MILLIE

The next day, Leander doesn't recall any of his ramblings. He carries on as usual, hyper-vigilant of our surroundings and hunting for every meal, although his men keep volunteering.

I still get lightheaded when remembering his freaky, delirious words.

Today is our last day at the camp. It's time to move onto the territory of the Emberwolf pack. I hope to hear some news about what happened at the Mockingbird pack.

We travel by foot to the edge of the Emberwolf pack's territory, our supplies depleted. We are in serious need of help, even if Leander won't admit it and has a thousand backup plans.

One of Leander's men advances and meets up with a patrol officer, who quickly disengages and runs to retrieve his Alpha after being threatened to keep our appearance a secret.

The Emberwolf's Alpha is a memorable man. He's tall and handsome, with auburn hair and blue eyes. There's an ease in his stroll that Leander could never master because he's always tense and prepared to attack. The Emberwolf's Alpha is young, perhaps a few years older than Leander. I don't know anything else about him.

A tattoo pokes out of his red t-shirt sleeve. He wears black shorts and a beaded necklace tucked into his shirt.

"Leander. Good to see you're still alive."

The Alpha extends his hand, and my mate swings a fist.

My jaw drops.

The Emberwolf Alpha dodges the punch and jumps backward, laughing as he signals his patrol guard to stand down.

"You fucking bastard," Leander snarls.

"It's rather counterintuitive of you to attack me while seeking my asylum."

"I'm not seeking your asylum. You're indebted. You owe me a favor, especially after you tricked me."

"Tricked you?" the other Alpha replies, cracking his thumb by tucking it into a fist—something I can already tell is his habit. Leander has his own quirks, too.

"You knew that the stone was a dud. That it wouldn't sever my mate link. And yet you suggested otherwise to convince me to spill my secrets."

"The evening was boring. I hate mingling with the insufferable Alphas as much as you do. I was only seeking some entertainment." The Emberwolf Alpha glances at me. "Another thing we used to have in common was being mateless, but I see you have left the team. Congratulations on finding your Luna. Hello, Millie."

I smile politely, not sure what to make of this Alpha. There's something about him. It's not discomforting, but it certainly makes him unique.

"Follow me. And Leander, please refrain from decapitating me. There's enough political chaos now that one Alpha has been eliminated. I reckon a world war will spark if another one falls."

"Can't make any fucking promises," Leander snaps before taking my hand and walking deeper into the forest. Leading the way as if this is his territory.

The laughter of the Emberwolf Alpha echoes through the wilderness.

We're smuggled into the territory through a private underground path—an abandoned railroad from the old days. We're kept hidden so that word of our presence doesn't reach the pack members and then the surrounding packs.

We're taken to the main pack house and settle on a lower, well-furnished floor. There are over ten rooms, more than enough for everyone. It's a highly generous arrangement, making me wonder what favor this Alpha owes Leander.

The Alphas go into a study to talk while I find an empty bedroom. I'm tempted to ask Leander to let me join the conversation, but I need to compose myself before entering a room suffocated by the tension of two Alphas.

In the bathroom, I wash my hands and face. Then I sink onto a chair and roll my neck backward, feeling tension in my shoulders.

A soft knock comes at the door.

"Come in."

Two girls enter, wearing maid uniforms. One dresses much more casually with a pencil skirt and a white blouse, while the other wears a traditional knee-length black dress and gloves that reach her elbows. The girl in the formal dress captures my eye. Her gaze is averted, and her long hair curtains her face. She's good at blending in. But perhaps her attempts don't faze me because I spent so many years hiding that I learned to absorb every feature of my environment.

"Hello, Luna Millie. My name is Josephine, and this is Helena. Our Alpha has assigned us to you."

"Lovely to meet you," I reply. "Does your pack know about our presence?"

"No. Your visit is being kept secret. Do you need anything?"

I see. It looks like the Emberwolf Alpha has been expecting us and prepared for our visit.

"I'm alright. Thank you very much."

"A meal will be brought shortly, and the closets are stocked with clothes for your convenience."

"Thanks again."

"Of course. By the way, Alpha Leander has asked you to join him."

Helena doesn't say a word. She only dips her head and follows her coworker out of the room.

I rise from my seat and reach the study, where I hear the Alphas' muffled voices. I knock, and the door is pulled open moments later.

Leander scans me from head to toe, pausing his gaze in places that make me shift my feet. He has never been ashamed of staring.

"Come in," he says.

I enter, glancing at Alpha Emberwolf, who sits behind a desk with a fist supporting his head.

"You asked to see me?" I ask Leander as I look around the small study. There's a large potted plant thriving in the corner, bookshelves, and an old family portrait hanging by the door.

"Yes. As my Luna, you deserve to be on the same page as me."

I nod, grateful that he has considered me. I feel out of place in the room. I have no input, as I've never conspired against the government.

"Councilmember Gordon needs to die. The ancient asshole is behind my pack's demise," Leander tells the other Alpha.

My stomach churns. They jump straight to planning an assassination? I've never murdered anyone. I get that this is a seed of war, but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow. What would the Moon Goddess think of me? What would my mother?

From what I've seen and heard, Lunas encourage growth and mercy to balance their destructive and impulsive Alphas. By just being in this room, I feel like I'm failing my position when I haven't even begun.

"How can you be so sure?"

"We had him hacked. Much of the emails were encrypted, but we retrieved some interesting files. He has been writing to humans in Europe and researching the Otali flowers native to my pack."

The Emberwolf Alpha laughs. "Hacked? Are you fucking insane?"

"I hacked you, too. Had to ensure you were clean."

