Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Now?”
“As soon as possible,” he says, with a note of impatience he can barely restrain.
“She is asleep for the moment,” I say. “You are probably aware of the incident earlier. She has little control over her ability to shift at the moment.”
“Yes,” he says. “I am aware of the incident. And of the chatter around it. Some of the pack are quite interested in her form.”
He is here to ask me where the hell she came from because domestic dilute wolves aren’t typically accepted in our pack, mostly because our pack only breeds with pure bloods. It’s something we don’t talk about outright. It’s more of an unspoken rule. I’d hope the pack had the sense to shut up about it, but my having brought a so-called domestic dilute into the very midst of the hierarchy is clearly going to be an issue.
“I thought perhaps you might have already made some inquiries as to her breeding.”
“I’m afraid not,” I say. “It hasn’t been uppermost in my mind, if I’m to be honest. I have been enjoying bonding with my mate, as fate and instinct decided for me, rather than questioning her provenance.”
“Of course.” He coughs gently. “It is only that lineage is important. Bloodlines are important. All those who mate with alphas must have their provenance determined. The last thing we want, even with a strong mate bond, is for there to be inbreeding of any kind.”
“We only just met,” I repeat myself. “We haven’t had time to have that discussion as yet.”
“Of course,” he says, agreeable once more. “The early days of any courtship are intense and not often filled with questions. That is why we endeavor to have all wolves registered. I would have said we, in fact, did have all wolves registered. This young lady’s existence, and indeed, appearance, is most fascinating.”
“Not everybody wants to sign up to be on a database. We see that across all species, humans and shifters alike. It’s easy enough for a lone male to impregnate a human woman and produce a dilute.”
“It’s possible, and potentially unfortunate if there is a reason her birth was not registered.”
“What do you mean?”
“If she does have the dilute gene and domestic tendencies, which I do not say with any disrespect, my alpha, only as a means to describe her accurately, then it is fair to say she was not born of a mother of our bloodline.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Females born to female shifters know what and who they are.”
“Not always.”
“At any rate, I would greatly appreciate it if you could perhaps discover this information at your earliest convenience.” He is working so hard to be polite. I can practically see a sheen of sweat on his forehead as he works to avoid offending me. “Ideally, we would invite her parents to the ceremonies. Being able to meet them before the ceremonies begin would be ideal for you. That is a custom in both human and shifter traditions for a reason.”
“I’ll talk to her about her parents when she wakes up,” I promise him. “And I will let you know what I know, as soon as I know it.”
“Thank you very much, my alpha. I appreciate the help. I know these may seem like the pedantic requirements of an old-fashioned stick in the mud, but they really do have their uses.”
He is making it clear to me that I don’t really know the woman I have mate bonded with. But that is not unusual for our kind. Or at least, it wasn’t, once upon a time. Nowadays, our pack is the largest in the country and there are very few outliers. Most mate within the pack. Of course, that can’t go on forever, lest the inbreeding Linus lives in horror of should occur. That is why we have this nonsense with the pack and the concord and the social events, and all the rest of it.
I have always taken my role as alpha seriously, and with great dedication. I’ve shouldered the many responsibilities of leadership without complaint. But in the face of this crass questioning of my mate, I suddenly find myself not wanting any of this.
If they are going to keep me from Kira, I don’t want the ancestral seat. I don’t want the hassle of answering to hundreds of pack members who think they have some ownership of me. I want my mate, and a den, and nothing else.
I am usually very pleased to be present at such gatherings, but this is being rushed.
The pack is concerned, and we can all feel it. The scent of worry is in the air.
This was never going to be entirely simple. Even if Kira had been a known quantity, there would still be disappointment and some drama. There are plenty of families inside the pack who wanted their daughters to be my mate. There are even those who are not above removing one potential mate in order to leave an alpha free to bond again.