Reluctant Mate

by H Q Kingsley

  A quick second passed and I grew irritated that no one had stepped forward. What was the point in notifying these people that I was coming if I wasn’t going to be greeted at the docks?

  Dimitri must have sensed my agitation. I could see him out of the corner of my eye motioning to me as if signaling me to not make a scene. Well, I would very well make any scene I chose if my demands weren’t met.

  Before I had a chance to repeat myself, a scrawny young woman stepped forward. Her dark black hair had a wet sheen to it as if she’d just gone swimming, but even still, there was a fine layer of dirt over her.

  She didn’t wear the same terrified expression as the rest of the islanders in the market but instead had an unreadable mask of indifference. I couldn’t decide if that infuriated or impressed me.

  “Alpha Callum,” she said with a nod. “Glad to see you’ve arrived safely. My name is—”

  “I don’t care for your name,” I interrupted and watched her carefully to see if she flinched. When she didn’t, I continued. “Just take me to your Clan Alpha”

  She pressed her lips together and turned around, leading us forward up a winding path that made its way through a slew of overgrown vegetation.

  I frowned, swatting at overhanging tree leaves as they brushed against me. I could hear my councils’ irritated groans behind me. Even Alfred seemed to be murmuring something disapproving.

  I smacked at another tree branch and sighed. We had better get where we were going soon, or there would be hell to pay.

  The path the woman guided us through curved and ended at a single longhouse. It looked less rickety than the huts I had seen when we first came ashore, but it was still uninspiring all the same.

  I wiped at dirt and pollen that had already settled into a fine outer layer over my skin. “Let us get this over with,” I grumbled. “I’m starting to regret coming here.”

  The woman stopped at the entryway leading up to the house and gestured to us. “This is as far as I go. Please, enjoy your stay.”

  I arched my eyebrow. Were these people really so indifferent to my arrival? Were they not aware of who I was? That I’d come to take their land and all their riches?

  I pushed past the woman. They’d all find out soon enough.

  The moment I entered, I stepped onto a green tiled floor. It was cheap and tacky and meshed with none of the rest of the interior, but just as I opened my mouth to complain, I was hit again with that smell.

  I wrinkled my nose and twisted my head around, sniffing at the air. There was no way it was just the sea. There was no way it was in my head. That smell was real, and it elicited a physical reaction. My skin went hot, my heart raced, and it suddenly felt like I was walking on air.

  “Alpha?” Dimitri’s face twisted in concern as he reached out for me. “What do you smell?”

  “I-I don’t know,” I confessed without thinking. I was the Alpha. I didn’t get flustered, and I sure as shit knew how to identify a smell.

  Alfred and Mark flanked Dimitri’s sides, creating an impenetrable protective barrier around me. I shook my head, waving them all off. Waving away the aching need in my bones to search out that scent. “It’s nothing,” I lied. “Let us continue.”

  We’d barely taken two steps before another young woman appeared from around a corner. She stood tall with the same unbending confidence as the woman before her.

  She leaned forward in a slight bow as she greeted us. “Welcome, Alpha Callum. Will all of your companions be joining the council today?” She bowed to each of my council members. I shook my head. “Just Dimitri.” I looked at Mark and Alfred. “You two stay out here. Behave…” I looked back to the woman with her eerie confidence given the circumstance before shifting my gaze back to my council. “But be on guard.”

  Mark and Alfred gave me a nod. “You got it, Alpha.”

  The woman gestured Dimitri and I forward toward a thick hanging curtain. “Alpha Rayden of the Oceania Clan awaits you in the room with his council.”

  I grunted, scowling as Dimitri pulled back the curtain and walked through. They didn’t even have real fucking rooms on this island. I promised myself to change that the minute it was ours.

  The moment I stepped through, the scent returned, hitting me so hard I stumbled backward.

  Dimitri stealthily reached his arm over and pressed a hand to my back, and I was certain it was the only thing that kept me upright. My legs felt like jelly and the struggle to compose myself was tougher than before.

