time when humans were superstitious and Canis lupis had to be very careful about who they befriended outside of the pack My father’s trueperson and paid for it with her life Since they were not yet bonded, he survived"

"What about your mother? Didn’t she worry she would find her true hel asked

Vasile chuckled "Why do you think my father kept her so close to his side and so close to home all of the time? They loved each other, make no mistake about that And I believe er than ever would have been possible, although I think the guilt he had for keeping her from her true mate ate away at him over time and probably contributed to hisDaciana’s truebelongs to his, you know that he did not announce hisuntil after the trip that he took supposedly in search of uise used to travel to the sea to meet with a band of pirates He knew of the custo, one that could place pers on the skin He decided that to keep up the appearance of having found his mate, he would have his marks altered artificially Since the females marks are never seen by anyone other than her s"

Anghel shook his head and closed his eyes as he let Vasile’s words sink into hins of madness: to take another’s mate as his own, to alter his marks unnaturally, and to bear a child with her?"

Vasile nodded "I know but he ruled his pack fairly and none could challenge him and win For all intents and purposes he did as he was called to as an Alpha He guided, loved, shepherded, and kept order over his pack My h she wasn’t his true ht Had she not been a dominant female the farce never would have held up"

"Your hel asked unnecessarily He knew the answer, but he felt like it needed to be spoken aloud

Vasile’s shoulder hunched forward as he felt the weight of her loss "No, but they wanted to keep up the charade of their status She illing to die to protect my place as Alpha, and she truly didn’t want to live without my father She loved him, maybe not in a way possible between true mates, but in her oay, she loved hile" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">