Chapter 1
Rhett
Ten years.
I'd been gone for that long, even if it didn’t seem that way because each year blended into the next, rapidly speeding by like the clouds in the atmosphere.
Common sense dictated I should have stayed gone, but I guess part of me still wanted to respect our traditions because even I had trouble giving up what was familiar.
Stepping out of my rental car and hoisting up my suitcase, I made my way through the crunchy snow and to the front door, using excruciating effort not to slip and fall in the ice.
I sure as hell didn't miss the weather. I could tolerate the cold just fine, but the snow dipping into my shoe was something I could most definitely do without, because the cold, wet feeling made me cringe.
My hand rapped against the door as I awaited an answer, and I didn't have to wait long.
As pale faced as he always was, my brother looked up my way. "Rhett, you actually showed up. A Frost shouldn't be so tan, I'll have you know."
"Nice to see you too, Zachary." I walked past him and dumped my suitcase on the floor. "Who made you the arbiter of what a Frost is anyway?"
"Alpha Frost did."
I sneered his way. "Oh right. You're the favorite now. Heir to the pack."
"Well it could have been yours, Rhett." Zachary shrugged with an apologetic tone.
"Believe me, I regret it every single waking moment." I rolled my eyes and let out a bitter laugh that wasn’t full of contempt for once.
'Wait, you do?" He raised an eyebrow, then caught himself. "That's sarcasm isn't it?"
"Humor is something I learned in Tampa." I tossed my younger brother a wink.
It was definitely a whiplash of setting coming back here. I had spent my formative years in this cabin, nestled in a spot of habitable tundra near Anchorage. I turned eighteen and I headed for brighter pastures, ones with more opportunity and a whole lot less snow. A burst of nostalgia surged through me, but I quickly recovered.
"Where's our birthday boy anyway?" I wondered aloud, taking in the scenery of the cabin. It had the same musty scent as always, the same feeling of desolation, and it looked the same as it ever did, like it was ripped right out of 1775. Another thing I noticed, but had forgotten over time, it was too damn quiet way up here in the wilderness.
I would have said it was completely unchanged since then if I didn't know it had modern wiring, plumbing, and gas worked into it.
Beyond that? It screamed tradition, a monument to the old ways against the waves of change, which really? They had turned into a tsunami of change in recent years.
Zachary glanced up at me before answering, "Alpha Frost? He's out fishing."
"Fishing? You mean he's out on a boat, with a stick, trying to lure fish to bite a string?" I had to laugh.
"He needs a hobby,” Zachary stated with blunt defensiveness.
"I'm just saying, that's not terribly wolf-like of him. What kind of Alpha eats meat you can't kill with your own fang?" More sarcasm, but drier this time. Anything that would needle at the machismo of the Frost pack tended to drive Zachary a bit nuts and I watched with smug satisfaction as he shifted his weight uncomfortably.
Driving your little brother a bit nuts was one of the solemn duties of the elder sibling, of course. I thought of it as a rite of passage, of sorts.
"I'll keep your insubordination quiet to him." Zachary’s eyes flashed in anger that I found more comical than infuriating on my own accord.
"Calm down, Zachary. I'm not here to take your place as prince. I'm just here to pay respects to the old man as he gets older." I made a feeble attempt at giving him something that remotely resembled a smile.
"You shouldn't be so flippant about him, Rhett. He isn't going to be around forever."
I didn’t care for his lecturing tone, but I just took it all in stride and ignored it for now. I hadn’t even walked in the door five minutes ago.
Thank god, I thought privately.
Actually I felt terrible for thinking that. I didn't hate my father. Far from it. I wished it was easier to get his approval and perhaps that’s where the animosity and resentment stemmed from. The roots had been implanted in the soil for a long time, and it would take substantial effort to rip them out now.
The part that pissed me off the most was the sheer fact that pretty much everything I did was never good enough in my father’s eyes. I didn't want to stick around Anchorage, search for a mate, and start building my own, subordinate, allied pack. I wanted to become my own man. That's why I took off as soon as I could for sunnier pastures and never looked back.
