Braiden
“Everything’s ready, My King. All the guests have arrived, and the border has been locked down for now.” I look
over at my beta Samuel. His use of the words ‘My King’ irritating me more and more these days, even though I
have heard them for most of my life.
Lately, I’ve felt trapped by my crown and my status as the ruler of all wolves. It wasn’t the responsibility; I could
handle most tasks with my eyes closed. Plus, I had a great team to support me during downtime. I just couldn’t
pinpoint the source of this feeling. Perhaps officially taking Selene as my mate and Queen would quell the feeling.
Maybe a pup was what I needed.
Yet, it felt wrong. It was like I was missing something. Perhaps it was because Selene wasn’t my fated mate that
made it feel so incomplete, for lack of a better word. But if I hadn’t found her by now, then it wouldn’t happen.
Perhaps it was punishment levied by the Moon Goddess for all I had done to get here. For all the blood on my
hands. “You ready, darling?”
Selene asks, appearing beside me in the mirror.
She doesn’t look at me but instead looks at her own reflection, her hands puffing her blue ballroom dress as if it
needs to be any bigger. She insisted on the most over-the-top, extravagant dress for the occasion.
She was vain, no denying, but she was also loyal. My mother had insisted on me ke eping her close and had
personally groomed her for all the duties
required to become the future Queen. With her and my father in a similar position, neither finding their fated mates,
it appeared I would follow in their footst eps. As the years went on, I knew that was my fate—a chosen mate. My
mother's prompting that this happens before my leadership is called into question, and with Selene preferably, had
been part of the catalyst for situation I found myself in. That and the murmurings of an uprising. Taking a Luna
strengthened my position, as would a future heir.
“Let's go mingle with the commoners,” Selene says, with no trace of humor, as she grabs my arm, a smile fixed on
her professionally made-up face.
My beta precedes us as we exit the room and walk toward the hall where all the pack members have gathered.
Darius, the voice of one of my only friends and the Alpha hosting this event, announces our entrance. The smirk on
his face tells me he knows how tedious I find this. Selene, on the other hand, loves all the attention and meets the
guests with a grace that could only have been taught by my mother. She smiles and waves as if she is already
royalty as we make our way to a throne just to the left where we have entered. Right in the front of the hall. I sit
while Selene stands beside me. When she's officially announced as my mate, she'll have a throne beside me. She
has already ordered the one she wants.
Eyes stare back at me, and necks are bared in submission as my innate power exerts dominance across the room.
“Thank you all for being here. Please continue and enjoy the evening. We will deal with business later,” I say,
waving my hand in dismissal at the room as everyone slowly returns to their conversations, some whispering about
me, no doubt. Rumors about me flourished with little nourishment, like weeds.
As was customary, all in attendance would do a meet and greet, approaching the throne and bowing before
exchanging a formal greeting and then some small talk.
For me, it was the most tedious part of this ceremonial gathering, and I hoped to get it out of the way
soon—something I had expressed to Darius before arriving. He facilitated that by bringing groups of people to me
and introducing them to make it much quicker and easier. Selene stood next to me, making sure my drink was
topped up and making small talk with people as they gathered before us.
“Nearly there, My King,” Darius says when we are alone. “We just have the two rogues left, and then we can make
the announcement.”
“Are you sure about this, Braiden?” he asks quietly, his vocal objection to this on many occasions coming back to
me. He did not like Selene and considered her a snake in she ep's clothing.
“She is the best fit,” I say to him, my tone conveying that the subject is closed for discussion. Though we were
friends and he was one of only two people who called me Braiden, I was still the King.
“Where is she?” he asks, sipping his whiskey while peering around the room.
“She has gone to freshen up her makeup in pr eparation for what is to come. Where are these rogues?” I ask,
changing the subject.
“Gabe has gone in search of them. Is it not strange that they are the only rogues in the East?” Darius asks out loud,
voicing the same thought I had when hearing this. Before I can ponder the thought further, my wolf surges forward.
My guards and Samuel, who are standing close, sense this and silently pull forward in case of danger. I shake my
head, trying to clear it.
