Elijah mulled this over as they entered a saloon and walked into a side office.

Eric quickly introduced Elijah to the beta and alpha of the pack. They all sat down. "Damien intends to take the crown from your father and release the old magic back into the world," Daria said simply.

Elijah nodded. This wasn't news to him.

"We can't let that happen. The old magic was banned for good reason; it's driven Damien mad," Daniel explained.

Elijah's heart twitched at the usurper's name. "You blame the old magic?" Elijah asked sharply.

Daniel glanced at Daria. "We do. Before he started dabbling with it, he was content. Ambitious, but content. Once he found that he could manipulate the old magic, he changed. He began amassing power; he stole my pack and many others."

Charged silence filled the room.

Finally, Eric spoke up. "We were wondering what your plan was. Your father will not defeat Damien, especially if he has Naomi with him. You can challenge him. You might be able to defeat him with Naomi."

"Why would I have Naomi? Doesn't the usurper claim she is his?" Elijah asked.

"We know that Naomi is your mate. That's why I contacted you," Eric explained.

"How? I didn't know until an hour ago."

Eric looked down. "My wife's father was gifted. Robert could create schematics for pack structure. He discovered that his daughter and I were mated. He could see mates in pack structures before they met. Right after he discovered that Berry was with child, I noticed that Damien's mate was dead. A girl from the Ash pack. We traced Naomi to you."

"That gifting should make discovering mates far easier," Daniel mused.

"It would have. Eventually, Damien realized that the structure would incriminate him if Naomi found out. So he killed Robert. Last week. Berry doesn't know," Eric said, grimacing.

Daria slammed her fist into the table. "We cannot release the old magic back into the world." Elijah didn't flinch.

Daniel rubbed his head. "Don't you see? The old magic took our brother. It turned Daria's mate into an Eyeless. It almost killed Naomi—"

"And old magic was what saved her life. Naomi has the old magic, too. Would you kill her?"

The three of them grumbled. "Of course not. She—"

"Is the most dangerous one in this camp. The old magic doesn't corrupt. Any power can be abused; I will not condone turning off the sun because some people overheat in the summer. The usurper made his choice. The old magic was a tool he chose to wield, nothing more."

As Daria began to respond, fury crossing her face, something twitched in Elijah's mind.

Naomi?

He stood up without a word and ran out the door.

He swore.

He could smell the usurper.

Elijah sprinted into the clinic. The door slammed behind him as he caught the shadow of a man behind a white curtain.

He swore again.

He rounded the bend, and his heart froze. The usurper. His hand was on her chest. The usurper turned to find him staring, smirking.

"I relieved Berry of her duties. I figured Naomi's mate would provide her with some comfort."

Elijah snarled. "Take your filthy hand off her."

Damien's smirk widened. "Feisty. You know the rules. Unless I break a law, you are not allowed to put a hand on a king's challenger."

Elijah growled.

"Are the rumors true? The king was hiding a non-shifter son in his spare bedroom?"

"Watch your tongue."

Damien glanced at Naomi and then stared at Elijah. Recognition flickered in his eyes. "Oh, this is too good."

The muscles on Elijah's back tensed and his fists bunched up. His eyes flared. "She is my mate."

Damien's smirk disappeared. "Shut up!" he said sharply. "She is my mate. She belongs to me. She is mine."

"You killed your mate."

"Damien?" Naomi's gaze was flicking between the two of them in confusion. She pushed herself into a sitting position. Damien moved his hand down and grabbed one of her hands.

Elijah's wolf was going crazy. He was shaking with the effort to not let fly and kill the usurper. But Damien was right; Elijah couldn't touch him.

"Who did you kill?" Her eyes had deep purple bags underneath.

"No one, angel."

That was it. "You cannot have her. If you do anything, you will have crossed the old magic. Not only will your forfeit your magic, you will lose your life."

Damien's smirk returned. "You think I cannot have her?" His dark green eyes hid a grave secret. The tension in the air thickened. "She was the subject of a Hunt."

Elijah's eyes widened as he realized why Damien was so confident.

"She is mine to do with as I please. I made the Alpha's Claim."

In a blink, Damien sunk his teeth into Naomi's neck.

Elijah collapsed onto the floor in agony as his mate was forcefully wretched from his soul. From the cold tile, he could hear Naomi's scream as well. Her pain was soon overcome with ecstasy. She moaned as Damien stepped back. The mark immediately began to heal over.

"Sleep, my angel." 

Elijah was convulsing on the floor as he felt like a ribbon of flesh was being pulled from his chest. Between slivers of darkness, Elijah saw Damien pick Naomi up. 

"She belongs to me. She is mine." He spit at the prince on the floor. Darkness crept over Elijah's vision. He has heard tales of mates being taken, but he never imagined that the pain would be this intense.

They left him. His heart ached, pounding weakly.She was gone. He took her.

Here he was.

Alone.

The end of The Alpha's Claim.

Follow the story in The Usurper's Throne

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So?!? What'd you think? Talk about an unexpected ending! Let me know what you thought by dropping a comment below. I'll see you in The Usurper's Throne!