I took the little money I had, invested it, started businesses, cashed out. Rinse, lather, repeat. I'd put down Entrepreneur on my tax forms. It suited me fine, I was rarely doing the same thing one month to the next, and it was a damn good way to stop myself from getting burnt out on life and I had something prideful to show for myself. In my opinion, my quality of life worked just fine for me.
"Maybe not. That's why he has you, right?" Since I had left, Zachary, the second eldest Alpha, had become his favored son. It was unusual for anyone but the eldest son to take the role, but I had taken to challenging tradition where I could. It was just another stamp of my rebellious personality.
"If I could lead the pack half as well as Alpha Frost I would be honored."
"So how many of your sons will take off for Florida before one decides to take over for you? Maybe you'll have to name an Omega as heir?"
"You're an asshole, Rhett. You really are." He crossed his arms, walking behind me and I could feel him seething. "At least I'm building a pack of my own. I've found my mate. What of you?"
Rhett drew in a breath, looking at Zachary's smug face. "I'm enjoying my peace as a lone wolf."
"You haven't found him, have you? You haven't come across that Omega who actually wants you above all. I'd mock you, but I just pity you, Rhett."
Grumbling was my only response. I wasn't going to force it. I was too damn tired and worn out from the trip.
Daniel walked up behind Zachary, and my brother took him into his arms. They had a growing little pack already, two Alphas and an Omega, and it looked like Daniel was well on the way to adding another to that list. I observed them, scrutinized every movement they made, mainly out of curiosity.
"I'm not going to force the hands of fate. He will come to me. Preferably sooner than later, but that's for fate to decide. Until then, I live my life. Not hopeless pining that may blind me to a truly fated mating."
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, brother."
I gritted my teeth. While I wouldn't doubt Zachary and Daniel's bond, I'd seen far too many matings of convenience as it were. I'd never felt it, but from what I understood, the desire that was fate's choice was known only for those involved. To me, forced love wasn’t at the top of my complimentary list of ways to live.
Clever creatures would just pretend a certain Alpha and Omega are destined for one another, and no one would be the wiser or protest that idea. This was often done for political reasons, or, to bring it closer to home for me, to shut up an overbearing Alpha parent who wouldn’t stop or leave you alone until you conformed to what they wanted you to do.
"Daniel is luck, Zachary. The fates chose well. Don't doubt that. I'd love to see you squirm if you found out that Daniel wasn't a shifter. Alpha Frost would have your head."
"That's absurd, Rhett. A proud pack such as the Frosts would only find mating with another shifter. Fate wouldn't dare taint our bloodline with a plain Omega."
What was absurd was the idea that there was such a standard that fate had. I bit my tongue, and tried to not get semantic because the argument could scatter a million different unfavorable ways. I knew a few cousins who had been bonded to shiftless Omegas, and the lengths they went to cover it up so that nobody would find out were exponential.
As the eldest son of the pack patriarch, though, I wouldn't be able to keep such a thing completely buried because I’d be more in the limelight so to speak. Even if I'd passively given up the status of heir, I didn't want to face the shitstorm that would come from Alpha Frost's obscene obsession with the old ways. That fucker wouldn’t bend for shit, and there was nothing I, or anyone else for that matter could do about it.
I folded my arms across my chest and shifted my weight, planting my feet firmly on the ground. "So, Alpha Frost is out fishing. What about Samson and Bruce?" They were my other two brothers.
"Samson hasn't returned from his Alpha's pack yet. Says he's due in a few hours, but we'll see if that holds true. Bruce? Your guess is as good as mine with him."
"Right. So it's just you, me, and Daniel." I glared at the two of them and looked outside. At least it wasn’t actively snowing for the moment. "I could go for a nice run. Been awhile since I'd given a patrol of the old stomping grounds, so I figure I best keep myself familiar."
