Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 39: 38

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

"Nicoleta talked to you..." — I said, blowing the words out.

She swallowed her food.

"She just told me your favorite dish is sarmale, which, by coincidence, is one of my greatest skills in the kitchen. So I felt like eating and made some for myself. Nothing special."

I stomped toward the kitchen. There were no pots on the stove, nor in the oven or anywhere. She had cooked, cleaned, and put everything away. And indeed, there was nothing left for me.

I opened the fridge, my anger boiling in every pore. Besides a jug of milk and a few fruits, there was nothing ready. I grabbed the milk and took long sips.

I was still hungry when I finished, but not as before. I could fool my stomach for one night, before Nicoleta arrived the next morning to make breakfast.

I spread my hands on the cold stone of the counter and leaned over, glaring at her. Savannah was in the same position as before, eating one roll after another, with so much satisfaction that it bordered on pathetic.

"Your second heat is approaching," I said.

"I know," she replied, not looking at me.

"Did you ask Alexandra for the herbs?"

"Yes."

I tilted my head to the side, not diverting my gaze from her. Her hair was tied in a loose bun at the top of her head, and the lack of a mark on her slim neck irritated me, but even worse, it tormented my wolf.

"We could also solve this differently," I teased, lowering my gaze a little more to the curve of her breasts that were visible through the thin top. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and the tips were marked on the dark fabric.

"You will never touch me again," she hissed.

A smile spread across my face. It was this exact boldness of hers that I had been waiting for. I released pheromones into the air, calling her to me. Omegas only did this when in heat, while alphas could at any time, but in short bursts.

She froze, stiffened. Slowly, she turned her head toward me, her gaze sharpening.

"What are you doing?"

I exhaled a bit more scent. A moan escaped her lips. She held the plate and slid her legs down, pressing them together. The scent of her arousal filled the air, stinging my nose, and her desire touched me. Strong, intense, pure.

I growled, getting her attention.

"Can’t control your body, little wolf?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her jaw muscle snapped, tense. She stood up rigidly, walked to my side, and placed the plate in the sink.

"Can you stop this?"

I released more pheromones.

"Stop what?" I blinked slowly.

There was a rosy tint to her pale cheeks, and her breathing was heavy. I focused, listening to the rapid beating of her heart.

"You're such an idiot," she spat through clenched teeth.

My smile grew wider.

"Just because you’re dying to ride my cock again?"

She pulled her lips into a fleeting smile.

"I’d rather fuck all the males in your pack than sleep with you again," she said in a velvety voice.

"Is that so?" I mocked, exhaling my scent more strongly.

The odor of my pheromones dominated the air, replacing any other smells that had been present, even the freshly made food.

Savannah gripped the edges of the sink so hard that the creases turned white. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if trying to concentrate.

I leaned over her.

"Are you thinking about my men now? Because I can smell the scent of your arousal." I ran my tongue over my lips. "If you want to be my dinner..."

I was also excited by this little game, my hard cock rubbing against the rough denim. Sex would help me relax and make me sleep better. Savannah was an omega and she was nearby, she would serve me, just as I would serve her. Simple.

She opened her eyes and turned toward me. She was silent for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Sorry you're so desperate to fuck that you have to drop pheromones to induce an omega." She pouted. "Are there no options left in your pack, or have the she-wolves finally seen the bastard you are?"

I pressed my lips into a snarl.

"There are plenty of options," I growled, furious.

She turned her back on me and made her way around the counter, throwing me a look over her shoulder. The mischievous little grin never left her lips.

"Is that so?" she shot back, throwing my words right back at me. She stopped at the foot of the stairs with her hand on the railing. "Like I said, I’d rather fuck all your males, as long as none of them is you."

A furious growl escaped me. I looked at my reflection through the glass and noticed my eyes were overtaken by gold. My wolf had been riled up by Savannah’s provocations, and he was not happy.

Laughing even more, the bitch pushed herself up and disappeared up the stairs.

I slammed my fist into the counter.