  Dimitri shot me a sharp, sobering glance, and I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, hoping that no one else had noticed my fumble.

  What the hell is happening to me?

  Was this a trick? Were the islanders smarter than we’d given them credit for? Had they poisoned us somehow? But as I turned back to look at Dimitri, I knew that couldn’t be it. I was the only one affected. This smell was for me.

  My eyes traced over every member in the room. First, the Alpha, seated at the head of the table. His dull-brown eyes stared right back at me. I had to give him credit for being bold enough to take the seat of importance. I had every intention of taking it away from him before the day was done, but the man had balls. Honestly, I was impressed.

  Next, my gaze fell on the woman to his left. She had the build of a warrior, broad shoulders and an unflinching confidence that generally only fighters had. But Alfred had assured me they had no army.

  I looked to the Alpha’s right only briefly taking in the long-haired man with gray filling in around his temples. No, my interest was the young man next to him. The young man who only slightly reflected his features. They shared the same long, shiny hair and bright gray eyes. But the young man was different than him in every other way.

  Where he, along with the rest of the council, sat straight-backed and tall, the young man slouched and fidgeted. He almost seemed breathless. He was breathless. I could feel it. Hell, so was I.

  Suddenly, I knew what the smell was. Or better, who the smell was. Suddenly, that young boy had my full and undivided attention.

  I looked him over carefully, taking in every inch of him. His long, brown hair was let loose in waves that swept past his shoulders and down his back, complimenting his brown skin.

  His bright eyes gazed up at me with a fearful innocence that tugged at me in ways I couldn’t quite put into words.

  So it’s you then, I thought to myself, my lips pulling into a grin.

  Dimitri and I took our seats and for a brief moment, I gave my attention to something other than the beautiful boy at the table.

  I scowled as I lowered myself to a pillow on the floor masquerading as a chair.

  “Excuse us, Alpha Callum, for any discomfort,” Alpha Rayden apologized.

  I grunted. “It’s not to my liking, but it will have to do,” I said, only giving him a brief look before I returned my gaze to the young man across from me. He was looking down at his hands, and I could smell the nervousness pouring from him. More than that, I could feel it. I could feel him in my veins, and it took every morsel of self-control I had not to take him right then and there. But he wasn’t ready for that. In addition to his nerves, I could feel his innocence, his reluctance.

  “Would you happen to want something to drink or eat after your travels? I could have my—”

  I held up my hand to stop the Alpha.

  He pursed his lips together and sat back, gesturing to me that I had the floor. I scanned the room. Everyone’s eyes were on me, everyone but Iosefa. His name came to me like a bright light in utter darkness. I could see it in my head clear as day, and I was desperate to speak it out loud, to taste it on my lips. But first, I wanted him to look at me. I wanted to look into those eyes again, but he refused to look up. His eyes stayed down as he toyed with the frays of his jeans.

  “I want your pathetic island,” I blurted out. If he wouldn’t give me his gaze willingly, I would steal it. I would punish everyone around him until he bent to my will. “And if you want y
our pitiful people spared, you’ll give it over to me peacefully, and no one has to die.”

  Alpha Rayden didn’t even flinch. What was with these people? They should have been terrified of me, and yet each one of them looked me in the eye with a stoic calmness that irritated the piss out of me. If I hadn’t just told Mark to keep his shit together, I might have slit someone’s throat just to get a reaction.

  “Alpha Callum,” Alpha Rayden started. “We are but simple water travelers and want no trouble, but we cannot simply give you our island. It’s home to our clan.”

  I shrugged. “Then I shall kill your clan and it will be home to mine.”

  Finally, Alpha Rayden and his council seemed to react. Their eyes bounced around the room, all sharing meaningful glances. It felt like they’d just had a silent conversation I wasn’t privy to, and it pissed me off even more.

  “You know what the Shadow Moon Clan does,” I said. “We won’t take kindly to refusals. My offer is a kindness, and I don’t often grant kindnesses. The appropriate response is, ‘Thank you, Alpha Callum.’”

