Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 49: 48

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

The council meeting had ended early. As usual, there was nothing to discuss. Nothing relevant happened after the dinner where Savannah was properly introduced to the elders.

I took another sip of my whiskey and cast a sharp glance around. Lucian, the charming bastard, remained isolated in his corner, watching without touching anyone. Konrad was conversing with everyone, going from one to another like a damn politician seeking votes during election season. And Riuk still hadn’t graced us with the pleasure of his arrogant presence, but, as always, he would show up soon enough.

“This is the best part,” Jax commented beside me, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “The meetings end up being… fun, just knowing what we’ll do as soon as they’re over.”

I let out an annoyed laugh.

“Where are your two favorites? Or are you still teaching them a lesson?” I teased.

He took a sip of the amber liquid.

“They’ve learned their lesson by now. Tonight, the night is all theirs.”

Just as Marilyn was my favorite, Jax had Teneris and Nala, but he didn’t allow them to have other partners. While I gave Marilyn total freedom to do so, it was she who didn’t want it.

“Have you never thought of freeing them?” I asked, shrugging as I received a sideways look from him. “So they can find their destined partners and breed, following the true purpose of these parties?”

He snorted.

“I couldn’t care less about that. There are plenty of females who could serve that role just fine.” He scratched his hair. “Would you free Marilyn?”

The answer was at the tip of my tongue.

“She can have as many partners as she wants, as long as she remembers she needs to return to my bed at some point. She doesn’t interfere with my life, and I don’t interfere with hers.”

Jax laughed.

“And does she follow that?”

I took a deep breath, weighing my words.

“Lately? No.”

We fell silent for a few seconds, analyzing the wolves of our territories that were present, looking for sex, fun, or their ideal partner. The females who received the invitation were radiant on the day of the party.

“There’s irony in that…” he commented.

I frowned.

“And what’s that?”

He turned to face me.

“You don’t feel jealous of Marilyn, your lover for half a century, but you went crazy when Lucian growled near Savannah.”

“Yeah… it’s different.”

“Different how?”

I pulled my hair back, feeling uncomfortable with the flow of the conversation. I didn’t want to talk about Savannah, not when she clouded my thoughts.

“I think it’s the mark, being mated to her. My wolf claimed her and acts like the true animal it is when it comes to the female,” I said, explaining what I believed to be the truth.

He shook his head, disagreeing.

“I think it’s more than that. Maybe, deep down, you like the omega, just don’t want to admit it.”

I scoffed.

“Of course not!” I retorted, with a sarcastic tone.

Jax burst out laughing, mocking me. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, finishing the drink in my glass.

I spotted Nala and Teneris in my peripheral vision, approaching us with swaying steps. The blonde, Teneris, intertwined her fingers in front of her body and smiled awkwardly.

There were few wolves who attended the party every month. Some omegas, like Teneris, Nala, and Marilyn, were always present because they were our favorites. There were five packs, and besides the goal of making them find their destined partners, omegas and alphas from all of them wanted to attend the parties, some purely for fun, so it was necessary to alternate the guest list.

“Jax,” she called the alpha, clearing her throat, a pinkish hue rising on her cheeks.

The leader of Vanóia simply cast a bored glance at the female.

“What is it?”

“We’re waiting for you,” she said, lowering her chin in submission.

They were very attractive omegas. Teneris had golden blonde hair, straight, reaching the middle of her back. She had a wide, full mouth, brown eyes, round and intense. Nala, on the other hand, had dark hair that cascaded down her waist, dark brown skin, dark eyes, and delicate features.

Jax snorted.

“Then keep waiting, I’m having an important conversation with Fenrir. Don’t interrupt me again. Ever.” He ordered in a low hiss.

I sighed and shook my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I felt Marilyn facing me, waiting for my conversation with the leader of Vanóia to finish so she could approach.

“Your… lovers are eager for you,” I teased, clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth.

“I’m sure they don’t want to see me without patience.”

“Lately, mine has been testing my patience too, I don’t know what’s going on with these females.”

He gave a grunt.

“In your case, a new and mated female. In mine, too much audacity.”