What a brilliant idea it was to provoke that damn wolf. In the end, the one who ended up hard, pissed off, unsatisfied, and without a pussy was me.

I looked at her plate and stole the last sarmale roll. I couldn’t help the gasp of surprise and satisfaction when I felt the taste on the tip of my tongue.

To make things worse, she really cooked damn well.

Hungry, excited, and unsatisfied, I headed to my room. All that was left for me was to sleep.

***

Reclined in a relaxed posture on the cushioned chair at the elders' dining room, I drummed my fingers on the wooden surface of the table and stared at everyone without uttering a single word.

"Can we know the reason for this summon?" Lucian asked, sounding bored.

Jax sat beside me, his arms resting on the back of his chair, analyzing everyone. Lucian faced me, with Konrad next to him. They exchanged suspicious glances. They knew something was wrong, the elders never called us together without a plausible reason, they just didn't know who or what it was about.

I remained silent, showing no reaction, waiting for the elders to speak.

The dining room was as grand and refined as the rest of the castle. The ancient stone walls rose around us with numerous golden candelabras attached to them. The flickering candlelight illuminated the place with a beautiful golden hue.

The table, with ten seats, was made of polished, ancient wood. The silverware was gold, as were the wine glasses, which were full of drink. Meats, fruits, and salads were laid out before us, but no one made a move to touch anything since we had arrived, minutes earlier.

Konrad sighed heavily.

"I’m very sorry that Riuk doesn’t find us important enough to show up," he muttered, shaking his head.

An elders' meeting outside of the regular monthly date could only mean one thing: a huge problem. And Riuk didn’t care about anything, especially any issues involving packs other than his own.

Lucian snorted.

"He had the nerve to kill his own wife and newborn daughter. Do you really think he cares about anything other than himself?"

A wicked smile twisted my lips.

"And that’s worse than having your newborn destined mate killed?" I retorted, blinking slowly.

A sharp growl reverberated from Lucian.

"Enough!" shouted the elder without ears. "If we’re here today, it’s because we have a reason, and you all know very well what that means."

Silence fell over the room.

The elder without eyes turned toward me. Slowly, Lucian, Konrad, and Jax followed suit. I felt the pressure of all their eyes on me, the entire room’s attention focused on one single place.

I swallowed hard.

"Fenrir, I felt the death of one of your wolves," said the elder without eyes.

"And not a natural death, we should point out," added the one without ears.

Jax raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.

"Yes," I confirmed, resting my elbow on the armrest of the chair and setting my chin in my hand.

"What happened?" insisted the first elder.

Lucian grabbed a grape from the bunch and threw it into his mouth, pulling his lips into a mocking smile.

"I’m loving this new 'Fenrir mated' phase. It’s been a while since we’ve had this much... excitement at one of our meetings."

I ignored him, focusing on the elders before I tore into his neck without a second thought.

"My territory was attacked, and unfortunately, we lost a pup."

The elder without lips turned to the others and moved his head, communicating with them through the telepathy only they had.

"Is there a traitor in your territory? You know what we think about that: if there’s a Judas on the boat, throw him into the sea," he said, verbalizing what the other had thought.

I shook my head.

"It’s no one from my pack. They’re wolves from another pack."

They never forgave traitors, not under any circumstances. If there was one in any of our territories, they were to be killed immediately.

"Which pack? And why are they attacking you?" asked Jax.

"The Eastern Eclipse pack."

They blinked, confused.

"Why?" Konrad tensed.

I sighed.

"Because Savannah belonged to the Twilight pack and was promised to their alpha."

For a second, just a fleeting second, no one said anything. But obviously, it didn’t last more than that, as Lucian burst out into a loud laugh that filled the air.

"Fenrir, the bride thief?" he mocked, laughing even harder. "I expected many things, but not this."

"Explain yourself properly, son," gestured the elder without eyes.

I shot Lucian a sharp look, watching the vein in his jugular pulse, wondering how it would feel to sink my nails through it, before turning to the end of the table, where the elders sat.

