Chapter 43: The Others

Makenzie

Never in her life had she expected to meet members of the council's elite, the clean-up crew. Unlike most of her kind, she did not fear them; she looked up to them like children looked up to comic book heroes. Her father told the girls stories of their strength and bravery each night before bed, and she had dreamed of growing as strong and brave as they were.

This admiration was not enough to convince her to automatically give in to them, though. She needed to see what she was made of and could think of no better way than to surprise them at this first meeting. Even if this first interaction was peaceful, she would do whatever she had to, even beg her Alpha, her father, and the King, to try her skills against one of their number in the arena. The thought made her smirk because she was sure her father was thinking the same thing.

As she ran, she looked over her shoulder at her father, not needing to look to know the other plan, and they separated. The main force was coming from the Southern entrance to the pack, meaning those trying to get a jump on them would most likely be coming from the North or West; the East was blocked by high cliffs that made it unpassable unless you knew the hidden routes. She knew they were good, but they had not had time to study the terrain, so it was a safe bet they would not use that approach.

Taking the path to the North, she shifted into her golden wolf. Flying over the familiar terrain at full speed was a treat for both her and her wolf that she was rarely able to indulge in. Normally, she had to rate the speed at which she ran because the only members of the pack that could keep up with her were her sister and the Alpha, and even then, he was winded before she began to tire.

Alone, she could run as she was meant to, enjoying the freedom and speed. When she started to get closer to the border region, she slowed to a near stop, hiding in the deepest part of the trees, moving silently, and listening for any disturbance.

The wind blew slightly rustling the leaves of the trees, but only faintly. After being on guard for a few minutes, she finally had her first indication that she was not alone. The scurrying of a squirrel as it jumped out of a tree, running through the grass and up another tree, caught her attention.  Before she even had time to react, a giant black panther with gleaming fur jumped from the tree above her. On the way down, it twisted its body so that its front paws were moving directly toward her, too fast to block.

The impact of its weight knocked her to the side as it landed gracefully a few feet away and hissed at the downed wolf. Immediately, she knew this must be one of the King's men, as his claws were retracted and it was clear that he was not trying to hurt her with the attack. Makenzie had never met a different shifter species before and was thrilled at this chance.

Bouncing to her feet, she turned and looked at the animal before her. It was the largest cat she had ever seen, easily twice her size, with glittering emerald eyes that stopped her heart. The stillness of its body as she observed it screamed apex predator, but it was the wind that brought its most dangerous feature to her attention. She was instantly hit with the most amazing scent that she had ever experienced, a combination of chocolate and vanilla that reminded her of baking cupcakes cooling on the sill. She froze, trying to understand what was happening.

Her wolf was screaming “Mate” and celebrating, but she had never seen a wolf mate with another outside of their species. Her mind did not know how this could be possible. It didn’t occur to her that this might be because her pack had never interacted with others, or that this was why they had such a low rate of finding fated mates. In fact, this was the first non-wolf shifter she had met outside of the King, who was still in the wolf family as a lycan.

While she struggled with herself and her wolf, the panther stood frozen in place, staring at her golden wolf before it suddenly started to change. The speed at which the transformation happened shocked her. Where it had been standing, there was a tall, dark-skinned man. Easily six and a half feet, his body showed years of work and training. His shaved head shone in the morning light and drew attention to his beautiful face, currently being transformed by a slowly growing grin. He stepped forward, ignoring his nakedness, to get closer to her.

When Makenzie backed away, confused and unsure of what was happening, he froze in place before speaking to her for the first time. “Please shift, little wolf mate, I would like to meet you. My name is Abioden, and I have been looking for you my entire adult life.” His voice was so deep it rumbled through the air, and she felt it in her chest.

His words scared her even more as she continued to back away. She had never looked for her mate, assuming that if the Moon Goddess wished to give her one, she would make sure their packs were close enough to ensure they would meet. Now that she was faced with him and saw that he was not even a wolf to begin with, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She continued to slowly back away, and once she had opened up a large enough area between them, she turned, running full speed in the direction she had come from.

Her father had told her that he had met with a bear shifter and they were headed to the Alpha and King. Part of her was happy that her father sounded so relaxed, but part of her could not help but be bitter. Her life had just been turned upside down, and no one realized it.

She kept wondering how the Moon Goddess could do this to her, right when all of her dreams were coming true. She was finally a guard, using her training and protecting the pack. Now she was faced with a mate that would probably believe that women did not belong in a fight like a majority of the wolves she met did. Not to mention, he was a member of the king's team, which meant that he lived in the Lycan Kingdom. There was no way that she could leave her pack.

Using every bit of her speed, she flew towards the training area, her feet barely touching the ground. Behind her, she heard the panther trying to keep up, its breathing showing the struggle. His sounds of distress caused her to smirk before she poured the last bits of strength she had into her run, leaving him behind. She ignored the whimpering of her wolf, focusing on returning to her Alpha.

As she broke into the clearing, with her pursuer not far behind, she skidded to a stop next to her sister. Still, in wolf form, she jumped up to the dais and grabbed their bag of ready clothes. Carrying the bag in her strong jaws, she jumped off before going behind the dais to change. She had just gotten the shirt over her head before his scent hit her, and she heard the voice that would haunt her dreams.

“My King, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. These wolves intercepted us before we could even get close.” The smile in his voice made her heart sing as she finished dressing. “Of course, we were also not on a search and destroy mission, so they had a bit of an advantage.”

The King's roaring laugh washed over the area. “I am glad to hear that they were prepared and that you realized this mission was different, Abe.” he looked around at the area, making sure they would not be overheard. “Alpha Marcus, may I introduce Abioden, the leader of the crew and my right-hand man. He will be the one in charge of the mission tomorrow, and there is no shift in this planet I trust more.”

The Alpha looked on as the shifter quickly slid on a pair of loose shorts before looking around with intense focus. Marcus was interested to find out what he was looking for with such attention, or if he felt a threat from somewhere. He hoped it was the former, as he did not want to deal with this man if he felt threatened. Something told him that even though he is now a lycan, the battle would not be fast or easy, and one or both of them would suffer extensive wounds before it was over.

The shifter turned back to look at the Alpha, then shifted his eyes to the Luna behind him. His expression faded to a look of complete shock as he looked back and forth between Marcia and the King. The only word he seemed to be able to mutter was “How?” It was at this moment that Marcus remembered what Travis had said about Lycans, their scents were carried in bloodlines. This meant that shifters who were used to being around Lycans, and the King himself, would instantly be able to tell who Marcia was. That added to the royal mark and made the situation even more challenging to keep secret.

The King barely kept his composure as he explained about the kidnapping, the missing years, and how he had discovered her among this pack.

Abioden shook his head, momentarily distracted from his own thoughts, before he sank to a single knee and lowered his head to Marcia. “My Princess, I swear my life to you and yours.” As he spoke the words, he heard a shout coming from the woods behind him. The rest of the introductions would have to wait; it appeared that the first trial competitor was returning.