“And in both cases, they’ll have to accept reality,” I added, pulling my hair back with my hand.

Marilyn would need to, at some point, stop testing my patience and accept that Savannah was a fact. I couldn’t do anything about the omega bound to me, and neither could she.

The scent of Konrad reached my nostrils. He stopped beside us, watching the wolves roam the area. I didn’t like his friendly personality, his “advisor” and peacekeeper attitude.

He always leaned toward what he thought was the right side, at least what he believed was right.

"I don't understand how your mate accepts, so willingly, that you come to the luxury party," he commented, shrugging his shoulders.

"She doesn’t have to accept anything."

"Actually, yes, she does. You chose to mate, Fenrir, and divide your life into two bodies. I can't understand how you agreed to practice such a... carnal act as mating, yet you don’t seem to respect your female." He turned his green eyes to mine, shaking his head and pressing his lips together in a disapproving manner.

I stood silent for a few seconds, staring at him, wondering how disastrous it would be if we started a fight inside the party. Probably, the elders would throw me in a cell and leave me there for days. A fitting punishment for such an imprudent act.

I took a deep breath, calming my tense body.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion on my relationship, Konrad. And believe me, if I ever need one, yours will certainly not be the one I'll seek."

He laughed.

"I don’t care if you want my opinion or not. It’s the pure truth, everything I said, and I don’t take a word back."

Jax put his glass down on the counter.

"Did you finish your sermon?" he asked, resolutely. "Fenrir knows exactly what mating means, much more than any of us here, after all, he's the only mated wolf. So stop bothering him with that pathetic talk about love."

"Will you still think that when you meet your mate?"

He laughed loudly.

"Mine, if she ever existed, is probably dead." He huffed.

"Fenrir thought the same," Konrad retorted, giving me a once-over.

God, I would rip the alpha’s head off if he kept insisting on the subject. My temper was on the edge.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, slow breath.

"Why don’t you find someone to have fun with and stop bothering us?" I retorted.

He laughed, barely caring about my harsh tone.

"I’m the oldest of the alphas, so I feel responsible for putting some sense in your heads."

"Don’t worry, the elders are here for that," Jax replied.

"However, they’re not always around, so I see myself in that role."

And he truly acted like that, always trying to calm the mood and offer advice, even when no one asked, as if we were supposed to listen.

My chest tightened. I startled and furrowed my brows, stepping away from the counter and glancing around.

"What’s wrong?" Jax asked.

"Nothing," I lied, not stopping my search for her.

I already knew how my body reacted when she was nearby. And she was. I was sure of it, I just didn’t know how or why.

"Is there a problem, Fenrir?" Konrad asked.

I inhaled deeply, focusing on the scents, sorting them out, and trying to catch the one that interested me. Dew and wild jasmine.

I whipped my head to the right at a dizzying speed. I narrowed my eyes on her, stopping my breath.

Savannah stood before me, just a few meters away, in a black dress that barely covered her body, hugging every damn curve. She wore sneakers, her face made up, and her hair cascaded over her shoulders in rebellious waves.

I felt myself stiffen, the control slipping away from my animal.

In front of her stood a wolf, an omega from some pack I couldn’t identify. They were conversing with a certain... intimacy.

She stared at me, throwing a glance over the shoulder of the damn male who hovered around her, then lifted her lips in a wry smile.

I swallowed hard.

"Who invited her?" I growled, turning to Jax, the one responsible for the invitations.

He looked in the direction I was focused on and frowned, confused.

"I didn’t send an invite to her, I would never do that without your consent."

My breathing became heavy, my chest moved rapidly, and I felt my eyes shift between blue and gold. My wolf was ready to take control again and pull her out of the party over my shoulder.

"Calm down, Fenrir..." Jax whispered, as if he sensed the change that was about to happen.

"I’m trying, damn it," I panted.

"I invited her," Konrad interrupted.

Jax and I turned to him at the same time, stunned. I clenched my fists, breaking the skin of my palms with my long nails.

"What?" I heard myself ask, my voice barely a whisper.

My heart was racing, my fangs were visible, and the gold had already overtaken my irises.