  “He isn’t wrong,” Dimitri added with a smug grin.

  The Oceania Alpha and his councilmen turned their gaze toward my Beta.

  “If you accept this once-in-a-lifetime proposition, you won’t face the consequences, and your entire clan can leave unscathed,” Dimitri said, waving his arms around like he was presenting a prize on a gameshow.

  “Where do you expect us to go?” The councilman who had similar features to my boy spoke up. He reached out and placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder, and I instantly felt a white-hot flash of jealousy. I wanted to touch him. And even if I was the one scaring him, I wanted to be the one to comfort him. “Does it look like I care what happens to your simple islanders?” I snapped, baring my teeth. “Go wherever the hell you like, but you can’t stay here…” I took a deep breath, calming myself. “Unless...”

  I paused and looked at the young man in front of me. I could feel each rapid beat of his heart as if it were my own.

  The Alpha and the other councilmen continued to observe me while I was solely focused on him.

  “Look at me,” I commanded the young man, just as I did with those in my own clan.

  His head slowly lifted, and when his gray eyes met mine, my chest tightened. Heat flooded every part of my body, and I knew I wouldn’t leave this island without him.

  The island itself was of little importance to me. All I wanted was him, and I’d trade everything for it. Even a conquest.

  “Give me the boy,” I said flatly.

  The peaceful stone faces of the council slipped, and for the first time, I saw panic. The only person who didn’t seem stunned was the boy. He stared back at me, his grey eyes glossed over, and I could see that he felt it too. The inexplicable pull of… a mate.

  “What are you doing, Alpha?” Dimitri whispered to me.

  I waved him off. “I’ll explain later.”

  Dimitri’s face scrunched, but he stepped back. Always the loyal soldier, even if he had no fucking clue what was happening.

  “Why do you want my son?” The man beside the boy stood up.

  I ignored him, keeping my eyes on Iosefa.

  You can feel it, too, can’t you?

  Iosefa’s eyes flickered, and I knew he could hear me. I knew he could feel me as much as I felt him.

  He jumped to his feet. “I-I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re a murderer! And-And, you’re threatening my people!” He shook his head so hard, I could almost feel the headache it gave him. “I’m not going anywhere with a monster like you.”

  “You would deny your mate, Iosefa?” I licked my lips, relishing in the taste of his name.

  The council looked between us in a stunned silence that seemed to fill the room. “Give me the boy willingly, and the island will be spared.” I shrugged. “The choice is yours. But I’m taking my mate either way. So decide now if you wish to be stubborn for the life of one... or trade one for a thousand.”

  Iosefa’s father protectively threw an arm across his chest. “Alpha Rayden…”

  The Alpha held up a hand and turned to me. “Please, give us a moment to discuss your proposal.”

  4

  Iosefa Henare

  “Don’t keep me waiting,” Alpha Callum said, casting one last glance at me before he exited the room.

  That gaze, it sent chills down my spine in the best and worst ways. I couldn’t fathom why our goddess had forsaken me. He wasn’t just some random, murderous Alpha anymore. Alpha Callum was… my mate.

  I swallowed. It made my mouth dry just to think about it. I turned to my father, a slow panic creeping up my throat. “Father, I don’t—”

  He reached out his hands and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into him.

  I nestled into him, feeling protected, even if just for a moment.

  When my father pulled back, he swiped his thumbs across my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I’d started crying until he wiped away my tears.

  “I know, Sefa,” he said, meeting my eyes with a firm, stony gaze. “And you don’t have to worry because I am challenging the Alpha to combat so that you can stay.”

  My heart dropped. “What?” I shook my head. “No, father, I’m not letting you do that! Alpha Callum, he-he’ll—”

  “Kill me?” My father finished for me. He smiled down at me. “You’re my son, Iosefa, and I would do all I can to protect you.”

  He pulled me back into him and held me there, squeezing tightly.