"You don't even live here anymore, Rhett," Zachary scoffed with condescension.
"Being prepared is something Alpha Frost always advocates, doesn't he? I'm just following that value." It was less that, yes, but there was always a chance where something unfortunate would strike Zachary and Bruce and the family's mantle would fall to me even if I didn't want it. The irony of life was funny that way sometimes.
Despite all my judgmental nature, I held them all dear, held a soft spot from them in my heart even if I had trouble admitting that fact verbally outright. They were blood, kin, I would defend them with my life even if I would drive them insane the next minute. I would take that burden if fate demanded me of it because it’s what was expected of me, but better yet I would always cover my pack in any type of threat.
The Frosts were resilient though, always tough and bouncing back from any hardship or battle. I doubted that would ever be the case. Zachary was devoted and would carry the burden of leadership well. He was a well-meaning and courageous Alpha, and I loved him even if I loathed him at the same time. The emotions were bittersweet, a bit like a moving roller coaster.
"I'll be back soon enough. If someone beats me in returning, let them know I said hi." I winked, and bolted out the door as quickly as I had arrived before they had a chance to protest or argue with me about anything else.
The musty air of that cabin really was so stifling. Even if I was spoiled by the warmer weather in Florida, I could still appreciate the briskness of Alaska.
Shifting to the wolf form, far more suited for a run than my two-legged human one, I spent little time in getting up to speed. I raked in hearty portions of oxygen, relishing in the cold air as it hit my lungs. My padded paws pounced in the snow as I gained momentum, relishing the moment of being out in the wild.
Even as I ran, I watched my step and how I went about everything, with more deliberate precision. That cold war I mentioned was still technically going on as far as I knew, and I found it incredibly unlikely there would have been victory or a peace agreement without Alpha Frost calling me and gloating about his triumph of strength or diplomacy. In fact, I’m sure I’d be the first one he boasted to on the matter.
The Frost pack had been surrounded by two hostile packs for several hundred years. The Zimma to the west, and the Akia to the East. It was a cold war, so if he saw one of their members he wouldn't have to get into a fight or anything like that, but it would be an awkward and tense situation that he’d rather not deal with.
Let’s just say nobody from any of the trio of parties would be offering to pay for a cold beer for one another if they saw each other at one of the local bars. Well let’s face it. Even that would be an outlandish scenario because the packs know and respect their own boundaries within their own territories. It was a long and annoying feud over territory and to me? It was all archaic. Down in Florida, you never saw rivalries like these anymore. Our own battles didn't matter on the world stage, so it was mostly just a matter of showing how Alpha your pack was compared to the others and everybody liked to size each other up.
I tried not to dwell on such politics because I felt like they had nothing to do with me so many hundreds of miles away. It was nice to finally be able to run free, especially after hours inside of an airplane and then a car. One thing that Anchorage and its area had over Tampa was space. Miles and miles of untouched wilderness that could be enjoyed freely. No people, no judgment.
It was the perfect setting for clearing one’s mind and finding a bit of peace, not to mention it was absolutely stunning and beautiful up here.
The scents up here, they were a treat too. In big, overpopulated cities, your nose was under an endless assault from all directions to no end and no relief. It was amazing if you could pick out one scent out of the dozens that were likely afflicting you at that time.
Out here? Not so much. As I got further and further from the cabin, I could savor the smell of a doe here, a buck there, a grizzly over yonder. Simplicity was majesty. Every now and then a crow or an eagle would fly overhead and make a cawing sound that warmed my soul.
So unpolluted, I realized there was no way in hell I would have picked up a specific scent if I were anywhere near civilization.
The specific scent I picked up?
Intoxicating. It called out to me. It screamed to me. It wanted me to come. It was so faint, yet so damned powerful.
I didn't even think. I shifted gears in an instant, swiftly moving through the snow and leaving a trail of paw prints in my wake. My trail immediately switched to finding the source of this aroma.