My control is impeccable, so this is out of sorts. I signal them to stand back as Damien clears his throat, his eyes
darting to my hands, the claws elongating and digging into the chair's wood. I sheath them, looking around as guest
bear their necks, fear clearly running its course through the room.
“What's wrong?” he asks quietly, his eyes darting around the room, looking for danger.
“It’s nothing,” I grunt out, my nose sniffing the air, ears twitching as I try to understand what is causing my wolf to
get so riled up.
There it is. I stand up as the wolf approaches me, eyeing me calmly as he does. Gabe flanks his side, identifying
him as one of the rogues.
My wolf pushes forward as I do, the rogue standing his ground as people st ep away from him.
“Name,” I demand, st epping towards him as the scent hits me, my eyes changing as my claws elongate again.
“Nick Sanders. A rogue. Living in Old Town. I am registered with the sheriff's office,” he answers, his voice
confident and sure while bowing slightly to show submission, his eyes briefly leaving mine to look at Samuel
behind me.
“Where is the other one?” I grunt out, barely able to talk with my wolf battling me so hard. I approach him slowly
as the scent engulfs me, a mixture of sweet apples and pinecones.
“Sick. She is waiting for me outside. We will return home,” he says, the words snapping something in me as I lunge
forward, capturing him by his neck and holding him up.
“Home. Whose home?” I ask, the answer important to me.
“Our home,” he grunts, holding onto my arm for support. I sniff his body, the scent stronger in some areas than
others.
I drop him to the ground, growling out loud and grabbing a chair close by before hurtling it across the room so it
hits the wall behind us with a thud.
The whole room is silently watching, confused, like I am. It’s that, or I rip his head off.
“Not my mate,” Nick says quickly, sensing this is the issue before I do, as his words take the edge off my anger.
“Take me to her,” I demand as he gets up, rubbing his neck, his blue eyes watching me apprehensively before he
nods and starts walking.
Darius and my guards follow behind us as Nick leads us through the hall, along the corridor, and out the entrance.
All the while, the intoxicating scent gets stronger and stronger.
Nick starts running, as do I, when I hear a commotion along the side of the hall, past where the cars are parked.
“Get off me, Alec!” a woman's voice shouts as the struggle continues.
“What are you going to do? You can't even shift, runt.” Alpha Alexander.
I know his voice. Anger erupts when the scene comes into view, his hand landing a hard backhand slap across her
gorgeous face, sending her to the ground.
The howl that erupts from the woman stops all of us dead in our tracks.
All exc ept for Nick, who runs towards her, pushing Alexander out of the way before he drops to his knees.
“Breathe, Ava,” he coos softly as she writhes around on the ground, her body arching unnaturally.
“It’s too strong,” she whispers in agony.
I edge forward, my wolf egging me on as my eyes change from black to grey, then back to black.
What happens next brings more than one guard to their knees, gasps heard behind me from the few there to witness.
White fur erupts from her body, a body that grows much larger than her petite frame was before, much larger than a
regular werewolf. Feet and hands break and reform, becoming beautiful big white paws with sharp claws and
brown hair transforms, face elongating to become that of a wolf —the only white wolf in the world. Said to be a
reincarnation of the Moon Goddess herself. The perfect match for the only black wolf in the world.
The perfect match for me.
Her eyes lock with mine, pain reflected in their white d epths as she claws at her skin.
“Help me. We must hold her down!” Nick shouts as Ava starts scratching and nipping at her skin, pieces of flesh
and fur being ripped from her left upper leg.
I issue the instruction, running toward her. Darius holds her upper body down while I grab her head, clamping her
jaw shut. Our eyes lock as sparks erupt at the contact.
Nick holds her legs down with the help of some of my guards. Her striking white eyes meet mine, filled with a mix
of terror and pain as we restrain her. Her strength demands more constraints than any normal wolf would require.
“What’s wrong with her?” I ask Nick while stroking her head, my touch calming her down. Seeing her like this
scares me. A feeling I am unaccustomed to.
“That,” he answers, his eyes landing on the item close to Ava's mouth. It is covered in blood, but as I smear it away,
the sting on my skin confirms what it is. Silver.