  I squeezed him back, unsure of what else to say. I didn’t want to be mates with Alpha Callum... at least, I didn’t think I did. But I didn’t want to see my father killed, either.

  “You can’t be serious.” Alpha Callum eyed my father up and down. “You want to challenge me?” He chuckled. “Do you have a death wish?”

  “I have a duty and love for my son, something you will probably never understand.” My father stood straight and proud, and my heart ached for him. “I will not let you take him.”

  Alpha Rayden nodded his approval.

  Some part of me had been hoping he would stop my father, order him to stand down and spare himself, but the two of them seemed more on the same page than ever.

  “So, are we agreed then? There will be a Royale?” Alpha Rayden asked.

  Alpha Callum’s partner stepped forward.

  “We don’t have time to issue a Royale by the books.” He exchanged a quick look with his Alpha. “No field, no audience. Just let two of them duke it out,” he finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

  I shook my head. “Father, please. Don’t do this.”

  Alpha Callum grinned. “He’s right. If you had any sense at all, you’d call this off. You won’t be able to outspeed or outmaneuver me.”

  I gritted my teeth as I watched Alpha Callum taunt my father. My father, though easily four times the Alpha’s age at one hundred and seventy-three, was still an active and fit man... but he was right. My father had not been trained in combat. He had never even seen a battle as far as I knew.

  Alpha Callum was skilled in ways my father could not match. And he was built, every exposed part of him beneath his black muscle-shirt was sculpted and toned.

  But my father stood tall with little fear on his face. “If death will come, then death will come. But while I live and breathe, you will not have my son.”

  Alpha Callum nodded. “Very well, then. I suppose I’ll just have to kill you.”

  He grinned, and I vowed to myself, no matter what happened, I would never be his. Mate or not.

  Alpha Callum stalked across the packed dirt of the sparring circle, my father matching him pace-for-pace on the other side.

  I swallowed as I watched the two of them circle one another. Was this really happening? It all still felt so surreal. “You certainly have tenacity and courage… or stupidity,” Alpha Callum taunted. “I imagine you were a great warrior in your youth.”

  My father shrugged. “I was something..
. you could say that.”

  I narrowed my eyes. Was my father taunting him back? He’d never been a warrior as far as I knew. We’d never even had warriors on the island.

  For a brief moment, Alpha Callum looked in my direction, and I gasped, feeling a heat course through me that was becoming more and more familiar the longer I was around him.

  Alpha Callum turned his gaze back to my father. “Listen,” he started, and I couldn’t help but notice the change in his tone. “I don’t want to kill you. My mate is already rather… reluctant. I can’t imagine killing his father will smooth the transition. I’m going to give you one last chance to turn back now. Just give me the boy and walk away.”

  I blinked in surprise. It wasn’t mercy, exactly, but it was an offer I hadn’t expected from him. I still hated him with every fiber of my being, but maybe just slightly less.

  Take the offer, father. I’m not worth your life! I mentally urged him to walk away.

  “I won’t back down.” My father’s tone was unrelenting. I’d heard it so many times before. He’d made his decision and nothing would change his mind

  Alpha Callum pressed his lips together and nodded. “Very well.”

  The two of them stopped circling each other, both stilling as they began to shift.

  The air around them shimmered, a hard gust of wind billowing around them as their bodies morphed almost instantly into their wolf forms. Hair began to sprout from their bodies, their mouths elongating, and sharp fangs appeared.

  Once they had dropped to all fours and their clothing shredded into the wind, they were completely in their wolf skin—paws, and all.

  My father’s gray wolf was massive. I’d always thought him the tallest and strongest wolf I’d ever seen… until that moment.

  Alpha Callum’s wolf was a beast of a different color. He was as massive and muscled in his wolf form as he was in his human one.

  He stood there confidently in a thick, sleek, black coat that seemed to glisten in the morning light. His eyes remained the same shade of green as in his human form, but left no doubt that he was a true and calculating hunter.