For a while, I thought it was simply food, and I wondered if I had simply gone too long without eating a solid meal. No. This was a delicious scent, but this wasn't food. Nothing so overt.
Sweat. Pheromones. Gunpowder.
I had to find it. If I turned back now I would never be able to forgive myself and would be full of desperate longing that would threaten to consume me and swallow me whole.
Running at my full speed, minutes passed as I drew nearer, picking up more hints of a scent. A man. An Omega. I could almost vividly see him in my mind through scent alone.
My imagination liked what it saw, and it liked what it saw a whole lot. I was salivating at the idea of picturing a gorgeous male as my eyes bolted left and right.
More. I didn't care if my lungs were starting to give out, and that I hadn't run this amount of time, this amount of distance since I was a pup.
Heat. More details revealed themselves as I drew closer. I must have gone a dozen miles, or even more.
It was an Omega in heat and I could recognize the smell anywhere.
Making matters worse, my allure to it was no longer just curiosity. The scent of an Omega in heat was redirecting the blood flow from where I needed it to my damned cock, feeling it tighten and become annoyingly rigid at the thought of what I was pursuing.
I usually didn't get aroused by an Omega so easily. It took more than an alluring scent to drive me batty, and this Omega was doing it from what felt like a thousand miles away.
I was no longer thinking with my mind. No, my fucking shaft was doing that for me and pulsing rock hard to cloud all my other senses.
Fate didn't work like this, did it? It seemed so blatant, grabbing me by the snout and dragging me across the forest, but damn if it didn't feel like that was exactly what fate was doing.
Closer, closer, my drive was consumed wholly by anything and everything.
When my eyes finally settled on the distance, the human part of me knew it to be as true as the shifter part of me.
This was what fate had meant for me. Any doubt that I had completely evaporated.
What a beautiful creature fate had chosen. Right now he was lying in wait, a rifle pointed outward.
It let me appreciate what he was. The sparkle of his blue eyes, his sandy blond hair, and how badly I wanted to feel it under my fingers.
He had a soft, content smile on top of it all.
I was no stranger to flings. Lust flared up even when fate took its sweet time pushing you toward a mate. I never had any trouble approaching an Omega, laying on my charms, throwing out some pheromones, and getting them into my bed.
Yet here, almost suddenly and terribly, I was anxious as all hell. What if I had thought wrong? What if this one didn't find me as alluring as the others?
I couldn't afford to mess this one up. This was important, this was vital.
Shifting back, I was glad I didn't have to travel nude like some shifters had to. I didn't usually have anxiety about all this, but this Omega was doing things to me and I hadn't even spoken to them.
Gathering my thoughts, I felt like a drunkard pretending to be sober, my drug being this Omega's scent. Some deep, steady breaths, I put together that this Omega was hunting.
Yes, he was holding a gun in a forest. It took me some time to figure that obvious thing out. The power of this Omega's scent was seriously potent.
Another deep breath, and I started to approach. I treaded the forest carefully, making sure to ease in carefully with my strides to not put him on edge. "How do you do, fellow hunter."
I cringed at my words, realizing how poor they were right after I spoke them. They didn’t encapsulate the snare of attraction I felt for him, or the depth of my soul that yearned to reach out and touch him. Sadly, for now, I kept my hands to myself.
The Omega didn't respond in the same way, and instead was surprised I had sneaked up on them, gasping, and fumbling the rifle out of their hands.
"Oh damn," they exclaimed. "I was about to take a shot on that moose." His voice was shaky with volts of nervousness charging through it.
"A moose?" I darted my vision upward, and saw a buck run off suddenly, surprised by the clattering of the Omega's rifle. "Oh, damn, I didn't mean to run your prey off,” I stated apologetically, and I genuinely meant it.
"No, no," he said, scrambling up. "I let myself get too jumpy. He didn't run off until I dropped the rifle."
He finally turned and his gaze met my own for the very first time. Immediately, his face softened and reddened from seeing me as if he’s blushing with both attraction and coyness.
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