"The bastard rejected her at the altar, in a revenge plan. He killed Savannah’s whole family. She ran from him, and that’s how I found her in my territory and..." I cleared my throat. "I decided to take her as mine. Since then, Hunter has been sending wolves to my territory to take her back. I killed them all, one by one. None of the attacks had been serious, until the last one."

"How?" Jax asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"In a hunting challenge, that’s how they got to one of my pups and killed him."

Jax closed his eyes and took a deep, resigned breath. Death was always a sorrow, but the death of a pup was far worse.

"Where’s the girl?" asked the elder without ears.

I straightened up, confused.

"At home."

"And why isn’t she here?" the elder without eyes retorted.

"Because... why should she be?"

It was an alpha’s summon, an exclusive meeting to address what had been happening in our forest. There was no reason for Savannah to be present.

"My son, she’s your mated companion now, the queen of your pack. No King should rule without a Queen. Have her called here at once," ordered the elder.

"She... um... won’t entertain political matters, I can assure you."

"It doesn’t matter. As I said, as your mated companion, she must be aware of the risk your pack faces."

"My pack isn’t at risk. What happened was an isolated incident that won’t happen again," I snapped.

Lucian laughed.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"The alpha is after her. We want to hear from her, meet her. Since you decided to mate with her, she’s important to us now. Flesh of the same flesh, blood of the same blood, they are one."

Ever since I had that brilliant idea.

I grabbed the gold goblet and drained the wine from it. Of all the nightmares I could have, adding Savannah to a dinner with them was at the top of the list.

"I will kill Hunter and make his existence miserable."

"Until that happens, he’s already caused too much trouble for you."

He killed one of your wolves, an innocent pup from your pack. The pack you swore to protect above all else!" scolded the elder without ears.

At that moment, I would’ve loved for him to truly not hear a thing. But that wasn’t the case.

"Have the girl called, Fenrir. Or we’ll do it for you," insisted the elder without eyes, after the elder without lips moved closer to him.

I shot a quick glance at Jax, who was watching me intently.

"Maybe Fenrir is right," Konrad interjected. "The girl must be stressed, dealing with a lot of problems. The disturbing pursuit of her ex-fiancé, the guilt she must feel for the boy’s death..."

"Well, I would love to meet the female who... stole the mourning heart of our dear Fenrir," Lucian whispered, throwing another grape into his mouth.

Jax rubbed his face.

"Bring her," he directed, locking eyes with mine. "You know she’ll come, one way or another, so it’s better if she comes through someone she knows, someone familiar to her."

I pressed my lips together and nodded, agreeing with him.

It was a unanimous decision from the elders, they would bring Savannah to the dinner one way or another.

"I’ll bring her," I communicated.

"Great! We need to talk about how to contain the damage caused by the Eclipse pack," responded the elder without eyes.

"Until it reaches my territory, it’s not my problem," retorted Lucian. "Fenrir stole the girl from another, let him fight his own battles."

"I don’t remember asking for your help," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Very good, because I’m quite happy not to help," he smiled.

"If Hunter continues his attacks, the wolf might become a problem for all of us. He won’t rest until he gets the girl, and handing her over is out of the question. She’s tied to Fenrir and, by the law of the wolves, belongs to him and only him since the mating," shot Konrad.

"How dare he go against this?" murmured Jax. "It borders on stupidity. No matter what agreement he made with Savannah, it was broken the moment she was marked by Fenrir."

"Now I really want to meet this wolf. Two alphas dueling for her, she must be something special," mocked Lucian.

"I understand your... insistence on meeting her, since yours is dead, thanks to you. You need to observe other people's relationships to entertain yourself," I murmured, clearly irritated.

Lucian's breath was heavy, mixing with the growl that came from his mouth.

"Behave, pups! We are at the table, and we do not tolerate insults and rebellion."

Irritated, I sent a message to Anton, ordering him to bring Savannah immediately and to warn her about what would happen and who she would meet. Then I dropped the phone and began to pray, hoping that she would be calm at that moment.