The other Alpha frowns, showing upset for the first time since I met him. "Well then, I suppose we're even for tricking you."

Leander snarls. "No. We will be even when you agree to join forces with me. I don't need you, but one day, all packs will have to decide what side they stand on. I don't want to run you to the ground, but I will if that's what it comes down to."

"All these fantasies because you read a few emails about a flower?"

"Don't question my intelligence, Octavius. You know that there's more."

Alpha Octavius glances at me. "I can see why you ran from this guy."

Leander slams a fist on the table, splintering it. 

Octavius only kicks his feet up on the table. "Explain what the damn flower has to do with all this."

"The spores from the Otali irritates a werewolf's sense of smell, disorienting them. Only my pack gained an immunity to it over the generations. That's why he had everyone abandon the pack and slaughtered the Alpha family. He's giving the land to the humans, and no werewolves will be able to roam the land except the few that are native to it."

What the fuck? Humans on this side of the world? That hasn't happened in centuries. After the war, they occupied Europe and remained there ever since.

"Why would a council member want to aid the enemy?" I finally speak up, turning the men's heads.

Leander stares at me for a few seconds before replying. "He wrote about a human female asset in his emails. He's eighty years old and never found a mate. Perhaps... this asset could be his mate."

Octavius sighs, cracking his thumb. "Of course, this is about mates. It's always about mates. They could end empires."

"You wouldn't understand the power of a mate unless you met yours, Octavius."

The Alpha rumbles and rises from his seat. "Listen, Leander, I believe you, but I have no interest in revenge or a war that hasn't started. I will not share your senseless bloodthirst. I can only offer you shelter for a few weeks."

Leander stands tall and stares down the other male, communicating things with those grey eyes that only another Alpha could read. The room feels colder, and the air is suffocated by the scent of testosterone.

It's like they're harmonically battling. Incredible.

"So be it," Leander says, refusing to beg.

My back straightens as my wolf floods me with feelings of pride.

"Understand that I'm nearly thirty and the last mateless Alpha. The Council has demanded that I take a mate for nearly a decade, and the pack needs a Luna. Because of her absence, births have declined. You know what that means."

Leander nods and leaves the study. I follow him. The maid, Helena walks past us. She holds a tray of food that smells so good I notice something I was previously blind to: Helena has no scent.

She might be pregnant. Some females lose their scent when they're carrying a pup. It's a defense mechanism of the body. I wonder if anyone in the pack has questioned this or if they have all become accustomed to the wallpaper maid with a shy gaze and an absent scent.

Why am I so focused on this female instead of focusing on my problems? Leander and Octavius just burned a bridge. We are on our own in a mission to save the world.

"Hey, what did Octavius mean when he mentioned missing a mate?" I ask Leander.

"He's abdicating his title as Alpha."

I nearly trip over my own feet. "What? Why?!"

"Because he refuses to choose a Luna. Octavius is stubborn to a fault. Loyal to a female he has not even met. He has led many campaigns in the past searching for his mate, obsessed with finding her. I mimicked many of his moves when searching for you."

"But...this pack has been in his bloodline for centuries. Would he really abandon it over a mate that might not exist?"

"Yes. I was forced to choose a Luna because I couldn't afford the spotlight while plotting against the Council. I also knew my false Luna would be in power momentarily until I found you. Octavius doesn't know if his mate even exists. His father found his mate when he was fifty and made the mistake of choosing one. It was a mess that I think Octavius does not want to repeat."

"Are you...angry at him for not choosing to fight with you?"

"No, but it does not matter. He isn't my friend. It's all just business." He enters the bedroom I chose. "I will shower. Excuse me for a moment."

We are...strangely comfortable with sharing a bedroom although others are available. But I won't argue.

I sink into the edge of the bed. There's a small window. I see people coming and going into the house, most of them dressed in uniforms. Octavius has a dozen servants, while Leander valued his privacy.

Hearing Octavius' voice outside, I leave the bedroom. He's welcoming all of Leander's men and reminding them to not leave the floor. His breathing is slightly heavier, and his voice is tight as if the conversation with Leander has agitated him. He paces the room like a hunter, searching for a weakness.

There are four maids standing in the corner—Josephine, Helena, and two more that I don't recognize.

I scan everyone's body language. Their feet are angled toward the door—a position I've noticed in Mockingbird members when addressing Leander. It's a subconscious signal that they're prepared to flee from the Alpha. Or maybe it was programmed into our DNA as a sign of submissiveness. My feet always point right at Leander because I don't fear him. My wolf has always wanted to get closer, not run away.

My interest is piqued when I see Helena's feet pointed directly at her huffing and puffing Alpha. Unlike every warrior and maid in this room, she's not afraid of him.

She has no scent, no fear. And awkward gloves covering her hands and forearms.

Is she...?

No. It can't be. I'm making an insane assumption about a woman I've never met. Surely, Octavius would have noticed that his mate was right under his fucking nose?

But...I might be right. There's something about Helena that's keenly familiar. I know a woman on the run when I see one. I ran for five years.

I'll keep an eye on her.

I return to the bedroom. Leander is still showering. The sound of water streaming makes my mouth feel dry. It allures me into the shower.

I swallow and look at the bed. It's king-sized but not large enough to fit us both. There are no bed-bunks here. No illusions of distance. I could ask for my own bedroom but... I don't want to. I must admit that I want to be close to Leander.

The bathroom door opens, and from a haze of steam arises a male chiseled so perfectly that water droplets fall in straight lines between his abs. There are no curves on him. He is cruelly rigid.

My hand fists on the bed sheets. My feet remain pointed right at him because it's not him that I fear. It has always been me.